Western Iowa
Development Association
News and Views of WIDA
November, 2014
Local Attractions Honored
at Iowa Tourism Conference
Left to right, Rita Grim, Donna Peters, Cindy Thompson, Shawna Lode, Melvyn Houser, and Lisa Riggs
pose for a photo with the Outstanding Collaboration award presented to the WATTA WAY committee at the
Iowa Tourism Conference in Council Bluffs on October 24.
WATTA WAY
Recognized for
‘Outstanding
Collaboration’
The Iowa Tourism Office
and the Travel Federation of Iowa presented 24
awards recognizing excellence in the tourism industry On October 24, in
Council Bluffs during the 2014
Iowa Tourism Conference.
“The tourism conference gives
us the opportunity to annually
recognize the best of the best in
our industry,” said Iowa Tourism
Office Manager, Shawna Lode.
“All nominations are reviewed
and scored by industry members,
people who know and appreciate
tourism in Iowa.”
“The Iowa tourism industry is
full of hard-working, dedicated
and passionate individuals,”
said Lisa Steen Riggs, president of the Travel Federation
of Iowa. “These awards recognize their contribution to Iowa’s tourism economy.”
Award winners from southwest Iowa included: Danish
Windmill, Elk Horn, Outstanding Attraction; WATTA WAY
-Continued on page 2
Western Iowa Development Association
Page Two
The WATTA WAY booth at Iowa Tourism Conference provided information and encouraged other tourism
professionals to visit the site in Pottawattamie County.
Tourism Conference
From page 1
Route, Pottawattamie County,
Outstanding
Collaboration;
Living Loess, western Iowa,
Outstanding Niche Marketing
Initiative; and Council Bluffs
Convention and Visitors Bureau,
Outstanding Website.
WATTA WAY earned the
award just days before releasing the following notice:
“The Pottawattamie County
Tourism Promotion Committee
created the “wAttA wAy to see
Pottawattamie County” program
as a way-finding and marketing
campaign. Way finding and marketing tie directly to the Nishnabotna Loop Plan which refers to
knitting both town and country
into a network by a continuous
route or loop, connected by both
roads and environmental or recreational features. This project
also compliments the community
design program or “charrettes”
that several rural Pottawattamie
County communities completed.
As a result a route was created
through Pottawattamie County
that directs travelers to their destination so they know what to do
and how to get there. 50 identifiable directional signs, a brochure
that incorporates a map along
with a list of destinations, window clings placed in various locations to let visitors know they
are on the “tourism route” along
with advertising in various media
have all helped to increase exposure. We know that current efforts have been successful in increasing travel to our area as we
are seeing the economic impact.
The communities are also helping to promote the entire county
by adding tourist friendly amenities and updated attractions to
make it a destination for travelers.
Now the public will be re-introduced to the county’s many
opportunities by the launching of a new website this summer at www.wattawayiowa.
com. It features all the things
to see and do along the wAttA
wAy as well as events taking
place throughout the county.
The committee members will
continue to promote the small
towns of Pottawattamie County. After all small towns thrive
on people stopping into the local cafes for a piece of pie or ice
cream. Just a few people stopping by can make all the difference.”
Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Iowa Tourism Conference, an event that
brings together more than 250
industry representatives from
across the state to network,
attend educational sessions
and discuss emerging industry
trends.
Western Iowa Development Association
Page Three
A Veteran’s Monument Project In The Making....
Pays Tribute to
America’s
Bravest
The “Eagles Of Honor Project” is about a county that is
working together as a united
unit to honor our Veterans. The
county is Pottawattamie County, which is located in the ‘heart’
of the United States, in southwest Iowa.
What was once one man’s vision of showing thankfulness
has turned into a heartfelt effort
by many. Russell Christensen,
of Neola, Iowa, is a bronze artist that lives and works out of
his studio in Neola with his
artist wife, Penny. When opening their business 25 years ago,
their goal was to make as much
of a positive impact on their
environment and lives as they
could physically, financially,
and emotionally do. They equally
agreed that they were given one
life, and not to waste it. They believed that each person is given
gifts when they enter this world
and how they use them is up to
them; those thoughts can either
be positive or negative. They
both chose positive and they
both believe in reaching for the
stars. Sometimes those stars are
in the heavens and sometimes...
they are on a flag.
This is where the ‘Eagles Of
Honor Project’ comes in.
Two optimist members, Beth
Kennedy and Teresa Goodsell,
of Underwood, Iowa visited the
couple and asked them about
making a Veteran’s monument
for their local community center, UMBA Hall. After several
months of meetings the project
was underway.
As the couple worked on the
Veteran monument plans they
remembered another person who had come and talked
to them about possibly doing a Veteran’s monument. It
was the mayor of Neola, Don
Fischer, and Neola is the town
Russ and Penny live in. With
this refreshed in their minds
Russ called city hall. The council members agreed that, “Yes,
a veteran’s monument would
sure be nice to have in their little town.”
Neola’s Veteran’s monument
project was underway.
Now if you would go to Neola and enter Russ and Penny’s
art gallery, Penny’s Visions
Art Gallery, you would find
patriotism in their artwork;
poems, bronzes, paintings.
This was a perfect match to
utilize their talents to create
something that was already
-Continued on page 5
This collage of Eagles showcases a few of the statues that are part of Pottawattamie County’s Walk of Honor.
Western Iowa Development Association
Local County
Works Hard for
Veterans
Darlene McMartin,
Administrator Pottawattamie
County Veteran Affairs
The “County Soldier’s Relief “Program established in the Iowa Code
since 1874 with a purpose to give
veterans who had served in the
armed forces of the United States
a special consideration that they
should never be in want. In the early
30’s when the relief load became tremendous it was then necessary that
the Commissions be organized with
a planned program for the relief of
the indigent veterans and their families. The three member Commission of Veteran Affairs Board that
is appointed by the County Board
of Supervisors who assist in the outreach and policies of the office. Robert Jorgensen, Avoca, Phil Jacobs,
Treynor and Phil Killion, Council
Bluffs provide a great demographic
representation and input for our
county veterans.
The Pottawattamie County Veteran Affairs office has been funded
as a county department and serving
veterans since the early 1930’s and
for over the past 23 years I have had
the great pleasure of working with
and for the veterans in Pottawattamie County and Iowa. The principle
service to veterans and their families
has not deviated from its original
foundation. We exist to assist veterans and their families to the best of
our abilities through our efforts in
advocacy and support. We provide
a “hand up” in veteran services. As
an Army veteran with strong ties to
my local veteran’s service organizations and County, State and Federal
affiliations, by keeping up to date
on the changes in Veterans Benefits
and programs it seems to be a never
ending task which the office takes
very seriously.
The Veteran Affairs office is located at the Pottawattamie Court
House Annex in Council Bluffs and
is open Monday through Friday 8
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In 2007 the Commission with the Board of Supervi-
sors support opened a satellite Veterans Services office in the Avoca Court
House on Tuesdays with outreach efforts in the area on Fridays. This access to services ensures the eastern
part of Pottawattamie county veterans
are afforded veteran services without
having to drive to Council Bluffs. Currently four accredited representatives, Pam Wilke, Peggy Becker, Lori
Swisher and myself are ready and able
to provide services to the veterans and
widows who request assistance in determining what benefits they are entitled to receive. Suzanne Tanner our
receptionist fields calls and directs assistance as requested.
The office is tasked with assisting veterans or dependents in filing
for benefits in all aspects of need,
from completion of the applications
for compensation or pension or VA
hospital care to assisting with social
security applications and programs
available through Department of Human Services. Assistance is provided
for a wide variety of requirements
and knowing the resources available
in the community where the veteran
lives provides the greatest benefit
to the veteran/dependent. Nursing
home, Assisted living and home visits
are routinely done to those veterans
and dependents that are housebound
or unable to come into one of the offices. The Council Bluffs office supports a small food pantry and winter
coat giveaway completely from donations.
VA 2013 statistics document that
Pottawattamie County has 7897 veterans and of those veterans or widows/ dependents of veterans who are
in receipt of Compensation or Pension benefits, $22,797,000.00 is re-
Page Four
ceived in Federal payments. Total
Federal payments to the Veterans
and dependents in Pottawattamie
County in 2013 were received in the
amount of $50,405,000.00 from
Compensation and Pension payments, Education and Vocational
Rehabilitation, Insurance and Medical care. Over 2,280 Pottawattamie County unique patients utilize
the Department of Veteran Affairs
Hospitals and clinics.
Through cooperation with the
Board of Supervisors and the local
Commissioners of Veteran Affairs
the office strives to provide the resources to all staff to assure that
information and training is accurate and beneficial to all. The office
attends county, state and federal
training, and provides guidance
to the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs office for the bi-annual
training curriculum and Legislative
changes to the County Commissioners of Veteran Affairs. Support
in outreach efforts through Veteran
benefits Fairs and opening a Satellite office to target rural veterans in
the county, has been necessary in
the past year to guarantee all veterans receive information on benefits
they deserve.
The Pottawattamie County Veteran Affairs staff and Commissioners
feel it is important to represent all
veterans and dependents regardless of their political beliefs or their
membership in service organizations. As a county employee our assistance is provided by the tax payers of Pottawattamie County and no
fees are assessed to veterans and
our dependents for any service we
provide.
Veteran Entrepreneur Portal
Veterans did you know that there is a website for you to get information on Starting a Business, Access Financing and information on
Growing Your Business? www.va.gov/osdbu/entrepreneur
The Veteran Entrepreneur Portal (VEP) is designed to save you time!
BusinessUSA makes it easier for small businesses to access Federal
services, regardless of its source. VA OSDBU quickly connects Veteran
entrepreneurs to relevant ‘best-practices’ and information. Collectively, VEP offers direct access to the resources necessary to guide every
step of entrepreneurship.
Find out how to successfully expand your small business. Explore
dedicated subjects with valuable information and resources to help
you grow your company.
Page Five
Western Iowa Development Association
Eagles Project
From page 3
instilled into their hearts.
As the couple created the art
pieces on paper their minds began to wander and they dreamed
of each of the little towns having
a message of honor and thankfulness in their county that
would be unique, educational,
and grateful. What a message
that would send to everyone’s
children to teach them to be
grateful for the sacrifices of other people. Those ‘People’, being
the people right there in their
very own town. Those ‘People’,
being the people that have made
it possible for others to dream,
to achieve, and most of all to
make choices. Those ‘People’...
are our Veterans. Our soldiers
of the past, present, and future...
our Hero’s!
Yes! What a message it would
send to our state! A message
our county is strong, united,
and full of hard working people
filled with integrity. A message
that the people that live in Pottawattamie county are innovative, creative, and filled with the
inspiration of ‘Thankfulness.’
Russ and Penny thought maybe other towns would like their
idea, so they set about finding out. They shared their ideas
and their dreams with others. A
dream to never let anyone forget
their thankfulness of freedom
and those people that made freedom possible. Some towns were
overwhelmed with enthusiasm
and some towns were skeptical. Russ and Penny understood
them both.
One town asked them, “What’s
in it for you?” Russ replied, “ A
job worth doing! People wake up
in the morning and go to work.
Some people go to work and
they are teachers, you pay them
to teach your children. Some
people go to work and build you
roads so that you may go where
you want to go. Everybody has
a job to make life a better place.
My job of choice is to create art.
Art that will make a difference
in peoples lives and make them
think about their own possibilities. I am taking my thankfulness and asking if you would
like to share it and have it become our thankfulness. We live
in America and the choice is
yours. Would you like to join in
the other towns and be united
and remind the world what it is
to be thankful, even if for only a
moment. This is not about me.
It is about us. Together we can
accomplish a great feat or we
can be silent.”
The couple said their thanks
and left the group; later the
town would join the group. That
town was McCelland, Iowa.
The littlest of all the towns. The
town that will carry the purple
heart symbol. The center of
Pottawattamie county. They are
proof that it’s the little things
in life that matter...and are remembered; for they are one of
them.
WIDA’s Wise
Old Owl Tidbits
Important facts to know:
As of 2013:
• Did you know that there are 19.6 million veterans in America.
• Just 11.3% of them are female.
• World War II deployed 4 million Americans to fight that war, and in 1.3 Million of them were still living.
• 5.2 Million served during the Gulf War Era.
• 2.1 Million served in the Korean War.
• 1.3 million who served in peacetime only.
Western Iowa Development Association
Page Six
Jon Krohn: An Entrepreneural Story
This story comes from the
Center for Rural Entrepreneurship as a part of their series of
entrepreneur stories from Pottawattamie County Iowa and
the HomeTown Competitiveness
Initiative.
About John
Jon is only in his early 30s. He
is young and still has most of his
life and career ahead of him. Jon
is also a startup entrepreneur.
He was born and raised in Minden – in southwest Iowa. Minden is a typical small rural community boasting a population of
599 in 2010. It is an agricultural
service center community. Early
on, Jon learned to love working
with his hands and being outside. He served our country in
the Air Force working as a vehicle mechanic with postings in
Germany, Kuwait and North Dakota. For a young man from rural
Iowa, Jon has seen more of the
world than most.
He moved back to Minden after
the military, because he wanted
to come home. He wanted to be
close to family and friends, and
Jon still loves working with his
hands and being outside. When
asked about working in an office,
Jon is clear that being inside all
day long is not the life he wants.
Upon coming home, Jon found
work as a mechanic, a job trucking grain and some other jobs
working for area farmers.
Jon believes in hard work, giving your word and keeping it. He
is a natural learner and pays attention how others treat him.
These experiences, both good
and bad, motivate Jon to live by
certain values: values of doing a
job right, on time and at cost are
central themes to Jon’s view of
how Scooby’s Lawn Care should
operate.
Becoming an Entrepreneur
So why has Jon become an en-
trepreneur? He has always earned
a paycheck. His first job was at age
10 mowing yards. As Jon puts it…
“It was a personal challenge to myself. I wanted to see if I could do
it.” He likes being his own boss
and doing things as he believes
they should be done. He takes
pride in doing a job well and being recognized for work ethic and
making things right.
He is getting ready to start his
second year working as the fulltime owner and operator of Scooby’s Lawn Care. This year, things
are looking promising for even
more business and growth. Jon
stills works for an area farmer
hauling grain, partly because he
Jon Krohn with his family
does not believe in debt and one
of his personal values is pay as you
go. Working off-season has helped
him grow into his new venture and
pay his bills as they have come in.
Challenges
I asked Jon about what kinds of
challenges he has faced in being
an entrepreneur- particularly with
his first start up business. His challenges weren’t causes of anger or
frustration. Quietly, he noted his
main challenges as:
• The cost of materials and equip-
ment.
• Learning that there is much
more to being a boss than being
an employee.
• Learning what he needs to
know.
• Keeping customers happy.
• Staying competitive in the
field.
• Learning to bid projects.
Jon strikes me as a natural
networker. He knows the importance of discovering the question
or issue and searching out a reasonable solution. He is not afraid
to ask questions or learn in order
to become better. Due to his diligence and networking skills, Jon
and Scooby’s are now successfully landing larger contracts. Right
now, Jon is the only employee of
Scooby’s Lawn Care, but if a few
more contracts fall into place for
the summer, he is looking at perhaps hiring some part-time help.
He will learn to be a boss, not just
a boss of himself.
Who Has Helped Jon?
There is this myth of the selfmade successful entrepreneur.
Many successful entrepreneurs
often boast that they are primarily responsible for their success,
and there is truth in such statements. But rarely do we find that
there are not meaningful helpers
along the way.
After some thought Jon began
to run his list of all those people
and organizations that have contributed to his success, including…
• His parents who taught him
work ethic, values of honesty and
how to treat others.
• The Air Force and his military
experiences.
• His hometown of Minden and
all the small town folks who by
nature just help each other.
• He has a woman who helps
with his financial books.
-Continued on page 7
Western Iowa Development Association
Jon Krohn
From page 6
Scooby’s Lawn Care hard at work.
• There is a buddy’s wife who
helps him with Quick Books.
• Iowa State University helping
with education and certification.
I asked Jon about taxes and
he responded, “Do I have to pay
Director’s
Notes
November is here and feels
like the nice weather may be
gone for a while. This is a good
Page Seven
taxes?” and laughed. Like other
things, Jon takes the realities of
being in business as part of the
job. You figure out what you have
to do and get it done. This exemplifies Midwestern work ethic at
its best.
Jon did note that it has been a
bit challenging passing all the tests
to become certified as a chemical
applicator, but he managed and
nothing has stopped him yet. He
embraces required continuing
education as part of being in this
kind of business.
Along the way, Jon has worked
with John Adams (picture right),
business coach with Western
Iowa Development Association
(www.wida.org). As Jon puts it,
“John Adams is a call away at a
drop of a dime. John has been really helpful and taken the time to
talk things through.” This one on
one help has been valuable and
made a difference for Jon’s business. John Adams works with
entrepreneurs like Jon throughout rural Pottawattamie County,
Iowa. John operates out of the
Western Iowa Development Association or WIDA for short.
WIDA serves the rural communities in this part of Iowa.
Startup funding for business
coaching has been provided by
the Iowa West Foundation and
Iowa Western Community College and now WIDA.
The Future?
So what comes next for Jon
Krohn and Scooby’s Lawn Care?
Jon’s answer illustrates a powerful reason why so many American’s go into business where life
and work goals are so integrated.
Jon likes making money, but
he does not aspire to kill himself making a buck. He dreams
of starting a family, owning an
acreage with his own shop, taking vacations and ensuring a balance between work and life.
He is committed to growing
his dream and his business. Stay
tuned as this great startup story
plays out.
To find out more, visit Jon’s
facebook page for Scooby’s Lawn
Care.
time to do next year’s planning.
What does your community, your
business or even just you and
your personal life want to accomplish. Do a business plan, no
matter if it is even for your own
plans, write it down, figure out
what it is going to take to make
it happen.
Did you know that in 2011 the
United States had 28.2 million
small businesses and 17,700
firms with 500 employees or
more. Over three-quarters of
small businesses were non employ-ers. That number continues to climb.
Are you ready as a community to
welcome those small businesses
to town? Is your community have
opportunities for those small or
large business to be a part of?
It appears that the growth of
small businesses will continue
to progress. Small business has
generated more than 65% of the
new jobs created in the US since
1996.
More than 16 million people
work from home in the United
States. This is expected to continue to grow. They are predicting that this number will
increase by 64% in the next four
years. It is also anticipated that
1.3 billion people will work virtually by the year 2015. This
means that there will be a large
pool of available home-based laborers for businesses that look
to avoid health care costs and
large salaries. Contract and pay
as you go arrangements are viable options for small business.
So as you start your planning
for the next year consider what
your community, your companies and maybe even your personal life may look like. Is it
possible that you can help mold
your life into what and where
you want to be?
Western Iowa Development Association
“The purpose of WIDA is to provide leadership to community
members by developing and implementing a proactive
marketing plan that will promote economic development and
expand and grow the area’s economic base while increasing
wealth and improving quality of life.”
Page Eight
Calendar of
Events
November 28 & 29
• 33rd Annual Christmas Walk Walnut
Thousands of lights outline the turn-ofthe-century storefronts in downtown
Walnut and a live towering Christmas
tree dominates the brick streets. Sip
on spiced cider while shopping in one
of Walnut’s many antiques shops or in
displays by visiting dealers in this beautiful setting. Special store hours. For
more information, call 712.784.2100.
December
Contact WIDA Today!
Western Iowa Development Association
1911 N. LaVista Heights Road, P.O. Box 579, Avoca, IA 51521
Toll Free: 800-293-4821 • Fax: 712-343-2136
www.wida.org
• Old Fashioned Christmas- Avoca
Celebrate Christmas in Avoca! Enjoy treats, decorations with lights,
soup supper, visits from Santa, and
hayrack rides. Come see the Memory
Tree located in the Library. Contact
Rhonda Holst at 712.343.6697 for
more information.
Let us give thanks...
Lori Holste
Executive Director, Business Retention & Expansion
[email protected]
Donna Peters
John Adams
Tourism & Community Projects
Business Coach
[email protected]
[email protected]
Happy
Thanksgiving!