IHCC Regional Regional Entrepreneurship Center Announces New Director

Indian Hills

OTTUMWA — The Indian Hills Community College Regional Entrepreneurship Center (REC) will have a new director, beginning December 7. A.J. Gevock, an Ottumwa native and a familiar face at IHCC, will take over at the business incubator that is operated by Indian Hills.

Gevock has been with IHCC since 2010 in roles in student services and as project director for the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing grant. He is currently the Director of Outreach for the Midwest Photonics Education Center (MPEC), which was established at the college through a National Science Foundation grant. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UNI.

The REC is a “full-service training center and business incubator” to help start-up businesses and those looking for growth and support opportunities. Clients can learn strategies for such essentials as marketing, networking, and product research and development. It is a place for businesses to grow and, ultimately, to graduate from the incubation stage to locate in IHCC’s 10-county region and strengthen the local economies. There are currently five fledgling businesses located in the REC, with nearly 800 square-feet of space now available after a business recently “graduated” from the center.

Funding for the center was provided through a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, Ottumwa Legacy Foundation, Ottumwa Rotary, Wapello County Board of Supervisors and Indian Hills.

Along with Gevock, IHCC staff at the REC include Bryan Ziegler, director of the Indian Hills Small Business Development Center, and Shannon Stevens, REC Assistant.