St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce Honors Local Businesses with Prestigious Awards

(KNSI) – Three local businesses are being recognized by the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce with prestigious awards.

The St. Cloud Area Small Business Owners of the Year are Jeremy and Emily Salzbrun, who operate H & S Heating & Air Conditioning, Electrical and Plumbing. They purchased the company from Jeremy’s parents in 2012. The H&S in the company’s name stands for happy and satisfied. As a child, Jeremy started sweeping floors and organizing tools at H&S for his dad, Dan Salzbrun.

In 2014, they moved from a small garage in Luxemburg to a larger space in St. Cloud. Since then, they’ve made two additions to the building and expanded it to 14,000 square feet. H&S has grown from working on HVAC systems to adding an electrical department in 2022 after purchasing Valley View Electric and a plumbing team in 2023 with the acquisition of Jensen Anderson Plumbing.

In 2017, H&S was named the Habitat for Humanity Partner of the Year award. Jeremy also raised $75,500 for The Beautiful Mind Project through the Central Minnesota Community Foundation’s Dancing with our Stars fundraiser.

The 2024 Women in Business Champion Award goes to Express Employment Professionals owner Jill Magelssen. She purchased the St. Cloud franchise in 2005. At the time, there were two part-time workers, and today, there are six full-time employees along with a part-timer.

Magelssen’s office has been recognized with the Express Circle of Excellence award six times. The franchise also provides reports on the latest trends in staffing, and even helped her office donate $10,000 to local charities.

Jacobs Financial captured the 2024 Family-Owned Business of the Year. The award went to Jim, Andy and Dave Jacobs. The company was first formed in St. Cloud in 1979 by Jim Jacobs and his partner David Willmore. Willmore died in 1992 leaving Jim the sole owner. Since then, the company has expanded and continues to grow. In 2007, Jacobs Financial relocated to a larger office space; there were five people on staff back then; today, there are 14 employees, and the company is looking for more. Jacobs Financial plans to add satellite offices in Brainerd and Maple Grove.

For 18 consecutive years, Jacobs Financial has sponsored the Swing Fore Charity Golf Event to benefit The Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation and Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity. More than $470,000 has been raised over that time. Jacobs Financial has also been a valuable supporter of many other organizations, including Kiwanis, Kids Fighting Hunger, Junior Achievement, St. Cloud Area Family YMCA, Anna Marie’s Alliance, and area youth sports.

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