MARCH 2022
WOMEN IN BUSINESS
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Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa | Sunday, March 6, 2022 | Women in Business 2022 | 2
Danielson excited to lead Alliance into the future By ROBERT MAHARRY TIMES-REPUBLICAN
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Amber Danielson, who has served as the executive director of the Marshall County Arts and Culture Alliance since 2016, poses for a photo near a recently completed public art mural in Marshalltown’s 13th Street District.
ance, and she decided to take a chance in a field that was completely new to her. She can still remember attending the Iowa Arts Summit after she had accepted the position — but before she had officially started — and finding herself completely swept up in the words of keynote speaker Akwi Nji, who was later commissioned for the sidewalk poetry project in Marshalltown. “When she was on stage, I sat in the crowd in complete stillness listening to her every word as if it were just her and I in the
room,” Danielson said. “When I left the summit that day I knew I was meant to be in this role and I was about to embark on a journey I would have never imagined for myself.” Although nonprofits in general — and more specifically, one devoted to arts and culture — may seem antithetical to what she had been doing before, Danielson quickly realized the two went hand in hand. “I’ve always had a passion for the arts. I don’t think, though, at the time of taking the job, that I fully understood the role the
arts play in community development,” she said. “It was definitely a learning curve. I’ve been in this role for almost six years, and there’s still lots to learn.” Danielson is just the second full-time director of the Alliance — previously, it had been led by a part-time director — and while she’s tried to bring her own ideas to the job, she’s also been forced to adjust to the reality of a pair of devastating natural disasters over the last few years. “From the beginning, I’ve always been very collaboration
minded and so I love working with other organizations. So I think we’ve really expanded upon the partnerships, our role in our partnership with the city of Marshalltown and just all the other great organizations we have in the community,” she said. Along with her work with the Alliance, she serves as the vice chair of the Iowa Arts Council board and sits on the board of directors for the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center (MACC) ARTS | PAGE 7
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Marshall County Arts and Culture Alliance Director and Marshalltown native Amber Danielson initially thought she’d leave her hometown after high school and never come back. Danielson, who graduated from Marshalltown High School in 2008 and went on to study marketing, logistics and international business at the University of Northern Iowa, had never planned on making the transition to the nonprofit world, either, but some opportunities are simply too good to pass up. Even after she and her husband Cole, a fellow MHS alum, moved to Marion after college, they found themselves spending most of their weekends driving back to Marshalltown and eventually decided they might as well commit to it long term. Since returning, they’ve also grown the family with the addition of their son Finnley, 4. “All of our extended family is in this area so certainly family brought us back,” she said. “We kind of were drawn back from a family perspective but once we got back here we started getting involved in a few things.” For the first three years after they returned, however, Danielson was still commuting to Des Moines for work. She ultimately decided she wanted to be involved with the Marshalltown community on all levels. After a TRAILS board meeting, she was approached about a job opportunity to lead the Marshall County Arts and Culture Alli-
3 | Sunday, March 6, 2022 | Women in Business 2022 | Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa
All about the arts
Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa | Sunday, March 6, 2022 | Women in Business 2022 | 4 timesrepublican.com
Schmitt’s shop enriches central business district By SUSANNA MEYER TIMES-REPUBLICAN
When Rhetta Schmitt went to college for event management and began flipping clothes to help pay for her degree, opening her own consignment store was just a fleeting thought in her mind. Over time, however, that idea became a business called State Street Trading Company. Schmitt didn’t always have her heart set on running a consignment store. While business ownership was something she wanted, Schmitt always thought she might do something along the lines of event planning because of her field of study in college. However, when her husband got a job at Emerson in Marshalltown, she decided to go for it. “My dad had his own business when I was growing up. He did construction, and my grandpa actually, originally built this building and he owned part of the rendering plant — it’s not here anymore — but he had his own business,” Schmitt said. “So, (business ownership) kind of runs in the family. My parents owned a resort for like 15 years.” Her parents, George Wenk and Janet Wenk, owned Pine Island resort, and her dad owns Wenk Enterprises. Seeing her parents run those businesses over the years gave her the encouragement
she needed to open her own, and State Street Trading Company officially launched in April 2018. Three months later, the tornado swept through Marshalltown, leaving wreckage in its path. “We were open for an awesome three months before the tornado and then we were closed for the rest of that year to repair all the damages,” Schmitt said. After rebuilding from the tornado, the store reopened in 2019 and has remained open since, excluding the various closures that were mandated in response to COVID-19. Schmitt said aside from the tornado, there were other difficulties that came with opening a consignment store. “I don’t buy inventory. It’s based on people bringing it in, so getting enough inventory for people to want to shop (was a challenge),” Schmitt said. “We now have a fantastic consigner base, where we have a pretty steady flow of clothes in and out, but initially, I was kind of like, hitting up my parents and my family like ‘Hey, we need stuff, I need you to bring stuff,’ because we would get really low on items.” Getting the word out was another challenge. Even after almost four years of business, some people still don’t know State Street Trading Company is there. Schmitt has customers coming in occasionally thinking that the store
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Rhetta Schmitt is the owner of State Street Trading Company, a consignment store at 35 W. State St.
hire other women that I really enjoy, and that like the same things I like, and have the same relationship with the customers as I have. That’s been really cool,” Schmitt said. “I have met so many women that I would have never met, that come in regularly, that I have friendships with. Or even with Britt, at Britt Marie’s. If I didn’t own (State Street Trading Company), I probably wouldn’t have a friendship with her because I wouldn’t have met her in the same way.”
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is new, but she said even with those challenges, running the business has been an amazing experience. Schmitt said being able to collaborate with other business owners and build relationships with both customers and employees has been one of the most rewarding aspects of owning a business. She occasionally teams up with Brittney Tow, the owner of Britt Marie’s Country Boutique, doing promotions that work at either business. “It’s been really cool to be able to
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CONTINUED | FROM PAGE 3
and the 13th Street District. One of the biggest and most noticeable changes during Danielson’s tenure has been the explosion in public art around Marshalltown, including three more murals completed late in 2021. According to Danielson, there are at least six to eight more on the horizon for 2022 — including five neighborhood murals in culturally diverse areas of Marshalltown — and the community is excited about adding on to the great progress that’s already been made. In addition to public art, the Alliance works to promote live music and theater in Marshall County. “We just have so many organizations that are leading arts and culture that our role is just to share the great news,” Danielson said. Looking forward, a major upcoming undertaking is the Arts and Culture Master Plan, which the Alliance has enlisted Group Creative of Des Moines to complete. The ultimate goal, Danielson said, is making the community distinct and
unique and ensuring that people choose to live, play and learn in Marshalltown and Marshall County. With a move to the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center and some rebranding on the horizon, 2022 is set to be one of the busiest years in the Alliance’s history. Even on projects more tailored toward infrastructure — downtown lights are a case in point — opportunities abound to put a special stamp on them. “There are all kinds of examples where you can infuse creativity and really put the Marshalltown mark on it, so that when people come here, it’s just a complete experience where you just know you’re in Marshalltown,” she said. “We believe that arts and culture are a critical component to retaining, attracting and engaging current residents and future residents.” Whether the Alliance is directly leading the way on some of the projects like the murals or simply advocating and supporting other live performances, it’s making its presence felt locally. As long as Danielson is in charge, don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
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7 | Sunday, March 6, 2022 | Women in Business 2022 | Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa
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Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa | Sunday, March 6, 2022 | Women in Business 2022 | 8 timesrepublican.com
Millizer brings her passion to downtown Marshalltown By SUSANNA MEYER TIMES-REPUBLICAN
Deb Millizer has been the executive director of the Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) for close to three years, and she continues to bring her unique perspective and skills to the table as a woman in business. When Millizer first applied for the job, she wasn’t expecting to be offered the position, as her background was in child welfare rather than economic development. She was pleasantly surprised, however, to be the chosen candidate, and Millizer saw it as a way to grow and use her master’s degree in organizational leadership. “I have grown so much. I’ve learned a lot which was part of my goal of taking on a new career field. I wanted to broaden my horizons,” Millizer said. “I just wanted to be able to advance my skills and learn something new, so I thought ‘I can do this,’ and still influence the community and make a difference.” Millizer previously worked for Lutheran Services in Iowa as the Family Safety Risk and Permanency program supervisor for about eight years. She supervised Department of Human Services cases in five counties with about 14 team members. Switching from child welfare to business development was a challenge, but Millizer was ready for it. The MCBD executive director position is multifaceted, but a large part of Millizer’s job is building relationships with business owners in the community to encourage collaboration. She believes her previous job prepared her well to take on this new challenge.
T-R PHOTO BY SUSANNA MEYER
Deb Millizer, the director of the Marshalltown Central Business District, is pictured. Millizer has dedicated much of her time and energy in the last two and a half years to supporting the downtown area.
“The fact that I see our building and business owners as people and families, makes me really care about the outcomes. It’s not just, ‘Oh, this is a task that I have to do.’ This is a person behind this. This is important, and it’s time sensitive and it needs to be completed,” Millizer said. “That was really important in my past role, not only for my employees, but for the people that were involved with the Department of Human Services so I think that really carries over.” She has faced numerous challenges since she started in
2019, just a year after the devastating tornado swept through Marshalltown. Then, several months later, COVID hit, followed by the derecho. Despite all of the adversity, Millizer can see the prospect of growth in the downtown area. Marshalltown received a downtown revitalization grant last October which will offer many new opportunities to the community as it presents enough funds to restore about 11 storefronts. This is coupled with the city taking possession of condemned buildings
to demolish them and the State Street reconstruction project dedicated to updating the infrastructure and the look and feel of the area. “There’s just so much going on that is just really going to change the downtown. We’re going to have some growing pains because there’s going to be some (storefront) lifts in the downtown and there are going to be some parking issues but it’s all growth related,” Millizer said. “I’m just very excited about it all.” Millizer will be collaborating
with the city and business owners throughout these changes, ensuring the MCBD is available to help whenever needed. Since taking on the position, Millizer feels she has grown exponentially, and she has developed a passion for the community and the downtown area that she will surely take into each project she works on. “I had no idea when I started how passionate I was going to become about it, but I really love the downtown area,” Millizer said.
By ROBERT MAHARRY TIMES-REPUBLICAN
HISTORY | PAGE 10
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
Cynthia Ragland, the owner of C Eye Care in Marshalltown, stands below one of many photos of the legendary actress and local native Jean Seberg inside of her building, 236 N. 13th St. The building was once the home of Seberg Pharmacy, owned and operated by Jean’s father Ed.
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Anyone who walks into C Eye Care at 236 N. 13th St. will almost immediately notice the presence of Marshalltown’s most famous native, the late actress Jean Seberg, as her pictures are prominently displayed across the walls — and most of them feature her wearing glasses. But there’s a reason for the theme, and it isn’t just because owner Cynthia Ragland considers herself a fan of the “Breathless” star. The building housed Seberg Pharmacy, owned by Jean’s father, Ed, for decades, and Ragland is happy to honor its legacy at her business today. Ragland, who grew up outside of Marshalltown and attended Franklin Elementary School, considered the opportunity to buy this historic building in one of the community’s most unique neighborhoods a dream come true, and she officially opened the clinic in 2017. After she got the idea to pay tribute to Seberg, she went to the annual Marshalltown film festival named in the actress’s honor and made sure the surviving members of her family were comfortable with her using the images. Her brother and sister were onboard almost immediately. “They couldn’t have been nicer and more gracious, and so one of the fun things of all this is that even in the last year, I’ve been able to correspond with Mary Ann, Jean’s sister,” Ragland said. “And we’re hoping they’ll be able to come back soon and have a little reunion here.” In addition to the historical significance of her building directly across from the Iowa Veterans Home, the revitalization of the 13th Street District was another key selling point for Ragland as she was looking to open her own practice. In a sense, it’s a walk down memory lane, back to the days when she was a kid in Marshalltown. “When I was growing up, it was a really bustling, fun area to be and a stomping ground for myself and a lot of people,” she said. “I spent a lot of time with my grandmother at Curt’s Royal Blue Gro-
cery and Smitty’s Maid-Rite.” After finishing her education at the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tenn., Cynthia and her husband Craig, a native of the Detroit area, returned to Marshalltown. They loved to eat at the 13th Street Inn, which was one of the only remaining businesses in the district from the old days. “There wasn’t a lot happening at the time, and the buildings needed some love, that’s for sure,” she said. “We used to always say, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be cool if this were here or that were here, never really thinking we would be part of this.’” She continued to practice optometry at McFarland Clinic and did fill in work in Ankeny, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids before making the jump to owning her own clinic. When the opportunity finally came, Ragland faced it head on and cherished a chance to make her community a better place. It took about two years from the time of purchase in 2015 to the grand opening in August 2017, but the business has been steadily growing since. The modern interior of the building combined with the historical flourishes make C Eye Care a must see for anyone interested in interior design and architecture. “It’s been great because I feel like there are so many entrepreneurs on our short little street where they’re doing fun, unique things and things that Marshalltown seems to enjoy,” Ragland said. All other factors aside, however, helping patients with all of their vision related needs is still the primary focus, and Ragland has taken pride in doing just that — although, as she puts it, COVID-19 has created “a whole new set of challenges.” Ragland joked that she’s done everything in her life a little bit later than most people: marriage, children, a career choice (she started out at a public relations firm specializing in food marketing before switching to optometry) and starting her own business. Still, she’s enjoyed the ride from past to present.
9 | Sunday, March 6, 2022 | Women in Business 2022 | Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa
Cynthia Ragland keeps history alive on 13th Street
Times-Republican | Marshalltown, Iowa | Sunday, March 6, 2022 | Women in Business 2022 | 10
My Take on being a Woman in Business
I can’t tell you how much I love my job as Executive Director of The Willows. Being able to serve the senior citizens of Marshalltown is a huge privilege.
CONTINUED | FROM PAGE 9
“I think a lot of the driving force for me was I just felt that people in Marshalltown needed an independent eye care provider that was able to offer a medical boutique experience and something different than we’ve ever had before,” she said. In addition to her own business, Ragland is a devoted volunteer who took inspiration from her mother, Jane Bauer, in making a commitment to community service on committees like Assistance League, Oktemberfest and the Roundhouse fundraiser. She also serves on the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Marshall County and the
Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center (MACC). As an active member of both the business and volunteer communities locally, Ragland is passionate about Marshalltown and pushing the city forward into the next generation. “Whatever you’re doing, you definitely have to have a passion for it or behind it,” she said. “If you don’t have that real love for what you’re doing, it is a ton of work. But it doesn’t feel like work when you’re in the midst of it if you’re doing it for the right reasons. I put in a lot more hours than I used to, but yet, if I’m sitting here at night working, I’m enjoying it. It doesn’t feel like work because this is where I want to be.”
The Willows is family owned which really drew me in. The recent trend has many senior care communities run by huge corporations, where residents and employees are often reduced to numbers in a spreadsheet. In my opinion, personal connection means everything in this business. I lead my team like that too. A family of caring people who place our residents and personal connections first. I have my Master’s Degree in Management which helps me juggle all of the moving pieces of the day to day. I am also a Mom and a Marshalltown girl through and through, so helping my community thrive is very important to me.
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History
My take on being a woman in business is this: find something that inspires you, that fuels you to get up and go every day. And find a company and a team that supports the same things you value. And if you can’t find it, then build it! Love, Jennifer Stanley The Willows of Marshalltown
2022
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