\" as his family had asked him to come to the event under the ruse that his father was to be honored. A number of Two Harbors high school athletes he coaches were at the event to congratulate Nelson.</p><p style=\"line-height: 14.25pt;\">The event closed with a raffle drawing and live auction led by emcee Ken Buehler. Buehler is executive director of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and general manager of the North Shore Scenic Railroad.</p><p style=\"line-height: 14.25pt;\">Chamber director Janelle Jones said 52 new business joined the chamber this year. Jones also announced that it would be the last banquet for two of the Chamber's employees. Michelle Peterson, the membership and communications coordinator, is moving on to a new job and Donna Kempffer, the office coordinator, is retiring.</p><p><i><span style=\"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri

OWATONNA, Minn. -� HomeTown Credit Union announced that two of their student employees have qualified at the Minnesota State DECA Conference and have advanced to the National Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Credit Union employee Amber Holte will be competing in the School Based Enterprise Academy; she, along with two others, have worked hard over the past year to make the Owatonna High School store meet over twenty different requirements that qualified it for finals.

Jack Livingston advanced to nationals with a combined score from a Financial Literacy Test and a Financial Literacy Role Play Event. Additionally, he qualified in Financial Consulting, Financial Literacy Promotion and a Business Finance Test.

DECA is a nation-wide student organization that prepares its members for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Owatonna DECA advisor Scott Pierce has said that Amber and Jack's employment at the Credit Union has benefited them in many ways, helping them to develop interpersonal and professional communication skills.

\These are skills that we strive to develop in DECA and without outside experiences like working at the credit union, it's very difficult to do at that level in the classroom\" said Pierce.

Jack also competes in the Business Professionals of America Club and placed first in Banking and Finance at the MN State BPA Conference. He will be advancing to the National BPA Conference in May in Anaheim