05.11.26
The Chamber recognizes 2026 recipients of The Awards
By Hannah Kliniske, Director of Content Strategy, FMWF Chamber
Room shot of The Awards set up at the Delta by Marriott in Fargo, N.D.
Business and community leaders gathered Thursday evening at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Fargo for The Awards, The Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce’s reimagined recognition event celebrating excellence across the region.
Formerly known as the ChamberChoice Awards, The Awards reflects an elevated approach to recognizing the businesses, organizations and individuals helping shape the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo region through leadership, innovation, growth and community impact.
The sold out event brought together business and community leaders for an evening that included networking, dinner, live music and video storytelling produced in partnership with BeTold. Throughout the night, finalists, honorees and award recipients were recognized for the work they are doing to strengthen businesses, industries and the broader community.
“This event was intentionally designed to match the level of excellence we see across our business community. From the stories shared on stage to the leaders recognized throughout the evening, tonight reflected the innovation, service, growth and impact happening across the region. Recognizing that work directly aligns with our mission to protect business, inspire individuals, cultivate communities and influence action.”
- Shannon Full, President and CEO, FMWF Chamber
This year’s program drew nearly 300 nominations across individual and business award categories, highlighting the strength of the businesses, leaders and organizations helping shape the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo region. Let's take a moment to recognize the awardees.
Individual Award recipients
Rising Leader awardees
The Rising Leader Award recognizes emerging professionals demonstrating leadership, initiative and growing influence within their organization and community.
- Hans Grafstrom, Grafstrom Construction
- Whitney Jensen, AdShark
- Brandon Schulze, Bobcat Company
Rising Leader honorees:
- Tyler Brandriet, Zerr Berg Architects
- Casondra Duckworth, Jeremiah Program Fargo-Moorhead
- JT Froning, LEGACY PLUMBING & HEATING
- Alex Lacey, Gate City Bank
- Jordan Ottoson, Sanford Health
Distinguished Leader awardees
The Distinguished Leader Award recognizes established professionals whose leadership and contributions have created lasting impact within their organization, industry and community.
- Don Dabbert, Jr., Dabbert Custom Homes LLC
- Leola Daul, Heart-n-Soul Community Cafe Inc.
- Stephen Wonderlich, Sanford Health
Distinguished Leader honorees:
- Shannon Bock, CCRI, Inc.
- Dan Kleist, Gehrtz Construction Services, Inc.
- Noelle Riehl, Medallus Medical and PRIME IV Hydration and Wellness
- Shannon Roers, ROERS
- Bryan Zingraf, TrueNorth Steel
Legacy Leader recipient
This year’s Legacy Leader recipient, Marilyn Guy, was recognized for more than five decades of dedication to education, academic leadership and community service across the region.
Guy’s leadership and influence have shaped generations of students, educators and community leaders throughout the region, leaving a lasting impact on education and civic life in the community.
Business Awards
Business of the Year
Recognizes an established business demonstrating strong performance, effective leadership and meaningful impact on the region through sustained growth, operations and community contribution.
Finalists: Apex Physical Therapy and Wellness Center, Brewhalla, Packet Digital
Business of the Year: Brewhalla
Small Business of the Year
Honors a small business that exemplifies excellence through sound management, resilience, positive workplace practices and contributions to the local economy and business community.
Finalists: AdShark, Dabbert Custom Homes, Lumen Vision
Small Business of the Year: AdShark
Emerging Business of the Year
Recognizes a newer or rapidly growing business that is gaining momentum, demonstrating innovation and building a strong foundation for long-term success.
Finalists: The 44 Venue, Endure Thermal Spa, Pack Power LLC
Emerging Business of the Year: PACK POWER, LLC
Nonprofit of the Year
Honors a nonprofit organization that demonstrates mission-driven leadership, measurable impact and meaningful contributions to the community it serves.
Finalists: Great Plains Food Bank, Heart N Soul Community Cafe Inc., YMCA of the Northern Sky
Nonprofit of the Year: Heart-n-Soul Community Cafe Inc.
Community Choice Award winner
Selected by the public to recognize a business or organization that has earned strong community support and positive recognition for its impact and engagement.
Community Choice Award winner: Medallus Medical
A reimagined evening of recognition
The Awards builds upon the long-standing ChamberChoice Awards program while introducing a more elevated and immersive experience centered around storytelling, connection and celebration.
Throughout the evening, attendees heard stories of leadership, perseverance, growth and community impact through on-stage recognition and professionally produced video features highlighting recipients and honorees.
New this year, The Chamber introduced the Rising Leader and Distinguished Leader awards to recognize leadership at different stages of professional growth and impact. The additions build upon the long-standing recognition of the Legacy Leader and business award categories, recognizing that behind strong organizations are individuals driving progress, culture, innovation and community impact across the region.
Business award finalists and recipients were selected through an independent review process led by business and community leaders. Organizations that have received an award within the past five years are not eligible to win in the same category, though they may still be considered for other award categories.
The Legacy Leader honoree was selected through a separate review process focused on long-term leadership, service and lasting impact on the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo region.
Looking ahead
The Awards reflects The Chamber’s continued commitment to recognizing the businesses, organizations and individuals helping strengthen the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo region.
The Chamber is grateful to all who joined and supported us in celebrating leadership, honoring impact and creating space to recognize the people and organizations shaping the future of the community.
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