GreatAmerica makes series of new hires

NEW HIRES

RuffaloCODY of Cedar Rapids has hired Joe Ekdahl (see photo) as a business analyst.

Hills Bank and Trust Co., Coralville, has hired Mark Koch (see photo) as trust officer, retirement plans, in its North Liberty branch located at 590 W. Forevergreen Rd.

United Way of East Central Iowa has hired Shannon Hanson (see photo), formerly with TrueNorth Companies, as senior manager — marketing and communications.

Rinderknecht Associates of Cedar Rapids has hired Paul Stein (see photo) as project manager.

GreatAmerica Financial Services in Cedar Rapids has hired the following: Stacey Strang (see photo), formerly with Hibu, and Grave Bay (see photo), formerly with Old Navy, as account support advisers; Austin Chute (see photo), formerly with Hy-Vee, as documentation specialists; Christine Lenhardt (see photo), formerly with Rockwell Collins, as a project manager; Adam Pochobradsky (see photo), formerly with Collins Community Credit Union, as cash applications specialist; Justin Mason (see photo), formerly with UnityPoint Health, as support administrator — systems; Chelsea Archibald (see photo), formerly with Transamerica, as talent acquisition leader; and Brenda Taylor (see photo), formerly with Hibu, as creative services manager/designer.

PROMOTIONS

RuffaloCODY of Cedar Rapids has promoted the following employees: Jacob Curtis (see photo) from IS analyst to technical operations manager; Adam Christy (see photo) from program center manager to senior operations manager; and Terri LeBlanc (see photo) from project manager to enrollment operations manager.

Hills Bank and Trust in Coralville has promoted Dawn Reimers (see photo) from assistant branch manager to first vice president and branch manager in its Iowa City office, 2621 Muscatine Ave.

KUDOS

Five Cedar Rapids attorneys from Nyemaster Goode have been chosen for inclusion in the 2014 Great Plains Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list. Named to Super Lawyers are Kevin Collins (see photo), Robert Hoke (photo), Glenn Johnson (see photo) and Stephanie Techau (see photo). Stacey Hall (see photo) was named a Rising Star. Also Collins and Sarah Gayer (see photo) were recognized as 2015 The Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year in their respective practice areas.

KCCK-FM in Cedar Rapids was named JazzWeek Station of the Year for 2014, the fourth time the station has been honored. In addition, program director Bob Stewart won the inaugural Bobby Jackson Programmer of the Year award.

Kevin Visser (see photo), an attorney with Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman, has been recognized by Thompson Reuters as one of the Top 10 Iowa Super Lawyers for 2014.

Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids, received the 2014 Women's Choice Award for being voted one of America's Best Hospitals for Patient Experience by women for the fourth consecutive year.

The Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Commission honored individuals and organizations who have made significant restorations to their historic properties at the 2014 Preserve Iowa Summit Aug. 21. Award winners and categories are: Chris and Ruthann Huberty, Residential Rehabilitation Second and Third Avenue Historic District; Chuck Solamon, Residential Rehabilitation Redmond Park-Grande Avenue Historic District; Haley and Allen Connerly, Residential Paint Color Scheme Second and Third Avenue Historic District; Charles Jones/Averill House, Exterior Restoration for Mixed-Use/Commercial; GRR-DTE, LLC/Popoli Ristorante, Adaptive Re-Use: Large Project; Quinton McClain/Lion Bridge Brewing Co., Adaptive Re-Use: Small Project; Emily Meyer and Jesse Lane, Exterior Restoration Residential; Veterans Memorial Commission and City of Cedar Rapids/Veterans Memorial Building, Project Excellence: Commercial; Mark Cardis and Laura Gallego, Project Excellence: Residential; Cindy Hadish, Stewardship: Individual; Affordable Housing Network, Stewardship: Organization.

McGladrey Wealth Management LLC was ranked by Accounting Today as No. 3 on the publication's eighth annual list of Top Billion Dollar Club Firms by Assets Under Management. The company previously was ranked fourth.

The Hungry Rooster Catering Company LLC, Cedar Rapids, won a bronze award and a second prize cash award in the 2014 Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Cook-Off.

Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, Cedar Rapids, had 28 attorneys selected Great Plains Super Lawyers and Rising Stars for 2014. Super Lawyers are Connie Alt, Brian Bergstrom. John Bickel, Kevin Caster, Laurie Dawley, Dean Einck, Rick Fry, Dick Garberson, Allison Heffern, Bob Houghton, Mark Hudson, Wesley Huisinga, Diane Kutzko, Dennis McMenimen, Steve Pace, Nancy Penner, Jennifer Rinden, Gary Streit, William Prowell and Mark Zaiger. Rising Stars are Jace Bisgard, William Daly, Donald Johnson, Samuel Jones, Jonathan Landon, Caitlin Slessor, Marty Stoll and Jason Sytsma.

Amanda Jo Krogmann of Troy Mills, an independent director with The Pampered Chef, received excellence awards in recruiting and sales.

CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS

ImpactCR of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and EPIC of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce will hold the Next Generation Summit Wednesday, Oct. 1. Tana Goertz will be keynote speaker for the all-day event from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Convention Center, 350 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids. For more information call (319) 398-5317 or email ImpactCR@impactcr.org.

WORKSHOPS AND FORUMS

The Iowa Quality Center's Internal Auditor Training will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Sept. 15-17, at the Kirkwood Training and Outreach Services Building, 3375 Armar Dr., Marion. For more information, call (319) 398-7101 or email info@iowaqc.org.

NETWORKING

A SCORE-sponsored Small Business Breakfast Roundtable will be held from from 7:30 to 9 a.m.Tuesday at Scott's Family Restaurant, 1906 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids. To register or for more information, contact Dianne Martin at crworkshops@scorevolunteer.org or (319) 431-4574.