Molly Altorfer, 30, Cedar Rapids
Assistant Vice President for Communications & Marketing @ Mount Mercy College
If it’s happening at “the Mount,” rest assured Molly Altorfer knows about it.

As the newly promoted Assistant Vice President for Communications & Marketing at Mount Mercy College, Altorfer’s job is to make sure that students, faculty and staff, alumni and the community as a whole — that’s you — know about all things MMC.

She has oversight on internal and external communications, messaging and branding, the Web site, social media efforts, a campus magazine produced three times year and all advertising.
“It’s never the same day twice. That keeps you on your toes,” Altorfer says.

Plus, her new role allows her to work with the school’s development department to
create strategies for campaigns and other fundraising initiatives.

“I’m excited because it’s going to be a challenge,” Altorfer says. “And it’s so integral right now to where we are going.”

She means “we” as in “Mount Mercy” and Altorfer’s job indeed promises to become more essential and more challenging as the school makes the transition to Mount Mercy University in the next few years.

“There is kind of a feeling, a buzz on campus,” she says. “There’s an excitement that’s palpable and that makes it exciting to go to work every day.”

Altorfer — who is originally from Cedar Rapids and actually served as the newspaper editor at Washington High School — moved back a few years ago from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area after college and a few years working as communications director for a Jewish non-profit organization. She and her husband Derek, along with their black lab/German Sheppard mix, Ike, wanted to be closer to family and make a difference in the community where they grew up.

“I knew I wanted to stay in the non-profit world,” Altorfer recalls of her job search. “I wanted to work for an organization that was doing good. And Mount Mercy does that for students. It prepares them for not only a career but also
to be successful, giving people as they continue their lives.”

Mount Mercy, and it’s “commitment to service” seemed like the perfect fit. She started working for the college in July of 2006 as the Assistant Director of College Relations. Less than a year later she was named the Director of Communications and Marketing. And just last week, on Jan. 4, her new title and role became official.

Of course, Altorfer humbly acknowledges that what she does for a living combined with her age is pretty impressive. And it’s not so ironic that an organization dedicated to producing successful young professionals depends on one to send
just the right messages about Mount Mercy
to the world.

“There is opportunity for young professionals here if you grab it,” Altorfer says. “The generations ahead of us want us to succeed. And that wasn’t really available in Minneapolis. There they would put you in a box and say ‘No, you’re under 30’
or ‘You’re under 40 so you can’t do that.’ Here, if you can think it up or sell the idea people will
take you up on it. It doesn’t matter if you’re 25,
35 or 55.”
— KATIE

Anne Michael Langguth, 22, Iowa City Miss Iowa 2009
On any given day, it’s not uncommon for Anne Michael Langguth to be asked questions that sound more appropriate for Cinderella.

The most common?

“ ‘Are you a princess?’ or ‘Do you live in a castle?’ ” she says, laughing.

When you’re serving as Miss Iowa, those questions come with the territory. A 2005 Iowa City West High School alumna and a 2009 Harvard graduate, Anne is now headed to Las Vegas at the end of January to compete for the title of Miss America.

“Growing up, my sister and I would always watch the Miss America pageant. We have pictures of me sitting on a chair, falling asleep, because I was too young to stay awake long enough to see who was crowned. These young women were so articulate, beautiful, and wonderful, but I never thought, ‘That’s what I want to do,’” says Anne.

Anne became involved in the pageant world not so much for the glitz and glamour, but for the scholarship opportunities. Worldwide, the Miss America pageant doles out $45 million annually. So far, these scholarships have paid for Anne’s summer school and books, and will pay for two years of med school (she’s attending the University of Iowa starting in August 2010).

The pageant world also gives her the chance to perform. She began playing the violin at age 3.

“I started with a Rice-A-Roni box and a paint stick for the neck,” she says.

Serving as Miss Iowa, Anne’s full-time career for now, allows her to blend her unique interests — public health, the violin, character education, and science. She sets her own appearances, makes her own contacts and chooses the organizations she partners with.

“I’m a one-woman band,” she says. “It’s given me a chance to make my year one that’s tailored to me.”

When most people think of Miss Iowa, they think about the Miss America competition.

“What goes into it is so much more than that,” she says. “I have 364 days to do as much as I can as Miss Iowa. People forget that there’s a job aspect to it, if you want there to be. It’s an incredible opportunity to give back to the state and promote causes or organizations that could use another voice.”

Her platform is Good for You—Promoting and Supporting Wellness Initiatives.

“It’s broad, but I like it that way,” says Anne. “It gives me a chance to promote everything from wellness to engagement of the sciences to character development.”

She has developed partnerships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Public Health, and CHARACTER COUNTS!

She’s also the spokesperson for the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory.

“They produce educational materials that talk about public health and ways to get people interested in the sciences, and they were looking for someone to help them spread their message,” she says.

A perfect fit considering that with a degree in both government and minor in health policy, Anne envisions working for the government or running for public office after medical school.

As for the competition she faces on Jan. 30?

“I’ve loved my year as Miss Iowa,” says Anne. “But if I’m still Miss Iowa on Jan. 31, I’ll still be happy.”
— LEAH

Tim Hankewich, 42, Cedar Rapids

Music Director @ Orchestra Iowa

At an age when most of us were planning our futures as superheroes, spacemen or fairy princesses, a young Timothy Hankewich was already hard at work turning his childhood dream job into reality: becoming a classical musician. And despite the challenges of growing up in rural Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada, he was determined to do whatever it took to make it happen.

“We were six hours’ drive from the nearest city. Once a month, I would fly out to Edmonton for piano lessons, and that commitment my parents made on my behalf made it clear to me at a very young age that come hell or high water, I was going to be a musician,” says Hankewich, who’s now beginning his fourth season as music director of Orchestra Iowa, formerly known as the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra.

His devotion has certainly paid off. Hankewich came to Orchestra Iowa after seven years as resident conductor for the Kansas City Symphony, as well as a roster of guest appearances with the likes of the Oregon Symphony, Orchestra London, Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and the China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. His lists of accolades include the Aspen Conducting Award and a spot in the American Symphony Orchestra League’s 2001 National Conductor Preview. But, he’s sure to point out, that doesn’t make him — or the members of his orchestra — anything other than normal folks with normal jobs.

“You’ll often find the stereotype that classical musicians can be very elitist, but the truth is that it’s quite the opposite — I know musicians with the most eclectic tastes in music and the broadest interests,” Hankewich says.

His own hobbies run the gamut from ballroom dancing to bird-watching, with a healthy dose of Stargate in between.

“I love science fiction,” Hankewich says. “I’m a huge fan of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica … anything that’s on Syfy, really.”

His interest isn’t just in the rocket-science technology of a sci-fi future, though. In a business that’s sometimes maligned for failing to keep up with the times, Hankewich is bucking the stereotype by keeping a blog on the orchestra’s Web site at www.orchestraiowa.org

And he’s challenging the assumption that classical music can’t coexist with today’s world through events like the orchestra’s Generation O networking evenings and programming (more on page 14) that pairs old masters with next-generation composers. It’s all in an effort to make orchestral music matter in a world that changes by the moment.

“You can’t rage against pop culture – it defines every generation,” Hankewich says. “When people are listening to new music, they have to be able to identify with what’s being performed, and usually that connection is a common reference to pop culture. It was the same way in Beethoven’s day.”

So what does the maestro tune in to when he’s not at the podium?

“Most people would be surprised that I find it very difficult to listen to music at home,” Hankewich says. “Whenever the stereo is on, I listen to it critically and professionally.”

Still, that doesn’t mean he has his nose in a score all the time. Away from the classical repertoire, Hankewich counts Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald among his favorites – “and lately I’ve been on this sort of Latin American, Afro-Cuban kick,” he says.

After all, Hankewich explains, it’s our connection to music that really matters, whether it’s Brahms or the Black Eyed Peas.

“People need to know that music is inseparable from the person,” he says. “It all comes down to joy.”

— JESSICA

DID YOU KNOW: Hankewich is a “television junkie.” While many of his evenings are spent behind a baton, not in front of a TV, he makes do. “That’s what TiVo is for,” he says.

WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU: Let Hankewich share the world of classical music with you. Read his blog at www.orchestraiowa.org

Melanie Ewalt, 32, Cedar Rapids
Assistant professor/chef @ Kirkwood
Community College Culinary Arts Program

The smells of Cuban food — sofrito, in particular — lured culinary arts professor Melanie Ewalt into her grandmother’s kitchen when she was a girl growing up in Miami. She’d slip past busy family gatherings to join her grandmother at the stove, where green peppers, onion, garlic, and tomato simmered with pork
and seafood.

“Cuban food is more about flavor than spice,” Melanie says. “You could smell it
as soon as you walked into the house.”

Melanie developed a love for Cuban cuisine and everything Latin during those early years surrounded by an extended Cuban family in Miami, where she learned Spanish alongside English. When she was 8 she moved to Iowa City but returned to Miami every summer to stay with her grandmother, where “everything centered around food,” she says.

In 2000, Melanie graduated from the Kirkwood culinary arts program. She worked as an assistant kitchen manager
in charge of catering for Hy-Vee planning events at Hancher Auditorium and for the University of Iowa Athletics program.

Then six years ago Melanie began subbing for a former Kirkwood instructor, Amy Wyss, now co-owner of Zins, and began her transition to full-time chef instructor.

Kirkwood’s culinary arts degree is a two-year program. First-semester students learn the basics, such as how to handle and sharpen a knife, perform various cuts and work with different foods. Theory, taught in classrooms, explores topics in depth. Second-semester students train in international cuisine with David Horsfield, a chef from Australia.

Melanie focuses on third- and fourth-semester students. The third-semester cooking lab is the college restaurant,
Class Act, where students prepare meals for the general public.

Twice each semester Melanie organizes large events that bring together the entire culinary arts program — students and instructors — to plan and prepare five-course themed meals. The most recent event focused on locally grown and harvested foods.

“I actually went out and picked all of the eggplant at a local farm,” Melanie says. Students found pears in Marion and spinach in Mount Vernon.

“It’s a lot of fun to be able to see students grow and see the different things everybody can bring to the table,” she says.

She’d rather see students be creative and fail than say no to trying new ideas.

This type of training is preparation for the fourth-semester capstone class, where students cater an event from start to finish from working with customers to planning the meal.

At work and at home, food plays a pivotal role in Melanie’s life.

Her season tickets to Iowa football games morph into food-charged events as she prepares dishes for pre-game. And family gatherings — something Melanie and her boyfriend, Isaac Fisher, make a priority — always center around food.

“Latin cuisine is my specialty,” Melanie says. “But, I’m also a big fan of Mediterranean food.”
— MICHELLE SILLMAN

Joe Hotek, 21, Iowa City
BierGuy @ John’s Grocery

When Joe Hotek, a University of Iowa cinema major, isn’t studying for an exam or adding the finishing touches to a class film project, it’s likely he’s studying beer.

You’re probably thinking a lot of college students “study beer” in their spare time, but Joe Hotek is different.

He doesn’t just like beer. He considers himself an advocate for the brew.

During his sophomore year of college he began working at John’s Grocery, the iconic family-run corner market in Iowa City that offers an impressive stock of imported and microbrewed beer and is known as Dirty John’s to locals.

“Working at John’s really opened my eyes to the sophisticated nature of beer,” says Hotek, one of the grocery’s infamous Bier Guys. “It’s an art form. It’s complex and extremely enjoyable.”

“At one time, I was like 98 percent of beer consumers. I drank an American light lager style beer, but I look at it differently now,” he says. “I’m not a beer snob, but I’ve found beer is just as sophisticated as wine. There’s a vibrant world of flavors out there, making it really enjoyable to drink.”

He can’t imagine developing his knowledge of beer in any other place than Iowa City.

“It’s beer Mecca,” he says.

Hotek’s interest in beer may have started at John’s, but it hasn’t stopped there. It wasn’t long before he found himself reading beer magazines and researching beers online.

“It helped that I had friends in beer trading circles,” he says. “I attended beer samplings with people who really knew a lot about beer. They helped me to develop my palate. It is particularly helpful if you enter into it with an open mind and enthusiasm.”

Interest in craft beers has expanded in the Iowa City area, partly he thinks because bars have begun to offer microbrewed beers like New Belgium, brewed in Colorado.

He likes to attend beer tasting events and share what he’s learned with customers at John’s.

“Everyone is welcome,” he says. “Anyone who is curious, or just wants to know more, will learn a lot and will probably be surprised by all the options out there.”

— MISTI

Mo Holland

Midday Air Talent and Commercial Services Director @ KZIA 102.9

Scott Steele

Morning Show Co-Host @ KHAK 98.1

When you picture the face of cancer, you’re not likely to picture the faces young adults like Mo Holland or Scott Steele. But these local DJs have firsthand experience with the disease. And they’re not alone. Almost 70,000 Americans between 15 and 40 are diagnosed each year, and 10,000 will not survive. Unlike other age groups, since 1976, there has been zero improvement in the 5-year cancer survival rate for this age group. And, unlike kids and the elderly, when cancer hits someone at this age, they’re often in the middle of raising a family and working full-time.

——————————————–

The diagnosis

Cancer sneaked up on Mo and Scott. There were no warning signs.

Scott was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer in May after a trip to the ER. A scan revealed a kidney stone but also something on his liver and lungs. After a full CT scan, a PET scan, and a colonoscopy, “The doctor told me, ‘I can tell you 100 percent that this is cancer,’ ” Scott says.

Once it was confirmed, they told Scott the cancer wasn’t curable, but was treatable. Although that’s not good news, he was hopeful.

“Once you know what you’ve got, even if it’s horrible news, you can figure out how to deal with it,” he says.

The odds of Scott getting rectal cancer at his age: less than 1 percent.

For Mo, it was an ultrasound after a miscarriage in March 2008 that uncovered a dermoid cyst on her ovary. When the cyst was removed, doctors found something very rare: thyroid cancer in her ovaries.

“The doctor told me to be ‘appropriately concerned,’ ” says Mo.

The treatment

Treatment for Scott began May 20 with blood work and three different kinds of chemo.

Mo’s treatment plan was a hysterectomy and a thyroid removal.

“I was pretty sure I was going to die,” she says.

In July 2008, she had a hysterectomy. September 2008 marked her thyroid removal. Then she underwent radioactive iodine treatments.

“During those treatments, you’re radioactive,” says Mo. “I couldn’t see my son for 5 days. I lived on the lower level of the house. My husband left meals for me at the top of the stairs.”

The future

As of last week, Scott has finished 10 of his 12 treatments. After his eighth, the radiologist found nothing on his scan and dubbed his recovery “remarkable.”

“I’m clear of cancer right now, and it’s beyond my wildest dreams,” says Scott.

His tumor marker sits at 9 (normal is 0-3), down

from 289.9.

From the minute he got the news, Scott chose optimism. Even though the survival rate for stage 4 rectal cancer is less than 10 percent, his first thought was, “Somebody’s got to be that 10 percent. Why

not me?”

“The desire I had to crush this thing was overwhelming,” he says.

Now he’s struggling with paranoia, but isn’t letting it consume him.

“When the doctor told me I was clear, the first thing running through my head was, ‘When’s it going to come back?’ But that’s the human mind – it’s

how it works.”

As a result of cancer, Scott has learned to relax, and he’s more likely to be spontaneous.

As of November 2008, Mo is officially cancer free as well. Her one-year follow-up scan is next month. The experience has been profound, she says.

“It’s not like you get to stop your life and go fight cancer. It changes your perspective and gives you insights you can’t imagine. As a friend of mine put it, I grab life by the throat now.”

Because Mo’s type of cancer is so rare, she has no prognosis or survival rate.

“The way I’ve chosen to look at like this: I’m cancer free. I don’t expect it to come back. If it does, I’ll deal with it then,” he says.

— LEAH

Dan Alpers, 33, Cedar Rapids

Founder @ Central Corridor Gamers

Dan Alpers never thought a part-time job at the Comic Shoppe years ago would eventually lead to a youth outreach organization.

But it did. And as Central Corridor Gamers celebrates its new status as a non-profit organization, Dan is excited about the things to come.

“Being a non-profit will open a lot of doors,” says Dan. “I’m not sure where those doors lead, but we’re ready to handle what might come at us.”

A self-professed comic book geek, Dan learned to play “Magic: The Gathering,” a collectible card game, in order to sell it at the Comic Shoppe and was quickly sucked in.

When Dan heard about a group of guys who met at Barnes & Noble to play each Sunday, he couldn’t resist checking it out. He went back the next week, and the next, and was soon inviting players from the Comic Shoppe to join in.

The group expanded and quickly outgrew the coffee shop, trying out a couple of locations before settling at Trinity United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, where they’ve been since the summer of 2001.

The community Dan fosters gives youths and adults alike a safe place to go and just be themselves, he says.

“There’s so much more to it than gaming,” Dan says. “They feel at home here.”

A graphic designer by trade, Dan’s day job is designing workbooks and marketing materials for Advancement Resources, a company that provides training for development officers.

The idea of making Central Corridor Gamers a non-profit started before the flood hit, says Dan. Kids were coming to him asking for advice about school, family and life in general and he began to get the feeling that group could do more than provide a place to play Magic, Yo-Gi-Oh and other card and tabletop games. An additional push to move into youth outreach came from a thank-you e-mail from a grandmother who drove her grandson 40 miles to participate in the gaming group.

After the flood devastated Trinity UMC, Dan and other group members spent countless hours helping clean up and rebuild the fellowship hall at Trinity. They also helped rebuild the playground and painted the mural there as well.

“What’s keeping us together are the relationships the guys make,” Dan says. “There are so many people here who could give credit to one or more of the guys for being able to move forwards.”

In June, Dan received the official word that Central Corridor Gamers was now a non-profit organization.

While he doesn’t have any concrete plans on where the group will go with its new status, one idea would be to branch out into other communities in Eastern Iowa, with satellite locations run by members under the umbrella of Central Corridor Gamers.

“I don’t think too big very often,” Dan says. “I don’t want to forget about tonight.”

Whether he’s helping someone fill out job applications or giving advice about college or girlfriends, Dan says he just tries to encourage the guys “to be decent human beings.”

“We’re kind of like the island of misfit toys,” he says. “But we all get along and we’re all so accepting. The camaraderie is just… ”

— ERIN

Since 2007, when Brent and Christie VanWey’s daughter Mikayla, now 6, was diagnosed with leukemia, the couple has done all they can to help their daughter fight her battle with cancer. They’ve also reached beyond their family to help support other families and children fighting childhood cancer.Last year they started a local chapter of Flashes of Hope – a national nonprofit organization that captures photos of children fighting cancer to create powerful, uplifting portraits – and have partnered with Dance Marathon and The Heart Connection Children’s Cancer Camps to take photos of more than 400 Iowa children affected by cancer in the last two years. They also help facilitate a support group for families dealing with childhood cancer.

Even when Mikalya finished her treatments earlier this summer, the VanWeys didn’t slow down their efforts. Recently, they teamed up with four other families (all living in the Des Moines area) to make the state of Iowa-namely Iowa and Iowa State fans-take notice of childhood cancer during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day, September 12.

This year, that happens to also be the day the Hawkeyes take on the Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames for the annual intrastate football rivalry. And, thanks to the VanWeys and other Iowa families, the message of “Beat Cancer Today,” an initiative to raise awareness of and funds for childhood cancer, will reach the thousands of fans flooding the stadium.

Players and coaching staff will wear gold ribbons (symbolizing childhood cancer). Childhood cancer survivors and those currently fighting the disease will have photo opportunities with the players after the game. Plus, tickets and parking spots have been donated to cancer families. Announcements and media promotions about childhood cancer awareness will even be broadcast before, during and after the game.

“There are many ways the universities have supported this effort,” Brent VanWey says. “They really put the focus on the cancer families.”

But that’s not all. In order to raise funds for research, the group came up with the idea to sell “Beat Cancer” shirts (in the tradition of the “Beat State” rivalry garb) to fans. Hawk fans can get a black and gold “Beat Cancer” shirt, while Cyclone fans can sport crimson and gold.
All proceeds from shirts sales go to CureSearch, the leading childhood cancer research organization. (Find out more at www.curesearch.org) CureSearch funds the Children’s Oncology Group – of which both the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital and Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines are a part of.

The group has been contacted by a whole slew of other colleges and universities that want to get involved and have “Beat Cancer” shirts in their school colors, including Drake University, University of Northern Iowa, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Grandview College to name a few.

“We really didn’t know where we wanted this thing to go, but this is where it’s going on its own,” Brent says “This year is bigger than what we expected and we feel like we’re actually making a difference.”

His ultimate goal is for all college football teams playing on the second Saturday of September (designated by Congress in 2008 as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day) to have a gold ribbon on their helmet in honor of childhood cancer and to sell “Beat Cancer” shirts nationwide.

“Perhaps then people everywhere will understand what this childhood cancer thing is all about. But right now, we are just trying to get through September, 12 (of this year),” he says.

Brent admits the group had no idea this effort, literally started by five families between Eastern and Central Iowa, would rally thousands of other supporters. (Their fan site on Facebook now has more than 1,600 members.)

“We thought, ‘what are we gonna do if we sell 200 shirts? 500 shirts?’” VanWey says. “This thing, it absolutely exploded. We’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg.”

To date, the group has sold more than 3,000 shirts (and counting.)

That’s what we call showing some real team spirit.

– KATIE

DID YOU KNOW?
Each year, more than 12,500 children and teens will be diagnosed with cancer. That’s the equivalent of two classrooms a day.

WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR YOU
Want to be part of the battle? Visit www.BeatCancerToday.org to get your shirt and support the fight to cure childhood cancer.

Robby Marvin, 25, Cedar Rapids

Founder @ The Robject

Give more.

That is the simple message Robby Marvin is trying to spread.

His megaphone of choice is The Robject, an endeavor Robby embarked on in June. It’s a 12 month project to inspire the people of Cedar Rapids to give more of their time, treasure or talent.

For one year, Robby has pledged 365 volunteer hours and 31.2 percent (the 31.2 percent represents the height at which the floodwaters crested in June 2008) of his annual income to 12 non-profit organizations. He’s blogging about his experience at www.robject.com

“My hope is that those numbers will resonate with people,” Robby says. “The whole point of the project was to make it a challenge.”

His message: “If I can do it, you can do it.”

Though the idea of volunteering is not a new one for Robby – he has worked with the Cedar Rapids Downtown District, St. Luke’s Hospice and other organizations in Cedar Rapids in the past – The Robject was inspired by an October 2008 Access Iowa Exchange (now ImpactCR) meeting.

Presenter Bob Untiedt, Executive Director of the Linn County Nonprofit Resource Center, asked the group, “What more can you do?”

Everyone has something to offer, says Robby.

“Though your contribution may seem small,” he says, “When they’re all combined they’re huge and can really make a difference.”

While the bare bones of The Robject is his, Robby says that his friends and family have been instrumental in developing the project into what it is today. Their support is what continues to make the project a reality, he says.

To meet his personal challenge Robby has adjusted to a different lifestyle to fit his new budget.

“I’ve had to be really conscientious, really trying to limit it to the essentials,” Robby says.

He’s window shopping more, going out less and even changing his diet to be more budget-friendly.

Through the Robject, Robby highlights one of 12 selected organizations each month. In addition to his volunteer hours, he is making a donation of up to $1,000 each month, matching whatever the organization is able to raise above and beyond their normal donations. At the end of The Robject, the total amount left to reach his 31.2 percent goal will be divided equally among the
12 organizations.

In June, Robby worked with the Cedar Rapids Downtown District, helping with Floodstock, Run the Flood and the Drive-In Movie series.

Last month, Robby helped out with Horizon’s Meals on Wheels program, which delivers about 450 meals each weekday and 250 meals per day on the weekends.

“I wrote a (blog) post called Humbled by Horizons, and I really was,” says Robby. “You might be the only human interaction that person has all day.”

This month he is working with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids, an organizations dedicated to inspiring and enabling young people to reach their full potential.

The best part about volunteering?

“You feel good about yourself because you’ve helped others,” Robby says. “When you give it’s amazing how much you get back.”

– ERIN

DID YOU KNOW?
Robby is an instructor at Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping and would love to compete in a triathlon, except he can’t swim.
WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU:
Looking for a way to give more? Robby is your go-to source for volunteering in Cedar Rapids. His advice for getting started: be specific about what you want to do and take that leap of faith to get involved.

Want to do more like Robby? We did some homework to get you started.

Jill Hanna, 33, Marion
President @ Marion Chamber of Commerce

Jill Hanna is living proof of Marion’s slogan: “You can go home again.”
After attending the University of Iowa and working as a store director for Target for 10 years, Jill returned to her hometown in 2007 to take her current position with the Marion Chamber of Commerce and be closer to family.
One of the first things Jill noticed was that Marion hadn’t really changed much over the last 30 years. While some may appreciate this for its nostalgia, Jill was concerned that Marion wasn’t keeping up with surrounding communities.
“I have a lot of passion for Marion as a community,” Jill says. “When you look at towns like Hiawatha, North Liberty and Coralville, Marion has some catching up to do.”
Enter Imagine8. A grass-roots effort, Imagine8 is a community visioning process launched in January to answer the question “Where do we go from here?” and develop eight ideas to enhance Marion as a better place to live, work and play.
Jill emphasizes the importance of this vision encompassing the whole community.
“It can’t just be six or seven people,” she says. “It has to come from everyone.”
In August committees will begin to come up with strategies and funding plans to make each of these ideas become a reality.
Each of the eight selected ideas focuses on a way to make Marion a more functional and fun place to live.
For example, “Marion CAN!” (CAN stands for Community Activation Network) is aimed at helping both new and existing citizens connect with the community.
“I really like it because it has so many different components,” Jill says. These components include a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities, new signage to accent sites of historical significance and a tool kit to aid residents in planning community events like block parties or garage sales.
Another idea, “Park it,” could involve partially enclosing the depot in the City Park.
“We have four seasons here and the winter one seems to last a long time,” Jill says.
The enclosed portion of the depot would serve as a multiuse space for events, performing arts and a welcome center. Building an amphitheater and expanding green space are also part of the “Park it” idea.
Though she’s passionate about Imagine8, Jill’s job involves a lot more.
“It’s different every day,” she says. “Everything we do is kind of made from scratch.”
Jill says she uses a lot of what she learned about management at Target to assist Marion’s small business owners, which account for 95 percent of Marion’s businesses, and other chamber members.
One of her favorite job perks?
“It gives me an excuse to shop,” says Jill. The stores in uptown Marion are great, she says. “And I’m supporting our membership.”
DID YOU KNOW?
If Jill isn’t working she’s spending time with her family. She and her husband have four children and they enjoy having extended family in Marion as well.
WHAT SHE CAN DO FOR YOU:
Want to get involved in Imagine8 or just know where to go and what to do in Marion? Jill is your connection for all things Marion.