A major transition in Perry’s commercial community was celebrated Thursday afternoon when the Perry Economic Development Inc. (PEDI) group, the Perry Chamber of Commerce and La Poste LLC sponsored a community gathering to express thanks to Jay and Denise Hartz, the outgoing owners of the Hotel Pattee, and to welcome Tom Maxwell, the incoming owner of the local landmark.
The afternoon of refreshments and speeches also gave an opportunity for the community to greet the new executive director of the Perry Chamber of Commerce, Lynsi Pasutti of Stuart, who started on Wednesday.
PEDI Secretary Matt McDevitt opened the event by welcoming the standing-room-only crowd to La Poste on behalf of the sponsors. After uncharacteristically brief remarks, McDevitt introduced Maxwell, who was warmly received by the audience.
Smiling widely, Maxwell said he is still calling his wife “about 12 times a day. We’re very excited about it.” He also spoke briefly before introducing Aaron Lenz, the newly hired general manager of the hotel.
Lenz, a Perry native and PHS graduate, greeted the many well known faces in the audience with a familiar, “Hi, guys.” The tall Lenz speaks in a tone and manner, as La Poste’s Jenny Eklund rightly noted, that are very similar to his father’s, Alan Lenz of Perry.
“I swore about 15 years ago I’d never come back to Perry,” Aaron Lenz said. “Funny how life changes over time, but my little kids and my family need to be around where I grew up and had a great time back then, and here the town of Perry has been a great welcome back so far.”
Lenz described Maxwell as “truly the best person this town could ask for” as a successor to the Hartzes.
Perry Economic Development Inc. Vice President John McGee then spoke in praise of Jay and Denise Hartz.
“They put their heart and soul into this property, as all of you know,” McGee said. “You’d find both of them in and around the hotel day in and day out, at all hours of the day or night, wherever something needed to be done. Then when it came to helping the community, Jay and Denise were always ready. They understood the role that the hotel played in Perry’s past. They took the time to understand the landmark that it is in Perry as well as the economic asset, the economic-development asset it continues to be. They respected that, and we really appreciate that and thank them for it.”
McGee also thanked the Hartzes for finding the most suitable successor to carry on their successful business development.
“They put Perry on the map in the cycling community,” he said, “and when it came time for Jay and Denise to move on, they took the time to work with community leaders to find just the right win-win set up and to leave the hotel in the most capable hands.”
The Hartzes were visibly moved by the praise and maybe by the sentimental sense of an ending. Denise Hartz replied first.
“Jay and I spoke,” she said, “and we don’t think ever in our life will we ever find a community like this with such loving, generous and grateful people. We feel truly blessed to have been here. We feel like everyone is family, and you will have a special place in our hearts forever because we know this part of our life, we will never be able to replace that.”
Jay Hartz spoke equally emotionally, noting the providential way things have worked out for the hotel.
“Personally, I think it’s really cool that Aaron’s moving back,” he said. “What he said really touched my heart because that’s what’s it’s about, moving back and you all seeing the grandkids. We definitely wanted to find the right owner, and we have found the right owner. God placed him in our life, and Aaron came, and this whole thing is just magical. It was magical from the moment we got here.”
McGee and McDevitt then presented the Hartzes with a token of Perry’s esteem and gratitude, a hallway mirror produced by Betsy Peterson Designs. The audience rose to applaud at length the Hartzes and their four years of hard work and to wish them continued success in the next stage of their lives.
Before the ceremonies, McGee outlined some of the accomplishments of Perry Economic Development Inc., and he listed the PEDI members, including President Deb Lucht, Treasurer Monica Scheib and board members Dan Spellman, Scott Finneseth, Jacob Ballard, Tom Burkgren, Bill Clark, Rich Jones, Jason Levan, Terry Nielsen, Jon Peters, Rich Saemisch and Mike Van Houweling.
He said the PEDI group acts as a catalyst in supporting and facilitating sustainable growth and development in Perry, and its numerous partnerships — with the city of Perry, Perry Community Schools, Perry Chamber of Commerce, Greater Dallas County Development Alliance, Des Moines Area Community College, Dallas County, Wiese Foundation, Alliant Energy, Iowa Rural Cooperative and MidAmerican Energy — have been critical in nearly all the group’s accomplishments since it formed in 1984.
“Perry is a progressive, financially viable and diverse community,” he said. “Perry Economic Development Inc. advances the financial, social and environmental well-being of our citizens and businesses, and we are development ready, technology savvy, entrepreneurial and innovation friendly.”
