Business Notes for April 23, 2023

The Gazette’s Business Notes is a compendium of the week’s promotions, new hires, certifications, added business lines and business events, among other items, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and the rest of the Corridor.

Information and photos can be submitted to Business Notes by email to businessnotes@thegazette.com, or on our site at thegazette.com/businessnotes.

New hires

Breanna Vantiger, ARNP, has joined Mercy Gastroenterology Clinic as a nurse practitioner.

Design Engineers has hired Travis Glova as senior BIM technician in its Cedar Rapids office.

Travis Robinson has joined Hills Bank as a vice president/investment officer in the North Liberty office.

Quinlin Grabinski has joined J.W. Morton & Associates as an account coordinator.

Stamats has named Arabella Novitch as its new marketing coordinator.

Promotions

At Hills Bank, Alexis Lugo was recently promoted to credit underwriting officer, and Nicole Meyer was recently promoted to first vice president/credit underwriting, both in the Hills office.

Election

James Craig of the Lederer Weston Craig law firm in Cedar Rapids was elected president of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys at its annual meeting in South Carolina. The ADTA is a national association of civil trial defense attorneys.

Kudos

UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital has announced that it received advanced hip & knee replacement certification from DNV, an independent expert in assurance and risk management. The DNV certification affirms an organization’s excellence in orthopedic surgery and related procedures related to hip and knee replacement care.

The American Hospital Association recently honored UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital in appreciation for the hospital’s 100 years of participation and leadership in the association. The hospital is part of the UnityPoint Health network

Events

SCORE WORKSHOP: SCORE in-person workshops for networking and business skills will be this Thursday in Cedar Rapids. The workshop will be presented from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Scott’s Family Restaurant, 1906 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, and from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Chrome Horse, 1201 Third St. SE. For more information, email mark.hermann@scorevolunteer.org.

MEET AND GREET: The American Association of University Women is hosting a meet and greet for inquiries about the organization from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. May 4 at Napoli's Italian Restaurant, 500 Marion Blvd., Marion. AAUW is recruiting new members who believe in equality for women and girls and leadership training. For more information, contact chapter president Linda Armitage at lindaarmitage@mchsi.com.

LEADERSHIP OF FIVE SEASONS ANNIVERSARY: Leadership for Five Seasons will celebrate its 40th anniversary June 1, with all alumni invited to attend. The event will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Cedar Rapids from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Registration is at https://tinyurl.com/mryd8mtn. Cost is $60 per person, with a share of the proceeds going to the organization’s youth program.

BUSINESS BREAKFAST: Registration is now open for the next Gazette Business Breakfast on May 9, with a panel discussion planned on “Regional Collaboration Strategies.”

Johnson County entities collaborated to address quality-of-life issues and work on economic development during the pandemic. The north end of the Corridor also has evolving collaboration. How are we poised to work as a region toward economic growth, while still addressing individual needs?

Panelists will be Cady Gerlach, executive director of Better Together 2030; Tiffany O'Donnell, mayor of Cedar Rapids; Doug Neumann, executive director of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance; and Ryan Waller, city manager of Marion. Gazette Executive Editor Zack Kucharski will serve as panel moderator.

The breakfast and networking opportunity will run 7:30 to 9 a.m. May 9 at Geonetric, 415 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. To register and buy a $5 ticket, go to thegazette.com/special-events.

The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance is the presenting sponsor of The Gazette breakfast series, with community partner NewBoCo.