Four woman-run businesses were selected as the winners of the New Business Award for the 2025 Carroll Chamber of Commerce’s Banquet. Adaptive Audiology Solutions, TopLoft Clothing, Mrs. Glynn and Co., and A Fun Top and Jeans were this year’s recipients for meeting the criteria as emcee Tim Fitzpatrick says is by highlighting the impact each has made on the community and strengthen Carroll’s position of regional hub of commerce and innovation. Carroll Chamber of Commerce’s Program Director Ashley Schable introduced Dr. Sondra Rierson with Adaptive Audiology Solutions, saying the business in Carroll was meant to be, as Dr. Rierson and her husband were wanting to move back to Iowa from Colorado. After learning of an unfilled position at a Carroll location, the Rierson family packed up and moved four weeks later.
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Dr. Rierson wishes to extend a thank you to the chamber for this award, as well as her family for their love and support. She thanks her fantastic team, who she says she couldn’t do any of this without. Rierson feels the Carroll community has been cheering her on and thanks everyone from the bottom of her heart for all the support. The next award recipient was Julie Hicks with A Fun Top and Jeans. Schable says Hicks earned a fashion merchandise degree from Iowa State, having a dream of owning a boutique. After life kept getting in the way, Hicks made her dream a reality in 2019 after making the move to Carroll.
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Hicks says she didn’t quite know how to put it into words, but the award took her by much surprise. She says to be honored with the three other incredible women was a pleasure and it feels good to know that the grind and effort that she puts into her business and the community was recognized. The third business recognized was Mrs. Glynn and Co, owned by Beth Glynn. Schable says the business has faced challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic to a truck crashing through the front of the store. However, Mrs. Glynn pushed on and remained a viable business in the community.
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Glynn thanks the Chamber and the community of Carroll for honoring her with this award. She says she took a risk in 2019, but all thanks to the ongoing support, making Mrs. Glynn and Co. a success. Glynn said she is inspired everyday by the other three women who won this award, and says the Carroll community is better together. Last, but not least, the final New Business award went to TopLoft Clothing owner Stephanie Hackfort. Starting as an online retailer in 2014, Hackfort expanded TopLoft Clothing in numerous of ways, now offering custom products and shifting her focus to online commerce.
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Hackfort says it was a fun surprise to win the New Business Award alongside three other amazing women business honors. She says its been an honor to celebrate 10 years in business in Carroll and says she could not do any of this without the support of her family, employees and the wonder community. She says it’s a true joy working with local businesses, schools, organizations and all the customers through the years and looks forward to what is to come. Stories from the other winners are included at the bottom of the page.
Dr. Rierson: “I want to thank the Carroll Chamber for this award. The success of Adaptive Audiology is certainly not mine alone, I had many people encouraging and supporting me this entire time. My husband Jeremy has been an incredible partner, not only supporting me in this journey, but also stepping up when I couldn’t always fill my normal role as Mom due to the demands of being a business owner. To my kids, Maggie and Hank, thank you for being so supportive-I’ll never forget when I came downstairs one morning when the business was closed due to Covid, and you were making rubber band bracelets to sell down at the park. The support of my extended family means so much. I grew up with two grandparents with significant hearing loss and while their experiences were quite different, the empathy I took away from their experience living with hearing loss still fuels me today to do all that I can to help our patients. I want to thank my amazing team-Melissa Nava, Julie Gehling, and Kimberly Kent. I also want to thank Susie Thelen, who started with me in the beginning and was such a gift to my practice when I was starting out. Since I opened the doors for the first time, I have felt like this entire community has been cheering me on. I can’t express how much that means to me. Thank you all for supporting our business. I hope to continue doing this work until they wheel me out in a wheelchair!”
Julie Hicks: “I don’t know how to put it into words. As a small business owner, it’s the daily grind to be recognized. To have someone recognized what you put into your business feels really good to have that acknowledged. I’m so thankful to be in the Carroll area and love the Carroll area, and love being apart of the Chamber. It took me by surprise so much, that I didn’t really know what to say. I felt like I was standing up there with those three other pretty imitating women so it felt like an honor to be considered part of that group.”
Beth Glynn: “I would like to send my thanks to the Carroll Chamber and the community of Carroll for honoring me, my business, with the new business award. I am proud to be a member of this community, to be raising my family here. I took a risk opening a store in 2019. I never worked in retail store. It was a total leap of faith but with the support of this community it was a success. I never really think too much about the sales, I focus more on the experience and how people feel when they come into my store. And I think we just really found that success because of the support of our community, and just the little community that we built at Mrs. Glynn and Co. too. Again, I’m honored to have received this award especially alongside so many other women in business who inspire me and make me want to be better each day too. I thank you for meeting me at Mrs. Glynn and Co. for all these years and I look forward to what the future holds for my business and for our community. Because as many said in their speeches, we are better together. So, thank you again and meet me at Mrs. Glynn and Co.”
Steph Hackfort: “Wow! What a fun surprise it was to win the New Business Award alongside three other amazing women business owners! It’s been an honor to celebrate 10 years in business in Carroll and I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my family, my employees over the years and our wonderful community. It’s a true joy working with local businesses, schools and organizations and all of our customers through the years. I look forward to what is to come! Thank you!”
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