Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & IndustryPROGRESS

Volume 24 Number 7 July 2015Pearl City New Members:Muscatine Family Restaurant

RIVO Inc.

Renewed Members:

Facebook:Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Twitter:GMCCI_Muscatine

www.muscatine.com

Greg JenkinsGMCCI President & CEO

AAppraisal Group 31 YearsAscentra Credit Union 27 YearsBridgestone Bandag 57 YearsCam II Warehouse 34 YearsCurtis Financial Services 35 YearsDeloitte & Touche 17 YearsElly’s Tea & Coffee House 6 YearsFleck Sales 19 YearsGenesis Health System 12 YearsGeneva Golf & Country Club 33 YearsGreat River Tire and Service, Inc. 5 YearsHappy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor -South 35 YearsHappy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor-North 35 YearsIntegrated Technology Partners 23 YearsLions Club of Muscatine 6 YearsLoretta B. Mealy 44 YearsMidAmerican Energy Company 35 YearsMike’s Pets & More 1 YearMuscatine Art Center 16 YearsMuscatine Journal 71 YearsMuscatine Radiology PC 9 YearsOlson Family Dentistry, PLLC 5 YearsPhelps Uniform Specialists 28 YearsPhoenix Products 33 YearsRalph Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home 35 YearsRetirement Resource Group, Beckey, Smith & Bower 6 YearsRuhl & Ruhl REALTORS/ 1862 Mortgage 24 YearsState Farm Insurance - Brenda Garcia 11 YearsSuperior Seawalls & Docks, Inc. 2 YearsUnion Tank Car Company 36 YearsUnityPoint Health-Trinity Muscatine 60 YearsUS Bank 28 YearsYouth Sports Foundation 28 Years

fter months of planning, the 2015 4th of July Community Celebration is upon us. The GMCCI Community Development / 4th of July Planning Committee, chaired by Pam Collins, is delighted to add live music and family-friendly activities to this year’s event.

Back by popular demand: start the morning off with pancakes to support the United Way’s Kids First Fund taking place in First National Bank’s Walnut Room, then step outside to cheer on our youngest community members dressed up in patriotic dress and colors for their very own parade to the Musser Public Library.

As the holiday falls on a Saturday this year, you can then walk one block over to the Muscatine Area Farmers Market on the corner of Cedar and 3rd Street. The Farmers Market will be staying open until 3:00 with the addition of live music and family-friendly activities (bring your lawn chairs). Have lunch from one of the vendors or in one of the downtown restaurants.

To entertain the gathering crowd prior to parade start, we’ve lined up local blues legend, Ernie Peniston with the Curtis Hawkins Band on the Stanley Consultant’s plaza on the corner of Iowa Avenue and 3rd Street.

The Rotary Club of Muscatine is once again graciously helping us with the parade line-up. The lineup starts at 3:00 (please thank them for their participation).

After enjoying the community parade, be sure to visit the local establishments that are putting forth extra effort toward the community block party celebration with live music and dinner options.

As it looks like we’re going to be flood-free this year, our long-time tradition of the reading of the Declaration of Independence, the Presentation of Colors and the free concert given by our very own Muscatine Symphony Orchestra, will be back to their normal location in front of Pearl City Station on the riverfront.

All of this will be capped off with the fireworks display, graciously provided by the support of GMCCI members.

We’ve lined up a day full of options for every age. Find your parking spot early, bring your lawn chairs and celebrate our nation’s independence.

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Interview With a Board MemberGMCCI Staff:

Greg JenkinsPresident & CEO gjenkins@muscatine.com

Susan FultonOffice Coordinatorsfulton@muscatine.com

Janet MorrowDirector of Membership & Marketingjmorrow@muscatine.com

Jodi HansenBlue Zones Project Muscatine Community Leadjhansen@muscatine.com

Bob Howard,

President & CEO Central State Bank

Q. How many years has Central State Bank been a GMCCI member? A. 71 years

Q. How many years have you been a GMCCI Board Member? A. I am into my 3rd year on the Board. Q.  What is the greatest benefit of being a GMCCI member?A. I enjoy the numerous methods of communication – emails, newsletters,

magazine. It keeps me well informed in a variety of different ways. Everyone should take advantage of the weekly, almost daily communication that occurs to stay up-to-date on everything occurring in our back yard. We also all benefit from their effort and support of economic development. I appreciate GMCCI raising awareness about our local and regional economy, and being a significant contributor to helping better our community. They are an important voice when it comes to local projects, along with helping deliver solutions to policy and political topics. They are positively contributing in order to influence our future.

Q.  What is your favorite GMCCI event/activity?A. Business After Hours, YPN and events.

The Business After Hours functions are always a great social event each month. It isn’t just about the opportunity to mix and mingle with other people. That’s a bonus. But it is an excellent opportunity to showcase your company if you’re hosting. Or if you’re attending, it’s a great chance to learn specifics about a local employer, organization or business. Central State Bank has several employees involved in YPN, so I enjoy attending those from time to time. It’s great to see young people in our community networking and being engaged or getting involved. And lastly, it probably quietly goes unnoticed – but GMCCI’s involvement in the 4th of July holiday. Their fundraising and coordination that goes on behind the scenes includes everything: parades, fireworks show and events.

Q.  What is the best aspect of our business community?A. Generosity. The corporate, business and individual support in our

community is phenomenal. And it isn’t just financial in terms of dollars and cents. The business community is so generous with both their time and talent – volunteerism, serving on boards, donating resources. For a community our size, it really is incredible.

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Committee Updates

Community Development Committee

Thank you to the members of the 4th of July Community Celebration Planning committee for their ideas, time and hard work in putting together a full day of fun family-friendly activities:

Pam Collins (Chair), Jennifer Froman, Jamie Hopkins, Megan Johnson, Kelly Mortenson, Nichole Sorgenfrey and Chris Steinbach.

We would also like to thank the United Way Kids First Fund committee, Musser Public Library staff, Rotary Club of Muscatine members, numerous City of Muscatine staff in various departments and last, but not least, our spouses/significant others for spending their holiday to help us pull off a successful event.

Economic Development Committee

Committee members and other board members met with President Titus, and other staff members of Iowa Wesleyan University. This meeting provided us an understanding of the latest iteration of their strategic plan, and gave the committee the opportunity to provide the university feedback on the education needs of Muscatine area business. Our thanks to all that participated.

Membership Development Committee

We have fine-tuned a short membership survey we’ll be sending out soon. Please take a moment to give us the feedback we need in order to serve our members better.

With summer comes outdoor dining with friends and family. Did you know there’s a change happening at local restaurants? Many in our area have become Blue Zones Restaurants®. To receive this designation they make small, positive changes, such as:

Serving meals on 10-inch plates or smaller Removing salt shakers from the table Serving meals that meet Healthy Dish

Guidelines Offering half-sized portions Enforcing no smoking policies,

both inside and on the patio Eliminating deep fat fryers Installing bicycle racks outside the restaurant

Guadalajara Restaurant, Muscatine, IA

Muscatine’s designated Blue Zones Restaurants that are participating in outdoor dining include:

Avenue Subs-113 Iowa Ave

Boonie's on the Avenue-214 Iowa Ave

Guadalajara Restaurant-208 E 2nd St.

You can also enjoy outdoor dining at Salvatore's Ristorante-313 E 2nd St.

These changes put your health first in a way that truly makes a difference.

According to Dr. Brian Wansink, PhD, author of Mindless

Quality of Life Initiatives

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With summer comes outdoor dining with friends and family. Did you know there’s a change happening at local restaurants? Many in our area have become Blue Zones Restaurants®. To receive this designation they make small, positive changes, such as:

• Serving meals on 10-inch plates or smaller

• Removing salt shakers from the table

• Serving meals that meet Healthy Dish Guidelines

• Offering half-sized portions

• Enforcing no smoking policies, both inside and on the patio

• Eliminating deep fat fryers

• Installing bicycle racks outside the restaurant

These changes put your health first in a way that truly makes a difference.

According to Dr. Brian Wansink, PhD, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think and Slim by Design, Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday

Life, the average person makes about 200 food-related decisions every day, most of them without much thought. Blue Zones Restaurants are helping to make the healthy choice the easy choice.

This month, when dining out make a personal pledge to embrace small, healthy changes like walking or biking to local restaurants, drinking more water, reducing salt intake, or declining bread service.

Why this matters: These small changes add up big … for YOU. Making one small, healthy choice every time you dine out can improve your well-being. Plus, you can support community-minded restaurants who have embraced healthy living.

You can find out more information about the Blue Zones Project by contacting Jodi Hansen at jhansen@muscatine.com or by calling (563) 263-8895.

Muscatine’s designated Blue Zones Restaurants that are participating in outdoor dining include:

Avenue Subs 113 Iowa Ave

Boonie’s on the Avenue 214 Iowa Ave

Guadalajara Restaurant 208 E 2nd St.

You can also enjoy outdoor dining at Salvatore’s Ristorante

313 E 2nd St.Guadalajara Restaurant, Muscatine, Iowa

With summer comes outdoor dining with friends and family. Did you know there’s a change happening at local restaurants? Many in our area have become Blue Zones Restaurants®. To receive this designation they make small, positive changes, such as:

Serving meals on 10-inch plates or smaller Removing salt shakers from the table Serving meals that meet Healthy Dish

Guidelines Offering half-sized portions Enforcing no smoking policies,

both inside and on the patio Eliminating deep fat fryers Installing bicycle racks outside the restaurant

Guadalajara Restaurant, Muscatine, IA

Muscatine’s designated Blue Zones Restaurants that are participating in outdoor dining include:

Avenue Subs-113 Iowa Ave

Boonie's on the Avenue-214 Iowa Ave

Guadalajara Restaurant-208 E 2nd St.

You can also enjoy outdoor dining at Salvatore's Ristorante-313 E 2nd St.

These changes put your health first in a way that truly makes a difference.

According to Dr. Brian Wansink, PhD, author of Mindless

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Young Professionals Network

Young Professionals Network Muscatine Weekly Update November 18, 2014

November Professional Development Committee Meeting

Thursday, November 20, Noon to 1 p.m.

November Third Thursday: Wine-Nutz

Thursday, November 20, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

2015 Membership Drive

November - January 15, 2015

In This Issue

November Professional Development Meeting

November Third Thursday

2015 Membership Drive

Ugly Sweater Thursday

Free Membership to Well Fit Experience

Referral Program

Event Calendar

Career Opportunities

Connect With Us

www.ypnmuscatine.org www.muscatine.com

Event Calendar

November 20: Professional Development

Committee Meeting, Noon to 1 p.m.

Third Thursday: Wine-Nutz, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

(RSVP)

December 11: Ugly Sweater Thursday

Leadership Council

Trista Sotelo,

YPN LUNCH & LEARN You may find yourself at dinner with other professionals or attending a formal holiday party. What do you do with that napkin? Which fork is used first and when can you eat that bread? Our speaker, Luann Alemao, will present on dining etiquette while leading us through a three-course meal.

The Downtown Action Alliance chaired by John Beckey works to help bring attention and customers to our historic downtown. DAA is known for events such as the hugely successful Girls Getaway in the Spring and the Holiday Open House in November. They also support the annual Holiday Stroll which is organized by The Journal and occurs on the first Friday of December.

This summer, the DAA Board has created a “Summertime Lunchtime Music Series” providing live music during the lunch hour (11:30 – 1:30) every Wednesday through August 26th. The idea is to draw people downtown and out of the surrounding buildings to enjoy the sunshine and some melodies while eating their lunch.

Please help spread the word to your employees about this new program. The location and entertainer changes every week.

Tuesday, July 28

12:00pm - 1:00pm

Geneva Country Club

3100 Bidwell Rd, Muscatine, Iowa 52761 

Doors open at 11:00 for networking opportunities.

RSVP to Jodi Hansen at jhansen@muscatine.com. SPACE IS LIMITED!

THIS EVENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE YPN COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. THIS EVENT IS FREE FOR 2015 YPN PAID MEMBERS AND COSTS $10 FOR NON-MEMBERS.

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Member Opportunities

Application Date:____________

Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ambassador Club Application 

Name: ________________________________________________________________________

Position: ______________________________________________________________________

Business Name: _________________________________________________________________

Business Address: _______________________________________________________________

City: ____________________________________State: _______Zip: ______________________

Phone:___________________________________ Fax: _________________________________

E-Mail:________________________________________________________________________

Description of Business: __________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Please provide a brief paragraph of why you would like to become an Ambassador for GMCCI: ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Applicant’s Signature: _____________________________________________________ Employer’s Signature: _____________________________________________________ Please email or mail this form to: Chamber@Muscatine.com Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry 102 Walnut St. Muscatine, IA 52761

Chamber Ambassador NetworkThe “new” year of Chamber Ambassador duties starts in September. By now, you have undoubtedly seen the purple jackets / polo shirts at Chamber events. While many people have expressed their desire to enhance their wardrobe with such items, only a few lucky GMCCI members are chosen to be Ambassadors. We are a very select group. Luckily, we have some openings. If you are a happy and fun-loving loyal GMCCI member, please fill out the CAN application and return to JMorrow@muscatine.com.

We meet the third Tuesdays of the month at 4:00 at Wine Nutz. Ambassadors attain points by attending ribbon cuttings, ground breakings, Business After Hours and other chamber events as needed to greet and mingle with current and potential GMCCI members. Member retention and recruitment efforts earn the highest points. Every year, the Ambassador accruing the most points is crowned “Ambassador of the Year”, a very prestigious and sought after achievement.

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At Kent Corporation strong family values guide us. We are deeply committed to the health, safety, and

well-being of our employees and Muscatine citizens who share this community we call home.

Grain Processing CorporationKent Nutrition Group, Inc.

Kent Pet Group, Inc.Kent Precision Foods Group, Inc.

kentww.com/newsKent Worldwide

www.homeinspectioonplus.blz

krogers@homeinspectionplus.bizKen Rogers, Owner A.S.H.I. Associate

Lorraine Rogers #S00375Certified Radon Testing • Measurement Specialist

lrogers@homeinspectionplus.biz

Stanley Consultants provides program management, planning, engineering, environmental and construction services worldwide.

563.264.6600 www.stanleyconsultants.com www.facebook.com/stanleyconsultants

Global Engineering Service ProviderEnergy. Environmental. Transportation. Water.

C E L E B R AT I N G

ENGINEERING A BETTER WORLD

OP PRINTING

CREATIVE

AFFORDABLE

EFFICIENT

QU

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TYRELI

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DESIGNPRINTMAIL

LOCAL

IN HISTORIC OCTAGON PLACE

2610 Park Ave Muscatine, Iowa 52761

563.288.2773 print@opprinting.org www.opprinting.org

Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry 102 Walnut StreetMuscatine, Iowa 52761-4027563-263-8895 Fax: 563-263-7662

Address Service Requested

The Pearl City Progress (USPS391-430) is published monthly by the:

Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry102 Walnut StreetMuscatine, Iowa 52761-4027Email: chamber@muscatine.com

Periodical Postage Paid at Muscatine, IA.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to Pearl City Progress102 Walnut StreetMuscatine, IA 52761-4027

OfficersChair of the Board Bob Allbee, Muscatine Community CollegePast Chair Doug Krieger, Krieger Auto GroupChair Elect James Hayes, UnityPoint Health- Trinity MuscatineTreasurer & Chair-Finance Bob Howard, Central State BankChair – Membership Ann Meeker, Downtown Muscatine Renovations, LLCChair – Community Development Pam Collins, Musser Public LibraryChair - Economic Development Jim Simmons, Hy-Vee Food StoreChair – Public Policy Mark Post, Carver Pump Company

DirectorsBob Allbee, Muscatine Community CollegePam Collins, Musser Public LibraryAaron Eversmeyer, River RehabilitationJason Gregory, GPCKevin Harle, SSAB SteelBill Harper, Stanley Consultants, Inc.Greg Harris, Bridgestone BandagJames Hayes, UnityPoint Health- Trinity MuscatineBob Howard, Central State BankStan Howe, Member EmeritusScott Ingstad, First National BankKyle Jensen, TEMP AssociatesKas Kelly, Muscatine County Board of SupervisorsDoug Krieger, Krieger Auto GroupSal LoBianco, Muscatine Power and WaterJeff Lorenger, HNI CorporationGregg Mandsager, City of MuscatineAnn Meeker, Downtown Muscatine Renovations, LLCDave Mohr, Eastern Iowa Light & PowerBrett Nelson, Musco Sports LightingShane Orr, United Way of MuscatineKarla Pinner, Muscatine JournalMark Post, Carver Pump CompanyJim Reynolds, Reynolds EngineeringJerry Riibe, Muscatine Community School DistrictShawn Schrader, Monsanto CompanyTrista Sotelo, Young Professionals NetworkJim Simmons, Hy-Vee Food StoreGary Slight, Community BankNancy Snaadt, Alliant EnergyTiarr Sweere, Stanley, Lande, Hunter P.C.Dorothy Thulen, Kent Feeds

July

USPS 391-430PERIODICALS

POSTAGE PAID AT MUSCATINE, IOWA

July 44th of July Community CelebrationDowntown & on the riverfront7:30 AM to 10:00 PM

July 6GMCCI Office will be closed

July 9SCORE 1:30 to 3:30 PM

Business After HoursHost: Retirement Resource Group: Beckey, Smith & Bowerat Wine Nutz, Pearl Plaza5:30 to 7:30 PM

July 16SCORE 1:30 to 3:30 PM

July 21Employer’s Council MeetingOSHA Regulations; Presenter: Mike WhitmoreISU Extension, 1514 Isett AvenueNoon to 1:00 PM

July 23SCORE 1:30 to 3:30 PM

Ground Breaking CeremonyUnion Tank Car Company11:30 AM

July 24Ribbon CuttingArctic Dental2023 Cedar Plaza Dr.5:00 PM

July 30SCORE1:30 to 3:30 PM