The River Falls Chamber of Commerce had the official ribbon cutting for the brand-new River Falls' business, D-BAT, this past week. Whether it was extra focus of the cameras, the over-sized scissors, or the cake, D-BAT co-owner Jes Kochendorfer was extra excited.

"It was surreal," said Kochendorfer, "I thought, wow, we did it."

The Chamber Ambassadors' visit was the official "first pitch" for the baseball and softball training facility serving kids of all ages in the area.

"I think joining the chamber is just something you do for your community," said Kochendorfer. "The chamber has our back and we have theirs. Rosa (Magnus) was so cool, very impressed with her."

The D-BAT ribbon cutting was the rookie debut, so to speak, for new River Falls CEO Rosa Magnus.

"Their business matters and that's a big part of what we do," said Magnus. "That’s really cool to hear Jes had that moment. Her business is a contribution she's making to our community. There are so many kids playing baseball and softball and they are helping kids overcome challenges and that's both exciting and empowering."

Rosa Magnus grew up in Spring, Texas, south of Houston. Even though she's trying to hit a homerun for the River Falls' business community as the new Chamber CEO, she had a tenor saxophone in her hands far more often than a softball bat growing up.

"We did win the Bands of America national competition when I was in high school," Magnus said when prodded for some fun facts about her. “The Goodyear Blimp used to be right across the street from my high school.”

After high school, Magnus went to the University of Texas-San Antonio and graduated with a degree in psychology and a minor in science. Magnus had plans of being a counselor, but a friend talked her into a short detour working for Kmart's "Kids’ Race Against Drugs" for 10 months.

She was in a different city every week coordinating Kmart parking lot kiddie car races to help raise money and awareness to combat drug use.

"That was really the beginning of the philanthropic work," said Magnus.

Magnus moved back to San Antonio after her Kmart cross country parking lot race was finished and took a job with an HIV/AIDS organization called the Alamo Area Resource Center as a client advocate.

"I didn't make a lot of money, but it was the turn in how I feel about community," said Magnus. "It was hard at times, but I felt like I was contributing and I went home every day knowing I was helping."

It was the early 2000's and Magnus still stayed in touch via handwritten letters with some of her former Kmart co-workers. She signed up to run a marathon in Orlando and went to dinner with a guy named Jeff she knew who was still working for the Kmart parking lot program and happened to be in Orlando. Not sure how to gauge the dinner date, Magnus brought along one of her friends as a co-pilot.  

"I hadn’t seen him in two years, so yeah, I brought a friend along,” Magnus said with a smile. “I was super tired at the end of the race the next day, but Jeff was there at the finish line waving an Eeyore. The race was at Disney, so that's why he brought an Eeyore."

Jeff is originally from northwestern Wisconsin and a year later, she moved up north to be with him. They’ve been married for 22 years now.

Magnus first worked for Special Olympics in Minnesota and thought an easier commute for both she and her husband would be to live in Woodbury.

"My husband is a Packer and Wisconsin fan through and through and he did not want to cross the border," said Magnus, whose favorite sports team is still the San Antonio Spurs.

After a job with Special Olympics in Minnesota, Magnus embarked on a career in the health care industry for the next 18 years writing grants, coordinating events, and working with donors for the Hudson Hospital and Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin. In 2017 when she started with Western Wisconsin Health, she was asked to represent the hospital on the Baldwin-Woodville Chamber Board.

"It was the best thing I could've done and it was a perfect fit because it allowed me to meet a lot of people," said Magnus sounding like the TV commercial Hair Club For Men guy ("I'm not only the Hair Club President, but I'm also a client").

The few years in the health industry after Covid saw a big shift in her job scope with far more grant writing.

"I don't mind doing that, but I missed the people," said Magnus. "Working for the chamber is a different sector of non-profit work, but I'm still helping the community and still helping volunteers."

Magnus said her role with the chamber is to be out in the community and building relationships, "Those relationships will help us grow. If someone's very involved, I want to find out why they're involved," said Magnus. "On the other end, I can talk with people to see what we can do to have them more involved or become a member."

For Magnus, her chamber philosophy and her softball batting philosophy at D-BAT seem to be one and the same. Homeruns in business and batting start with the fundamentals, a handshake and a batting tee.

"I know there will be challenges, but we can work through those together," said Magnus. "I want to be available and present. I'm hopeful for new ideas and new life."