Business Notes: Dec. 5, 2021

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

Skywalk Group in Cedar Rapids hired Diana Drake as a recruiter level II.

Jessie Leeper joined Mercy Gastroenterology Clinic as nurse practitioner.

Board members

Linn County Early Childhood Iowa and Linn County Decategorization boards named Amy Grunewaldt as the new ECI /decat director for Linn County.

Kudos

Byrider used car dealerships and franchise system presented a Franchise of the Year Award to Russ Larson, Jeff Lee and their team for their performance in 2021. The store also was honored with a Top 25 Award, ranking 19th in the Byrider system.

Ryan Kay with Hertz Farm Management Inc. in Mount Vernon was presented with the 2021 Early Career Award from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

Networking

Monthly in-person networking breakfasts sponsored by SCORE have resumed at Scott's Family Restaurant. Small business owners are invited to attend at 7:30 a.m. Dec. 16. Visit scorecr.org for more information.

Insights

The Gazette Business Breakfast panel, “Working Through Workplace Tangles for 2022,” can be viewed at thegazette.com/businessbreakfast. Panelists are Brandon Blankenship, SEC Midwest and ProCircular; Terri Davis, Shuttleworth & Ingersoll; Talinda Pettigrew, University of Iowa; Samantha Rogers, Skywalk Group; and Becky Streff, ESP International.

And watch interviews with 2021’s Gazette Business Award recipients — plus the keynote interview with Rand Corp. economist Kathryn Anne Edwards — at thegazette.com/businessawards. Award recipients discuss decisions they made over the past year and what they see to come.