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State Government Takes Center Stage for January Session
By Gina Vitiritto Robinson, LI Program Co-Chair
The class gathered at the Iowa Department of Public Safety on Wednesday, January 13, 2010. Mary Kramer, former Iowa State Senator and former US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean , was our lead speaker. Ambassador Kramer was completely inspiring. She told us about her experiences as a US Ambassador and State Senator. She went on to tell us how she addressed the issues she faced during her tenure. She talked about the budget and how we need to get back to the basics. She discussed the high cost of running a political campaign in todays climate and about the need for more civility in all levels of government. Ambassador Kramer inspired us to make a difference by getting involved.
Mary Foley Balvanz (LI 1994-95), Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, facilitated the Congressional Insight simulation with assistance from Drew Conrad (LI 2005-06), UNIs Institute for Decision Making and chair of the LI Board. This exercise puts the class in the shoes of someone running for Congress. They make decisions based on a number of criteria in a very short time, deepening their understanding of the process.
The day ended with the class attending the annual ABI Legislative Reception, joining hundreds of business leaders, Leadership Iowa alumni, and legislators at the Science Center of Iowa.
Thursday, January 14, 2010 started at the State Historical building with Martha Willits (LI 1985-86), Greater Des Moines Partnership, welcoming the class to the metro area. She shared information about the many changes and growth in the past five years and discussed plans to move to the next level, including regional economic development initiatives, workforce attraction, downtown development and maintaining strong regional relationships with surrounding communities and chambers.
The LI Linkage group provided some great historical and current statistics on the Des Moines area.
Auditor David Vaudt (LI 1987-88) provided and overview of the state budget, beginning with a brief historical perspective. He then talked about the 2010 budget with an overview of how the budgeting process works and how it is reported. This presentation provided the basics for interaction with other government officials throughout the session.
At the Iowa State Capitol, class members were able to spend time with lobbyists and legislators, learning more about each role. Many took tours of the Capitol and met as individuals or in small groups with their own legislators.
The class then moved to the Iowa Judicial Branch building. They toured the building, including the court rooms, the law library and the judges chambers. The class was honored to spend time with Chief Justice Marsha K Ternus and Justice Brent Appel (LI 1990-91). They talked about the impact of budget cuts, the furlough process and the impact it has had on the courts. Chief Justice Ternus expressed concern about how further cuts will affect the courts and the rights of Iowa citizens.
We finished our day at the Iowa Hall of Pride with a reception and time to explore the many unique displays and interactive activities offered there. To end the evening, many took advantage of an offer to get a behind-the-scenes tour of Prairie Meadows.
Fridays session was held in the council chambers of West Des Moines City Hall .
Paul Yeager from Iowa Public Television moderated a panel of media professionals. Among many questions, the panel talked about ways to spread your message to the media. Panelists included Dave Price from WHO-TV 13, Lynn Campbell from Iowa Politics on-line, and James Lynch from the Cedar Rapids Gazette. It was interesting to hear about how each medium has had to change their focus on a story in todays 24-hour news cycle. Prior to the internet, the newspaper focused on being the first to report a story and now they focus on taking a different spin of the story and going into more detail about the story. They also talked about the challenge of keeping up with rapidly changing technology including the addition of Twitter and other social networks.
David Roderer from the Iowa Chamber Alliance and Marian Riggs Gelb from the Iowa Environmental Council then addressed the class regarding wants and needs of the state budget. David gave insight on the strategic planning it is going to take to get Iowa back on track. Marian Riggs Gelb gave a perspective on the environmental issues and protecting Iowa 's natural resources for current and future generations.
Brad Magg, a restaurant owner and City Councilman of Colfax, provided lunch and also talked about his experience of being a young entrepreneur in a small Iowa community. Brad started his entrepreneurial journey in his early teens. He described the decision-making process in starting each of his businesses, including a catering business, and in buying Goldies in Prairie City . He talked about the challenges of owning a business and adding employees to his payroll. A few months ago Goldies tenderloin was named Best Tenderloin in Iowa , with announcements on WHO-Radio and around the state. He has since tripled his business! He credits his Iowa community for his success, through their nurturing and support all along the way. Brad served us his famous tenderloins and I can see why he has been so successful.
An engaging talk by Alec Zama (LI 2004-05), a professor of Business Administration at Grandview University , brought a new perspective to American Democracy. Alec told us about his homeland, Moldova , a part of the former Soviet Republic , led by a totalitarian regime. He is now a US citizen. He described the lack of freedom he experienced as a child and how amazed he was of the freedom and democracy many of us take for granted. He is truly an inspiration.
We wrapped up our day with the LI Linkage group leading a discussion regarding schools consolidation in consideration of the need for budget cuts. The discussion ended in an organized and civil debate between the for and against groups.
We thank the planning group for this wonderful session led by Debi Bull (LI 2008-09) with BrownWinick Law Firm and Rich Kinseth (LI 2008-09) with the Department of Public Safety.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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2010 Leadership Iowa Alumni Society
As your memories of Leadership Iowa (LI) grow more distant, the impact the program is making in the lives of Iowans continues. Graduation from Leadership Iowa does not signify the end of the program, but the beginning of an opportunity to be a part of an active network of Iowa leaders.
Please click here to update your profile on the Leadership Iowa website. If you need to retrieve your password, click here and enter the email address in which you received this message.
We are asking that you continue to support the mission of Leadership Iowa to educate, motivate and develop a network of informed leaders. Your support will encourage and sustain on-going involvement in local communities and in the state to create a better future for Iowans. Please take a moment to join the 2010 Leadership Iowa Alumni Dues Society today. If you prefer to send a check, please click here for an invoice.
You are a member of one of the 27 classes that have graduated from the Leadership Iowa program and your class is the best class ever, right? It's time to prove it by supporting your class efforts to collect the most Leadership Iowa Alumni Society dues dollars. The class raising the highest amount will be recognized as The Best LI Class of 2010 and will give you "bragging rights" for the year.
Your Alumni Society dues will be recognized throughout the 2010 calendar year. There were 129 alumni that participated in 2009 with a total of $12,225, please help us exceed that participation in 2010.
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$75 Leadership Iowa Alumni Society member Click here to view 2010 members:
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$150 Support member
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$250 Bronze member
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$500 Silver member
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$750 Gold member
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$1,000 Platinum member
The second Leading Leaders Conference will be held March 1, 2010 in West Des Moines. Last year Leadership Iowa introduced the first Leading Leaders Conference, which was very well received. Click here for more details.
The event is a one-day workshop for directors of Iowas community leadership programs, board members of those programs, and anyone interested in starting a community/county-wide leadership program.
Our greatest challenge is identifying all of the community/county based leadership programs in the state and the contact person for each organization. This is where we could use your help.
Our sincere thanks to the planning committee for this years conference: Eve Doi (LI 2005-06), Ames Chamber of Commerce & E
Copyright © 2010 Iowa Association of Business and Industry. All rights reserved.
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