 |
|
Vote Chris Kellett for State Representative District 10A
.jpg)
About Chris
Chris is currently working on writing historical, informational and personal safety books and loves to travel across the United States to learn and teach.
Chris is also instructor and owner of USA Personal Safety Training and Minnesota Personal Safety Training. Chris specializes in non-lethal Women's Safety Seminars, Business Safety Seminars, Safety for the Elderly, and offers a unique new Victim Prevention courses helping people of all ages learn how to identify various types of predators and their common techniques. Chris is also a certified NRA Refuse to Be a Victim Instructor, and Certified by ALICE (Active Shooter Response Training).
Chris is passionate about our right to bear arms and teaches Basic Handgun classes, Women's Basic Handgun & Permit to Carry (a very popular class!), Peace Officers and Permit to Carry, is certified to qualify current and retired Law Enforcement Officers in the Use of Deadly Force so they can obtain the 50-state carry permit through the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004, also known as H.R. 218. She is also an NRA Certi
fied Range Safety Officer.
Chris started her first small business in 2009 (Bridge-Light Marketing & Web Design, LLC worked with businessses across Minnesota as a marketing consultant for over ten years.
Chris has also worked as a Civil Process server, serving legal papers throughout a five-county central Minnesota area.
Chris was a candidate for the MN House of Representatives in 2012 for District 10A 
and is a strong supporter of our U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, particularly the 2nd Amendment which she believes is the right that protects all the others.
Chris is currently working on a series of Children's books that focus on helping young people learn about important American values and history. Some of the books include Flag Protocol, The Constitution, The Star Spangled Banner, and more. She is also working on safety books and materials for businesses and women.
In the past, Chris worked for Lakeland Public Television, a PBS affiliate in Brainerd, serving northern and central MN (coverage map) as a Corporate Support Representative. She also assisted with fundraising including on-air pledge drives.
Prior to that, Chris counselled Brainerd area teens and for several years before that worked as a counselor at Sierra Tucson when she lived in Arizona, helping veterans, healthcare professionals and high-profile clients struggling with various addictions and/or overcoming PTSD issues and other past traumas.
Chris served as a charter board member for the new Lakes Area Kids Against Hunger facility and is a proud volunteer for Teen Challenge. Chris is a current Member and past Chamber Ambassador for the Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce.
Chris is Past President of the Rosenmeier Center for State and Local Government in Brainerd, MN., 
and a past Kiwanis Lt. Governor, installing club officers and 
leading 21 clubs from Buffalo to Ely (MN Region 3), She also trained Club Presidents for the three state area (MN, SD and ND) during her term. She also served as Regional Membership Chair, earned the title of Distinguished Kiwanis President, Distinguished Member of Kiwanis Club of Brainerd and also was a Charter member helping form the for Kiwanis Club of Baxter. Chris was named Kiwanian of the Year in 2004. (Kiwanis is an organization dedicated to helping children locally and worldwide).
Chris is a past PR Chair for the Minnesota Voters Alliance, past board member of the City of Brainerd Public Library Board. Crossing Arts Alliance, past member, BNI Baxter, MN, past member BNI Alexandria, MN, past Sertoma member, and has volunteered for the Crisis Line, the Salvation Army, the Lakeshore Conservation/Gun Club, Brainerd Public Schools Foundation , and more.
Chris is also a a proud member of the NRA, GOCRA, US Concealed Carry Association, Mn Deer Hunters Association, and Hunting Works for MN.
Chris grew up in Bloomington, MN attending elementary through high school and worked as a waitress in the evenings during her high school years. She regularly visits her mother still lives there.
Chris spent most of her childhood weekends and summers with her maternal grandparents, Kristian & Lillian Trandal, on their farm in Marine on St. Croix, MN. Her grandfather Kristian left his home in the Norwegian Fjord to fight in WWII and is noted hero in the Norwegian history books. He moved to Minnesota to marry Chris' grandmother Lillian after he recovered from his THIRD torpedo attack in which he almost lost his legs after floating in the ocean for four days. His Norwegian lack of fear of heights made him an incredible laborer helping to build the IDS and other buildings in Minneapolis as well as bridges in St. Paul. After work he maintained his 60 acre farm where Chris enjoyed helping him do everything from milking the cows to bailing hay.
Chris moved to Brainerd in 1992 to be closer to her paternal grandparents. Her grandfather, Fred Kellett, a WWII Navy Veteran, taught History and coached Basketball. He was named the "Winningest Coach in Minnesota," with a 368-130 record and to date is the only coach to take Brainerd High School basketball team to win the MN State Basketball Tournament in 1954. Chris' grandmother, Mildred Kellett taught English and Latin at Pine River High School and was remembered as a strict, caring, well-respected teacher.
Chris an alumni of Central Lakes College (formerly Brainerd Community College) and went on to St. Cloud State University where she studied Psychology, Religious Studies (both Western and Eastern) and Philosophy.
Chris recently married Dave Torkelson who works for a major
airline. She has three children (Ryan, Rachel and Jennifer (Rachel & Jennifer are fraternal twins), a granddaughter and a step-son (Bryant). Chris' children attended Baxter Elementary and are all Brainerd High School graduates.
Her son Ryan is a graduate of the University of MN - Morris with a degree in Chemistry and Engineering and also is a licensed pilot. He lives in Idaho and recently bought his first airplane! Jennifer is a graduate of Millikin University and just 
bought her first home in Illinois and Rachel lives in Minnesota and made Chris a proud grandmother just over 7 years ago.
Chris loves animals, and enjoys hanging out with Maggie, her 100 lb Great Pyrenees/Newfoundland) and Teddy, her German Shepherd. Chris is also an avid 
book collector with well over 8,000 books. She enjoys writing and teaching and loves to study/research everything from history, psychology (with an emphasis on giftedness, creativity & intuition), biology and health, physics, philosophy, religion, politics and the list goes on.
She also loves to travel, enjoys art and loves nearly all forms of music, playing Scrabble, hiking, fishing, canoeing and has a passion for helping others whenever and wherever she can.
.jpg)