Merle Egeland

I grew up in the Central Valley in California. It was great because I was only an hour away from the mountains, and only a few hours away from the coast. This meant that I was close to everything which was great because I loved playing music and going to concerts. I made an interesting living as a bartender in my early 20s but decided to move to Santa Cruz to work for a start-up and try my hand at being a musician again. The start-up was short-lived but I loved the area and worked to make a living working for boat builders and fiberglass companies. I decided to go back to school and through that, I found a job at Trader Joe's as part-time work. I met a lot of great people through the company and in 2011 I decided to make a career choice and took a manager position with the company. Between 2011 and 2022 I have worked in Monterey, CA., Capitola, CA., Campell, CA., Los Gatos, CA., St. Paul, MN., Woodbury, MN., and now Eagan, MN. I celebrate the fact that over the last 12 years have met an amazing wife and we have 2 amazing kids that keep us on our toes. I believe that through my professional and private life, the choices that I have made molded me into a person that is patient, a person that looks to improve in every way, and the type of individual that likes to leave a postive impact on others.