On behalf of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) Board and staff, I would like to thank Austin and surrounding communities for your hospitality. We enjoyed hosting a community luncheon where we spent time with our partners and shared success stories. The Hormel Institute was an excellent venue for our board meeting, and we learned about the Institute’s exciting expansion project.

Our luncheon helped to kick off our year of focusing on SMIF’s early childhood investments. Shannon Hart, Austin Early Childhood Initiative coordinator, shared how seed funding from SMIF helped establish preschool scholarships that have now grown to more than $330,000. AmeriCorps LEAP member Jennifer McMahon gave us a glimpse of how her interaction with children in Blooming Prairie supports social and emotional development

Our afternoon tours allowed us to witness our grant and loan dollars at work as we visited the Austin Community Learning Center and Brownsdale businesses IBI Data, and Akkerman. We know these investments have benefited the community and region, and we are thrilled to have played a part in the success of these enterprises.

Again, we appreciate our many partnerships in the Austin community and look forward to continuing our investments in early childhood and entrepreneurship.

 

Tim Penny
SMIF President/CEO