Applebees restaurant and Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services were respectively recognized as Small Business and Large Business of the Year at the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce annual meeting Thursday at the Days Inn.

Wife and husband Ellen and Randy Kehr were given Ambassador and Volunteer of the Year awards.

According to Stephen Waldhoff, 2002-03 chairman of the Chamber of Commerce board, Applebees, a restaurant and bar chain, has been in Albert Lea for over two years.

Freeborn-Mower Cooperative provides electric services to over 5,700 people in Freeborn and Mower counties. It is a part of Touchstone Energy Cooperative. Both businesses were given framed prints of their buildings.

Choosing an ambassador to receive the annual award was &uot;very hard,&uot; according to Ambassador Kristin Houg, because of the large number of deserving people. She said Ellen Kehr was chosen because she &uot;did a wonderful job this year and will do a wonderful job next year.&uot; Kehr has been an ambassador for three years.

Waldhoff said Randy Kehr &uot;exemplifies selflessness.&uot; Kehr serves on the Chamber board and is a former chairman.

State Rep. Dan Dorman was the featured speaker. He summed his speech up with two words: courage and leadership. Dorman discussed peer pressure within the Minnesota Legislature, offering numerous anecdotes to emphasize his point. &uot;You have to be true to yourself,&uot; he said.

He then began talking about traits of a good leader. He said that one beneficial characteristic of a leader is the ability to be open to others.

He also said, &uot;A good leader is a good follower.&uot;

Dorman proceeded to offer an example of a politician who caved into peer pressure and voted for a bill proposal because he saw others from his party voting for it. &uot;I am going to follow my heart and represent my district,&uot;

As his speech reached 45 minutes, Dorman’s wife, Mary Jo, gave him cues that it was time to stop. The cues began around the time that Dorman began defining and providing examples of bonding bills. He did stop, but not before getting a couple more stories in.

Waldhoff was then recognized for receiving the Vanguard Award from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.

Residents of southern Minnesota are given the award if they are an exemplary local leader and improve the quality of life in Minnesota.

The evening ended when Waldhoff introduced the 2003-04 chairman of the board, Tim Thompson, assistant chief executive officer of Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services.

(Contact Benjamin Dipman at ben.dipman@albertleatribune.com or at 379-3439.)