by April Scheinoha
Reporter

The Thief River Falls Chamber of Commerce celebrated its accomplishments of the past year at its annual banquet Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Legacy Event Center in Thief River Falls. The theme for the upcoming year is “Change is Key in 2023.”

Five awards were presented at the banquet:
• Community Volunteer Award – Jessica Muller, who was selected in a landslide. She serves as the treasurer of both the Thief River Falls Rotary Club and Advance Thief River. Muller has helped make community projects a success, including the funding for the scoreboard at Franklin Middle School. She also volunteers with Falls Delivered Meals.

• Chamber Volunteer Award – Anton Bergee, who volunteers his time with the Salvation Army, Little Brother/Little Sister Program and churches.

• New Chamber Member of the Year (presented to a business or organization established in the past 18 months) – Rivers & Rails Brewery. Two soccer moms, a home brewer and a business guy with a passion for beer opened the business in June. Rivers & Rails has a 10-tap tower at its comfortable, family-friendly site along the Red Lake River.

Chamber Members of the Year were also selected based on their growth, innovativeness and strong company culture. They included:

• Chamber Member of the Year – Small Business – Hometown Realty, which helped 155 customers in 2022. In addition, it disbursed more than 100 treats for Easter, donated backpacks to 38 families in need, donated to more than 20 organizations, and sponsored many events.

• Chamber Member of the Year – Large Business – Thief River Falls School District, which was also selected due to its perseverance during budget cuts, during a search for a new superintendent and while helping kids fully return to its school buildings following the pandemic.

Besides the awards, Chamber Board Chairperson Chris McLean passed the gavel on to 2023 Chairperson Angie Westling.

Chamber Executive Director Vanessa Skadsem recognized McLean and out-going board member John Syvertson for their contributions to the Chamber.

Skadsem also provided a recap of the Chamber’s activities in 2022. Each year, the Chamber hosts RiverFest. More than 2,000 people attended the event in 2022. The Chamber also hosted Small Business Saturday with more than 100 participating. Other Chamber activities included the candidate debate and the Manufacturers Luncheon.

The Downtown Development Association and Falls Under 40 are offshoots of the Chamber. The DDA hosted Crazy Day and Project Runway while Falls Under 40 hosted the Northwest Brewfest.

Skadsem plans to visit all Chamber members in 2023. She also hopes that the Chamber will become accredited; however, she noted that will take some time due to the specific guidelines.

Skadsem also shared a new feature – the Chamber app – which has been years in the making. On the app, people can obtain information about various Chamber members. Businesses can contribute their up-to-date information, including news, events, jobs, photos and sales brochures. This is a free benefit for Chamber members. The businesses are encouraged to include #trfchamber and #exploreupnorth in their posts.