The journey we took together in 2023 was one of evolution and progress.

Mark Twain is often credited with saying “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Then Warren Buffett said “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”

In the same vein, it’s worth spending some time reflecting, celebrating and learning from our former selves rather than seceding to our innate need to balance the chaos of the present or attempt to visualize the future.

When the founding CEO of a successful organization decides it is time to retire after 48 years of service to the region, some turbulence can be expected. Such was the case in 2023 as the Growth Alliance board and many other stakeholders embarked on the search for the next leader.

In engineering school, we learn that challenges are often equations made up of variables and constants. The more constants you have, the easier it can be to solve for the variables. 2023 brought a lot of variables.Constants in business are often things like mission, vision and values, all derived from the organization’s people. These tenets make up the culture and should be referenced frequently to make decisions while solving for the variables. What’s unique about the Growth Alliance is the culture has historically been driven by five to six team members and 475 plus member organizations in this integrated region made up of thousands of people. It is critical for all to understand the culture to be aligned in the goals of the organization. It is a plethora of demographics all wanting success for our region, making it tough to define the culture in a sentence or two. Still, I hope you can feel it when you walk into the Growth Alliance office or meet with any partnering organization. Maintaining this established culture for regional collaboration and prosperity was the primary goal in 2023 and will continue to be the goal with new leadership moving forward. While the Growth Alliance board and members were trying to sort out equations in 2023 that may have sounded like:

• How will the Growth Alliance continue to manage the relationships of these projects and all members during leadership trantsition?

• Will that important partner agree with the decision?

• What will the Growth Alliance look like moving forward?

The answers and solutions came from the constants.

The Growth Alliance staff and members leaned on values such as collaboration, innovation, growth and progress. The search committee leaned on original founders of the alliance for historical context and met with organizations which had supported the alliance since its inception for various degrees of input. After months of partnering with a consulting search firm, conducting countless meetings, surveys, interviews and phone calls with all involved, the board was thrilled to receive an accepted offer from Astra Ferris.

Astra’s leadership style is one of proactive collaboration which fits seamlessly into the established culture. She is grounded in family values, personal relationships, and constant attention to detail. She brings a unique outside perspective to our local economy and communities and will inevitably continue to introduce fresh ideas.

Although I don’t have the space or detailed knowledge to account for every big headline and small success from 2023, I know many were made possible or assisted by member-to-member engagement or initiatives of the Growth Alliance and its partners. As an organization we saw record attendance at the annual events. As a region, we saw strategic infrastructure, retail, workforce, housing and primary sector advancement which may not have all made headlines but were important steps for our community’s future. As you navigate turbulent times or critical crossroads in your own sectors, consider the Growth Alliance a constant to lean on while solving for your variables.

Luke Hugghins is the president of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance board.