Events

John Armon is currently Vice President, Commercial Relationship Manager with Bankers Trust in Cedar Rapids. He is also a member of the Cedar Rapids Downtown Rotary Club, Advisory Board Member of the Iowa Better Business Bureau, Board Member of the Marion Chamber of Commerce, and an Ambassador representing the Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance and Marion Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Armon also ran track and field and cross country in high school and college and has run competitively for the last 50 years. As a former race director and now a member of the Cedar Rapids Marathon committee he is assisting with all aspects of the event including volunteer recruitment, advertising, and set-up.

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A native of Cedar Rapids, Bassett brings more than two decades of leadership experience in operations and project management, with a strong foundation in the construction and maintenance sectors. Her professional background includes overseeing complex operations and capital projects within the construction and maintenance space for a large real estate investment trust (REIT), as well as leading cross-functional teams and managing projects of varying scope, scale, and complexity.

Bassett’s experience spans strategic planning, vendor and stakeholder coordination, budget oversight, and operational execution—skills that directly support her role as Program Manager for Downtown Cedar Rapids. In this capacity, she applies a pragmatic, solutions-driven approach to ensuring downtown remains clean, safe, functional, and welcoming, while advancing initiatives that balance business needs, public infrastructure, and community impact. Her ability to align operational excellence with long-term vision enables her to effectively serve businesses, residents, visitors, and community partners alike.

Joe Lock is a seasoned executive with more than 35 years of broad, progressive experience.  Joe’s leadership spans a variety of industries, and he has taught as an adjunct professor at two colleges. 

Joe is the President & CEO of Eastern Iowa Health Center in Cedar Rapids, a Federally Qualified Health Center that serves 72,000+ socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals and families each year.  Previously, he was the chief executive of two other nonprofit organizations, and he served in the for-profit sector for the first 15 years of his career.

Joe is a 2011 graduate of Leadership Iowa, and was appointed by Governor Branstad and again by Governor Reynolds as a State of Iowa Library Commissioner where he was recently the Past President. Joe earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Missouri and his Master’s Degree in Kansas, where he graduated with a 4.0 GPA and earned the Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award and published multiple journal articles.  He is currently active on 9 boards of directors, chairing two, and has served on many more boards, commissions and task forces locally, regionally and nationally, currently chairing two.  Joe was named as one of the top 25 most influential business leaders by the Corridor Business Journal in 2025, and Eastern Iowa Health Center is also a CBJ Coolest Place to Work.  Joe’s family includes his wife and two grown children.

From Jessica 4-13-26

1. July 16 – remove the social hold since we will have our service project on July 30 so feel free to fill this one with a speaker if you have a waiting list!

Claire Sagers is the Director of Alumni Engagement at Coe College, where she works to connect alumni and friends of the college through events, communications, and community-building efforts. She and her husband, Ben, are native Cedar Rapidians who enjoy being involved in their community and supporting local organizations. Claire is a member of the Cedar Rapids Kiwanis Club and serves on the Cedar Rapids Parks Foundation and Prairiewoods Boards. In addition she serves on the Miracle League of Linn County board and is excited to share more about the league and the impact it has on children, families, and volunteers across Linn County.

A fabulous presentation of how Kirkwood is connecting with organizations across our seven-county service region to share updates on the exciting things happening at Kirkwood—from workforce training and student success stories to academic programs and community partnerships.