Connecting with the Community
The ﬁrst major event of the year was a joint
social between SCGO and Vision Dakota County, a
group that is based out of South Sioux City, Nebraska.
With a night full of networking, the weather could not
have been any better to kick-off the summer.
There were other small events throughout
the year such as a paintball tournament, monthly food
groups at different members’ homes, and a fundraiser
for the American Heart Association at the Old Dane
Golf Course.
After a very busy September, SCGO topped
it off with an excellent donor appreciation night at a
new restaurant, the Diving Elk. The night consisted of
beer tasting, light appetizers, and the announcement
of the ripple award recipients.
2014
SCGO Board
President: Joe Knoepﬂer
Knoepﬂer Chevrolet
Vice President: Michael Billings
Billings and Company, Inc.
Secretary: Ruby Welcher
Billings and Company, Inc.
Treasurer: Eric Smith
Security National Bank
SCGO Committee Chairs:
Civic: Britney Sininger,
Century 21 ProLink
Connect: David Brockshus,
Cannon Moss Brygger Architects
Directors:
Civic: Chris Barondeau,
Marketing: Victoria Elphic,
Goosmann Law Firm
Stoney Creek Hotel
Special Events: Cole Hoff,
Connect: David Struve,
Sioux Basin Active Collaboration Central Bank
Innovation Market:
Marketing: Lisa Becker,
Becca Feauto, Pulse
City of Sioux City
Michael Billings,
Special Events: Jacklyn Fox,
Billings and Company, Inc.
Woodbury County
Innovation Market: Dustin Pratt, Dustin Pratt,
Avalon Capital Group
Avalon Captial Group
2014 ANNUAL REPORT
Looking back at 2014
Young Professionals of Iowa Conference Makes its way to Sioux City
The Sioux City Growth Organization was honored to host
the Young Professionals of Iowa Conference in Sioux City for the
third time in less than ﬁve years. The YP Iowa Annual Conference
offers young professionals from all over the state an opportunity
to network, learn and develop. The theme of the conference was
“Turn It Up”. It challenged its participants to push themselves further
not only in their personal lives, but also as young professionals in
their communities. With keynote speakers, break-out sessions and
interactive presentations led by industry leaders, there was surely
something for everyone.
Break-outs included Leveraging Networking P.O.W.E.R.
featuring Adam Carroll, Leadership Tactics for Today’s Young
Professionals; Live YOUR Brand 24/7 featuring Ben Newman,
Handling Workplace Conﬂict as well as a historic bus tour of Sioux
City. Conference attendees also were invited to a social event the night
before at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with a live concert, drinks,
and appetizers.
SCGO strives not only to retain young professionals, but also
attract them to the Siouxland area. Hosting a conference like this is
was an opportunity to bring more than 100 young professionals to the
area while showcasing what the wonderful city has to offer.
Christy-Smith Funeral Home
City of Sioux City
Claussen Greenhouses &
Nursery
De De Beverage
Downtown Partners
Electronic Engineering Co.
Elite Dentistry
Farm Bureau Financial Services
Farm Credit Services
Farmers Insurance
Fluent Chiropractic
Goodwill of the Great Plains
Goosmann Law Firm
Great West Casualty
Great Western Bank
Gunderson’s
Hard Body Fitness and Nutrition
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Heritage Bank
Inside-Out Family Chiropractic
Innovative Business Consultants
Jackson Recovery Center
JD Gordon Creative Labs
KCAU-TV
2014 SCGO President
Facts About Membership
Klass Law Firm
Knoepﬂer Chervolet
Kramer & Assoc., LLC
Kruse Chiropractic, PC
Kruse Financial
KTIV Channel 4
Lessman Electric Supply
Company
Liberty National Bank
Lovoto
March of Dimes
MidAmerican Energy Co.
Modern Kitchen Design
Morningside College
Nor-Am Cold Storage
Northwest Bank
Northwestern Mutual
Paciﬁc City Graphics
Poppin’ Bottles n’ Brushes
Pulse
Rush Werks
Safelite
Security National Bank
Shelter Insurance
Shirley Chic
Short Staffed
Sinclair Broadcast Group (KPTH
& KMEG)
Sioux Basin Active Collaboration
Sioux City Art Center
Sioux City Symphony
Siouxland Human Investment
Partnership (SHIP)
Siouxland Investment Group
Siouxland Magazine
South Sioux Animal Hospital
Stoney Creek Hotel
Strategic Financial Group
Team Creative Fire
Thompson Electric
Thrivent Financial
United Real Estate Solutions
US Bank
WA Klinger & Co
Western Iowa
Tech Community College
Whitmer Spine & Sports
Chiropractic
Woodbury County Attorney’s
Ofﬁce
young professionals from around the tri-state area traveled
to Siouxland for a two day event packed full of events and
top tier speakers all of which was organized within our
allocated budget by our group of esteemed men and
women. The level of pride and honor I encountered during
this event towards the men and women within SCGO was
prodigious. A very high bar has been set for additional
young professional organizations for years to come.
As I have stated many times before, none of
this would be possible without the valued members of
SCGO. These courageous young men and women are
the backbone of this organization. Without our dedicated
members (past and present), this organization would have
fallen to the wayside years ago. We are heard; we do have
a voice and couldn’t be more pleased to have an active
role in our community.
In closing, I want to say thank you to the board,
our diligent members, and all of those who have and
continue to support us as “THEE” young professionals’
organization of the greater Siouxland area
Looking forward to a successful 2015
Paid Members in 2014: 155
New Members in 2014: 88
Current Member Employers
185th Air Refueling Wing
Absolute Screen Art
A.J. Phillips Publishing Co. Inc.
American Family Insurance
Americans for Prosperity
Foundation
Ameriprise Financial
Avalon Capital Group
Aventure Stafﬁng & Professional
Services, LLC
Bass Advertising
Berenstein, Moore, Heffernan,
Moeller & Johnson, LLP
Big Brothers Big Sisters of
Siouxland
Billings & Company
Boy Scouts of America
Briar Cliff University
Brown Wegher Construction
Cannon Moss Brygger Architects
Centerplate/Sioux City
Convention Center
Central Bank
Century 21 Pro Link Realty
Chatterkick
Joe Knoepﬂer
First and foremost let me express what a
great honor it has been to represent the Sioux City
Growth Organization as its president. I cannot reiterate
how impressed I have been with the Growth
Organization as a whole and how humbled I am
to be added to the list of exceptional men and
women who have held this position before me.
2014 was an exceptional year for the Sioux
City Growth Organization. We encountered over
a thirty percent increase in membership setting
a new benchmark of 135 young professionals
from around the Siouxland area. Our mission
of creating a positive impact on our community
and developing future leaders for Siouxland has
not skipped a beat. Throughout the year we host
a number of different events and activities within the
community from Innovation Market to our newest addition
of GO-U.
In 2014, SCGO was graciously given the bid for
the YP Iowa 2014 Conference. An impressive number of
Michael Billings
2015 SCGO President
I am blessed and honored to be the 2015
Sioux City Growth Organization President. 2015 will
be a great year for SCGO! I want to take a minute to
tell you my story. I was born and raised in Sioux City,
and after graduating from Heelan, I went off to college
at the University of Northern Iowa. While there I met my
wife Renae Billings, who currently works for the
economic development department for the City
of Sioux City. During my senior year of college I
made the decision to come back to Sioux City to
work for the family business. Prior to graduating,
Renae and I got engaged and I convinced her
to move back to Sioux City and raise our family
here.
I am not going to lie; it was hard at ﬁrst to move from
a college town of upcoming young professionals
back to Sioux City. I didn’t know where to get
involved in order to meet new people and develop
my professional contacts. I heard about SCGO through
work but I had no idea what it was all about. I attended
a couple of meetings and still didn’t get the big picture,
so I stopped going. A couple of months later I received
a phone call from a veteran member, Jason Anderson,
who invited me to attend a restructuring event for the
organization. That personal phone call really meant a lot
and convinced me to start attending every event I could.
It didn’t take long for me to understand the core principals
of the organization - to create a positive impact on the
community and develop future leaders.
SCGO is a huge stakeholder in the community. Our
organization is dedicated to growing our community and
making sure young professionals stay in the Siouxland
area. As Vice President of SCGO last year, I was able to
help produce our record number of 154 members. With
so many new faces joining our group, it is very important
that they receive the personal invitation I received to stay
involved and to learn our core values. This year we are
going to take a more aggressive approach in order to
keep our new members engaged. We need all hands on
deck to continue making a difference in our community
and growing our membership in 2015.
In closing, I thank you for your continued support of SCGO
and I look forward to meeting you if I haven’t already. I
wish you a successful 2015. Cheers.
After more than a year of discussions and planning
efforts, GO University arose as the newest program
undertaken by the Sioux City Growth Organization. GO-U
is designed as a two-semester program for upper level
students at Briar Cliff University and Morningside College
to prepare them for life after college. One of the main
goals envisioned by SCGO members was to provide the
students with a different perspective on what to expect
after college compared to what they would get on campus.
Introductory events were held at each campus
with “Minute to Win It” games and time to socialize
with SCGO members about the program. Exceeding
expectations, we walked away with over 60 students
interested in learning more about the program! Two GO-U
sessions were held in the fall of 2014. The ﬁrst, titled
“Creating a Killer Personal Brand”, featured guest speaker
Beth Trejo who talked about the beneﬁts and dangers of
social media when searching for a job. Her presentation
was insightful to everyone as more and more employers
are searching for candidates on social media to make
decisions on who they are. The second session, titled
“The Beneﬁts of Positive Relationships and Community
Involvement”, featured guest speaker and SCGO member
Virginia Anderson. Attendees of this session learned
about how to get involved in the community when they
start a new job and participated in a speed networking
session with a number of Sioux City young professionals.
GO-U will continue in 2015 will three spring
sessions for mock interviews, proper dress attire,
budgeting, and a ﬁnal etiquette dinner. Both colleges have
been great at promoting the program and its beneﬁts to
the students. We look forward to seeing how GO-U will
grow in the future, both in the number of students and
schools participating.
Ripple Awards
Individual: Dustin Pratt,
Avalon Capital Group
Company: Thompson Electric Company
(Skip Perley accepted the award)
Chesterman Co.
City of Sioux City
Farm Credit Services of America
Great West Casualty
Iowa Nebraska State Bank
Klinger Companies
Knoephler Chevrolet
Mid American Energy
Plan Architecture
Security National Bank
State Steel
Thompson Electric
US Bank
Notable Special Events
The
Special
E v e n t s
Committee
was very busy
in 2014! In
addition to the
annual Adopt a
Highway clean
up, SCGO took a trip to England, hung with the royals and
picked up the Judge’s Award while raising money for the
Crittenton Center at their Design and Dine Event. SCGO
also held its 2nd Annual SiouxMazing Race and gave
away over $1k in cash and prizes! And, the most notable
event for Special Events was the Mystery Dinner held at
Emma’s Event Center. SCGO, with the help of Central
Bank, KSUX, and Dakota PC, raised $7k for Siouxland
SCGO Board
President: Michael Billings
Billings and Company, Inc.
Secretary: Kate Harstad
US Bank
Vice President: Alex Watters
Morningside College
Treasurer: Cole Hoff
Central Bank
Directors:
Civic: Britney Sininger, Century 21 ProLink
Connect: David Struve, Sioux Basin Active Collaboration
Marketing: Lisa Becker, City of Sioux City
Special Events: Nick Rol, Thompson Electric Company
Innovation Market: Jennifer Bower, American Family Insurance
Julie Bower Agency & Poppin’ Bottles n’ Brushes
SCGO Keeps Civic Top of Mind
foster networking opportunities that are so important to
our organization and its members.
In appreciation of our 2014 supporters:
Central Bank
Centrury 21 Prolink
Chatterkick
Chloe & Isabel
Consumer Supply
Brownbox.com
Siouxland Chamber of Commerce
Morningside College
Northwestern Mutual
Sioux City Police Ofﬁcers Association
American Popcorn
Bass Advertising
Billings Co.
Cannon Moss Brygger & Assoc.
2015
GO-U: Creating College Connections
Soliders! Bruce Miller and Heath Weber, the emcees for
the evening, made sure the event was ﬁlled with fun, love
and lots of laughter!
The Civic Committee played a key role in
shifting towards quarterly night meetings. SCGO
members who are unable to make the regularly
scheduled noon meeting have another opportunity to
stay involved with the organization. This also allows
additional interaction among group members in a more
relaxed and informal environment. This has helped to
In October, the Civic Committee held its
annual marquee event, Meet the Candidates. This
year the candidates for the Woodbury County Board
of Supervisors participated. The event provided
an opportunity for the candidates to interact with
Siouxland’s young professionals in a fun environment
while discussing important issues facing our community.
To close out the year, the Civic Committee
planned the ﬁnal quarterly night meeting which also
doubled as the annual elections for new SCGO board
members. This meeting was the best attended meeting
of the year and set a record for number of members
voting in an election.
Innovation Market: Growing Local Ideas
SCGO went in search of new business ideas for
the 4th Annual Innovation Market competition. It was held on
Thursday, February 27th, 2014 at the Commerce Building at
520 Nebraska Street.
Innovation Market is a community think-tank designed
to grow local business ideas while forming connections
between like-minded leaders of every age. The event is about
taking ideas, however big or small, to the next level. In its fourth
year, SCGO was looking for the next level of ideas, and that is
exactly what we got.
In addition, Innovation Market included guest speakers from the
entrepreneurial world. Andy Stoll, media producer and social
entrepreneur, and Cheri Cosgrove, local President and CEO of
belle touché salon & spa both spoke. During Cheri Cosgrove’s
speech, she announced an additional $5,000 to one of the top
5 ﬁnalists making it possible to be awarded $10,000! She and
her husband listened to each of the top 5 and awarded the
$5,000 to Sioux City Suds.
To conclude the evening, Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds
spoke about how Iowa leaders are in support of fostering
entrepreneurial growth.
The ﬁrst place $5,000 cash prize went to Blake
Anderson and Sean Richardson with Pushlee; the patent
pending retargeting ad platform for gas stations and
convenience stores. This mobile app is currently available
for Android and iPhones. Currently, Pushlee has over 100
convenient stores signed up for its beta.
The second place $2,500 cash prize went to Geoff
Arnold for Sioux City
Suds, a hometown
restaurant
and
brewery concept
with heart. Its idea
is to only use locally
sourced hops to
brew the ﬁnest beer
west of the Atlantic
with meats and produce brought in daily from local farms.
First and second place winners, in addition to the
cash prize, also received a free space in the Commerce
Building, tax assistance from Kramer and Associates and legal
assistance from Goosmann Law Firm and Vriezelaar, Tigges,
Edgington, Bottaro, Boden & Ross, L.L.P.