Downtown Cedar Rapids
Kiwanis Club
Luncheon Meeting: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Presiding:
President Mike Poggenklass (Generalissimo Poggenklassimo)
Member Attendance: 27
Guests:
Sue Homsey, sister of Pam Homsey and employee of Great America Leasing
Birthdays:
11/11 Sr. Charmaine (in memory); 11/13 Steve Walrath
Anniversaries:
none
Announcements:
1. Mike Poggenklass reported that the area Kiwanis clubs’ incoming officers met last week
(11/4) to discuss collaboration;
2. Ron Sundermann reported that five phones were turned in. Keep them coming.
3. Joe Blanck reported that the BUG program kicked off last Wednesday, Nov. 3 with the Boys
and Girls Club. Six members attended; and shamelessly, Joe reminded everyone that his team
won the “Jeopardy” game.
4. There will be a meeting at Elmcrest on Wednesday, Nov. 24, the day prior to Thanksgiving.
5. Dan Breitbach received his ZEN apprentice name, Obi Wan Zen-obi. His ZenKnow (shoptalk
for Zen Knowledge) today: Some people are like Slinkies….not really good for anything, but
you can’t help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.
Happy Bucks:
Dick Boardman, Jim Platt, Mel Rhodes, Katie Hiatt-Braasch, Joe Blanck, Mike Poggenklass,
Pam Landon, Obi Wan Zen-obi, Tony Golobic and Ron Sundermann were all happy. Their
collective happiness covered such things as Veterans Day tomorrow, remembering Sr. C’s
birthday, younger brother’s 80th b-day, BUG program, Brett Favre’s comeback win, the weather,
prison joke, and for our speaker.
Upcoming programs:
Tom Keating, Xavier High School principal is next week 11/17
No speaker for 11/24 meeting due to day before Thanksgiving
Program Overview:
Pam Landon introduced Tony Golobic, Chairman and CEO of Great America Leasing (GAL).
Tony gave a very interesting talk on why he wanted to be an entrepreneur and his vision for
GAL, a commercial finance company in the equipment finance sector with 320 employees and
over $1.1 billion in assets that he started in 1992 at the age of 47. Here are some key points of
his presentation:
 His desire to be an entrepreneur was motivated by excellence and not money
 Two purposes to start a company: 1) build to sell and 2) build to last
 Business can be an art if done the right way and with passion
 Build market leadership based on excellence and not low price
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Hire people with similar values as the corporate culture, then train well and create an
environment in which to succeed
To engage employees, give them the freedom to make decisions in areas in which they
are competent and well-trained
To keep employees engaged as the company grew, create a team-based organization with
teams of 12-14 individuals that control their own destiny, so to speak; keep them
informed
Measure success against our potential and not our competitors
Word for the Day: MaxQ: something like the maximum pressure in front of the moving
object, such as a spaceship, while in the atmosphere.
Submitted by: Dan Breitbach