Tag Archives: cedar valley

The Projected Economic Impact of Harvey

by Steve Dust, CEO, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

So, what happens to the U.S. economy when the fourth largest city in the nation — a major refining center — is shut down? There’s no way to tell yet, but here are some articles that help frame the estimates on how the United States may be impacted by this devastating natural event.

Harvey to Cause Several Months of Unsettled National Economic Data

Applications for unemployment insurance go up, and soaring fuel costs are two of the expected immediate economic impacts of Harvey.

These Are the Data Points That Will Show Harvey’s Economic Impact, Bloomberg, August 31, 2017

Business Conditions in Houston

Here’s an on-the-ground report of business conditions.

Harvey stalls Houston commerce, could cost $50 billion in damage and economic activity, Chron.com, August 29, 2017

Rebuilding Houston

This column by Chris Tomlinson lays the blame for much of the devastation on developers taking advantage of growing populations. Tomlinson also notes that Houston homeowners are dramatically underinsured – only 15 percent who live in a floodplain have flood insurance.

The columnist encourages the City of Houston to alter the form of reconstruction. At a time when people are seeing their belongings mired in mud and seeking a place to protect their families is not a time to debate economics. However, Houston has to come to grips with the balance between people rebuilding affordable, flood-protected homes and businesses and reactionary building requirements that push the investment critical to rebuilding.

Response to Harvey will determine economic impact, Houston Chronicle, August 29, 2017

How to Help

This piece lists some of the U.S. businesses that have stepped up to help with people, materials, and money. If you are affiliated with any of these companies, please consider adding to any funds that they have established to aid the recovery.

Companies are pitching in to help Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, CNBC.com, August 30, 2017

Did you know that your Cedar Valley colleague Joe Vich, in retirement, has become a go-to guy for the American Red Cross disaster recovery group? He volunteers weeks of his time to feed and shelter people who have been made homeless and resource-less due to disaster and also helps individuals in the Cedar Valley when personal disaster strikes. Pam Dowie is another selfless souls who pack a light bag and travel anyplace to help bring human support and essentials to those surviving and recovering. There are many other neighbors doing the same thing; I just happen to know Joe and Pam.

The people of Houston need your help. Here is a list of reputable places to help the recovery.

How You Can Help Victims of Harvey, The Weather Channel, August 29, 2017

5 on Friday: Fuel for Thought

One: Yes, the Cedar Valley Was Considered for Apple’s New Data Center

So, I was walking through the office early Thursday afternoon, and Director of Communications Dorothy de Souza Guedes asks, “What’s your big item to accomplish the rest of the day?” “Getting over the depression of hearing the Governor and Tim Cook announce the Apple data center in [deleted] Des Moines,” was my immediate response.

The Cedar Valley was a strong competitor when this was a 300- to 500-acre project. When Apple discovered it could have a 2,000-acre site with similar features, the competition was, practically speaking, over.

The Apple project has spurred Vice President of Economic Development Lisa Skubal and our Economic Development team to work with our regional partners to discover and work to control two mega-sized sites — one with rail and one without. Why two? The data center mega site has much different requirements than, say, a Toyota plant.

These mega sites are not anomalies. Requests are returning to the market after a fairly long absence of demand with a few exceptions – mostly auto assembly plants throughout the United States and Mexico.

The link is to the article discussing the project and the embedded video reviews the incentive package offered.

Apple’s billion-dollar data center ‘puts Iowa on world stage’

Two: VGM Group Took My Blues Away

At the end of the day Thursday, August 24, my blues were chased away by an Alliance & Chamber’s ribbon cutting.

An open house and ribbon cutting celebrated the newest expansion of the VGM Group’s campus at Ansborough and US 20. Wow! Thank you, Jim Walsh, Mike Mallaro, and team for delivering such a stunning new office building to the Cedar Valley market.

Designed to give new amenities to the growing VGM team that now numbers 760 in the Cedar Valley, the building is a $20 million investment that brought the complex to over 190,000 square feet.

Celebrating the opening of this amazing office with a ribbon cutting ceremony, I laughed through Jim Walsh’s “welcome and thank you” remarks. Talking with the VGM team and their VIP guests — many Alliance & Chamber investors — reminded me how grateful we should be for the loyal, growing, investing, employers we have in the Cedar Valley. Thank you, again, VGM.

VGM shows off latest addition at Waterloo complex

Three: Editorial on Job Skills to Fill the Gap

If you are an employer, you know the employability and job-specific skills gap is real. If you’re not a hiring manager or owner, believe us, the issue is real.

It’s troubling when research expresses that vocational training is too specific and stymies older workers from progressing in or to a new career ladder. There are times when we must say “get over it.”

We cannot afford to have a valuable contributor leave the workforce just because they prefer not to be retrained. The incentives that permit that preference need to lead back into lifelong learning and retraining. That’s particularly painful for boomers who love what they’ve done for 30 years. We as a society can’t let these valuable workers slip out of the workforce: the incentive must be to keep learning and keep working through the reasonable career span.

And I almost refuse to give credence to the idea presented in the article below about young men with less than a bachelor’s degree working fewer hours each year because of video games. I know the data is real, but good grief.

This is an editorial of The Courier, which is absolutely on point with the issues of job skills to fill the gap. Thank you, Roy, Nancy, and The Courier team for a very good piece on a critical issue.

Learning job skills is no game

Four: Critical Few Behaviors and Organizational Culture

We’re all looking for ways to make our workplace a place where people are productive for the firm and our clients. There are a lot of people writing and saying stuff about culture. Strategy+Business is a good business journal and accompanying blog with solid content on a broad range of topics.

This short article helps employers and leaders identify keystone behaviors that will contribute to achieving our strategic and operational objectives. It is worth the time to read to get a start prioritizing culture-building activities in terms of implementation and impact.

Getting to the Critical Few Behaviors That Can Drive Cultural Change

Five: The Robot Apocalypse

Investment Advisor Kevin Wilson makes the case I have advanced since 1981: automation is an improvement in our careers and businesses, not a revolutionary challenge to our intellect. Yes, of course, we can conjure a Jetson’s and HAL-lific artificial intelligence tragedy. But let’s back up to where we are in advancing technology, how we’re using it, and how it can leverage our scarce American human capital. Instead, think about how we quickly ramp up from here. That’s what this lengthy, chart-rich SeekingAlpha.com article does.

Much Ado about Nothing: The Robot Apocalypse Is Actually an Economic Renaissance In Disguise

What are you reading that would help me do my job for you? Email me at SDust@CedarValleyAlliance.com.

Five on Friday: Fuel for Thought

By Steve Dust, CEO, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

You’re changing the way you want to engage with your peers and neighbors, and we must shift with you. During the last week or so, I’ve focused on looking into the changing nature of the work the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber does for you. We have to reflect the conditions in your market and be cognizant of the influences on your business or institution and your customers. Your input on how we execute on these shifts is imperative.

One and Two good documents that summarize current thinking in our industry at the national level.

One: What’s Influencing the Future of Chambers

Horizon Initiative: Chambers 2025 — Eight Influences Shaping the Next Decade for Chambers of Commerce

This links to a summary document from the Spring 2015 issue of Chamber Executive magazine. For more detail, follow the included link to a website with more detail. Eight influences:

Belonging and Gathering
Communications and Technology
Scarcity and Abundance
Global Impacts
Population Shift
Political and Social Fragmentation
Resource Alignment
Catalytic Leadership

Two: What’s Influencing the Future of Economic Development

Looking Around the Corner: The Future of Economic Development

From the International Economic Development Council, this report examines the emergence of trends and how these can potentially change the economic development industry. Four themes:

Demographics
Climate change
Shifting global roles
Technology expansion

Three: Retaining Students is Imperative

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

The link above goes to a recent Vox article on a similar topic, regarding why people leave, stay in or return to hometowns of all sizes and the impact of leaving — or not– on the individual, not the town.

I included the article to encourage your consideration relative the strategies to first, retain students as they move through and emerge from Phase 1 higher education or training, and second, encourage former resident young professionals to return. We should recognize, strategically, that the influences and trends discussed in the article will have an impact on our results – and should impact thinking on both timing and description of benefits and opportunities for those coming back to the Cedar Valley.

Four: Millennials Want CEOs to Speak Publically on Social Issues

Millennials Really Want CEOs to Mount their Soap Boxes

The millennials want CEOs to speak up publicly, whether those business leaders like it or not.

There’s a lot to consider in what’s going on and being brought to our attention in the media right now. Here’s a recent article from Chief Executive on the expectations of one market and staff demographic segment for business leaders and owners to speak publicly on issues traditionally not addressed in business communications.

Five: Deere Third-Quarter Earnings

Deere Announces Third-Quarter Earnings of $642 Million

This is a link to the August 18 news release announcing Deere & Company’s third quarter results. Because the information is important to what’s happening in the Cedar Valley, I study these documents and various sources of third-party analysis to get a feel for the sales trends and expectations in the Agriculture and Turf part of the Equipment division.

What a Day!

By Steve Dust, President/CEO Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

You have probably seen that commercial for an insurance company where, after a great day for a young woman receiving a new car and an equally dismal day for a man whose car tires have been stolen, both exclaim, “What a day!”

That’s how I felt on Tuesday, July 11 as spent four hours traveling to and from Des Moines to attend a three-hour meeting.

Usually, I wouldn’t attend a meeting outside the Cedar Valley on the day of an Alliance & Chamber board meeting, never mind our annual meeting. But I broke that rule for the Future Ready Iowa Alliance board meeting because it meets so infrequently, its planning work is nearing the end, and important implementation actions soon follow.

“What a day!” I repeated to myself the entire trip. Initially, I focused on missing hours of prep time for the Alliance & Chamber annual meeting. Then the people I encountered completely turned my day around.

Ben Allen, former University of Northern Iowa president and current interim Iowa State University president, was the first person I encountered. It was good to see an old friend and champion of the Cedar Valley. That was worth the trip, I thought.
Mike Ralston, President of Iowa Association of Business and Industry, and I walked in together. We always have a lot to compare notes on, but he emphasized that a recent ABI social media post attracted the largest number of views, interactions, and reposts his organization had experienced. The post featured the U.S. Chamber of Commerce presenting U.S. Rep Rod Blum with its Spirit of Enterprise Award; the Alliance & Chamber co-hosted the event at the TDS Automation/Doerfer plant in Waverly.
Hawkeye Community College President Linda Allen is one of eight on the board from various Cedar Valley sectors. As we were getting yet another cup of coffee, she talked to me about another potential partnership between Hawkeye and a local major employer, implemented at TechWorks Campus. She is pumped about the opportunity. (Now, all we need is money).
As the program began, Georgia Van Gundy, CEO of Iowa Business Council, gave a shout out to the Cedar Valley’s aggressive programming to retain, recruit, and prepare talent to fuel economic growth. Unexpected and appreciated. (IBC’s members are Iowa’s largest 20+/- employers, the three regent universities, and bankers’ association.)
While walking back to my table from the coffee urn, President Liang Chee Wee of Northeast Iowa Community College got up from his table to greet me with his characteristic smile. He told me, “I’m a fan of all you’re doing in the Cedar Valley!” That’s all of you: I just happened to be in the spot to catch the compliment.
It was good to see Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham simply because of health challenges she has been managing – with her typical “I’m not getting beat” approach, of course. But then she highly complimented the work of the Alliance & Chamber Economic Development team working on a particular project. I thanked her for taking extraordinary steps to ensure the opportunity to win.
Governor Kim Reynolds’ Deputy Chief of Staff Tim Albrecht is a recent graduate of ABI’s Leadership Iowa, the same class for which Leader Valley‘s Melissa Reade was a co-director. Tim thanked me for the time given Melissa to fulfill that role. She said, “Without Melissa there, it would not have been the amazing experience we had.” That is quite a compliment.
During the meeting, I sat with UNI Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Wohlpart. He has a goal to ensure the Future Ready Iowa initiatives to increase the percentage of Iowan’s with post-high school educational/career prep credentials are effectively implemented in the Cedar Valley economic area. Jim frequently moved our small-group discussion toward the need for local strategies to implement the statewide framework. His enthusiasm is contagious. I’m glad to have such a motivated leader making a difference for the workforce and employers of the Cedar Valley.

By the end of the meeting, I was saying, “What a day!” but for an entirely different reason than during my morning drive.

I had been reminded that the Cedar Valley generally, and our Alliance & Chamber especially, have many talented people effectively and proactively implementing meaningful projects to make our region even greater – and that effort recognized statewide.

Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric & Fireplaces: New Name, More Services

Dalton Plumbing, Heating & Cooling has added electrical services to its repertoire and changed its name to Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric & Fireplaces to reflect its new “one-stop-shop” approach to home comfort.

As of Jan. 18, the locally-owned firm, which specializes in servicing residential, as well as commercial, customers in a 30-mile radius around Waterloo-Cedar Falls, launched a comprehensive suite of electrical services.

Joe Boyle, who founded his own electrical services firm in Cedar Falls since 2001, has folded the company into Dalton to head up its new department.

Boyle, a Waterloo native, also comes to Dalton from Cedar Rapids-based Point Builders LLC, for which he was project superintendent. He also was with Halvorson Trane in Cedar Rapids, where he was a building automation systems technician and project foreman. Since 2001, Boyle has owned Liberty Electric, a commercial and residential electrical contractor business in Cedar Falls.

“Joe’s got a vast amount of experience, too, with automated systems; he’s been in the heating, venting and air-conditioning business; he ran projects for a contractor here in Cedar Falls, so he’s used to scheduling and managing jobs,” said Dave Krejchi, owner of Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric & Fireplaces.

Dalton’s expansion of services is a value-added proposition for customers, Krejchi said.

“This helps us take better care of our customers by keeping our electrical services in-house – to do a better job of getting the job done directly in a timely manner with our own staff,” Krejchi said.

Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric & Fireplaces, which is located in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park, now can answer the three most basic needs of all residential and consumer customers, Krejchi said.

“The biggest thing is to be able to do maintenance on a whole home,” he said. “The three things that go wrong is plumbing, heating/cooling and electrical, and now we’ll be a full one-stop shop.”

Now, Dalton can examine all home systems to ensure each is running properly.

Boyle’s department will have full access to all other Dalton technicians.

“His staff is my staff – dispatchers, accounting, you name it,” Krejchi said. “We have a team of people here to help our customers. We’ll be doing installations and updating and, then, do service work.”

Commercial and residential customers will love Dalton’s expanded repertoire of services, Boyle said.

“Customer service is always what it’s about, and Dave already had a good, established company with an excellent reputation,” Boyle said. “We’ll supply any needs the customer has with this diversification.”

For years, Dalton has operated comprehensive apprenticeships in all its service areas, and the company will add an electrical apprenticeship program, Krejchi said.

The result is that customers can get quick, expert service, no matter what the issue may be.

“You may have a bad outlet or need to upgrade a lighting system, or you may want to switch to more energy-efficient lighting, run outdoor lighting, maybe upgrade your electrical service, or you may have 100-amp service and need 200-amp service,” Krejchi said. “Maybe you want to go from fuses to circuit breakers. Electrical is a whole other field, and we now can take care of that for you in-house.”

Dalton also offers emergency services 24 hours a day, as it has since Chuck Dalton started the firm in 1959.

Dalton’s services include a 100% satisfaction guarantee and financing options.

To reach Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric & Fireplaces, call (319) 266–3513. More information is at www.daltonphc.com.

Waterloo Business Park Recognized as an Iowa Certified Site

Today, Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds announced five additional
industrial sites to achieve certification through the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) certified site program. The City’s South Waterloo Business Park was among the five announced during Governor Branstad’s weekly press conference at the Capitol this
morning.

The South Waterloo Business Park totals 181 acres and is located immediately south of Highway 20 and generally bounded by Ansborough Avenue, Shaulis Road, and Kimball Avenue. Waterloo is one of only 17 sites certified in Iowa. In an effort to address the lack of project ready industrial sites, the Iowa Economic Development

In an effort to address the lack of project ready industrial sites, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) created the Iowa Certified Site Program in May 2012. Under the leadership of Director Debi Durham, IEDA retained nationally recognized site selection firm McCallum Sweeney Consulting to perform independent analysis of applicants on behalf of IEDA.

“These five additional sites give Iowa – and Waterloo – an advantage when it comes to growing our state’s economy,” said Gov. Branstad. “The Communities have gone through a rigorous process to become certified and should be proud of what they have accomplished. Each site being ‘development-ready’ means more projects coming to Iowa and, in turn, more jobs.

“We are extremely excited to have the South Waterloo Business Park certified as a ‘development ready site’ said Quentin Hart, Mayor, City of Waterloo. “In partnership with the Alliance & Chamber we have been marketing it as development ready site and now it has the official designation as being such by McCallum Sweeney Consultants and the Iowa Economic Development Authority”. Hart added.

“The South Waterloo Business Park is immediately located off U.S. Highway 20 and near I-380 well positioned for expanding companies to service east-west and north-south U.S. markets.” He said.

Site certification is one of the fastest growing trends in the site selection business, and by introducing certified sites to the market Iowa is better able to compete for large scale projects. By going through this rigorous process, developers — working closely with their local officials, utility partners and consultants — are better prepared to market their sites with specific site-related information and community data. All site due diligence is completed and resulting issues are mitigated, making the site “risk-free” and thus accelerating the development schedule.

With the help of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber, the City completed the certification process within 18 months, once McCallum Sweeny Consulting invited Waterloo to complete the required due diligence on the Park. To be certified the Park had to meet eight criteria including the ability to provide at least 5 megawatts of electric energy, fiber optics, and 500,000 gallons of water per day of excess capacity at the site within a 6 month timeframe. The certification process required a close partnership between City planning officials, Waterloo Water Works, Waterloo Waste Water, MidAmerican Energy Co. and Mediacom Communications.

“The Alliance & Chamber continues to see an increased demand by site selection consultants and companies for shovel ready sites versus a traditional greenfield site”, said Steve Dust, President/CEO, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber. “The Certified Site designation essentially shortens a company’s schedule for new construction. This a location differentiator for the Park”, Dust added.

McCallum Sweeny Consultant will provide Waterloo and Alliance & Chamber officials with
recommendations for marketing and industry targets which will be incorporated in the Alliance & Chamber’s external marketing initiatives for the Cedar Valley. IEDA also undertakes special marketing initiatives to promote Iowa’s Certified Sites. The South Waterloo Business Park is well suited for companies engaged in light industrial, logistics/distribution, and data centers.

Companies interested in receiving more information on the South Waterloo Business Park should contact Noel Anderson or Adrienne Miller with the City of Waterloo at 319-291-4366 or Lisa Skubal at the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber at 319-232-1156.

Public invited to attend UNI presidential candidate forums

Public forums to be held November 29, 30 and December 1 at 2:30pm in the Old Central Ballroom of Maucker Union, on the University of Northern Iowa Campus.

Three candidates for the position of UNI president will visit campus during the week of November 28th. We encourage you to attend the public forums held on November 29, 30 and December 1 at 2:30pm in the Old Central Ballroom of Maucker Union. You may also have occasion to visit with the candidates in other meetings during the campus visits. The candidate’s vita and video from the forum will be available online. We ask that you provide to the search committee your input on the qualifications of each candidate by completing an online form. A fourth candidate was invited to be a finalist but withdrew.

The aim of the form is to collect meaningful quantitative and qualitative information from the campus community. It was developed by members of the search committee in consultation with Professor Mary Losch, Director of the UNI Center for Social and Behavioral Research.

On the day of each candidate’s public forum, faculty, staff and students will receive an email containing a link to a confidential electronic input form for that person. Please complete the forms as soon as possible and no later than 12 noon on Saturday, December 3. At that time, collection of electronic forms will be closed and the responses for each candidate will be summarized and provided to the search committee.

Community members and any UNI employees without university email access will be able to obtain a link by providing an email address either at the public forum or by requesting a link from CSBR@uni.edu. No names or identifying information will be collected on the forms.

Katie Mulholland
UNI Presidential Search Committee Co-Chair

Daniel Power
UNI Presidential Search Committee Co-Chair

Winnebago Completes Acquisition of Grand Design

The following information was submitted by our investor Winnebago Industries which has facilities in the Cedar Valley, located in Waverly, Iowa.

11/08/16 — Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO) today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Grand Design RV, LLC (“Grand Design”), a manufacturer of towable recreation vehicles (RVs), for approximately $500 million in cash and Winnebago shares. The Company also entered into a seven-year $300 million term loan and five-year asset based lending facility for up to $125 million arranged by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

“We are pleased to complete this transformative transaction. The acquisition of Grand Design positions Winnebago Industries as an immediately stronger player in the RV market and will provide long-term value for our shareholders,” said Michael Happe, Winnebago’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited to welcome Grand Design into our portfolio and look forward to working with their talented team to exceed the expectations of our collective dealers and end customers.”

J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor to Winnebago and Lindquist & Vennum LLP acted as legal counsel. Baird acted as financial advisor to Grand Design and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP acted as legal counsel.

About Winnebago

Winnebago is a leading U.S. manufacturer of recreation vehicles, which are used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The Company builds quality motorhomes, travel trailers and fifth wheel products. Winnebago has received the Quality Circle Award from the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association every year since 1996. Winnebago has multiple facilities in Iowa, Indiana, Oregon and Minnesota. The Company’s common stock is listed on the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges and traded under the symbol WGO. Options for the Company’s common stock are traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. For access to Winnebago’s investor relations material or to add your name to an automatic email list for Company news releases, visit http://investor.wgo.net.

About Grand Design

Grand Design was founded in 2012 and is one of the fastest-growing RV companies in the industry. Since its founding, Grand Design has shipped 26,850 units and has sold over 22,250 units at retail. Grand Design manufactures the market leading Reflection fifth wheel and travel trailer, flagship Solitude extended stay fifth wheel, luxury Momentum toy hauler and lightweight Imagine travel trailer product lines.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including, but not limited to increases in interest rates, availability of credit, low consumer confidence, availability of labor, significant increase in repurchase obligations, inadequate liquidity or capital resources, availability and price of fuel, a slowdown in the economy, increased material and component costs, availability of chassis and other key component parts, sales order cancellations, slower than anticipated sales of new or existing products, new product introductions by competitors, the effect of global tensions, integration of operations relating to mergers and acquisitions activities, any unexpected expenses related to ERP, risks relating to the integration of our acquisition of Grand Design including; risks inherent in the achievement of cost synergies and the timing thereof; risks related to the disruption of the transaction to Winnebago and Grand Design and its management; the effect of announcement of the transaction on Grand Design’s ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other third parties, risk related to compliance with debt covenants and leverage ratios, risks related to integration of the two companies and other factors. Additional information concerning certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from that projected or suggested is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the last 12 months, copies of which are available from the SEC or from the Company upon request. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained in this release or to reflect any changes in the Company’s expectations after the date of this release or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based, except as required by law.

INVISION Honored with Two National Design Awards

The Following information was submitted by our investor INVISION.

INVISION received a Gold Award and a Merit Award in the national 2016 Association of Licensed Architects Design Awards Program.

INVISION, a planning, architecture and interiors firm with locations in Des Moines and Waterloo, received two awards in the recent 2016 Association of Licensed Architects (ALA) Design Awards Program. INVISION received the Gold Award for work on the Cedar Valley SportsPlex in Waterloo, Iowa, as well as a Merit Award for a mountain cabin private residence in Whitefish, MT.

ALA uses the Design Awards Program as an annual showcase of the power of design by its members nation-wide. A complete list of winners will be highlighted in the 2016 winter issue of Licensed Architect magazine.

Cedar Valley Sportsplex, Gold Award

The Waterloo Development Corporation teamed with INVSION to provide an affordable and high-quality fitness center to improve the health and wellness of the community. One key objective in the design of the Cedar Valley SportsPlex was the expression of movement throughout the project; from the gently curving fieldhouse roof to the transparent glazing throughout the facility—bodies in motion was consistently at the forefront of design thought. A wood datum wall divides the two main volumes and makes a monumental statement inside the space. The use of wood throughout the facility provides cohesion between the basketball court, bleachers, and wayfinding elements while delivering a modern, yet natural aesthetic. The Sportsplex attracts patrons from across the Cedar Valley and houses indoor soccer fields, basketball and volleyball courts, a leisure pool, an elevated four-lane running track, weight and cardio workout areas, fitness studios, a golf practice area, child care, kid’s gym, and departmental offices.

A Mountain Cabin, Merit Award

The design for this private vacation home was done in partnership with Hunter & Company Interior Designs. It caters to an active family whose contemporary style broke the mold of the traditional rustic mountain home. The exterior design is carried through into the interior architecture through strategic use of natural materials and soft colors that complement the mountain views and contemporary lines. Extensive use of glass maintains a strong connection to the outdoors and blends with the interior to create a sophisticated sanctuary.

INVISION is honored to be recognized in this competition and looks forward to the next opportunity to create imaginative and client-focused design solutions that have a positive impact on the people who experience them.