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This is Grow Clinton’ s second Rising Stars lineup. This puts the total number of rising stars at over 55 individuals. We look forward to unveiling new rosters in the years to come. After all, our mission is to create and support the business environment where our Rising Starts can prosper and grow into the leaders they are meant to be.
In the 2025 Rising Stars lineup, you’ ll find leaders who recently moved to the area and quickly established themselves as leaders in the community. You will see leaders who are taking over generational businesses who are adding their own vision while carrying forward a legacy. You’ ll also find emerging leaders just starting their careers. The current class includes entrepreneurs, nonprofit professionals, medical and professional service providers, and a rich tapestry of educational and career backgrounds. On the following page, you’ ll meet someone launching a career at a 160-yearold bank while another is beginning their management career at a company set to fully open in 2026.
We are proud to highlight this diversity in backgrounds, and this is precisely why Grow Clinton merged in 2022. Grow Clinton exists to support entrepreneurship, leadership, new businesses, established businesses, workforce; all creating quality of life that attracts residents, and most of all, to tell these stories. This publication is a dynamic representation of our mission. We exist because of these leaders in this publication. These Rising Stars are already making an imprint, and in a decade, they’ ll firmly be the face of their businesses and be the ones choosing the next generation of Rising Stars.
Grow Clinton is here to develop entrepreneurship and leadership. Our EntreFuel initiative offers monthly workshops and one-on-one sessions with Conor Flaherty from the Small Business Development Center. Whether you ' re launching a new business or growing an existing one, we help refine your business plan, define your customer profile, improve marketing strategies, and help identify growth goals. Everyone has a growth goal!
We also offer the Grow Clinton Lab through the Rural Ideas Network. This lab allows business leaders to tap into a national hub of mentors for all your business needs. A very popular lab session is on website review where experts review your website and give tips. We also host regular EntreFuel Hour programs focused on different aspects of business development. These sessions focus on how to build stronger partnerships with your diverse workforce or how to prepare your business for big events. Every week, our office is committed to developing small business resources. We are very active in the Downtown Clinton Alliance and Lyons Business & Professional Association. SO! Do you have a business idea? Come to our office and we’ ll help you shape it from concept to reality. But be prepared: we love to dive into financial projections, experiment with pop-ups, and remind folks— there’ s no such thing as free money. Reach out to Matt Parbs at mparbs @ growclinton. com to begin your business journey.
Grow Clinton equally focuses on the development of leadership skills and leaders. We offer Entrefuel Leadership Unlocked, a free monthly program led by Dr. Charlie Minnick. Every month a new leadership topic is presented. From emotional intelligence to conflict resolution and a lot of things in between. We also offer our long running Leadership Institute. Going through Leadership Institute is one of the best ways to kickstart your leadership journey, offering connections and context to navigate the Clinton region effectively.
All of these Rising Stars are part of member businesses. Many of them have utilized our membership benefits, served on Grow Clinton committees, and are a public face in the community. As a 501( c)( 6), Grow Clinton exists because of our member investors. They make these free programs and resources possible. They power business expansion, attraction, and retention. If you ' re not yet a member, we invite you to join and help shape the growth-minded ecosystem that will support future generations of Rising Stars.
At the end of this publication is a collection of the 2024-2025 Grow Clinton accomplishments, membership benefits, our board of directors, and our Value Spotlight Awards. Grow Clinton is a dynamic group of committed professionals who want to celebrate all our region’ s successes and be involved in every aspect of our region’ s development. If interested in becoming a member, please reach out to Jenny Holm at jholm @ growclinton. com or call 563.242.5702.
We want to thank our region for staying awesome! We know this publication will drive home why we are a special place with amazing people.
Matt Parbs Grow Clinton
Vice President of Community & Economic Development
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2025 | RISING STARS 3