The Mitchell Chamber, Development Corporation, and Main Street Annual Recognition Event was held virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. This annual event honors and celebrates local businesses and individuals for their commitment to the Mitchell community.
The Prairie Family Business Association Award was given to Paulson Air.
This award supports family-owned businesses to encourage their success in transitioning from one generation to the next, ensuring their business stays local and part of the Mitchell community.
Paulson Air has completed 30 years in business with the third generation of owners active in day-to-day operations. They have grown in size and expanded their scope of service into two additional areas from their founding focus. Their business is built on a foundation of family values – believing it is their responsibility to take care of their personal family and their work family and customer family.
The Mitchell Convention and Visitors Bureau presented the 2020 Tourism Excellence Award to Jeff Logan and the Star Lite Drive-In Theatre.
After a seven-year hiatus, the Star Lite Drive-In reopened, giving visitors a break from quarantines and shelter-in-place mandates from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Star Lite Drive-In gave our community and surrounding areas a safe place to go while maintaining appropriate socially distant guidelines.
Mitchell Main Street and Beyond awarded the Main Street Champion Award to Megan Suarez. This award was developed to honor individuals who make significant contributions to Main Street through their time, talents, and dedication to the community’s heart.
Suarez is a Main Street Business owner and active member of the organization since 2017. During this time, she participated in the promotions committee to help facilitate several retail promotions. In 2019, she filled a Board of Director position where she stepped up to help organize the Ladies Day Out promotion while the organization transitioned leadership. Ladies Day Out is one of Mitchell Main Street’s most popular promotions, drawing hundreds of shoppers into member businesses.
The Chamber of Commerce presented the Community Service Award, the highest recognition it gives to the late Lance Carson for significant contributions and service to the Mitchell Community.
Carson served District 20 in the State House of Representatives for ten years, serving on the appropriations committee and various boards and committees throughout the Mitchell community and state of South Dakota.
The Veteran’s Park on Main Street was one of the recent projects that were nearest and dearest to his heart. He touched many lives over the years with his service to the Mitchell community and generous with his time and talent.
The Mitchell Area Development Corporation awarded the Harold Hagen award to Robert “Bob” Mueller.
Created in 2001, the Hagen award recognizes an individual for outstanding efforts in economic development in Mitchell. Not awarded every year, it’s given to acknowledge an individual’s exceptional lifetime achievement and commitment to creating jobs, creating progress, and raising Mitchell area’s economic standard.
Mueller began his existing business in 1975 with a partner and in 1980 became the sole owner of Mueller Lumber. The company has grown throughout the years, expanding eight times. During his career, Mueller Lumber has been instrumental in building more than 450 houses and 500 apartment units in Mitchell and the surrounding area. He has worked on community and state projects to include a recent remodel of The World’s Only Corn Palace and the Chamber and Development Corporation building.
The Mitchell Chamber, Development Corporation, and Main Street & Beyond congratulate these businesses and individuals on their contributions to Mitchell and the surrounding area.