Individuals who were elected to serve on the Mor-Gran-Sou board (l-r) Leland "Judge" Barth, Flasher, earned the Mandan-area position, Pam Geiger, Mandan, retained the Morton County position, and Vernard Frederick, Flasher, retained the Grant County position. Submitted photo

Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative, Inc., held its 63rd annual meeting of the membership at Prairie Knights Casino and Resort north of Fort Yates on July 16. The theme was, “We stood tall when the poles began to fall.”

Guest speaker Rep. Earl Pomeroy addressed the members and talked about Congresses’ lack of action in approving federal funds for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He assured Mor-Gran-Sou members that he understood the importance of FEMA picking up 75 percent of the tab from the April 2 storm damage, and would do what he could to expedite action.

The co-op also presented this year’s Basin Electric Power Cooperative Mor-Gran-Sou scholarship winners. Winners of the scholarship were Vanessa Stump, of Mandan, Heidi Hintz and Nicholas Miller, both of Flasher, and Desiree’ Lennie, of New Salem. Each teen earned $500 to further his or her education in college.

Mor-Gran-Sou members voted to fill three positions on the board of directors. Incumbents Vernard Frederick, Flasher, and Pam Geiger, Mandan, retained their positions on the board. Frederick is the Grant County representative and Geiger is the Morton County representative. Leland “Judge” Barth, Flasher, is a newly elected director to serve the Mandan area. He replaces Keith Landeis, who chose not to seek reelection.

During the business meeting, Alliance Co-Managers Donald Franklund and Clayton Hoffman expanded on the storm coverage and explained the costs of the January and April storm damage.

The board of directors held its reorganization meeting at Flasher headquarters on July 23. Mark Doll will continue to serve as the board chairman. Vern Frederick was elected to serve as vice chairman, and Pam Geiger retained the secretary-treasurer position.

Coughlin has a bachelor of science degree from South Dakota State University with a major in food science and minor in food safety.

Cloverdale Foods Company has been based in Mandan since 1915.

Terry Weszner

Terry Weszner, Ressler Chevrolet service manager, has been honored with General Motor’s Mark of Excellence award.

Weszner received the Mark of Excellence award because of his continued increase in labor and parts sales and commitment to customer satisfaction and training. Weszner has earned the distinction of being among the highest performing Service Managers in the country.

As part of the award, Weszner will receive a diamond to insert into his GM rings.

“Shaun has done an outstanding job as a meat inspector for the past three years and fully deserves this promotion,” Goehring said.

In his new position, Quissell will evaluate inspection performance, plan staff schedules, provide on-the-job and classroom training, conduct facility reviews of state-inspected establishments, and investigate consumer complaints.

Quissell graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in animal science.

Rohde, who resides in Mandan, has more than 20 years experience in the travel industry. She holds Commodore certification with Princess Cruise and Cunard cruise lines, Alaska expert certification with Princess Cruise Lines and expert certification on Vegas, Black Hills and Florida vacations.

AAA North Dakota offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to nearly 60,000 members in North Dakota.

Heinle, along with James Frigstad and Jonathan Haugen, both of Bismarck, qualified for the Sierra level based on demonstrating outstanding service to members.

Frigstad, Haugen and Heinle are with Thrivent Financial’s Rocky Mountain Regional Financial Office, serving Thrivent members and their families in the surrounding communities by providing financial guidance and solutions to help them achieve their financial goals.

Nearly 650 of Thrivent Financial’s 2,500 financial representatives qualified for the Sierra level. Frigstad has been recognized for his performance two times, Haugen five times and Heinle one time.

Roehrich is originally from Linton and will be relocating to the Bismarck area. She brings with her 11-plus years of experience in the financial industry. Roehrich will be a members services associate, working from the Bismarck office at 112 S. 24th St.

This year, NISC ranked 22, and this is the eighth time in nine years NISC has been recognized by the publication. “We are certainly proud to be recognized by Computerworld,” said Vern Dosch, CEO and president of NISC. “It is important to consider what this award means to NISC Members and Customers. Being recognized as a great place to work means that we compete for and attract some of the best IT talent in the markets we serve.”

This honor is part of the weekly IT publication’s 17th annual Best Places to Work in IT survey, which was published in the June 21 issue of Computerworld and online at computerworld.com.

NISC ranked number 22 overall in the 2010 survey and number three among small businesses with less than 2,500 employees. The Computerworld “Best Places to Work in Technology” award is determined through an intensive review process. This process includes an anonymous survey, given to a company’s technology professionals, asking them to evaluate the company’s culture, perks, career development, training and more.

Opening a business is a small town can be a daunting task for anyone, but to renovate one of the oldest buildings in town to open a buffet and saloon with very little outside help, at an age where most people would be looking for that nice quiet place to retire – now that is a story that must be told.

No strangers to the restaurant world, Ron and Rosemary Rhoden have now opened their 29th restaurant, located in Glen Ullin. In the past the Rhodens have had Crepes on Broadway in Bismarck, Main Street Pasta Buffet in Mandan and many other restaurants in the Bismarck-Mandan area, as well as some in Oregon. They are probably best known in the area for opening Captain Meriwether’s in the 1991. Ron said during their latest project, “How fitting that our first big success in the restaurant world was The Amber Room in Glen Ullin back in 1971, and our final restaurant will be in Glen Ullin too. It’s a fitting end to this chapter in our lives.”

In mid-2009 the Rhodens purchased what was once Crossroads Amoco in Glen Ullin, which had been closed for almost a decade. They wanted to open something to help the community of Glen Ullin, but weren’t sure what that was going to be. Ron and Rosemary started by cleaning and building and thinking while they worked. After some time of thought and contemplation, the concept came to them – the community of Glen Ullin had been without a “real” restaurant for several years and, with their wealth of experience, they felt they knew how to do it well.

The Broken Spoke Buffet & Saloon opened on May 7. It is located on the Highway 49 Bypass in Glen Ullin on the Old Red Trail/Old 10 Scenic Byway. Hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, with the lounge open 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday evening.

Susan Beehler

Susan Beehler, of Mandan, recently received recognition for achieving the highest sales increase over last year’s Avon sales in her district. The district includes the cities of Bismarck, Mandan, Dickinson, New Salem, Glen Ullin, Elgin, Flasher and Fort Yates.

Beehler works as an Avon independent sales representative, beauty advisor and unit leader. She was also recognized for her top achievement in jewelry sales in her regional division, which includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

Avon is represented in over 160 countries and has over 200 retail beauty center stores throughout the U.S.