Some days, you attend an event and you walk away with a sense of renewal. I hope that is how the attendees at today’s Celebrate Bismarck-Mandan event felt. Today, we recognized our Small Businesses, Teachers, New Entrepreneurs and the Granite Award winner, The Tesoro Refinery. After a long summer of trials and tribulation, it was nice to sit back for a few minutes and reflect on the accomlishments of the business community. While we selected winners, these folks are representative of the overall quality of the owners, managers and employees in Bismarck-Mandan.
While we are having a rough summer, North Dakota is still the best place in the nation to do business with a strong economy and low unemployment. In North Dakota, you can still pursue the American dream…that seems to be fleeting reality in so many parts of our country. We recognize this fact every day at our organization with the number of calls we take from those interested in moving here. When I first came to Bismarck-Mandan, we maybe sent out 5 or 7 relocation packets a month. Today, we are doing 17-20 a week.
So, for a moment today, we paused. We celebrated, clapped and gained some inspiration from those we recognized. Almost all who started with very little and today run successful businesses contributing to our community. Thanks to all who shared the day with us. Carry on.
