America’s SBDC Iowa has named Staci Ackerson of Shankland Insurance in Charles City as the winner of the 2019 Neal Smith Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The award honors an Iowa entrepreneur who has been in business a minimum of three years and has been significantly assisted by an Iowa Small Business Development Center. Ackerson, a U.S. Navy Desert Storm veteran, acquired Shankland Insurance in 2012. She and her husband, a retired contractor, rehabilitated the historic Charles City Western Railroad, with assistance from the NIACC Pappajohn SBDC and Community Revitalization of Charles City to help provide cash flows and options for acquiring capital. The renovated building not only houses Shankland Insurance, but also has executive apartments for long-term transitional corporate hires and incorporates small rental storage units.