John Pappajohn, Opening Speaker

John Pappajohn is the founder and president of Equity Dynamics Inc., and Pappajohn Capital Resources, a venture capital firm. Over the years, he has served on more than 40 public boards. Pappajohn was a Horatio Alger recipient in 1995. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Anatolia College in Thessaloniki, Greece, and on The University of Iowa Foundation Board of Trustees and was formerly a trustee for Pine Manor College. Pappajohn was Iowa Business Leader of the Year in 1992 and was inducted into the Iowa Business Hall of Fame in 1996. He also received the Beta Gamma Sigma Medallion for Entrepreneurship and in 1998 was the Meredith Willson Heritage Award recipient. Pappajohn was a Central Iowa Business Hall of Achievement recipient in 1999 and an Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient in 2000.

Pappajohn also founded five Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers at Iowa colleges. These centers were launched at Drake University, Iowa State University, North Iowa Area Community College, The University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa. Each center provides a range of programs and services designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners reach their entrepreneurial dreams.

Pappajohn and his wife, Mary, were recipients of the Iowa Philanthropist of the Year Award in 1998. They serve on the Trustees Council and Collectors Committee of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and on the Nation Committee of the Whitney Museum in New York. Pappajohn also serves on the Board of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. He and his wife have been listed in Art News Magazine as being among the top 200 art collectors in the world.

Mike Marolt is president of eq-life, a new retail test concept integrating health, wellness and technology products, resources and services. The eq-life test store, scheduled to open in early 2005, is an entity of Best Buy Corporation and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Marolt’s more than twenty years in retail management have set the stage for this new venture. In his most recent position, Marolt was senior vice president of Retail Operations and Services for Best Buy Stores, leading a department of 430 people that supported the 600 store group. Prior to joining Best Buy in 1985, Marolt was with the J.C. Penney Company and Kmart Corporation.

Early in 2003, Marolt identified an opportunity to create a new retail category, integrating technology with the health and wellness market in a single store location. Recognized for his leadership strength, vision and operational excellence, Marolt was charged with its development. Since that time, Marolt has focused on blending the company’s expertise in retailing and technology with insights gained from strategic partners who are innovative leaders in the health and wellness industry.

A native of the Twin Cities, Marolt grew up valuing time spent outdoors in Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. His inherent respect for healthy, balanced living and his understanding of time-stressed schedules strengthens his passion for this new concept.

As CEO and president of The Merit Companies, Inc., Melinda Masson is responsible for business development and acting as Merit's spokesperson to the industry and business communities. She also serves as the company's visionary molding and re-aligning Merit's course and strategy. Her commitment to servant leadership has been recognized locally, regionally and nationally. In 2001, Working Women’s Magazine honored Masson with their Overall Excellence Award for the State of California and Honorable Mention for the nation. The Women of Excellence Award from the Orange County Council, Boys Scouts of America was bestowed on Melinda in 2000. During 1998, Masson was named Woman of Achievement by the Southern California District of Business and Professional Women, and was named Woman of the Year in 1997. Since 1996, the Orange County Business Journal has named Masson one of the county’s 50 Most Influential Business People, and she was one of seven winners selected as the Business Journal's Women Who Mean Business Award in 1997. She has been included in Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals since 1995. Masson was named Inc. magazine's 1991 Regional Entrepreneur of the Year and inducted into the American Institute of Entrepreneurs in 1991. In 1990, she was a Small Business Administration’s Woman of Enterprise Award finalist.

Over the years, Masson has demonstrated a commitment to her industry and numerous issues. She has served in various capacities to advance the Community Association Institute (CAI), a national industry organization, and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1989. A founder and past chair of CAI's California Legislative Action Committee (CLAC), she serves on the Building Industry Association's Department of Real Estate Committee, is a current member of Women in Philanthropy, a unique program within United Way, and is a founder and past three-term chair of the California Association of Community Managers (CACM), which provides a certification program for property managers. In 1994 she was the recipient of CACM's President's Award and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

She also helped create the country’s first college curriculum for Common Interest Development certification for California State University at Long Beach, and in 1995 was appointed by California Governor Pete Wilson to the Department of Real Estate Advisory Board. Masson is a graduate summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota. A Laguna Beach resident, she is active in a variety of community causes. She continues to be active in United Way, South Coast Repertory Sponsorships and Laguna Beach Playhouse. In 2000, Human Options (which offers shelter and assistance to domestic abuse victims and their children) honored Masson with its highest award, The Dove Award, for her contributions. In 2002, she created a Leadership Program for St. Mary and All Angels School, her children’s K-8 school which integrated leadership principles into the curriculum so as to develop tomorrow’s leaders today, one student at a time.

The MERIT Companies comprises Merit Property Management, Inc., Merit Association Services, Inc. and Community Technologies, Inc. These three enterprises partner with developers, builders and homeowners associations to offer innovation, bring value and enhance community lifestyles. Services include forward planning, support services for community associations, technology infrastructure and community Web site services. The Merit Companies is based in Mission Viejo, California with regional offices in San Diego, Temecula, Valencia and San Ramon, California and Arizona. Under Masson’s leadership, The Merit Companies have enjoyed a phenomenal 22 years of continual growth! Merit Property Management, Inc. manages over 195 community associations and 70,000 residential units throughout California, making it one of the largest property management firms in the country.

Woodharbor Doors & Cabinetry, Inc. was established in October 1993 by three brothers, Curtis, Dennis, and Jon Lewerke.

Curtis Lewerke, President of Woodharbor Doors & Cabinetry began his career in the field of architecture. Upon earning a degree in Arts and Sciences from Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, Michigan he continued his education with a focus on architecture.

Short of completing a degree in architecture he began working for an architectural firm in Waterloo, Iowa. A year later, the desire to move back to North Iowa prompted Curtis to accept a position with Waggoner, Mahaffey & Bowman Architects and Engineers in Mason City, Iowa where he remained for six years.

Dennis Lewerke, Woodharbor Doors & Cabinetry Vice President of Sales, began a career in the building trade industry early on, working for his father’s residential construction business full-time directly after graduation from high school. He went on to form his own construction company, Lewerke Building Contractors. When Curtis left the architecture and engineering firm he joined Dennis in this pursuit and the brothers became very active in building homes and developing land in the area.

Jon Lewerke, Woodharbor Doors & Cabinetry Vice President of Manufacturing, also pursued a career in the construction industry early on, working summers for older brothers Curtis and Dennis during high school. He continued on full-time after graduation as head of a construction crew and went on to assist in the management and operations of the kitchen and bath cabinetry shop that was added as a sideline to the construction business.

As custom builders, Curtis and Dennis ventured into building kitchen and bath cabinetry to be used primarily for their construction projects. Ironically, what was initially intended as a sideline became the brothers’ main business interest as they phased out the construction business and shifted their focus to manufacturing kitchen and bath cabinetry.

Fieldstone Cabinetry, originally established in a 3-stall garage in Clear Lake’s Fieldstone addition, soon outgrew the meager facility that was intended to house the Lewerke’s construction business. With the encouragement of an area economic development board that included the enticement of a new building where they could expand their operations, the brothers moved Fieldstone’s operations to Northwood, Iowa in January of 1978. With the Lewerke brothers at the helm, Fieldstone prospered to become a $15 million dollar cabinetry manufacturer with a nationally recognized name in the kitchen and bath industry. This success gained the attention of a multi-billion dollar home improvement holding company, Masco Corporation. In 1986, the brothers agreed to the sale of Fieldstone to Masco Corporation, leaving them in command of Fieldstone’s manufacturing operations.

In 1993, Curtis, Dennis and Jon left the Masco/Fieldstone organization to form a new company; Woodharbor Molding & Millworks, Inc. Initial operations were established in Mason City, Iowa where the brothers focused their efforts on the manufacture of interior doors and millwork. After successfully making a name for Woodharbor in the interior door market, the marketing scope was expanded in 1996 to include the familiar kitchen and bath products that gave them their start.

Today, with the full line of interior wood products, Woodharbor promotes the "Woodharbor Home" package. This package enables consumers to use the company’s wood products throughout the home creating a "Woodharbor Home" uniquely tailored to the owner’s individual style. Woodharbor is an ISO 9001 Quality Certified company with an independent dealer network that stretches from coast to coast. The manufacturing operations include two facilities totaling 360,000 square feet, one of which is the former Fieldstone plant in Northwood, Iowa, that was reacquired in 2003. Woodharbor’s operations include an employment base of approximately 450 people making them a strong contributor to the economic success in the North Iowa area.

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