Jill's Journal: The people you meet along the way ...
By:
Jill Meier, Journal editor
I love my job. Sure, there are days I’ve asked myself, “Girlfriend, what were you thinking by starting up a newspaper?”
But rest assured, those moments are few and far between all of the great moments in between.
For the large part, I love my job, part of which entails telling the stories of people I’ve met along the way. Take for instance last week, I was delighted to learn more about three amazing young men in our community, brothers Mitch and Matt Gusso, and little Teddy Krivarchka.
The Gusso brothers, as you will read in this issue, took the advice of their dad, Jason, and started up a lawn mowing business with a couple of clients. That was five years ago. They both admit they weren’t overly excited about the suggestion, but nonetheless, made the wise decision to plunge ahead.
Over the past five years, Mitch, now a junior in college, and Matt, a senior at Brandon Valley, have grown their company to new heights. They’ve invested in lawn equipment, a truck and enclosed trailer, have a logo and Facebook page, a handful of part-time employees when the job calls for it, and this year, added landscaping to their realm of services.
As I listened to their responses to my questions, it was clear the brothers know their business and are using both brains and brawn to make it happen.
Even more impressive, though, is how the Gusso brothers heeded the advice of their dad to invest their profits, with the long-term plan to be financially prepared for the upcoming chapters of their lives: marriage, buying their first home or possibly investing in other business endeavors.
A few days later, I stepped into Teddy Krivarchka’s world. And I was smitten from the toothless smile he greeted me with at the door.
Teddy is seven. He loves golf. Tiger Woods is king in his world.
He loves baseball. The Minnesota Twins rein superior in his world.
He loves basketball. Think Creighton Bluejays.
And he loves football. Another Minnesota team is tops in his world, the Minnesota Vikings.
My talk with Teddy revolved around one of those loves, golf, a game he’s been perfecting since he was two.
His dad, Matt, explained how he introduced the toddler to the game, starting with putting, later moving on to chipping and finally, teeing off with the “big dog” and hitting from the fairway.
Last month, Teddy took the top prize in a U.S. Kids Golf tournament in Lincoln, Neb.
I learned about it after his dad sent me a few photos with a paragraph of information, and immediately knew that there was more to Teddy’s story.
And I was right.
The little guy is well-versed in the game, has a natural swing and loves to tease his mom, Megan, that he’s just a bit better than she is when it comes to the game of golf. Even his name “Teddy Krivarchka” screams “leader board” status.
At only seven years of age, there’s a world of opportunities just waiting for Teddy to choose from one day. It’s possible Brandon may just have the next Tiger Woods on its hands. Or perhaps the next Max Kepler, Marcus Zegarowski or Adam Thielen.
No matter which paths the Gusso brothers and Teddy take in their lives, I’m just happy to have met them along the way and share their stories.
