2023 Board of Directors

Allan and his wife Gina are owners of WineStyles in Johnston. He has been a member of the Chamber since they opened the store in 2010. Allan has had various roles in the Johnston Chamber as well as the Greater Des Moines Partnership. He grew up in a small town in southern Iowa and graduated from Central College in Pella. He spent many years in IT work in the Des Moines area before opening WineStyles. He enjoys traveling with Gina when time allows, being involved with their church and an occasional round of golf.

Sharon is a small business owner and Financial Advisor with Edward Jones working with individuals, families and small businesses helping them achieve what’s most important to them – to live better, more fulfilling lives. Prior to joining Edward Jones, Sharon spent more than 25 years consulting small businesses to Fortune 100 companies in the areas of brand and loyalty marketing/publishing, technology, and leadership development. In her free time, Sharon enjoys traveling with husband Stephen, photography, and spending time with friends and family – especially son Samuel in Seattle and daughter Ksenia in St. Paul. Sharon joined the chamber as the JCSD rep in 2021.

As Charter Bank’s Chief Operating Officer, Sharm is responsible for the overall operations of the Bank which includes data processing, computer operations, financial and regulatory reporting and supporting staff in their respective daily needs. Sharm started with Charter Bank in 2007. He is from a small town in eastern Iowa where he grew up working in his family owned bank. This opportunity laid the foundation for his passion to always work for a true community bank like Charter Bank. Sharm graduated from Iowa State University in 1985 with a BBA with an emphasis in Finance. After graduation, he stayed in central Iowa working for 3 other community banks before joining Charter Bank. Sharm and his wife ReDawn live in Johnston and have two grown boys. They enjoy being involved with their church and in their spare time they enjoy each other’s company, spending time with family, cheering on the Cyclones, watching movies on the BIG screen and an occasional round of golf.

Paula is a long time resident of Johnston. She’s been happily married for thirty one years and has two grown children, Allie and Mason. She enjoys shopping, spending time with family and helping the women of Johnston look and feel their best.

Tabitha was a Johnston resident for 21 years and now reside in Urbandale. She has been a mortgage loan officer for 27 years in the Des Moines area, with 23 of those years in Johnston. Tabitha has worked for the last 3 years at Compass Mortgage in Johnston. Many years ago, she graduated from Drake University. With her husband Joe she enjoys visiting their two kids in Arizona and Colorado, as well as spending as much time as they can at the lake. Their first grandchild is on the way in July, and they are very excited about that life change! Tabitha has been a Johnson Chamber member for 3 years and looks forward to networking with area business people, and building relationships to encourage growth in our Johnston community, as part of the Chamber Board.

Andrea is excited to be a new member of the Johnston Chamber of commerce board! She is a 17 year resident of Johnston. She and her husband Troy have three sons, with their youngest still at the Johnston High School. Andrea has been working at Big Green Umbrella Media here in Johnston as a sales executive for the last 5 years. She has been an active Johnston Chamber Ambassador for the last 4 years and looks forward to contributing more to the Johnston business community and to the chamber at the board level.

Scott has worked for State Farm since 2004 and has been a member of the chamber since then as well. He joined the Ambassadors in 2019 and continues to be a volunteer at chamber events as well as a dedicated board member. His wife Rose is a band teacher for 5th-8th grade students. They have 3 children, Michael, Anna and Brynn. In his spare time, he coaches bantam hockey for his son’s team on the Des Moines Youth Hockey Association. He also likes to go boating and cheering on the Cyclones.

Tom has been a Johnston resident his whole life, and grew up in the Johnston School system from kindergarten through graduation. He is involved in the Johnston Youth Mentorship Program and the Johnston Alumni Association. Scott owns Lashier Graphics & Signs, which specializes in custom design, production, and installation of graphics and signage throughout Iowa.

Luther is a Facilities Operations Manager at Corteva. He lives in Johnston and his 3 children attend Johnston Schools. He is an involved board member, volunteering for events and serving on our Green Days Committee. In his spare time he enjoys farming, boating and volunteering.

Derek is Store Manager of the Johnston Hy-Vee. He has been with Hy-Vee for 26 years and is new to the Hy-Vee in Johnston. Derek is married to Rachel Sparks, and they have 4 children, Gavin (9), Adalyn (7), Corbin (4) and Jackson (1).  Derek has been on several boards in his tenure with Hy-Vee. To name a few Pella Dollars for Scholars President, Pella Opera House Board, Kiwanis, and an EMT at the Pella Ambulance Service. He was also named in the 2017 Hy-Vee Hall of Fame for community involvement. He is currently a member of the Johnston Rotary and looks forward to getting to know the community and being involved in Johnston and contributing to the chamber board. In his spare time he enjoys playing basketball, bowling, going to the movies and spending time with family.

As owner and creative director of RPS Creative Group, Ursula understands that branding is more than buzzwords and optimism. She began building websites in 1999 to fund her education at UNLV while she was studying architecture and engineering. Her interest in web design continued even after her career in civil engineering advanced, which eventually lead her back to her true passion- website design. In 2016, she had an idea with her business partner to start a company that focuses on telling a brand’s story with creativity, clarity, and consistency. Ursula believes that the success of RPS Creative Group is synonymous with her clients’ success and strives to stay ahead of the ever-changing digital world. Being a board member for the Johnston Chamber of Commerce is a new and exciting opportunity where she hopes to contribute to the growth and success of the city and our local businesses!

Elizabeth’s role as Agile Coach at John Deere Financial is to be a servant leader for several software development teams. She serves by removing impediments and roadblocks, navigating through conflict and making the value of the task clear. Her passion is helping develop and coach others as they work together to creatively and efficiently meet customer’s ever-changing needs. She has been a resident of Johnston since childhood. She is married and has 3 young daughters. This is her first year being involved in the Johnston Chamber and is excited to learn and support all the wonderful businesses in our city!