Mother’s Day is just around the corner. So we caught up with three local “mompreneurs” and asked them to share their ideas on balancing motherhood and business savvy. You’ll see these moms are making it work.

Rachel Tabron, 33, Cedar Rapids

Photographer and Owner @ Ambroja Photography

Rachel Tabron, owner and photographer of Ambroja Photography juggles the responsibilities of owning her own business as well as being a mother to three children under the age of four. She is pictured here with Isaiah, 8 months old. (Julie Koehn/The Gazette)

Less than a week after having her third child Rachel Tabron was photographing a wedding. With a “just do it” attitude she manages her photography business (including an average of 30 weddings year) and volunteer work taking photos of adoptable pets at the Cedar Valley Humane Society, while raising three kids, ages 8 months, 2- and 4-years-old, and two stepchildren, ages 15 and 17. Oh, and five pets.

Why did you start your own business?

I was always an entrepreneur at heart. My husband and I both worked for other companies and eventually we decided it was the right move for us to create the business. It was a long process and definitely an ongoing learning experience, but years later we are happy with the decision.

Does owning your own business make it easier to be a working mom?

In some ways it does. I can control my workload and decide which days and hours I want to do certain tasks. A misconception about owning your own business though is that you can take days off whenever you want. The work still has to get done and I’ve never worked so hard in my life.

What is your best advice for balancing a working mom schedule?

Family first, business second. Setting a schedule is a must and you have to be able to separate being a mom and running a business. Trying to turn your business brain off while with family is just as challenging as turning off baby talk while in consultations.

What do your kids think of your job?

They enjoy looking at photos of princesses (the brides) and making forts out my backdrops in the studio.

Mary Locher, 39, Cedar Rapids

Owner @ Weetail Seasonal Children’s Consignment Sale

Mary Locher (right), owner of Weetail, goes through movies and games with her children Catie Locher, 12, (left) and Max Locher, 9, at Hawkeye Downs in southwest Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, April 28, 2010. (Julie Koehn/The Gazette)

Mary Locher has had a busy couple of weeks. Her 9-year-old took his first communion. As a board member for Playtime Poppy, she volunteered during a weekend’s worth of performances. She spent quality time with her 12 year old daughter and the family’s dog. Plus she organized, promoted and held her semiannual seasonal children’s consignment sale — featuring everything from kid’s clothes and baby gear, to toys and strollers. And she’ll do it all again (minus the first communion part) this fall.

Why did you start your own business?

I had been laid off from my part time job and was looking to replace my income. A friend was selling her business so I bought it.

How does the sale work?

If your child uses it we sell it. I rent Hawkeye Downs out twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Consignors set the price on their items and get 65 percent of their asking price. Shoppers enjoy one stop shopping so they don’t have to run from garage sale to garage sale looking for different sizes and items. I see my business as a big recycling project. It keeps toys and things out of the landfills because you can buy an item at the sale, use it and then sell it at a future sale.

Does owning your own business make it easier to be a working mom?

Well for me it does. I do a lot of the paperwork and leg work while my kids are at school. When the sale is open my kids can come out and help me.

What do you love most about your job?

Flexibility. And with the economy being the way it is, it’s great to help people get a bargain or make a little cash for stuff around their house. Plus, I enjoy getting to meet new people. I have lived here my whole life and every sale I get to meet people from all walks of life that I would never have met.

What do you love most about being a mom?

Laughing. My kids make me laugh every day!

Jennifer Robb, 31, Iowa City

Professional Organizer and Owner @ Simple Organizing Strategies and Vice President @ Robb Concrete Construction

Jennifer Robb, owner and professional organizer for Simple Organizing Strategies, poses with her children Jayden Robb (left), 8, and Sydney Robb, 6, in front of one of the shelves she organized for a client at his home off Jessica Lane in Coralville on Thursday, April 29, 2010. (Julie Koehn/The Gazette)

Jennifer Robb doesn’t have a typical day, but that doesn’t mean she lacks structure and organization in her life. In fact, she keeps a consistent routine for her two daughters, eight and six, and the family pets, runs her own professional organizing business, and handles the business side — invoices, project bids and payroll — for her husband’s concrete finishing company.

Why did you start your own business?

When my second daughter was born, it became increasingly difficult for me to find a healthy balance between work and family. After considering several factors, such as my stress level, our budget, the cost of child care … we decided that I would leave my job as an optician and become a stay-at-home mom. After about 8 months at home, my former boss called me with the exciting news that she had come across professional organizing. We decided that organizing would be the perfect job for me as I had always been extremely organized and tidy. I could start my business out as my time allowed and grow the business as my babies grew.

Does owning your own business make it easier to be a working mom?

Much easier because I am in charge of my time and how I choose to spend it. On the other hand, because I oversee two businesses, the buck starts and stops with me. I am responsible for more than just my own family. I have the responsibility making sure we can fulfill our obligation to our customers, our contractors, our vendors, and especially our employees and their families.

What is your best advice for balance a working mom schedule?

Two things: Make yourself your number one priority, always! I know that the most important thing I can do for everyone that matters to me is take good physical and mental care of myself and stay healthy. And two, if at all possible, do something you love for a living. Figure out what you love and what you are good at and pursue it.

What do your daughters think of your job?

They are proud of me. But they think I spend too much time on the computer working.

What do you love most about your job and being a mom?

Having children changed every single thought I ever had about my life. It was no longer about me and my husband but how we were going to give these two little human beings the tools they need to be outstanding people who will grow up to do and be whatever their hearts desire … I finally found my place in the universe. I found something I am good at and passionate about.

Audrey Thompson, 23, Iowa City
Fire breather & Student @ University of Iowa

Audrey Thompson tries to live by the words in her favorite saying: “I will not tip toe lightly through life just to arrive safely at death.”

It’s a phrase that paints the perfect picture for this ignited spirit.

So, what lights her torch?  Believe it or not. Fire breathing, eating and spinning.

The 23-year-old native of England was introduced to the hot habit by her aunt during an annual camping trip more than a decade ago.

“At the end of each camping trip, we would have a talent show. My aunt (Caroline) demonstrated fire eating and spinning,” she says. “I knew I had to learn how.”

At the time Audrey was too young. She was 8.  But her aunt promised if Audrey still wanted to learn at 18, she would show her the ropes. At 19, Audrey returned to her aunt, eager to learn.
Four years later, Audrey has performed throughout the country and beyond.

“I worked with a group of performers out of Iowa City called Circs Dependo. Unfortunately my act would come up and I’d be shut down by the fire marshall,” she says.

More recently Audrey performed for an art gallery opening in England.

Responses to her performance are usually “a mix of shock, that’s really cool and how do you do that?” she says.

So how does she do it?

To eat fire, the flame is extinguished as each section of the torch hits the inside of the mouth.

Fire breathing, picked up by Audrey and not her aunt, takes the fascination with fire to a new level.

With the torch place at an angle, she fills her mouth with fuel and then spits it out at the flame, setting the torch a blaze.

“Don’t spit against the wind” she says.

And if she swallows the fuel?

“The trick is lining your stomach with half and half milk or pure crème,” she says. “The lactose lining provides protection in the stomach.”

Practing each talent is a little different, she says. Dancing, or spinning, with fire is interpretive and free-form. Fire eating and breathing, on the other hand, are “similar to learning to ride a bicycle—you never really forget.” She practices getting a good arched spray with water.

She’s only been burned once.

“A faulty piece of torch brushed my forehead, and that’s been it,” she says. “Knock on wood.”

Currently a senior at Iowa, Audrey is now considering the next chapter in her life.

She’s thinking about graduate school or pursuing an acting career in California.

“My mother used to work at a talent agency so I’ve had some exposure to modeling and a few acting bits,” she says. “I stopped pursuing (acting) as a child in hopes of a normal childhood, but failed miserably.”

Whatever her next step, she’ll always keep her fire skills sharp.

“There’s a real sense of peace and excitement when I perform,” she says. “This is something only a few people can do, and I’m one of them. It’s my zen.”

DID YOU KNOW:
Fire performers are few and far between geographically. The majority are in areas such as Brazil and New Zealand.

When Pat and Tamara Thomas moved to Cedar Rapids from Des Moines in 2007, they brought Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping with them.

Just three years ago, the couple was making their annual holiday treks from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids and Mason City to visit family, says Tamara, when her husband turned to her and asked, “What do you think about opening a Farrell’s?”

She knew what the program had done for Pat, and how passionate he was about it.

“Seeing him go through the transformation was eye-opening. He was always athletic – even running marathons – but he liked to eat,” laughs Tamara. During the 10-week program, Pat lost 30 pounds. Four weeks later, he had dropped another 30.

So the couple took a risk. They stepped out of their successful IT careers and expanded Farrell’s beyond Des Moines, where the chain started less than 10 years ago, to Cedar Rapids.

“Pat believed in it, so we never looked back,” says Tamara. “When we first came to Cedar Rapids, Pat taught the 5 and 6 a.m. classes, then went to work (remotely for his job in Des Moines), then taught the 5:30 p.m. class. When you start, there’s no cleaning crew or anything – it was all Pat,” she laughs.

She admits that it was challenging, especially with a young family (they have three boys and one on the way).

“But any business, starting out, is challenging,” she says.

The interest they saw in the program made it worthwhile though.

“We could see people making progress and getting results, and that alleviated our doubts,” she says.

Today they own four Farrell’s locations in Eastern Iowa.

Based on kickboxing, resistance training and nutrition, the 10-week class is offered four times a year (check out The Farrell’s Workout, below, for more info).

To emphasize an “if-he-can-do-it, so-can-I” way of thinking, instructors are former Farrell’s “graduates.”

“Because our participants are diverse, there’s going to be at least one instructor they can relate to,” says Tamara.

Farrell’s also emphasizes a lifestyle change versus a quick fix. Bonus: There’s a $1,000 incentive for the best-faring male and female participants.

“People see results and changes,” says Tamara.

After the 10-week course, participants can continue with Farrell’s as part of its FIT, Farrell’s Infinite Transformation, program; 75 percent choose to do so.

But Pat and Tamara’s concern isn’t that people stick with Farrell’s. Instead it’s that they do something to maintain the lifestyle they created when they joined Farrell’s.

“When you’re done here, maybe you join a gym or you start running. Farrell’s is a kick start to a lifestyle change, whatever that may be. We want people to keep it going,” says Tamara.

— LEAH

The Farrell’s Workout

The 10-week program is offered in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. Participants are evaluated three times (via a photo, a one-mile walk/run, a weigh-in, a body-fat assessment, and body measurements). The first assessment comes at the beginning; the second happens at week five, minus the photo; the third is at the end.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are dedicated to kickboxing. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays focus on weight resistance. Nutrition is covered throughout the 10 weeks. “The nutrition program isn’t a fad or something you have trouble maintaining,” says Tamara. Farrell’s emphasizes balanced, healthy meals made with everyday food items.

Each class has room for about 45 people. Those 45 are split into groups of 5 to 10 and assigned to a coach who answers questions, provides recipe ideas, offers fitness tips, etc.

Find Farrell’s

576 Boyson Rd. NE, Ste 108

Cedar Rapids

(319) 362-0075

5761 C St. SW

Cedar Rapids

(319) 841-2233

5240 Edgewood Rd. NE

Cedar Rapids

(319) 832-0000

2761 Oakdale Blvd.

Coralville

(319) 626-2285

Shape Up for Summer

As the weather warms up, keep these tips in mind as you start or continue with your fitness routine:

• Take a cold shower before you exercise. A cool down will improve fitness performance in the heat. If a cold shower won’t fly, try an ice pack on your neck instead.

• Stay away from asphalt and gravel. Walk, run, and bike on dirt or gravel to stay cooler. Or swim!

• Use peppermint or eucalyptus oil on the back of your neck and your temples before you exercise outside to cool you off and open nasal passages, making it easier to breathe in humidity.

• Don’t forget about all the activities you can do now for exercise that you couldn’t a few months ago: wash the car, pull some weeds, throw a Frisbee with your kids, play badminton with your neighbors, walk your dog, or mow your lawn.

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