• Trinity's three campuses have been named recipients of an Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence award. The recognition - which comes from the Executive Council of the Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence, the office of Iowa Governor Thomas J. Vilsack, and the Iowa Quality Center - was given to only four organizations in the state. Governor Vilsack will present the awards at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, at the annual Governor's Recognition of Performance Excellence Celebration at the West Des Moines Marriott. Trinity is the only hospital being recognized as an award-winner. The Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence awards were established six years ago to recognize those businesses and organizations in the state that have completed a strenuous review and evaluation of their leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement, analysis, knowledge management, human resource focus, process management, and business results. Trinity will be recognized at the Bronze Achievement level. In the past four years, there have been 43 applications for the performance excellence awards, and 17 have been recognized for their achievement - five at the silver level and 12 at the bronze level. For more information about the Iowa Quality Center, log on to (http://www.iowaqc.org).
• For the fifth consecutive year, the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau has organized "Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard" weekend, held this year the weekend of January 13 through 16. More than 40 hotels, restaurants, and attractions are offering discounts, incentives, and special programs for Iowans to be tourists in their own backyard. Go to (http://www.visitquadcities.com) and click on the "Be a Tourist" icon for the complete list of participants and their discounts. "Be a Tourist weekend began in 2002, when hotels offered discounts on one Sunday night. When more than 400 families took advantage of the offer, the event has expanded to the entire weekend," said Joe Taylor, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau. "In 2004, more than 1,400 families were tourists in their own backyard." The weekend works because of the discounts; a long weekend holiday with Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 16; families are looking for close, affordable activities; and the fun of the holidays is forgotten and cabin fever is setting in. This winter there is another attraction: savings on heating bills.
• Quad City Arts has received a grant of $10,000 from Humanities Iowa, a state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in support of its Super Author program. This program brings nationally renowned writers to the Quad Cities to engage in open dialogue with the residents of our community. This year's Super Author program will feature poet and prose writer Robert Bly in the project "Waking the Sleeping Soul: Living a Conscious Life Through the Literary Arts." Bly will use his poetry and prose to challenge his audience to live a conscious life and analyze different and sometimes radical points of view presented in some traditional story forms, from poetry to essays to fairy tales. Bly's residency will consist of 10 events at area schools and libraries during the four-day residency, April 4 through 8. For a complete list of events, visit (http://www.quadcityarts.com). The events are free and open to the public.
• Due to anticipated new business ventures, the Old Capitol Town Center in Iowa City terminated its lease with Dreamwell Theatre. As of December 9, the theatre had 90 days to find a new home, and the Dreamwell board is actively investigating new properties. Although Dreamwell was only active in the space for six months, it was able to produce five shows. From Amy and David Sedaris' The Book of Liz to Bertolt Brecht's Baal, all the productions fit Dreamwell's mission of providing intimate, high-quality shows that most other theaters wouldn't risk producing. Dreamwell also welcomed a production from a fledgling theater company that had no home. Dreamwell Theatre was founded in 1997 and is committed to exploration and discovery through theatre. Its mission is to create challenging, innovative, and inclusive experiences as a local volunteer theatre.
• Gifts and pledges to Niabi Zoo's capital campaign now exceed $2.026 million toward a revised goal of $3.190 million. The most recent gift was a pledge of $25,500 from Modern Woodman of America, which moved the campaign well past the $2-million mark. The initial goal of $2.79 million was expanded to reflect increased costs of construction materials and to expand some of the projects undertaken. The campaign is focused on completion of projects that will position the zoo to apply for accreditation from the American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZA). Achieving AZA accreditation will enable Niabi Zoo to acquire new animals for exhibits and qualify as a potential participant in a program that seeks to protect and preserve rare and endangered species by breeding them in captivity. Projects set to take shape in the spring of 2006 include an African-primate exhibit, an animal-care center, and a lorikeet feeding area. The design phase of the giraffe project will begin in late 2006. Solicitation of major gifts continues. Shortly, the campaign will broaden its scope to seek gifts from additional families, individuals, and businesses in the area. All solicitation is scheduled to be complete by late 2006.
• The first baby of 2006 born at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport will already have a start on the costs of a college education. Children born in the 25 Iowa hospitals that have the highest number of births will receive a gift account from College Savings Iowa, the state's tax-advantaged 529 college-savings plan. A baby from Genesis Medical Center will be awarded a $400 account to get started on the path to college savings. College Savings Iowa lets anyone - parents, grandparents, friends, and relatives - invest for college on behalf of a child. Investors do not need to be state residents and can use the 529 savings to pay for qualified higher-education expenses, including tuition, books, supplies, and room and board at any eligible college, university, community college, or accredited technical training school in the United States or abroad. For more information about College Savings Iowa, call (888)672-9116 or visit (http://www.collegesavingsiowa.com) to obtain a program description.
• For the fifth consecutive year, the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau has organized "Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard" weekend, held this year the weekend of January 13 through 16. More than 40 hotels, restaurants, and attractions are offering discounts, incentives, and special programs for Iowans to be tourists in their own backyard. Go to (http://www.visitquadcities.com) and click on the "Be a Tourist" icon for the complete list of participants and their discounts. "Be a Tourist weekend began in 2002, when hotels offered discounts on one Sunday night. When more than 400 families took advantage of the offer, the event has expanded to the entire weekend," said Joe Taylor, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau. "In 2004, more than 1,400 families were tourists in their own backyard." The weekend works because of the discounts; a long weekend holiday with Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 16; families are looking for close, affordable activities; and the fun of the holidays is forgotten and cabin fever is setting in. This winter there is another attraction: savings on heating bills.
• Quad City Arts has received a grant of $10,000 from Humanities Iowa, a state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in support of its Super Author program. This program brings nationally renowned writers to the Quad Cities to engage in open dialogue with the residents of our community. This year's Super Author program will feature poet and prose writer Robert Bly in the project "Waking the Sleeping Soul: Living a Conscious Life Through the Literary Arts." Bly will use his poetry and prose to challenge his audience to live a conscious life and analyze different and sometimes radical points of view presented in some traditional story forms, from poetry to essays to fairy tales. Bly's residency will consist of 10 events at area schools and libraries during the four-day residency, April 4 through 8. For a complete list of events, visit (http://www.quadcityarts.com). The events are free and open to the public.
• Due to anticipated new business ventures, the Old Capitol Town Center in Iowa City terminated its lease with Dreamwell Theatre. As of December 9, the theatre had 90 days to find a new home, and the Dreamwell board is actively investigating new properties. Although Dreamwell was only active in the space for six months, it was able to produce five shows. From Amy and David Sedaris' The Book of Liz to Bertolt Brecht's Baal, all the productions fit Dreamwell's mission of providing intimate, high-quality shows that most other theaters wouldn't risk producing. Dreamwell also welcomed a production from a fledgling theater company that had no home. Dreamwell Theatre was founded in 1997 and is committed to exploration and discovery through theatre. Its mission is to create challenging, innovative, and inclusive experiences as a local volunteer theatre.
• Gifts and pledges to Niabi Zoo's capital campaign now exceed $2.026 million toward a revised goal of $3.190 million. The most recent gift was a pledge of $25,500 from Modern Woodman of America, which moved the campaign well past the $2-million mark. The initial goal of $2.79 million was expanded to reflect increased costs of construction materials and to expand some of the projects undertaken. The campaign is focused on completion of projects that will position the zoo to apply for accreditation from the American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZA). Achieving AZA accreditation will enable Niabi Zoo to acquire new animals for exhibits and qualify as a potential participant in a program that seeks to protect and preserve rare and endangered species by breeding them in captivity. Projects set to take shape in the spring of 2006 include an African-primate exhibit, an animal-care center, and a lorikeet feeding area. The design phase of the giraffe project will begin in late 2006. Solicitation of major gifts continues. Shortly, the campaign will broaden its scope to seek gifts from additional families, individuals, and businesses in the area. All solicitation is scheduled to be complete by late 2006.
• The first baby of 2006 born at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport will already have a start on the costs of a college education. Children born in the 25 Iowa hospitals that have the highest number of births will receive a gift account from College Savings Iowa, the state's tax-advantaged 529 college-savings plan. A baby from Genesis Medical Center will be awarded a $400 account to get started on the path to college savings. College Savings Iowa lets anyone - parents, grandparents, friends, and relatives - invest for college on behalf of a child. Investors do not need to be state residents and can use the 529 savings to pay for qualified higher-education expenses, including tuition, books, supplies, and room and board at any eligible college, university, community college, or accredited technical training school in the United States or abroad. For more information about College Savings Iowa, call (888)672-9116 or visit (http://www.collegesavingsiowa.com) to obtain a program description.
