Leading the Way

Strong 2022 Builds Excitement For 2023

At the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce, we are always trying to provide added value to our members and community. We do so by focusing on five key tenets that set the foundation for our mission and vision: advocacy, leadership, education, engagement, and workforce development.

Within those focus areas, there are many programmatic offerings that allow us to adhere to our mission, including:

- Advocacy

- CB Ambassadors

- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

- Executive Women’s Partnership

- GrowCB: Recognizing Local Youth Employers

- Impact CB Young Professionals

- Leadership Council Bluffs

- L.I.F.T. Mentor Program

- Professional Development Workshops, Leaders of Integrity Program

- Southwest Iowa Advocacy Collaborative

- Total Resource Campaign

- Women Inspiring Women

- Workforce Power Hour

- UNbelievable Workplaces

- CB

- Youth Leadership Council Bluffs have hundreds of volunteers that allow our organization to have the reach and impact we do. Two key groups of volunteers are the CB Ambassadors, who are the goodwill arm of the Chamber and bring no less than two dozen individuals to every ribbon cutting, groundbreaking, anniversary, or celebratory event, and our TRC Volunteers, who volunteer their time and talents to help us fundraise and meet our annual sponsorship goals. It is truly the people that make the organization work, and we are fortunate to have some of the best at the CB Chamber.

When paired with our annual, monthly, and quarterly events, these programs provide an outstanding suite of services to our members.

The most critical service we can provide our members and community is that of a conduit and convener. As the voice of the Southwest Iowa business community, whenever there is a significant issue, the CB Chamber is there working to resolve it in the best way possible. With our amazing public, private, and nonprofit partners there is challenge too big and we thrive when working collaboratively to move the community forward in the most mutually beneficial manner possible.

The Council Bluffs community continues to accomplish so much and we are pleased to work with our amazing partners to build on the momentum and move the region forward!

What sets the CB Chamber apart, however, is our incredible team, board, and volunteers. We are fortunate to have 24 community leaders serving on our Board of Directors and their guidance and insight is invaluable to the organization. We also

New Board Of Directors

At our Annual Event on January 26th, we were pleased to celebrate some of our amazing volunteers as we presented our 2022 Annual Awards and recognitions.

Our members, volunteers, and community partners truly empower us to do the work we do every day and we thank them immensely.

Our 2022 Awardees include:

• TRC Volunteers - John Dresher, Therese Hoff, Erin Johnson, Amy McDermott, Andrew Murray, and Terry

SAVE THESE dates:

FEBRUARY 28: COUNCIL BLUFFS INDUSTRIAL FOUNDATION ANNUAL MEETING

Celebrate CBIF’s 2022 accomplishments

FEBRUARY 28: CHAMBER MIXER

PowerTech hosts our monthly after hours networking event

MARCH 08: 2023 UNBELIEVABLE WORKPLACES CELEBRATION

Join us to recognize our best local employers!

MARCH 14: COFFEE AND CONTACTS

Network with other Chamber members over coffee

MARCH 15: ICE CAP COLD STORAGE RIBBON CUTTING

Lastly, at the CB Chamber, we are always looking to innovate and grow. We are extremely flexible and nimble in our programming and will do whatever needs to be done to best serve our membership and community at large. We have resources and capabilities few others in the community do, so it is incumbent upon us to step up and take on opportunities that can transform the community for generations to come.

We are excited about the accomplishments our great community has already achieved and anxiously await the next chapter in what promises to be a bright future.

Oldenberg

• CB Ambassadors Outgoing Chair - Sara Porter

• Barb Murphy CB Ambassador of the Year AwardBridgette Watson

• Community Impact Award - Lewis Central Community School District

• Impact CB Young Professional of the Year - Jessica Duncan

• Businessperson of the Year - Ron Tekippe

• Chamber Champion - Steve Urlaub

• CB Chamber Outgoing Board Chair - Evan Summy

Recognizing Ice Cap’s sizable investment in Council Bluffs

MARCH 17: IMPACT CB FOODIE FRIDAY

Join area young professionals for a networking lunch

MARCH 21: 2023 WOMEN INSPIRING

WOMEN KICK OFF EVENT

Join local leaders to start our 2023 program

MARCH 25: LEGISLATIVE ROUNDTABLE

Monthly discussion with our local State Legislators

• Retiring Board Members: Jeannie Aldredge, Brooke Hubbard, and Dan Rutledge

• New Board Members: John Dresher, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Dr. Brent Hoesing, Allie Hopkins, Kelli O’Brien, Hannah Smith, and Dave Wise

We celebrated each of these individuals at our Annual Event and look forward to continuing to recognize other amazing CB Chamber members for years to come.

Thank you to these awardees for their service and commitment to the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce!

Address: 149 West Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA 51503

Contact Us: (712) 325-1000 | drew@councilbluffsiowa.com

Website: www.councilbluffsiowa.com

Social Media: www.facebook.com/CouncilBluffsChamber https://www.linkedin.com/company/council-bluffs-area-chamber-of-commerce/ www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4iIwEqIYg-dUBUBeQqaKg twitter.com/CBchamber

April Showers Bring Financial Literacy?

Two things recently caught my eye about finances and financial literacy. A recent article in Yahoo Finance recently caught my eye. The headline read “1 in 3 Gen Z and Millennial Adults Are Still Financially Reliant on Their Parents, Study Finds.” For as large a part of the workforce as this population comprises, a lot of workers struggle with finances. The second was a proposal written by a student to provide financial literacy education to high school, college, and university students.

April also brings urgency to finish filing taxes and checking financial status through this process. Some people better understand what it means to be financially literate and reach financial goals, while others struggle to become financially independent. In Omaha, we are very fortunate to have several programs and resources to teach financial literacy, starting at a young age and moving through any stage of adulthood. Here is a sampling of some of them; there are more than this article has space to mention:

Public K-12 School Systems:

Nebraska has been leading the way in financial literacy for K-12 for a while now. LB452 is a bill passed by the Nebraska Legislature requiring financial literacy standards and instruction in K-12 public school districts. After the bill was passed, several stories were written to show how LB452 was implemented across the state.

Higher Education:

Many colleges and universities use Inceptia for financial literacy education. Inceptia started by providing education primarily about student loans, but they have expanded to some other student levels. They are based in Lincoln, but their programs are online.

Although not specifically for college and university

Community Organizations

Several community organizations also provide financial literacy education, especially for youth. For example, organizations like Junior Achievement of the Midlands and Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands offer financial literacy programs for teens. Financial Beginnings is a national organization that provides financial literacy education to youth through a large network of volunteers, and they have a Nebraska group. LendingLink “provides responsive financial coaching coupled with affordable, alternative loans.”

CREDIT: MICHEILE HENDERSON, UNSPLASH students, The UNO Center for Economic Education is based out of the UNO campus and provides economic education for K-12 students. It is one of five centers overseen by the Nebraska Council of Economic Education, which operates out of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. The UNO center is accredited by the national Council for Economic Education. https://www.inceptia.org/ https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-businessadministration/center-for-economic-education/index.php https://business.unl.edu/outreach/econ-ed/nebraskacouncil-on-economic-education/ https://www.councilforeconed.org/

Financial Institution Programs:

Several financial institutions offer free financial literacy programs to the community. The Nebraska Bankers Association provides statewide financial literacy education to youth. Centris Federal Credit Union has also provided financial literacy education to the community for several years. Centris’ partnerships with the Financial Hope Collaborative at Creighton University teach single moms and young adults financial literacy skills, while programs like Mad City Money https://midlands.ja.org/programs/index https://www.bgcomaha.org/programs/teen-programs.html https://finbegne.org/ https://lendinglinkomaha.org/

There are many more financial literacy programs to mention than space in this article. What is heartening to the Business Ethics Alliance is to see so that most of the organizations listed above which provide these programs are also Trustee Partners of the Alliance. Additionally, other programs (and some individuals from) these organizations listed provide service to the Alliance