By Nancy Huddleston, Editor Savage Pacer

Before Dr. Stefanie Hurst opened her Family Vision Clinic, she met Joe Cade and Tom Hansen, two long-time businessmen in the city.

“Joe said I needed to be on the chamber board,” Hurst recalled.

“Tom said that if I lived, worked and went to church in the community, my business would do well,” she continued. “So I took their lead and became active and involved in the community through the Chamber.”

Six years later, Hurst finds herself as the Savage Chamber’s 2008 Businessperson of the Year, an honor bestowed on her at the organization’s holiday party on Dec. 11.

Chamber Executive Director Lori Anderson said Hurst’s community involvement was the key to her selection. “Whether it’s school vision screenings, science fair judging, serving as a mentor or supporting local sports teams and fundraisers, this year’s recipient is there always giving back to the community,” she said.

Hurst said she operates with a “must do best” attitude that was handed down from two sets of influential small business owners -- her parents and her husband’s parents. Her goal for Family Vision Clinic is to offer the best patient experience and she believes a big component of that is her involvement in the community.

“You connect with people at a different level when you’re involved in the community,” she said, noting Hansen’s advice was right on the money.

“I’ve lived in Savage six years and only recently just moved because my family grew,” Hurst said, “But I still connect with my neighbors and when they come in we visit and get caught up.”

As well, Hurst said, her involvement in Chamber-sponsored activities like the Fall Community Fest and Dan Patch Days have inspired her to branch out into other areas. In 2005, she started a program to raise money for breast cancer awareness to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Her office is also active in the Adopt a Family program and this past fall she sponsored the “Right to Sight” program.

In addition to running her own business, Hurst and her husband John have a 3-year-old daughter, Sophie, and became parents to twin boys, Blake and Brock, this summer.

So with all that going on, it might have been natural for her to scale back her involvement in the Chamber, but she politely dismisses that notion.

“Being involved allows me to touch base with as many people as I can,” she said, “I’m a people person and I enjoy talking and visiting.”

Hurst grew up in southwest Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota and the Illinois College of Optometry where she earned her doctorate of optometry and Bachelor of Science in vision science.

She worked for two years in another optometric practice, but soon realized she wanted to have her own business. With a handful of savings, a lien on the house and without a single patient, Family Vision Clinic opened in 2002 at the corner of County Road 42 and Glendale Avenue. The business recently expanded into some open leased space in the office building.

Hurst has been on the Chamber’s board of director for six years and served one year as the organization’s vice president.

She’s honored to be named the Chamber’s Businessperson of the Year, and also humbled when she looks to her fellow Chamber members. “Many of them have been in business longer that I have, so I was shocked to receive the honor,” she said.

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