The Business Quiz: Shannon Hanson

SHANNON HANSON

MARKETING SPECIALIST

TRUENORTH COMPANIES

CEDAR RAPIDS

Do you have a professional mentor?

Kathy Lamb has been in my life for more than 15 years - I consider to be my leadership mentor. Her commitment to her ideals is what has inspired me about her.

She was/is a fair leader whom you want to follow because she absolutely will not ask you to do anything she wouldn't be willing to do herself. Her quiet thoughtfulness has always driven me to want to do my best for her as well as lead in that way, as well.

Anne King is my marketing mentor. Her incredible attention to what is happening now in marketing inspires not only me but her students at Mt Mercy as well.

What do you always have close at hand at your workstation?

My inspiration board and project calendars. Both are needed when you are in marketing to both develop ideas and to make them happen when they are due.

How did you get into this line of work?

I actually started my “adult” life as a certified therapeutic recreation specialist with kids in a residential treatment facility a lot like Four Oaks here. I got to play with kids and teach them to learn healthy ways of utilizing their recreational time.

I moved on to a YMCA and found that my passion lay in the promotion of the activities as much as doing them. I went back to school to get a marketing degree and became a marketing director at the Cedar Rapids Metro YMCA.

I now get to show my marketing skills in the for-profit world at TrueNorth.

Did you have a job while you were in school?

I worked at Systems Unlimited in Iowa City where I worked with kids with autism who were living in a group home. It was the most rewarding experience I've ever had.

I worked there for three and a half years of the four I was in school.

How did you happen to come to Eastern Iowa?

After I got married, my husband, Eric Hanson, got a job at the local radio station (at that time Q103, now KZIA) as the program director. We moved the Cedar Rapids from Washington, Iowa, where he worked at a radio station as well.

About 4 weeks after we moved to Cedar Rapids, I got a job at the local YMCA.

Where is your favorite place to get away?

My favorite place on earth is London, England. The history mixed with the art and culture is comforting to me. I am always inspired by the architecture and street artists there.

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