Craguns, Brainerd General Rental, 3 Cheers Hospitality to be honored

Two area businesses and a longtime resort couple will be honored at the Brainerd Lakes Chamber's Night of Magic & Mystery ~ Celebration of Excellence at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at Cragun's Resort.

Honorees are:

• Dutch and Irma Cragun, Cragun's Resort: Business Legacy Award, presented by the Brainerd Lakes Chamber and RiverWood Bank.
• Brainerd General Rental: Lakes Proud Small Business of the Year Award, presented by the Brainerd Lakes Chamber and Cub Foods.
• 3 Cheers Hospitality: Business Excellence Award sponsored by the Brainerd Dispatch.

Dutch and Irma Cragun

A chamber news release calls the Craguns a monarch in the hospitality industry who have achieved exceptional business success in their lifetime. The Brainerd Lakes Chamber seeks to recognize inspiring leadership that transcends business and leaves a legacy of community and economic vitality for generations to come.

Merrill “Dutch” Cragun was born and raised in Minneapolis. He started his career in Brainerd at age 9 (1941) working the summers at the family resort in charge of worms and minnows. After attending the University of Minnesota and serving in the Army, Dutch returned to Brainerd and took over as manager of Cragun’s Resort in 1957.

At that time, Cragun’s Resort consisted of 12 cabins, six hotel style units and a dining room that could seat 20. Steady growth continued for the next 40 years, which included purchasing both Cronoble’s and Island View resorts that were adjacent to the original property.

Today, Cragun’s Resort has 205 hotel style rooms, 54 cabins, 45 holes of award-winning golf and five restaurants.

General Rental

General Rental is a small business that personifies the spirit of entrepreneurship, pride and success, the news release said. The Lakes Proud Small Business of the Year Award honors a Brainerd Lakes Chamber business that employs up to 25 team members with the following attributes: leadership, innovation, employee investment and community service.

Steve Mau, owner of Brainerd General Rental, was encouraged by other business owners and customers to apply for the Lakes Proud Small Business of the Year Award.

"For the past 26 years, Brainerd General Rental has been blessed to be a part of this amazing community," Mau said in the news release. "Through countless projects that our customers have undertaken and the support that our dedicated staff has provided, this recognition is for them. An opportunity to pause and rejoice in all that we have accomplished together.”

Brainerd General Rental was founded in 1993 by Mau and Louise Aslakson in the former Taco Towne building in what was unincorporated Brainerd. Initially, Brainerd General Rental provided equipment and supplies to both the party/event and construction categories.

Eventually Mau and Aslakson sold the party business to help create Party World. In 2001, Brainerd General Rental was annexed into the city of Baxter and in April 2002 was acquired by Steve and Maureen Mau.

The business's mission is to provide great equipment at a fair price with exceptional service. It focuses on the equipment needs of commercial and residential customers.

In 2008, the former Johnson Rental business was purchased and integrated into the existing business and a few years later the adjacent lot of the former Auto World business was acquired, expanding the property to 4.5 acres on Highway 371. Additionally, the business has expanded from equipment rental to sales and service as well.

Brainerd General Rental is now an equipment dealer providing rental, sales and service for Toro, ASV, Genie, Yanmar, Husqvarna Construction, Virnig and Wacker Neusan. Most recently, Brainerd General Rental moved into its new state of the art sales, rental and service center built on the same property.

3 Cheers Hospitality

3 Cheers Hospitality will be recognized for its leadership, innovation, employee investment and community service. 3 Cheers Hospitality is the company that owns and operates such venues as Prairie Bay, Sherwood Forest, Iron Range Eatery, The Mad Hugger Café and the new Dock 77 at the Quarterdeck Resort.

The company strives to offer a delicious food and service experience by buying local products whenever possible, to offer the freshest ingredients on their menu and to hire high energy, fun staff that they treat as family. The company holds true to its mission/vision of community family experience and it strives to achieve this every day, the news release said.

3 Cheers connects to the community in many ways, encouraging and supporting staff and management participation in local events, as well as being a part of the community through actions including but not limited to: Operation Sandwich, soup kitchen, chambers, public library, area schools, the local college and nonprofits with its Happy Hour for A Cause program (now going for 14 years).

Family means not only their staff, but also every guest who enters their doors. They want everyone who is associated with the 3 Cheers name either by employment or by entering one of their venues to feel at home. They are unique in the fact that they share their knowledge with the community, sharing recipes and how-to tips and assisting other venues and businesses in event planning and marketing ideas. They know what it takes to make a community thrive and they aim to do their part in making that happen.

An independent committee met earlier this summer and selected the winners among several nominees for each category. The winners were chosen based on specific criteria, including leadership, innovation, employee investment and community service.