Todd Hutcheson will share his experiences with last year's "derecho" storm in Cedar Rapids.
From Todd...
At 12:30p on August 10, 2020, the Cedar Rapids area was struck by a severe windstorm, which would later come to be known as a "derecho". A very rare weather event, the total path of the storm would eventually include 9 states, starting in southeast South Dakota and ending in northwest Kentucky. The storm peaked in Eastern Iowa, with the center of its path passing nearly directly over the Cedar Rapids area. Winds peaking at 140 mph were estimated, and the devastation (there's really no other word for it) across the entire eastern half of Iowa was something never before seen in the Midwestern United States. Today's presentation, given by Todd Hutcheson (who waited out the storm at the CRST International Graduate Center building on the Mount Mercy University campus in Cedar Rapids) will present information on the storm and show photos of some of the damage seen. While you will see some measure of the extent of the damage, it is impossible to convey the full impact of this once in a lifetime event.
Here is some background information on Todd...
Todd Hutcheson is new to the Cedar Valley area, living in Hudson now for 10 months. He retired from Rockwell-Collins in Cedar Rapids in 2017 after 32+ years in the company, spanning many different roles and functions. He began adjuncting for Mount Mercy University in 2011, and began full-time teaching (project management, strategic management, operations management, business ethics, supply chain management, growth mindset, sports marketing, etc.) within the University in the Masters of Business Administration program in 2018. He has since added the MBA Program Coordinator function to his University duties. Todd also runs his own consulting company, DSB Solutions, attempting to apply his expertise and experiences from the large corporate world to help small to medium sized businesses that don't have the same level of resources in-house. Todd's purpose statement is to "help others become even more successful than they already are". He specializes in developing and delivering "targeted training" in areas like project management, continuous improvement, strategic management, etc., providing executive coaching and facilitating, directing and helping to execute continuous improvement projects in his areas of expertise.
Todd has three grown children ... Tige (31), a Senior Account Executive in the Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx organization in Minneapolis, recently married Allie Kelly (27) who is an Advanced Mathematics teacher and Volleyball coach at Liberty High School in North Liberty, and Trey (21) who attends the University at Albany, studying Business and Business Analytics while playing basketball (this priority order is reinforced on every phone call and Facetime). Todd was a member of the Daybreak Rotary while in Cedar Rapids. He also spent 8 years on the Linn-Mar School District School Board, and enjoys spending time with his fiancee' Christy traveling when able, binge-watching shows, reading, exercising and riding herd over 2 dogs and 3 cats.