About the Iowa Association of Student Councils

A Brief History of the Iowa Association of Student Council

The Iowa Association of Student Council organization came to an end in the late 1960s as a near riot broke out at the state convention.  The 1960s was a time of protests and at the state convention during the election of officers’ shouts, jeers and general mayhem ensued.  It was decided at that time to abandon the state organization.

In the late 1970s there was movement to have a state meeting for student councils.  Jim Ferguson of Iowa City later became in charge of these conventions.  The first state meeting occurred in 1980 at the Student Union on the Iowa State University campus.  There were about 100 people in attendance and the father of student council Earl Reum, of Colorado was the speaker.  The conference would continue to grow until it moved into C.Y. Stephens and the Hilton Coliseum.

The National Student Council Association had been continuing to have National Conventions. Several schools from Iowa attended these with three schools regularly attending:  Centerville, Ottumwa and Atlantic.  It was at one of these early 80s conventions that discussion was held about organizing a state association.  Mary O’Brien Orman of Ottumwa became the moving force during the 80s to start the state association.  In 1985 a board was appointed to set up the state organization with Mary Orman becoming the state executive director.

During the late 1980s there were no officers but those who attended the National Convention took turns being the Master of Ceremonies at the State Convention.  One of the first actions to occur was to develop a Student Council Advisor of the Year in 1986 so that more individuals would want to become advisors. This was followed by having a spring advisor’s conference to help advisors share information and to learn new leadership techniques and skills. Next a State Leadership Camp was designed around 1990 that mimicked national leadership camps. This was followed by a plan to recognize councils who could prove that they were quality programs. The Distinguished Student Council Award program began also in 1990.   A plan needed to be formalized and a State Council Constitution was drawn up in 1995.  Once the constitution was in place then the state officer positions were developed.   Following the development of the constitution then it was decided to honor administrators that support student council with the Administrator of the Year Award.

Mary Orman resigned from the executive director position in 1995, and was replaced by Kelley Neiber of Des Moines.  Kelly had become a member of the board in 1993 and had also taken over the reigns of the Iowa Leadership Camp.  Kelly attended her first National Convention in Myrtle Beach and has attended each one since that time and has also served on the National Board.

Iowa has also had two students who have been selected from Region Five to serve on the National Board, they were: Gwen Mowrey from Calamus Wheatland in 1995 and Laura Gingrich from Linn Mar in 2001.

Janet Young of Sioux City was elected as the Adult member from Region Five to serve on the National Board in 2006.

Susan McDanel of Centerville who helped Orman to develop the state organization and who served on the board for 25 years was recognized for her leadership in 2006 by being named the Region V Student Council of the year and the National Student Council Advisor of the Year.

Iowa Student Council is proud of the role it plays in the leadership of the state.  Many councils have been recognized for their outstanding service to both their schools and community.  By developing a strong organization the Iowa Association of Student Councils will continue to remain a dominant force in Iowa.

IASC Constitution