The Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce has announced the 2022 Northfield Business of the Year, Businessperson of the Year and the
Chamber Ambassador of the Year.
Just Food Co-op has been selected as the Business of the year. The award recognizes a business in the Northfield area that has made contributions to the community, been involved with the Chamber, and has grown through expansion of both their business and their staff. Just Food Co-op checked all those boxes in 2021.
“They are huge supporters of the community and of the Chamber,” said Chamber President Lisa Peterson. “The co-op has had continuous growth over the last 10 years, and they provide high quality service to the entire community. Most recently, they doubled the size of their store and added many new employees. They are very generous with donations of food, time, and talent.”
Just Food Co-op has been the area’s most trusted source for local and organic foods in Northfield and the surrounding communities since 2004.
Meanwhile, Tanya Mollenhauer of The James Gang Coffeehouse & Eatery has been selected as the Chamber’s 2022 Businessperson of the Year.
Every year, the Chamber recognizes one person as Businessperson of the Year for their individual contributions and involvement with the Chamber, as well as for their local involvement and the work they do to improve the business community.
“Tanya is an excellent owner” said nominator Libby Potter. “She cares for her staff like family and treats every customer like they are friends who stop by and see her.”
“Tanya is so deserving of this honor,” Peterson said. “She is kind, caring and compassionate. She genuinely cares for her staff and her customers. She serves on the Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board and works with many community members to help bring visitors to town and make them feel welcome.”
Finally, the Chamber’s Ambassador of the year is Victoria Davis, a sales representative for APG Southern Minnesota newspapers.
“To me,” said Davis, “being an ambassador means showing up for the community and fellow businesses, to support everything they are doing, all their achievements, and to recognize and appreciate their hard work.”
Just Foods Co-op, Tanya Mollenhauer, and Victoria Davis will be honored at the annual Area Chamber of Commerce banquet, which is set for January 27th. Those wishing to attend can buy tickets can purchase tickets by clicking here.
Benjamin Percy will release several writing projects in January
Local writer Benjamin Percy might have written the screenplay for a movie called Summering that will debut at the Sundance Film Festival
in a few weeks, but before that happens, Percy has other projects to launch first.
In fact, he has a new novel that is being released today. The Unfamiliar Garden is a story about a shattered family and a missing daughter, set against the backdrop of a mysterious meteor shower and the discovery of alien plant life. It is the second installment in what Percy calls his “Comet Cycle.”
“There’s an age-old sci-fi premise,” he said. “A comet comes streaking through the solar system, the planet spins through the debris field, and new elements are introduced to the world that upend the laws of physics and geology and biology and create chaos in the geo-political theater.”
In addition to writing novels and screenplays, Percy also authors comic books for the two major American comic publishers, DC and Marvel. Beginning in 2014, he wrote a two-part Batman story for DC, which led to writing the Green Arrow comic, among others. He then moved over to Marvel, where he has been working on a comic book called X-Force, and now he has written ten-part weekly series centered around one of Marvel’s most popular characters Wolverine, that will begin this month as well.
“It’s an event that sort of takes over Marvel and takes over the comic shops,” he said. “It’s probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done in comics.” The latest series he has been tapped to write, a revival of the cult favorite Ghost Rider, will drop in February.
Juggling so many projects can be hectic, especially when they all come together at the same time. Percy said he’s been working on all these projects for a year or more and it just so happened that they are all launching right now.
He said he typically writes 8-10 hours every day, and sometimes more if there are deadlines approaching. The key to balancing so many different projects, he said, is in discipline and planning.
“I’ll say to myself, ‘Okay from 8am until noon today, I’m going to be working on my novel.’ And so, I try to work on that in the morning. And then I’ll take the dog for a walk, and I’ll have lunch, and then I’ll come back, and I’ll be working on comics. It just requires a lot of deadline management and time management.”
Tonight, as he launches the publicity campaign for The Unfamiliar Garden, Percy will be the guest of honor at Content Book Store. Normally, he said, he would be heading off on a book tour today, but thanks to Covid-19, book tours are on an indefinite hold. In fact, he said, the event at Content is one of the few in-person events he will be doing to support his book.
Percy will be at Content tonight at 7pm, where he will give a reading and sign a few books. Those wishing to take part from a distance may do so via Facebook Live, from the Content Facebook page.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Benjamin Percy can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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