Cedar Rapids City Council member Ashley Vanorny has been named the president of the executive board of the Iowa League of Cities.
She became the board’s new president Sept. 20 during the league’s annual business meeting, held in conjunction with the group’s annual conference and exhibit in Cedar Rapids. She had served on the league’s executive board since 2019.
Ms. Vanorny was also awarded the Iowa League of Cities’ Rhonda Wood Smith Award during the league’s awards banquet in Cedar Rapids Sept. 21.
The Rhonda Wood Smith Award was created to recognize exemplary work of young city officials and those new to city government. Award criteria included innovation, bold leadership, commitment and sacrifice.
The award was named for Rhonda Wood Smith, a single parent who served as mayor of Garner while working as a municipal consultant. She died of cancer in 1997 after establishing a reputation as a civic-minded person committed to her community.
Ms. Vanorny has represented Cedar Rapids as a council member since 2017, and at the time of her election, was the second-youngest person ever elected to the council. She is a lifelong Cedar Rapidian and has served on several committees while actively addressing human trafficking and helping establish a citizen review board.
She achieved her master’s in health care administration from Des Moines University and has served with the Linn County League of Women Voters, Linn County Foster Review Board and the Junior League of Cedar Rapids.
The Iowa League of Cities’ executive board is responsible for adopting policies to provide direction to the league, adopting the annual operating budget, establishing membership fees and providing direction to the organization.
The board consists of 14 director positions and five officer positions: president, president‐elect and three past presidents. All of these positions must be filled by current city officials who represent cities of various populations and geographic locations.
