Business Notes for March 12, 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

Tanager has announced the following new team members: Breanna Oxley, director of philanthropy; Jessica Vandenberg, director of annual giving; Courtney Perry, marketing specialist; Mary Foreman, engagement coordinator; Jennifer Levie, grants specialist; and Jaclyn Chaplin, development department assistant.

Alexis Vincent has joined the MercyCare Community Physicians team as a physician assistant at MercyCare North Liberty.

Appointments

Andrea Cooley has been appointed to the His Hands Free Clinic board of directors.

Tanager has announced new members to its operating board: Ryan Shenefelt, DeNovo; Margaret Horsfield, ImOn; Matt Skogman, Skogman Companies; Laurie Dawley, Shuttlesworth and Ingersoll; Brandi Mueller, The Overture Group; Julie Estenson, TrueNorth Companies; Ben Rogers, Linn County Board of Supervisors; and Alison Limbert, Midwest One Bank. New Tanager Foundation board members are Kyle Boardman, Honkamp; Duane Smith, TrueNorth Companies; Fred Timko, Down to Earth Development; and Chad Fesler, Farmers State Bank

Amy Lynch, chief of staff of Hillcrest Holdings Inc., has been appointed to the Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust board of directors.

Kudos

Involta has been named to CRN’s Managed Service Provider 500 list in the Elite 150 category for 2023. CRN is a brand of The Channel Company.

Home Depot has recognized Cedar Rapids-based CRST as its “final mile flatbed carrier of the year” for 2023. The award recognizes commitment to excellence in delivering big and bulky freight to customer homes and to resolving issues and providing creation solutions.

Events

The 35th annual Celebration of Agriculture will be March 27 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Convention Center in downtown Cedar Rapids. To buy tickets and to register, go to cedarrapids.org/economic-alliance-events/celebration-of-agriculture/.

May 9 Business Breakfast

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

Born out of necessity during the pandemic, Johnson County entities collaborated to address quality-of-life issues and work on economic development. The north end of the Corridor also has evolving collaboration, too. 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.

Insights and sessions

Anyone who would like to review The Gazette Business Breakfast panel’s third-quarter discussion, “A Small Business’ Tool Kit for 2023: Lessons We’ve Learned and Challenges — and Opportunities — for Which We Can be Prepared,” can go to https://bit.ly/3eD04Wv. Panelists were Paul Andreasen, Saucy Focaccia; Sydney Rieckhoff, Almost Famous Popcorn; and Kymberly Stevenson, Iowa Economic Development Authority. The discussion series was sponsored by BerganKDV.

Also, the final 2022 installment of the “Gazette Spotlight on …” series of recorded interviews is available to view at business.thegazette.com. Interviewed are Luke Bishop of BAE Systems; Matt Swift of Big Grove; Sarah Nelson of CommUnity Crisis Service; and Drew Martel of Foundation 2. Also, the Better Business Bureau Cedar Rapids office joined The Gazette in speaking with Marc Meyer of Inteconnex. The series was sponsored by TrueNorth Cos.