Hills City Hall has new cabinets handcrafted by Patriot Millworks. Derek Ehde (left) and Lance Crawford are two of the student craftsmen who worked on the project.
By Jolene Farley
Patriot Millworks has purchased a trailer to deliver their finished wood products. The purchase was made possible by a $4,095 Youth Entrepreneurship Grant from the Southwest Minnesota Foundation.
Industrial arts instructor Gregg Ebert and his students began working on the grant in November. In order to qualify for the grant a business plan and details about Patriot Millworks had to be submitted to the Foundation.
Grants must be used for venture capital to establish a new business, business expansion or product development. The business must be planned and operated by students linked to an instructional program in a school setting, according to Ebert.
"We had to be growing and building our business to even qualify for the grant," said Ebert. "It was a record-setting year for our furniture business with $9,000 in sales." Patriot Millworks plans to surpass that total next year with a goal of $20,000 in sales, according to Ebert.
This year furniture deliveries were made with a Hills-Beaver Creek school bus, but the new enclosed trailer will allow a more efficient delivery system.
After Patriot Millworks was notified Feb. 27 of their award, Ebert approached the Board of Education to ask for a temporary loan to purchase the trailer before the grant money was received. The board agreed to the loan.
"I was really happy to find out we got it (the grant)," said Ebert. "We wouldn't be able to expand without the trailer. There was no way to move furniture."
The Southwest Minnesota Foundation was established in 1986 as the Southwest Initiative Fund. The foundation is an independent, non-profit, regional foundation that operates in 18 counties of southwest Minnesota.
The mission of the Foundation is to promote philanthropy, leadership, innovation and collaboration for the 18 counties of southwest Minnesota.