The 131st Annual Meeting and Membership Celebration of the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce is set for Thursday, Oct. 20. This year’s event, “Partnering for the Future” will be held at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club in Albert Lea. The evening begins with a social hour and silent auction at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:15 p.m.

The featured speaker is Mark Lofthus, director of Business and Community Development, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development where he has worked since 1988. As the director, he manages a budget of nearly $49 million, which includes federal dollars slated for economic development. The division manages state support for entrepreneurs, community infrastructure financing, business financing, international trade programs, and state assistance for business growth and expansion. Before joining the state he worked at a community and economic development organization in Marshall for six years, among other things participating in the formation and as a charter board member of the Southwest Minnesota Foundation. He serves on the board of the Minnesota Economic Development Foundation, and on the board of Resources for Child Caring in the Twin Cities. He has a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Minnesota and a master’s in public administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The chamber’s annual awards will be presented, including, Volunteer of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, and, of course, the Small, Medium and Large Businesses of the Year.

The chamber will also be presenting the first ever Worksite Wellness Awards to member businesses. The awards were created as a way to recognize employers who have invested in and are excelling at offering varying levels of worksite wellness services. The awards are designed to provide a framework for businesses to benchmark and improve wellness efforts. There are three levels of the award. The bronze, silver, and gold award criteria can be found on the chamber’s website for those who might be interested in submitting an application in 2012.

The ALFC Chamber of Commerce appreciates all of our members and are pleased to be able to recognize some of them for their outstanding contributions to the Chamber and to Freeborn County.

Make your reservations by calling the Chamber office at 373-3938. More information is available at www.albertlea.org.