Ben Hoover

Account Executive
Holmes Murphy
AGE: 36

Who are your local mentors?

My mentors include my father-in-law Mike Klappholz, retired African American Museum of Iowa founder and Executive Director Tom Moore and countless others that have guided me through life’s crossroads.

What was your biggest break?

My biggest break came when my brother took me away from the party house I was living in and helped enroll me at Hawkeye Community College.

What do you know now that you wish you had known earlier in your career?

That with struggle comes progress.

What would most people be surprised to learn about you?

I was a rebellious young man that often found himself in trouble.

If you had $1 million to give, what causes would you support?

I would give to the organization that took a chance on kids straight out of college and taught me the importance of legacies: The African American Museum of Iowa.

What do you want to accomplish by the time you are 50?

I hope to have inspired as many people as I could to find a way to give back to the community by connecting them to community initiatives that fit their passions.