‘You can make a very good life for yourself in rural Iowa’
Former SNL cast member Gary Kroeger talks with MFL MarMac student Eric Grady at the Attracting Success Summit last week in Volga.
Attracting Success Summit focuses on area’s advantages
By Pam Reinig, Times-Register
Saturday Night Live alum Gary Kroeger has a few words of advice for young people living in northeast Iowa.
“Don’t leave because you think there’s nothing to do here or because you think there’s nothing here to inspire you,” he told participants at last Friday’s Attracting Success Summit in Volga. “You can make a very good life for yourself in rural Iowa. And if you do choose to leave, you can spread the message that we’re not a fly-over state. We’re a destination, a place to visit or stay.”
Kroeger, who was born in Waterloo and raised in Cedar Falls, left Iowa after high school graduation for an acting career. He spent three years on the iconic weekend show before a cast change forced a move to Los Angeles, where he continued building his acting career.
“Here was the reality when I moved to California (in the mid-80s),” he said. “A starter home—two bedrooms, one bath, no yard—was $750,000. Public schools were a disaster, so if you wanted any sort of quality education for your kids, you shelled out another $35,000 to $40,000 a year for private schools. Air quality was bad then and worse now. In fact, studies suggest that if you were born in LA and lived there your whole life, your life expectancy is 10 years below the national average.”
Kroeger also said he spent 90 minutes each way commuting to an office less than two miles from his home.
In 2003, he moved back to Iowa for the quality of life it offers. He spent the next 19 years working for a Cedar Falls-based advertising company. A much sought-after speaker, Kroeger recently retired from advertising. He spends a great deal of time traveling and speaking. A return to better customer service and community engagement are two of his most popular topics.
“I think the customer experience in this country has gone to the dogs...but I also think this younger generation can take the customer experience and show the rest of the country how to do it, and how to do it right,” he said, directly addressing high school students who attended the event. “Iowa can be a template for how things are done.”
Kroeger used his improv training to demonstrate effective team-building techniques. Active listening and trust are the keys, he said.
“Every team has a dynamic that you discover as you work together,” Kroeger continued. “There’s usually a natural leader, an active listener and a clown. You need all those roles. You need to listen to what each person contributes and then find a way to come together.”
One of the ground rules in improv is “no negativity. No matter what you hear, you say, ‘Thank you,’ and find a way to build from there.”
“We are so conditioned to look for obstacles,” he continued. “Just think what we could accomplish if we put that energy into answers.”
The summit was opened by Iowa Lt. Governor Adam Gregg, who mentioned he was also scheduled last weekend to speak at the Sibly sesquicentennial. “The advice I’m going to give them is the same advice I leave with you: What can we do to make sure our community prospers for the next 100 or 150 years? Think about what it will take to make that happen…and then work together toward those goals.”
The Attracting Success Summit was planned by the Northeast Iowa Young Professionals. It was hosted by Clayton County Conservation, whose director, Jenna Pollock, launched the idea two years ago. Summit sponsors were the Iowa Rural Development Council, ITC Midwest, Iowa Area Development Group, Alpine Communications, and the McGregor-Marquette Area Chamber of Commerce.
