Tag Archives: cedar valley

Alliance & Chamber Supports Cedar Falls Facilities Plan Bond Proposal

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber supports the comprehensive facilities plan proposed by the Cedar Falls Community School District, and encourages patrons of the district to support this important program at the polls on Tuesday September 9.

Businesses and institutions of all types and sizes rely on modern infrastructure to encourage and accommodate economic growth and job creation. Perhaps as in no time in the past, the quality of educational content and experience delivered in advanced school facilities is critical to the continuing strength of our economy. Our Cedar Valley regional school facilities must lead in design, features and amenities to help our students become leaders in educational preparation and attainment.

This is true throughout the Cedar Valley economic area. We have all seen tangible and intangible benefits from the building program financed by the Local Option Sales Tax over the last decade. Now, it is essential that our educational facilities at all levels prepare students for the emerging jobs and challenges of community citizenship of tomorrow.

We point out that this is precisely the kind of investment that must be made now to ensure that our students can take advantage of the opportunities of the future economy. Our businesses are particularly sensitive to increases in property taxes given the disproportionate burden placed directly on commercial and industrial property owners and indirectly on their tenants. For us to see the advantages to these investments in school facilities, we also recognize a huge return on these investments – a return that comes in the form of more successful teacher recruitment and retention, and student preparation and achievement. We must see the plan helping to “fill the pipeline” with graduates well-prepared to assume highly productive roles in the future economy. We currently have a skills mismatch, and a shortage of talented people for new jobs that rely on “brainpower” and soft skills. Students with rounded educational experiences highlighted by hands-on experience, and achievement in sciences, technologies, mathematics, as well as the arts and the interpersonal skills are and will be needed. We must make these key investments to provide the best environments in which knowledge and skills are learned and attract the highest quality educators.

But schools facilities construction programs cannot be executed outside the parameters we expect of any public investment in infrastructure or service. Further, with many school districts and institutions within the Cedar Valley examining capital and facilities programs and financings, we must insist on consistency in evaluation of the proposals and value delivered to the taxpayers, as well as the students of our regional districts and institutions.

We believe that the plans must take into account the most modern design and service delivery models feasible.
The plans must be comprehensive and consider new partnerships with other educational institutions and districts, fulfilling its obligations to the patrons of the specific school district or constituency while maximizing collaboration, coordination and minimization of duplication among neighboring school districts and higher educational institutions in programs, human resources, curriculum, and services.
The plans must have been vetted by the patrons in a manner to elicit and consider the spectrum of views on feasibility, financing mechanisms, and impact on their community, in order to establish credibility for the amounts needed to implement modern, and indeed, futuristic facilities expansion, repurposing, and replacement programs.

The Cedar Falls proposal meets these criteria and the expectations of our economy.

The district has been very good stewards of the patrons’ funds, maintaining a very low tax rate as compared to similar sized districts
The district has not asked their patrons to approve a bond issue for facilities in nearly 40 years.
The plan replaces facilities for rational reasons: the new facilities replace obsolete designs that can no longer be modified and upgraded to meet modern standards; landlocked facilities are moved to larger sites where future needs can be anticipated and addressed; and facilities are located where population growth is occurring and anticipated in the district.
The plan was vetted by District leadership internally and with significant community involvement, review and comment.

We encourage businesses, parents and all patrons of the Cedar Falls Community School district to support the bond referendum on Tuesday September 9.

Adopted by the Board of Directors

Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

Steve Tscherter

Chair

Steve Dust, CEcD

CEO

Hanawalt Elected Chair of ABI; Dust, Abbas, Graening, Voorhees Elected to ABI Board of Directors

Alliance & Chamber investor and President of United Equipment Accessories (UEA) in Waverly was elected chair of the board of directors of the Iowa Association of Business & Industry (ABI) for the 2014-15 program year. Other Cedar Valley representatives elected to and serving on the ABI board of directors include:

· Alliance & Chamber CEO Steve Dust – At Large Director

· Threads CEO Sean Abbas – District 2 Vice Chair

· GMT Corporation President Jared Graening- At Large Director

· Standard Golf President Pete Voorhees – District 2 Director

The elections were held during ABI’s annual meeting on June 10, in conjunction with its annual Taking Care of Business conference.

ABI has been known as “The Voice of Iowa Business Since 1903,” and is the largest business network in the state (serving as Iowa’s State Chamber) with a long legacy of advocating for a competitive business climate in Iowa. With over 1,400 members, ABI works, “to foster a favorable business, economic, governmental and social climate within the State of Iowa so that our citizens have the opportunity to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.” ABI is also the state level affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers and BIPAC, an organization that provides employers with issue based tools to inform employees about impacts of public policies on business.

“Mark will be a terrific, results-oriented chair for an important organization,” stated Dust. “ABI is an essential partner in our work. It’s also impressive that the Cedar Valley has such a strong representation in our state association’s board of directors. That gives us a strong voice in crafting the message of business in Des Moines and Washington, said Dust.

Hoover Middle School Students Showcase Leadership Knowledge and Skills to Business Professionals at CUNA Mutual

Hoover Middle School students will be showcasing their knowledge of the 7 Habits to CUNA Mutual employees at a 7 Habits Lunch & Learn, Thursday, June 5 in Waverly. The student led presentation will complete a seven part series of luncheons based on the leadership principles outlined in Steven Covey’s bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

In January 2014, a group of CUNA Mutual employees attended a 7 Habits workshop hosted by the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber. Impressed by the 7 Habits experience, those employees returned to the office to share their knowledge with other CUNA employees. The result was a series of lunch and learns based on the 7 Habits.

“We talk about a habit, then challenge participants to live the habit, and do a simple activity relating to that habit during the week. We start the next week by discussing how last week went,” says

Mary Driscoll, Team Leader, Consumer Service Contact Center at CUNA Mutual Group.

The CUNA organizers inquired of Leader Valley Program Director, Melissa Reade, about having students from a Leader in Me school share their insights and expertise about the 7 Habits and Leader in Me in the final session of the series. Leader in Me is a K-12 initiative to infuse the 7 Habits into school culture in order to better equip students with soft skill for life long success. Leader in Me has been adopted in schools across the Cedar Valley.

“We are so pleased to have this unique opportunity for a few of our many talented students to share in a business setting what they have gained from being part of a leadership focused school. We know Hoover students are our future neighbors, friends, employees, leaders, and community members who will shape the Cedar Valley. At Hoover, we strive to create a leadership culture that instills the necessary essential skills that prepare student for what life has to offer, both professionally and personally,” says Mike Fisher, Principal at Hoover Middle School, “We couldn’t be happier to be presenting and sharing with our CUNA friends.”

CUNA Mutual staff will have the opportunity to interact directly with students as they showcase their leadership displays. The students will then give a presentation on the 7 Habits and lead hands on activities for the CUNA Mutual staff, followed by Q&A and a luncheon.

About the Leader Valley and Leader in Me

The Leader Valley Talent Initiative of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is an effort to make the Cedar Valley a better place for students to excel and become well prepared for citizenship and their future careers. This is achieved through high levels of community collaboration. Through Leader Valley, strong partnerships among Cedar Valley businesses, school district administrators and school boards, parents, and the community are being built. Leader in Me is offered to Cedar Valley K-12 schools through Leader Valley, which incorporates leadership into all facets of the school culture.

Hoover Middle School is wrapping up their first year of Leader in Me implementation. The Hoover team has spent a year embedding leadership into all facets of their school culture- from curriculum and instruction to their environment, operational systems, and traditions.

Student leaders at Hoover have ample opportunities to learn about and apply the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, as well as use and refine their gifts and talents in authentic leadership opportunities ranging from classroom and school-wide leadership roles, leadership committees, clubs, and event planning.

Two highlights for Hoover this year include their Leader in Me Ribbon Cutting, a ceremony commemorating the shift to a leadership culture, as well as their Leadership Day, which allowed community leaders that chance to see Hoover student leaders in action.

CUNA Mutual has been a long-time champion of Leader Valley. In 2013, CUNA Mutual Foundation sponsored Leader in Me implementation at George Washington Carver Academy by providing a $75,000 gift over three years. The foundation plans to make similar gifts for implementing the Leader in Me in additional schools the near future.

For more information contact Program Director, Melissa Reade, at Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber by calling (319)232-1156 or by email mreade@cedarvalleyalliance.com.

CUNA Mutual Group’s Waverly Philanthropy Committee Presents Donation to first Waverly Leader in Me School -St. John’s Lutheran

St. Paul’s Lutheran School is the first school in Waverly to show interest in the “Leader in Me” program. With the success of this program in several Cedar Valley schools and the belief that this program will facilitate strong working partnerships between Cedar Valley businesses, educators, parents and students in each community in which Leader Valley is organized, CUNA Mutual Group hopped on board. On May 29th, CUNA Mutual Group’s Waverly Philanthropy Committee presented a generous donation to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church & School, sponsoring the implementation of the Leader in Me program into the school’s curriculum.

Three Reinvestment District Projects receive provisional funding approvals

The Iowa Reinvestment District Program is designed to assist communities in developing transformative projects that will improve the quality of life, create and enhance unique opportunities and substantially benefit the community, region and state. The program provides for up to $100 million in new state hotel/motel and sales tax revenues to be “reinvested” within approved districts. Districts cannot exceed 25 acres in size and must be in an Enterprise Zone or Urban Renewal Area.

Iowa Reinvestment District plans must include tax revenues generated by “new retail establishments” and “new lessors”. New retail establishments cannot exceed 50 percent of the total proposed capital investment. At least one of the new proposed projects within the district must reach a total capital investment of $10 million. And, the total amount of new tax revenues to be remitted to the municipality cannot exceed 35 percent of the total cost of all proposed projects in the district plan.

Three of the 10 applicants received a score in excess of 70 points (out of 100) and presented their projects to the Due Diligence Committee in May. The IEDA board today, upon the recommendation of the Due Diligence Committee, decided on provisional funding for the projects in the city of Des Moines, the city of Muscatine and the city of Waterloo.

The provisional funding decisions are designed to provide practical feedback for municipalities interested in creating a reinvestment district but are not final or binding. Following the provisional approval, final application materials fully meeting all of the program’s requirements are due prior to March 1, 2015. Applicants may amend any part of the pre-application to represent any change to the proposed projects within the district. The final application will be re-scored in the same manner as the pre-application, if changes are made. The board’s final funding decision may be different from the provisional funding decision based on the final application.

The city of Des Moines was provisionally approved for a maximum of $36,487,400 in funding for its proposed district in the city’s downtown. The Des Moines plan proposes a total capital investment of $178.5 million and includes building a convention headquarters hotel, investing in infrastructure and amenities to support new visitors, redeveloping important downtown sites, preserving significant architecture, improving walk-ability throughout downtown, and connecting important amenities such as the Iowa Events Center, Principal Riverwalk, the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines and Cowles Commons, the East Village, Court Avenue and Western Gateway Park.

The Muscatine Reinvestment District received provisional funding approval of $10 million maximum for its $41.1 million capital investment. This district includes one major project, the Riverview Suites Development, consisting of three elements: the construction of a new hotel, the remodel of a vacant building into a conference and events center, and the construction of a parking ramp.

The city of Waterloo was provisionally approved for $12 million maximum for the TechWorks district, located at the west end of downtown and made up of land donated by Deere & Company. The district has a capital investment of $74.1 million and includes three projects. The first is a mixed-use development including a business-class hotel, industrial incubator, private sector lab and manufacturing maker-space and John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum. The second project area includes commercial out-lots such as a restaurants and retailers that complement other project areas. The third project area includes a marina for boat storage, boat sales, fuel sales and a riverfront restaurant.

Full application materials for these three projects will be available within 10 days for public viewing at www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/CommunityDevelopment/ReinvestmentDistrict. Applications for subsequent Reinvestment Districts will be accepted from March 1-15, 2015.

###

Download a spreadsheet of today’s awards:
http://iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/UserDocs/documents/IEDA/june14awards.pdf

Young Professional Graduate from Cedar Valley Leadership Institute with Stronger Ties to the Community

Cedar Valley of Iowa (June 10, 2014) – The 2013/2014 Cedar Valley Leadership Institute (CVLI) of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber concluded it sessions with a graduation reception at Park Place Event Center on May 28th. Employers, family and Alliance & Chamber staff and board members were on hand to congratulate the 27 graduates.

Cary Darrah, Vice President Community Development of the Alliance & Chamber reflected on the highlights of the year by saying, “This is a dynamic class of emerging leaders for the Cedar Valley. Their leadership qualities go beyond their professional commitments and will be a huge asset to our community.”

“The CVLI program is designed to produce leaders for the advancement of the Cedar Valley. The graduates are making the Cedar Valley a better place to do business and build a career by engaging in volunteer community projects or organization opportunities, and by encouraging others through their experience,” noted Steve Dust, CEO of the Alliance & Chamber. “I would also like to thank the employers/sponsors of this year’s class for investing in the leadership development of their team, as well as the future of the Cedar Valley.”

“CVLI provided an avenue un-like any other that I have traveled down before,” says Patrick Smith a graduate of the institute and Vice President, Institutional Sales at First National Bank, Cedar Falls, “It was more than just an opportunity to network with other professionals; by the end of the class we all built relationships that will extend well beyond the last nine months in the CVLI program. I personally look forward to working along-side these talented, highly-thought of leaders, as we all grow with the Cedar Valley.”

Members of the class included:

Joshua Anderson John Deere Engine Works

Bethany Benner Next Generation Wireless/Jiva Salonspa

Randy Bennett City of Cedar Falls

David Betz John Deere

Sarah Bey UNI Regional Business Center

Nate Clapham UNI Foundation

David Hansen Advanced Systems

Dale Hartz UNI Career Services

Drew Hektoen John Deere Waterloo Works

Tina Hummel MidWest One Bank

Lisa Johnson John Deere Waterloo Works

Amy Kay City of Cedar Falls Engineering

Heidi Kenkel John Deere Waterloo Works

Kaara Latusick VGM Group

Kelly Mangrich Veridian Credit Union

Kristina Mehmen Invision Architecture

Joshua Moon Dutton, Braun, Staack, & Hellman

Tara Sagers PDCM Insurance

Adam Schaefer US Bank

Patrick Smith First National Bank

Steve Skram Beecher, Field, Walker, Morris, Hoffman & Johnson

Nathan Vandegrift John Deere Engine Works

Matt Waller VGM Homelink

Cindy Wiles Western Home Communities

Amy Williams Lincoln Savings Bank

Harley Wilson CBE Companies, Inc.

Megan Zuniga John Deere Waterloo Operations

Registration for the 2014/2015 CVLI will begin July 1. Cost of the institute is $795.00 and is limited to Alliance & Chamber investor companies and organizations.

More information can be found at www.cedarvalley alliance.com or by contacting Cary Darrah by calling (319)232-1156 or email cdarrah@cedarvalleyalliance.com.

###

Economic Development Board Approves Cedar Valley Project

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board awarded direct financial assistance and tax benefits to nine companies for job creation and expansion projects including a major project in the Cedar Valley. These awards will assist in the creation/retention of 484 jobs and will result in nearly $105 million in new capital investment for the state.

A proposed project includes an investment to expand tractor product laboratories at the John Deere Product Engineering Center in Cedar Falls. These investments will address the evolution of tractor size and power, and add test capabilities to help ensure that John Deere products meet customers’ expectations for productivity, reliability, efficiency and comfort. The project is expected to have a capital investment of $27.7 million and would retain 29 jobs at a qualifying wage of $18.84. The board awarded John Deere tax incentives through the HQJP to complete this project in Iowa.

Employment Opportunities: Communications Assistant and Administrative Assistant with Alliance & Chamber

COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber seeks candidates to become our full-time Communications Assistant. The main responsibility is to fulfill the graphic design and marketing needs for events, social media and website content support including analytics, and assisting with overall graphic design needs of organization and special projects.

Marketing, Communications or Graphic Design degree preferred, or experience equivalent. Must be proficient in Adobe products (InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator), website content management systems, and Microsoft Office. Candidate must be comfortable working in various forms of media including television, radio, print, social media, e-media, etc. The successful candidate will have excellent oral and writing communication skills, including copywriting and proofreading. Additional experience that will be beneficial includes photography, html coding and video production. This position will entail a heavy emphasis on graphic design, so a portfolio of previous work will be requested at the interview

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT / RECEPTIONIST

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber seeks a positive and organized candidate to become our full-time Administrative Assistant/Receptionist. The main responsibility is to provide administrative support to the office, answer multi-line phone and greet guests. Also assist with office management, membership functions, and meeting/event invitations and preparation.

Requirements include at least 2 years of related work experience and proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Office, Outlook, mail merge and database management. Minimum typing speed of 50wpm. Additional research skills a plus. Must have proven organizational and time management skills. NCRC certification preferred.

Competitive wage and benefit package available. Please send cover letter, resume, and professional references to: SSommerfelt@cedarvalleyalliance.com. Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, 10 West Fourth Street, Suite 310, Waterloo, IA 50701. EOE

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is a private, not-for-profit corporation whose investors include businesses, institutions, local governments and professionals dedicated to continuously improving the economic environment and quality of life in the Cedar Valley. The Alliance & Chamber works to increase wealth and economic vitality through collaborative economic and community development throughout the Cedar Valley economic area.

Cedar Valley Investor Report

The Cedar Valley Investor Report gives a snap shot of the activities of the Alliance & Chamber, news from our investors, and informative articles selected for their relevance to economic growth in the Cedar Valley.

Cedar Valley Investor Report

Grow Cedar Valley