Homebuilders Association names officers

NEW HIRES

Valerie Smith (see photo) joined Camp Fire Iowana/Camp Hitaga as interim executive director and camp director. She previously was marketing coordinator for Basha Diagnostics in Royal Oak, Mich.

Marcia Correll (see photo) joined Community Savings Bank in Robins as vice president of commercial lending. She had been with First Federal Credit Union.

GreatAmerica Financial Services has hired Zach Parker (see photo) as systems support analyst II. He was with Hibu US.

Amy Tiffany (see photo) joined MindFire Communications as a marketing arsonist.

Erin Grabe (see photo) is now with Hills Bank and Trust Co. as a trust officer in its North Liberty branch.

Collins Community Credit Union has hired Karen Ultis (see photo) as community outreach director. Ultis had been with community affairs director for KCRG-TV9.

Shawna Bensmiller has been hired by Knutson Construction in Iowa City as project assistant.

Donn Patience (see photo) is now vice president of ag lending at Central State Bank.

David Bates (see photo) has joined Geonetric as a developer.

City Workplace Uniforms and Mats in Oelwein hired Cara Jensen (see photo) as controller and Mandi Perry (see photo) as human resources manager.

PROMOTIONS

Nic Plecker (see photo) has been promoted to senior estimator of Knutson Construction in Iowa City.

Altorfer Inc. in Cedar Rapids has promoted James “Jim” Spearman (see photo) of Salem to product support sales representative of its construction division. Spearman, previously with the company's rental division, serves nine southeast Iowa counties, including Keokuk and Washington.

Community Savings Bank promoted Kristen Arthur (see photo) to financial services officer at the Edgewood office. She was lending assistant in the Manchester and Edgewood offices.

Brad Jipson (see photo) has been promoted from route service representative to route supervisor for City Workplace Uniforms and Mats in Oelwein.

APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS

Rich Head, director of IT at Linn Area Credit Union, is one of 15 credit union leaders selected to participate in the Iowa Credit Union League's inaugural Iowa Innovation Group program.

Sam McCord, CEO and founder of MCG BioComposites LLC, based in Cedar Rapids, has been elected as chairman of the Bioplastics Special Interest Group with the Society of Plastics Engineers.

Mary Audia (see photo), Corridor Chiropractic of Iowa in Coralville, was appointed as president of the Iowa Chiropractic Society board of directors.

Homebuilders Association of Iowa in Urbandale named Rob Hayek (see photo), Home Repair Team Inc. in North Liberty, as president; Drew Retz (see photo), Jerry's Homes in Cedar Rapids, first vice president; Glenn Siders (see photo), Southgate Development in Iowa City, past president/legislative chairman; and Robert Emanuel, South Slope Cooperative Communications, at-large director.

CERTIFICATIONS

Don Meyer (see photo), Advanced Technology Solutions Inc. in Fairfax, earned certification by the Vibration Institute for both static and dynamic motor testing and for infrared thermography.

Bethany Jauron (see photo), City State Bank, completed the Iowa Bankers Association Consumer Credit School in Ankeny.

HONORS & AWARDS

Joel Kasparek (see photo), vice president of U.S. Bank in Cedar Rapids, won the Annual Pinnacle Award, the company's highest employee achievement honor.

John Schulte of Norway will receive the Gary Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award on Wednesday.

Christopher Bowers (see photo), Chiropractic Health Care Associates PC, received the Outstanding Committee Chair Award from the Iowa Chiropractic Society for chairing ICS's Compliance Committee.

The Iowa Senior Human Resources Association, based in Cedar Rapids, has received the EXCEL Platinum Award for 2012 from the Society for Human Resource Management.

TrueNorth has been named Midwest region Marketing Agency of the Year for 2012 by United Fire Group.

West Liberty Foods was recognized for its accomplishments in environmental stewardship. The company achieved landfill-free status, successfully diverting nearly two million pounds of annual waste from the West Liberty landfill.

Eastern Iowa winners of 2012 Iowa Wine and Grape Awards, presented by the Iowa Wine Growers Association, were Les Ackerman of Ackerman Winery, Amana, as Winemaker of the Year, and 2012 Fireside Chat, Fireside Winery of Marengo, for Outstanding Marketing Campaign.

Dan's Overhead Doors & More, North Liberty, was awarded ProVantage Dealer Status by Liftmaster.

The Technology Association of Iowa and LWBJ Financial presented Prometheus Awards to Involta as IT Service Provider of the Year and Farm Manuals Fast, founded by University of Iowa sophomore Tyler Finchum, as Student Innovation of the Year.

To see winners of 2012 ADDY Awards, presented by the American Advertising Federation of Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, go to http://www.aafcric.com/pdf/2012-winners-book.pdf.

NETWORKING

ICAD Group will host an open house and networking reception in the Amos Dean Ballroom at the Sheraton Iowa City Hotel. The event, 3 to 6 p.m., Friday, May 10, will show how engineering is shaping the future of business in the Corridor. To register, go to www.icadgroup.com/investor.

WORKSHOPS

“Sizing Your Market for Success,” a SCORE-sponsored workshop, will be held 6:30 to 8 p.m., Tuesday at the Marion Public Library. To register, call (319) 431-4574 or email workshops@scorecr.org.

The Nonprofit Management Academy 2013 will hold a workshop on “Community Outreach and Internet Marketing” 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, at the Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation, 324 Third St. SE. To register, call (319) 377-9839 or go online at bit.ly/NPM2013.

A business workshop, hosted by the city of Coralville, will be held 8 to 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 30, at Brown Deer Golf Club, 1900 Country Club Dr., Coralville. Call (319) 248-1700 or visit www.coralville.org.

CAREER FAIR

The Corridor WORKS Career Fair will be held 4 to 7 p.m., Thursday, in the Michael J. Gould Recreation Center, Kirkwood Community College. Call (319) 398-5651 or 398-7781 or go to www.kirkwood.edu/corridorworks.

MEETINGS

The Society for Technical Communication's Eastern Iowa chapter will meet 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, at the Longbranch Restaurant. John Rodriguez, Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust Co. executive vice president and chief operating officer, will speak on “Protecting Yourself and Your Business from Cybercrime.” To register, call Ben Leu at (319) 321-8683 or email ben.leu@pearson.com by May 10. More information at http://www.stc-easterniowa.org/.