Tag Archives: Waterloo

The Alliance & Chamber encourages voters to say “Yes” on Tuesday, November 5, 2013.

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber encourage the voters of Black Hawk County communities to renew the one-cent Local Option Sales Tax on the ballot on Tuesday, November 5th.

Since 1991, the communities of Black Hawk County, with voter approval, have collected a one percent sales and service tax on qualified purchases. Waterloo and Cedar Falls have consistently used the revenues from this sales tax for the construction and repair of streets. Both cities have again pledged to use the revenues in a similar manner if the tax is reauthorized. Other cities have also used the revenues for key attributes, while others have reduced property tax burdens.

The sales tax has produced notable results. For instance, in Cedar Falls and Waterloo alone, since the tax program’s implementation, hundreds of miles of streets have been reconstructed, overlaid, or seal-coated; and many railroad crossings have been replaced.

The sales tax is imposed by local governments on goods and services sold within Black Hawk County. Out-of-county purchases generate an estimated 35% of the tax revenue.

The Alliance & Chamber encourages government at all levels to monitor operations continuously to discover ways to reduce property tax, sales and service tax, and other fees that are ostensibly taxes imposed on business and residents. However, we recognize that the revenues from this sales and service tax are used for key infrastructure for economic growth and a satisfactory quality of life, and there are established oversight committees established to review the proposed uses of the tax revenue.

Therefore, the Board of Directors of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber endorses the renewal of the one-cent Local Option Sales and Service Tax in Black Hawk County. The Alliance & Chamber encourages voters to say “Yes” on Tuesday, November 5, 2013.

Approved by the Board of Directors, during its regular meeting on October 1, 2013.

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Steven J. Dust

CEO

TechWorks proponents forge ahead

September 30, 2013 12:00 pm Editorial – Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

That’s why proponents of the Cedar Valley TechWorks should not lose heart.

TechWorks, the agri-industrial research complex being developed on portions of John Deere’s former Westfield Avenue facilities, is now 10 years in the making. It was jointly proposed in 2003 by then-University of Northern Iowa president Robert Koob and Barry Shaffter, then general manager of Deere’s Waterloo operations.

Part of the project appears to have hit what proponents call a financial “speed bump.” An application for historic designation through the U.S. National Parks Service has been turned down. At stake is some $10 million in historic preservation tax credits toward the $50 million project.

Proponents are forging ahead.

Bryce Henderson, chief financial officer and chief operating officer with Davenport-based Financial District Properties, the project’s developer, said, “This decision was largely subjective, and we’re going back next week to present our case again,” he said last week.

Darn right. With all due respect to the Park Service, we don’t understand how preserving and enhancing a complex that was the industrial heart of Waterloo for most of the 20th century cannot have historic significance. We areapproaching the 100th anniversary of John Deere’s entry into Waterloo with the purchase of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. in 1918, which was located on that very spot.

Henderson said the project will continue, and that there are backup financing plans. “You never go into a redevelopment project like this without a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D,” he said.

Developers have not given up on securing the historic designation for the Tech 2 building, which is scheduled to open in the winter of 2014 with a Radisson business-class hotel with a ground-floor restaurant, John Deere training facility, showroom and office space and a location for education programs of Hawkeye Community College.

“Part of our discussion was how to get started on the west end of the campus around the museum (Deere Tractor and Engine Museum, now under construction) and Tech 1 while we’re still putting all the pieces together for the Green project,” said Steve Dust, president and CEO of TechWorks. “It was important to understand that we continue to move ahead, even though this is a very important part of the project.”

We appreciate and applaud that undaunted approach. We would ask Park Service officials to consider the alternative. Longtime Cedar Valley residents have seen many industrial buildings fall victim to the wrecking ball, which subsequently resulted in aesthetic eyesores and environmental cleanup headaches.

The TechWorks project is a responsible, systematic re-use of a major industrial site in this city, preserving the site’s heritage with a look to future technologies. That’s a plan worth pursuing, and fighting for.

1,500 Cedar Valley Students To Take Part in National Manufacturing Day

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, Hawkeye Community College and area school districts are partnering to coordinate tours for 1,500 area 9^th grade students to tour manufacturing facilities on October 4^th, National Manufacturing Day.

CEDAR VALLEY of IOWA (September 17, 2013)—On October 4^th, ninth grade students from nine, Cedar Valley area schools will see manufacturing and engineering careers in action as part of National Manufacturing Day (www.mfgday.com). The event is sponsored by the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber and Hawkeye Community College.

The Cedar Valley is home to the highest concentration of manufacturing companies and careers in the state, and the demand for future employees in manufacturing is projected to be extremely high. Some area companies have been hiring 15 to 25 people per year to keep up with retirements, so the Alliance & Chamber partnered with Hawkeye Community College, the leading advanced manufacturing training center in the state, and the local SME Chapter (Society for Manufacturing Engineers) to conceive an event that gets students into local businesses.

More than 14 manufacturing companies will participate and open their doors to groups of 15-40 students and chaperones showing off their advanced technology, innovative designs and leadership opportunities to a new generation. “It’s important for us to debunk the myths of manufacturing careers that can exist with students, and even their parents. These are no longer the dirty careers of years past. These are now careers that involve critical thinking, high-technology, and some of the most important products to our economy,” said Britt Jungck, Director of Business Services and Workforce Development for the Alliance & Chamber.

After the event, students will have the opportunity to respond to an online survey to capture what they learned and how their attitudes about manufacturing careers changed as a result of seeing the facilities first-hand. This data will be extremely useful for area school districts in career counseling and high school programming.

“This is just another example of how the business and education communities in the Cedar Valley are creating meaningful partnerships that will enhance our workforce and quality of life,” Jungck added.

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Alliance & Chamber Seek Investor Input to 2014 Legislative Policy Agenda

As the Government Relations Committee begins deliberating on the 2014 GCVAC Legislative Policy Agenda, I want to extend a special invitation to an Investors’ Legislative Issues Forum on Monday, September 16, 2013 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cedar Falls from 8:00-9:00 am. This year, the Alliance & Chamber is offering an opportunity for investor involvement in legislative priority identification through this forum. Please come to hear from other investors what is on their minds as we begin crafting our 2014 agenda. Our hope is that this forum will give us an important head start and strengthen our efforts in identifying and prioritizing issues important to business in the Greater Cedar Valley as we build the Alliance & Chamber’s legislative agenda for the next session.

The October 11 Friday Forum will be at the Five Sullivan Bros. Center and the November 8 event will be at the Waterloo Center for the Arts.

Cedar Valley’s CUNA Mutual Group and Veridian Credit Union collaborate, fund implementation of Leader in Me in two area middle schools

Cedar Valley of Iowa – Two regional financial services organizations are collaborating to help ensure an effective leadership development initiative reaches the students of two more Cedar Valley area schools. CUNA Mutual Group and Veridian Credit Union have pledged to contribute a total of $105,000 to the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber’s Leader Valley initiative to further implement The Leader in Me program

The Leader in Me builds valuable 21^st century personal skills that correlate to success in education and the workplace. As students put into practice the principles of Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, they become more self-confident and take ownership for their lives. Schools where The Leader in Me is implemented successfully see higher academic achievement, fewer discipline problems, and increased engagement among teachers and parents.

CUNA Mutual Group, through its foundation, committed $75,000 to sponsor implementation of The Leader in Me at George Washington Carver Academy Middle School and Kittrell Elementary, both in Waterloo, Iowa. Veridian Credit Union committed $30,000 to Kittrell Elementary. Veridian also participates with Kittrell Elementary in the Partners in Education program. The sum will be distributed over a three year term. Initially, the gift will provide extensive training and materials to the staff and educators at these sponsored schools.

The addition of Kittrell and Carver the total number of participating schools in the Cedar Valley is currently 14, with an anticipated impact of 6075 students and 842 educators during the upcoming 2013-2014 school year. This number represents more than one third of total students and educators in the Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and Cedar Valley Catholic Schools.

“At Veridian Credit Union, we believe that everyone is a leader,” said Jean Trainor, Veridian Credit Union’s CEO and Chief Inclusion Officer. “The Leader In Me program demonstrates that same belief and benefits our entire community as much as it does the students who participate.” Reid Koenig, Vice President of CUNA Mutual Group adds, “When one interacts with students who have been impacted by The Leader in Me, you quickly realize the effect the program is already having in transforming their lives. Our communities and businesses will reap the benefit of building great citizens and leaders for years to come.”

Steve Dust, CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is encouraged by the additional participation of the business community, “One of the Alliance & Chamber’s primary goals is to develop a strong, highly talented and skilled workforce to help businesses of all sizes grow and prosper in the Cedar Valley. This significant investment by two of the Cedar Valley’s most engaged and visionary businesses, underscores the recognized value and effectiveness of the early results from The Leader in Me initiative. It is very important that businesses of all sizes, as well as individuals and other organizations join Veridian Credit Union, CUNA Mutual Group, and CBE Companies as Leader Valley sponsors. It is only through gifts like these that it will be possible to expand The Leader in Me throughout the region.”

The combined contribution of $105,000 will be presented Aug. 15 at the New Teachers Breakfast to be held at Hawkeye Community College, Tama Hall. To accept the check on behalf of the Alliance & Chamber is Board of Directors Chairman and Leader Valley champion Tom Penaluna, CEO of CBE Companies, Inc. , who said; “with this kind of forward thinking funding from Foundations and businesses such as CUNA and Veridian, The Leader in Me can change, in a very positive way, the results of education in the Cedar Valley!” Representatives from CUNA Mutual Group, Veridian Credit Union, the Alliance & Chamber, and the Waterloo Community Schools will make comments.

About The Leader in Me

The Leader in Me incorporates leadership lessons into Cedar Valley school’s curriculum and everyday language. With reference to Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Leader in Me prepares students with key life skills, self-confidence, and accountability.

The Leader in Me, offered through Leader Valley, is an initiative of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber. Through Leader Valley, strong partnerships amongst Cedar Valley businesses, school district administrators and school boards, parents, and the community are being built to make the Cedar Valley a better place for students to excel and become well prepared for citizenship and their future careers.

ABOUT THE GREATER CEDAR VALLEY ALLIANCE & CHAMBER

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is a private, non-profit corporation representing and advocating for the interests of business, industry and institutions operating in the Cedar Valley. The Alliance & Chamber was created to coordinate the resources allocated to economic development in the Cedar Valley, and provide a platform for shared services wherever possible. Alliance & Chamber programming includes Business Growth and Recruitment, Workforce & Talent Recruitment and Development, Downtowns, Districts, Tourism, and Chamber. This work is coordinated through more than 10 organizations, and in partnership with many other organizations whose purpose is to encourage economic growth in the Cedar Valley of Iowa. More information is available at www.cedarvalleyalliance.com.

ABOUT CUNA Mutual Group

CUNA Mutual Group insurance, retirement and investment products provide financial security and protection to credit unions and their members worldwide. With more than 75 years of true market commitment, CUNA Mutual Group’s vision is unwavering: To be a trusted business partner who delivers service excellence through customer-focused products and market-driven insight. More information on the company is available on the company’s website at www.cunamutual.com.

ABOUT VERIDIAN

Veridian Credit Union, founded in 1934 in Waterloo, Iowa, is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members. The credit union offers a full range of consumer financial services and employs more than 560 Iowans throughout 26 branches. For more information, visit www.veridiancu.org or call (800) 235-3228.

Links to media Coverage

CONTACTS

Melissa Reade, Leader Valley Program Director, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber
mreade@cedarvalleyalliance.om, (312)232-1156
Steve Dust, CEO, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber
sdust@cedarvalleyalliance.com,(312)232-1156
Tom Penaluna, CEO, CBE Companies; Board Chair, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber
nmhamer@cbecompanies.com, (319)234-6686
Reid Koenig – CUNA Mutual Group
Reid.koenig@cunamutual.com, (319)352-1000
Andrea Hudnut – Veridian Credit Union
AndreaLH@veridianCU.org, (515) 289-5561
Crystal Buzza – Waterloo Community Schools
Buzzac@waterloo.k12.ia.us, (319)433-1800

Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber Announces New Roles, Promotions

“It helps a very talented professional team do our jobs more effectively and increase the competitive stance of the Cedar Valley in a global economy.” This is how Steve Dust, CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber describes his motivation for announcing recent promotions within that economic and community development corporation.

The announcement describes a realignment of existing staff. No new hires were made, and no compensation adjustments were included in the process, Dust emphasizes. “We did this to operate more efficiently as a combined economic development, redevelopment, and community development organization, he says. Team members who do similar things are grouped by related functions, yet it allows us to remain flexible to very quickly attack any opportunity or issue in our economic area.”

In the new alignment, Dust is supported by four vice presidents, including Lisa Skubal, CEcD, who was named Vice President of Economic Development. Lisa oversees all business expansion and recruitment programs, marketing and project management, talent recruitment and retention, and business and economic information gathering. “Lisa enjoys a statewide reputation as one of the best in our field. Her professional growth has given her the skills to lead the team that helps wealth creating businesses and institutions locate and expand in the Cedar Valley of Iowa,” explained Dust.

Dust also named Cary Darrah as Vice President of Community Development. “Cary was brought into the Alliance & Chamber structure to manage the TechWorks Campus redevelopment, in large part because of the marvelous job she did in Cedar Falls Main Street organization, said Dust. “She has the Campus on a good trajectory with The Green @ TechWorks project getting underway in Tech II, and several good manufacturing technology-related opportunities exploring space commitments in Tech I. As I looked at the skills necessary to deal with our Competitiveness and Amenities work, which includes things like networking and events, local issues management, improving our infrastructure for business growth, and Leader Valley educational programs, it matched up nicely with Cary’s organizational skills and interests,” concluded Dust.

“In many regards, the Alliance & Chamber is a growing, entrepreneurial small business,” explains Dust. “We’re growth-oriented, and focused on doing what’s expected of us by our customers and clients, our investor-members, and this team faces the same kind of challenges our investor-members do in handling all the human resources, IT, facilities, and administrative tasks, and holding each other accountable for the wise use of our talents and resources. We take this very seriously, and to oversee the administrative components of the Alliance & Chamber, we have elevated Sandi Sommerfelt to Vice President of Operations. Sandi was in a similar VP role at another business, and she’s demonstrated that she can effectively lead and keep us well organized.”

At the same time, the CFO role held by Sue Hansen, CPA, becomes a part-time position. “Sue has worked very hard to bring us to an even higher level of management reporting and compliance with changing requirements. Sue will remain focused on our financial reporting and major HR issues, where she also has deep experience and knowledge, while having more time for family pursuits and personal interests.” said Dust.

“As we looked at the goals we expect to accomplish for the Cedar Valley business community and economic area this fiscal year (which began on July 1), and the number of complex and sometimes new challenges we’ll face, it became obvious to the senior team a realignment was necessary to get it all done effectively. It also permits me to spend more time on strategic business development, regional issues, and investor relationships. We’ll still be stretched, but this arrangement of duties and leadership will help relieve that challenge”, claimed Dust.

Dust concludes, “I think the most important thing to communicate to our investor-members, the business community in general, and all of the partners we rely on in accomplishing our work is that there is a team of highly talented, motivated and enthusiastic economic and community development professionals working every day in the Alliance & Chamber to increase wealth and economic vitality in the Cedar Valley economic area.”

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.

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Craig Ritland Landscape Architects Now RITLAND+KUIPER Landscape Architects.

Announcement of Company Name Change

Craig Ritland Landscape Architects is now RITLAND+KUIPER Landscape Architects.

Mark Kuiper, who began working for the firm in 2003, has been named a principal in the firm. With over 14 years of experience in projects around the country, Mark has been involved in a diverse array of landscape developments including transportation improvements, educational facilities, corporate campuses, and athletic facilities. He provides a comprehensive range of design and construction management services to our clients. His background in civil engineering and diverse experience gives him the ability to apply a wide variety of technologies in the industry, including irrigation systems, sports fields, and storm water systems. His interest in water quality and sustainable design led him to become accredited as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) professional.

The company will continue to operate in its current location in the historic Black’s Building in downtown Waterloo and mail and phone contacts will remain un-changed. They will be launching a new website soon at www.ritlandkuiper.com.

Veridian’s Angela Weekley Among Recipients of Governor’s 2013 Volunteer Awards

Waterloo, Iowa: Angela Weekley, Community Inclusion Manager for Veridian Credit Union, was among the recipients to receive a 2013 Governor’s Volunteer Award from Governor Branstad during a special recognition ceremony June 25^th in Cedar Falls.

The Governor’s Volunteer Awards program was created in 1982 as a small program only available to state government agencies. The awards now provide all Iowa nonprofit, charitable and government organizations with a way to honor volunteers with state-level recognition.

“Volunteerism is an important part of the state’s future and well-being,” said Governor Branstad. “I am honored to have the opportunity to recognize the people of our great state who continue the tradition of neighbor-helping-neighbor and work tirelessly to improve their communities.”

Weekley’s award was derived from the Individual Award category for her work mentoring in Waterloo schools for TeamMates. The goal of TeamMate’s mentoring program is to see youth graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education

Veridian Credit Union, founded in 1934 in Waterloo, Iowa, is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members. The credit union offers a full range of consumer financial services and employs more than 560 Iowans throughout 26 branches, including 13 in the Cedar Valley. For more information, visit www.veridiancu.org or call (800) 235-3228.

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National Small Business Week June 16-22

Every year since 1963, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight through National Small Business Week the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Small business owners can participate in online-only panel discussions on hot topics like social media and business financing starting daily at 4pm ET. All events, in-person and online, will be streamed live on www.sba.gov/smallbusinessweek . Also visit this site for a full schedule of events and additional information.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber salutes our small business investors and our partnering organization including Main Street Waterloo, Cedar Falls Community Main Street and many neighborhood and business districts who help create and maintain a business friendly environment. The Cedar Valley economy was built by small business owners and entrepreneurs. They are equally vital today and essential to building our future.

The importance of supporting small business is illustrated in this infographic.

Please mark your calendars for our Small Business Expo in partnership with UNI’s Small Business Development Center, November 7, 2013.

Grow Cedar Valley