Hard work is the theme of Larry Pribyl’s career. Larry founded M&P Utilities in 1973 doing what he described as "a couple of people with a backhoe and a dump truck doing dig-ups for Northwestern Bell." They did anything that could be done with a backhoe or a trencher, and later with an air powered pneumatic gopher. The company had phenomenal growth, and the original partner sold in 1999 during the big rollup era. The company that bought M&P fell victim to the telecommunications crash and filed for bankruptcy in 2002. Larry formed MP Nexlevel with his brother Tim in 2002 to perform the bonded work from the bankrupt company. In 2004, MP Nexlevel purchased back his company along with eight other companies that had been rolled up along with M&P. In 2006, his nephew Rob became a partner in the company, and MP Nexlevel grew tenfold by 2019.
In 2018, MP Nexlevel sold to Api Group, and Rob stayed on with the company as President. Despite the changes, MP still takes pride in maintaining its local connections and small-town priorities. There are many smiles, handshake, and even a few hugs when Larry stops by the office. Larry took pride in MP Nexlevel being a great place to work and that he took the team from two employees to 1,500+ employees and from providing services locally in Minnesota to having a presence in 35 states.
Larry joined PCCA in 1993 when the association was not much more than some fun meetings and a captive insurance program. He sai, “There’s a lot more purpose to the meetings now, but they’re still fun.” Larry was persuaded to get more involved and served on the board of directors for 17 years, as General Director, Secretary, Treasurer, 2nd Vice Chair, 1st Vice Chair, Chair-Elect, and Chair. Larry was one of the first active members of the Government Affairs Committee and flew in a whole Minnesota delegation on his private plane to one of the first Washington Fly-ins. He was instrumental in forming the PCCA scholarship program. He cites the scholarship program and the government affairs committee as two things he’s especially proud of. During his tenure as president, his goal was to create programs that made members want to attend our meetings, and our attendance at meetings has been growing ever since.
Larry has been married to his wife, Karen, for 44 years. They enjoy traveling, golf, riding motorcycles, fishing, spending time with friends and family and warm weather. He has been flying his own planes since 1967, and his favorite trip was when he and Karen spent 44 days exploring South America. Larry also donates time and support to the community, is a member of the Knights of Columbus and is passionately involved in the Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge. He is also member of St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Maple Lake, Minn.
Larry was part of the group of PCCA board members and members that had a vision that PCCA could be so much more than it was. He always supported the association with his time and money. In fact, MP Nexlevel is in the top financial supporter of the PCCA annual auction having purchased more than 90 auction items totaling nearly $800,000 since the first auction. That’s 15 percent of the PCCA’s total all-time auction revenue! Every PCCA member has benefited greatly from Larry and Karen’s generosity of their time and money to the association.