Nearly one dozen future leaders grabbed their gloves and shovels on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon to lend a hand to their community.
Why? They all came together with the same goal in mind: Make the entrances in to Marshalltown more inviting and more beautiful.
Members of the Iowa Valley Leadership class started work on what will include newly planted trees and flower beds along South Center Street in Marshalltown. The landscaped areas will include the front of Legends and Wal-Mart, Dairy Queen and the area in front of K-Mart and the Meadow Lane Mall.
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T-R PHOTO BY LUKE STALZER
Members of the Iowa Valley Leadership class start digging holes along South Center Street in Marshalltown on Saturday where they plan to plant trees and place flower beds. The project will also expand north in front of Dairy Queen and K-Mart. The group is hoping to complete the project before RAGBRAI hits town July 25.
IVL Facilitator Betsy Macke said that the group had the challenge of coming up with a service project and this idea was great.
"They were researching group projects online and came across one like this," Macke said. "We all kind of though that the entrance in to Marshalltown was bare and needed something and this idea went along with the 'Imagine 2011' campaign the community already has in place."
IVL was started in 1987 and since then, it has seen a different class of leaders each year and they meet monthly to discuss different issues that might pertain to the community. The class is also required to come up with a service project each year and that's what sparked this clean-up.
"It's a mix of leaders from all over the community," said Steve Troskey, IVL member. "We all came to an agreement that there needed to be more color and we needed to make Center Street more attractive."
Macke said that the project-which is expected to cost around $15,000-will go on through the month of June and hopefully be finished toward the end of July.
"We hope to have everything done by the time of RAGBRAI," Macke said.
IVL has also teamed up with Marshalltown High School National Honor Society students and the Department of Juvenile Correctional Services and they will both take turns maintaining the different areas.
"I think it is important that we have people that are going to go out there and keep the landscaping up," Macke said.
Macke said that she has really enjoyed the leadership that this class has shown.
"Each of the members stepped up during the service project and became leaders," Macke said.
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Contact Luke Stalzer at 641-753-6611 or lstalzer@timesrepublican.com