Featuring Appearances by
Jay Byers
Jay Byers is CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, a regional economic and community development organization. He was included on the Des Moines Business Record’s “Forty Under 40†list in 2006 and was the “Forty Under 40†Alum of the Year in 2012. A graduate of Simpson College and the University of Iowa’s College of Law, he serves on the boards of ChildServe, The Homestead and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, among others. He lives in Des Moines with his wife and two daughters.
Tom Morain
Tom Morain was born and raised in Jefferson where his father and brother edited the newspaper for almost 80 years. With three brothers and a sister, he grew up in a storytelling family. He attended Graceland University and the University of Iowa before his wife got a job at Iowa State. When the big game comes in the fall, they’re fickle and root for whoever is winning. He worked at Living History Farms and the State Historical Society before returning to teach at Graceland.
Laura Jontz
Laura Jontz loves Iowa. And Brussels sprouts. And Brussels sprouts grown in Iowa. She grew up in Bagley and attended UNI and Drake Law School. She has been a staff attorney at Iowa Legal Aid for nine years, representing low-income Iowans with various housing and family law issues. When the weather is nice, she motors around on her Yamaha scooter. She loves sharing stories with family and friends, preferably over coffee.
Joyce Knock
Joyce Knock, a retired educator, is the author of two children’s books, “I am NOT dumb and I am NOT a stinky butt!†and “I am kinda shy and quiet. Is something wrong with me?†An active volunteer, she mentors an adult student in the Drake University Reading Program, serves as a relief manager at the Ronald McDonald House and assists in the library at the women’s prison in Mitchellville. She enjoys playing tennis, gardening and mastering duplicate bridge.
Agenda
August 20, 2016
Being Iowan: Jay Byers - 'Farm or city, find your Iowa swagger'
Jay Byers may be the CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, but he's actually a farm kid grown tall. In many ways, detasseling corn made him the man he is today and despite living in the city, he may have left his heart on the field.
August 20, 2016
Being Iowan: Tom Morain - 'Do you have the helpful gene?'
Tom Morain has the helpful gene; and here's how he knows.
August 20, 2016
Being Iowan: Laura Jontz - 'Age is no matter when it comes to best friends'
Laura Jontz grew up in rural Iowa where the population is mostly older. As a kid, she discovered that despite decades of difference in age, these women made pretty good friends. As she got older, she realized that they were so much more than friends.
August 20, 2016
Being Iowan: Joyce Knock - 'Finding yourself on the back of a tractor'
Joyce Knock grew up on a farm, but it wouldn't be until later in life that she realized how much the lessons of her father, often delivered from the back of a tractor, affected her life.