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Names & Notes

Clemons elected vice chairman of Iowa Automobile Dealers Association

WEST DES MOINES — Mike Clemons, of Clemons Chevrolet in Marshalltown, was elected vice chairman of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association at the association’s annual meeting, held on April 20.

“Mike Clemons has worked in every phase of automotive retailing and repair and brings a wealth of experience and entrepreneurial success to the board table,” said IADA President Bruce Anderson. “He has a strong personal commitment to the success of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association and the dealer body and knows their importance to car owners and communities throughout the state.”

Clemons previously served three terms as a director at large, from 2003-2006, 2006-2009 and 2015-2017. He most recently served as secretary in 2017. He will hold the office of vice chairman until the annual meeting in 2019.

Couple promoted to regional vice president

Primerica announced the recent promotion of Judy and; Craig Easley-Marshall to regional vice president.

In making the announcement, Glenn J. Williams, chief executive officer of Primerica, Inc., said, “I am pleased to announce that Judy and Craig Easley-Marshall have joined this exceptional group of leaders. Judy and Craig’s success is a barometer of the number of people that Primerica has helped prepare for a more secure financial future – and that’s what we’re all about. Thanks to dedicated leaders like Judy and Craig, Primerica is an industry leader, providing real financial solutions to millions of clients.”

In response to the news, Judy said, “I am very gratified by this promotion – it means that a lot of long hours and hard work have begun to pay off. But the most satisfying aspect of being a Primerica Representative is knowing that you are helping other people take control of their personal finances. We look forward to expanding our business in order to serve even more people in our Iowa communities.”

Primerica, Inc., headquartered in Duluth, Ga., is a leading distributor of financial products to middle income households in North America.

MCSD upgrades board room technology

Marshalltown Community School District recently upgraded their board room technology to run more effective and efficient meetings. During their school board meetings, the board members and those attending experienced audio difficulties and lacked some visual displays for the presentations taking place. Mechdyne upgraded MCSD’s audio and visual technology, helping to make the school board meetings run more smoothly for all those attending.

“School board meetings need to be clearly heard and seen – both by board members and the public,” said Mike Miller, a school board member. “With our old audiovisual system, that just wasn’t possible. The new system allows us to conduct business in a more open and transparent manner.”

During MCSD’s school board meetings, attendees had a hard time hearing people talking, not only by those who were remote, but also those who were physically in the room. The fact that there was only one microphone for the entire room was a key contributor of why the audio experience wasn’t ideal. Also, the display was located behind the board members in the room, making it difficult to see the presentations.

To help solve these problems, Mechdyne implemented a solution that included upgrades to MCSD’s audio and visual technology in their board room. The solution consisted of:

• Upgrading the projector to increase brightness and visibility

• Adding two 50-inch displays in front of where board members sit, allowing them to see the presentation mimicking the screen behind them

• Increasing the number of speakers and microphones, allowing for those attending to hear the presentation

Ruff graduates from Iowa Tourism Leadership Institute

Val Ruff, executive director of the Marshalltown Convention & Visitors Bureau is a graduate of the Iowa Tourism Leadership Institute held recently at The Hotel Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids. The institute provides Iowa tourism professionals an opportunity to expand their leadership knowledge and skills.

Institute attendees included 19 first-year graduates, four graduates who returned for a second year of training, and four returning for a third year. Industry members apply to attend the institute and as part of the application process must demonstrate their involvement in the tourism industry and leadership qualities.

Curriculum for the institute includes core courses in developing leadership influence, marketing and branding, building effective board/staff partnerships, collaboration and strategic alliances, negotiation skills, and leading in times of change. Electives featured sessions in working with volunteers, running effective meetings, best practices and local tourism case studies, facilitation, legal issues and grant writing. Speakers for the institute are professionals with expertise in leadership and various disciplines related to tourism.

The Leadership Institute is a statewide partnership coordinated by the Central Iowa Tourism Region and the Eastern Iowa Tourism Association with funding from the Iowa Tourism Office.

Achiever Award to ServiceMaster of Marshalltown

ServiceMaster of Marshalltown is receiving the ServiceMaster Achiever Award for the second year in a row. Two consecutive years is hard to acquire. Kris and Shannon Naughton have a reputation for going above and beyond, qualities that reflect well on the ServiceMaster corporation. For their efforts they are given recognition for their dedication to the market place and are in the selection process for the Marion E. Wade of Honor.

The Marion E. Wade of Honor is the highest and most prestigious award in the ServiceMaster system. This award is limited to one business each year. Naughtons were shocked upon hearing ServiceMaster of Marshalltown was once again going up against multimillion dollar companies and are honored to receive the ServiceMaster Achiever Award and to be in the running for the Marion E. Wade of Honor.

Potter named 2018 ISPRA Communicator of the Year

Andrew Potter, communications director for Marshalltown Community School District, was named the Iowa School Public Relations Association’s Communicator of the Year at the Annual ISPRA Communications Contest Awards Banquet on April 19.

Potter has successfully served as director of communications for Marshalltown Community School District for the past 3.5 years. Potter has been successfully leading the charge to change the perception of their district through his communication and marketing efforts, highlighting the district’s strengths in videos like Proud to Be a Bobcat and Proud to be Diverse.

“The value and contributions made to the Marshalltown Community School District and the students, staff, parents and community members by Mr. Andrew Potter are too numerous to mention. The body of his work speaks for itself and our school community is very fortunate to have someone with his knowledge, skills, talent and attributes working for our district,” said Marshalltown Community School District Superintendent, Dr. Theron J. Schutte.

The ISPRA Communicator of the Year Award recognizes the exemplary leadership of Iowa’s outstanding communications professionals for demonstrated commitment to the enhancement of communication and relationships between their school systems and the families of the communities they serve. The award honors those who recognize that communication is a critical component of leadership.

“I am humbled to win this award from an association that includes so many great school communications professionals. I am thankful to our Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte for nominating me for the award and I accept it on behalf of so many dedicated and hard-working employees in Marshalltown Schools that I’m fortunate enough to call my colleagues and friends,” Potter said.

Marshalltown Central Business District recognized

The Marshalltown Central Business District was recently recognized during the 32nd annual Main Street Iowa Awards celebration in Des Moines.

The MCBD was recognized as a $50 million district for its outstanding renovation projects in the downtown district. And, Erin McGregor and John Payne received the 2018 Leadership Award for their dedication to Main Street revitalization by enhancing economic development in Marshalltown and the state of Iowa and for the Marshalltown Main Street District.

Meanwhile, the MCBD was recently designated as an accredited Main Street America program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its coordinating program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach.

The MCBD’s performance is annually evaluated by Main Street Iowa-IEDA, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet 10 national performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.

Submit local business news

The Times-Republican invites businesses in its circulation area to submit brief items concerning their employees or businesses for the Names & Notes column, which is published on Sundays.

Potential subjects of these business briefs include announcements of new businesses, branch acquisitions, departures of longtime employees, employee recognitions or new hires. Submissions will be edited and run on a space-available basis. Items must be received by 5 p.m. Thursday for consideration in Sunday’s column.

Submit brief articles and JPEG headshots to: Names & Notes, Newsroom, Times-Republican, 135 W. Main St., Marshalltown 50158, or call Kathy Beane at 641-753-6611 or email news@timesrepublican.com

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