Kraus resigns as vice president of MP Area Chamber Alliance

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Mt. Pleasant?s Area Chamber Alliance (MPACA) is looking for a new executive vice president.

It was with mixed emotions that Travis Kraus announced his resignation Monday. Kraus? resignation is effective July 22.

?It is really kind of bittersweet,? Kraus began. ?It was not an easy decision. I enjoyed my work and felt we were moving in the right direction.

?The Alliance is a fantastic organization for doing things and growing the community,? Kraus continued. ?The organization is very solid and strong.?

On the other hand, Kraus said he is looking forward to his new position with the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities, a University of Iowa outreach program pairing interdisciplinary graduate programs with real-world projects in Iowa communities.

Kraus, who had been the MPACA executive vice president since November of 2014, said another reason for his resignation is that his wife has accepted a new position in the Iowa City area and the family will be relocating to Iowa City.

Noting that his time at the helm of the MPACA was short, Kraus said the organization?s accomplishments were significant during his term. Some of those included the sale of the spec building at the Crossroads Industrial Park, designation of Henry County as a Home Base Iowa community and development of a new community-oriented website for the MPACA.

?I also am certainly proud of the organization?s management behind the scenes. That is needed to be effective in meeting an organization?s goals,? he explained. ?I also think that development of a strategic plan was important.?

He said that while at the MPACA, there was also more of an emphasis on growing existing businesses which he viewed as important or possibly more important that attracting new businesses.

Finally, the MPACA worked on housing strategies, which he deemed important because housing is needed for any community wishing to grow existing or attract new business.

?The work was both incredibly challenging and rewarding, and has given me a strong appreciation for what the Chamber of Commerce and Area Development Commission can do for Mt. Pleasant and Henry County,? he added.

In a joint statement, Chris Van de Berg (Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce president) and David File (Mt. Pleasant Area Development Commission president) expressed their gratitude for the hard work, dedication and innovative thinking that Kraus brought to the Chamber Alliance. They further underscored their intent to follow through on initiatives and goals already in place under Kraus.

The board of directors, Van de Berg and File said, will soon advertise for an executive vice president with the goal of filling it as quickly as possible with the best candidate.

As Kraus reflected on his tenure, his thoughts always drifted back to his co-workers and board members. ?I worked with a lot of good people which was very rewarding.?