Events

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

A.J. Salinas is the Director of Corporate and Foundation Engagement of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa. He started his role with the organization in August, 2022. A.J. was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended North Central Missouri College for 2 years on a baseball scholarship where he got his associates degree before getting his Bachelor Degree in Business at Graceland University. After graduation, A.J. moved to Des Moines where he started his career in the non-profit sector. Starting at Children and Family Urban Movement, a non-profit that provides before and after-school care and provides meals and food to the community, A.J. had a variety of roles that included, program staff, Head Breakfast Chef, Development Assistant, Development and Communications Manager, and Director of Development. After 4 years with the organization, A.J. accepted the Associate Executive Director at Al Exito, an organization that works with LatinX youth and families in the state of Iowa. Overall, A.J. has dedicated his professional career to working with youth throughout the state of Iowa. He has been recognized as a young leader in the community and selected to participate in the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines’ leadership cohort. He has also attended conferences across the country about social justice and is a contractor for a national organization working on social justice issues. He hopes to bring his experience to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa to continue to grow our Club and support more youth. When A.J. is not in the community, he is spending time with his wife, Maddie and his 1-year old son, Mateo.

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Iowans for Israel is a not-for-profit bipartisan organization encouraging citizens across Iowa and America to support and defend the rights of the Jewish State of Israel. 

As Israel is recognized as America’s closest strategic ally in the volatile Mideast region, we as Iowans stand with her supporting her sovereign right to exist free from terrorist attacks, and for the right to defend her citizens, homes, schools, businesses and territory. We acknowledge her sovereign right to exist and pursue what is best for Israel’s people. We encourage elected officials and citizens across the state of Iowa and America to support and defend the rights of the state of Israel.

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Ray Cole's television executive career spans five decades, and he has held leadership roles on the boards of the National Association of Broadcasters, ABC Television Affiliates Association, Television Bureau of Advertising and Broadcasters Foundation of America. Ray is a past recipient of the Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award. He was inducted into the Iowa Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2015, and it was only recently announced that he'll be inducted into the prestigious national Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023 this May (the only other Iowa-born member of this Hall of Fame is Johnny Carson!). Ray's book, Hangin' with Winners, dropped just over one year ago and has since been featured on Good Morning America, The View, the Tamron Hall Show, the Jimmy Kimmel Book Club and ESPN. 

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Celebrity Auctioneer Jason Dent (Big Brother season 19) will help raise funds for the WDM Community on Tuesday, February 7^th.  When he isn’t on TV, he is a rodeo clown under the name Whistlenut & Ole.  You won’t want to miss this opportunity to see Jason in action and have some fun bidding on local auction times.

Here are some links if you’d like to learn more about our auctioneer:

Whistle Nut & Ole (@whistlenutandole) • Instagram photos and videos [instagram.com]

Jason Dent | Big Brother Wiki | Fandom [bigbrother.fandom.com]

Whistle-Nut & Ole 2016 Tralier – YouTube [youtube.com]

Other items being auctioned off:

• Weekend getaway to Clear Lake 
• Virtual Reality Headset: Meta Quest 2: Immersive All-In-One VR Headset | Meta Store | Meta Store
• Numerous gift cards and baskets

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Dementia Friendly Iowa promotes change and education in communities across Iowa to create a more informed, safe, and respectful place for people living with dementia and their caregivers. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, at least 66,000 people are living with dementia in Iowa, and this number is expected to grow to at least 73,000 by 2025.

As the number of people living with dementia in our state increases, so must public awareness and ability to serve this population in the state of Iowa.

Meeting location at The Salisbury House:

Address (click for driving directions):

The Salisbury House

4025 Tonawanda Dr

Des Moines, IA 50312

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Kimberly Baeth is the president of Golden Openings Inc., a company she started in 1997 at age 26, when she realized there was no such thing as giant working scissors. 

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Change Course is a career development program that provides training in highly sought-after skills along with leadership and personal development, to give people in Des Moines a way to stop living paycheck to paycheck and launch a career.

After making poor choices at age 35 in an effort to be someone I really wasn’t, life fell apart with my marriage and my relationships and as a family, we lost everything. Those choices led to incarceration in a federal prison camp in Yankton, SD where I would begin a complete change in the course of my life. In prison, I would meet men who would change my view of who had opportunities in this country and who didn’t. I came to realize that many of the men, most of whom would be released and return within 3 years of their release, did not have the same opportunity for change that I did. I was surrounded by a loving community, given a chance at a new career because of that community, and had the opportunity to have a successful career in business over the last 25 years. 

In February of 2022, I left the business world determined to really make a difference and respond to the burden that has been on my heart for the last 25 years. That is why in February of 2022 we founded Change Course. Karin and I are committed to creating the community and opportunities for the less fortunate stuck in poverty or the cycle of prison so they can become a leader and change the course of their lives.

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Dr. Angela Walker Franklin, President Des Moines University Angela L. Walker Franklin, a native of McCormick, South Carolina, is a Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude graduate of Furman University. A licensed clinical psychologist, she completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Emory University, followed by a year-long clinical internship at Grady Memorial Hospital. Dr. Franklin, who became Des Moines University’s 15th president in the spring of 2011, has worked in higher education for more than 25 years. Previously, she was executive vice president and provost at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, where she oversaw academic and administrative departments. She held a professorship in Meharry’s department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. Prior to her role at Meharry, Dr. Franklin held several positions at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, including vice dean, associate vice president for academic and student affairs, associate dean for student affairs, director of counseling services and assistant professor of psychiatry. A former American Council on Education Fellow (2001-02), Dr. Franklin is also a 2004 protégé of the Millennium Leadership Institute which is sponsored by the Association of State Colleges and Universities in preparing the next generation of leaders in higher education. She also participated in the 2008 Prospective President’s Workshop of the United Methodist Church Affiliated Schools. Since becoming the 15th President of Des Moines University, Dr. Franklin has published the university history entitled, “Now is the Time, Des Moines is the Place” which chronicles a 100+ year history of training health care professionals. She has established institutional goals and priorities for the future and in December 2018, launched Purple and Proud, a $25 million dollar fund raising campaign which was surpassed a year later. With the transformative vision to build an entirely new campus on 88 acres of land purchased in West Des Moines, the campaign continues with fundraising efforts focused on the new campus. Dr. Franklin is leading the effort to plan and design the new campus which is anticipated to open in summer 2023 coinciding with the 125th anniversary of the founding of the university. Dr. Franklin is actively involved in the Des Moines Community, serving on the boards of Bankers Trust, The Greater Des Moines Partnership, The Harkin Institute National Advisory Council, and UnityPoint Health. She is also Chair of the Assembly of Presidents of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and a member of the George Washington Carver Statuary Hall Project and the Alliance on Academic Healthcare....and so much more!

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Steve Lacy was Chairman of the Board of Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com), a company committed to service journalism, until November 2020. Lacy joined Meredith in 1998 as Chief Financial Officer. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer from July 2010 until February 2018. Lacy was instrumental in transforming Meredith into the multi-faceted company it is today. He oversaw the launch and aggressive expansion of the company’s digital business, including the acquisition of Allrecipes.com and the Time Inc. digital properties that resulted in cutting-edge capabilities in areas such as digital, mobile, social and database marketing activities. Meredith ranked in the Top 10 digital media companies in the country serving over 150 million unique visitors monthly. Meredith used multiple distribution platforms – including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video – to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners. Lacy earned both a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting (1976) and an MBA (1977) from Kansas State University, is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist. He began his career in the public accounting field, spending 10 years with Deloitte & Touche. Today, Lacy serves on the Boards of Hormel Foods Corporation, First Interstate BancSystem,Inc., The Kansas State University Alumni Association and the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. In the Des Moines community, Lacy is past Chair of The Des Moines Redevelopment Corporation, the Greater Des Moines Partnership Board and United Way of Central Iowa’s annual campaign and has served in leadership positions with the American Red Cross, Junior Achievement, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Easter Seals and the Dowling Catholic High School Foundation. Steve and Cathy Lacy have been married for 40 years and have a son Paul (35) who is a Project Engineer for a construction firm in Denver and Mary (32) who is a Doctor of Pharmacy practicing at a hospital in Denver.

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Three million people go through the Des Moines International Airport each year.  Join us as Mr. Kevin Foley, Executive Director, updates us on the future of our airport.  

Kevin joined the Des Moines International Airport team in June, 2008, as its Properties Administrator, transitioning to Deputy Aviation Director in January 2009, and then to the Assistant Executive Director position in January 2011. He accepted the position of Executive Director in February of 2014. Kevin possesses a Master of Business Administration degree as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management. He is a certified flight instructor and a multi-engine commercial pilot.

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa

Meeting location at Embassy Club West:

Address (click for driving directions):
Des Moines Embassy Club - West
520 Market St. in West Des Moines, Iowa