photocredit: refreshleadership.com
BY: RACHEL WUMKES
The rat race of life is often monotonous. Get up, go to work, come home, and go to bed. It’s an endless loop, like an old vinyl spinning around and around and around on the record player. Sometimes you like the song, sometimes it gets tedious and repetitive, leaving you aching for more.
Something more. Anything more.
And so we search for a higher meaning, a way to make our lives be higher than the drivel of our everyday existence. By giving back, by helping others, we can achieve that illustrious ‘more.’
The Give Back Iowa Challenge was created five years ago as a way of enhancing the workplace to spread philanthropy. It’s more than increasing sales or driving revenue of the bottom line. It’s a way to increase the sense of community within a company. A way to fulfill a purpose in helping others.
Employees are challenged to volunteer within their respective communities and log hours as part of an 8-week challenge during the months of April and May. Participating employers were divided into three categories based on the number of employees.
The following Chamber Members were recognized:
Clear Lake Bank & Trust: Winner of the Medium-Sized Organization Category
First Citizens Bank: Honorable Mention if the Medium-Sized Catergory
POET Biorefining: Winner of the Small-Sized Organization Cetegory
We wish a special congratulations to these Chamber Members, and thank them for their incredible service to our community and surrounding areas.
And while we’re on the topic of congratulations, a handful of Chamber Members deserve special recognition for their incredible honors received last evening at the Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Gala held at North Iowa Community College.
The NIACC Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center is a mecca of resources and assistance met through a collaborative approach of the Iowa Small Business Development Centers and five other John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers. Serving the North Iowa area since 1997, they focus on helping each entrepreneur understand his or her unique set of opportunities, assisting in the research, development, and innovation for success and growth.
The following Chamber Members were recognized:
Kingland Systems: Winner of the Business of the Year Award
Toby Welsh, Midwest Duct Works: Nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year
Kingland Systems: Nominated for Innovation Award
Cabin Coffee: Nominated for Business of the Year
We tip our hats to each of you for your years of hard work and dedication to success. The Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce is proud of each of you for your accomplishments and look forward to many years of success. We salute you. We applaud you. We are honored to call you Chamber Members.