Governor Kim Reynolds visited Trophies Plus in Breda Friday afternoon on a tour of rural Iowa businesses and alumni of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Since 1984, Trophies Plus has supplied trophies, plaques, ribbons and other similar award materials. Owner, Jim Jensen, told Reynolds the pandemic had negatively impacted their operations, just like many other Iowa small businesses, and state and federal assistance, such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), was essential in keeping their staff employed. Jensen, who graduated from the Goldman Sachs’ leadership course in 2019, says the leadership course and helped him navigate the flood of information and applications coming out at the onset of the pandemic. Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
Jensen adds not only did the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program help them gain access to assistance; it gave him and his staff the ability to rapidly adjust their business model.
Trophies Plus also sewed medical gowns for local hospitals and clinics when supplies were at critically low levels and started producing custom face coverings. Reynolds says she has heard many similar stories from around the state.
Reynolds also visited Aspen Leaf Café and Coffeehouse in Pocahontas and the King Theatre in Ida Grove during her tour of western Iowa businesses Friday.