Annual Meeting
Our big event where we celebrate members and successes
CELEBRATING SUCCESS
Join us as we recognize our members and the tremendous year we had.
The Annual Meeting is the Economic Alliance’s signature event, where valued member businesses and regional champions come together to celebrate achievements and learn about the organization’s goals for the year ahead.
2023 Featured Keynote Speaker: Alex Baker
Alex Baker is an Atlanta-based consultant with Maxis Advisors. His expertise includes location strategy and economic development incentives analysis and negotiation for office and industrial clients. Using a data-driven approach, Alex advises clients through site selection, labor market analytics, and helps them pursue federal, state, and local incentives. In the past 5 years, Alex has provided support on projects resulting in over $1.5 billion investment and more than 2000 jobs. He has secured over $25 million in direct incentives value for clients.
Alex has worked with a diverse range of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, technology, automotive, food services, and cold storage. Prior to joining Maxis, Alex worked as a consultant at Avison Young, EY, and Accenture. Earlier in his career, he supported global strategic business engagement at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. during the Obama Administration.
Alex holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Lauren, reside in Atlanta with their son Rory.
We Are Proud to Honor Lura McBride With the 2023 Howard Hall Excellence in Business Award
Lura McBride has been with Van Meter Inc. (“Van Meter”) for 15 years, serving as the President & CEO for the last 8 years. As the leader, her focus is on building strong teams through exceptional leadership and a high-performance culture to create lasting value for customers, supplier partners, communities, and employee-owners.
McBride is no stranger to the community, as her philanthropic nature has impacted so many non-profit organizations. She serves on various boards and committees including United Fire Group Insurance, University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, The Hall-Perrine Foundation, and is a founding member of the Grand Impact. Previously she served on the UnityPoint St. Luke’s Board, Tanager Board, was the co-chair of the Waypoint Capital Campaign, co-chair of the first Leadership for Five Seasons Corridor Day and has been involved in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. In the industry, she serves on the Van Meter Board of Directors and the Affiliated Distributors Electrical Board.
In addition to McBride’s business and philanthropic passions, what she treasures most is her family. She’s married to Ryan and has four children. Her oldest is a recent graduate of the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. The three others are all current students at Tippie. Ryan and Lura are both Iowa graduates and the entire family are Hawkeyes.
Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor
Thank you to our Supporting Sponsors
