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 A Resolution honoring the achievements and 1 contributions of Steve Ovel. 2 WHEREAS, Steve Ovel worked at Kirkwood Community 3 College as the Executive Director of Governmental 4 Relations for 30 years; and 5 WHEREAS, after retiring from Kirkwood in 2013, Mr. 6 Ovel served as the legislative liaison and consultant 7 for the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees 8 until retiring from that position in 2018; and 9 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel is recognized as the premier Iowa 10 community college expert in economic development and 11 workforce training; and 12 WHEREAS, several of Iowa’s community college 13 workforce programs crucial to the strength of Iowa’s 14 individual colleges were developed while Mr. Ovel 15 served in his capacity at Kirkwood, leading to 16 innumerable positive benefits to those who received 17 training at Iowa community colleges; and 18 WHEREAS, during Mr. Ovel’s tenure as a legislative 19 liaison, he played a key role in bringing focus to 20 workforce education programs at Iowa community colleges 21 by assisting in legislation and developing methods to 22 fund community college workforce development through 23 the use of gaming revenues; and 24 -1- LSB 2796YH (4) 89 dg/rn 1/ 3

H.R. 10 WHEREAS, the Iowa Skilled Worker Job Creation Fund, 1 the Pathways for Career and Employment Program, the 2 Kibbie Skilled Workforce Shortage Tuition Grant, the 3 Adult Basic Education and Adult Literacy Program, the 4 GAP Tuition Assistance Program, the Work-Based Learning 5 Intermediary Network, the Workforce Training and 6 Economic Development Fund, and the Accelerated Career 7 Education Infrastructure Program would not exist as 8 they do today if not for Mr. Ovel’s efforts; and 9 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel assisted in the development of 10 Iowa law by helping to define a career academy and 11 developing the funding formula used by all 15 of Iowa’s 12 community colleges to equitably distribute state 13 general aid and workforce program funding; and 14 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel was integral in the redesign of 15 Iowa’s workforce development delivery by ensuring 16 community college boundaries align with state workforce 17 service areas and that community colleges offer 18 training services to unemployed and underemployed 19 individuals across the state; and 20 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel created a legislative summary each 21 year of all the actions taken during the most recent 22 legislative session in order to provide historical 23 content and information sharing to all Iowa community 24 colleges; and 25 WHEREAS, for Mr. Ovel’s efforts as a legislative 26 liaison, he was named a Pioneer Lawmaker on April 5, 27 2017; and 28 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel played a unique role in providing 29 training and guidance on how to best implement 30 -2- LSB 2796YH (4) 89 dg/rn 2/ 3

H.R. 10 new programs he assisted in developing across 1 all 15 Iowa community colleges by sharing best 2 practices, supporting local control, and emphasizing 3 uniformity; and 4 WHEREAS, Mr. Ovel served on several community 5 college working groups and became a central point 6 of contact community college staff would turn to 7 for assistance with legislative and workforce 8 programming; and 9 WHEREAS, through this work, the community colleges 10 now have workforce programs that can assist all 11 populations from unemployed individuals seeking the 12 skills to achieve an occupation with a good salary, to 13 college students entering into a high-demand occupation 14 at their local community college, and to companies 15 trying to increase or reskill their workforce; NOW 16 THEREFORE, 17 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 18 the House of Representatives honors Steve Ovel for the 19 numerous programs and legislation he helped develop 20 which have benefited, and will continue to benefit, 21 countless Iowans; and 22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon passage of 23 this resolution, the Chief Clerk of the House of 24 Representatives shall transmit a copy of this 25 resolution to Steve Ovel. 26 -3- LSB 2796YH (4) 89 dg/rn 3/ 3