ST. CLOUD -- Four St. Cloud metro-area business owners have been selected as 2018 business award recipients by the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce.

The four winners are, Joel Bauer and Tim Burg of Midsota Manufacturing; Dan Pearson of PleasureLand RV Center; and Rollie Anderson of Anderson Trucking Service.

Bauer and Burg were selected as the 2018 St. Cloud Area Small Business Owners of the Year. Both have been co-owners of Midsota Manufacturing since 2008. Since then, the company has grown from having about 20 employees, to now over 100. It also produces about 2,600 trailers a year compared to 600 in 2008.

Pearson is honored with the Business Central Mark of Excellence: Entrepreneurial Success Award. This award is given to a leader who took over a small business and has grown the business into a large company.

PleasureLand was created in 1971 as part of Plaza Buick, which was owned by Pearson's dad, Vern. Four years later, Vern ended the Buick franchise and focused solely on RV sales. In 1982, Pearson took over the business. At the time PleasureLand had less than 20 employees and sold about 450 RV's per year. Today the business is the largest RV dealership in the Upper Midwest with 200 on staff and selling 3,000 RV's a year.

Anderson has won the 2018 Family-Owned Business of the Year. Anderson is receiving the award for transitioning Anderson Trucking Service into the next generation of ownership and being successful with that change for at least 15 years. Over the last 40 years, the company has grown to have four operating divisions and over 900 employees.

All four awardees will be recognized at the 2018 St. Cloud Area Business Awards Luncheon on May 8th at the Holiday Inn and Suites in St. Cloud. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. The event is open to the public, tickets are $34 per person, for reservations call the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce.

More From AM 1240 WJON