Artfully Growing

When Zack Jones was 21, he left his Iowa hometown of Malvern and headed west to Arizona with hopes of becoming an artist. At the time, he was glad to leave southwest Iowa behind for what he thought were bigger and better things. Little did he know, his soul searching and the inspiration for his art would lead him back home and eventually to the creation of his studio, Art Church.

“I never envisioned coming back and there was definitely a point where I thought Arizona was it,” said Jones. “But like the old saying, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”

While out west, Jones went all in on becoming a full-time artist. After a few random painting jobs, he was introduced to Sergio Ladron de Guevara, a renowned artist who took Jones in and taught him what art was truly all about. Perhaps the biggest lesson Jones said he learned was the importance of painting with love and creating art that was personal and a reflection of your life.

“I felt like Arizona had run its course,” said Jones. “I also realized that I hadn’t painted or created anything that really meant something to me. So, I decided to retrace my steps, head back to Iowa and see what would come out in my artwork.”

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Something to Look at

The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC) is the hub for entrepreneur education and outreach at the University of Iowa. It’s a place where innovators, leaders, game changers and risk-takers go to find their passion. For recent University of Iowa graduate Erica Cole, her path to the Iowa JPEC and the launch of her business No Limbits is as unique and extraordinary as she is.

The summer before her senior year in Iowa City, Erica, who was majoring in chemistry, landed an internship in Colorado. Her plan was to build upon other completed internships where she’d learned about complex subjects, including the solubility of uranium nanoclusters, and worked on Pu-238 separations for NASA applications. The bar she set for herself was as high as the Rocky Mountains that surrounded her. 

Little did she know, a traumatic injury she suffered during her trip out west would alter the direction she’d take — not only in her final year of college, but in life overall. One day early that summer, Erica was t-boned at an intersection, injuring her left leg so badly that it was amputated that same day. “There wasn’t really much of an option other than to remove the leg,” she said. “When I got in the accident, I thought that was it for me. But when I woke up in the hospital, my mindset started to change. I realized that I was still here, fortunate to have survived and was going to make it.”

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Hat-Trick Hero

2010 was the year of the arena for arena for architects Populous, with three of the firm's arena designs opening in the autumn - Amway Center in Orlando, Florida; KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky; and CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All three multipurpose arenas boast the latest innovations and fan amenities, but each is a distinct response to differing urban settings and primary tenants.

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Sports Business Award Submittal:
Facility of the Year

See the full writing sample/award submittal here.