Ambassadors visited GreenState Credit Union Grinnell branch today to learn about the services they provide. Vice President/Branch Manager Brad German shared more about the growth GreenState has experienced particularly over the last 4 years but since their original start in Grinnell.
The Grinnell branch has grown in staffing and services since its original launch in Grinnell over 20 years ago. In addition to personal and business banking services, they offer auto loans and mortgages and can have wealth management and insurance services available by appointment. They also offer bilingual services and can accommodate rural customers with remote loan and banking services. GreenState Credit Union as an organization has expanded in to the Des Moines Metro area and is growing out of state with location in Illinois and coming soon to Nebraska.
As a credit union, GreenState works to reinvest in their members and particularly in their community give back programs. Last year, GreenState gave $85,000 to Poweshiek County area initiatives, not including the funds that were matched as part of the Grinnell-Newburg School Foundation, BGM and Montezuma school Give & Grow programs. They’ve also made significant investments in the Central Park reconstruction, the Grinnell School of Music, and Grinnell Farm to Table over the last few years. If your organization is interested in applying for funding, visit their website https://www.greenstate.org/.../community-involvement.html
Pictured L-R: Rachael Kinnick - Grinnell Chamber, Matt Moyer - Bayer Crop Science, Carl Meck - GreenState Credit Union - Grinnell, Marissa Ylagan - Grinnell Chamber, Donna Fischer - UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center Foundation, Rachel Arsenault - Ramsey-Weeks Inc. Real Estate, Fran Conn, Briana Gaunt - Community 1st Credit Union, Trent Arment - MCG - Mahaska Communication Group, Jack Mathew - Our Grinnell, Desiree Stayer - German Plumbing Heating and Cooling, Phil Grout - Hy-Vee, Brad German - GreenState Credit Union Grinnell, Stephanie Lair - UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center
Today, Ambassadors met for coffee and treats at McNallys Foods. We discussed our must stop places in town where we take visitors. The list was huge and spanned activities for all ages and interests! It also wasn’t all encompassing of ALL the great things Grinnell has to offer but it was definitely a start!
Some downtown favorites were:
• McNally’s for coffee & lunch
• Grin City Bakery
• Central Park splash pad & playground
• Hotel Grinnell patio & scrabble
• Solera
• FRONTIER CAFE
Rainy day stops included:
• Grinnell College Athletics events
• Drake Community Library
• Shopping at Anna Kayte's Boutique & Beckman Gallery & Gifts
• West Side Family Restaurant
To get active people enjoyed going:
• Arbor Lake
• Lions Park
• Grinnell Mutual Aquatic Center
• Disk golf at Nyanza
• Skate park
It was great to hear the feedback Ambassadors get from their visitors about how much they love coming to Grinnell. Did you favorite place make the list? If not, let us know below!
Thanks to the Ambassadors that joined us; Fran Conn, Donnette Ellis - Grinnell College Community Connections, Jack Mathews - Our Grinnell, Dorothy Spriggs - Carriage House Bed & Breakfast, Hannah Vos - UnityPoint at Home, Jennifer McAlexander - JM Consulting & Hawkeye Lock & Security, Desiree German - German Plumbing Heating and Cooling, Brad German - GreenState Credit Union, Rachel Arseneault - Ramsey-Weeks Inc.
Today ambassadors met with Nobious Business Automation, led by CEO Jason Palmer. Nobious is a technology based company servicing clients throughout the United States, Canada and Saudi Arabia. Nobious has a mostly remote team in Iowa/Midwest as well as a team in New Delhi, India, Nobious also has a team of 4 Grinnell College Interns working specifically on an AI Team.
The core services offered by Nobious are their Parts & Materials Inventory System which uses barcoding technology allowing the clients to keep track off their full inventory. Nobious also offers a SMS/Text message based Safety Training App. This service is popular amongst large construction companies, their crew members are able to access this information through their personal device and get the training information needed to keep them informed and safe while on the job site. Lastly, Nobious has a time tracking system, this can be used to track a crews labor time but is also used to track equipment time while on the job to ensure proper invoicing for all time and effort put into the job.
Nobious takes pride in the customization they put into each system for a client, while they have packages as a starting point there is always an additional layer to ensure the product is working effectively for their end user.
Pictured L-R: Nathan Beck- Community 1st Credit Union, Matt Moyer- Bayer Crop Science, Brad German- GreenState Credit Union, Jason Palmer- Nobious Business Automation, Lisa Cirks- Cirks Financial Services, Erin Bustin- Grinnell School of Music, Rachael Kinnick- Grinnell Chamber, Jack Mathews- Our Grinnell, Trent Arment- MCG - Mahaska Communication Group
Today Ambassadors held a Ribbon Cutting for Iowa Built Trailers owned by Craig Cooper. Iowa Built Trailers bloomed from old Ragbrai accommodations Craig used to use on his charters, these "bunk houses" were sold to a buyer in the carnival industry. After the initial purchase the buyer reached back out and asked if Craig could create more for his company and from there Iowa Built Trailers started and has created trailer accomodations for other companies within the carnival industry as well.
Starting out in the old ambulance bay, Iowa Built Trailers outgrew the space quickly and acquired their new space housing an on site office as well as a large workshop and room to expand if needed.
Iowa Built is approaching carnival housing differently than others in the industry, he states that they build accommodations that him and his team would be comfortable spending the night in, hoping to help in the change that is coming into the industry of more comfortable living accommodations for the employees. Additionally, Craig and his team care about their products after the sale. Craig took a trip to see his initial buyer on site to see how the product was holding up and how it was being used so that proper adjustments could be made to future accommodations. While on site Craig noticed a few elements not holding up and returned with his team to make the proper repairs.
Lastly, Craig spoke about how none of this would be possible without his team of builders. Craig and a client may meet and create a vision of what they want in their accommodations and Craig brings it back to his team and states that they always find a way to make that vision a reality. He praised his team as an extremely hardworking, resourceful and talented group.
Picture L-R Clay Meyer- Iowa Built, Jack Mathews- Our Grinnell, Lisa Cirks- Cirks Financial Services, Monica St. Angelo- Grinnell Area Arts Council, Hannah Vos- UnityPoint at Home, Donnette Ellis- Grinnell College Community Connections, Charlie Isaccs- Theisen's, Brianna Gaunt- Community 1st Credit Union, Rachel Arseneault- Ramsey-Weeks Inc. Real Estate, Jennifer McAlexander- JM Consulting & Hawkeye Lock & Security, Fran Conn, Alokey Diaz Aguilera- Iowa Built, Donna Fisher-UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Jeff Finch- Wes Finch Auto Plaza, Rachael Kinnick- Grinnell Chamber, Matt Moyer- Bayer Crop Science, Barb Arlint- Iowa Built, Craig Cooper- Iowa Built and Francisco Baharona- Iowa Built
Ambassadors visited Fareway Stores Grinnell today to learn more about the store and their recent remodel. Grocery manager Ben Hall welcomed the group and shared more about the work that has taken place over the last six months. While the work itself began last October, their team has been busy planning for a couple years. Fareway has an internal construction team which helps individual stores plan their remodels, and they’re chosen based on a variety of factors including age of store, location, and foot traffic.
Grinnell’s Fareway store has been in its current location since 2007 (we were just as surprised as some of you!), and it was time for some updates. Notable changes included updates to the current refrigeration units, eliminating the old and inefficient ‘pizza bunkers’. The remodel greatly improved lighting throughout the entire store, something Hall noted many customers have found appealing. Finally, they removed the ‘L’ that previously closed off the produce selection from the grocery, creating significantly more open space and moving the liquor to a designated aisle.
The remodel has also allowed them to bring in a variety of new products. Staff have a catalog of items from which they can order; however, previous space constraints did not allow them to carry as many products. Since the remodel, they have added several hundred products, and are always looking at ways they can carry additional items to meet the needs of Grinnell-area residents.
Hall referenced many changes in the grocery industry over the past few years which included: addition of Fast Lanes that were implemented last fall, online shopping and curbside pickup options and new building signage. Locally, Fareway employs over 80 individuals, as young as 14 years old. You can shop Grinnell Fareway from 8AM-9PM Monday through Saturday.
Pictured L-R: Monica St. Angelo - Grinnell Area Arts Council, Charlie Isaacs - Theisen's, Rachel Hansen - Cleanfoodfix LLC, Trent Arment - MCG - Mahaska Communication Group, Hannah Vos - UnityPoint at Home, Donna Fischer - UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Ben Hall - Fareway Stores Grinnell, Matt Moyer - Bayer Crop Science, Bri Vande Stouwe - Community 1st Credit Union, Fran Conn, Donnette Ellis - Grinnell College Community Connections
