cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
www.cvbusinessmonthly.com
CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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THE COURIER
Volume 4 ● No.12
BUSINESS MONTHLY COLUMNS Page 3
Nancy Newhoff A salute to the 2010 20 Under 40 winners.
Page 27
Career coach Annoying supervisors must be endured.
Page 51
Chamber of Commerce This month’s Chamber of Commerce newsletter.
BUSINESS MONTHLY STAFF DIRECTORY EDITORIAL CONTENT Nancy Raffensperger Newhoff nancy.newhoff@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1445
ADVERTISING Bret Danielson bretdanielson@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1403
Jim Offner jim.offner@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1598
Jackie Nowparvar jackie.nowparvar@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1527 Sheila Kerns sheila.kerns@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1448
Cedar Valley Business Monthly is published monthly. It is a free publication direct-mailed to more than 6,500 area businesses. For distribution, call Courier Communications at (319) 291-1527 Contact Cedar Valley Business Monthly at P.O. Box 540, Waterloo, IA 50704.
BUSINESS MONTHLY ON THE COVER Cover design by DAVID HEMENWAY
This issue of Cedar Valley Business Monthly highlights The Courier’s 20 Under 40 award winners. The group represents 20 people under the age of 40 who are making a significant impact in the Cedar Valley through their civic commitments and their jobs.
MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor
Courier photographer Rick Chase photographs Chris Western for the 20 Under 40 publication.
Always a pleasure Choosing new 20 Under 40 class a labor of love Applause, applause! It’s time to congratulate our newest class of 20 Under 40 winners. This is the final year the Cedar Valley Business Monthly’s annual special edition Nancy Raffensperger will be in the sinNewhoff gle digits. Twenty is The Courier’s Under 40 will editor. Contact her turn 10 next year. at nancy.newhoff@ This year’s winwcfcourier.com. ners are a talented, impressive group. They
vary from an attorney who helps coach, a TV anchor with a wellknown online blog, a real estate agent, coach, mayor and associate professor. We began the process of selecting the ninth annual 20 Under 40 winners in July when nomination requests went out. We received about 80 nominations. This year’s panel, which selected the winners, included: ■ Kim Burger, manager of the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau. ■ Past winner Noel Anderson (class of 2009).
■ Past winner Maggie Burger (class of 2009). ■ State Rep. Deborah Berry. ■ Past winner Joe Fuller (class of 2009). We thank them for their service. It is not an easy job to pare down the nominees to 20. Over a lengthy lunch in early August, the group met and came to their decision. They brought their own backgrounds, connections in the community and studied the nomination letters to come to their decision.
See 20 UNDER 40, page 5
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010 By JOSH NELSON
josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com
BRIAN EDDY
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
INDEPENDENCE — Home for Brian Eddy was in Buchanan County. After five years of living and working in Minneapolis, the 35year-old Independence native came back to Iowa in 2005 and immersed himself in making his community a desirable place for young couples to relocate. Since then, he’s helped AGE: 35 launch a school improve- OCCUPATION: Attorney, Eddy and ment group called People Lange, P.C. 4 Progress, headed up the VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Co-chairIndependence Chamber man, People 4 Progress; former board of Commerce board and president, Independence Chamber of Commerce; member, Absolutely Indee; an alumni association that board of directors member, Dollars for helps Independence grad- Scholars; board of directors chairuates stay connected and man, Heartland Acres Agribition Center; possibly move back home. volunteer coach, Independence Varsity “As a small community Football team. you can get very involved, EDUCATION: University of Iowa and you have an oppor- FAMILY: Wife, Jennifer, and three tunity to make a positive children impact on the commu- A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: When Eddy’s nity,” Eddy said. “So any fifth-grade teacher, Sheryl Mace, thing I can do — or I can brought him and his mother in for do to help encourage oth- a Saturday morning parent-teacher ers to do — ultimately is conference to help Eddy turn his grades going to impact a lot of around. Mace helped Eddy turn “Ds and Fs into As and Bs.” people.” His journey began in A MENTOR AND WHY: Charlie 2000, when he gradu- Berquist, partner at Best & Flanagan, LLP. Berquist helped Eddy fine-tune his ated from the University professional skills, including paying atof Iowa College of Law. tention to details on complex corporate Eddy got a job at Best & and business transactions. Flanagan, a Minneapolis law firm. He also started Q3 Innovations, a technology company he later moved to Independence. He eventually reached the point where he was able to quit the law firm and work on Q3 full time. It was then he and his wife, Jennifer, decided to move back home to be closer to family. Eddy also started up his own law firm in Independence. “The other reason I wanted to move back is Independence was moving in the right direction, and there were a lot of positives that had been taking place,” he said. Eddy served three years on the chamber of commerce board — two as president. He helped start the People 4 Progress group, the alumni association and the “Absolutely Indee” marketing campaign — which promotes the various projects in the community. “There’s a lot of good things going on,” he said. Jon Holland, a People 4 Progress co-chairman, said Eddy has become an important part of the community by helping to build community organizations and businesses. Holland said Eddy was person “of strong belief in the progress and growth” of the community. “I find him rock solid, a very capable, energetic, enthusiastic and open-minded person,” he said. A recent activity for Eddy has been helping coach varsity football for Independence. The program has a new coaching staff and got its first win in 28 games this year. Eddy said coaching has been one of his most rewarding activities. “It’s just a whole matter of life lessons and things you can teach them on and off the field,” Eddy said.
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NOVEMBER 2010
20 UNDER 40 From page 3 The group represents 20 people under the age of 40 who are making a significant impact in the Cedar Valley through their civic commitments or jobs. As you read this publication, you will see that this class is again exceptional. How they find time to do their jobs and the many community organizations they belong to is amazing. I want to thank Oster Regent Theatre for allowing us two days to complete our photo shoot in September. We approached them in July asking if we could have access to all the nooks and crannies of the building in downtown
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Cedar Falls, and they welcomed way-Forbes, Jim Offner, Emily Jamison, Karen Heinselman, enway designed the cover and the look of pages, while layout us to help celebrate the 100th Christensen, John Molseed, Jeff Dennis Magee and Pat Kinney. Graphic designer David Hem- was done by Douglas Hines. anniversary of Oster Regent The- Reinitz, Melody Parker, Tim atre. Little did they know when they said yes that a pipe would break in a bathroom on the second floor and flood down to the main floor and basement. But most of the cleanup was done by the time we arrived. Thanks also to The Courier staff who puts this publication together. It is a labor of love by all of those involved. They include photographers Rick Chase, Matthew Putney and Brandon Pollock, who lugged camera equipment and lights all throughout the building; the writers, Jon Ericson, Josh Nelson, Andrew Wind, Tina Hinz, Amie Steffen, Holly Hudson, Meta Hemen-
Find all your latest news in
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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RYAN FRERICHS
By KAREN HEINSELMAN karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com
WAVERLY — Summer internships can pay off. As a student at the University of Iowa, Ryan Frerichs wanted experience working at a pharmacy. One of Frerichs’ fraternity brothers, the son of Waverly pharmacist Tom Taiber, suggested his dad’s business, Meyer Pharmacy. Frerichs apparently made a good impression. Years later, Frerichs, 33, now a seasoned pharmacist, owns and operates Meyer Pharmacy with his wife, Kate, a Waterloo native. Prior to coming to Waverly, he managed a pharmacy for a retail chain for several years in Colorado.
Taiber said he placed Meyer Pharmacy — an almost centuryold, independent and locallyowned business — in the Frerichses’ capable hands in 2007. He also nominated Ryan Frerichs, an Akron native, for The Courier’s 20 Under 40 award. “You know, you get to know people after awhile,” said Taiber. He added his early impressions of Frerichs as a good person who showed promise as an entrepreneur have proved true. Under Frerichs’ leadership, Meyer Pharmacy achieved Medicare accreditation, an arduous process, Taiber said. Frerichs expanded the business by adding a full-time respiratory therapist, secured a hospice contract and added immunization services, Taiber said on his 20 Under 40
nomination form. Frerichs has plans to physically grow the business as well. He wants to construct a lab to improve and expand the pharmacy’s ability to customize medicines for customers. Balancing his work as a pharmacist with the business side of the operation, like management and human resources responsibilities, is a challenge, Frerichs said. Meyer Pharmacy offers pharmacy services, medical equipment and runs a Hallmark store. Frerichs tries to stay on his toes through hands-on experience, reading up on trends in his field and seeking counsel. Taiber has proved to be a helpful resource. “You definitely have to wear multiple hats,” Frerichs said.
But for Frerichs, the diversity of his job is also the most fulfilling part of his work. He enjoys being his own — and staff members’ — employer. “There’s no other feeling better than working for yourself and providing jobs to others,” Frerichs said. In addition to practicing entrepreneurial leadership, Frerichs understands another key component to successfully running a business in a small town, Taiber said. Forming relationships with customers and also in the community at large is important, Taiber said. “He’s done a very good job at that,” Taiber said. When Frerichs volunteers, he often ends up in leadership positions. He once chaired
NOVEMBER 2010 RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
AGE: 33 OCCUPATION: Owner/pharmacist of Meyer Pharmacy in Waverly VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: 200809 Waverly Rotary Club president and member of board of directors 2007-10; chair of small business division for United Way campaign in 2009; fundraising committee for Lutheran Services in Iowa’s ‘Have A Heart For Kids’ ball 2008-10; led playground project in Habitat For Humanity’s Heartland Hills neighborhood for Waverly Rotary Club EDUCATION: Doctor of pharmacy, University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, 2001 FAMILY: Wife, Kate, and daughters Elizabeth, 5, Margaret, 2, and Anna, 8 months A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: Working on the family farm developed good work habits and character, Frerichs said. “There is no replacement for learning life’s lessons through a little hard work. My parents had other employment outside of farming, but there was a never a shortage of chores,” he said. A MENTOR AND WHY: Tom Taiber, previous owner of Meyer Pharmacy. “Tom has provided the direction, knowledge and many intangibles that small-business owners need to succeed,” Frerichs said. “His experience and example has been an incredible resource for me.”
the small-business division for a United Way campaign and served three years on the Waverly Rotary Club’s board of directors, including a stint as president. Frerichs spearheaded an effort by the Rotary Club to build a playground in the Heartland Hills Habitat for Humanity neighborhood in Waverly. Service is how Meyer Pharmacy sets itself apart from its competition, Frerichs said. It’s easy to let that commitment to service spill into the other areas of his life, he said, because in a town like Waverly, the people serving on boards and committees are also friends and neighbors. “You really meet a lot of people, and you can really see the good that can happen,” Frerichs said.
NOVEMBER 2010
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Courier’s 20 Under 40 winners from yesterday and today 2010 winners
2006 winners
Agnes Kress, Amy Frost, Amy Wienands, Brad Nelson, Brenda Schares, Brian Eddy, Chad Shipman, Chris Hurley, Chris Western, Erica Martens, James ‘Corye’ Johnson, Jason ‘Jay’ Witham, Jenny Graeser, Lisa Zinkula, Michael Soppe, Ryan Frerichs, Sara Fogdall Miller, Sarah Parsons, Susan RobertsDobie, Tara Thomas.
Tammy Bedard, Dr. Kyle Christiason, Beth Cox, David Deeds, Tricia Freeman,Tim Godfrey, Blake Hollis, Jake Huff, Aimee Langlass-Landergott, Matt Loesche, Ryan Madison, Brad Metcalf, Andy Miehe, Dr. Brian Sims, Erik Skovgard, Carolynn Sween, Christy Twait, Deb Weber, Gary Wheat, Jamie Wilson.
2009 winners
Sean Abbas, Bill Bradford, Renee Christoffer, Angela Conrad, Matthew Craft, Chris Fereday, Kim Fettkether, Mark Funk, Jennifer Goos, Morgan Hoosman, Brad Leeper, Kyrstal Madlock, Brent Matthias, Jim Mudd Jr., Josh Schmidt, Justin Sell, John Speas, Andrew Van Fleet, Jason Weinberger, Joanne Wzontek.
Dr. Nick Goetsch, Alan Sweeney, Amber Jedlicka, Allison Parrish, Antonio N. Mays, Brittany Argotsinger, Brooke Burnham, Brad Schweppe, Chassidi Ferguson, Chris Reade, Christy Justice, Crystal Ford, Crystal Buzza, Maggie Burger, Stacey Christensen, Sheri Purdy, Jon Hennings, Joseph Fuller, Dr. Ben Squires, Janelle Darst.
2008 winners Brad Best, Eric Braley, Heather Bremer-Miller, Molly Brown, Aaron Buzza, Kelly Christensen, Andrea Elliott, Angie Fuller, Jessica J. Miller, Michael Muhammad, Marc Riefenrath, Francesca Zogaib, Jennifer Hartman, Kristin Schaefer, Chad Abbas, Tavis Hall, Julieanne Gassman, Dan Dougherty, James “Jamie” Fettkether, Dan Kittle.
2007 winners Emily Girsch, Dr. Matthew Kettman, Christopher Rygh, Ryan Sheridan, Christa Miehe, Niki Litzel, Heather Prendergast, Jenny L. Connolly, Nikki Wilson, Karris Golden, Danielle Rusch, Kelly Knott, Paresh Shettigar, Mike Young, Scott J. Sernett, Shelly Smith, Noel C. Anderson, Burton “Bud” Field, Alyssa Becthold, Randolph Bryan.
2005 winners
2004 winners Sarah Albertson, John Bunge, Steve Burrell, Telisa Burt, Bryan Burton, Jim Coloff, Katherine Cota-Uyar, Jeff Danielson, Abraham Funchess, Brad Jacobson, Scott Larson, David LeCompte, Jeff Mickey, Andy Miller, Marcus Newsom, Jack Nooren, Lisa Rivera-Skubal, Matt Rolinger, Sharon Samac, Joe Surma.
2003 winners Stacie Brass, Ben Buckley, Mike Byl, Steve Carignan, Amy Dutton, Jack Emkes, Rachel Ford, Ann Hermann, Ann Kerian, Lake Lambert, Scott Leisinger, Eric Locke, Doug Miller, Maria Murphy, Eric Ritland, Robert Smith, Mike Trachta, Stacy Van Gorp, Mike Walden, Dave Wilson.
2002 winners (21 selected) Troy Boelman, Blake Borwick, Drew Conrad, Barry DeVoll, Bryan Earnest, Theresa Hardy, Quintin Hart, Wade Itzen, Chris McGovern, Beth Meyer, Mason Moore, Mike Newland, Christopher Olmstead, Mike Place, Aimee Shepard, Lynn M. Smith, Robert L. Smith, Chad Stroschein, Christ Thomas, Cathy Wilson-Sands, John Wood.
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
By ANDREW WIND andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com
GILBERTVILLE — Amy Frost understands the rewards of volunteering. “Obviously, it gives you a good feeling to help people out,” she said. “It’s kind of the way I was brought up, seeing my parents get involved in a lot of activities.” From church and school activities to the American Legion, Frost’s parents Kenny and Carolyn AGE: 39 Schmit were OCCUPATION: Associate director of student records and very involved registration at Hawkeye Com- in the community College munity while VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: she was growBosco School System PTO, ing up in church, her children’s softball Gilbertville. league Frost, 39, EDUCATION: American Institute of Business in Des Moines, still lives there associate of business degree; with husband Upper Iowa University, associ- Jeff, the eduate of arts degree cation direcFAMILY: Husband, Jeff; tor for Cedar children Brett, 14, Abbie, 13, Valley CathoMaddy, 10, Cole, 5 lic Schools A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: in Waterloo, “I don’t know that there’s one and their four children. She specific moment. I would say is associjust growing up and living in a family that really shares the ate director same values probably shaped of student who I am.” Among those values records and are hard work, responsibility registration and respect. at Hawkeye A MENTOR AND WHY: Her Commuparents, Kenny and Carolyn nity College Schmit. “They are the ones in Waterloo. that laid down the foundation and started me off on the right Both personal track, showed me the value of ly and profeshard work and what you can sionally, she is accomplish.” following the same path of community involvement as her parents. She and her husband meet with engaged couples in their congregation who are getting married in the Catholic church. She is a co-chairwoman of the Bosco School System’s Parent-Teacher Organization and is involved in a building campaign through the alumni group. She helps with fundraisers for her children’s traveling sports teams and is treasurer for a daughter’s softball team. “It seems like there’s always fundraising that we need to get involved in. It’s kind of endless.” Nonetheless, she added, “I think it’s a great way to get to know people.” Julie Niemeyer, principal of Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph schools, got to know Frost through the PTO. “She’s someone who always has a smile on her face and never complains about volunteering,” Niemeyer said. “She just
AMY FROST
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
is an example of a person who develops quality relationships with others.” Frost brings the same attitude to her work. “She has a reputation as a person who cares about her community and does something about it instead of just com-
plaining,” said co-worker Pat East. “She doesn’t sit around and wait for work to come to her,” East added. “She sees something that can be improved and goes and does it. When she received one of her last promotions, she also kept part of her old job and manages to get it all done.”
Frost started at Hawkeye 16 years ago as a records evaluator. Seven years ago, she became the enrollment management coordinator and has been the department’s associate director for about three years.
See FROST, page 9
NOVEMBER 2010
FROST From page 8 Frost “always knew” she wanted to work in education and thought about teaching in high school. But her focus shifted to the business world
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she added. “You never know, and in her position at Hawkeye, something waiting there for very rewarding experience.” It’s also a good way to build (someday) you may need to rely “I really have the best of both someone just like you, basically,” said Frost. “I just think it’s a relationships with others, on someone else.” worlds.” She believes volunteering is a great way to be part of a community. “Get involved in something that interests you, that you’re passionate about — work, community, church — there’s
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NOVEMBER 2010
By MELODY PARKER melody.parker@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — At 28, Jenny Graeser is responsible for helping Cedar Valley United Way’s 2010 campaign surpass the $3 million mark. She is campaign director for the nonprofit agency and works with corporate and individual AGE: 28 OCCUPATION: Campaign donors on their director, Cedar Valley United c a m p a i g n s and organizWay VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: ing fundraising Vice president and president- events. elect of Cedar Valley Young The job keeps Professionals; Junior League her on her toes, of Waterloo-Cedar Falls; UNI Graeser said. Athletic Department, includ“I’m doing ing serving on the Women at something I Play committee and Panther Rally in the Valley; Get Con- enjoy, that challenges me. I nected events committee. want to do more EDUCATION: University of Northern Iowa, Bachelor in the commuof Arts in public relations; nity, raise more Waterloo West High School, money, be the 2000 best at what I FAMILY: Husband, Matt, dachshunds Jovi and Autumn do and see how much more A MOMENT IN YOUR we’re able to PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: She won the do each year. I Iowa Women’s State Amateur know we’ll never golf tournament in 2003 and have enough again in 2009. “What’s cool — requests for is, that doesn’t happen at funding far my level — six years apart. exceeds our I’ve competed every year funds — and since college and always that’s what place in the top eight. But I makes me try don’t get as much practice harder.” as the girls in college or as I used to when I was young Her drive and on my game. I’m playing for success with people who play golf impresses Dee all year round, so winning Vandeventer of was cool. I’ve learned never ME&V in Cedar to count myself out and to never underestimate my own Falls. Vandeventer was potential,” Graeser said. among business A MENTOR AND WHY: My parents. The people they professionals are, everything they stand for in the commuand taught me has helped nity who nomime as a person and in my nated Graeser career. They are my role for 20 Under 40 models.” honors. “She’s a bulldog. When you’re a fundraiser, you have to be constantly working on reaching the goal and inspiring others to help make that happen. Jenny is so pleasant, optimistic, encouraging, motivating and fun to be around. She doesn’t just want to make the world a better place, she is making the world a better place,” Vandeventer said. “Jenny does a wonderful job representing what people her age can achieve.”
JENNY GRAESER
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
Jim Mudd Sr. of Mudd Advertising, praised Graeser’s professionalism. “I worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Jenny this past year for the United Way drive. She was fantastic to work with. I loved her enthusiasm and product knowledge. I admired her self-confidence. I wish she
worked for Mudd,” he said. Graeser, a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, joined United Way in 2009. Previously she served as development manager for Girl Scouts. An avid golfer, Graeser has won the Iowa State Amateur golf tournament twice and
was a member of the University of Northern Iowa and Waterloo West High School women’s golf teams. She also represented Iowa in the USGA United States Team play championships twice.
See GRAESER, page 11
NOVEMBER 2010
GRAESER From page 10 This year, she led the United Way in raising nearly $30,000 at a golf outing. “This was more than double the income from the previous year. What a difference a year makes with Jenny on board,” wrote Dave Deaver of First National Bank in Cedar Falls, in his nominating letter.
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She added, “I hope I can be a “Third, perfection is unat- a goal I may never reach but I’m Golf has taught her three lessons about life and business, tainable. That’s why I challenge sure as heck going to try. Golf has ripple that helps create waves of change in the community.” Graeser said. “First, little things myself to be the best, to achieve made me mentally tough.” have a big impact. Every thing is important in what you do. Second, play to my strengths and practice my weaknesses. With golf and in business, you have to know your strengths and what you’re not good at, what needs work and practice to improve. That makes me a better person and better at my profession.
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WATERLOO — For Chris Hurley, family connections in Waterloo were strong enough to pull him back to the town where he grew up. The pull was so strong, he even lives in the same neighborhood in which he grew up. Hurley, who graduated from the University of Iowa in 2000, lived in Des Moines before meeting the woman he would marry — also a Waterloo native. While family ties have brought him back to where he grew up, Hurley spends much of his time trying to help kids who may not have such strong family bonds. Hurley is president of the Boys & Girls Club of Black Hawk County board of directors. He took the post in July after serving on the board for nearAGE: 34 ly three years. The OCCUPATION: Credit analyst, North Cedar, WaterFarmer’s State Bank VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: President loo and Evansdale of the Boys & Girls Club of Black Hawk Boys & Girls Club centers serve about County board of directors. Member of the Greater Cedar Valley Chamber 200 kids per day, Alliance and the Waterloo Downtown Hurley said. Rotary Club “I know the club EDUCATION: University of Iowa, 2000 can make a huge difB.A. in political science ference in these kids’ FAMILY: Wife, Autumn A MENTOR AND WHY: “My father lives,” he added. Hurley first joined (Tim Hurley). He has always done what’s right, and it’s almost unequivo- the board after member cal. He’s got a really solid foundation of board morals and ethics that guides hime and Mac McCausland, that in turn guides me.” partner at PDCM Insurance in Waterloo where Hurley worked, nominated him. A month after he accepted the volunteer position, Hurley took a new job as a credit analyst at Farmer’s State Bank. Taking on new responsibilities at both positions has been a welcome challenge for Hurley. “I’d rather be very busy and very involved,” he said. Hurley also volunteers his time for the Waterloo Downtown Rotary Club and the Greater Cedar Valley Chamber Alliance. Hurley said the Alliance has been effective in attracting business and promoting the Cedar Valley. “What they do helps everyone’s quality of life,” he said. The revitalized downtown of Waterloo and focus on development in the heart of the city was also a factor in his decision to move back to his hometown. “I don’t know if I would have come back to Waterloo, because I hate sprawl,” he said. “That’s not appealing to me at all.” Hurley may have graduated with a political science degree, but he says he has few political ambitions. He often was asked if he would make a run for Waterloo mayor to follow in his father’s, former Mayor Tim Hurley’s, footsteps. “I would get that question a little more when my dad was in office,” he said. Even if he doesn’t follow his father’s political career path, Hurley said, his father shaped his approach to life and instilled his need to serve his community. “I just want to do whatever I can to help out the community.”
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NOVEMBER 2010
CHRIS HURLEY
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
TO HAVE YOUR BUSINESS LISTED ON THIS PAGE IN THE NEXT ISSUE, CALL JACKIE NOWPARVAR AT 291-1527.
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NOVEMBER 2010
By AMIE STEFFEN amie.steffen@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — According to the statistics, James “Corye” Johnson shouldn’t still be living in Iowa. He’s 33, he’s got his master’s degree and is looking to get a Ph.D. soon. He helped start a thriving and growing business in Waterloo, Heal the Family. He’s the kind of person the state and the city try to cultivate to stave AGE: 33 OCCUPATION: Vice president of opera- off “brain drain” — where the young, tions, Heal the Family VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: North End well-educated and Arts and Music Festival successful leave the EDUCATION: B.A. in psychology, Univer- state for more lucrasity of Iowa; M.A. in clinical psychology, tive positions in bigUniversity of Northern Iowa ger cities. FAMILY: Wife, Endya Johnson, two “I like knowing my daughters, Janea, 6, and Aerz, 3 community, knowA MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: “At the University ing my neighbors. of Iowa, my plan was to become a medical I like to be able to doctor. Through circumstance, my aunt walk my daughand grandmother were put on drugs ter to the park and that ultimately led to their demise. I was go to the farmers extremely upset with people who weren’t market,” Johnson communicating, not taking ownership of what they had done. ... I have always been said. “I’m comfortable to communicate things to people, talk able, because I’m fully invested in my to my elders, be heard and respected for what I say. It encouraged me to take those community.” same skill sets into the classroom.” It’s why the Rev. A MENTOR AND WHY: “Definitely Abraham Funchmy father, Mickye Johnson. He’s just an ess, Johnson’s pasexample of what a father should be, an tor at Jubilee United example of how to carry yourself in public. Methodist Church He’s always been extremely motivated and in Waterloo and a goal oriented; he makes very strong alliances with people and businesses; and he former 20 Under 40 nominee himself, never rests on things he’s accomplished Johnson — he’s always looking for the next rung. believes Those are things I aspire to.” deserves the praise. “For him to have maintained his integrity and vision after all these years and be able to establish a very meaningful and lucrative business in town speaks to his resilience and brilliance,” Funchess said. After getting degrees in psychology and clinical psychology at the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, respectively, Johnson returned to his hometown of Waterloo to begin work at counseling services in town. A few years ago, he helped Mike Robinson begin Heal the Family, a family counseling service on East Fourth Street. “I’ve always been impressed with the fact that he has always wanted to take care of what got started,” said Endya Johnson, his wife of five years. “It struck home with me — people want to leave, (but) he wanted to come back and stay here.” Funchess says Johnson shouldn’t be so humble. “He strives for excellence in what he puts his hands to,” Funchess said. “I find him as a man who wants to operate with more integrity, do things that are ethically right ... He believes there are standards we should all operate by.” But he doesn’t push those standards unrealistically. Endya Johnson said his ability to relate to everyone goes a long way when he counsels those who are struggling. “Corye brings out the best in people without them even realizing it,” she said.
JAMES 'CORYE' 'JOHNSON
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
By JEFF REINITZ jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — Agnes Kress always keeps a smile on her face, even in the most stressful of times. A 32-year-old television news director at KWWL, Kress volunteers with the Waterloo Jaycees and the Iowa Irish Fest committee. “Agnes is one of the most dedicated volunteers I’ve ever met. She’s willing to step up to the plate AGE: 32 for anything OCCUPATION: Director at KWWL — even if she’s VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: so busy she’s Waterloo Jaycees, Iowa Irish Fest committee, alumni association for not sure if she’s coming the University of Dubuque. EDUCATION: Waterloo East High, or going,” said University of Dubuque Angie Fuller FAMILY: Single of the Jaycees, A MENTOR AND WHY: “I can’t who nominated really think of one person that was Kress for the a good mentor. I’ve seen a lot of 20 Under 40 people and said ‘I’m not going to honor. do that in my life’ and did the opThis sumposite.” mer, Kress was thrown in to assist with the Jaycees’s 2010 Canoe Cedarloo race late in the game, Fuller said. “She handled the details beautifully, and the event went very well,” Fuller said. A Waterloo native who graduated from East High, Kress said her volunteer work helps balance the solitary nature of her job, which involves coming in at 3 a.m. to arrange and script the morning newscasts. “There are only two other people in the building when I first get to work,” Kress said. “So that’s a reason I like to give back to the community, my job almost makes me more introverted.“ Kress knew she wanted to be in television news since she was a child, but soon became interested in student activities planning while studying at the University of Dubuque. “I was going to try to be a director of college activities or some kind of event planner. ... I thought that would be fun — when I was in college, of course,” Kress said. When she returned to Waterloo after earning her degree, she found a job at KWWL and worked her way up the ladder quickly. Now, volunteering provides an outlet for Kress’ event planning skills. Kress also is active in the alumni association for the University of Dubuque and recently helped friends launch a fundraiser for Batten disease awareness. “I’m good at a lot of things, but I’m not really great at one thing. But I like to help other people make their dreams come true,” Kress said. “I’m not smart enough to cure cancer or something, so giving of myself is an easier way to help other people accomplish their goals.”
AGNES KRESS
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
NOVEMBER 2010
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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PAGE 17
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PAGE 18
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
AGE: 27 OCCUPATION: Certified medical assistant for Dr. Tony Otoadese at Cedar Valley Medical Specialists in Waterloo. VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Girl Scout leader for Troop 312 in Grundy Center; soccer coach; volunteer with the Grundy Center Fire Fighter Women’s Auxiliary; Grundy County school board; Grundy Center Community Day Care Board; Vacation Bible School teacher at First United Methodist Church in Grundy Center; Go Red for Women volunteer in 2008; emergency medical technician in Grundy Center EDUCATION: Graduated from Cedar Falls High School in 2001; graduated from Kaplan University in 2005 as a certified medical assistant Family: Husband, Noah, two daughters, Makenzie, 7, and Meaghan, 4. She is expecting a third daughter in December. A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: “I guess my family is what shaped me the most (daughters and husband). I mean, the opportunities didn’t arise without them. You know, I wouldn’t coach soccer, etc. Family’s important. They pretty much keep me going.” A MENTOR AND WHY: “My mom, Patty Berning of Cedar Falls. She just motivates me as a mom and how to be a good mom and how to do it all and still keep my sanity. She’s very involved.”
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
ERICA MARTENS
By TINA HINZ tina.hinz@wcfcourier.com
GRUNDY CENTER — Just call her Super Mom. Erica Martens has a big calendar on her refrigerator to keep her organized. Such as one day in late September: Wake up at 6:30 a.m. Drop off youngest daughter at child care and second-grader at the YMCA before school. Then, work eight hours at Cedar Valley Medical Specialists in Waterloo. Head home at 4 p.m. Pick up kids and coach soccer from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Plan
omelet breakfast for the Grundy Center Firefighter Women’s Auxiliary. Return home at 10 p.m. “I just do it, I guess,” she said, laughing. “Just kind of take it one day at a time.” Other times Martens serves on the Grundy County school board and Grundy Center Community Day Care Board and teaches Vacation Bible School at First United Methodist Church in Grundy Center. She volunteered with the Go Red for Women event in 2008. In April 2008 she received emergency medical technician basic certification through a
University of Iowa outreach program, commuting from Grundy Center to New Hartford twice a week. She became nationally registered in December of that year but has served on the ambulance service since October 2007. She is on call at least 48 hours each month. She totes her children along to places like the fire department, where her husband also is a volunteer EMT and firefighter. As part of the women’s auxiliary, the whole family often helps with benefits and fundraisers.
See MARTENS, page 19
NOVEMBER 2010
MARTENS From page 18 “I think it’s important to teach kids how important community service is,” she said. “That’s pretty much my hobby. It’s an interesting family life. I mean, it’s very social, too.” When the Cedar Falls native moved to Grundy Center about
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
five years ago, she expanded the Girl Scout program from about eight girls to 33. She continues to lead Troop 312 and offers three levels for Daisies, Brownies and Juniors. Martens, who played soccer from fifth grade through high school, also has coached her oldest daughter’s team for two years, recently winning third place in the Cedar Valley Soccer Cup Tournament.
She loves no one activity more than another but rather appreciates the variety. “It’s just so different of a dynamic,” she said. “Like Girl Scouts you teach them how to give back to your community, and soccer you teach them how to play and how to be a good sport and that sort of thing.” Martens interned at Cedar Valley Medical Specialists while attending Kaplan University. She
Consumers plan to spend more for the holidays Los Angeles Times
Good news for the nation’s retailers: U.S. consumers plan to put a little more jingle into this holiday season. Shoppers plan to spend an average of $688.87 on gifts, decorations, food and other holiday-related purchases in 2010, according to a survey to be by the National Retail Federation.
Although that’s a slight rise from the $681.83 they spent in 2009, it’s still below the $755.13 tallied in 2007, just before the retail industry was slammed by the economic downturn. As in years past, most holiday shoppers will spend the largest portion of their budget on gifts for family ($393.55) and friends ($71.45). Total spending on gifts is expected to rise 2.1 percent this
year, to $518.08. Americans also will spend an average of $41.51 on decorations, $26.10 on greeting cards and postage, $86.32 on candy and food and $16.86 on flowers, the survey found. According to the survey, 61.7 percent of shoppers said concerns about the economy would affect their spending. That’s down from 65.3 percent last year.
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was hired in 2006, immediately after graduating, and works for Dr. Tony Otoadese in the Cedar Valley Vein Clinic and Cedar Valley Vascular Clinic. “She is complimented by Dr. Tony, referring physicians and co-workers as being extremely efficient and accomplished in her position,” said nominator Patty Berning. “She is dedicated to the patients and goes above and beyond in responding to the
PAGE 19 needs of the patient. She is very compassionate and caring.” And Martens manages to find time for more. She and her husband, Noah, are expecting a third daughter in December. “Erica is an exceptional leader and role model,” said nominator and past 20 Under 40 winner Maria Murphy. “Her patience, guidance skills and willingness to grow is enabling her to pursue her dreams.”
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
SARA FOGDALL MILLER
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
AGE: 38 OCCUPATION: Office manager VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Has helped the American Red Cross “off and on” since high school off and is active at her church. She volunteers with other one-time events as they develop. EDUCATION: Graduated from the University of Northern Iowa and earned a master’s degree at Drake University FAMILY: She and husband Brad Miller have two sons, Noah, 8, and Elijah, 4 A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: “I don’t know if I could come up with one moment, but I was really influenced during my time at UNI ... I had a good support system in town with friends and family and on campus.” A MENTOR AND WHY: Marianna Delafield Melichar, one of her father’s cousins
By DENNIS MAGEE dennis.magee@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — As she thinks about who in the community could qualify as a 20 Under 40 nominee, Sara Fogdall Miller said she could craft an impressive lineup. Her name, though, would not have been on that list. “It’s a terrific honor. I was extremely surprised,” Miller said. “I’m probably the last person I would have expected to be in the running for that.” A colleague, Kristy Schmitz, and Miller’s father, Jim Fogdall, thought otherwise. “I think they’re probably both pretty biased,” Miller said. Miller is office manager at Ace
Fogdall RV, but Schmitz said Miller does more than that for the company. “She’s a very hard worker, and I can go to her for help,” Schmitz said. Schmitz also described her friend and colleague as a problem solver. She has known the boss’ daughter for about six years. “I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but she definitely pitches in,” Schmitz said. Miller will help clean campers, find parts, schedule service appointments — whatever needs to be done. “She is very willing and able to help in any department,” Schmitz said. In his nomination, Fogdall also noted his daughter’s dedication
to the family company. “My father, Ace Fogdall, who founded the business in 1933, would be proud of his granddaughter,” he wrote. Miller recognized another name in particular among this year’s 20 Under 40 winners, Jason Witham, president and co-owner of Witham Auto. “We’ve known each other since we were babies,” she said. “We have the similarity in that we are both in a family business and kind of taking over management from a previous generation,” Miller added. Her challenge, like Witham’s, is to “ensure that legacy continues,” Miller said. As part of her formal training, Miller graduated from the Uni-
versity of Northern Iowa with a degree in education. She earned a master’s degree from Drake University in education science. Growing up in the area, Miller concedes she probably took UNI for granted. “I thought I would probably go away, and I actually had the opportunity to do that,” she said. Instead, she became a student. “I never have regretted that for a minute.” She describes one of her father’s cousins, Marianna Delafield Melichar, as a mentor. The relationship began when Miller was am elementary student. “She really showed me what strong women can do,” Miller
See MILLER, page 21
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Skipping health care cheapest for some companies McClatchy News Service
HACKENSACK, N.J. — Some employers will save a lot of money by not offering insurance under changes made to the health care system. For instance, an employer with 51 full-time employees who does not offer insurance will pay an annual “free rider” penalty of $42,000, beginning in 2014, said labor lawyer Mitchell Jacobs, who spoke recently at a Rutherford, N.J., symposium on changes to the health care system. “The majority of the time, the amount of the penalty would be less than paying for health care,” said Jacobs. “It’s about three years in the future, but the penalty provision is the one most employers know about.”
Larry Shulman, a senior manager at the accounting firm KPMG, talked about some of the tax provisions, including a 0.9 percent Medicare tax on wages exceeding $250,000 for those married filing jointly. Employers will be obligated to withhold the tax, and the employer may be responsible for paying it if it is not properly withheld, Shulman said. A new 3.8 percent Medicare tax on unearned investment income for couples making more than $250,000 begins in 2013, he said. Those employers who do offer health care will be able to save a lot of money by offering wellness programs such as those that help employees quit smoking or lower their cholesterol, said Dan Ritson, a lawyer at Hackensackbased Herten Burstein Sheridan
Cevasco Bottinelli Litt & Harz LLC. Beginning next year, the federal government will offer billions of dollars in new grants for businesses with fewer than 50 employees that offer wellness programs, he said. Rules on how to apply and how it will work have not yet been issued, Ritson said. Discounts on health insurance premiums at companies with wellness programs will be increased beginning in 2014, Ritson said. To avoid discrimination lawsuits, employers must be sure to give all workers one opportunity a year to use wellness program benefits. Employers also must offer alternative programs to those who cannot participate in a particular program for medical reasons, Ritson said.
“The majority of the time, the amount of the penalty would be less than paying for health care.” Mitchell Jacobs Christine Stearns, a lobbyist for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, said business owners were asked to pay more this year for health coverage and many have switched to high-deductible plans, shifting more costs to workers. Employers with fewer than 50 workers saw rate increases from their insurers of 20 percent to 30 percent before they made changes to their plans, she said, citing a survey by the New Jersey Department of Banking and
Insurance. “What I’m concerned with is that we’ve reached a breaking point,” where they felt they had to shift more of their health care costs to employees, she said. “They have already bought the plan with the $5,000 deductible.” The emphasis on wellness in the changes to the health care system appeals to Eydie Shapiro, owner of Comfort Keepers, a home health care franchise in Secaucus, N.J. “What I liked very much was the benefits of instituting wellness programs,” she said. “I found that to be really terrific.” Shapiro said she employs about a dozen people. She plans to increase the size of the company and eventually provide health insurance for her employees.
sional life. “He’s taught me a lot. It’s hard to even quantify,” Miller said. “He can speak intelligently on She credits her father as one of any topic that you might throw the people who laid the founda- his way. I hope that I can emulate tion for her personal and profes- that some day.”
MILLER From page 20
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
By EMILY CHRISTENSEN emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com
CEDAR FALLS — Faith, family and basketball — make that work — are about all Brad Nelson has time for these days. Nelson, 39, has served as the University of Northern Iowa’s assistant women’s basketball coach for the last 11 years. When he isn’t traveling with the team on a recruiting trip, or helping the young women he brings to UNI adjust to their new home and school, Nelson is busy on the home front with AGE: 39 his wife, Jenny, and OCCUPATION: Assistant women’s basketball coach, University of Northern four children, Bailey, 13, twins Jacob and Iowa Brandon, 11, and JJ, 6. VOLUNTEER: Flag football coach, If he has time to Nazareth Lutheran, served with the UNI women’s basketball team at House of help out in the comHope, Northeast Iowa Food Bank and munity it’s usually at Habitat For Humanity the family’s church, EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree from Nazareth Lutheran, University of Oregon, 1994 where his wife works, FAMILY: Wife, Jenny, and children Bailey, 13, Jacob, 11, Brandon, 11, JJ 6 or on the field where he is doing double A MOMENT THAT HELPED SHAPE ME: The day I was hired as student man- duty as a coach and ager with the University of Oregon men’s dad for one his chilbasketball team led to me having the dren’s athletic teams. drive to become a collegiate basketball “Between four kids coach & I also met my wife while serving and the demands of a as manager for the Oregon MBB team. coaching job, I don’t MENTORS: Don Monson and Jerry have a lot of extra Green were the two head coaches at Oregon I worked for. They taught me so time,” said Nelson, who had just returned much about being a coach and what it home from Minnesotakes to be successful. ta and was heading to Kansas City to watch another potential recruit play ball. Nelson was a student manager for the University of Oregon’s men’s basketball team when he met his wife, a member of the women’s team. They moved to the Cedar Valley, where his wife is from, when he landed the UNI job. He credits her strength for keeping the family running smoothly during his many absences — though he does enjoy taking a kid or two on a trip when he can. When he’s home, he takes advantage of the opportunities to watch his daughter run cross country or his boys play football. “It’s just learning to maximize the time when you are home,” he said. “At times, it is busier when I go home than at work.” Tanya Warren, Nelson’s nominator for the 20 Under 40 honor and UNI’s head women’s basketball coach, said his continued dedication to his family, the school and his athletes speak volumes about the man. “Anytime you’ve been somewhere 11 years, that’s loyalty,” she said. But it isn’t just the athletic skills that make Nelson an integral part of the UNI team — Warren said his ability to mentor the student-athletes on and off the field has been invaluable. “He is a phenomenal teacher, loyal and works extremely hard. There are a lot of parents who are happy, and continue to be happy, that he has been in their daughters’ lives,” Warren said.
See NELSON, page 23
BRAD NELSON
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
NOVEMBER 2010
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Many restaurant employees work when they’re sick, survey finds McClatchy Newspapers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A cough. A sneeze. Perhaps a bead of sweat from a fevered brow. They’re not ingredients that are supposed to come with a food order, but a national survey of restaurant workers released last week served up an unsavory possibility. Two-thirds of 4,323 food servers and preparers surveyed admitted they had worked while sick in the past year. The “Serving While Sick” report, commissioned by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a labor coalition for restaurant workers, pinpoints two reasons the workers don’t stay home: Nearly nine in 10 food-service workers said they lacked paid sick days. More than six in 10 said they had no health insurance from any source. The survey sponsors say those numbers heighten public health risks if the nation’s 10 million restaurant industry employees, working in more than 568,000
food and drink establishments, spread disease. The National Restaurant Association, representing restaurateurs, took issue with the report. It presents a “distorted image of the restaurant industry and its employees while pushing ROC’s agenda,” said Scott DeFife, executive vice president for policy and government affairs. DeFife said restaurants must adhere to local food-code regulations that require ill employees to stay home and must follow federal food-handling, safety and sanitation standards. But the report detailed instances in which that didn’t occur. “Who knows how many customers I got sick because I couldn’t go to the back and leave the counter to wash my hands after every sneeze or nose wipe,” said June Lindsey, a fast-food worker in Detroit who allowed her name to be used in the report. Lindsey and other restaurant workers interviewed said they had to go to work or lose pay. In some cases, they said, they had to go to work or lose their jobs. “I am always forced to come
in, and if I don’t, I know I will be fired or my hours will be drastically reduced,” said Luis DeLeon, a Chicago grill cook quoted in the report. “I can’t afford to lose my job or get my hours cut, so I just put up with it.” Restaurant workers are hardly the only ones to work when sick. A report published this past summer in the Journal of the American Medical Association, also based on a worker survey, said nearly 58 percent of 537 medical residents interviewed at 12 hospitals around the country had worked while sick. No matter the profession, many workers go to work because they need the money or are compelled by a sense of duty. DeFife said the restaurant association supports voluntary paid-leave programs for workers and flexible work hours to meet employee needs. Also, he noted,
many restaurants offer paidtime-off plans that include sick days. Furthermore, some companies, such as McDonald’s and, for some workers, Applebee’s, provide health benefits for restaurant employees. But the high-turnover restaurant industry, in which many workers are part time, generally isn’t known for providing paid sick days. Statistics from the U.S. Labor Department indicate the restaurant industry is the nation’s third highest in terms of occupational injuries and illnesses, ranking after schools and hospitals. Restaurant Opportunities Centers United is a coalition representing 6,000 members in seven restaurant labor organizations. This year it introduced a national restaurant workers health insurance plan — a low-
cost, limited medical plan. The survey partly served to publicize the plan. Among restaurant workers interviewed for the report, median weekly incomes were reported at $330 and $400 a week, depending on the nature of employee benefits. The median hourly wage of all restaurant workers nationally is $8.59 an hour, the report said. The report noted that nearly half of the restaurant workers surveyed were foreign-born and that about one in seven admitted they lacked legal documents to work in the United States. Research support for the report was provided by the National Employment Law Project and the UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty. Funding was provided by the Public Welfare Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.
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NELSON From page 22 “I feel very blessed and honored to have him be a part of this staff. I’ve known Brad a long time, and he is not only a co-worker but a true friend,” Warren said. Nelson is often asked if he will move on for a head coaching position. He admits landing the
top job as a male in a female’s sport is difficult but not impossible. For now, though, he is happy here. “This is a great place to raise the family. It’s perfect mix,” he said. “I travel a lot to bigger cities. I am not a big city-type. But we are so close to so many places and there is a lot to go and do right here. I think that is the reason that so many people have lived their whole life in Cedar Falls.”
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
By TINA HINZ tina.hinz@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — The Cedar Valley United Way marketing department has one staffer: Sarah Parsons. Parsons, the director of marketing and research, handles marketing materials, advertising, public relations and event planning. She is responsible for Community Matters, a weekly e-mail newsletter, and is the internal lead for the Cedar Valley Chase, an annual race where teams compete in challenges. “You kind of get used to pitching in and doing a little bit of everything,” she said. “It definitely makes you resourceful and forces you to learn new things and develop new skills that maybe you didn’t have previously, which is not a bad thing.” But Parsons is not completely on her own. When she’s struggling or can’t figure something out herself, she bounces ideas off her colleagues or interns. “I always think it’s fun to get a new perspective,” she said. “You’re always getting exposed to new ideas and new thoughts.” And the three interns she’s had so far — from Hawkeye Community College and the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls — learn a lot from her, too. “Her guidance and leadership gave me the confidence and skills one hopes to take away from an internship,” said Liza Lichtenberg, who interned in 2009. The Rally for the Valley kickoff and Breakfast of Champions have become signature United Way events under Parsons’ leadership, according to her boss, Sheila Baird. The nonprofit’s Emerging Leaders group, donors who are 40 and younger, also has grown phenomenally, Baird said. “I love what we do helps people; it helps our community and makes our community stronger,” Parsons said. “I go home at the end of the day, and I can feel good about what I’ve done.” Parsons’ leadership and love for community service extends beyond the work day.
See PARSONS, page 25
SARAH PARSONS
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
NOVEMBER 2010 AGE: 31 OCCUPATION: Director of marketing and research, Cedar Valley United Way. VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Past threeyear president of American Advertising Federation; Addy Awards chairwoman and publicity chairwoman; member of Cedar Falls Jaycees, including past community development vice president; stewardship committee at Zion Lutheran Church in Waterloo; Cedar Valley Crop Walk Committee EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in communication arts and religion with a business minor from Wartburg College in Waverly; master’s degree in arts and communications from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls FAMILY: Husband, Todd A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: “On a Wartburg May term trip to Honduras, we were helping families in a remote village rebuild after an earthquake in neighboring El Salvador. Seeing that level of poverty and how these people don’t feel sorry for themselves, I think they didn’t know any different. They were happy, and they led their lives as best they could. That was really inspiring. I was already leaning toward working with nonprofits, but I think that kind of clinched it for me.” A MENTOR AND WHY: “My parents, Donald and Cheryl Christopherson of Duncombe. It’s one of those lead-byexample situations, where I see how they give back to their community and how they serve people and are just so humble about it. I think that really inspired me to be the person I am.”
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
PARSONS From page 24
Corporate board seat pays about $173,000 McClatchy News Service
She is a member of United Ways of Iowa Marketing & Communications Committee and the Cedar Falls Jaycees, serving as a past community development vice president and volunteering with the Live to 9 summer concert series, Fourth of July fireworks and Leadership Challenge. For three years, she was president of the Cedar Valley American Advertising Federation and is the Addy Awards chairwoman and publicity chairwoman. “So many events wouldn’t get done without her commitment and involvement,” said Sarah Pauls, art director at ME&V, of Parsons’ work with AAF. Parsons grew up on a farm near Duncombe, a small town southeast of Fort Dodge. She graduated from Wartburg College in 2001 and from the University of Northern Iowa. She and her husband, Todd, live in Cedar Falls. At first, she settled in the Cedar Valley because she found a job here. But she soon fell in love with the community. “It has so much to offer,” she said. “It truly feels like home.”
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WASHINGTON — Board members received, on average, $172,966 per year at the largest U.S. corporations, according to a Conference Board survey released recently. Specifically, median total compensation to board members ranges from $67,500 a year at the smallest companies to $172,966 at the largest. Companies in the financial-services sector were paid near the top of the scale, receiving a total median compensation of $149,000, according to the survey. Large companies are those with revenue of more than $5 billion, and small companies are those with revenue of less than $100 million. The Conference Board, a research firm, based its report on a survey of 279 corporate secretaries in May and June
2010. “This finding underscores a likely correlation between the rising director-compensation levels we’ve seen over the last few years and the expanding array of governance and compliance responsibilities expected of boards,” said Matteo Tonello, director of corporate-governance research at the Conference Board and an author of the report. In addition to board pay, the survey reported that boards are increasingly adopting “clawback” provisions, which is an employment-agreement clause that allows a company to recoup bonuses and other incentive payments in the event of financial restatements or in other situations where it becomes apparent that the executive willingly engaged in risky ventures. The survey also pointed out
that roughly 76 percent of the largest U.S. corporations have set up majority voting for board elections, which requires directors to win more than 50 percent of the votes of participating investors in uncontested elections to be re-elected to the board. Those losing elections would need to submit their resignation to the board, which could accept or reject it. This replaces a plurality voting system that still exists at a wide variety of U.S. corporations where executives or others can be elected to board positions in uncontested elections with just one share voting for them. According to the survey, 44 percent of nonfinancial-service companies employ plurality voting, while 38 percent do so in manufacturing and 37 percent in financial services.
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PAGE 26
THE COURIER By JOHN MOLSEED
john.molseed@wcfcourier.com
CEDAR FALLS — Susan Roberts-Dobie doesn’t need help making public health issues engaging for her students. The health care debate and news about salmonella-tainted eggs are just two recent examples of how public health routinely makes headlines. “It’s really hard to make public health boring,” said Susan Roberts-Dobie, associate professor at the University of Northern Iowa School of Health. Topics in her classes dealing with public health have direct effects on students, RobertsDobie said. “They can see the relevance in their lives,” she said. In some of her classes, Roberts-Dobie introduces students to public health issues. In more advanced classes, students work to create and evaluate public health initiatives. Students also find ways to volunteer and participate with community health organizations. The Northeast Iowa Food Bank is the biggest recipient of her students’ and her own volunteer hours. In the five years she has been teaching at University of Northern Iowa, Roberts-Dobie estimates her students have worked than 3,750 volunteer hours at the food bank. The food bank shows students how a well-organized community health organization functions and introduces some to the fact that hunger exists in the midst of plenty, she said. “Most of them are unaware that hunger is a problem in the community,” she said. “It puts in perspective the concept of not having anything to eat.” Roberts-Dobie moved to Cedar Falls with her husband, Mark, after she earned her Ph.D. at Oregon State. The couple moved to the Cedar Valley to raise a family. They have two sons, Jefferson, 6, and Levi, 1. Outside the classroom, Roberts-Dobie created an ongoing project called Speak UP! Salon Project. The initiative is designed to help women learn
CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
AGE: 35 OCCUPATION: Associate professor, school of health, University of Northern Iowa VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Volunteers at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, organizes students volunteers there. Volunteers with WeeKids preschool program at Prairie Lakes Church EDUCATION: Ph.D. Oregon State University, 2004; M.A. University of Northern Iowa, 1998 FAMILY: Husband, Mark, and sons Jefferson, 6, and Levi, 1 A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: “My first day in a new school in fifth grade, my family had moved to Chattanooga. We had a speaker that day who said ‘bloom where you’re planted.’ I thought to myself that’s meant for me. That’s what I’ve always tried to do.” A MENTOR AND WHY: “Mary Losch, a psychology professor at UNI and the research coordinator for the Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies. What I have learned from her in the past three years could fill a book — maybe two. The strong mentorship I have received makes me look forward to the stage when I am able to pass that same help along to those coming up behind me.”
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NOVEMBER 2010
SUSAN ROBERTS-DOBIE
“It’s really hard to make public health boring.” Susan Roberts-Dobie associate professor at the UNI School of Health
about contraceptive choices through their hairstylists. The program operates in nine Iowa counties and has more than 100 participating stylists. She said stylists often have a more personal relationship with customers than their doctors. “You’re at your doctor’s office once a year maybe,” she said. “But you’re at your hair salon six, 12 times a year.” The project dovetails with the Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies, another project Roberts-Dobie works on outside the classroom. Both projects provide her with opportunities to combine her classroom work with working with people. Roberts-Dobie also gives her time to her family — in and out of the home. She volunteers at Prairie Lakes Church WeeKids preschool program.
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
NOVEMBER 2010
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Try to endure annoying new supervisor By MARIE G. MCINTYRE McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Q. An obnoxious co-worker was recently made the “working supervisor” of our nursing unit. “Ellen” has no supervisory experience and is not even a very good nurse, but she was the only one to apply for the job. In addition to being loud and slow, Ellen is not as knowledgeable as she pretends to be and occasionally makes mistakes. A few of her patients have asked for a different nurse. When I mentioned these issues to our manager, he acknowledged that Ellen sometimes gets distracted, but said she “has a lot on her plate.” He also said we need to understand that there is a learning curve to the supervisory role. My problem is that while Ellen is in her learning curve, the rest of us have to pick up the slack and correct her mistakes. I have also talked with our department director, but he basically said that if I was
unhappy, I could look for another job. Every day, I tell myself that I won’t let Ellen get to me, but then she says something stupid, and I go crazy. I really loved my work before this woman was promoted. What should I do about this?
A. You are actually dealing with two separate problems: legitimate concerns about patient care and your irritation with Ellen’s personality. If Ellen’s errors are putting patients at risk, then several nurses should report these lapses to the appropriate authorities. Group action will have much more impact than a solo complaint, which might simply be dismissed as a personal conflict. Your aversion to having Ellen as your supervisor is a different matter, however. Since she is apparently supported by two levels of management, any effort to have her removed from this position is probably futile. Continuing to pursue the issue might only damage your own career. You can’t control Ellen’s
behavior or change her personality, but you can manage your own reaction to her. Instead of remaining constantly vigilant for her next annoying comment, try to simply accept that she is who she is. You don’t have to like her, but at the moment you do have to work with her.
Q. The owner of our very small business is having an emotional affair with a woman in our office. She gives him a lot of attention, and he is completely smitten. As a result, she receives undeserved recognition. I find it hard to be around these two. I am offended by their behavior. I don’t want to quit, so what do I do?
owner could jeopardize your job security. Since there is no other avenue of complaint in a “very small business,” you will need to manage your discomfort by ignoring these distractions and concentrating on your work. With any luck, you may find that the owner’s fascination with
your fawning co-worker will gradually subside. Marie G. McIntyre is a workplace coach and the author of “Secrets to Winning at Office Politics.” Send in questions and get free coaching tips at www.yourofficecoach.com, or follow her on Twitter @officecoach.
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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NOVEMBER 2010
By JIM OFFNER jim.offner@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — Co-workers describe Brenda Schares as the ultimate resource at Waterloo-based Schmitt Telecom Partners, and they say it’s little surprise to learn she has earned 20 Under 40 honors. “Her title is director of operations, and she has responsibility for keeping the place going,” said Steve Lyons, a coworker and account executive who submitted one of numerous nominations on Schares’ behalf. “She’s an all-around resource for the rest of us. She inspires us by being able to get it all done, and she’s always so pleasant; it doesn’t seem to get to her.” Schares, 39, doesn’t limit that energy to her job, however. She and husband Joel have been active in the Don Bosco School System in Gilbertville, of which they both are graduates and where all three of their children study. Schares presently serves as PTO president at Don Bosco and recently helped coordinate the Bosco System RAGBRAI fundraiser. She has helped with the school’s building campaign and served as co-chairwoman for the spring concert for several years. She and Joel are active members of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Raymond, just up the road from the Schares’ home in Washburn. “It’s great to be recognized for all the work that is done in the community for volunteering and doing the best I can at work, obviously,” Schares said. “I know my boss and co-workers nominated me, which is very humbling. It makes me excited to go and continue volunteering and try to do even more.”
BRENDA SCHARES
See SCHARES, page 29 AGE: 39 OCCUPATION: Director of operations, Schmitt Telecom Partners Inc. VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Don Bosco School — president of the PTO; helped coordinate Bosco System RAGBRAI fundraiser; helped with building campaign; co-chair for spring concert for several years. EDUCATION: Graduate of Don Bosco High School and later earned a certificate to be a travel agent from McConnell Travel School in Minneapolis. FAMILY: Husband Joel. Children are daughters Riley, 14, and Reese, 7, and son Cade, 12. A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: “I don’t think there’s one particular thing. I think it’s just the desire to get involved and make a difference in the community.” A MENTOR AND WHY: “I’d say my mother and mother-in-law. They’re just very giving of themselves.”
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
NOVEMBER 2010
cvbusinessmonthly.com
Conversations at work not considered private the topic is confidential, you should move to a more secluded location. Freezing out this woman would be both rude and inapQ: How do I keep an uninpropriate, so try to develop a vited co-worker from joining friendlier attitude. To lessen my conversations? Whenever your annoyance with her anyone stops to talk with me, the woman in the next cubicle unsolicited participation, consider the fact that a quieter interjects herself into our person might be likely to comdiscussion. This is extremely annoying. Can I politely tell her plain about the sound of your talking. to butt out without damaging our relationship? Marie G. McIntyre is a workplace coach and the author of A: The problem is not with “Secrets to Winning at Office your chatty colleague, but Politics.” Send in questions and with your own expectations. get free coaching tips at www. In an open work area, discusyourofficecoach.com, or follow sions between co-workers are her on Twitter @officecoach. not private conversations. If By MARIE G. MCINTYRE
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
SCHARES From page 28 Schares has worked her way up from the bottom of the business to the point of running day-today operations of a company that has offices in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque, in addition to Waterloo, said her boss, Steve Schmitt, who also nominated her for the 20 Under 40 award. “She spends much of her spare time in the stands at various athletic contests of her children,” Schmitt said on his nomination form. “Brenda is the epitome of the multitasking young mother/ wife/career woman.” Schares said she doesn’t take her responsibilities lightly. “I think it’s very important to set a good example,” she said. “They look up to you as supervisors as kind of mentors.” Joel, Brenda’s husband of 19 years, coaches basketball at Don Bosco, so involvement at the
THE COURIER
school is a family affair, Brenda Schares said. Getting involved in the school was a natural step, Schares said. “From the beginning, my parents set a good example, just volunteering with church, community and school,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to get to know new families. And, it’s neat to see all the improvements that the school has.” PTO fundraising efforts are
PAGE 29 an effective way to “give back,” as well as benefit students and teachers today and in the future, she said. Lyons says he doesn’t know where Brenda Schares gets her energy. Schares says the key is finding something that can fire one’s passion and pursue it. “I think it’s always just trying to stay positive and trying to be professional,” Schares said.
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
By JIM OFFNER jim.offner@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — Chad Shipman doesn’t claim to be the smartest guy in the room. Winners of The Courier’s 20 Under 40 award typically don’t. Shipman, though, seemed awed to join a club that features some of the sharpest leaders of the Cedar Valley’s future. “When I think of young leaders, I see myself as definitely not the smart one. I know just enough,” he said. Shipman, Iowa AGE: 34 business developOCCUPATION: Iowa business devel- ment director with the opment director, the Samuels Group Inc. Waterloo-based SamVOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Main Street uels Group, said he is Waterloo — Design Council chairman, 2009 Volunteer of the Year Award a big believer in cooperation and teamwork. winner; Junior Achievement — board “I surround myself member, planning committee for “Taste of Spring” fundraiser; Iowa Irish Fest with successful people chairman pro-temp; fundraiser, recruiter. that are well-conEDUCATION: Associate degree in nected. I couldn’t have business, Hawkeye Community College done it without them.” FAMILY: Married to Jessie for 12 years. As a leader in Main The couple have a 6-year-old daughter, Street Waterloo and Journey, and 4-year-old son, Phoenix. Irish Fest, he gets A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: “I think the big- plenty of opportunigest thing is that I have to do something ties to do that. difficult every day. If there’s a problem, He says winning the you have to address it and realize you award is a “wake-up can get past it.” call” of a sort. A MENTOR AND WHY: “Mentors “You have core change throughout your life. You are groups that you surwho you surround yourself with.” round yourself with, and it’s a realization of, ‘Wow. I’m in a circle of influential people in the area, and that means I have to continue down that road and have to be a mentor for others.’” He gets plenty of opportunities to work with others, as a volunteer, said KWWL producer Agnes Kress, herself a member of this year’s class of 20 Under 40 winners, who nominated Shipman. “It would be surprising to attend an event in Waterloo and not see Chad Shipman involved,” Kress said on her nomination form. “He is a member of various boards and holds leadership positions within them. Instead of writing various nonprofit organizations a check, he stands out by offering his time, as well, to make an impact.” Shipman was born in Wichita, Kan., but didn’t stay there long. In fact, his family “moved around a lot” between then and his graduation from Waterloo East High School in 1995. “I consider my growing up somewhat unstable when it comes to living in one place,” Shipman said. It also helped him appreciate the Cedar Valley, where his family finally settled. “You need to find an anchor community,” he said. It also may have fueled his desire to get involved in that community. He didn’t wait long. “I graduated early and went to work full time immediately,” Shipman said. “I still didn’t know what I wanted to do.”
CHAD SHIPMAN
See SHIPMAN, page 31 Chad Shipman is shown with his children, Phoenix, left, and Journey.
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
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PAGE 31
EU plans temporary ban on livestock cloning Bloomberg News
PARIS — The European Union’s executive arm plans to propose a temporary ban on livestock cloning in the 27- nation bloc as well as the use of cloned farm animals and the sale of food produced from such sources. The measures will be reviewed after a five-year period, the European Commission said in
SHIPMAN From page 30 He was in the U.S. Marines for eight years, and afterward went to Hawkeye Community College, where he earned an associate degree in business. He said it was important to keep moving forward. “You can’t get lazy,” he said. “I’ve learned over the years that friends, family, church, God and other mentors and leaders in the community are my support system.” Since April 2009, Shipman has been with the Samuels Group,
a statement on its website. The commission also called for a system to trace imports of semen and embryos from clones. The European Food Safety Authority said in July 2008 it found no evidence meat and milk from cloned cows and pigs differed from other animals. The EU science adviser said there are “significant” animal-health and welfare issues for surrogate
mothers and clones. “The temporary suspension constitutes a realistic and feasible solution to respond to the present welfare concerns,” said John Dalli, the EU commissioner for health and consumer policy. The commission will make a formal proposal to ban livestock cloning next year, spokesman Frederic Vincent said at a press conference in Brussels.
a construction company that Waterloo native Sid Samuels founded in 2005 in Wausau, Wis., and subsequently expanded into Waterloo. He moved to the Samuels Group from Pella Windows in Waterloo. As the lead for business development in Iowa, Shipman is charged with fostering new relationships with potential clients across Iowa. “I met Sid Samuels, and that’s one of the reasons I was successful,” Shipman said. “He supports all the volunteer organizations I’m in.” The company trumpeted the news of Shipman winning the Volunteer of the Year Award for Main Street Waterloo for 2009.
Shipman received the award for his dedication to downtown revitalization by enhancing economic development in Waterloo and the state of Iowa. Gov. Chet Culver and Main Street Iowa recognized him for his efforts in 2009. “Shipman’s commitment to excellence sets the standard for all of Main Street Iowa,” the Samuels Group said in a news release about the award.
CONGRATULATIONS ON EARNING THE 20 UNDER 40!
The Samuels Group is proud that our own Chad Shipman is recognized as one of the 20 Under 40 in 2010!
The proposal is limited to cloning for food use, and wouldn’t affect use of the reproductive technology for research, conservation of endangered species or production of pharmaceuticals, according to the statement. Imports, trade and use of products from clones are currently covered by general EU regulations, the commission said. Denmark is the only EU member
to have imposed a national ban on the use of animal cloning for commercial purposes, the commission said. The European Parliament in September 2008 urged a ban on any future sale in Europe of food from cloned animals. It also called for a nonbinding resolution for a prohibition on EU imports and farming of cloned animals.
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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NOVEMBER 2010
MICHAEL SOPPE
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
AGE: 32 OCCUPATION: Mayor of Dike, city worker for Cedar Falls, high school coach at Dike-New Hartford VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY: Knights of Columbus EDUCATION: University of Northern Iowa (physical education) FAMILY: Wife Kristin; son Jaiden, 3, daughter Miya, 1 A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: Winning a scholarship to UNI for being Eagle Scout of the Year for the state of Iowa. A MENTOR AND WHY: Tom Wilson, former head football coach at Dike-New Hartford (now at West Des Moines Dowling) and Donny Erusha, assistant football coach at UNI, both showed me what could be accomplished through hard work and discipline. And my dad, Leroy Soppe, who got me involved with community service.
By HOLLY HUDSON holly.hudson@wcfcourier.com
DIKE — Michael Soppe is a busy guy. He works full time for the city of Cedar Falls, coaches three sports at DikeNew Hartford High School and is about to mark his first year serving as the mayor of Dike. “It is a hectic schedule,” Soppe said. “I go straight from one job to another, to another.” Soppe, 32, has worked for Cedar Falls for about nine years doing maintenance and construction. “I started as a seasonal work-
er while I was going to college and then slid into a full-time position.” This is Soppe’s 12th year of coaching at D-NH, something he also started in college. “It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “The kids really make it easy. It is exciting to see what you can get them to do.” During football season, which runs August through November, Soppe’s coaching duties include practices and meetings seven days a week and three games per week. One week after football season ends, basketball begins. And then
there’s two months of golf in the spring. Soppe’s summers are filled with football and basketball camps, practices and the summer weightlifting program at the high school. As for his stint as mayor, Soppe said he was approached by a number of people who thought he would be right for the job. He was elected last November. Currently he and his staff are focusing on updating the codes and the rates for the city of Dike. As mayor, he must attend about a dozen meetings per month.
“The importance of public service was instilled in me at a young age,” he said. “You should want to make the place you live better.” Soppe sees similarities between his elected position and his coaching duties. “Both are leadership positions,” he said. “Both are teams working toward a common goal.” Soppe also finds time for his young family. He is the father of two; his son, Jaiden, is 3, and his daughter, Miya, is 1.
See SOPPE, page 33
NOVEMBER 2010
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Highly educated workers less likely to lose jobs, statistics show The Associated Press
Government data suggest that education is increasingly crucial in protecting workers from unemployment. The difference in joblessness between the country’s least educated people and most educated people increased during the recession, according to statistics from the Labor Department. People without a high school diploma remain more than three times as likely to be unemployed than are college graduates. The increases in the unemployment rate, from December 2007 through August: ■7.8 percent to 14 percent for
SOPPE From page 32 “Miya was born three days before I was elected mayor during the one-week break between the end of football season and the beginning of basketball,â€? Soppe said. He and his wife, Kristin, have been married for ďŹ ve years. “I have a great wife,â€? Soppe
people who did not graduate from high school. ■4.7 percent to 10.3 percent for those with just a high school diploma. ■3.9 percent to 8.7 percent for people with some college. ■2.1 percent to 4.6 percent for those with bachelor’s or more advanced degrees. The gap between the jobless rates of the most educated and those with less education is wider now. More unemployed people without a high school diploma may also have stopped looking for work, meaning they’re not counted in the jobless rate. “This unemployment data, I think, supports the notion that
the less educated would be more impacted by a downturn,� said Jim Borbely, an economist with the Labor Department. � SLOGAN BACKLASH: Corporate slogans can make shoppers rebel, a recent study found. In an article for the April issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, researchers said corporate slogans exhorting consumers to save money could lead shoppers to want to spend more, while tagwords associated with luxury could inhibit spending. In one exercise, 435 college students were shown brands associated with value, including Walmart and Kmart. After being
said. “I wouldn’t be able to do all of this without her.� Soppe was nominated for 20 Under 40 by Sonja Wright of Dike, whose grandson, Michael Weidemann, has been associated with Soppe through athletics since the seventh grade. Weidemann is now a senior. “He is just such a caring, concerned person,� Wright said of Soppe. “Just last night he called to check on Michael, who had
gotten hurt in football. He’s just a really good guy, a great role model for the kids. “Since he’s been elected mayor he has brought a lot of new ideas and energy to the council meetings. He shows a lot of care and concern for the city.â€? Soppe advises everyone, especially the young, to get involved. “Take the plunge rather than having regrets later because you didn’t do something,â€? he said. “Try as many things as you can to see what you like. Don’t let opportunities pass.â€? For now, Soppe talks wistfully about an upcoming day off. “I’m hoping to go ďŹ shing with my dad and my son.â€?
ashed the brands, they students said they were less inclined to spend. But after students read slogans that promoted savings and deals, such as “Focus on value, think us,â€? students tended to want to spend more money. When students were shown brands deemed “luxuryâ€? such as Tiffany and Neiman Marcus, they tended to be willing to spend more money. But seeing catchphrases that promoted spending,
such as “Luxury, you deserve it,� often resulted in students saying they would spend less. The researchers, marketing professors from three universities, said their study suggested consumers often want to do the opposite of what corporate slogans tell them to do. The study said shoppers often understand and resist — perhaps unconsciously — retailers’ attempts to persuade them.
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
By META HEMENWAY-FORBES meta.hemenway-forbes@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — As a news anchor for KWWL, Tara Thomas is used to scrutiny. Viewers comment on everything from her hairstyle to her clothes to her weight. It’s all in a day’s work, she says. But Thomas has chosen to blur the line between her on-air personality and her personal life through a blog chronicling her AGE: 37 OCCUPATION: News anchor, mommy family life. Thomas’ Baby Steps blog has blogger VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Big Broth- a gained a sizeable ers Big Sisters, church, volunteering for local following, letnumerous local charity events ting viewers peer EDUCATION: Boston University (broad- into her private life. cast journalism & political science) “More people FAMILY: Husband Dave; daughter Char- connect with me lotte, 4; son Thomas, 2; stepdaughter through the blog in a Taylor, 22; stepdaughter Lauren, 20 way I haven’t expeA MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT rienced in 15 years HELPED SHAPE YOU: Joining a as a news person,” women’s Bible study and becoming a Christian. Thomas said. “You A MENTOR AND WHY: My mom learn to take the showed me a woman can have a career criticism with the and children. While raising two girls she uplifting. My husgot her doctorate and became a school band is a very good principal (with my father’s support, of sport. He is recogcourse). nized and stopped with the children alone and is willing to let me talk about anything and everything.” It’s that connection with viewers that connects Thomas to the community. She has volunteered as the voice for a number of nonprofit fundraising campaigns, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Alzheimer’s Association. “I always know that I can count on Tara Thomas to help, whether I’m calling her to emcee a concert for the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo or a wine tasting event for a nonprofit that I am helping,” said Kelly Heth of the Isle. “She’s always up for a challenge and she faces every interesting situation with a smile and a laugh, which makes working with her seamless, easy and a lot of fun. More impressive, she does it all while balancing life with her beautiful family and her career at KWWL.” “That’s the beauty of being a news anchor,” Thomas said. “You are given a license to put yourself in the community on that level. I’m comfortable presenting in front of a group and that translates to adding that skill or a voice to an organization to help the community.” Thomas has been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters since she moved to the area in 2002. She was paired with a fourth-grade girl who is now a junior in high school. “I knew some young girl would benefit from my connection to them beyond seeing me on TV,” Thomas said. “I have seen her grow into this young woman. It’s great to really see someone through those years.” She feels a permanent connection to the Cedar Valley and considers this her home. “It’s a great place to raise a family. It’s a 10-minute drive to and from work, and there’s a neighbor to go to next door if I’m in a pinch for a babysitter. People here are willing to give you the time.”
TARA THOMAS
BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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NOVEMBER 2010
By TIM JAMISON tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — Working to clean up blight and bring development to the city’s inner city neighborhoods isn’t just a job for Chris Western. It’s a passion. “I’m now helping neighborhoods that I grew up in, that I played in as a kid, to get better,” said Western, a planner II and brownfields coordinator in the city’s Planning and Zoning Department. “In doing so, I see so many people I know, people that used to baby-sit me. “My parents were such good people in this community, active in the community, so people know my name,” he added. “That makes my job a lot easier.” Western’s vocation naturally puts him at the forefront of several community improvement projects — whether its working with neighborhoods on development of the U.S. Highway 63 north corridor, redeveloping sites around the former Chamberlain Manufacturing or Rath Packing Co. plants or spearheading a committee acquiring abandoned eyesores for demolition. But he stays busy off the clock, too, serving as a board member for the Boys & Girls Club and Team Mates programs and volunteering to help the “From the Heart: Waterloo Home Enhancement” program that helped low-income and disabled seniors fix up their houses. Western, 39, also serves as a mentor for a seventh-grader at George Washington Carver Academy and helps organize the annual Todd P. Western Memorial Golf Tournament in memory of his father, who died in a 2008 bicycle accident. The golf tournament donates two $2,000 scholarships each year to deserving students. “Chris is an up-and-comer and a strong advocate for our city,” said Michelle Temeyer, who nominated Western for The Courier’s 20 Under 40 award. “He has chosen to live in the Cedar Valley and gives back willingly and generously to our community. “He is exactly the type of young leader that we want to lead us into the 21st century,” she added. “If his past is any indication of his future, we will continue to see the fruits of his labors of love.” Ward 4 City Councilman Quentin Hart expects great things from his friend and golfing partner in the future. “Chris has been a person who is not only concerned about people from 9 to 5, he is also concerned about the lives of people outside of work,” Hart said. “He is an up-and-coming leader with a heart that is rooted in his community.”
CHRIS WESTERN RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
AGE: 39 OCCUPATION: City planner VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: Boys & Girls Club board member; Team Mates board member and mentor; From the Heart home improvement program. EDUCATION: B.A., public administration from University of Northern Iowa. FAMILY: Todd Western (dad), Barbara Western (mother), Todd Western III (brother), Adam Western (brother), Todd Western IV, (nephew).
A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: I can’t pick a specific moment but would say my parents are what shaped me. They where extremely supportive and led by example. A MENTOR AND WHY: Being that my mother was a school teacher for 30-plus years and my father was considered to be a great mentor at John Deere and throughout the community, I guess I learned the importance of helping and supporting others and what better time to do so than when there young and impressionable.
ley to earn a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Northern Iowa. Western worked as a program assistant at Main Street Waterloo from 1999 to February 2003, when he was hired by the city as a planner. “Over the years I’ve had friends who all left town, and they’re scattered all over the country,” Western said. “They all wondered why I stayed. “So it’s nice to be acknowledged (with Western was born and raised in Water- munity College in Cedar Rapids. He the 20 Under 40 award) for what you do,” loo, graduating from Columbus High worked for two years as a machinist in he added. “I think where I’m at suits me School before attending Kirkwood Com- Pella before returning to the Cedar Val- just fine.”
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Long-term jobless face longer odds By DIANE STAFFORD McClatchy Newspapers
Laws are supposed to prevent hiring discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, pregnancy and age. But discrimination happens, even when strictly prohibited. So what are the odds that we could combat a different discrimination — which appears to be growing in agrancy — that discriminates against the longterm unemployed? There are zero legal restrictions against that. An excellent recent article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution documented multiple instances in which hiring ads said the long-term unemployed (and, in some cases, any unemployed person) need not apply.
ANALYSIS This isn’t a new bias. There always has been presumption in some quarters that unemployed workers were jobless through faults of their own. But mass layoffs in recent years should have challenged that view. Lots of good people have lost their jobs because they were in the wrong spots at the wrong time. Now we’re hearing that the legacy of those economy-based layoffs — long and deep — is an easy culling device to weed out candidates. Some companies are saying it outright: We will consider only those candidates who currently are working. Others will entertain candidates who have been out of work for just a short while
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— not a long time. It’s true skills might get rusty and that employers requiring peak physical performance might not want to take a chance on someone who has been a couch potato for more than a year. But the barrier to job re-entry thrown up by an “unemployed need not apply� posting is unconscionable. According to the Atlanta-based article, some employers and recruiters may be feeling sufficiently red-faced about posting such requirements. After media inquiries, the “employed candidates only� stipulations tended to vanish. Unfortunately, that’s not to say the discrimination is gone. It may be unstated but still very real. Diane Stafford is the workplace and careers columnist at The Kansas City Star.
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THE COURIER By JON ERICSON
jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com
CEDAR FALLS — Amy Wienands admits she was a little shocked to learn she had been named to the 20 Under 40. She isn’t spending a great deal of time volunteering in the community. She can’t. She’s far too busy helping individuals buy and sell their own little chunks of the Cedar Valley. But Ellen Vanderloo, who nominated Wienands for the honor, sees it as a perfect fit. “She’s not a meeting type of person. She’s out there working hard,” Vanderloo said. “That’s the way she changes lives, through her hard work.” Wienands, 39, a real estate agent with Remax Home Group, has won most of the top awards Realtors strive to achieve. Her name and her slogan brand, “Obsessively working for you,” have become familiar to most anyone living in the Cedar Valley. The catch phrase can be found on billboards, all her printed advertisements, on the airwaves and even on her voice mail. Wienands turned her passion for people, business and the sale into a real estate career early on. After she graduated from college, she moved to Chicago. “I wanted to get into something that had some opportunity to it,” Wienands said. “I was working in the Cook County Jail, and it was a depressing environment.” She moved back to the Cedar Valley and got into the real estate business. Her father pushed her to succeed, asking her every day how many doors she knocked on, how many phone calls she made. He gave her a book, “The Magic of Thinking Big,” which gave her inspiration, then learned from some veteran real estate agents along the way. “The best part of real estate is the people. When you talk about money, and this is the biggest investment most people will make, you get to know people really well.” She attributes her success in real estate to energy and enthusiasm, qualities Vanderloo and
CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
AGE: 39 OCCUPATION: Real estate agent VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: I have been involved in multiple charities. Unfortunately I don’t have as much time as I would like to sit on more boards and volunteer more, but I make specific effort to partner with different groups financially. Some of those include Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Magical Mix Kids, my church, area youth groups and other local families in need. EDUCATION: West High School in Waterloo, Northwestern College FAMILY: Husband, Steve Schneider. I have been blessed with an amazing family, great, supportive parents, two sisters and their families that include two nieces and two nephews that I adore! A MOMENT IN YOUR PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: Out of college I moved to Chicago and taught employability skills at the Cook County Jail. One day I was riding the train to work reading the book “The Magic of Thinking Big” when I decided I wanted to get into real estate. I called my dad and Ruth Molstead that same day and within in two weeks was back in Waterloo launching a career in real estate. I had made up my mind at that moment and was not turning back. A MENTOR AND WHY: When I first got into the business my dad was my biggest support system and mentor. Being a successful businessman himself, he really helped me get started with creative out-of-the box approaches. Throughout my journey in the real estate world, I have considered multiple long-time, successful Realtors as my mentors. Without their advice and guidance through the years my career may not have looked the same way. They include people like Ruth Molstead, Kevan Cortright, Gloria Mueller, Deanna Wheeler and Duwayne Wessels.
Wienands’ co-workers confirmed she has in abundance. Wienands is active in her church, Cornerstone Fellowship Church, where she is serving on a board to hire a new worship pastor. But she said she would like to find more time to volunteer in the community. Anna Caughron of Re-Max Home Group notes Wienands is generous beyond words, but much of her giving is behind the scenes. She supports a number of charities, both local and international, including Magical Mix Kids, the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and World Vision. Vanderloo said Wienands
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NOVEMBER 2010
AMY WIENANDS
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
has been known to quietly take She sees it as just an example of care of another customer’s tab Wienands’ generous character. “Many times those who benat the grocery store when they struggle to pay at the register. efit from her acts of kindness do
not even know the identity of their benefactor. Amy just sees a need and does her best to see that it is met,” Vanderloo said.
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
By PAT KINNEY
NOVEMBER 2010
JAY WITHAM
pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — Some of Jason “Jay” Witham’s earliest memories are of spending Saturday mornings riding his John Deere pedal tractor around his dad’s Cedar Falls car dealership. AGE: 38 They also OCCUPATION: president/ involve his co-owner of Witham Auto VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: mother teaching Boys & Girls Club; Covenant him, by example, Foundation; Kiwianis that giving back Chapter Waterloo Air Show is the right thing Committee; Panther Athletic to do. Club. Witham is genFAMILY: Wife, Tara, son, eral manager of Jacob, and daughter, the Witham car Whitney dealerships in A MOMENT IN YOUR Waterloo, Cedar PAST THAT HELPED SHAPE YOU: “I would Falls and La Porte have to say this was the City started by birth of my first child.” his father, longA MENTOR AND WHY: time metro-area My mother and father car dealer and (Dick and Junean Witham). community leadI know it asks for a mener Dick Witham. tor but I couldn’t think of He also has anybody who has had more impact on me both profes- stepped in and sionally and personally played a key in my life. Outside of the role in communormal things parents teach nity activities of you growing up, my father late, most notataught me the ins and outs bly restoring the of my profession and my Boys & Girls Club mother taught me the imof Black Hawk portance of giving back to County to sound community.” financial and operating order after a crisis in 2006. He serves on the club’s board and is a past president. He also headed up a membership drive with the Covenant Foundation. Jay and two partners, his brother Jeremy and Jay’s Cedar Falls High School classmate, Tim Godfrey, entered into an agreement to buy out Dick Witham in 2005. “I learned everything from him,” Jay said of his father. “I really aspired to be as successful as he was. “I kind of knew since I could remember I was going to be a car dealer,” Jay said. “Every Saturday, I was at the dealership with those old-school car salesmen. I grew up around those guys.” Some of his early community involvement was with the Covenant Foundation, then the Boys and Girls Club. “My mom was very big into it. She did everything” Jay said of his mother, Junean, who passed away earlier this year. He was grateful for Jeremy’s and Tim Godfrey’s partnership, because it frees up time for his volunteer pursuits. The Boys & Girls Club is one of his most
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RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
challenging tasks to date. “It was really one of the greatest things, just to get involved in something that needed a lot of help. And it needed it. There were times when I really didn’t think it was going to make it. It was in pretty rough shape. And to look at it now. ... We’ve got 20 good, strong board members.” Witham “is exactly what the Cedar Valley is looking for in community leaders,” Godfrey wrote in nominating Witham for 20 Under 40 recognition. “I am proud to say I was a 20 Under 40 recipient, and
without Jason as a business partner we could not make this organization what it has become today.” “It is probably no coincidence that his parents were also philanthropic,” said Boys & Girls Clubs president Chuck Rowe, who was hired during Witham’s tenure on the board. “During his tenure as president Jason has done all the behind-thescenes things that outside people may never notice,” from opening a new site at Poyner School in Evansdale to repainting and recarpeting the club’s main Waterloo
building on Lime Street. “Jason is a very intelligent young man who has learned early on from his role models the importance of volunteerism and stewardship,” said co-nominator Parke Behn of Net Worth Advisors. “With visionary ideas, solid integrity and concern for others, Jason is part of the next generation of community leaders,” conominators Rick and Cathy Young added. Jason and his wife of seven years have two children, ages 6 and 3. He still has his old John Deere pedal tractor
PAGE 42
THE COURIER By JOSH NELSON josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com
GRUNDY CENTER — The dollars and cents matter, but not nearly as much as building a caring place in a good community. That’s been a goal of Lisa Zinkula’s since she became the chief financial officer at Grundy County Memorial Hospital in 2003. During her tenure, Zinkula, a Grundy Center native, helped to make the hospital an award-winning facility that caters to the needs of everyone in the area. “People know they can come to us if there’s a concern, and if they come to us it’ll be addressed AGE: 36 properly,” she said. OCCUPATION: Chief The hospital has grown over the financial officer, Grundy years to accommodate those serCounty Memorial Hospital VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: vices. Staff increased from 90 to 210. A collaboration with the Grundy Works with the Grundy County YMCA County Board of Supervisors, hosEDUCATION: Luther Col- pital Board of Commissioners and lege graduate the community has helped to finish FAMILY: Husband, Todd, more than $20 million in modernand three children ization projects from 2004 to 2010. A MOMENT IN YOUR “In her seven years with the GrunPAST THAT HELPED dy Center Memorial Hospital, she SHAPE YOU: Learning has built a strong team and led transhow to enjoy herself while working with her mentor at formational change in our organiAllen Hospital. zation,” said Pam Delagardelle, the A MENTOR AND WHY: hospital’s CEO. Renee Rasmussen, CFO of Zinkula said the hospital needed Allen Hospital, for teaching to expand and update; otherwise it her how to have fun at ther faced closure. But her biggest task job and strike a balance with has been notifying people in the her home life. community about the services the hospital offers. She said people would go to Waterloo or Cedar Falls for an X-ray, mammography or some other service that the Grundy County hospital offered. “There’s a benefit to knowing that your neighbor is taking care of you,” she said. Delagardelle said Zinkula is getting noticed by others. Over the years the facility won: ■ The 2009 Press Ganey Summit Award for patient satisfaction in outpatient services, given to hospitals with a high level of meeting needs over a three-year period. ■ The 2008 and 2009 Gold Standard Performing Critical Access Hospital awards, given out by the Iowa Hospital Association for the finance and operating performance. ■ The 2009 and 2010 Quality First Award, given out by the Iowa Association for Homes and Services for the Aging for improving fall prevention and medication errors. In her spare time, Zinkula also volunteers with the Grundy County YMCA, where she coaches various sports. She said she also has been active in trying to recruit new businesses and families back to town. Zinkula started her career in health care in Allen Hospital’s finance department in Waterloo.
CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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NOVEMBER 2010
LISA ZINKULA
“People know they can come to us if there’s a concern, and if they come to us it’ll be addressed properly.” Lisa Zinkula chief financial officer at Grundy County Memorial Hospital
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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NOVEMBER 2010
Electronic gadgets proliferate, and users prefer going mobile The Associated Press
More Americans are getting gadgets, and they’re increasingly sporting devices they can take wherever they go. According to a recent survey, 85 percent of American adults own a cell phone, making it the most popular kind of consumer electronic. Younger people are overwhelmingly dependent on mobile phones: 96 percent of
adults under 30 own a cell phone, according to the survey done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a nonproďŹ t research group. Mobile is increasingly important to people buying PCs. Just over three-quarters of respondents said they own a computer, almost unchanged from 73 percent in 2006. While more have a desktop — 59 percent compared with 52 percent who own laptops
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— the notebook is gaining in popularity while desktop ownership slumps. Back in 2006, nearly 70 percent owned a desktop, while only 30 percent had a notebook. Nearly half said they own an
mp3 music player. But so far, few people say they own relatively new offerings such as e-book readers (5 percent) and tablet computers, such as Apple Inc.’s iPad (4 percent). The iPad only
went on sale in April. The survey polled 3,001 U.S. adults on landline and mobile phones from Aug. 9 to Sept. 13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
Electronic gadgets proliferate, and users prefer going mobile The Associated Press
More Americans are getting gadgets, and they’re increasingly sporting devices they can take wherever they go. According to a recent survey, 85 percent of American adults own a cell phone, making it the most popular kind of consumer electronic. Younger people are overwhelmingly dependent on mobile phones: 96 percent of
adults under 30 own a cell phone, according to the survey done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a nonproďŹ t research group. Mobile is increasingly important to people buying PCs. Just over three-quarters of respondents said they own a computer, almost unchanged from 73 percent in 2006. While more have a desktop — 59 percent compared with 52 percent who own laptops
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— the notebook is gaining in popularity while desktop ownership slumps. Back in 2006, nearly 70 percent owned a desktop, while only 30 percent had a notebook. Nearly half said they own an
mp3 music player. But so far, few people say they own relatively new offerings such as e-book readers (5 percent) and tablet computers, such as Apple Inc.’s iPad (4 percent). The iPad only
went on sale in April. The survey polled 3,001 U.S. adults on landline and mobile phones from Aug. 9 to Sept. 13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
PAGE 46
THE COURIER
CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
cvbusinessmonthly.com
NOVEMBER 2010
Companies frustrated as workers’ Web use hogs bandwidth McClatchy Newspapers
FORT WORTH, Texas — A memo to workers at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth lays bare the frustrations of many employers as costly Internet bandwidth is devoured by workers downloading YouTube videos or streaming music and live radio. Computer operations at some companies have reportedly been brought to a halt because of recreational use of the Web on the job. The giant defense contractor told employees last week that it was blocking Pandora and other music-streaming sites, online radio stations and gaming sites, as well as sites that stream sports and entertainment audio or video. Such sites were consuming 10
percent of Lockheed Martin’s bandwidth capacity. At the same time, the company’s bandwidth use is growing nearly 25 percent a year, said the memo, a copy of which McClatchy Newspapers obtained. “I can tell you this wasn’t an easy decision to make,” Mark Peden, vice president of information systems, said in the memo. “Many of you will be disappointed by this action, and I certainly understand why.” Lockheed spokesman Joe Stout said recently he did not have the company’s bandwidth costs and wasn’t sure it could be disclosed. In an e-mail, Stout did say: “Like other companies, Lockheed Martin is taking steps to manage costs, productivity impacts, security risks and other factors related to employees’ use of the Internet in the workplace. Our
policy of blocking some nonbusiness oriented sites to limit bandwidth usage is a natural part of this effort.” Peden said Lockheed is not the only U.S. company taking such action. “Blocking sites that consume a large amount of bandwidth has become the norm in our industry, and the cost pressures are moving other business and public sector organizations to take similar action,” he said in the memo, warning that “the growth in our overall Internet usage will soon exceed our capacity.” Information technology consultants agree that streaming video or audio can cripple workflow and raise overhead. But they also said some companies are wary of taking stringent action, such as blocking access to workers’ favorite sites.
“They seem reluctant to put on restrictions,” said Pierluigi Stella, chief technology officer of Houston-based Network Box USA. “Sometimes they do it, then undo it. It’s a struggle between the needs of IT — not to spend money on bandwidth — and management’s desire to keep morale up.”
Some companies are increasing use of software to block access to these sites completely, or limiting access to 30 or 60 minutes a day, said Roopashree “Roopa” Honnachari, a San Antonio-based analyst at the business communications firm Frost & Sullivan.
See WEB USE, page 47
NOVEMBER 2010
WEB USE From page 46 Aside from lost productivity and excessive bandwidth use, businesses are worried about importing computer viruses, Honnachari said.
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
PAGE 47
THE COURIER
Network Box, complaining, “We Network Box, which provides bandwidthat 10 percent. A sporting event this summer can’t get any work done.” computer network security to IT managers can quickly deterindustry and public institutions, tied up computers at a Houston polled 250 IT managers in April manufacturer, which contacted mine what is being streamed on who expressed concern about security risks and the amount of corporate bandwidth used for nonbusiness activity. YouTube consumed the most
which computers. Announcing this policing capability to employees can cut misuse by as much as 90 percent overnight.
ongratulations CJames Johnson
on being selected for 20 Under 40
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CEDAR VALLEY BUSINESS MONTHLY
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NOVEMBER 2010
Gender pay disparity persists in managerial jobs Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — Nearly half a century after it became illegal to pay women less than men, women who become managers still struggle to earn the same as men. Female managers make 81 cents to a man’s buck, according to a report released last month from the Government Accountability Office. That number from 2007 is up a couple of pennies from 2000. It mirrors many pay studies that peg women’s pay at about three-quarters of men’s pay, and it highlights the glacial pace at which women are closing the gender pay gap.
Managerial women with children haven’t gained on men at all in those same seven years, the GAO report says. The pay gap exists in good economic times and bad. Many studies, including the GAO report, control for such factors as job experience and gender preference for different jobs to make a fair comparison of wages. “Even when that’s all added to the analysis, there’s an unexplainable wage gap,� said Jenny Hoobler, a professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, who studies the glass-ceiling effect in America. “This is something that’s systematic. It’s something
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that should have been remedied a long time ago.� Reasons for the gender pay gap vary, from equal-pay laws that aren’t enforced and stingy family-leave policies to women being relatively lousy salary negotiators, experts say. It might even stem from well-meaning managers who try to “save� their female employees from time-consuming projects and overnight business travel so they can spend more time at home. Those projects and that travel might just be the things that lead to job promotions and higher pay, Hoobler said.
Today, pay discrimination is the result of a series of subtle decisions, Hoobler said. “I think it’s hardly ever a single, evil choice anymore,� she said. “It’s like, ‘I think because she has small child she won’t want to do this, so I won’t recommend her for this opportunity.’ “That’s that fuzzy 19 cents (in pay disparity) that’s hard to explain.� Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, said she’s been studying the pay-gap issue so long that she’s generally pleased any
time the gap narrows. But when she tells young women about it, they’re always shocked and wonder why it’s not rectiďŹ ed immediately. “It’s a question of how fast you think it should go,â€? she said. But even she’s been distressed at the slow pace since 1995. “We should have seen more progress in the past 15 years.â€? The original pay-gap law aimed at eliminating wage disparity based on sex was the Equal Pay Act, passed in 1963.
See PAY GAP, page 49
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PAGE 49
A little self-awareness goes a long way with managers BY JOYCE E.A. RUSSELL Special to The Washington Post
Recently I witnessed a speaker give a talk to a business audience in which he used a significant amount of profanity as well as a number of off-color jokes and offensive comments. I — along with many in the audience — was shocked someone so highly educated and trained would make so many inappropriate comments. Shouldn’t he know better? The comments didn’t add value to the speaker’s message; in fact, they detracted from the important points and made him look less credible. As one passerby commented, “Why would you want to take advice from a guy who seems so crass and insensitive?” The episode highlighted for me the importance of emotional and social intelligence. Psychologist and author Daniel Goleman popularized the concept of emotional intelligence with his book on the topic, and numerous workshops have been
PAY GAP From page 48 “There has been progress in that time, but the wage gap has remained stagnant over the past few years,” said Fatima Goss Graves, vice president for education and employment at the National Women’s Law Center. “It’s time to inject new life into the pay laws.” The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bill that has passed the U.S. House and is pending in the Senate, but it faces opposition for being too broad. It would strengthen and close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, Goss Graves said. In part, it would outlaw penalties companies place on employees who discuss their salaries. Experts say one reason for the pay gap is that women don’t know what their colleagues make. “Women recognize the statistic, but they don’t understand
devoted to teaching leaders how to understand and enhance their own emotional intelligence. Goleman has also written on the topic of social intelligence. Emotional intelligence addresses self-awareness and selfmanagement. Social intelligence refers to social awareness and relationship management. An individual with strong emotional and social intelligence has the ability to make his or her emotions work in ways that produce desired results — to facilitate performance and success. Such a person certainly wouldn’t give speeches that alienate half of the audience. For people to have high selfawareness means they have an accurate understanding of how they behave and how others perceive them. They are also in touch with their feelings and know when they are becoming defensive or angry or experiencing mood shifts, and are aware of the impact of their behavior on others. For example, a manager giving
a performance review might note her employee is shutting down when she sees he is folding his arms over his chest or looking away. If she is an effective manager, she will realize her tactics are not working. It is important for people to understand how they react under stress. Perhaps the speaker I originally mentioned was going through a rough period in his own life. If he knew stress created a tendency for him to blurt out offensive comments, then he is one step closer to managing this behavior. Self-management refers to tactics you can use to monitor your moods and emotions. What do you do to soothe yourself and shake off rampant anxiety, gloom or irritability so that you can keep your emotional perspective? Some tips for managing your moods: use relaxation (sleep, meditation), take timeouts for yourself, use humor to relieve tension, smile and laugh more, set up an exercise routine or listen to music. If you are stressed, try pausing before you respond
to what someone says — it gives your brain extra time to choose your words. The key is to use various techniques to keep your moods under control so that they don’t overwhelm you and others. Social awareness means being able to recognize the moods of others. The focus is outward — learning about and appreciating others. A big part of this is accurately reading others’ emotions and having empathy. To be good at this you have to be able to read body language and tone of voice. To get better at this, use people’s names when talking to them, practice active listening and work on reading the nonverbal gestures that people use. Relationship management refers to interpersonal skills that are critical in organizing groups and building teams, negotiating solutions, mediating conflicts, building consensus and establishing networks. Individuals who are good at these find common ground and build rapport with others. They work to build trust. As Eleanor Roosevelt once
said, “Approach each new person you meet in a spirit of adventure. Try to discover what he is thinking and feeling; to understand as far as you can the background from which he comes, the soil in which his roots have grown, the customs and beliefs and ideas which have shaped his thinking. If you care enough to make the effort, you can establish an understanding relationship with people who are entirely outside your own orbit.” Emotional and social intelligence are not just nice things to have — they are critical for success, no matter what your chosen path. We all have areas to improve; what’s important is that we get started on them. Perhaps then, we can reduce some of those inappropriate behaviors in the workplace. Russell is the director of the Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. She is a licensed industrial and organizational psychologist.
that the statistic applies to them individually, and that is because pay is not transparent,” said Laurel Bellows, who will become national president of the American Bar Association in 2012. The GAO report showed female managers with children were paid less for the same jobs than those without: 79 cents versus 83 cents for each dollar a man made. “In the workplace, women with children are presumed to not be as committed to jobs as women without children,” Bellows said. “Think about this: The phrase ‘family man’ is both a term of art and a compliment. Have you ever heard of a ‘family woman?’ “ Advocates for women also stress the need for paid family leave, which is available in many developed countries but in the United States exists only in California and New Jersey, Hartmann said. Such benefits as on-site day care and flexible hours help too.
Another factor in women not getting a large paycheck is they generally don’t negotiate as aggressively as men for higher starting salaries and subsequent raises, experts said. Lee E. Miller, a former human resources manager and coauthor of “A Woman’s Guide to Successful Negotiating,” said he saw it first-hand. “Often when I was hiring women, even at senior levels, they failed to negotiate their compensation package, something that almost never occurred with men,” Miller said. Women do that because they undervalue themselves and aren’t comfortable talking about money, said Susan Wilson Solovic, author of “The Girls’ Guide to Power and Success.” They tend to accept whatever pay is offered. The problem, studies show, is that women who ask for raises and negotiate are perceived as
overly aggressive, which could stunt their career, Goss Graves said. The same is not true of men, she said. “Unfortunately, it’s not a simple fix,” she said. “I wish it were as simple as just telling women to ask for raises.” Another subtle reason why women might not be achieving pay parity is they are saddled with the workplace “housekeeping,” collecting money for a colleague’s wedding gift or talking
to an emotionally distraught coworker. That not only takes away time from being productive at work, but also leads to a negative perception about the woman’s ability as a hard-driving leader, Hoobler said. The prescription? “I hate to say this, but deny your feminine side,” said Hoobler. “They can downplay the fact they have kids and elder care responsibility. Don’t talk about it too much. One family picture on the desk.”
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Welcome New Chamber Members!
Always Best Care Senior Services PO Box 1952 Waterloo, IA 50704 Phone: 877-292-2126 Fax: 877-292-2126 Website: www. alwaysbestcarecedarvalley.com Contact: Martin Timm Category: Home Health Service Better Health Chiropractic 1955 LaPorte Rd. Waterloo, IA 50702 Phone: 319-232-2166 Fax: 319-232-0844 Contact: Robyn Crawford Category: Chiropractors Blade Runners L. L. C. 923 Elmridge Dr. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Phone: 319-230-5075 Contact: Brian Stegall Category: Lawn Care/Landscape/ Snow Removal
Cabin Coffee Co. 2040 Kimball Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701 Phone: 319-232-2034 Fax: 319-232-3252 Website: www.cabincoffeeco.com Contact: Matt Schiller Category: Restaurants/Bars/Caterers Cedar Valley Grapevine 401 Day St. Parkersburg, IA 50665 Phone: 319-939-4556 Fax: 319-346-1719 Website: www.cedarvalleygrapevine. com Contact: David Little Category: Marketing & Advertising
Dedic8ed Express, LLC 1112 Byron Ave. Waterloo, IA 50702 Phone: 319-230-1949 Contact: Sanel Dedic Category: Transportation Brokerage East Central Iowa Cooperative 602 Washington St. PO Box 300 Hudson, IA 50643 Phone: 319-988-3257 Fax: 319-988-9173 Website: www.ecicoop.com Contact: Mark Grove Category: Agricultural Services Fosters Mattress 3840 University Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701 Phone: 319-833-7000 Fax: 319-833-0100 Website: www.fostersmattress.com Contact: Charles Foster Category: Furniture
Hawkeye Foodservice Distribution 305 F Ave. Grundy Center, IA 50638 Phone: 319-883-9886 Contact: Ranae Zoucha Category: Wholesalers & Distributors Kapaun Engineering 138 Eldora Rd. Hudson, IA 50643 Phone: 319-988-9877 Contact: Joe Kapaun Category: Engineering Services
Main Street Mailers 3316 Cedar Heights Dr. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Phone: 319-268-0181 Fax: 319-268-0182 Website: www.mainstreetmailers.com Contact: Kevin Custer Category: Advertising Specialties
Sign Werks 7103 Chancellor Dr. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Phone: 319-277-9515 Fax: 319-243-2800 Website: www.signwerksusa.com Contact: Brad Penrith Category: Signs
Morrison Consulting 11643 Kimball Ave. Waterloo, IA 50707 Phone: 319-231-4873 Website: www.leahmorrisonconsulting. com Contact: Leah Morrison Category: Accountants & CPA’s
Southern Smokeshack Barbeque Restaurant 508 Washington St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Phone: 319-266-1441 Website: www.southernsmokeshack. com Contact: Joe Dueker Category: Restaurants/Bars/Caterers
Print Innovations LLC 1942 E. Dunkerton Rd. Waterloo, IA 50703 Phone: 319-233-1151 Contact: Brad Grieves & Dan Oltrogge Category: Printers/Publishers/Graphics Ridgeway Place 155 E. Ridgeway Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701 Phone: 319-272-2622 Fax: 319-272-2633 Contact: Marge Budensiek Category: Retirement Communities Schultz Financial Services 2512 Whitetail Dr., Ste. 101 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Phone: 319-277-1029 Fax: 319-277-1013 Website: http://karrieschultz.fbfs.com Contact: Karrie Schultz Category: Insurance Agencies
Spread The Care PO Box 82 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Phone: 319-404-4980 Website: www.spreadthecare.org Contact: Alan Shakespeare Category: Associations/Organizations Street Scene LLC 405 Creston Ave. Waterloo, IA 50707 Phone: 319-415-4097 Website: www.streetscenellc.com Contact: Michael Voshell Category: Limousine Service Stuff Etc 1210 Flammang Dr. Waterloo, IA 50702 Phone: 319-233-8009 Contact: John Claussen Category: Department/Discount Stores
Interested in joining the Greater Cedar Valley Chamber of Commerce? Contact one of our membership representatives today to learn how your business benefits by being a Chamber Member! .PMMZ #SPXO NPMMZ!HSFBUFSDFEBSWBMMFZDIBNCFS DPN t #FUUF 8VCCFOB CFUUF!HSFBUFSDFEBSWBMMFZDIBNCFS DPN t
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Absolute Beauty 2520 Melrose Dr., Ste. H, Cedar Falls
NOVEMBER 2010
Always Best Senior Care Services PO Box 1952, Waterloo
Buffalo Wild Wings 6406 University Ave., Cedar Falls
City of Waterloo ADA Sidewalk
LongHorn Steakhouse 1425 E. San Marnan Dr., Waterloo
North Star Community Services 3420 University Ave., Waterloo
The Samuels Group 313 E. 5th St., Waterloo
Street Scene LLC 405 Creston Ave., Waterloo
Please note our NEW Cedar Falls office hours! Monday - Friday 10 AM - 2 PM
Did your business recently expand, remodel or relocate? Are you a new Chamber member? If so, we can do a ribbon cutting for you! Call Bette Wubbena at 319-232-1156 to schedule your ribbon cutting.
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Building Something Greater TRC Update The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is still in the process of Building Something Greater with it's seven-week Total Resource Campaign. The campaign will end Tuesday, November 9. So far, the results have been outstanding! The Alliance & Chamber have 85 volunteers selling Chamber memberships
and sponsorship opportunities to Cedar Valley businesses. The feedback from businesses? Businesses like the opportunity to view the menu all at once and plan their marketing budget for the entire year. "I want to thank the many volunteers who have given so much of their time to our Total
Resource Campaign. As of October 21, they have secured $143,243 in sponsorships for our many projects. The response of our membership has been extremely positive and while thanking the volunteers I also want to thank the businesses that have jumped on the TRC train. It’s been an exciting project and a very worthwhile endeavor, " said Bob Justis, Chamber President.
Welcome, Shari Ford! The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is pleased to announce that Shari Ford has joined our organization as receptionist in our Cedar Falls location. Shari’s most recent position was Administrative Assistant Coordinator of Volunteers at Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls. Her career also includes positions with Sartori Memorial Hospital, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Black Hawk County and County Relief for Black Hawk County.
Thursday, December 2 7:30 - 9:00 AM Kittrell Elementary 1304 Oregon, Waterloo
The program will include updates on city and county issues from Mayor Buck Clark, Mayor Jon Crews and a representative from the County Board of Supervisors. There is no cost to attend; however, reservations are required. Please RSVP by November 26 to the Alliance & Chamber offices, 232-1156.
Sponsored by:
Shari is a long time resident of the Cedar Valley and has a true passion for working with people and organizations. She will staff the Cedar Falls location during our new hours of 10am to 2pm, Monday through Friday.
November Calendar of Events November 2 November 4 November 9 November 10 November 10 November 12 November 17 November 18 November 25 November 26
Don't forget to vote! Polls open from 7 AM - 9 PM TRC Reward Session, Holiday Inn Cedar Falls, Noon TRC Victory Party, Vodoo Lounge, 314 Main St., Cedar Falls, 5 - 7 PM Strictly Business Expo Task Force, Waterloo office, 7:30 AM Diplomats, Waterloo office, 9:30 AM Government Relations Committee, Cedar Falls office, 7:30 AM Membership Task Force, Noon Member Briefing, Covenant Medical Center, Classrooms 1 & 2, Waterloo, 7:30 - 9 AM Happy Thanksgiving! Alliance & Chamber offices closed Alliance & Chamber offices closed
,
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Greater Cedar Valley Alliance Adopts New Strategic Direction, Board Structure Stronger focus on essential economic priorities; a smaller, engaged board representative of the regional economy; and creating a platform for extraregional collaboration are the essential elements of plans adopted recently by the Board of Directors of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance The changes take effect immediately. “We want all businesses in the Cedar Valley economic region to know that we are focused on their needs above all else,” said Alliance CEO Steve Dust. “The Alliance has been
growing as an organization and in understanding of its role in development and regional collaboration during its first six years of work. Concisely stating that our mission is to “increase economic vitality and wealth by leading collaborative economic and community development” fully supports the position our board, professional team, and interested influencers believe we need to pursue.” The adopted goals are: Develop & strengthen a technology & innovation based regional economy; Increase
effectiveness and impact of Alliance organizations; and Act as the recognized catalyst and focal point of effective regional action on economic and community issues of importance to Cedar Valley businesses and institutions. These three goals are supported by 10 priorities, seven of which emphasize developing the regional economy, two support collaboration and effectiveness of allieddevelopmentorganizations, and one directs the organization to “articulate and implement a Cedar Valley vision for a
competitive economic region.” The Governance Plan adopted by the Alliance is an evolutionary step, according to out-going Alliance Chair Ken Lockard. “The board needed to be downsized and restructured to be reflective of the drivers of economic vitality in the Cedar Valley, while also respecting the breadth of business and institutional interests working on economic and community development,” he explained. “The new board is better structured to be responsive to provide policy guidance
for the corporation and help our businesses of all sizes and institutions grow. It is exciting that the board now represents the merged interests of the former economic development and chamber interests. It shows how far we’ve come in building the role of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance”, he concludes. The new strategic statements and board make up are available on the Alliance website at www. CedarValleyAlliance.com.
New Alliance Leadership, Board Members Elected; Veterans Step Down Implementing its newly adopted governance plan, the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance board of directors elected seven new members and recognized several retiring members. Elected to the offices of the Alliance were: Chair: Jean Trainor, CEO Veridian Credit Union; Vice Chair: Hugh Field, Beecher Law Firm; Treasurer: Kris Hansen, CEO Western Home Communities; and CEO & Corp Secretary: Steve Dust. Ken Lockard, Chairman Lockard Companies will continue as Past Chair. Recently the board authorized a restructuring of the board, reducing its membership from 42 to 30, while designating seats for various leadership positions in the Cedar Valley economic
area. Joining the board in new 3 year terms were: Rich Czarnecki, John Deere; Jim Sulenic – Sulenic-Fischels Commercial Group; Chris Fereday – PDCM Insurance; and Sue Armbrecht, MidwestOne Bank. Also, Dr. Gary Norris, Waterloo Public Schools; and Dr. Darrel Colson, Wartburg College joined the board for the first time, filling seats designated for their respective roles. Retiring from the board were: Dr. Ross ChristensenDrs. Christensen, Christensen, & Freeseman, P.C.; Stephanie Bardal-Past President of Community Main Street Board of Directors; Darin BeckBarmuda; Bryan Burton-ACES; Mayor Chad Deutsch-City of
Evansdale; Dick DonnelleyWarren Transport; Jack Dusenbery-Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Iowa, Inc.; Amy Dutton-Northeast Iowa Food Bank; Mason Fromm – Signs & Designs; Mark Kittrell-TEAM Technologies; David LecompteShort’s Travel Management, Inc.; Gene Leonhart-Cardinal Construction; Frank MagsamenBlack Hawk County Board of Supervisors; Mike MallaroVGM Group, Inc.; Melissa McKean-Classic Kitchen & Bath; Heather PrendergastRoberts, Stevens & Prendergast, P.L.C.; John Rathjen-Liberty Bank; Bari Richter-Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo; Rev. Dr. Mary Robinson-All Nations Community Church; David Rodger-John Deere, retired;
Greg Schmitz – formerly of Hawkeye Community College, now VGM; Al Schneider-City of Hudson; Rick Young-Young Plumbing & Heating. “I’m very pleased that we consistently add new leaders to the board of directors, said newly-elected Chair Jean Trainor, “The entire Cedar Valley relies on the Alliance to fulfill its mission by building a stronger, more competitive economic presence in the Midwest.” Chief Executive Dust agreed, commenting that, “While it’s always difficult to see some of our charter members leave the Board, I’m glad that there’s such instant acceptance by business and institutional leadership, from large and small operations, to join the board and guide our
work in the regional economy.” “It will be fun and more effective to operate with a smaller board that meets more frequently. Board members can be personally involved in making the Cedar Valley a more vital and thriving place to learn, build a business or career, and enjoy life”, Dust concluded.
Don't forget to
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Cedar Valley United Way Devoted to Advancing the Common Good There are key building blocks required to lead a good quality of life – education, income and health. By focusing on these building blocks, Cedar Valley United Way aims to make things better for the Cedar Valley and advance the common good. That’s what LIVE UNITED is all about. We all win when a child succeeds in school, when families are financially stable and when people have good health. Thanks to the support of local businesses and community members, Cedar Valley United Way continues to achieve outstanding results not only in fundraising, but in a wide variety of initiatives improving our community. University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen and his wife
Pat are serving as chairs of the 2010 campaign. “We have always believed that by living united and supporting the many programs in our community, we help lift up those community members and neighbors who are struggling and, consequently, lift up the whole community,” said Pat Allen. “We honestly believe that if all of us who are able lend our support to United Way, we can make the Cedar Valley a good place to live for every adult and child who lives here.” Money raised during the
annual campaign provides funding grants for programs of local agencies that work to create a positive change in the Cedar Valley. Within the education, income and health issue areas, programs are working to tackle specific goals: Education t Creating productive and engaged young adults t Partnering with schools and parents to improve academic achievement in children Income t Increasing income by helping hardworking people obtain job training and family-sustaining wages t Encouraging savings as a financial safety net
Cedar Valley Leadership Institute 2010-2011 October kicked off Cedar Valley Leadership Institute 20102011! Cedar Valley Leadership Institute is a professional development series designed for business members who want to develop their leadership skills within the community. The objectives of the program are: to develop effective and involved future volunteers, provide local businesses with prospective
employees exposed to effective leadership techniques, build awareness of the institute, and intellectually engage participants in discussions on community ac-
This showed the class how their memory can serve them well in business and social gatherings. The class also learned about networking and interpersonal skills while they were getting to know their classmates. Coming in November: tivities. Leadership through CommuThe topic was Developing nity Volunteerism. Relations with Memory Enhancements. The class went through a Dale Carnegie Seminar that helped them with name memory enhancement.
Health t Empowering individuals by reducing substance abuse, child abuse and domestic violence t Increasing health education and preventative care t Improving maternal health and infant wellbeing But the Cedar Valley needs to do more. According to the Child and Family Policy Center, there were 789 children had confirmed cases of child abuse in the Cedar Valley last year. In 2008, 17.3% of children live in poverty and 37.5% of students in Black Hawk County were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Fifty percent of Black Hawk County households make
less than $46,000 per year. Be part of the solution. Join the hundreds of other businesses in the Cedar Valley who participate in the Cedar Valley United Way campaign. Consider a corporate gift. Be actively engaged in your company’s campaign. Lead the way with a generous personal gift. It all adds up. Join Cedar Valley United Way and help make this a better community for all. As we give, advocate and volunteer, we’ll increase our own sense of community and see a tremendous return on our investment. For more information about Cedar Valley United Way or how you can contribute, visit www.cedarvalleyuntiedway.org.
As we look ahead to the holiday season, We hope you and your family will shop, dine and entertain here this year. Please enjoy a wonderful shopping season in the Cedar Valley. It's the best gift we can give each other!