Steve Burian, a longtime volunteer community leader in the Grand Forks Region and throughout North Dakota, was honored with the 2019 Klaus Thiessen Impact Award.
EDC Board Chair Mac McLennan presented the award at the organization’s annual meeting March 28.
“Steve was unanimously selected by the Board of Directors because he has selflessly committed so much time to this community,” McLennan said.
Burian was the longest-serving EDC board chair. In total, he served the Board from 2008-2017, which included a term as Vice Chair, two terms as Chair, and a term as Past Chair. “I’ve had a lot of chances to be a volunteer in Grand Forks, the region, and throughout North Dakota. But I have to say, this was the most rewarding volunteer effort I ever had,” Burian said.
He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Valley Prosperity Partnership, leading a joint economic development vision between the northern and southern Red River Valley, advocating for priorities such as workforce, water, and university research.
Burian served on the Governor’s Main Street Initiative Healthy/Vibrant Communities Task Force, North Dakota Legacy Fund Initiative Committee, and the North Dakota Governor’s 2020 & Beyond Advisory Committee. He has held other leadership and advisory positions with the American Water Works Association, the City of Grand Forks, and the University of North Dakota, including Vice Chair of the UND College of Engineering & Mines Executive Board and the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Board.
Two years ago, the award was renamed in honor of the EDC’s longest-serving president & CEO. “Klaus Thiessen is the epitome of doing economic development,” Burian said, stating that Thiessen’s legacy will be the collaborative environment the EDC has fostered in recent years. He praised the organization’s collaboration with the Chamber, City, County, East Grand Forks, UND, Grand Forks Air Force Base, State of North Dakota, N.D. Commerce Department, the Fargo Moorhead Region Economic Development Corporation, and others.
“I’d encourage everyone in this room, including the younger generation, to get involved with economic development,” Burian said. “You’re going to find some very rewarding activities.”
Burian is a Senior Consultant and former CEO of Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. (AE2S), a firm he co-founded in Grand Forks in 1991 while in graduate school. AE2S has grown from a two-person environmental and civil engineering firm to a 275-person multi-disciplinary firm with established offices throughout the Upper Midwest and upper Rocky Mountain Region.
“Steve is one of the most, if not the most, visible community volunteers in our region,” said EDC President & CEO Keith Lund.
