Board of Directors

President: Ryan Weber

US Bank
4100 West 50th Street
Edina, MN 55424
Phone: 952-925-7308

Past President: Michael Giacomini
Red Cow
3624 W. 50th Street
Mpls, MN 55410
Phone: 952-237-5378

Voting Member: Scott Peterson
Belleson's
3922 W 50th Street, Edina, MN 55424
Phone: 952-927-4694                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Voting Member: John Breitinger
France Avenue Partnership, LLP
8100 12th Ave S
Bloomington, MN 55425
Phone: 612-867-2512

Non Voting Member: Jennifer Kent
Lunds and Byerlys
3945 W. 50th Street
Edina, MN 55424
Phone: 952-926-6833   

Non Voting Member: Jackie Wallin
La Bratique Boutique
4420 Valley View Rd, #404
Edina, MN 55424
Phone: 952-873-1962

Non Voting Member: Peter Deanovic 
Buhl Investments + Nolan Mains
W. 50th Street
Edina, MN 55424

Ex Officio:  Bill Neuendorf
Economic Development Manager, City of Edina
Phone: 952-826-0407

Acting Director: Max Musicant
The Musicant Group
Phone: 612-670-6717

Note from Board President about important changes at the association

April 9, 2021

Dear fellow members of the 50th and France Business and Professional Association, 

I am writing to let you know about a number of important changes that are happening at the Association. 

Staff Transition

As COVID has had an ongoing impact on our district the Board has been meeting weekly since early January to guide rapid responses, evaluate where the organization is, and discern where it needs to go to best serve the district and its members. Both the financial realities of COVID and this evaluation process led the Board to furlough our two full-time staff as of this past January. As the discernment process continued, it became clear that it was time for a transition. As such, Rachel and Bella were given their notice and will no longer be employees of the association as of April 30th.

We are incredibly grateful for the contributions of Rachel and Bella during their time at the Association. Rachel in particular grew the Art Fair into the large-scale nationally recognized event that it is today. On behalf of the Board and the entire Association we give our heartfelt thanks for their service and wish them both the best in their next endeavors.

A New Model of Service and Value Creation

Going forward, the responsibilities held by staff will now be delivered by a 3rd party association management company (AMC). The Board determined that all that running our association entails is just not reasonable for two people to handle on their own. It is acknowledging this reality that we are moving to an AMC model. We feel that the AMC would provide more value to the organization, its members and the district via:

• A team based staffing model where specialized staff had focused attention on assigned responsibilities aligned with their core skill set

• The personnel servicing the association being supported and leveraging the knowledge base of the AMC

• The ability of the Association to more nimbly allocate - and subsequently reallocate - personnel resources to reflect organizational priorities year over year

• Heightened ability to systematize operations to support continuity in operations, increased transparency, and more opportunities for innovation

• The ability to have a focused approach on the Art Fair while maintaining - and enhancing - district wide services throughout the year

Introducing The Musicant Group

Upon making the decision to transition to an AMC model, the Board interviewed a number of providers. After considering the options a clear best option emerged. With that, on behalf of the Board I am excited to introduce The Musicant Group as our new Association Management Company. The Twin Cities based firm is a nationally recognized firm, whose mission and service is to “create places where people want to be”. They bring a holistic approach and set of services that integrates events, community engagement, communications, urban planning, site management, and analytics to activate spaces and districts of all types and sizes. Places they have served include over 5M sf of commercial space, dozens of urban, suburban, and rural retail districts, parks, plazas, bus stops, parking lots, and more. The firm has an existing relationship with the Association, having been retained by us In 2019 to lead a strategic planning process as well as their founder, Max Musicant, having patronized the district from childhood to today.

Their staffing model will include a dedicated part-time Association Manager who will be supported by a team of event, marketing, and urban planning professionals. In the coming weeks you’ll be hearing, reading, and seeing more from the Musicant Group team - they are eager to engage with our members and get feedback about how they can best serve you and our district during the year ahead. In particular, our next Member meeting will feature Musicant Group team members, an overview of their engagement with us from the next month, and an overview of their plan for the rest of 2021.

We are excited about these changes and believe that it will put our district in an ever stronger position going forward. 

Should you have any questions, comments or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me or other board members.

Ryan T Weber

President

50th and France Business Association

Branch Manager, US Bank

p. 952.925.7308