TAMA COUNTY IOWA ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
AUTUMN 2010
Congratulations to our owners of
NEW BUSINESSES The Bottom End Outboard Motor Sales & Repair 2760 D Avenue, Garwin Mike: 641-751-5201 Chris: 641-328-4892 Just for Kix STC Partnership Center 215 W. 9th Street, Tama Lindsey Yanacek Salt Creek Wind, LLC 203 W. High Street, Toledo Tom Green, Senior Manager Steve Brunsvold, Manager, Project Development T & T Auto 101 W. 13th Street, Tama Live Bait 203 W. Ross, Toledo Owners: Don & Kris McClenathan Fox Ridge Winery 1465 L Avenue, Traer 319-478-8080 Owners: Mike & Gwen Seda
NEW OWNERSHIP Hardon’s 114 W. 4th Street, Tama 641-484-3222 New Owner: Marty Hardon Sand Hill Auto Salvage 1981 Hwy E64, Tama 641-484-2057 New Owner: Mike Waterbury
OPENING SOON TJ’s Treasurers Anytime Fitness Chelsea Savings Bank—Traer branch
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ARE WE ENTERING A GOLDEN AGE?
July 23, 2010 Tama County projects received 4 out of 25 Iowa Great Places grants during Year 1 of 3 in its Iowa Great Place designation. Tama County Great Places is a Tama County Economic Development Commission $5.5+ million investment campaign to benefit all of Tama County with 5 featured projects in development. But the Summer 2010 success did not stop there. Tama County also received the highest number of Community Foundation applications ever with 63 nonprofit/government leaders identifying and dedicating their expertise to improving our communities at a capital investment level of $3.3 million. The Mansfield Foundation (amongst numerous other area Foundations) also approved funding the highest number Tama County projects ever. All these grants depend on 1) local leader(s) having an idea on how to solve a challenge hindering our community from being well rounded, 2) local contributions to demonstrate wider community buy-in, and 3) follow through from project leaders to successfully complete the goals of the project. Thank you to everyone adding value to the assets of Tama County. Our next grant writing workshop will be Jan 2011. In addition to weekly updates to the Tama County Financing Resource booklet, we also expect to roll out a new and improved format to help you identify relevant resources easier, faster to maximize the probability of success.
RECORD BREAKING TRADITIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP During the first half of 2010 a record breaking 18 small town/rural businesses opened their doors and welcomed people to come do business with them. That is 18 in 6 months compared to the 17 total in 2009. 10 of these businesses created an enterprise recognizing market opportunity was being missed, and an equally important 8 sold to new owners to continue keeping the doors open as the next generation takes on the challenge of evolving the business as the economic landscape changes. 50% of the businesses that started up 5 years ago are still in operation today.
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TAMA COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
A Breath of Fresh Air Highlights of Q2 2010 HISTORIC PRESERVATION & CVB This year’s Murder Mystery Dinner will be held October 30, 6-9 p.m. at Pilgrim Heights in rural Montour. This original 1929 Murder at Whiskey Bottom has never been solved but that may all change at this estate sale as we step into the Tama County history books as each attendee gets a character with info to share, secrets to protect, and challenges for the evening to overcome. Tickets: $25/person. Auction & Game prize donations would be appreciated.
TAMA COUNTY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT Summer 2010 The Region 6 Housing Trust fund launched and combined state, regional and county resources to improve the supply of quality affordable housing. Applications were received for almost 50 Tama County residents to receive support. The group furthermore successfully received pledges for almost $10K financial and $17K in-kind regional contribution to be eligible for $50K state financial contribution in a second round of applications next year.
www.tamacountyiowa.org /mystery2010
www.tamacountyiowa.org search:“housing”
CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU In addition to the Murder Mystery and a other projects, this group also has the biannual Pocket Travel Guide in development. The goal is to feature as many of the 300+ attractions of Tama County as we can find $75 donations for after fundraising and grant writing dollars have come in. Their goal is to produce and distribute 13,000+ booklets at a quality level consistent with industry standards. There are at least a dozen other marketing projects also in development for this group.
TAMA CO. ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRUST August 2010 business, nonprofit, government and education leaders from all over Tama County came together to take proactive innovation driven leadership to the next level. Pending resources the group’s action plan will focus on increasing broad exposure to entrepreneurship and increase success rate.
tamacountyiowa.org search:“cvb”
TAMA COUNTY ROUNDTABLES Topics including: Green Tech, Entrepreneurship and Curbside Appeal received special emphasis in the summer of 2010. Upcoming topics include: Value Added Ag, Leadership and EDIE nominations will be the focus this fall.
AUTUMN 2010 AUTUMN CALENDAR SEPT Thur 16
Gov’t Contracting Workshop Toledo 8:30-11:00 a.m. 641-484-3108
Sat. 18
Murder Mystery Auditions Montour 2-4 p.m. 641-484-3108
Sat. 18
Tama-Toledo Car Show & Cruise 12pm 641-484-6661
Sat. 18
Iron Dog Competition Dysart 2pm 319-479-2426
Mon. 20
Candidate Forum on Poverty Toledo 7pm 641-752-7162
Wed 22
Entrepreneurship Trust Toledo 6:30 p.m. 641-484-3108
Wed 22
Breathe Retreat 10-4
Montour 641-492-6165
Thur 23
CPR Training 6-8pm
Vining 641-489-2517
Sat. 25
Wine Tasting & Fall Festival Dysart 5-8pm 319-476-7277
Tues 28
Food Producers Roundtable Elberon 6:30 pm 641-484-3108
tamacountyiowa.org search:“entrepreneurs”
TAMA COUNTY IN THE SPOTLIGHT Two standout accomplishments caught our eye this quarter. Thank you for making Tama County proud of locally produced products. 1) Tama County Pork Producers were in charge of grilling pork at the World Pork Expo. 2) John Ernest Vineyard & Winery received 1 silver and 1 bronze medal for their wines Hillside Heaven Rose and Bohemie Blush Rose respectively.
OUR DIVERSE WORKFORCE In August 2010, employers in key industries like manufacturing, trucking, and healthcare expressed their frustration with finding workers emerging from the recession. Tama County Economic Development launched a clearing house website for employment opportunities to help connect Tama County based businesses and available workers in one central location. Over a few weeks the story was featured in a 1 hour driving radius around Tama County. From Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, Newton, Marshalltown as well as inside Tama County, propelling www.tamacountyiowa.org/employment into our top web resource of all time with inquiries from both inside and outside Tama County. Employers who previously struggled to find skilled applicants reported record number applications for their vacancies and could attribute the new levels of interest directly to this special regional economic development initiative. Tama County and the State both have 6.9 % unemployment. Nationally the average unemployment is 9.5%. A healthy balanced threshold is around 4%.
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OCT Fri-Sun 1-3
Autumn Harvest Weekend Montour 6pm Fri—3pm Sun 641-492-6165
Sat. 2
Buffalo Ranch Open House Tama 10am-2pm 641-484-6725
Mon. 4
Convention & Visitors Bureau Tama 9am 641-484-3108
Sat. 9
Gals & Pals Day 9am-3pm
Tues. 26
Development Roundtable Clutier 6:30 pm 641-484-3108
Sat. 30
Murder Mystery Dinner Montour 6-9pm 641-484-3108
Traer 319-478-2464
NOV Mon 1
Convention & Visitors Bureau Dysart 9am 641-484-3108
Sun. 7
Hobby & Craft Show 10am-4pm
Tama 641-484-4937
Sat. 13
Bazaar & Craft Show 9am-2pm
Dysart 319-476-3905
Tues. 23
Tree Lighting on Main Gladbrook 5-7pm 641-473-2643
www.tamacountyiowa.org/calendar
TAMA COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
AUTUMN 2010
INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENTREPRENEURS & SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
GENERAL STRATEGIC RESOURCES Small Business Association (SBA): is a federal program. In addition to loan guarantee programs, SBA provides free online training, business plan templates. Consulting is specialized for veterans, women and minorities. This program is especially good for self-directed learners comfortable with technology, and special population groups. www.sba.gov 319-362-6405 ext. 2016 Service Corps of Retired Executive Consultations (SCORE): is connected to the Small Business Association and provides personalized counseling and training. This program is especially good for business owners interested in focusing in-depth on a specific issue with one-on-one attention from an expert. Comfort with technology will often be necessary. www.score.org 641-753-6645 Iowa Small Business Development Centers (SBDC): is a State program to provide services such as development of business plans, manufacturing assistance, financial packaging assistance, contracting assistance, and international trade assistance. Special emphasis areas include e-commerce, technology transfer, regulatory compliance, research and development, Defense Economic Transition Assistance, disaster recovery assistance, and market research. This resource is ideal for business owners who prefer to work in-person with consultants. Service offering includes one-on-one consulting as well as classroom style workshops, events and seminars. There are five SBDC’s within a 1 hour drive of Tama County. www.uni.edu/rbc 319-236-8123 Business License Information Center (BLIC): is a State program providing a comprehensive clearinghouse of Iowa licenses. The online search engine enables you to search by licenses, key words, business fact sheets, forms, and wizard. Depending on where you are at in the business life cycle, if it’s planning your business, registering, keeping up to date on compliance requirements or finding resources and seeking to grow your business, assistance is tailored to your needs. www.iowalifechanging.com 515-725-3122 Entrepreneurial Development Center, Inc.: is a state program designed to propel Iowa’s entrepreneurial efforts into successful businesses with the support of seasoned entrepreneurs. www.edcinc.org 319-369-4955 Renew Rural Iowa: is an Iowa Farm Bureau program to help business leaders gain access to critical mentoring, a network of local providers, and funding possibilities that can help grow or expand a business. This program is ideal for (new) business owners who prefer to dedicate one day and get information from a wide variety of experts in a lecture setup. A longer-term mentoring program is also available. www.renewruraliowa.com 800-254-9670 Iowa Valley Community College District & Hawkeye Community College District: offer training resources customized to local market needs. Pending interest and funding curriculum for entrepreneurs include: FastTrac and Smart Start: Both programs are designed as classroom style learning for entrepreneurs to develop their business concept over a couple of weeks. www.iavalley.edu 641-752-4645 ext.334 www.hawkeyecollege.edu 319-277-3806 ext.3008 Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS): is the industrial extension arm of Iowa State University, offering amongst other resources government procurement support as well as efficiency development in manufacturing. www.ciras.iastate.edu 515-231-1452 Target Industry Specific Resources: Various industries furthermore have specialized resources. Please touch base if we can help connect you. www.tamacountyiowa.org 641-484-3108
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PROSPECT DRIVE, PO BOX 22 TOLEDO, IA 52342 (641) 484-3108 INFO@TAMACOUNTYIOWA.ORG WWW.TAMACOUNTYIOWA.ORG
OUR VISION FOR TAMA COUNTY, IOWA: INCREASE LEVEL OF CAPITAL INVESTMENT INCREASE NUMBER OF FAIR MARKET LIVING WAGE JOBS INCREASE EFFICIENCY AT WHICH CAPITAL & JOBS ARE COMBINED
Partners 2010 PLATINUM PARTNERS Alliant Energy Farmers Coop Telephone Co. Iowa Telecom KFJB-AM KZAT-FM Pioneer Hi-Bred State Bank of Toledo Tama/Grundy Publishing
GOLD PARTNERS Covenant Medical Centers Tama Co. Abstract Company Tama Paper Board TIP Rural Electric Wind Capital Group A.J. & Marge Ziskovsky
SILVER PARTNERS Bohemian Mutual Insurance Consumers Energy Dysart Development Corp. Goos Implement Grundy County REC Home Federal Savings Bank Lincoln Savings Bank—Garwin Miguel’s Construction Tama Co. Mutual Ins. Assoc.
LEADERSHIP BRONZE PARTNERS Acme Printing Appraisal & Real Estate Services B & G HVAC Burk Law Office Carl Luze Real Estate Chyma’s Machine & Welding Deer Creek Health Center Designer Inn & Suites DeWitt Refrigeration Doyle’s Family Pharmacy Eikamp Insurance Eyecare Associates Farmers Mutual Ins. Assoc. Farmers Savings Bank & Trust Garwin Comm. Revitalization Gladbrook Commercial Club Gladbrook Investment Co. Iowa Builders Supply Iowa Step & Tank Isabelle Originals & Ivy Threads John Ernest Vineyard & Winery
K & M Sanitation Kenkel Law Office King Tower Cafe Kruger Commodities L.L. Owens & Associates Ins. Manatt’s Medicap Pharmacy Mental Health Clinic of Tama Co. North Tama School District Poweshiek Water Association Sash Auction Service S & S Car Wash South Tama School District Tama-Toledo Subway Thys Chevrolet Buick Toledo Community Theatre Guild Traer Development Corp. Traer Municipal Utilities Williams Manufacturing Inc. Wolfe Clinic Eye Centers Wrage Realty
Additional partners welcomed. Forms available at: www.tamacountyiowa.org/directory
Midge Horton, Chair, Vining Marty Hardon, Vice-Chair, Tama Keith Sash, 2nd Vice-Chair, Gldbk Don Lyons, Past Chair, Dysart Roger Ochs, Chelsea Pat Veit, Chelsea Gerry Kopriva, Clutier Arlene Vondracek, Clutier Dwayne Luze, Dysart Nancy Braasch, Elberon Linn Snell, Elberon Carl Zoffka, Garwin Merle Parks, Garwin Mandy Gehring, Gladbrook Roland Fink, Lincoln Annie Stocker, Lincoln Susan Holubar, Montour Dale Gericke, Montour Chris Bearden, Tama Pam Wood, Toledo Brian Sokol, Toledo Ellen Young, Traer Nick Podhajsky, Traer Dale Stout, Vining Kendall Jordan, Co. Supervisor Larry Vest, Co. Supervisor Dan Wilkens, Co. Supervisor
STAFF: Lindi Roelofse, Executive Director & Joanne Husak, Administrative Assistant