City Receives 2016 Ripple Award from Young Professionals Organization

The Sioux City Growth Organization (SCGO) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2016 Ripple Awards. The Individual award winner is Renae Billings and the Business award recipient is the City of Sioux City. SCGO presented the awards on Friday, September 30^th during their celebration of Sioux City Young Professionals Day.

Each year, the SCGO Ripple Awards are given out to an individual and business who have made a significant 'ripple' or positive impact in the community by excelling in their efforts to attract, retain, grow and develop the Siouxland community.

Billings is an Economic Development Specialist with the City of Sioux City. She is active with the City's business retention and attraction program and works with employers as they consider new investment in the community along with potential new businesses looking to relocate to the area. Billings is also very involved with efforts to engage and connect entrepreneurs. Over the past three years, she has assisted with the coordination of multiple entrepreneurial events held locally, including Biz Brew, Base 3, First Friday Coffee, Startup Weekend, Innovation Market, Dream Big Grow Here and Venture School.

The City of Sioux City gives back to the community by providing opportunities for their employees to get involved. City employees coordinate city-wide litter clean-up and river clean-up events and participate in an annual United Way campaign where, in 2015, they raised over $43,875. The City encourages their employees to become involved in the community and allows employees to volunteer up to four hours each month during working hours. Additionally, employees are members of multiple organizations and non-profit boards, including LaunchPad Children’s Museum, United Way, LifeServe Blood Center, Blue Zones, Habitat for Humanity, etc. The city also works to create and attract events to bring in tourism spending to increase local business revenue, including RAGBRAI and the NAIA Basketball, Volleyball and Softball Championships. They also sponsor many events that benefit the community such as: Saturday in the Park, The Big Parade, Mardi Gras Gala, Artsplash, Fall Fest, Innovation Market, Farmers Market, and more.

“Sioux City GO is very grateful for both Renae and the City of Sioux City,” stated Britney Book, President of the Sioux City Growth Organization. “They both go above and beyond to support and encourage young professionals in the community and are constantly working to attract new events, programs and opportunities that create a positive atmosphere for young professionals.”

SCGO would like to thank everyone who nominated individuals and businesses for the Ripple Awards this year and encourages you to keep an eye out for those who make a ripple in the community to nominate next year.

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SCGO is comprised of over 130 young professionals who work to create a positive impact in the Siouxland community. The goal of the organization is to attract and retain young professionals and involve them in shaping the future of Sioux City. Members enjoy committee and volunteer opportunities, networking, after-hours educational and social events, community-based beautification and involvement in the creation of imaginative community events. For more information about SCGO, visit www.siouxcitygo.com.