Quarry owner digs for donations

A day's receipts go to charity

By Tanner Kent

MANKATO — The sun is barely risen and Joe Holtmeier is standing on the edge of the limestone quarry he owns.

Twelve years ago, he says as he sweeps his arm over a deep gouge in the earth filled with two-dozen dump trucks and front-end loaders that seem no larger than toys, this quarry was nothing more than a dream.

Back then, he says, he had just borrowed $20,000 from his father to start a construction business despite protests from his colleagues that he would fail.

Now, as Holtmeier watches a seemingly endless line of trucks haul away the limestone bounty that only 48 hours earlier was loosed from the bowels of the earth with cable explosives, the wiry 30-something business owner says he wants to give some of his dream to others.

“I feel like God’s given me this beautiful resource,” Holtmeier said. “I’m only the steward, and I’d like to share it.”

And so he has.

On Friday, Holtmeier donated a day’s worth of quarry sales to Kids Against Hunger, which operates a field office in Mankato that serves as a packing center before meals are distributed across the globe, from reservations in South Dakota to refugee camps in Kenya.

Holtmeier spent weeks preparing, sending letters across southern Minnesota urging truck drivers to pick up their loads on Friday and participate in the donation. He printed pamphlets to advertise and coordinated the logistics of Friday’s event, which was no small feat.

The entire operation consisted of about 3,000 tons of limestone aggregate loaded into more than 170 trucks. It raised more than $20,000 for Kids Against Hunger, enough money to feed more than 80,000 starving children.

“When I first heard the idea, I thought it was crazy,” said Tim Stromer, director of the Mankato division of Kids Against Hunger. “But (Holtmeier) has such a kind heart for helping people. ... If everyone gave like this, I don’t think there would be any starving children.”

Stromer said Kids Against Hunger spent years developing a low-cost meal that would provide an entire day’s worth of nutrition in a single serving. Stromer said the organization found the solution through a combination of soy, rice and other organic foodstuff.

The quarry proceeds, he said, will be used to help the Mankato packing center reach a total of nearly two million packed meals by the end of the year.

“Unless the money starts coming in,” Stromer said. “Then we could do even more.”

But Holtmeier also said the donation represents a high-point in his own career.

In his first year of business, Holtmeier made only $100,000. Barely enough to pay back the loan from his father, a former high school principal in the Twin Cities suburbs, and not yet enough to replace the old Ford pickup that backfired so loudly when he shifted into park that he would often leave it running so clients wouldn’t hear.

But, Holtmeier said, business doubled the next year. And then again the next year. Now, Holtmeier said his enterprise will clear $10 million this year and employ more than 50 people.

In spite of the poor economy, he said business is still growing — a fact he attributes to a hard-working and committed group of employees.

“Even with less work out there, we’re getting the same volume as years past,” Holtmeier said. “And it’s definitely due to the competitive edge my employees give me.”

Stromer said that even though Kids Against Hunger does sponsor some community events — such as Sunday’s golf tournament fundraiser at Terrace View Golf Course — more than 80 percent of all donations come from individuals. Partnerships with businesses, he said, are invaluable.

For Holtmeier’s part, he said he’d like to make the donation an annual event.

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