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CRC creating a community in Mitchell County
A buzz of electric energy is in the air in Mitchell County with the forward motion the Cedar River Complex is currently creating throughout the communities across the county. Additional team members have been hired to support the CRC Director with the grand task of managing the Events Center and planning for wellness activities that are due to begin soon.
The Cedar River Complex Events Center is open for rentals and has approximately 20 events on the calendar scheduled over the next year.
"All of the bookings of the Events Center have been word of mouth referrals. No formal marketing has been completed yet. Knowing that, I believe that when our advertising and marketing plan kicks off, we will be even busier with Events Center bookings," Angie Huffman, CRC Director, said.
Huffman said that the CRC is a place where everyone's wishes and dreams can come true; therefore, staff needed to be hired and trained in order to provide the top-notch service and facilities for all our guests using the Events Center.
In addition to Huffman, the current team members working for the CRC on a weekly basis include Carrie Barker, activities; Kathie Blake, administrative; Mike Boekmeier, custodial; Doug Cassmann, maintenance; Georgia Knudsen; events; Kara Naig, marketing; Carol Oulman, accounting.
Huffman said five of the seven team members volunteer their time or are paid from another organization.
According to Huffman, approximately 50 applications were received last spring in response to a newspaper advertisement for a variety of employment opportunities. Therefore, additional employment advertising has not been placed.
"Several of the paid team members have been working with the CRC as a volunteer for as long as a year. Anyone who has put in that many volunteer hours are already dedicated to the project," Huffman said, "The team is the most important aspect of the complex to make this facility successful. I'm looking for people who have heart and dedication to see this project succeed."
In addition to paid team members, Huffman said the CRC has relied on more than one hundred volunteers to complete tasks such as bulk mailing preparation, cleaning, help with events and data entry and serving as committee members.
Huffman said there have been a few volunteers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty by committing five or more hours every week to complete regular tasks.
"Carrie Barker and Carol Oulman are two of our volunteers who have dedicated a great deal of time to the CRC project" Huffman said, "The work they have done is an excellent example of what the CRC Community is all about; giving and working as a team to better our communities."
According to Huffman, the CRC has begun offering events such as the Mitchell County Youth Dodgeball Tournament, which took place in October. She said that in order to provide events such as these, volunteers are required in addition to paid team members.
"The dodgeball tournament required approximately 20 people in order to fill all the job positions for the day of the event," Huffman said, adding, "And we had several people suggest that we should have had more people working the event."
CRC Wellness Center is training personal trainers and wellness class instructors. Even though the big building, the Recreation and Fine Arts Building, is far from being complete the CRC Team is beginning to form.
Huffman said a day-long wellness coach training was held on Saturday, November 15 at the Events Center for those interested in becoming a CRC Personal Trainer or Wellness Coach. The training included presentations from local professionals skilled in relevant areas of health and fitness.
"Anyone interested in taking a wellness class or having a personal trainer should contact the Cedar River Complex," Huffman said.
According to Huffman, the most recent Team Member training brought together paid and volunteer Team Members as well as CRC board members and committee members. Team Members learned about one another, the CRC vision and Team Member expectations in addition to creating fun job titles such as 'Dream Facilitator' and 'Word Wizard', Huffman said.
"The FiSH! Philosophy, a positive way of living and working, was introduced to everyone, followed by a brainstorming session about the CRC mission," Huffman said, "I'm excited to say the entire group worked hard and created a CRC mission that falls in line with the FiSH! Philosophy and what initially spurred the CRC project - bringing communities together."
According to Huffman, communities mean towns, organizations, various entities and interest groups across Mitchell County as a whole.
Huffman said the mission statement was created by Team Members, Board Members and a few key players, Jeff Kirkpatrick, Krista Koschmeder and Mike Stricker, who represent various entities that make up the future of the complex. She said that together, these community and Team Members brainstormed and worked to form the CRC mission statement.
According to Huffman, the CRC Board approved the mission statement during the December 16 CRC Board meeting. The mission statement reads 'Cedar River Complex...bringing communities together to meet, play, learn and enjoy.'
Trainings will continue on a regular basis as additional team members join the CRC Team, according to Huffman.
"I want each person to know and understand the philosophy and vision of the CRC if they are being a representative to the community," Huffman said, " I also want them to be fully comfortable in whatever task they are responsible for."
Huffman said she wants people to be involved with the CRC and stay involved to create a personal investment in the success of the Cedar River Complex.
According to Huffman, if anyone is interested in becoming a volunteer or a paid team member they should contact the CRC at 641-832-3600, send an e-mail at crc@osage.net or stop in the Events Center located on the Mitchell County Fairgrounds. Applications will be kept on file for future employment opportunities.
Story created Jan 06, 2009 - 11:14:53 CST.
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