Who are the wonderful supporting individuals that make up the Aiming For A Cure Foundation Committee?

Tim Anderson 

Tim Anderson is the Director of Public Relations at Mossy Oak Brand Camo.

He has been involved with the Aiming for a Cure Foundation since its inception.

“Steve Ries came to see us years ago looking for a title sponsor to get behind his event. After listening to his vision and discussing it with Dave and Carman Forbes, we immediately jumped onboard. When I originally got involved, I felt it was part of my job and responsibility to the company. It quickly became part of life and a passion that is hard to explain. I will always be a part of Aiming For a Cure because of its mission to assist and comfort children going through the fight for their life.”

Tim and his wife Karen live in Delhi, Iowa. They have 4 children, Jeremy, Justin, Lindsey and Michael.

Randy Fitzgerald 

Randy is the Executive Vice President of Operations for a protein separation and purification company. Randy is the husband of Cathy and the father of Cori. Randy was raised in Ames, Iowa, graduated from Iowa State University, and has spent his career building and operating medical device and pharmaceutical operations around the world. Randy trains his Brittanys and supports his daughter in her 4H horse projects in his spare time.

Randy became involved with Aiming For A Cure through his contact with Steve Ries in AKC Hunt Tests and developing a friendship with the Ries family. The inspiration of Ben Ries and the core values of the Aiming For A Cure Foundation are the primary motivating forces for him and helps all committee members focus on the need to continue their efforts. As an individual involved with the health care industry he feels that there is a need for an increased awareness on the mental well-being of children and families experiencing difficult times and the Aiming For A Cure Foundation is working toward this goal.

Ed Kempf 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

A love of dogs, pheasant hunting, sports, and photography put me on the doorstep of one of the formative meetings of the “Aiming for A Cure” committee. Fortunately, they let me stay. Now, almost three years later, I couldn’t imagine my life without the great people I’ve met at Highland Hideaway Hunting in Riverside, Iowa, and all the members of the AFAC committee.

It was a perfect fit for our family business, “ Impact Photo / Joe Photo”, as we have specialized in special event photography concentrating on the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City corridor for 28 years. My wife, Molly, and kids, Sarah and Dan, all help in our business and help support AFAC.

I earned my B.A. in History with a Physical Education minor in 1972 – Go Hawks!

Jodie Ries 

“We had a vision that was put into action and became a dream come true”. Being parents of a child diagnosed with cancer and recently sharing a loss of this child was the inspiration to form Aiming For A Cure Foundation.

My husband Steve and daughter Rachel and I want Ben’s legacy to live, as Ben would always think of the many children and Families at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital during their treatments for cancer. During his visits, Ben was consumed by the staff, new Friendships and many opportunities that would make his home away from home more enjoyable during a difficult time.

With Ben’s love for the great outdoors in his hunting dogs and the many personal Friendships made it became easy to form such a great foundation that commit their time and efforts to continue the legacy of caring for the children and Families dealing with cancer at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

We were blessed with calling Ben our son, and having so many caring people to volunteer their time, talents and financial support in helping children and their families with childhood cancer.

The Ries Family resides in Alburnett on an acreage with their Family business in raising hunting dogs.

Faith Family Friends

Lori Johnson 

Lori is an Iowa City native and a graduate of City High School. She also attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a BBA Degree in finance. In addition to her charity work, Lori is currently employed as a Loan Operations Officer at MidWestOne Bank in Iowa City. Some of her additional interests include scrapbooking, Atlanta Braves baseball and, of course, Iowa Hawkeye Sports.

 

 

Todd Ettlemen 

Todd Ettleman is the Regional Vice-President for Van Meter Industrial in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He joined the Aiming for A Cure Team as a Committee Member in early 2011.

While entertaining Van Meter customers at Highland Hideaway, Todd found out about Aiming for a Cure through Steve Ries.

Todd’s love for hunting and his passion for helping children made AFAC a perfect fit for both him and Van Meter. In 2007, Van Meter became a Platinum Sponsor and continues to support the Foundation at that level each year.

“I really like the fact that AFAC not only raises money toward finding a cure but they also help support the families of those that are going through this difficult fight. This is one of the only organizations that I am aware of that handles both aspects and is able to donate 100% of the proceeds toward this cause. I am proud to be a part of such a wonderful organization”.

Todd and his wife Cathy live in Atkins, Iowa. They have two children, Kelsey and Nathan.

Tammy Tronvold 

I grew up and lived in Marengo until I moved to Fairfax in 2000. I’ve been a paralegal since 1990 (the year my daughter was born), and I am currently employed at Eells & Tronvold Law Offices in Cedar Rapids.

My interests are reading, exercising, gardening, traveling, theater, cooking, baking & football (especially Iowa Hawkeyes!). I collect snowmen, Santas, Jim Shore, cookbooks and recipes. I also have a deep love for animals. Mostly, I enjoy spending time with my family and participating in organizations that support and assist families.

I learned about the Aiming For A Cure Foundation through a mutual acquaintance who suggested I attend the Annual Banquet. I immediately knew I wanted to belong to this cause after seeing firsthand how the Foundation helps and supports children, and their families, struggling with various types of cancer. Soon after, I received an invitation to attend a meeting and instantly felt welcomed by all members. I quickly learned that we all have something in common – warm, kind hearts filled with passion, faith, and the hope that we will each make a difference in the lives of children and families courageously battling these diseases. I am both proud and honored to belong to this wonderful organization and to work with such caring and dedicated people.

My husband Jeff and I have a daughter, Carissa, and a dog (Yorkshire Terrier), Cassie.

Cory Tweden

Cory Tweden is the store leader/partner at Scheels in Coralville.  Cory, his wife Jennifer and two daughters Hailey and Kelsey lived in Iowa City.

Hobbies and passions include hunting, fishing and spending time with family.

After hearing about the Aiming for a Cure Foundation from an employee, I called Steve and asked if I could meet him and try to learn more about the Aiming for a Cure Foundation.  Scheels is always looking for opportunities to be involved in our community and a short meeting with Steve, It was clear it was a perfect fit.  After being invited to attend a few board meetings I was impressed at the organization and just how much is done by the foundation.  I am happy to have an opportunity to be involved with such a wonderful cause.

Dave Schrock

Dave is a member and defense attorney with the Cedar Rapids law firm of Scheldrup, Blades, Schrock, Smith, Aranza. He became involved with Aiming for a Cure in 2011 after hunting with Steve Ries several times over the past several years. Dave is a long-time upland game hunter and he and his wife Kim and 4 children are passionate about the outdoors. They are frequently found throughout the year canoeing, backpacking, and skiing throughout the Midwest, the Minnesota Boundary Waters and at home around Lake MacBride.

Dave’s love of the outdoors was fostered from an early age by hunting and fishing with his father Ed, and he enjoys sharing and passing along a love and respect for the outdoors to his children. He and his family have been inspired by Ben and his family’s love of the outdoors and their legacy of helping others, and are supporters of the U of I Children’s Hospital.  They are enthusiastic about the opportunity for assisting Aiming for the Cure with furthering its fundraising mission vision for the future.

John Howard

John is the President of Frontera Marketing Group, a marketing, advertising and design agency based in Muscatine, IA. He got involved with Aiming for a Cure in 2011 as part of their Marketing efforts after attending events for several years. As a father of two children and a lifelong upland hunter, Aiming for a Cure offers a perfect opportunity to support children and families through positive association with the outdoors.

“I’ve known the Ries family for years and worked closely with Steve since 2007. His ability to bring people together in support of the positive mission of the Aiming for a Cure Foundation never ceases to amaze me. The strength of this family and the incredible support for the foundation serve as an inspiration to everyone that comes into contact with them. It’s a wonderful thing to see and I couldn’t imagine a more worthwhile mission in which to participate.”