The Hermantown Area Chamber of Commerce names Ugstad Volunteer of the Year
Amy Ugstad, was named the Hermantown Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year, 2011.By: Joe Cadotte, Duluth Budgeteer News
Five years ago a Hermantown woman was laid off from her job as a marketing manager for Geneva Capital, an equipment finance company. Last month the same woman, Amy Ugstad, was named the Hermantown Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year.
“I was really surprised. It was an honor to me. To get that recognition was a shock,” Ugstad said. “It’s nice to have somebody say, ‘Hey, good job and thank you for helping.’”
Leaving Geneva Capital gave Ugstad an opportunity to live out a dream that had been brewing for more than eight years, to open her own graphics and marketing company. In 2008, Ugstad opened OneUP Creative, where she designs websites and helps market local businesses.
Ugstad also joined the Hermantown Chamber of Commerce in 2008 to volunteer her skills as a graphic designer. After seeing her talent for graphic design and marketing, Hermantown Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mike Lundstrom enlisted her to become part of their technology committee.
“She has built a great business model in OneUP Creative. She’s one of our strongest networkers. She’s very sensitive to the whole concept of customer service and taking care of people,” Lundstrom said. “She understands that the more you give back and help other people be successful, the more you’ll be successful.”
“I think it’s probably one of the most scary but most rewarding decisions you can make in your life,” she said of small-business ownership. “Mine is a pretty low-risk business compared to some people’s.”
Ugstad sang the praises of the Hermantown Chamber: “I’ve been a fan of them since day one.” She was “green” when she started her business, she said, but Lundstrom was supportive. “What I appreciate about him is that he is willing to be a resource. He has a way of treating the members pretty much the same, whether you’re a one-woman show or a 100-person show. The chamber is welcoming.”
The small-business owner said, “I think it’s really important to support our local business as much as we can. Not only the dreams stay here, but the jobs and tax dollars stay here. “
Ugstad earned the nomination for 2011 Volunteer of the Year for helping design, market and promote various events for the Hermantown Area Chamber of Commerce, including the Holiday on the Hill event. Ugstad was on the committee that came up with the idea to transform it from a sit-down Christmas dinner to a social networking experience where small-business owners could mingle. Ugstad not only helped design and promote the new Holiday on the Hill, she also helped set up decorations for it.
“I’m a big believer in giving back to efforts that are playing an important role in the community and also for business in the area. Right now in this economy we need to support small business as much as possible. If (volunteering) is one way of doing it, I’m all about it,” Ugstad said. “(Volunteering) shows pride. It shows that people care about what happens. If you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and help everyone out to achieve mutual goals, it’s taking care of your own.”
Lundstrom said Ugstad was integral to the relocation of the Chamber’s business center. In 2009, Ugstad helped develop the new business center from a handicapped-inaccessible building on Lightning Drive to its new location in the Chamber’s headquarters on Miller Trunk Highway. The new business center has wireless Internet, a digital projector and is handicapped-accessible.
When she’s not volunteering for the Chamber of Commerce, Ugstad spends her free time practicing the drums. She played drums for the alternative rock band “eeriearq” from 1997 to the summer of 2011. In 2009 the band’s guitarist, Bret Walczynski, asked Ugstad to help out with Autism Walk Northland, an annual fundraiser that helps pay for school programs for autistic students. Ugstad designs the T-shirts, posters and flyers for the annual walk.
Ugstad also volunteers as a marketing consultant at Life House in downtown Duluth and the Advance Hermantown Initiative. She said she likes the full approach that Life House, a nonprofit agency helping at-risk youth, takes. “It’s not just giving a meal; (it’s) really trying to invest in kids while they are young. It’s those teenage years that get overlooked. There is still a chance to be a contributing member of society. This is a hand up.”
Ugstad graduated from Hermantown High School in 1992. In 1996, she graduated from the College of St. Scholastica with a degree in communication, art and marketing.
And was Ugstad Road named for one of her relatives? “I think a great-grandfather was surveyor on it,” she said. “The family has been here for a long time – one of the earlier settlers."
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