Owatonna business owner named West Concord administrator

An Owatonna business owner is taking over as the new city hall chief in West Concord, according to Mayor Jeffrey E. McCool.
“I am pleased to announce that Paula Even Trenda has accepted the position of City Administrator for the City of West Concord,” McCool wrote on his Facebook page. “Ms. Trenda brings over 20 years of management experience to the city.”
She is currently the founder and CEO of Curly Girlz Candy, Inc, a sugar free candy shop in downtown Owatonna.
McCool said Trenda’s background includes skills in administrative leadership, finance, business development, strategic planning, licensing, regulations, grant writing, facility management, human resources, entrepreneurship, communication, and public relations.
“These skills will serve her well in working with the citizens of West Concord. Ms. Trenda has received a Bachelor of Arts in public relations/communications from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa; a Mini-Masters of church business administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota,” McCool wrote on Facebook. “In addition, she also holds a Certified Chocolatier Certificate from Ecole Chocolate in British Columbia, Canada.”
Prior to owning the candy store, she worked as the office manager/marketing coordinator for Minnetronix, Inc. of St. Paul, as a professional meeting manager for BI Performance Services, the Ardel group and Scientific Societies; parish administrator Sacred Heart Church in Owatonna, according to McCool.
In 2020, she won the U.S Small Business Person of the Year for Minnesota.
Trenda will be working part-time with the city to start out and will be “transitioning to full-time this summer after the sale of her business,” McCool said.