RUTH STORM - Wartburg College

10 FALL | 2012
Paving the Way
Wartburg graduates have key leadership positions promoting the Cedar Valley
by Kristine Milbrandt ’14
Four Wartburg College alumni
are enjoying the benefits of
alumni connections and creating
opportunities for the next generation of
Knights through their work in Cedar Valley
economic development organizations.
Aaron Buzza ’01, Beth Neal Keeney ’05,
and Jim Marlin ’01 work for the Waterloo
Convention and Visitors Bureau. Brent
Matthias ’92 is executive director of Waverly
Area Economic Development.
Aaron and his wife, Crystal Heins Buzza
’03, settled in Waterloo immediately after
graduation. He is now executive director
of the Waterloo Convention and Visitors
Bureau, and she works for the Waterloo
Community School District as director of
strategic partnerships.
“We liked the community, which we
got to know, obviously, at Wartburg,” said
Aaron, originally from Lanesboro, Minn.
“We found really good jobs here. We enjoyed
seeing progress, so we planted some roots in a
community that we believe in.”
Anamosa native Marlin moved back to
the Cedar Valley from Des Moines and
is now executive director
of the Cedar Valley
Beth Neal Keeney ’05, Aaron Buzza ’01, and Jim Marlin ’01 promote Waterloo tourism, including
the new amphitheater overlooking the Cedar River and the kayak course downtown.
Sports Commission, part of the Waterloo
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“With kids now, it’s a good place for them,”
Marlin said. “We’re settled; we have lots of
friends. From a Wartburg perspective, we
have a massive alumni base, and it’s just made
sense for us.”
Keeney, originally from Williamsburg,
left the Cedar Valley after graduating from
Wartburg. She and her husband, Zachary
’05, returned to the area when she became
marketing and communications director
at the Waterloo Convention and Visitors
Bureau.