T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Sarah Smith, left, serves as the vice president of the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, while Kate Bowermaster, right, is the organization’s workforce development coordinator.

Both Kate Bowermaster and Sarah Smith worked other jobs before they joined the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, but the dynamic duo — Bowermaster is the workforce development coordinator, and Smith was recently promoted to vice president — feel that they have found the perfect fit with the association of businesses, organizations and individuals known for “a 120-year history of working to improve the quality of life and promote the economic well-being of (the) community through leadership, vision, advocacy, engagement and committed participation.”

Bowermaster, a Class of 2006 MHS graduate and Marshalltown native, and Smith, who grew up in Perry before moving to the area in 2019, are proud to work with a Chamber membership that includes a wide range of women in business across various economic sectors.

“For me, I think it’s motivating to work alongside other women because I see where they have grown to in their careers, and I know that that’s something I can aspire to as well,” Bowermaster said.

Smith cited the example of Real Deals Owner Michelle Burgess shouting her out in a social media post as one of many local success stories she’s happy to have helped support along with graduates of the Chamber’s Leadership Marshalltown course being promoted in their jobs — she loves to watch women in business grow and succeed. Her journey at the Chamber started almost six years ago when she came onboard as an administrative assistant with a limited knowledge of the organization’s operations and mission.

“Lynn Olberding, the former president and CEO, gave me the opportunity to join the Chamber, and since then, (current President/CEO) John (Hall) has given me many, many opportunities to continue to grow within the community. And I’ve just been so grateful to work for the Chamber and learn so much about the Chamber world and what we do to help people,” Smith said.

Prior to starting the job, she had majored in human services and psychology at Grand View University and worked in both administrative roles and even as a preschool teacher while she set out to find her “thing.”

“And I think that I have. I’ve kind of found my thing here, and it’s come a long way in my knowledge of Chambers. And I’m excited to continue,” Smith said.

She eventually earned promotions to the titles of membership director and then membership and communications director before being announced as the Chamber’s new vice president back in January.

Conversely, Bowermaster graduated from Iowa State University with an accounting degree and worked for a few different banks before spending almost nine years at Bruin Manufacturing in Marshalltown. When the workforce development coordinator position came open back in 2023, she and Hall engaged in a few conversations about it, and she felt some of the things she was already doing at her previous job would carry over to the Chamber.

“At the last job I had, I was able to work with the college and some of the 260 grants that they offer for training and reskilling or upskilling, so that’s one way I’ve been able to continue those relationships here with talking to the college, building off of that and sharing that with the human resources community that I get to work with here,” Bowermaster said.

In her current position, she works closely with the local human resources community and the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) to retain the workers already in place, upskill those who need additional training and attract new staff for employers looking to hire. Emphasizing the “Area” in the organization’s name, Bowermaster said Chamber employees are expanding their outreach beyond the city limits and working with other neighboring school districts.

“And I would mention too that Kate works closely with the schools as she said, but even just thinking about the young women that are going into different skilled trades (or) business of some sort, you know, the coffee shop for the high school, that’s a cool thing that is able to make women in business (and) give them opportunities as well,” Smith said. “BCLUW does the Comet Cafe, and so Kate’s talking with those people and making connections there too. So I think that’s unique as well.”

Hall, who has held his position since 2021, sees both women as strong assets to the organization as a whole.

“I have often joked with my team that I hate to manage, I enjoy leading, but managing isn’t something I gravitate toward. I have been able to do this by ensuring that the team we have built is made up of leaders who stand ready to take charge and move our community forward through their own lens and perspective,” he said. “I’m so fortunate to have Sarah and Kate as a part of our team because no two women better exemplify that than these two. The trust, integrity, and value that they both bring to their roles and subsequently our organization are the embodiment of what it looks like to be a phenomenal teammate, and I’m so lucky to get to call them both colleagues and friends in these endeavors.”

As they look forward, both Chamber leaders see the Marshalltown community at a crossroads with the Main Street reconstruction project looming and the derecho and tornado now five and seven years in the rearview mirror, respectively.

“Well, I’d say both (with) downtown and other areas of Marshalltown, I’m really hoping to see, kind of, what things used to look like when I grew up here, especially with the mall redevelopment potential coming down the line. I’m just excited to see a lot more things going on in the community,” Bowermaster said. “There’s already a lot going on, but with the mall redevelopment and the Main Street reconstruction, I think there’s gonna be a lot more to be proud of in our town and a lot more to do and see here. And there will be more people that will be excited to come see what Marshalltown has to offer.”

Smith said the Chamber, in partnership with the Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) and city leadership, will seek to lead the way on pushing the word out about the reconstruction project to the public and providing detailed instructions on how to access the affected businesses. A Facebook page called Marshalltown Main Event has already been launched and can be found at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574005675253.

Bowermaster is raising two daughters with her husband Dane, a sergeant with the Marshalltown Police Department (MPD), and Smith and her husband Jacob welcomed their first child, a boy, into the world in 2023. While they both love their jobs, they said they’ve been able to develop a strong work-life balance, and Bowermaster credited Hall, a father of two young children himself, with promoting that culture at the Chamber.

“We aren’t bound to a clock. We all have our average eight hour days that we work, but they’re not all the exact same. And when we have something come up for our kids at school or doctor’s appointments or anything like that, we have the flexibility to go do what we need to do and come back as soon as we can come back, so that’s been a huge help,” Bowermaster said. “When I’m here, I try to make sure my focus is here, and then as soon as I leave here, my focus is on to kids and family.”

Smith expressed a similar sentiment.

“John’s been very supportive, and it’s, of course, scary to start as a new mom and working my way up in my career as well. But having a good support system, you know, we work as a team here, and it truly is a team effort,” she said. “We work together, so building the trust within our coworkers and our boss as well, it really makes a difference for how we can feel comfortable, if we have a sick kid or something, leaving the office.”

As the two wrapped up a recent interview, Smith shared her optimism about the future and, with a laugh, even borrowed one of her boss’s signature phrases: “It’s another great day in Marshalltown.”