Iowa State University head football coach Paul Rhoads kicked off the 2012 Exercising Your Character event by telling the 7,000+ fourth- and fifth-graders at Hy-Vee Hall what character means in the football program at ISU:

“We have three blocks that are the foundation of our football program. The first one is being smart. When I talk about being smart … I’m talking about decision-making. Making smart decisions, using good judgment … Every day, you’re faced with choices. It’s the decisions that we make that follow you through life.

“The second block of our foundation is accountability — being where you’re supposed to be, doing what you’re supposed to do …

“The third block of the foundation of our program is trust … You’ve gotta trust people as you go through life to steer you in the right direction. They haven’t failed you yet, and they won’t fail you in the future …

“What I want to leave you with is a two-word phrase that’s very powerful in our football program. It’s the two words: ALL IN. It’s about commitment. It’s about a complete investment in everything that you do in your life.”

[photo courtesy of Mark Millsap]

Exercising Your Character is a celebration of physical fitness, good character and sportsmanship. Fourth- and fifth-grade classes from schools throughout central Iowa are invited to take part in a fast-paced program that includes music, dancing and appearances by famous athletes and coaches. The event is sponsored by Character Counts of Iowa, the Iowa Sports Foundation and Hy-Vee.

Speakers at this year’s EYC were Paul Rhoads, head football coach at Iowa State University; Winter Vinecki, two-time national IronKids champion who started a foundation to raise money to fight prostate cancer; B.J. Armstrong, former University of Iowa basketball star who helped the Chicago Bulls to three consecutive NBA titles; and Billy Cundiff, an Iowa native and Drake University star who is the placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens. The students also enjoyed learning the famous UNI Interlude Dance, as taught by co-creators Ian Goldsmith and Scott Connerly.

If the noise level in Hy-Vee Hall is any indication of the quality of the program, I’d say this year’s Exercising Your Character deserves a grade of A+. Stay tuned for more on today’s speakers and their messages to the students.

President Randy Edeker, Assistant VP Erin Demichelis, retired NBA great B.J. Armstrong, Executive VP Jon Wendel

Hy-Vee 360 employs colorful graphics and pop-up windows to show visitors how environmental initiatives are implemented in a typical Hy-Vee store. Click on the checkstand and you’ll learn about Hy-Vee’s efforts to reduce product packaging and promote reusable shopping bags; place your cursor over the produce display and you’ll find information about our commitment to offering more local foods.  The site also highlights the resources available at Hy-Vee to help customers improve their health, such as in-store dietitians, HealthMarket departments and the NuVal nutritional scoring system.

At Hy-Vee, we’re getting greener all the time. How about you? Hy-Vee 360 offers a wealth of ideas to help you practice sustainability at home, at work and on the go. Remember: when it comes to saving the planet, we’re all in this together.

On Tuesday of last week, Ries broke the tape to capture the Women’s Competitive Division title in the annual Grand Blue Mile street run, a mile-long race through downtown Des Moines to kick off the Drake Relays. Ries broke the five-minute mark with a 4:58, edging out Stephanie Jenks, last year’s IronKids youth triathlon champion.  On Saturday, Ries added to her 2012 string of victories with a first-place finish in the Relays On the Road 8k, finishing in 28:35. Last month, Ries captured the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick 10k in West Des Moines with a time of 37:37, a 6:03 pace over the 6-plus miles.

Keep up the great work, Ellen!

Temkin Group, a customer service research and consulting firm, just released its Forgiveness Ratings for 2012. The company surveyed 10,000 U.S. consumers, asking them how likely they would be to forgive a company that delivered a bad experience. According to Temkin, willingness to forgive is an important element of customer loyalty and a measure of how consistently the company meets the needs of its customers

Among the 206 companies across 18 industries rated in this year’s survey, Hy-Vee finished tied for fourth. Grocery chains and retailers in general tend to dominate the rankings, while health plans, credit card companies and internet service providers lag toward the bottom of the list.

You can read more about the Forgiveness Ratings here.

On March 28th, Hy-Vee crowned a new champion in its annual Cake Designer Challenge, held at Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines. Congratulations to first-time competitor Amy Murtha, from the Hy-Vee in Belton, MO!

It’s been a year of achievement for Amy — in addition to winning the Hy-Vee contest, she has been selected as one of three cake designers in the nation to compete in the design challenge at the International Dairy, Deli and Bakery Association’s annual meeting in New Orleans in June. Amy’s co-worker at Belton, Stephanie Dillon, finished second at the IDDBA challenge last year. IDDBA contestants are chosen on the basis of portfolio submissions.   

In the Hy-Vee competition, Murtha’s design, titled “Amy’s Enchanted Garden,” wowed the judges with its creativity, intricacy, bold use of color and technical skill. Second place went to Heather Hansen of the Hy-Vee at 132nd and Dodge in Omaha, NE (last year’s third-place winner), for her pirate-themed design. Janine Schwendinger of the Barlow Plaza Hy-Vee in Rochester, MN finished third with her imaginative tableau titled ”Under the Sea.”

The three top finishers won cash prizes and expense-paid trips to the IDDBA show in New Orleans. In addition, defending champion Katie O’Connor of the Hy-Vee on North 84th Street in Lincoln, NE took home $500 cash as the winner of the “Designer’s Choice” award, which was voted on by all the contestants.

 A total of 155 Hy-Vee cake designers entered one of the company’s six regional competitions held throughout the Midwest this year, with top three contestants at each regional advanced to the finals. The designers had four hours to assemble and decorate a tiered cake, a sheet cake, a cupcake cake and a dozen cookies. The result? Art that’s (almost) too pretty to eat.

Hy-Vee’s Helpful Smile In Every… Smartphone? – Project Economy News Story – KCCI Des Moines.