Working for Something More than Yourself

Charles DeBono Volunteer of the Year 

Alan and Rosemary Wallner are co-recipients of the 2016 Charles DeBono Volunteer of the Year, an annual award given to members of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce. The award was created in 1998 in memory and honor of Charles DeBono, a longtime chamber supporter and volunteer. 

“Rosie and Alan Wallner set the gold standard for volunteers,” said Pat MulQueeny, Eden Prairie Chamber president. “They are dedicated, enthusiastic and hard working in any endeavor they generously take on for the chamber.” 

Alan has used his creative expertise to design the logo for the chamber’s 5K event and annual gala. Rosemary has assisted the chamber with the gala marketing materials, signs, programs and other activities. They both have served on the gala committee for several years, hosted the gala’s promotional table at numerous events and have been involved with the gala’s set up and clean up. 

In accepting the award, Alan said that through all their volunteering they realized it’s not about them, it’s about helping others and they took that to heart. 

“Even if it’s a small thing and you don’t think it’s going to make that much of a difference, go with your heart and do it anyway,” he said, “because even the smallest thing can have a profound impact.” 

Contributing to the community 

Being given this award was a great honor and it highlights one of our core values at Conscious Branding: “We believe in something bigger than ourselves.” To elaborate on this concept, we believe that we can do more for the world other than just growing our business. We can help others while improving ourselves at the same time. This is where our idea of a purpose-driven branding process comes into play. We work with our clients to create their brand by first finding their purpose. By having a purpose that impacts your business and the community in a positive way, you work for something bigger than yourself. We inspire our clients to carry on this idea as well as practicing it ourselves. 

In addition to volunteering for the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, we have contributed to other philanthropic organizations, including Tee it Up for the Troops, The Nature Conservancy, Creators of Hope, The Unstoppable Foundation and the Veterans Airlift Command. Through these projects, we believe that we contribute to something bigger than ourselves and find our business growing and improving at the same time. 

We want our clients to follow our example and contribute to the community, whether that be contributing money, time or services. Contributions such as this give your company a larger sense of purpose and contribute to the community in a way that also helps your own business. It gives you a life-force for your business, and that is another one of our core values: “We believe that we help our clients discover their life-force.” Finding your purpose means finding your life-force and breathing life into your business so it can grow and thrive.