Iowa Credit Union League names inaugural Innovation group

NEW HIRES

The Villages at Marion hired Julie Caspers (see photo) as business manager, Nancy Olinger (see photo) as marketing and outreach specialist, and Michael Chambers (see photo) as life enrichment coordinator.

Acumen hired Denise Stanard (see photo) as account manager and Melanie Vevera (see photo) as new business manager.

Anna Moyers Stone (see photo) joined the MidWestOne Bank trust department as a trust officer. She was previously a lawyer with Phelan, Tucker, Mullen, Walker, Tucker and Gelman.

GreatAmerica Financial Services hired Alex Zenor (see photo), previously with ESP International, as vendor relationship manager and Sherri Wilson (see photo), who had been with Cargill, as funding specialist.

APPOINTMENTS

The Iowa Credit Union League in Des Moines has selected credit union executives for its inaugural Iowa Innovation Group program. Those in the Corridor are Rich Head, Linn Area Credit Union; Maria Johnson, Collins Community Credit Union; and Aaron Plein, Dupaco Community Credit Union.

CERTIFICATIONS

Aron Brendes (see photo), Advanced Technology Solutions Inc. in Fairfax, has been certified as a certified maintenance and reliability professional.

Scott Griffin (see photo), TrueNorth Companies, has received the chartered retirement plans specialist designation from the College for Financial Planning.

Hospice Compassus physicians Mark Dearden (see photo) and Lisa Hazelton (see photo) have achieved gold standard credentials in hospice and palliative care, earning sub-speciality certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine from the American Board of Medical Specialities.

PROMOTIONS

Erin Foster (see photo), a certified prevention specialist with the Area Substance Abuse Council, has been promoted to Linn County Prevention Services director.

Karla Stewart (see photo) has been promoted to director of training at Thomas L. Cardella Associates. She previously was hiring coordinator.

Diane Sanders (see photo), formerly customer service agent, has been promoted to senior customer service agent in the Commercial Lines Department at AW Welt Ambrisco Insurance.

Kyle Martin (see photo), Martin Gardner Architecture, has been promoted to project architect. Martin previously a project manager.

Molly Newhouse (see photo), formerly Mercy's Post Anesthesia Care Unit manager, was been named operating room nurse manager at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids.

Steve Hershner, a 23-year employee with the city of Cedar Rapids, has been named as Cedar Rapids utilities director.

HONORS

Morgan Stanley has named Thomas J. Anderson (see photo), CIMA executive director, senior portfolio management director, to its Presidents Club. Jon C. Bancks (see photo), CFP resident manager, associate vice president, has been named to the firm's Pacesetters Club. Both are in Cedar Rapids.

Wayne Roush (see photo), president of West Side Mutual Insurance in Palo, has been elected president of the Mutual Insurance Association of Iowa.

AWARDS

St. Luke's Hospital has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard reaccreditation for 2013.

Communications Engineering Co. in Hiawatha has been recognized with a 2013 Excellence in Business Award from the National Systems Contractors Association, in the Professional Development category.

The Hotel at Kirkwood Center earned the American Automobile Association's Four Diamond Award for lodging for the second time.

FORUMS

Todd VanNest (see photo), president of Next Summit Enterprises in Chicago, will speak on “The Last Word on Change: Courageously Facing the Four Key Choices Successful Change Leaders Make,” at 7 to 8:30 p.m., April 9, at the MBA Speaker Series at Mount Mercy University. The free event will be held in Flaherty Community Room at Basile Hall. Call (319) 363-1323 Ext 1237 or email Deb Oliver at doliver@mtmercy.edu.

Tim Quirk (see photo), head of Global Content Programming for Google Play, will speak at 7:30 p.m., Monday, on “The Quiet Revolution: From the Walkman to the iPod, How Portability and Infinite Storage Have Changed the Way We Listen, and What We Listen To.” Hosted by the University of Iowa and the Mission Creek Festival, the free lecture will be held in the second floor Senate Chamber of the Old Capitol. More information at www.missionfreak.com.

SEMINARS

“Managing for Today and Tomorrow,” a 5-session Annie's Project course for farm women to learn about business, estate, retirement and succession planning, will be held April 8 through May 6 at Kinze Manufacturing, 2171 M Ave., Williamsburg. Sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, sessions will cost is $75. Call (641) 623-5188 or (641) 673-5841, or email xpoweshiek@iastate.edu. Or go to http://smgs.us/3imh.Deadline is Friday.

WORKSHOPS

Two workshops sponsored by the Iowa Quality Center are set for Kirkwood Training & Outreach Services, 3375 Armar Dr., Marion. “Failure Modes and Effects Analysis” will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, and “Fault Tree Analysis” will be a half-day Friday. To register, call (319) 398-7101 or go to www.iowaqc.org.

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training, also sponsored by the Iowa Quality Center, will be April 8-11 and 15-18, at Kirkwood Training & Outreach Services, 3375 Armar Dr., Marion. Call (319) 398-7101 or go to www.iowaqc.org to register.

NETWORKING

ImpactCR-Siren will meet 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, at Gringo's Restaurant, 207 First Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Call (319) 398-5317.

“Breakfast of Champions” will be 7:30 to 9 a.m., April 11, at the Cedar Rapids Meto Economic Alliance offices, 501 First St. SE. The free event will provide more information on DoubleTree by Hilton and the Cedar Rapids Convention complex, which opens June 1. To register, call (319) 398-5317.

Application deadline for the Sales Roundtable 2013 Kickoff is Monday. The event will be noon to 1:30 p.m., April 18, at the Cedar Rapids Meto Economic Alliance offices, 501 First St. SE. Call (319) 398-5317 to apply.

MEETINGS

The Society for Technical Communication's Eastern Iowa chapter will meet 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 9, at the Longbranch Restaurant in Cedar Rapids. Liz Herman will present “Managing Technical Knowledge: Overcoming Roadblocks.” For reservations, call Ben Leu at (319) 573-7133 or email ben.leu@pearson.com by Friday.