It’s President Swenson now

Up until two years ago, Luke Swenson had never been involved with the Blooming Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce. But that quickly changed as he entrenched himself by taking on leadership roles and just this month he became the group’s president.
“It’s been a real eye opener for me since I got involved,” said Swenson, who replaces Tamzen Johnson in the top chamber spot. “Growing up in this community, I had all the memories of fun activities, but I had no idea that the chamber was involved in many of them,” he said.
Some of Swenson’s favorite activities were the Fourth of July celebration, especially the parade, and the Holiday Dazzle. 
“When you’re growing up, you realize things happen, but you don’t know the effort it takes to make these events happen,” he said.
As he takes over as chamber president, Swenson is ready to get his hands dirty and go to work promoting the community. Right from the start, one of his biggest goals is to get the chamber more financially stable.
Though he’s shocked with the high membership Blooming Prairie already has in the chamber, he still would like to increase the chamber’s membership by getting more younger people and businesses involved. There are currently about 140 members. (They are all listed in a special chamber section in this edition.)
“I would also like to bring more visibility to the chamber,” Swenson said.
Swenson is materials manager for Minimizer in Blooming Prairie. He estimates he will spend at least three hours each week working on chamber functions. “It’s a decent amount of work, but it will be fun,” he said.
He credits his boss, Craig Kruckeberg, for allowing him flexibility in his work schedule to take on this important leadership role in the community. 
The BP native is already working on some new chamber initiatives, though he did not want to disclose them at this time. He hinted that he’s looking at some new events and programs geared toward youth and younger business people. He hopes to unveil more in late February.
While Swenson hopes to try new things, he says he will remain faithful to the core function of the chamber—to promote member businesses. “We need to get awareness out there of their businesses for long-term success,” he said, adding what’s good for the community is good for businesses.
Since he became more civic-minded, Swenson said he has a whole new appreciation for the support for different organizations and fundraisers. “It’s amazing how much support this community gives,” he said. 
Prior to becoming president, Swenson served as vice president for two years. Stepping into those roles, he said, has improved his leadership skills. “I feel I have improved and hope to continue getting better,” he added. 
Swenson graduated from BP in 2001. He went on to further his education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth for a few years. He came back to his hometown and joined Minimizer in 2005.
“First and foremost, I want to continue to improve Blooming Prairie as a community,” Swenson said. “I’m excited. There are so many possibilities of different things we can do.”