As I see it...people and pets are getting excited about our "Help Our Local Animals" Supply drive.

3 years ago when this was introduced, we were not sure what to expect.

We thought people might be confused about what to give.

Plus, we didn't know about where to bring the supplies.

But we decided to jump in with both paws and give it a run.

We had been fairly successful with the food drive every year but didn't know if people would translate as well to pets.

Boy were we wrong!

As many of you know, to have success in anything people have to get excited about it.

We have a member of our staff named Deb.

She took this program and ran full speed with it.

She got other employees excited and came up with bins for supplies and food.

We have a customer who works for a big pet store that brought in samples.

We had a customer donate a kennel and a bird cage.

We also took cash donations at the registers.

We found when comparing it to the food drive, is that many times people love pets more than people!

When we finished we loaded up our van and headed to the Hennepin County Humane Society where we presented them with a check and all the supplies our customers had so graciously donated.

We had a brief tour and I thought we would be there for 15min and then get back to work.

Again I was wrong!

Deb required us to say hello to every pet there and 2 hours later we headed back to work.

Deb will spend her own money to buy doggie treats and go out and greet our customers pets in their cars with a little treat.

I encourage anyone out there participating in this drive, starting April 1st, find the "Deb" in your staff who will spearhead this project and get everyone excited about donating food, blankets, leashes, kennels and cash.

I would like to give a special thanks to Miller/Coors for supporting this project and getting signs, donation cards and buckets for us to get the message out.

Thanks and have fun!

Tom Agnes
Brooklyn Center Liquor

 

PS... The photo above is Deb on the left with our donation and our humane society rep on the right.

from Mille Lacs Messenger

The final numbers have been released for the Isle Municipal Bar and Liquor Store.

According to Muni manager Shannon Schminkey, the numbers are positive though the total gross is down slightly from 2014, on-sale liquor sales and food sales are both up.

By Adelle Whitefoot, Lake County News Chronicle

The Two Harbors Arts Commission is hoping to have the mural on the Two Harbors Municipal Liquor Store repaired and repainted, but a letter to the Two Harbors City Council from the city planner outlined some potential issues.

Can I take a moment to share this and brag about one of the folks here at Kasson Liquor Store?

Courtney Swarthout is a young woman with developmental delays.

I first met her when I started working here in 2004, she was six at the time.

She likes to accompany her dad, Joe, when he comes in on Friday afternoon to buy some refreshments.

Courtney liked to get a sucker when she is here.

Over the years we have had fun getting to know each other.

I would always tease her that when she turned eighteen, I was going to hire her.

This past spring, Courtney did turn eighteen and during the summer she joined the team at Kasson Liquor.


She worked two afternoons a week, for two hours at a time.

She dusts bottles and cleans shelves for us.

Courtney enjoys her position here.

She is quick to tell each customer " Did you know I work here?" as they enter the store!

When fall came and it was time for her to go back to high school she was very concerned for the welfare of the store in her absence.

We look forward to having her back again this coming summer.

This week, Courtney was voted Snow Week Queen at Kasson-Mantoville High School.

We could not be more proud to have a celebrity on staff!

Cathy Pletta
Kasson Liquor Manager

(Pictured above are Snow Week Queen Courtney and King Devin Knoepke)

So, they walked past it again.