Greater Cedar Valley of Iowa | Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA – Eric Johnson, Partner at Beecher, Field, Walker, Morris, Hoffman & Johnson, P.C., was elected to lead the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber Board of Directors during its annual meeting held July 17 at Courier Communications. Johnson will chair the regional economic and community development organization through its 2019 fiscal year.

Other officers elected to lead the organization with Johnson are: Vice Chair Bryan Earnest, AMPERAGE Marketing & Fundraising; Treasurer Jim McKernan, KWWL; and Past Chair Bob Smith Jr., Lockard Companies. The officers are joined by TechWorks Campus Chair Tim Hurley; Chamber Council Chair Pete Meehan, Financial Decisions Group; Sue Armbrecht, MidWestOne Bank; and Dave DeVault, John Deere Waterloo Works to form the Alliance & Chamber’s Executive Committee.

The newly elected at-large members of the board include: Pam Delagardelle, CEO UnityPoint Health – Allen Hospital; Jim Walsh, JSA Development; Ty Kimble, Community Main Street Board chair; Mike Mallaro, VGM Group, Inc.; and Leslie Prideaux University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls Tourism & Visitor’s Center Board member.

Retiring from the board are Steve Brewer, U.S. Bank; Dave Bowling, Hy-Vee Food Stores; Brent Johnson, Bike Tech; Mike Butler, retired; Jack Dusenbery, Covenant Medical Center; and Dharmendra Patel, Days Inn.

Work is already in process for the new organization leaders through extensive strategic planning, research and branding efforts, including a community perception survey.

“The Alliance is energized and excited for the immediate future, telling the story of our great community and the people that live and work here,” said acting CEO Cary Darrah, “As part of our strategic planning process, we are taking a deep look into our messaging and branding, continuing to create ways for the whole Cedar Valley to be part of something greater.”

The complete Alliance & Chamber Board of Directors as well as details about the many programs and initiatives of the Alliance & Chamber can be found on their website at www.cedarvalleyalliance.com or by calling Cary Darrah, Acting CEO at (319) 232-1156.

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Study Finds Every Dollar Invested Generates $64 in Output

Dorothy de Souza Guedes, Independent Writer

Waterloo, Iowa, May 7, 2018: Regional businesses will benefit from more than $1.8 billion in economic output generated over 10 years due to investments in economic development projects supported by the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber from 2013-2017.

That is the conclusion drawn from analyzing data gathered by the Alliance & Chamber and reported in “The Economic Impact of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber from 2013-2017,” a report prepared by Impact DataSource, an Austin, Texas consulting, research, and analysis firm.

The Cedar Valley of Iowa is in northeast Iowa and is within a day’s drive of all major Midwest markets only 180 miles south of the Minneapolis/St. Paul and 265 miles west of Chicago and 315 miles southwest of Kansas City with a regional population of 236,038.

The Alliance & Chamber assisted 23 existing business expansions and new locations in the Cedar Valley of Iowa creating $260.3 million in new capital investment. Together, creating 558 jobs and retaining an additional 30 direct jobs and anticipated creation of 400 indirect jobs.

The report noted that for every $1 in new capital investment generated by these project, the businesses supported and generated:

$13.62 in additional worker earnings
$9.63 in additional local taxable sales
$2.01 in additional net benefits for cities
$5.61 in net benefits for all local taxing districts

During that five-year period, the Alliance & Chamber supported new or expanding existing businesses in economic development projects that created employment opportunities and spent money on supplies, services and other inputs. Direct expenditures include both those by the expanding businesses and earnings paid to new workers. This created a positive ripple effect on regional businesses as workers spend money in area businesses such as restaurants, banks, grocery stores, apartment complexes, convenience stores, and service companies.

“The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber’s one-stop center for economic development services is critical to a community’s economic growth and many of these investments may not have occurred without the efforts of the Alliance & Chamber,” the report’s authors concluded.

“We act as a catalyst for economic and community development through strategies for growth, which prove to increase the economic vitality of this region like no other place in the state of Iowa. We are the Cedar Valley’s One-Voice for business and development interests. We believe in strong community development that feeds a strong economic development goal.,” said Cary Darrah, Acting CEO, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

Local and state governments committed $24.9 million for incentives. After accounting for costs associated with increased demand for city services from new or expanding businesses and new households, the cities are expected to receive approximately $49.9 million in net benefits over the 10-year period.

The Alliance & Chamber plans to have the economic impact analysis done annually to review the impact of economic development projects on businesses and works in the Greater Cedar Valley of Iowa.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber’s mission is to increase economic vitality and wealth by leading Collaborative economic and community development in Northeast Iowa.

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