Catherine Miller and Jesse Akers of Genesis Development in Adel Iowa

This month we spoke with Jesse Akers, Job Placement Manager in Adel and Catherine Miller, Community Living Director of Genesis Development;  

an organization that provides residential and vocational services for people  

with disabilities.  

Genesis is celebrating 40 years of exceptional service and 6 years  

serving Adel.

Adel and Dallas County Iowa are the proud home of many mental health services under the Genesis umbrella filling the needs of people with disabilities.  

It is the dedicated work of thousands that has changed the course of the industry over the past 40 years resulting in greater awareness and acceptance, community involvement, and a diverse cross-section of services.

Genesis Development was started in 1973 in Jefferson, Iowa by a group of parents looking to create jobs and social opportunities for their children with disabilities. Family members and clients were encouraged to offer suggestions for new services based on growing and changing needs within the industry. This spirit of growth continues as both Jesse and Catherine state that most of the new programs are the result of people asking Genesis for solutions to specific needs.

It was 1974 when the U.S. Civil Service Commission removed the question, "Have you ever been mentally ill?" from federal government employment forms. This, in addition to President Carter's "President's Commission on Mental Health", began to change the landscape of mental health services into it's modern reality.

Work services provide clients with the opportunities to develop occupational skills such as dedication to attendance, safety, displaying initiative, honesty, and working with others. This professional experience helps bolster self- respect, independence, personal responsibility, and community involvement. 

Some Genesis locations have onsite production centers that offer genuine career environments in a controlled setting- such as the recycling centers in Boone and Jefferson, commercial laundry facility in Indianola, print department in Storm Lake, and the custom-made corrugated box manufacturing plant in Jefferson.

The Adel office offers services within the Dallas County community working with dedicated businesses- matching clients with available opportunities based on their abilities, interests, and needs. Job coaches help clients learn interview techniques, job requirements, and how to establish and maintain an independent work routine.

"In Adel, we focus on community employment. I help people find work and ensure their success. We work with employers in the Dallas County area and when we find a business and a person that matches up well, we connect them. For those that think they aren't quite ready for community employment, we work on prevocational activities such as an enclave- 3 or more individuals who work in a community setting with a Genesis staff member as their supervisor. Something unique that we do is a one-on-one prevocational service that has both a classroom element and a job element to work on anything from interview skills to personal goals. Our clients literally set their own goals, both in the vocational and residential settings. We work together as a team, but ultimately our clients chose their own goals." -Jesse Akers

In the 1990's Genesis Development began offering residential services, which provides residential living experiences selected for each person's specific level of need- ranging from 24 hour supervision to living in their own homes with hourly supports as needed.

"Over the past 20 years we've developed residential and mental health services for Dallas County and surrounding areas. We developed offices in Adel in 2008. We work primarily with adults, but also with children. We have a very strong philosophy to train people to be as independent as possible- ours is a process of learning how to do things for themselves. I tell my staff all the time, 'if you're doing your job right, you should be working yourself out of a job.' I have worked with many people over the years that started out living in a large institution setting, we were able to help them transition into the community- maybe in a small group setting- then transition them into their own apartments." -Catherine Miller

Residential care includes social skills to develop healthy friendships, recreational hobbies and interests, learning to budget finances, management of medication, transportation, and more. Domestic skills, community safety and awareness, and personal hygiene are all important when developing a consistent, dependable environment for Genesis clients to grow.

Genesis locations in Adel-Waukee, Perry-Granger, Jefferson, Storm Lake, Pocahontas, Boone, Winterset, Indianola, Panora, Grinnell, and Toledo offer group living experiences within the community. These homes consist of 4 to 5 roommates of similar needs, and are staffed 24- hours a day.

Staff members manage the household to make sure that each client is working towards their goals and maintaining a clean and safe environment. This support encourages independent living to the client's highest possible degree.

Genesis Development is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, or CARF, an international, independent, nonprofit accreditor of health and human services.

"We've had 11 CARF surveys, and for all 11 we have achieved a 3-year accreditation, which is the highest standard rating that CARF offers. It's quite a streak and we feel very good and very positive about it. This year went very well; CARF always has suggestions, which is a good thing because we're always looking for ways to improve. This year they had no recommendations for any of our residential or vocational programs which was quite a boon!" -Catherine Miller

In addition to employee dedication, it is community support that has made Genesis Development a leader for the past 40 years. If you would like to help, donations are always welcome. The largest needs include motor vehicles, household furnishings, computers and office equipment.  

Each home values donations of games, step ladders, fishing and sports equipment, arts and craft supplies, multi-media learning programs, small kitchen appliances, and more. Great suggestions include items that promote social interaction, exploration (such as telescopes or science kits), self-expression, and individuality. Please contact Alana at 515-386-3017 or Alana@genesisdevelopment.com to make your tax-deductible donations today!

Genesis Development is a prime example of Iowa's spirit of compassion, understanding, and foreword thinking. Over the past 40 years Genesis has sought to improve all arenas of the lives of people with disabilities and continues to shine. Adel is proud to support their initiatives and welcome Genesis clients as friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

Genesis Development

2111 West Greene St.

Adel, IA 50003

Phone: 515-993-5986

Fax: 515-993-5988

The start of Adel's festival season is the Free Friday Entertainment Series.  

Every third Friday from April to August, Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce, along with other local sponsors, will host FREE community stage events.  

These events will be BYOB...that's Bring Your Own Basket of snacks, food, regular or adult beverages.  

No food or drinks will be sold but you are encouraged to pick up dinner from a local restaurant before the show begins.    

All events are from 7:00-10:00 p.m. and are family-friendly. Make sure to bring your friends and family to the Adel Stage located at the corner of 10th and Main, and don't forget your lawn chairs!

The first event in the series is on Friday, April 25th and features Des Moines Karaoke. This is your chance to be part of the entertainment!  

It is open to everyone and to help get the fun going, we are offering prizes for two age groups: ages 17 and under and ages 18 and over. We will be offering $100 for 1st prize, $50 for 2nd prize, and $25 for 3rd prize in each category. Special thank you to Adel Kiwanis for co-sponsoring this event!

• How-To Start a Blog with Jenni Arnold - Conference Room A
• How-To learn to be stress free using Yoga with Angie Springer
  - Conference Room B
• How-To get started quilting with Jackie Johnson - Board Room 1
• How-To make Miniatures with Elizabeth Grabau - Board Room 2
• How-To use Wilbur with Laura Hanson - Teen Area

• How-To balance your life with Lisa Mickelson - Conference Room A
• How-To make macrame-shamballa bracelets with Vicki Ortega
  - Conference Room B
• How-to eat a gluten free diet with Toni Sumpter, Pharm. D - Board Room 1
• How-to write a great resume and have a successful interview with W.W. "Van" Van Buren - Board Room 2
• How-To use Wilbur with Laura Hanson - Teen Area

• How-To have a Fun, Free, Fast Workout For Home with Jacki Hayes - Conference Room A
• How-To make "Snacktivities" for your children with Jackie Giles and Rose Bass - Conference Room B
• How-To use American Sign Language with Judy Peterson - Board Room 1
• How-To create a pallet garden with Debbie Gay - Conference Room 2
• How-To use Wilbur with Laura Hanson - Teen Area

• How-To take care for your pets with Dr. Elizabeth Holland
  - Conference Room A
• How-To craft with pallets with Sandy Streeter - Conference Room B
• How-to write and publish a children's book with Rebecca Jani
  - Board Room 1
• How-To make butterfly origami with Betty Mather - Board Room 2
• How take a Ekphrastic journey with Barb Howes - Teen Area

Courtesy of Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce:

Bike Trail Tourism Conference set for April 10 at Hotel Pattee in Perry, IA

Bike Trail Tourism - Getting More Out of Your Trail is a conference set for Thursday, April 10 at the Hotel Pattee in Perry. How to capture more economic benefit from our trails is the focus of this conference, said Jim Miller of Waukee, board member of the Raccoon River Valley Trail (RRVT) and one of the conference organizers.

"We're really fortunate to have the RRVT and the High Trestle trail go through our communities here in central Iowa, said Miller. This conference was developed to help towns on the trail get more out of this valuable new community asset. Our primary audience is local leaders of towns on the trail, trying to give them ideas and strategies to get more economic benefit from bike trails."

The conference begins at 9:00 am with an opening presentation from Michael Gould of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and avid biker, with thoughts on development in each community on the trail and creating more opportunity for bikers to spend money in your town.

Four panels of local and area speakers with expertise in each area have been assembled and will make presentations on the following topics;

(1) Best practices for businesses on the trail, including food, beverage, bike shops, etc, and starting and growing businesses that can capture sales to bike trail users.

(2) Local way-finding ; improve local signage to help direct bike users off a trail into a town to local restaurants, bars, bike shops, and other local destinations. Also, how to create loops into your town from the main trail, along with signage, to get more trail users into your town.

(3) Public art on the bike trail, creating more reasons for trail users to visit your town and stop in your town; consider your local assets and how to market them as a bundle of assets.

(4) Best practices using technology - social media, web sites, mobile devices and popular apps, code readers, etc, to announce local events and market your town and the trail.

"We're really excited to host this conference", said Jay Hartz, owner and general manager of the Hotel Pattee. "One of our strategies to grow our business is to focus on bike trail users and do all we can to give them a great experience when they eat a meal here or stay overnight with us."

Conference sponsors are the Center for Towncraft in Perry, a collaboration between Iowa State University Extension & Outreach and the City of Perry, and Common Thread, a consortium of towns on the Raccoon River Valley Trail and the High Trestle Trail.

Conference registration is $20 per person which includes lunch and all conference materials.  

Pre-registration is required by April 7. Please make checks payable to City of Perry.

Send your pre-registration to: City of Perry, Attn: Bike Conf., PO Box 545, Perry, IA 50220

For more information contact, Alan Vandehaar, ISU Extension 515-231-6513, alanv@iastate.edu or Butch Niebuhr, City of Perry 515-465-2481, butch.niebuhr@perryia.org 

The Dallas County Library Association and 4 R Kids ECI are hosting a Dallas County Toddler Festival on Saturday, April 12th from 10:00 a.m. to Noon in the community building at the Dallas County Fairgrounds.  

We'll have two hours of free activities dedicated to toddlers and their caregivers, including visitors from the Blank Park Zoo and the Science Center of Iowa, and each child will receive a free book just for attending the festival!  

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We had so much fun watching "Sixteen Candles" in March that we decided to watch another John Hughes film in April. We'll be viewing "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" at our next Classic Movie Monday on April 14th at 2:00 p.m.

Our book clubs are always welcoming new people to our fun-filled discussions.  

The Brown Bag Book Club meets on Thursday, April 10th at Noon to talk about the novel "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan.

The Evening Book Club will meet on Thursday, April 24th at 7:00 p.m. to talk about the novel "The Watch" by Joydeep Roy-Bhatacharya.

Local knitting aficionados Lorinda Inman and Glenance Shank will present a program on antique Circular Sock Knitting Machines (CSM).  

These machines were very popular during WWI when women made socks for the soldiers in the trenches of Europe.  

On Thursday, April 24th at 6:30 p.m. Glenance and Lorinda will share information about the history and usage of these fascinating machines.    

Our annual Friends of the Adel Public Library Luncheon will be on Saturday, April 26th at Noon with a program to follow at 1:00 pm.  

This year we are pleased to welcome local historian Earl Short from the Des Moines Streetcar Friends who will present a program called Trolleying Through Des Moines.  

Mr. Short's father was a Motorman for the streetcars, and Mr. Short recently initiated an exhibit on streetcars at the State Historical Society of Iowa.  

Please contact the library to make your reservations for the luncheon by Thursday, April 24th.

April is our last month of regular weekly children's activities which end on Thursday, May 1st and do not resume until the start of our Summer Reading program in June. In addition to our weekly story and music times we have three other children's programs in April:

Our Lego League will gather together to build all kinds of creative things on Monday, Monday, April 7th at 4:00 p.m. Come build with us!

Our first Early Out Movie for all school-aged children is on Wednesday, April 9th when we'll be watching "Frozen" on our big screen at 2:00 p.m. our second movie is on Wednesday, April 23rd when we'll watch "Turbo" at 2:00 pm.

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Information about the Adel Public Library and all of our clubs, events, and programs is available on our website at www.adelpl.org,  

or you can follow us on our Facebook page or on Twitter.