Business Notes for March 24, 2024

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

Alison Gillis has joined the Mercy Pulmonology Clinic as a nurse practitioner at Mercy Cedar Rapids.

Promotions

F&M Bank has promoted Benjamin Stutt to chief credit officer.

Elections

Ellen Goodmann Miller, Jeff Gonner and Randy Skemp were re-elected to serve three-year terms on the Dupaco Community Credit Union’s volunteer board of directors during the credit union’s 75th annual membership meeting Feb. 25. Goodmann Miller, on the board since 2021, is the community resource development specialist with Gronen in Dubuque. Gonner, on the board since 2009, is the retired chief financial officer at Medical Associates Clinic and Health Plans in Dubuque. Skemp, on the board since 2003, recently retired as the vice president of sales at Active Network, based in Dallas Texas.

Following the membership meeting, the Dupaco board elected officers: Ellen Goodmann Miller, chair; of the board; Steve Chapman, vice chair; Denise Dolan, secretary; Andy Schroeder, treasurer; and Joe Hearn, president/CEO.

Kudos

Top accounting firm: Dubuque-based Honkamp was recently named to the list of 2024 Top 10 Midwest CPA firms in Accounting Today’s annual ranking. Honkamp has nine offices, including one in Hiawatha, and about 300 employees. It remains the fastest-growing Iowa-based CPA firm, according to Accounting Today, which lists it as among the “firms to watch.”

Other news

Buy319 campaign begins again: The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance has launched its second annual business-to-business Buy319 campaign. The campaign challenges companies using outside vendors for internal supplies and services to switch to a local 319 area code company.

As of this year, the Economic Alliance’s membership directory is set up like a search engine so specific products and services are easier to find.

Businesses are encouraged to visit buy319.com and sign the pledge to commit to switching to a local 319 vendor. Once the pledge is submitted, the businesses name will appear on the website, showcasing their support for local businesses.

The Buy319 initiative was initially derived from a group of Economic Alliance members involved with the Economic Alliance’s Business Support Innovation Council in early 2022.

“Last year, the campaign saw tremendous success so it only made sense to bring the campaign back for another year,” said Sammy Petersen, the council’s chair and co-owner of Bloomsbury Farms.

“While we promote ‘buy local’ all year long, we want to remind the community of all the amazing businesses in this area that can provide wonderful products or services such as office supplies, data processing, trucking, printing services, promotional items, business consulting, and more,” Doug Neumann, executive director at the Metro Economic Alliance, said in a news release.

Buy319 promotions will run through the spring. GreenState Credit Union is the Buy319 presenting sponsor, and The Gazette and KCRG are media sponsors.

Autism office opens in Hiawatha: A March 14 ribbon-cutting marked the opening of Caravel Autism and Behavior Specialists at 1125 Dina Court, Suite A, in Hiawatha. The office offers autism diagnoses and individual therapy, social skills training and behavioral health care. Steve Miller is Caravel’s CEO and Emily Harriott is clinic director. Information is available at caravelautism.com

In-person networking workshops: SCORE in-person workshops for networking and business skills will be held Thursday, March 28, in Cedar Rapids: 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Scott’s Family Restaurant, 1906 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, and 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Chrome Horse, 1201 Third St. SE. Another workshop will be offered in Waterloo from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 26, Cabin Coffee Co., 2040 Kimball Ave. For more information, email mark.hermann@scorevolunteer.org.

Small business of the week: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has named Browns Century Theater of Plymouth County as her small business of the week. The Browns, after taking their family band on the road across the U.S., Canada and Europe for 15 years, bought the German-American Savings Bank in downtown Le Mars in northwest Iowa. They transformed the historic building into the Browns Century Theater nine years ago, a venue that seats 150 people and now includes the Central Event Center for dining, the Inn on Central for housing guests, and a gift shop. The theater has hosted 100 shows every year since its opening, featuring the family’s music and other artists from across the country. Ernst, the ranking member on the Senate’s Small Business Committee, is naming one exceptional small business of the week in each of Iowa’s counties during this congressional session.