Lauren Welch Lofrumento accepting the 2022 Business Leadership Award on behalf of Marty Welch , Children ’ s Discovery Academy , from VHEDC Board President Mike Pelto .
2022 Award Winners : L to R VHEDC Board President Mike Pelto , Blayne Lorron , Allison Johnson , Dylan McDonough , Elena Glass and Vadnais Heights Mayor Heidi Gunderson .
Lauren Welch Lofrumento , and a very talented team of childcare professionals . “ At this point I am not involved in the daily operations of the center but acting more as a consultant to them when they need one . I am certainly proud of the incredible job they have continued to do for the care and education of young children and families in our community ,” said Welch .
Children ’ s Discovery Academy of Early Learning provides childcare services for children between the ages of 6-weeks and school age at its locations in Little Canada and Vadnais Heights .
Rising Star Award Winners
Congratulations also goes out to the 2022 Rising Star Award winners . Rising Stars are young leaders who have been nominated by members of the community to receive recognition for the work they are doing .
A quality all four of this year ’ s winners share is the willingness to go above and beyond to help others .
Dylan McDonough , Solid Ground
Dylan McDonough , 30 , of Little Canada has been the Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager at Solid Ground in White Bear Lake since January 2020 . Solid Ground ’ s mission is to help families and children break the cycle of homelessness and poverty .
McDonough ’ s role at the nonprofit is to help people help others . He says the job is perfect for him because he thrives on empowering others , and serving the community through one small focal point . Every year , he leads the company ’ s Holiday Express , an annual gift program that matches community donors with families . The program serves over 100 families .
“ Once all the gifts are in , volunteers help distribute gifts in-person and by delivery for our scattered site families . For the past three years , every family that signed up was able to receive gifts ,” said McDonough .
In addition to his work at Solid Ground , McDonough also does a lot of volunteer work in the community . He is an assistant coach for the wrestling team at the high school he attended , Johnson Senior High School in St Paul , and he is on the White Bear Lake Magazine advisory board .
“ I try to stay involved in different ways that I can , and in ways that are meaningful to me ,” he said , adding that one of the most rewarding experiences of 2022 for him was the role he played in helping a local high school senior who was having a hard time with transportation from his home in White Bear Lake to his school in St . Paul .
“ I reached out to the White Bear Rotary in search of volunteers to help him get transportation to school during the Spring semester . I believe nine people were involved in the project , and during their car rides they helped him out with so many things he needed to know to move onto adulthood , like financing a car , and balancing a checkbook . Now he ’ s at college and doing well on his own ,” said McDonough .
Of being named a Rising Star , McDonough calls the experience humbling , but at the same time an honor . “ I really hope I can live up to the expectation and kind of show that it ’ s meant to be ,” he said .
Elena Glass , Lakeshore Players Theatre
Elena Glass , 33 , of Roseville also considers being named a Rising Star a humbling experience . “ This is so amazing . It just feels so great to have all my hard work recognized ,” she said .
Glass has been the Development Manager at Lakeshore Players Theatre in White Bear Lake since August 2019 . She added the role of Production Manager to her responsibilities in September 2020 .
“ It just really feels great to assemble a show of solid cast members , to get some excellent designers , and make productions that are very high quality at a community theater ,” she said .
Glass considers the most rewarding part of the job fostering community , and also the work they have done to make the theater experience accessible to more people . “ We have our Pay-What-You- Can performances , and open captioning for those who are a little hard of hearing . We have ASL ( American Sign Language ) interpreted performances , we have Audio-Described performances for folks who are blind or have low vision . We also do a sensory-friendly performance for people with sensory sensitivities , including anxiety , autism spectrum disorders and learning differences ,” she said .
In addition to the work she does behind the scenes at Lakeshore Players
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