Six weeks at the golf course this spring fed Nick Powell’s golf passion. Nick, 21, of Davenport

didn’t tee off each day; he worked at the golf course as part of an internship through the Career Connections Program coordinated by Goodwill of the Heartland.

Through discussion about Nick’s interests and long-term goals, Cherrie Claeys, Employment Specialist

with the Career Connections Program, discovered how animated Nick became when he talked about golf. A career at the golf course had not even been identified as an area of interest when Nick participated in the person-centered-planning process.

Nick’s obvious passion was enough to get the wheels in motion to set up an opportunity for an internship. Then this spring, Nick successfully completed an internship at Red Hawk Golf Course in Davenport and was hired for a permanent job with the City of Davenport Recreation Division.

As an employee at Red Hawk, Nick may be mowing the greens and running the ”golf ball picker upper,” the very tasks that he completed during his internship.

A quiet young man, Nick says he wants a job where he works outside, and he loves working at the golf course.

Since a job with the recreation division offers the potential for summer and winter work, Nick is fully prepared to spend his summers mowing greens and his winters moving snow. “Snow season is good too. It’s good to try new things,” he explains.

A graduate of Davenport North High School and a self-described nice person,

Nick looks forward to one day living on his own and driving an automobile for the first time. He is studying to take the driver’s license test in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, he has operated a gator and equipment at the golf course and has successfully trained and passed testing at Goodwill of the

Heartland, enabling him to be certified to operate a forklift.

With the help of Goodwill of the Heartland’s Career Connections program, Nick is looking at a sunny future on the greens and the fairways of the public golf courses in Davenport.

Dear Friend,

People I talk with outside of Goodwill are often amazed to hear the many different populations we serve. We work with people from all kinds of backgrounds who are working to overcome many different barriers. The people we serve have various levels of life experience.

Take Nick, featured below, for example. Nick made a big transition in the last year, graduating from high school. That also meant that Nick had to act and maintain a job and begin pursuing his dreams.

We served Nick through our Career Connections program and he’s working in a job he loves at a Quad Cities area golf course. Nick is on the way with the next step of his life journey.

Betty, featured on page two, has lots of experience in retail and business, but life dictated that she needed to find a job at age 64. Through the AARP Foundation, Betty was placed in a position at one of our Goodwill stores and hasn’t looked back since. She loves her work and we’re fortunate to benefit from Betty working with us.

Each day is an honor to be among our clients and our staff who do such heroic things. They inspire me and I hope they will do the same for you.

Jeff Nock, President & CEO

A T T H E L I N K S

Red Hawk Course Offers Life-Changing InternshipNick Powell Tees Up Future

IN WORKSthe

Nick Powell is proud to work at Red Hawk Golf Course in Davenport.

www.goodwillheartland.org find us on Summer 2011

Jeff NockPresident & CEO

Watch out weeds! Nick is on weed patrol in the front flower bed.

A gator is a convenient tool that saves Nick time and steps at the golf course.

1410 S. First Ave.Iowa City, IA 52240Return Service Requested

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 415

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Bettendorf Store2333 Cumberland Square Drive563-344-9431

Burlington StoreOpening Summer 2011

Cedar Rapids Donation Center802 34th Street SE319-862-0476

Cedar Rapids East Store5520 Council Street NE319-378-0393

Cedar Rapids West Store2000 Scotty Drive SW319-654-9585

Clinton Store1015 13th Avenue North563-519-0156

Coralville Store2551 Heartland Place319-545-6581

Davenport Store5360 Villa Drive563-823-1790

DeWitt Donation Center1416 11th. St.563-659-2611

Fairfield Store2005 W. Burlington Ave.641-469-3085

Goodwill Reboot1410 S First Ave.319-248-0020

Iowa City Store985 Highway 6 East319-337-3548

Marion Store3202 7th Avenue319-373-0480

Moline Store4241 Avenue of the Cities309-736-3039

Muscatine Store2001 Cedar Plaza Drive563-264-1947

Rock Island Store4664 44th Street309-786-1220

Washington Store312 E. Washington Street319-653-2548

Goodwill StoreS and donation SiteS:

In The Works is published by Goodwill of the Heartland, a not-for-profit organization serving southeast Iowa and the Quad City area. Goodwill is accredited by CARF International.

A United Way Agency.

Terri Davis, ChairShuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C.Cedar Rapids

Elizabeth Hladky, Vice ChairGazette CommunicationsCedar Rapids

David Bywater, TreasurerTru-Art Color GraphicsIowa City

Ken Urmie, SecretaryMidWestOne BankIowa City

Rick AndersonDeere & CompanyMoline

Rose DonnellyRockwell CollinsCedar Rapids

Matthew FraschtUniversity of Iowa Community Credit UnionCoralville

Charles Helms, M.D., Ph.D.University of Iowa Hospitals & ClinicsIowa City

Dale KretschmarCedar Rapids

Julie KunkelHills Bank & Trust Co.Coralville

Mark Moser University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Iowa City

Tom RocklinUniversity of IowaIowa City

Paul RumlerQuad Cities Chamber of CommerceDavenport

Ang TaakeEvergreen Packaging EquipmentCedar Rapids

Gregs ThomopulosStanley Consultants, Inc.Muscatine

Tom WerderitschSelzer Werderitsch AssociatesIowa City

Jeff Nock (Ex Officio)Goodwill of the Heartland

Goodwill Board of Directors 2011-2012

E M P L O Y E D !

AARP Program Directs Older Workers to GoodwillBetty Praises Goodwill Team for Inclusion

Visit a few minutes with Betty McGowan, Production Clerk at

the Marion Store, and you feel you are talking with a lifelong friend. Her effervescent manner turns strangers into friends in little time.

For the past two years, Betty’s presence has permeated the Marion Store, and her Goodwill co-workers adore her spirit and energy, humor and her work ethic. Betty, a life-long resident of Cedar Rapids, came to work at Goodwill of the Heartland through the AARP Foundation, which matches senior workers with employment opportunities throughout the area.

Christi Mason, Project Director with AARP, explains the organization has worked with Goodwill for a number of years. The workers from AARP, age 55 or older, gain the opportunity to train

and work at public agencies or at not-for-profits for short-term assignments

while earning minimum wage. The program places clients for up to one year, and sometimes the placement is so successful that the employee is hired by the employer. Such is Betty’s story.

Betty has worked jobs in retail for many years, but circumstances meant that she was laid off from a previous position, and she needed to close her long-time family business, Berger Furrier in Cedar Rapids. Betty started working part-time at the Goodwill through AARP, but then a full-time position with benefits opened, and Betty recalls that she said, “I’ll take it.”

“At 64, it’s not too easy to get a new job,” Betty recalls. Some might think Betty would find it difficult to meld into employment at Goodwill after leaving the upscale environment of a locally-owned furrier, but not Betty.

“I love people from all walks of life.”

She recalls there were a lot of bills to take care of after the closing of the shop and the death of her parents. She needed a job to earn money. “You come to work at Goodwill, and see the clients, our number one priority. They are inspiring, and they make you glad to be alive and working here.”

“I love it at Goodwill. I have never worked with a group of people so generous in their spontaneity,” she said. “It’s very hard, physical work with a lot of standing and lifting, and we all work here as a team.”

“I pretty much say what I think,” she explains. “I work with young people, in their 20s, and they don’t make me feel like an old lady,” Betty says. “That is a gift.”

Betty McGowan loves working with Goodwill team!

Goodwill of the Heartland names two board members

Tom Werderitsch, President/CEO of Selzer Werderitsch Associates (SWA) of Iowa City, and Paul Rumler, Executive Vice President of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, joined the board in June.

Werderitsch has worked in the commercial/industrial construction field for the past 45 years.

Werderitsch’s firm specializes in commer-cial, institutional and industrial construction.

An active member of the Iowa City

Area Chamber of Commerce, Werderitsch also was a founding member of the Johnson County Community Foundation, an 11-year member of the Shelter House Board of Directors, is a long-time member of state and national builders’ associations and Rotary International.

In his role at the Quad Cities Chamber, Rumler has led many community and economic development ini-tiatives to grow the region’s economy. He currently is Executive Director for the Quad Cities Passenger Rail Coalition, a group working to re-establish passenger rail service to the Quad Cities.

Prior to the Chamber, Rumler worked for various members of Congress, including U.S. House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer.

“Both Tom and Paul bring to Goodwill a passion for community service. Tom’s knowledge of commercial real estate and construction will be invaluable to Goodwill as we expand our operations to meet the needs of our communities. Paul’s background in government and economic development will help Goodwill to meet the challenges within our areas,” said Jeff Nock, president and CEO of Goodwill of the Heartland.

Tom Werderitsch

Paul Rumler