Perham business leader Chuck Hoifus named to Chamber Hall of Fame

Chuck Hoifus was named the Perham Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Hall of Fame award winner for a career defined by solving community problems, including 25 years on the school board and years of business leadership that helped shape jobs, housing and opportunity in Perham.

The chamber announced the award on March 4, 2025 as part of its annual Chamber Choice Awards, which are meant to show appreciation to people in the Perham area for the work they do. Nominations were collected in January, and the winners were selected by the awards committee. A banquet honoring the recipients was scheduled for April 10 at The Cactus in Perham.

The Hall of Fame award is reserved for people who deserve recognition for their work in the community over time, and Hoifus now joins a list of local names recognized for long-term civic service. In 2023, the chamber gave the Hall of Fame honor to Charlie Cavanagh and Bob Cavanagh, describing the award in the same terms. In 2003, the Perham Chamber of Commerce gave the Hall of Fame award to Arnold “Arnie” Rethemeier for his commitment to education in the community.

Hoifus’ selection places education, business and civic stewardship at the center of Perham’s public life. His 25 years on the school board alone represent a generation of decisions affecting local families, students and taxpayers, while his business leadership was tied to the kind of practical growth that built housing and opened doors for more people in the area.

That is what makes the Hall of Fame recognition matter beyond one night at The Cactus. In a town where schools, employers and housing all shape whether young families stay and where new leaders emerge, the chamber’s choice highlighted a standard Perham has long valued: steady involvement over time, not one-time visibility. Hoifus’ honor put that legacy on display again.