Shakopee, MN – Canterbury Park Holding Corporation announced today that Mark Chronister has been elected to the Company’s Board of Directors, effective October 1, 2020. The election of Mr. Chronister to Canterbury Park’s Board of Directors increases the size of the Board to six members, five of whom are considered independent directors under NASDAQ rules. Mr. Chronister will serve on the Board’s Audit Committee and is an “audit committee financial expert”, as that term is defined under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mark Chronister brings forty years of high level accounting and board leadership experience to Canterbury Park’s Board of Directors. He retired in 2007 as an audit partner in the Minneapolis office of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP (PwC) after 34 years at the firm. He was Market Managing Partner of the Twin Cities office for eight years, including two years as a Cluster Managing Partner for Coopers & Lybrand, responsible for five Midwestern offices. During that time, he oversaw the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand in Minneapolis and, at various times, had responsibility for the office’s Assurance practice, Risk Management Services, the Consumer, Industrial Products and Services industry practice. He also served as Business Development Partner focused on developing and deepening relationships with non-audit service companies.
Throughout his career, Mr. Chronister served a broad range of large, medium and emerging companies including clients such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Midland National Life Insurance Company, Worker’s Compensation Reinsurance Association, ELCA Board of Pensions, Ecolab, Prime Therapeutics, the University of Minnesota, Creighton University, University of St. Thomas, Bethel University, Carleton College and William Mitchell College of Law.
Randy Sampson, Executive Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Canterbury Park, commented on Mr. Chronister’s appointment, “We are delighted to welcome Mark Chronister to Canterbury Park. His financial expertise and exemplary record of board service make him an ideal addition to the Company’s Board of Directors. In addition, Mark’s track record of board governance expertise highlights our ongoing commitment to this important discipline. We look forward to benefitting from his counsel and deep understanding of the Minneapolis/St. Paul business community as we grow our business by executing on initiatives that will help us regain the pre-pandemic momentum we were generating in our Card Casino and pari-mutuel operations, while we also continue our efforts to unlock shareholder value through the monetization of the excess acreage around Canterbury Park for the development of Canterbury Commons.”
Mr. Chronister has also been frequently selected as board chair by organizations focused on achieving high levels of corporate governance. He has served as board chair for the University of Nebraska Foundation (UNF), the Alzheimer’s Association – Minnesota/North Dakota, St. Catherine University (the largest women’s university in North America), Prodeo Academy (a charter school), The Minneapolis Foundation, the Academy of Holy Angels High School, the Minneapolis Downtown Council, Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest, St. Bonaventure Catholic Church Parish Council and in various board capacities for KIPP Minnesota/Stand Academy (a charter school), the Minnesota Business Partnership, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Private College Council. In 2018, he was inducted into the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) School of Accountancy Hall of Fame. He graduated with a BS in Accounting from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
