There was one role that needed to be filled at the Business Record’s “90 Ideas in 90 Minutes” event — keeping the speakers on time.

My qualifications: being an editor who must meet multiple daily deadlines.

The day before the event, which drew more than 400 attendees to the Hilton Garden Inn in West Des Moines, I quipped to publisher/moderator Chris Conetzkey that we could tell the speakers to keep to the five-minute time limit or we’d put their photo on the next cover or take some similar action. 

Well, here are the results:

• As Lutheran Church of Hope’s Senior Pastor Michael Housholder had predicted, he led the pack at just about six minutes. “I am a preacher,” he said. He also promised to bring up the topic in a sermon if his photo appeared on the Business Record cover. He did so Sunday during his sermon at the West Des Moines Hope campus. (There’s nothing like being called out at a service with likely 500 other people.)

• Academics can rest assured they were well-represented with Grinnell College President Raynard Kington coming in at about four minutes, the shortest of the group.

• Of particular note is Erin Barfels, chief people officer at GuideOne Insurance, who filled in at the last minute for CEO and President Jessica Clark when Clark had to leave town for a family matter. Barfels met her time limit with ease, joking that most people don’t want to hear from the HR person at 7:30 a.m.

In conclusion: All speakers could teach the winners at the Academy Awards a thing or two. 

(We opted not to put anyone’s photo on the cover for straying over the time limit, as that would break our journalistic ethics.)

Next year, I’d like a whistle for the job.