Audra Shaneman

NEW ULM — Audra Shaneman hase been elected to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for 2017-18.

President and chief executive officer of the New Ulm Area Chamber of Commerce, she will represent the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Executives.

New officers and board members will formally begin their terms at the Minnesota Chamber’s Business Conference and Annual Meeting on Nov. 16 at the Radisson Blu Mall of America. Headlining the event will be former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, current CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, and Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group. The annual Minnesota Business Benchmarks also will be unveiled.

The volunteer board represents businesses of all types and sizes across Minnesota. These business leaders set public policy priorities for the business community, help carry the message for the statewide business community to the State Capitol, and shape the Chamber’s one-on-one business assistance programs that help businesses succeed in a changing and growing economy.

Minnesota Chamber officers are: chair – Todd Paulson, RTP Co., Winona; chair-elect – David Ahlers, Graco, Minneapolis; secretary-treasurer – Stephanie Laitala-Rupp, Commonwealth Properties, St. Paul; immediate past chair – Jill Renslow, Mall of America, Bloomington.

“By any measure, the 2017 Legislature was an outstanding year for the statewide business community. We look to build on those accomplishments by expanding the number of business-friendly state policymakers in the 2018 elections,” Paulson said. “Farther out, we are developing a blueprint for the long-term development of the state’s economy. We believe the Minnesota Chamber is in the perfect position to guide that conversation. Minnesota must be ready to compete in the changing economy.”