Layout 1 (Page 1) - Kossuth County Economic Development
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Layout 1 (Page 1) - Kossuth County Economic Development
Kossuth County Economic Development Corporation Kossuth County Intern ROSTER 2007 Algona Publishing Megan Lucas Amberwave Jeremy Koppen Farmers State Bank Allison Hannover, Spense Simonson Hydrogen Engine Center Dustin Meier Iowa State Bank Lindsay Schiltz KCEDC Chandra Foertsch, Ashley Waller Exceptional Opportunities Christa Person Kossuth Co. Engineers Office Anthony McGregor Kossuth Regional Health Center Melissa Hilbert, Laura Kellner, Erika Siefken, Darcy Kruger, Kara Nelson, Dan Garman, Brooke Myers, Derek Buyck, Melanie Myers, Suzanne Collins, Dusti Bitz, Ashley Carpenter Kuehl & Payer Ltd. Heidi Rode, Chad Lane Max Yield Cooperative Sonja Bye, David Laubenthal Murphy-Brown LLC Abbey Harding, John Stoakes, Alison Brandenburg NRCS Renae Weis Northwest Federal Savings Bank Amanda Fox, Candace Schiltz, Matt Vitzthum Peterson & Lipps Law Firm Matthew Skilling Pharmacists Mutual Leslie Aboud, Molly Albers, Byron Black, Nick Brand, Renee Taphorn, Allison Even, Wesley Dahlhauser, Laci Erpelding, Jim Garman, Jeff Lappe, Abby McIntosh, Aaron O'Kane, Nate Pierson, Emily Salz, Abby Baldus Reding’s Gravel John Reding Titonka Savings Bank Brittney Schwartz Universal Manufacturing Darren McGregor West Iowa Bank Nicole Schmidt, Brooke Helmers Intern Advisory Committee Career Intern Committee Laci Erpelding, Co-Chair Darren McGregor, Co-Chair Ashley Waller, Chandra Foertsch, Abby McIntosh, Leslie Aboud, Laura Kellner, Melissa Hilbert, Candace Schiltz, Emily Salz, Matt Vitzthum, Dan Garman, Amanda Fox, Abby Baldus, Nick Brand, Heidi Rode, Chad Lane, Molly Albers, Matt Skilling, Aaron O’Kane Kara Nelson Kossuth County Economic Development Corporation 6 Jodi Alt, Co-Chair Ivy Kitzinger, Co-Chair Adrianne Magill Bob Jennings Kathy Nelson Scott Thilges Kay Harms Nick Roethler Carol Heesch Katie Besch Jay Limbaugh Tara Elbert Brian Keith 2007 Summer CEO/Intern Luncheon Matt Vitzthum, Co-Chair Amanda Fox, Co-Chair Candace Schiltz, Co-Chair Nick Brand Heidi Rode Darren McGregor Laci Erpelding Jeff Lappe Chandra Foertsch Emily Salz Aaron O’Kane Molly Albers Leslie Aboud Allison Brandenburg Melissa Hilbert Dan Garman Board Of Supervisors Ashley Waller, Chair Leslie Aboud Chandra Foertsch Laci Erpelding Darren McGregor Project Hope Chandra Foertsch, Chair Emily Salz Jeff Lappe Laci Erpelding Darren McGregor Nick Brand Newsletter Leslie Aboud, Co-Chair Abby McIntosh, Co-Chair Ashley Waller, Co-Chair Chandra Foertsch Abby Langenwalter Nick Brand Byron Black InternshipProgram Kossuth County Economic Development Corporation Volume 6 • Issue 1 Summer 2007 Inside this Issue 1 KCEDC Intern Mission Statement 1 The Power of Interns 2 Just How Effective Are We? 3 Board of Supervisors Meets the Interns 3 Project Hope 3 The Importance of Mentoring 4 What Does an Internship Mean? 4 Intern Breakfast 4 CEO/Intern Luncheon 5 Intern Golf Outing 5 Finance 101 for Interns 5 2007 Intern Program Sponsors 6 2007 Intern Roster 6 2007 Intern Committee Members “ KCEDC is very proud of this years interns & their level of commitment toward our summer intern program. The commitment that Kossuth businesses have made to help grow this program & recruit top college students is very evident this year! It’s exciting to see these young college students understanding that Kossuth County has vested a lot of of time & dollars into their internship program. ” -Maureen Elbert, Executive Director, KCEDC Kossuth County Economic Development Corporation Intern Committee’s mission is to provide a means for individuals to expand their leadership goals, obtain business development training, and support community service and volunteerism for the betterment of our area, along with gaining experience in their summer work environment. The Power of Interns By Ed Berg, President & CEO, Pharmacists Mutual Companies Pharmacists Mutual Companies (PMC) has a history of hiring interns for the summer. In recent years, we have averaged 10-12 interns per summer, with some of these going to our Pro Advantage Services offices. Their duties have ranged from data entry to maintenance to marketing to accounting to policy services. Each year we ask our team leaders to consider where they might be able to use an intern for the summer, and we make our hiring plans accordingly. There are several reasons why we believe in the KCEDC Intern Program. PMC benefits from this program in several ways: (a) Interns can often help with summer workloads, when we have a higher percentage of employees out on vacation. (b) Interns bring a fresh perspective, often times applying their college experiences to the assigned tasks or just taking a new look at something we have been doing in the same way for many years. (c) Interns can take on some projects that we have been setting aside waiting for some slack time to work on. (d) PMC employees benefit from the extra help. (e) Because we do provide some hiring preference to children of our employees, our employees also benefit by reducing their college financial burden as a result of having their children employed for the summer (although PMC children have a preference, we still hire outside of the PMC family, and all applicants have to go through the hiring process, with no one automatically being hired). In addition to the above reasons, we also have a hope that some of these interns will consider employment at PMC some time in the future. Even if we are not their first job out of college, we hope at some point the interns will consider returning to Kossuth County, and we will be on their list of potential employers. This in fact has happened numerous times. PMC believes there is a lot of power in the KCEDC Intern Program and we will continue to support it in the years to come. 106 S. Dodge • Suite 210 Algona • IA • 50511 515.295.7979 515.295.8873 Fax Email: [email protected] www.kossuth-edc.com Summer 2007 www.kossuth-edc.com www.kossuth-edc.com Kossuth County Board of Supervisors Meets the Interns Fun Fact: Most KCEDC Interns are originally from Kossuth County & the majority have less than 5 minute commutes! The paycheck & the experience gained are the favorite aspects of having an internship. Also, most say that their internship experience helped them to make decisions regarding their career after college. On Monday, July 2, 2007, the interns of Kossuth County met with the county Board of Supervisors to discuss the activities of KCEDC’s summer intern program. The presentation focused on the “Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” workshop the interns participated in this year, and the annual intern service project, “Project Hope”. One of the objectives of the presentation was to have the Board proclaim July 9th -14th “Project Hope Week”. Jodie Harker, who facilitated the “Covey’s” workshop for the interns, explained to the Board, “Achieving full potential in work and in life is what Covey’s 7 Habits is all about.” She also discussed how this workshop was presented in order to help the interns make their lives more productive and effective. While presenting their service project, “Project Hope,” the interns challenged the Board of Supervisors to fill their own box of items for area children and teens removed from their homes by DHS. The Board was very impressed by the involvement of the interns in the community, accepted their challenge, and fulfilled the interns’ wish by proclaiming July 9th-14th “Project Hope Week”. The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors consists of Jack Plathe, Don McGregor, Don Besch, Pam Wymore, Eugene Elsbecker, and the Kossuth County Auditor, Joann Bormann. - Leslie Aboud, Intern Project Hope Project Hope Spreads Light Through Kossuth County For the third year the Interns of Kossuth County are shedding more light on Project Hope. This project is a way for interns to give back to the community. The goal is to provide comfort to children and teenagers who have been removed from their homes in Kossuth County and no longer have personal health care products. A proclamation has been created and presented to the Board of Supervisors. The objective of this was to officially declare the week of July 9-13th “Project Hope week”. The Supervisors were very supportive of this project and passed the proclamation unanimously. KCEDC has received many Thank-You letters showing much appreciation for these items; they make the children feel more comfortable knowing they have something they can call their own. KCEDC has distributed more than 300 bags around Kossuth County; that is 300 children that have been helped during a very difficult time in their lives. Area businesses are challenging their staff to assist this community service project that will have impact throughout the full county. This year Project Hope boxes have been placed in identified business locations throughout the county. Area residents and businesses can participate in Project Hope by donating small personal care items at the KCEDC office. Items needed include: shampoo & conditioner, combs, brushes, deodorant, toothbrushes, soap, toothpaste, lotion, Q-tips, shaving cream, razors, etc. Once KCEDC has received these items they are put into care packages and taken to the Sheriff’s office, area schools throughout the county, and the DHS. From these places they are distributed to children in need. -Chandra Foertsch, Intern The Importance of Mentoring When meeting new people, some of the questions that are typically asked of you include “Where ya’ from?”, “How long have you lived here in town?” and “Where do you work?”. From there, I often find that the conversation moves to towards learning more about how I got into my profession. In my case, I look forward to these discussions as I can talk about the impact that one individual has had in my life and my career. My senior year in high school, I proudly proclaimed that I was going to enroll in medical school to become a physician. After receiving my first semester grades in calculus and chemistry, I quietly changed my major from pre-med to liberal arts with no idea of what I was going to pursue. After that first year, however, I was introduced to “Steve”, the Chief Operating Officer of the hospital in my hometown. He offered to let me spend a day with him at the hospital to see what hospital administration was all about. I eagerly accepted his offer and after that one short day, I was hooked! Not only did I have a career objective, I also established a relationship with an individual that would become a lifelong mentor! Over the next two years of college study, I stayed in touch with Steve with a few letters and a phone call or two. When the time came for an internship, he offered me the chance to spend the summer before I was to graduate with him at the hospital. Even more, after graduation, I was offered a one year Fellowship study with him. I’ve been with the organization ever since. Steve is no longer with the organization as he has moved on to bigger and better positions. I do stay in touch with him to this day, however. He’s always been there for advice, a kind word and even careful criticism. Even more, he’s the “coach in my corner” regardless of where I am or what I’m doing. I’ll be forever thankful for that. As I look back, I’m thankful that I did not think of that summer internship as just a summer job. I encourage you to do the same as you finish your summer here and remind you that a job may be just for a few months, however, relationships are for a lifetime. - Scott Curtis, Administrator/CEO Kossuth Regional Health Center Summer 2007 3 What Does an Internship Mean to Kossuth County Youth? ...better potential for networking & employment information... ...good references and office experience... ...knowledge about the business world and what I want in a job... ...IT’S GREAT!... ...real world experience... ...opportunities... ...MONEY... ...a further understanding of what I want to pursue after college... ...knowledge... ...the more this program grows, the more it will improve... ...learn new things and meet new people... ...work with an amazing group of people... ...I feel more confident about my career choice... ...learn how to work with other people... ...my boss has had a big impact on my life... CEO Luncheon Intern Breakfast Kossuth County Economic Development Corporation kicked off the Summer Intern Program on May 22nd with the Intern Breakfast. This year’s 54 interns and around 50 CEO’s from local area businesses had a chance to meet and network while enjoying a great meal. This year’s speakers consisted of Jon Bond, the District Manager of Bro Business Center, Algona; Andy Laubenthal, Landmark Realty; and Doug Miller, Kossuth County Engineer. Each of these men came back to Kossuth County after school to live, work, and raise a family. Their message to the interns of 2007 was to take advantage of their internship, learn from and utilize their mentors, and remember that Kossuth County has great opportunities for them in the future. Each of the interns left with valuable knowledge and high expectations for the summer activities to come. The main focus of the day was Kossuth County and how it provides opportunities that the interns can hopefully benefit from in the future if they choose to make Kossuth County their home. Maureen Elbert, Executive Director of KCEDC said, the overall goal is to Kossuth County Interns range in encourage the interns to get majors from Business & Finance to involved with social activities, Athletic Training, Nursing, Public “We provide an avenue for Relations, Music, Pre-Dentistry, Law, them and hope they will take Art, & countless more! However different they may be, all Kossuth County a look our way in the future.” interns are gaining valuable skills & - Ashley Waller, Intern experience through their employment The “Champions of Kossuth County” met on July 25th adorned by red, white, and blue to celebrate the annual Intern/CEO luncheon. Kossuth County interns and local area CEO’s got together in an opportunity to network and gain business knowledge in a relaxed atmosphere of fun and food. Burgers were provided and cooked courtesy of Stu Simonson with KC Hall providing different kinds of salads and numerous other tasty treats. The tables consisted of a group of interns with a CEO at each table and questions to ask surrounding them. These questions allowed for the interns to learn more about the businesses in the county and what attributes the CEO’s were looking for in potential employees. - Nick Brand, Intern 4 Summer 2007 Fun Fact: with Kossuth County businesses 2007 Summer Finance 101 InternshipProgram Just how effective are we? An exciting new opportunity is being provided to the interns of Kossuth County this summer. “Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” introductory workshop is being presented by Jodie Harker to Kossuth County interns at the home office of Pharmacists Mutual. The workshop has also been opened up to the regular employees of all of Kossuth County’s businesses involved with interns. The program summarizes Dr. Stephen Covey’s best-selling book, Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, in a fourpart workshop series. The goal of understanding and practicing “Covey’s 7 Habits” is to achieve personal and interpersonal success. The workshop states that by practicing these habits, a person can expect to gain control over his or her life, get focused and organized, enhance his or her relationships, improve his or her communication, and achieve work/life balance. Part of this process involves moving from dependence to independence to interdependence in work and life. One major goal of the workshop is for all of the interns to have a life mission statement drafted at the end of the workshop. These mission statements can be as simple as “I want to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am” to the extraordinary idealism of Martin Luther King Junior’s “I Have a Dream” speech. These mission statements should express a person’s sense of purpose and meaning in life, and they should act as a source of guidance by which a person evaluates his or her decisions and chooses his or her behavior. Interns and employees learned about all of these helpful habits in a fun learning atmosphere enhanced with videos, group discussions, and demonstrations. These 7 Habits are not hard concepts to grasp; the key is simply putting them into practice everyday. The interns are encouraged to utilize “Covey’s 7 Habits” at their internships and beyond: Be Proactive (Take responsibility for your life.) Begin With the End in Mind (Define your purpose and mission in life.) Put First Things First (Prioritize and do the most important things first.) Think Win-Win (Have an “everyone-can-win” attitude.) Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood (Listen to people sincerely.) Synergize (Work together to achieve more.) Sharpen the Saw (Renew yourself regularly to achieve work/life balance.) - Abby McIntosh, Intern 2 Summer 2007 Intern Golf Outing Thirty-six golfers participated in the 7th Annual KCEDC Intern Golf Outing at River Road Golf Club in Algona on Friday June 15th. Twenty-one interns and fifteen CEOs teamed up for this 9-hole, 4person best shot tournament. Intern winners for the Men’s and Women’s Longest Drive were Wes Dahlhauser of Pharmacists Mutual and Lindsay Shiltz of Iowa State Bank. Other contests were for Highest Score and Lowest Score. Taking home the prize for highest score was the team consisting of interns Abby Harding and Spense Simonson. There was a three-way tie for lowest score. Prize winners for that contest included Dahlhauser, Schiltz, Abby Baldus, Jeff Lappe, Abby McIntosh, Leslie Aboud, and Byron Black. Following the round of golf, everyone was treated to a filling meal of tenderloin sandwiches, potato salad, and macaroni salad. In addition, all interns took home a lunch cooler courtesy of Pharmacists Mutual that was filled with items donated by other area businesses, including golf balls and tees to be used for the day. A big thank you goes out to all the businesses that contributed and also to River Road for hosting the event. - Abby Baldus, Intern Fun Fact: Most KCEDC Interns are originally from Kossuth County & the majority have less than 5 minute commutes! The paycheck & the experience gained are the favorite aspects of having an internship. Also, most say that their internship experience helped them to make decisions regarding their career after college. Credit cards, credit scores, and ever increasing financial responsibility are things most of us are beginning to learn about as we make our way through college. Not only are you accosted by credit card companies at college, with their various gimmicks many people fall prey to, but you also begin to deal with your credit score and building a solid credit history. The “Finance 101” presentation to the Kossuth County Interns is particularly appropriate for this reason; because most of us are encountering many of these things in full force for the first time. Carol Heesch of Bank of America did an excellent job of addressing the basics of responsibly using credit and building a positive credit history. She spoke about what factors affect your credit report, what information is contained within a credit report, and how you can go about building your credit history. In addition to talking about your credit history itself, she also talked about how it will affect you and your financial wellbeing later in life. This presentation provided the Kossuth County interns with valuable information that is more relevant now than ever before. - Byron Black, Intern Kossuth County InternSponsors2007 Algona Aquatic Center Algona Good Samaritan Communities/Van Buren Terrace Algona Municipal Utilities Algona Publishing Co. Algona River Road Allure Salon Amberwave Communications Berte’s Back Nine Buscher Bros. Corporation Cornbelt Power Coop Curves for Women Dairy Queen Diamonds Elbert Chevrolet, Inc. Elbert Motor Co. Erpelding Voigt & Co. Farmers State Bank Godfathers Hutzells Iowa State Bank Innovations Salon and Spa Jack’s OK Tire Co. Kemco Tires Thank You fo r yo suppo ur rt! Kemna Auto Center Kentucky Fried Chicken KOFAB Kuehl & Payer Maggie B’s Maxyield Cooperative MBR Partners Mid American Energy Motor Inn No Boundaries LLC Murphy Brown, LLC Pharmacists Mutual Pizza Hut Premier Pizza Prestage Stoecker Farms Reding’s Gravel & Excavating Roethler Electric State 3 Theatre The Water Connection Whittemore Golf Club www.kossuth-edc.com Summer 2007 5