House Resolution 10 - Introduced
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 10
BY A. MEYER, MOHR, KRESSIG, DEYOE, SIECK, JACOBY,
NIELSEN, DONAHUE, HEIN, SIEGRIST, COHOON, KAUFMANN,
PAUSTIAN, BERGAN, EHLERT, MOMMSEN, STAED, HANSEN,
BOHANNAN, MASCHER, GJERDE, RUNNING-MARQUARDT,
BENNETT, WORTHAN, and FRY
1 A Resolution honoring the achievements and
2 contributions of Steve Ovel.
3 WHEREAS, Steve Ovel worked at Kirkwood Community
4 College as the Executive Director of Governmental
5 Relations for 30 years; and
6 WHEREAS, after retiring from Kirkwood in 2013, Mr.
7 Ovel served as the legislative liaison and consultant
8 for the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees
9 until retiring from that position in 2018; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel is recognized as the premier Iowa
11 community college expert in economic development and
12 workforce training; and
13 WHEREAS, several of Iowa’s community college
14 workforce programs crucial to the strength of Iowa’s
15 individual colleges were developed while Mr. Ovel
16 served in his capacity at Kirkwood, leading to
17 innumerable positive benefits to those who received
18 training at Iowa community colleges; and
19 WHEREAS, during Mr. Ovel’s tenure as a legislative
20 liaison, he played a key role in bringing focus to
21 workforce education programs at Iowa community colleges
22 by assisting in legislation and developing methods to
23 fund community college workforce development through
24 the use of gaming revenues; and
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1 WHEREAS, the Iowa Skilled Worker Job Creation Fund,
2 the Pathways for Career and Employment Program, the
3 Kibbie Skilled Workforce Shortage Tuition Grant, the
4 Adult Basic Education and Adult Literacy Program, the
5 GAP Tuition Assistance Program, the Work-Based Learning
6 Intermediary Network, the Workforce Training and
7 Economic Development Fund, and the Accelerated Career
8 Education Infrastructure Program would not exist as
9 they do today if not for Mr. Ovel’s efforts; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel assisted in the development of
11 Iowa law by helping to define a career academy and
12 developing the funding formula used by all 15 of Iowa’s
13 community colleges to equitably distribute state
14 general aid and workforce program funding; and
15 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel was integral in the redesign of
16 Iowa’s workforce development delivery by ensuring
17 community college boundaries align with state workforce
18 service areas and that community colleges offer
19 training services to unemployed and underemployed
20 individuals across the state; and
21 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel created a legislative summary each
22 year of all the actions taken during the most recent
23 legislative session in order to provide historical
24 content and information sharing to all Iowa community
25 colleges; and
26 WHEREAS, for Mr. Ovel’s efforts as a legislative
27 liaison, he was named a Pioneer Lawmaker on April 5,
28 2017; and
29 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel played a unique role in providing
30 training and guidance on how to best implement
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1 new programs he assisted in developing across
2 all 15 Iowa community colleges by sharing best
3 practices, supporting local control, and emphasizing
4 uniformity; and
5 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel served on several community
6 college working groups and became a central point
7 of contact community college staff would turn to
8 for assistance with legislative and workforce
9 programming; and
10 WHEREAS, through this work, the community colleges
11 now have workforce programs that can assist all
12 populations from unemployed individuals seeking the
13 skills to achieve an occupation with a good salary, to
14 college students entering into a high-demand occupation
15 at their local community college, and to companies
16 trying to increase or reskill their workforce; NOW
17 THEREFORE,
18 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That
19 the House of Representatives honors Steve Ovel for the
20 numerous programs and legislation he helped develop
21 which have benefited, and will continue to benefit,
22 countless Iowans; and
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon passage of
24 this resolution, the Chief Clerk of the House of
25 Representatives shall transmit a copy of this
26 resolution to Steve Ovel.
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