Leading With Faith

This year, we honor seven men who work in diverse fields but share a commitment to cherishing the dignity of their employees, sharing their talents and putting God first.

Mark Mischke works with his father, Herb, advising people about their finances in a family-owned business — Mischke/Mischke & Associates — part of a larger financial services firm.

“Cary’s deep Catholic faith is demonstrated throughout his personal and professional life,” wrote Father Michael Skluzacek, Cary Becker’s pastor, who nominated Becker for a Leading With Faith Award.

Helping those who are immigrants to the United States make it financially in their new country is a goal Jose Angel Martinez doesn’t leave to his role as a branch manager at U.S. Bank on the east side of St. Paul.

When Paul Archambault lost his job due to the recession in 2008, he started his own company, Stinson Electric.

Du Fresne Manufacturing is a precision sheet metal fabrication business in Vadnais Heights, but Robert Du Fresne, who started the company, doesn’t like to look at it that way. After having to lay off half of his employees during the recent recession in order to save the jobs of the half who remained, Du Fresne re-focused his team to think about the people component of the work.

When Bill Sonntag isn’t recruiting men to join him on his annual retreat, chairing the parish festival, letting the Knights of Columbus store Tootsie Rolls in his warehouse, getting the St. Paul Jaycees to open its membership to women, interacting with seminarians as a member of St. John Vianney’s Virtuous Business Leaders group, serving as president of the parish council or the parish school association, he takes time to run his business, Suburban Floor Covering in White Bear Lake.

Jim Zenk left the world of corporate engineering to start Synergy HomeCare shortly after his mother, Mary, died. She had Alzheimer’s disease.