Business Notes: Jan. 30, 2022

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

GreatAmerica hired Jeff Moberley as vice president for data management; Kelly Haskell, documentation specialist; Ben Coffey, videographer; Seth Tegtmeier, account support adviser; Kaitlin Simon, service desk intern; Andrew May, sales support specialist; Sarah Snyder, tax accountant; Nic Harris, service desk triage specialist; and Shane Finn, portfolio manager.

Venue Works of Cedar Rapids hired Darren Yirkovsky as director of food and beverage and Diane Smith as director of marketing.

Promotions

Hills Bank and Trust Co. promoted Melody Mattox to credit underwriting officer; Logan Anderson, vice president credit underwriting manager; Bailey Dietz, first vice president credit underwriting; and Nicole Meyer, credit underwriting officer, all in the Hills branch.

Sean Meloy stepped up to associate executive director for finance, events and operations and Scott Piquard to general manager of the Paramount Theatre for Venue Works of Cedar Rapids.

Board Members

Brucemore named three new members to its board of trustees — Lisha Coffey, Travero; Jennifer Murphy, New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative; and Kim Schmidt, retired architect.

Newly named to the Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association's 2022 board of directors were Melissa Schooley, Great Western Bank, as president; GT Karr, Sueppel’s Siding and Remodeling, past president; Kevin McCreedy, McCreedy-Ruth Construction, first vice president; Andy Hodge, Hodge Construction, second vice president; Marty Tunning, RSM US, treasurer; and Kelly Manning, Sobaski Abbey Carpet and Floor, secretary.

Brucemore's 2022 board of trustees are Brian Fagan, Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman, as president; Doug Neumann, Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, vice president; Kathy Hall, retired, secretary; and Kimberly Hillyard, RSM US Wealth Management, Treasurer.

Women Lead Change’s board of directors approved four new members to begin its three-year terms in 2022. They are Stephanie Azzi, Collins Aerospace; Brianne Cummins, UFG Insurance; Jennifer Peterson, HON Co.; and Deidre Williams, EMC Insurance Cos.

Certifications

Nancy Buss with Advanced Therapy Specialists is now a Certified Lymphedema Therapist through the academy of Lymphatic Studies.

Kudos

For the second year in a row, Alliant Energy was named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, recognizing the top 499 most responsible companies in the United States. Alliant was ranked as a top 30 company overall in the social category for its devotion to good causes and support of diversity in its workforce.

In addition, the utility was named for the fifth year a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield received a perfect score of 100 on the 2022 Corporate Equality Index.

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 and 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.