Best Businesses and Volunteers Named by Ames Chamber of Commerce

The Ames Chamber of Commerce announced this year's list of service and business excellence award winners at it's annual dinner. Find the announcement below:

Award winners for the Annual Ames Chamber Awards, Economic Impact Award, Main Street Volunteer of the Year, Campustown Volunteer of the Year and Young Professionals of Ames “4 Under 40” Award are listed here.  For more information on the award winners or to learn more about the accomplishments of Ames Chamber of Commerce and our affiliate organizations in 2012 please read the 2012 Annual Report found here. (http://www.ameschamber.com/en/ames_chamber_of_commerce/accomplishments/)

Business Person of the Year

DANIEL OH, RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP, INC.

The Chamber’s Business Person of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding individual for his or her long-term commitment to their own business, as well as the business climate and quality of life in the community.

Daniel Oh is this year’s recipient of the Business Person of the Year Award. This award recognizes an individual for his/her long term commitment to their own business as well as the business climate and quality of the community.

Oh is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (REG). REG is a leading North American biodiesel producer and marketer with a distribution and logistics system, utilizing an integrated value chain model focusing on converting natural fats, oils and greases into advanced biofuels. Oh has been with REG since 2005, and one of his first tasks was to install a sustainable corporate culture to define REG by assembling an unsurpassable management team as well as driving REG forward by actively seeking acquisitions and mergers to increase REG’s wholly-owned capabilities. Oh has overseen six biodiesel plant and two biodiesel-related business acquisitions and most recently in 2012, successfully completed an IPO and listing on NASDAQ.

Under Oh’s direction, REG has grown from about 40 employees in Ralston, IA, to nearly 300 employees located at seven plants across the country and REG’s headquarters, located in Ames, IA. REG is also actively involved in community activities such as little league sports sponsorships in all plant communities and with the Ames Chamber of Commerce, actively supporting the Youth Leadership Program as presenting sponsor this year and strong participation in the Leadership Ames programming.

Oh serves as a Director for the Ames Economic Development Commission, Director for the Ames Minor Hockey Association, Director for the West Point Society of Des Moines and previously served as Chairman for the Iowa Biodiesel Board.

Community Involvement Award

TANYA ANDERSON, FIRST NATIONAL BANK

The Ames Chamber Community Involvement Award is given to an individual who has demonstrated personal involvement and enthusiasm in a variety of civic and/or service organizations and has shown effort in improving the quality of life in the community.

Tanya Anderson is recognized with the Community Involvement Award for 2012. This award recognizes an individual for his/her personal involvement and enthusiasm in a variety of civic and/or service organizations and his/her effort in improving the quality of life in the community.

Anderson originally joined First National Bank in June of 1979 at the University Office. Anderson has left and come back twice while her daughters were busy with school activities. Anderson has been promoted to various positions over the years, with her most recent promotion to Vice President and Private Banker in 2011.

Anderson is known for her community involvement and is always willing to step up and help by giving of her time. Anderson has been a community advocate in many organizations for more than 30 years. Anderson has been involved with United Way of Story County Women with Initiative since its inception in 2008, helping to develop an educational program to build financial skills of women working to gain self-sufficiency and in addition, chairs the Mentoring Program. Anderson is also a long standing volunteer of Mary Greeley Medical Center (MGMC), serving in leadership roles on the boards of the MGMC Auxiliary and MGMC Foundation. Anderson is an active member of the Ames Noon Rotary and will be joining the Rotary Board this coming summer, as well as serving as a dedicated member of the Performing Arts Council, advising Iowa State Center staff on events in the Performing Arts Series held at Stephens Auditorium.

Entrepreneur of the Year

DELBERT (HANK) HARRIS, HARRISVACCINES, INC.

Each year the Ames Chamber of Commerce recognizes an individual for his or her creativity and personal initiative in operating a successful venture.

Delbert (Hank) Harris is the recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2012. This prestigious award recognizes an individual for his/her creativity, imagination and personal initiative in operating a successful business venture.

Harris is the President and Founder of Harrisvaccines, Inc., a company focusing on revolutionizing health vaccines and enhancing productivity in the swine, cattle, equine, and farmed shrimp industries. Harris is also an Iowa State University faculty member.

From the beginning, innovative discoveries have been a part of Harris’ accomplishments in the swine industry, including a key role in developing the method of multi-site pig production and working with swine health and production with odor and food safety. In 2005, Harris created the vaccine business Sirrah, LLC, which eventually developed into Harrisvaccines, Inc., in 2008. Harris has played a crucial role in sustaining animal health businesses in Iowa, leading to rapidly growing economic development. It has been valuable for Harrisvaccines, Inc., to be located near the USDA, CVB, and Iowa State University, creating jobs and collaborations in the process.

Harris’ peers have noted his positive impact on students by being a role model and advisor for future entrepreneurs. Harrisvaccines, Inc. is also seen as a prototype for what the Iowa biotech model is supposed to look like.

Economic Impact Award

The AEDC presents Economic Impact Awards to area companies that have made significant contributions to the greater Ames and Story County area through business growth and job creation.

Becker Underwood is the global leader in the development and commercialization of yield-improving and value-creating seed-applied biological products for the agricultural sector.  The company was founded in Ames in 1982 by Jeff Becker and Roger Underwood with $7,000. 

  The company headquartered in Ames has throughout its 30 year history continued to grow and now has twelve locations in eight countries

employing over 470 and its products found in over 70 countries.

  In the community Becker Underwood maintains two locations employing 140.  The company presence is seen throughout the community through both its employees and the company’s sponsorship of various activities.

In 2004, Norwest Equity Partners purchased a majority stake of the company as it saw the value of this locally built company.  On September 20, 2012 BASF announced its intent to purchase Becker Underwood for $1.02 billion.  The purchase price is very impressive for a locally started company on $7,000.

Becker Underwood through its management team and employees has continued over the years to strongly support the Ames community and they are making an economic impact on Ames!

Iowa State University Research Park is a leading U.S. Research Park founded in 1993 and covers 230 acres.   The park while closely connected with the university operates independently helping it tenants reach their business goals by not only offering facilities, but also expertise, technology, financing, recruiting and more.  Today the ISU Research Park is home to more than 60 companies and over 800 employees.

The park management team has been a key partner with the Ames Economic Development Commission (AEDC) in the area of helping new companies just getting started to the expansion of those now in a growth stage.  Additionally, many of the companies in the park hire interns from Iowa State

University who end up starting their careers right her in Ames!

While some of the companies located at the ISU Research Park are not yet well known they are doing significant work in the sciences, information technology, agriculture, etc.  In the past year companies like Harrisvaccines, NewLink Genetics, and WebFilings have been in the national news.

It is through the incubator opportunities for start-ups to full-fledged operational status that the ISU Research Park continues to make an economic impact on the Ames community.  With the recently announced plans to expand the park the future looks bright for the park’s current and future companies and their employees.

Iowa State University is a strong and important presence in Ames and we often refer to Ames as a “company town” with ISU being our leading company!  In many ways Iowa State is core to the success of our community, but hand-in-hand the university and the Ames community have forged a tremendous working relationship that truly benefits us all.

Today with over 31,000 students and increasing number of faculty the university continues to do leading edge research.  The university is one of only 62 public institutions invited to membership in the Association of American Universities and is considered a powerhouse for technology transfer, ranking among the

nation’s most prolific research licensing universities. Extension and its outreach programs across the state make it a leader in entrepreneurial programming.  It is through this technology transfer and entrepreneurial programming that Ames sees the benefit of the many start-up businesses right here in the community. 

The reputation of Iowa State is also significant as the Ames Economic Development Commission can take advantage of university’s faculty and staff to discuss opportunities with businesses either expanding or considering the potential to open new facilities in Ames.  Time and time again it is through the collaborative efforts of the university, the community, and AEDC that helps land the business opportunity for Ames.  These businesses may locate in the ISU Research Park or in other available locations in the community.

Dr. Steven Leath, President - Iowa State University, has announced his desire to move opportunities out of the lab into commercial operation at a quicker pace.  This is just another indication of the economic impact that Iowa State University can have on the Ames community.

Solum, Inc., a leader in advanced field measurement technology for

commercial agriculture is revolutionizing precision agriculture, enabling growers to increase yield and reduce cost.  In 2012 Solum which is based in Silicon Valley (Mountain View, CA) made a decision to open their first state of the art soil analysis facility in the Midwest and chose Ames.

Following the decision to locate in Ames there was a whirlwind of activity to finalize the design of the 12,000 square foot facility and complete the construction work to allow Solum to be up and running in the July, 2012 timeframe. 

Ames was also an ideal location for Solum to find the workforce required.

On a parallel track to the construction phase Solum commenced a condensed hiring process for twenty-five new employees in the areas of software engineering, professional and scientific staff and analytical laboratory roles.  They used traditional hiring techniques, but also working with the AEDC and ISU Alumni Association held a Solum specific Job Fair at the Alumni Center drawing over 100 applicants.

Solum is a great fit for our community and it demonstrates that a company founded in Silicon Valley finds value in having its operations facility right here in Ames.  With the Solum facility fully operational and staffed they continue to grow which is having positive impacts on the Ames community.

MSCD Volunteer of the Year

LETITIA KENEMER

The Main Street Cultural District’s Volunteer of the Year Award is given to an individual who has performed above and beyond for the MSCD by volunteering their time and efforts to support the MSCD and their work.

Volunteers to the Main Street Cultural District have always had passion for the district. Letitia is another great example of someone who bent over backwards to support Main Street. As promotions Chair she helped lead events such as the Art walk, Music walk, the 4th of July parade, and Oktoberfest. While working a full time job, she would often take lunch breaks to attend meetings, used her personal network to find resources for the events. She took vacation time to support events, plus she brought her creativity and passion to everything she did. I served with her on multiple committees and she was a constant source of joy, passion and energy. The dollar value of the time she put in could probably be calculated but the value of the knowledge and expertise cannot be. 2012 was a great year for the events of Mainstreet and Letitia was a big reason for this!

Campustown Action Association Volunteer of the Year

ANNE TAYLOR,

Dogtown University; A&R Marketing

The Campustown Action Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award is given to an individual who has performed above and beyond for the Campustown business district by volunteering their time and efforts to support the CAA and their work in Campustown.

Anne Taylor is recognized as the CAA 2012 Volunteer of the Year.  As the chair of Campustown Action Association promotions committee in 2012, Anne Taylor worked tirelessly to execute two exciting events in Campustown, Summerfest on June 9 and the first annual ISU Alumni FAC on October 26 as part of the city-wide ISU Homecoming Cy-tennial Celebration.  Taylor is co-owner of Dogtown University and A&R Marketing located at 217 Welch Avenue.  A business owner in Campustown for over 16 years, Anne is currently the vice president of the CAA Board of Directors and also participates in both the membership and promotions committees.

Young Professionals of Ames: “4 Under 40” Award

MATT CONVERSE

Converse Conditioned Air

Matt Converse is currently the owner of Converse Conditioned Air.  Matt also serves as the President of the Ames Noon Kiwanis Club, he has been an active board member for the AEDC and has been treasurer, vice president and is the 2013 chairman.  Matt is a great ambassador for the Ames Community.  He has be a strong supporter of the Chamber though the Government Affairs programming and is an active participant in other chamber initiative such as the inaugural Total Resource Campaign.  In 2012 Converse Conditioned Air won the Best of Story County Award, ABS Award of Excellence for multiple projects and the United Methodist Women Mission Award.  When not serving his community he likes to spend time with his wife Sara and his 2 children.

RICH HIGGINS

City of Ames

Rich earned a bachelor’s degree from Upper Iowa University and holds a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana State University. He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and was just accepted as a candidate for Executive Fire Officer, a program he will begin in 2013. Executive Fire Officer is a national program designed to engage candidates in life-long learning by emphasizing leadership, pro-active fire prevention, and applied research.  As the newly promoted Deputy Fire Chief, Rich has shown remarkable leadership, responsibility, and willingness to go above and beyond his job requirements. He continually seeks ways to improve his work performance, and that drive and determination is evident both on the job and in the volunteer work he performs.  Rich is married to Kati Higgins and they have 3 children. 

JENNIFER TALBOT

McFarland Clinic

Jenni is very involved in the community in all aspects. She serves on the board for YPA and has been an active member for a few years. In that role she has been instrumental in coordinating YPA’s involvement in the Main Street Farmers Market Kids Zone and YPA Read with me programs. She also is very much involved with the United Way of Story County by coordinating McFarland Clinic’s internal campaign as well as serving on the Young Leaders Society committee which does outreach to get more young professionals involved with UWSC. She also has participated in the United Way Day of Caring each year.  Jenni has her MBA and MHA from University of Iowa as well as her CMPE (Certified Medical Practice Executive). Jenni lives in Ames with her daughter, and husband, Jake Talbot.

SEANN DEMARIS

Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau

Seann has worked for the ACVB and Ames Area Sports Commission since 2004, helping Ames become recognized as a destination for a  variety of sporting events for both youth and adults.  He has helped the community host a variety of national events, including the first ever Special Olympics USA National Games in 2006 and has successfully recruited new events to the area including 2008 RAGBRAI, 2010 Buick Club of American National Meet, and the 2012 Beep Baseball World Series and ASA Softball in 2013.  Seann also works with an impressive number of annual sporting events.  Seann is a graduate of the Ames Chamber of Commerce Leadership Ames Class XX, Seann earned the official designation “Certified Sports Event Executive” in April 2010 form the National Association of t Sports Commissions.  Seann also represents Ames in the “Cities of the Big 12” organization.  Seann is an avid Cyclone fan and enjoys attending events with his wife, Wendy.