Board Candidates
Posted by Keith Hindman
on Mar 31, 2015
Kayla is currently working at Phelan’s Interiors; she is the fourth generation of a family business, currently filling the role of Commercial Account Manager and Business Development Executive. Her professional role offers her the opportunity to work through the interior design process with the designers and clients, overseeing the installation process allows her to manage each project from beginning to end. While Kayla's role at Phelan's is fulfilling she feels privileged to be able to engage in the community outside of work as well. Kayla took her first step into the world of Rotary her senior year of high school as a charter member of Rotary Interact at Washington High School, then going on to be a Rotary Youth Exchange Student sponsored by Daybreak Rotary to spend a year in Venezuela. With such strong Rotarian roots Kayla was eager to become a Rotarian and found her rotary home at Metro North in 2012. She has been an active participant since then with a hand in many committees. Kayla participates in the rotary youth exchange training and recruitment process, helped with zombie prom fundraising efforts, and ultimately followed her passion of service to land her role as chair of community service. She loves finding new and fun ways to engage the club members to work together to give back to the community.
In addition to her role at Phelan's and Metro North Rotary she currently serves as board member and secretary of the Eastern Iowa chapter of International Facilities Management Association (IFMA), an association designed to advance and support facility manager globally, and is a member of Cedar Rapids Jaycees. Kayla also values physical fitness and loves the teamwork and energy that comes with group fitness classes; she shares that energy as a trainer and coach at Kosama in Cedar Rapids. She also enjoys long walks in the park with her fur baby Ryder who is a very handsome German shepherd lab lap dog mix.
Kayla is honored to be a member of the Cedar Rapids Metro North Rotary and would love to fill the position as a board member to bring her energy and passion for service to further her involvement and effectiveness in the club.
Patti Kunz
Since joining MNR in late 2011, I have been involved in the fundraising and international committees. I have volunteered regularly at the Boys & Girls club for the AIM program as well as attended many club events. When I decided to join a rotary group in our area, I found an awesome family at MNR and knew it was the place for me to be and serve. Service above self is what I believe in, and live by in my everyday life.
I feel blessed to have the best job as the Director of Development for Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity. Every day I work to serve families in our community to help provide safe, decent and affordable homes. I also serve as a board member for Prairiewoods in Hiawatha and very active at my church on the social justice commission serving many non-profits. I also lead international mission trips both through Habitat and my church to Nicaragua. I am a proud mommy of two girls, Evelyn and Alena and married 15 years to my husband & best friend Kyle.
I would be honored to serve as a board member for Metro North Rotary. We have a fantastic group of individuals that do tremendous work in our community and I feel I can contribute even more as a board member. Giving back to my community for the many blessings in my life is very important to me and serving on the MNR board would be a great way to do so.
Since joining MNR in late 2011, I have been involved in the fundraising and international committees. I have volunteered regularly at the Boys & Girls club for the AIM program as well as attended many club events. When I decided to join a rotary group in our area, I found an awesome family at MNR and knew it was the place for me to be and serve. Service above self is what I believe in, and live by in my everyday life.
I feel blessed to have the best job as the Director of Development for Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity. Every day I work to serve families in our community to help provide safe, decent and affordable homes. I also serve as a board member for Prairiewoods in Hiawatha and very active at my church on the social justice commission serving many non-profits. I also lead international mission trips both through Habitat and my church to Nicaragua. I am a proud mommy of two girls, Evelyn and Alena and married 15 years to my husband & best friend Kyle.
I would be honored to serve as a board member for Metro North Rotary. We have a fantastic group of individuals that do tremendous work in our community and I feel I can contribute even more as a board member. Giving back to my community for the many blessings in my life is very important to me and serving on the MNR board would be a great way to do so.
Quinn Pettifer is the manager of Community Outreach and Engagement for The Gazette Company, fueling enthusiasm and passion for the current and future happenings of the region, combined with her love of connecting. Referenced as an expert to the Corridor Import, Quinn has shared her experiences and community insight to hundreds of local audiences as a non-native yet active leader of Iowa’s Creative Corridor for the past eleven years. Her enthusiastic encouragement for individuals and organizations to experience and embrace the outstanding opportunities offered in the community has assisted in attracting and retaining talent to the area with a challenge to other Corridor Enthusiasts to do the same. Quinn was honored as a 2013 Woman of Influence by the Corridor Business Journal and is the past recipient of the 40 under 40 award, the Waypoint Tribute to Women Award and is a 2010 graduate of the Cedar Rapids Leadership for Five Seasons program. She currently serves on several boards, steering committees and community organizations including the CR Convention and Visitors Bureau, Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance, Metro North Rotary, Horizons, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Pine Ridge West Neighborhood Association, Employee Resource Group Consortium, Next Gen Summit and Workplace Revolution.Metro North Rotary has been a shining example of the action-oriented, energetic spirit that so many other community leaders and organizations admire and strive to demonstrate. My interest in serving on this board is the reaction to the gift in membership I have experienced over the last three years-getting to know fellow members, a deeper understanding of our philanthropic vision and practices and much more.
Our board has a variety of talent and expertise-my intent would be to enhance an already impressive mix of talent and contribute through the power of community collaborations and connectivity. One of the most unique gifts our rotary serves is variety of interest and in support of not only our projects/events, but others in the community doing incredible things. I’d like to take a more proactive approach in collaborating with these community groups and resources to grow awareness of our contributions to the region-within and outside the rotary circuit.
Sam Hammes has been an employee benefits advisor at TrueNorth Companies for the last 5 years. He helps businesses attract and retain quality employees by working with leadership to develop competitive benefits strategies. Outside of work, he is a committee member of the United Way Young Leaders Society. He serves on the board for the Cedar Rapids chapter of 100+ Men Who Care and volunteers his time as a Mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters. He is also a graduate of the 2014 class of Leadership for Five Seasons. Sam has been a member of Metro North Rotary since April 2013 and is a Paul Harris Society Member. In his free time, he enjoys being outside and playing intramural sports such as basketball, flag football, and slow-pitch softball.