Valley Junction volunteer helps the district maintain its flavor

West Des Moines is the place closest to Frank Hutchens’ heart. He was born there, grew up there. Although he left for a while to live in St. Louis and New York, he came home to West Des Moines. Hutchens, a semi-retired former vice president of marketing for First Bank, recently received the Valley Junction Main Street Iowa Volunteer of the Year award. The award recognized his role as board member and treasurer of the Historic Valley Junction Foundation.

The Main Street concept was developed in 1977 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. In 1980, the National Main Street Center was formed, and ever since it has worked with communities nationwide to preserve and revitalize historic commercial areas. In 1985, the Iowa Legislature approved the establishment of the Main Street Iowa program through the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Main Street Iowa has 34 active communities, including Valley Junction, which joined the program in 1987.

The Historic Valley Junction Foundation has been key to the success of the district, according to the Main Street West Des Moines Web site. The foundation works with West Des Moines businesses to promote Valley Junction. It sends out information on the area and plans and sponsors events such as the farmers market, Music in the Junction, Antique Jamboree, Spring Art Market, Fall Art Fest and a craft fair in June.

“The concept of Main Street, nationwide, is to retain the original flavor and culture of small-town America,” Hutchens said. “The city of West Des Moines has been very supportive, evolving and updating while maintaining Valley Junction’s historic roots as a railroad community.”

Hutchens, who recently retired from the Historic Valley Junction Foundation board but still serves on several committees, was surprised to learn he would receive the Volunteer of the Year award.

“A few days before the awards dinner, (Historic Valley Junction Foundation director) J.D. Mullen asked me, ‘So, do you think you’re going to go?’ I said I didn’t know, and he said, “Look, you have to come, because you won.'”

Hutchens says he could never have devoted the time and effort necessary to serve the Historic Valley Junction Foundation without the support of First Bank. He says the West Des Moines-based company encourages its employees to be active in the chambers of commerce, service clubs and foundations of every community with a First Bank branch.

“Frank, as a First Bank associate, a former business owner and a resident of the community, has put his heart and soul into the Valley Junction area,” said First Bank President and CEO Rick Messerschmidt. “He has really enjoyed working with all of the residents and business owners in the community.”

It was Valley Junction that led Hutchens, a customer of First Bank since the 1940s, to work for the bank 10 years ago. Hutchens came to First Bank for a loan to repair his wife’s business, The Dublin Door, which was damaged by the floods of 1993. Somewhere in the midst of getting the loan, he got a job with the bank, too.

For years, he has served as a liaison between the foundation and the bank. In his most recent position at treasurer of the foundation, Hutchens said, his job was updating and streamlining its business operations. He is proud of what the organization has accomplished.

“In a way, Valley Junction has retained the character it had in the [19]50s,” Hutchens said. “Its been one of the most successful Main Street communities.”