Column: Randy Kehr, Guest Column

Welcome to the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Area! We are truly pleased to welcome those of you attending the International Red Power Roundup and are honored to have you in our community.

We at the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce are justifiably proud of our 500 member businesses. They represent every type of business from the small one-person shop to the large industrial manufacturer. They include all forms of agribusiness as well as familiar names in the retail business. Many of them are home-grown businesses while others bear nationally and internationally known names.

We are extremely proud of our long relationship with the agricultural community. Local producers and suppliers have been members of the chamber throughout its 130-year history. We remain the only chamber of commerce that co-sponsors the Farm Family of the Year for Freeborn County in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. The family is announced each year at our annual Ag Luncheon during National Ag Week.

One thing all our members have in common, however, is the commitment to making Albert Lea and Freeborn County a better place to live and work. They share the chamber’s mission statement: “To promote and develop a healthy and positive business climate and to improve the quality of life in the Albert Lea-Freeborn County area.”

They do this by supporting each other, local projects and the community in general through the many organizations that assist those less fortunate. They are truly a special group.

During your time in our community, we hope that you visit our member businesses. They, along with their employees and customers, are the fabric that makes Albert Lea and Freeborn County especially unique.

Again, welcome to Albert Lea: The Land Between the Lakes.

Randy Kehr is the executive director of the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce.