NewsStories Of Opportunity: Making A Difference

This article was originally published on Jan. 7, 2027, as part of the full release of the 2025 Stories Of Opportunity. The Stories Of Opportunity is VGM Group’s annual report, showcasing the successes of VGM and its employee owners.   

Volunteering For The Community

Employee owners consistently Provide Meaningful, Memorable Service each day for patients, partners, and providers. And they don’t stop there, extending that service to the communities they call home.

Jenny Hughes, HOMELINK

For Jenny Hughes, Marketing and Communications Director for HOMELINK and employee owner since 2014, volunteering has always been second nature.

“It’s harder not to volunteer than to volunteer,” Jenny said. “It’s not that I have to help, it’s that I get to.”

As a college student at UNI, she participated as a conversation partner in the Culture & Intensive English Program, helping foreign exchange students acclimate to the English language and American culture.

She also helped to establish the nonprofit volunteer marketing group, Absolutely Indee, a city-wide initiative to help bring more visitors to the Independence, Iowa, area. One of the most rewarding projects Jenny worked on was the bond referendum campaign to construct a new Independence high school, which successfully passed.

For 11 years, Jenny has volunteered to lead the marketing efforts for the annual Independence BrewBQ, a one-day craft beer and BBQ festival, which also includes a bike ride through Buchanan County. Since 2019, BrewBQ has been able to donate nearly $100,000 to various charities. 2025 was the final BrewBQ event, raising $10,000 for Otter Creek Animal Shelter.

Brynn Prier, VGM & Associates

From a young age, Brynn Prier, Analytics Team Lead with VGM & Associates and employee owner since 2020, always had the passion for giving back. But it really started to take shape when she got involved with Dance Marathon her freshman year at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). In her senior year, she helped raise $500,000, later matched by an anonymous donor.

Brynn started finding ways to Make A Difference the second she joined Team VGM. She joined the Community Giving Committee and went on to lead the Family Fund Fundraising Committee.

One of the hit fundraising events Brynn brought to the Family Fund was Pizza, Puzzles, & Pints, which in 2025 raised nearly $10,000. Pizza, Puzzles, & Pints was such a hit initially, that Brynn brought the event to other nonprofit organizations she volunteered for, including House of Hope and Let’s Start Talking.

“The roles I play to Make A Difference… you usually can’t see that impact,” said Brynn. “Just knowing I’ve done my part to make an impact on someone, on a family, on a community—that’s enough to fill my cup.” 

We Own This Place

During the 2025 Be The Change announcement, CEO Jeremy Stolz also announced that VGM officially owns its headquarters in Waterloo, Iowa.

To celebrate this new level of ownership, VGM held a day of service during Employee Ownership Month in October to beautify its buildings and surrounding communities throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“We now truly own this place, and there’s pride that comes with that,” said Christa Miehe, President of Corporate Communications for VGM Group and employee owner since 2002. “We had more than 600 employee owners take time to help with service day. This shows their dedication to making their place of work more than just a place to work.”

Be The Change

On Valentine’s Day, the VGM Community Giving Committee announced VGM’s 2025 Be The Change Partners for the year. The committee vets various nonprofits located in communities across the U.S. that our more than 1,600 employee owners call home.

These three organizations make a PAWsitive impact for families and their pets in their communities.

• $5,000 – New Leash On Life, Greater Nashville Area, Tennessee
• $7,500 – Animal Rescue League Of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa
• $25,000 – Cedar Bend Humane Society, Cedar Valley Area, Iowa

The 2026 Be The Change Partners will be announced on Thursday, Feb. 12.

To read the 2025 Stories Of Opportunity in full, click here.