ANNUAL VHEDC
DINNER AND BUSINESS AWARDS
T
he Annual VHEDC Dinner is a culmination
of a year’s worth of collaboration, hard
work and connecting with area businesses.
A sold-out audience filled the Vadnais Heights
Commons November 14, 2017 to celebrate
the year and honor the Awards’ recipients:
Innovize, Fairway Collision and Automotive, MGC
Diagnostics, SCHWING America, Mold Craft, Du
Fresne Manufacturing and Specialty Mfg. Co.
The event included a keynote speech – “What
Makes Teams Great” – by Matt Birk, former
Minnesota Viking, Super Bowl Champion and Pro
Bowler. Birk, a St. Paul native, earned a degree
in Economics from Harvard University. While
playing for the Harvard Crimson football team,
he received several football honors. He was
selected by the Vikings in the sixth round of the
1998 draft. Birk spent 11 seasons with the Vikings
and four more with the Baltimore Ravens; the
six-time Pro Bowl Center retired from the NFL
in 2013. He speaks to organizations across the
country about the value of true inspiration, lasting
leadership principles, the dynamics of teamwork
and fulfilling potential. Every attendee of the
VHEDC Awards Dinner received a copy of Birk’s
book, “All-Pro Wisdom: The 7 Choices that Lead
to Greatness,” which he autographed afterwards.
Ling Becker, VHEDC Executive Director, says, “It
was a tremendous night celebrating the vitality
of the business community. Our businesses are
investing locally; they not only care about their
own bottom lines and profits, but they also care
about the success of other businesses in the area.
This connectivity – this energy – of businesses
with the community and with other area partners
drives everyone toward success. Our dinner
celebrates a year of hard work, and it’s also
a warm-hearted ‘thank you’ to our business
community for making everyone – including the
larger community – better.”
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