joy I get out of my position is working with young people and helping them find their way in their career and nurturing them . It ’ s very rewarding ,” said Whelan .
As for what makes a good leader Whelan shared this advice he received as a young man . “ My Dad once told me , ‘ Humility my boy , humility in all things .’ You have to be humble , optimistic , honorable and empathize with all people because life can be so hard .”
Congratulations to Kevin Whelan who took that lesson to heart .
Rising Stars Award Winners
Caleb Peterson Like Whelan , the VHEDC as a whole is always looking towards the future . So , every year member businesses and nonprofits are asked to nominate young people who they see as Rising Stars in their organizations . Once the nomination forms are in , a meeting is held to determine who is most deserving of recognition .
For the 2021 awards program , there were three Rising Star winners : Caleb Peterson from Frandsen Bank & Trust , Kyia Britts , formerly of Children ’ s Performing Arts , and Lauren Welch , who works at the Children ’ s Academy of Early Learning .
Caleb Peterson , 26 , started his career in January of 2017 as a bank teller at what used to be Peoples Bank and is now Frandsen Bank & Trust .
“ When I started I was handling a lot of deposits for our business owners and customers , and also running change . Over the first couple of years I started doing more and more projects with the company , helping find prospects and doing check imaging for customers ,” said Peterson .
He also began taking classes in accounting , and with a better understanding of financials , started doing credit analysis work for the bank . In 2018 , he was promoted to the position of business banker . “ In this role I wear a lot of hats ,” said Peterson . “ I work on securing new customers and helping them with their commercial accounts . I also process loan requests .”
Peterson also took on the role of administering the bank ’ s Paycheck Protection Program ( PPP ). The PPP was established by the United States federal government in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security ACT ( CARES Act ) to help certain businesses , self-employed workers , sole proprietors , nonprofit organizations , and tribal businesses continue paying their workers .
“ Initially , the documents were set up and then I kind of ran with that and got all of the documents prepared , had all the customers sign and then when they were returned , we submitted the loans , we got the funds disbursed out to members of the community ,” said Peterson , who has also done a lot of work on the backend of the program for the bank .
He has handled much of the paperwork for the loan forgiveness portion of the program . “ I work with business owners to get all the documentation , make sure everything is correct and legitimate , have it certified , then send it off to the Small Business Administration ( SBA ) and they send us funds back to forgive the loans ,” he said .
In 2022 , Peterson expects to be more involved in the commercial lending area of the business . Outside of his work at the bank , he has also been very involved with VHEDC programs , including the annual golf tournament , and is looking forward to helping out at places like Solid Ground and the White Bear Area Food Shelf when they began accepting volunteers again .
Kyia Britts Kiya Britts , 26 , has known she wanted to work in the theater industry since she was a teenager . “ I am extremely passionate about the performing arts ,” she said . “ I was an actor in high school and a little bit in college , and then discovered my love for technical theater .”
After attending college at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls , Britts secured a job at Children ’ s Performing Arts in White Bear Lake . She quickly rose to the Associate
Director position where she led the team in all aspects of running the business .
Then when COVID hit , she helped to fill a senior leadership role when the previous Executive Director suddenly moved out of state . She was also a co-collaborator in designing the 2020 virtual Masque annual themed fundraiser for Children ’ s Performing Arts . This community-wide event supports leadership education programs through the performing arts .
Britts provided lighting design and video for the socially distanced performances on stage that were pre-recorded and broadcast during the event . She also ran video live during the broadcast and transitioned between virtual Bubble Chats with various attendees , live emcees on stage , recorded performances and sponsor spotlights throughout the evening . She has also developed a behind-the-scenes program to help ensure that all kids in the surrounding communities are able to experience theater at their own comfort level .
Britts now works in a similar role for Theater Latté Da in Northeast Minneapolis . As the Associate Production Manager , she manages all of the company ’ s one-off productions , main stage productions , workshops , and the NEXT Festival . She is in charge of hiring production team members , managing actor and designer contracts , and supporting all technical elements . She also handles making sure everything they do at the theater meets COVID safety standards .
“ Everybody has to be vaccinated , so I ’ m in charge of checking vaccination cards for all our performers , plus everyone who comes into the building ,” she said .
Britts credits what she learned by going through the VHEDC ’ s Young Professionals program in 2020 with getting her where she is today . “ Nancy ( Hoglund ) really helped me find my confidence . Going through the program also gave me access to more members of the community to connect with and engage with so I could really be a part of the community ,” she said .
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