Summer of the Arts hires community relations manager

NEW HIRES

Premiere Business Solutions of Des Moines, with a call center in Cedar Rapids, hired Justin Simbro as vice president of sales. Simbro was previously with Marketlink Inc.

Summer of the Arts has named Alex Stanton (see photo) as community relations manager. Stanton was previously administrative and advocacy coordinator at United Way of Johnson and Washington counties.

AW Welt Ambrisco Insurance has hired Katie Peterson (see photo) and Tiffany Adams (see photo) as personal lines customer service agents.

Dr. Nancy Boelter (see photo) has joined the medical team at MercyCare Marion as a family physician. Boelter was previously with Mercy Services Williamsburg and North Liberty Family Health Centre.

IAHomesRealty has hired Ann Fleckenstein (see photo) as a real estate agent.

PROMOTIONS

Dupaco Community Credit Union of Dubuque promoted Aaron Plein (see photo) from vice president, branch services and First Avenue SE branch manager in Cedar Rapids to vice president, regional market manager. Also promoted were Jim Doyle (see photo) from operation assistant to branch manager of its First Avenue SE location in Cedar Rapids and John Heavens (see photo) from lending consultant to branch manager of its Fourth Avenue SE location in Cedar Rapids.

Lonnie Viner has been promoted from community programs manager to executive director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society.

CERTIFICATIONS

Chris Deam (see photo), associate principal and activities director at Jefferson High School, Cedar Rapids, has been named a Certified Athletic Administrator by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.

Marion's Thomas Park Maintenance Building and FEMA 361 Tornado Safe Room, designed by Martin Gardner Architecture, has received LEED Gold certification.

BOARD MEMBERS

The American Society of Civil Engineers-Eastern Iowa Younger Members Group named the following board officers: Cari Pauli (see photo), City of Cedar Rapids, president; Neil Shatek (see photo), Johnson County Secondary Road Department, vice president; Brandon McElhiney (see photo), McClure Engineering, treasurer; and Aaron Moniza (see photo), Foth Infrastructure & Environment, secretary.

NEW BUSINESS

Nelson's Ice Cream became NewBo City Market's newest anchor merchant, opening May 15. Nelson's Meat Market, 1140 Old Marion Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids, began making ice cream in 2012.

Iowa Appliance Center will host a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Monday to celebrate the opening of a store at 950 50th St. in Marion. Marion Chamber of Commerce and Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance Ambassadors will be assisting with the event.

KUDOS

The Iowa City Community School District recognizes 62 staff members who are retiring at the end of the current school year and 24 staff members who have marked 25 years of service to the district with the 2013-2014 school year. Retirees are May Anciaux, Glenda Arganbright, Dee Aupperle, Karen Bagby, Debbie Baird, Susan Barrera, Rebecca Birr, Mary Ann Bruno, Nancy Charley, Debra Cheney, Diane Clark, Linda Cretzmeyer, Kim Cross, Brian Dalton, Jean Dalton, Ruth Dane, Renato de Leon, Peg de Salme, Cathy Deschenes, Laurie Eash, Becky Ertle, Chris Fausch, Barb Fleckenstein, Bernadette Goepferd, Bonnie Hall, Rhonda Halvorsen, Patricia Herbert, Anita Hutton, Daniel Hutton, Judith Jensen, Mark Jensen, Mary Kampling, Anne Marie Kraus, Elizabeth Lechko, Daryl Lewis, Amy Lord, Mary Margolin, Mary Rose Mazure, Jill McKay, Theresa Mitchell, Gwen Montag, Greg Muilenburg, Cheryl Neely, Shirley Pitcher, Maura Quaintance, Linda Quinn, Kristine Quinn, Michael Reeve, Ann Robinson, Janet Ross, Sarah Shatzer, Rose Shultz, Morris Stole, Vicki Thomae, Robin Torner, Jan Tschantz, Phyllis Tucker, James Urban, Phyllis Urban, Daryl Wagner, Janet White and Sandy Wilson. Honored for 25 years of service are Melanie Alberts, Cindy Baldwin, Rebecca Birr, Pat Brenneman, Mark Brockmeyer, Timothy Casey, Joan DePrenger, Lisa Hall, Yukiko Hill, Kimberly Hynes, Tamara Jensen, Daryl Lewis, Faye Murguia, Maura Quaintance, Cecilia Roudabush, Daniel Sabers, Vicki Saunders, Christine Shope, Alexis Stigge, Vicki Thomae, Helene Volkert, Alta Wagner, Carolyn White and Denise Yoder.

Neumann Monson Architects, Iowa City, was honored with an Interior Design Excellence award from the International Interior Design Association at the Great Plains Chapter annual awards gala. The Packing and Provisions building at 118 E. College St., Iowa City, received the Silver Award in the hospitality/retail category.

Mercy Iowa City presented awards and honored fall scholarship recipients during a May 7 ceremony. Wendy Reed (see photo), a staff nurse in cardiac rehabilitation, received the Ruth Becker Award for Outstanding Nursing Care, and Julie Jensen (see photo), an operating room technician in endoscopy, received the Dr. T.T. Bozek Friend of Nursing Award. Of 27 spring nursing scholarships awarded, Stephanie Berg, Nursing Administration, and Hannah Johnson and Jessie Koch, Maternal Child, received Margaret G. Fox Scholarships; Leah Nichols, Nursing Administration, received the Sister Mary Josephus Scholarship; and Allison Duncan, 3 West Medical, received the Rose Margaret Reed Scholarship.

Dr. John Casko, Iowa City, received the Albert H. Ketcham Memorial Award from the American Board of Orthodontics at the organization's Excellence in Orthodontics awards ceremony in New Orleans.

Goodwill of the Heartland recognized achievements of clients in overcoming barriers to independence at its annual awards banquet known as The Edgars. Those recognized are Kathy Huedepohl, Iowa City, Emily Helms Award; Patty Shadle, Cedar Rapids, Townsend Graduate of the Year; Mike Zankowski, Cedar Rapids, Day Habilitation Achiever of the Year; Darrick Morgan, Iowa City, Youth Achiever of the Year; and Scott Muters, Cedar Rapids, Employment Achiever of the Year. Also recognized were community partners Whirlpool Corp., Amana Division, as Contract Partner of the Year; and The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, Cedar Rapids, as Employer of the Year.

AW Welt Ambrisco Insurance, Iowa City, was honored by West Bend Mutual Insurance for earning top status in the company's 2013 agency incentive program, Partners in Excellence.

Buildings Media, part of the Commercial Buildings Group of Stamats Communications Inc., Cedar Rapids, received the top honor for business-to-business publications from the Western Publishing Association at the association's banquet in Los Angeles.

Dr. Larry Burr, a partner at Radiology Consultants of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Radiology.

HALL OF FAME event

Three area business leaders and one young entrepreneur will be honored Sept. 25 for outstanding achievements in the community at the Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa Corridor Business Hall of Fame event in Cedar Rapids. Honored will be Laureates Tom Aller (see photo), retired, Alliant Energy; David Neuhaus (see photo), Fairfax State Savings Bank; Chuck Peters (see photo), The Gazette Companies; and Young Entrepreneur Eric Engelmann (see photo), Geonetric Inc. The event will be held at the Cedar Rapids Marriott. For tickets or additional details, contact Junior Achievement at (319) 862-1100 or email Amy McKelvy at amckelvy@jaeasterniowa.org.

SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES

The Disney Institute featuring 'Disney's Approach to Business Excellence” will be coming to Iowa's Creative Corridor July 8. Sponsored by the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, the training event will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at The Hotel at Kirkwood, 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids. For more information or to register, call (319) 337-9637 or visit www.iowacityarea.com.

WORKSHOPS

'QuickBooks ... The Basics,” a SCORE of East Central Iowa workshop, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Kaplan University, 3165 Edgewood Pkwy. SW, Room 135, Cedar Rapids. To register for the free training, go to http://smgs.us/3jhr or contact Dianne Martin at (319) 431-4574 or workshops@scorecr.org.

'When and How to Elect Social Security Retirement Benefits,” a workshop presented by Frank A. Varvaris and Associates, will be offered from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. For more information, call (319) 862-0363.