Ivy Tech Community
College Kokomo Region will honor Alliance & Chamber Operations Manager Karen McCoy with the region’s 2016
Alumni Achievement Award during its commencement ceremony Saturday, May 7.
The award is presented annually by Ivy Tech Kokomo Region to honor a single
alumnus or alumna who exemplifies a dedication to work, an appreciation of
lifelong learning and a commitment to community.
The 2016 honoree is a Kokomo native and former
owner of The Gallery, a small business specializing in art, framing and
interior design. Recognizing the need to expand her knowledge if the business
was to grow and prosper, McCoy enrolled in Ivy Tech Community College, earning
an Associate of Applied Science degree in computer programming technology in
1989. She put that degree to good use, increasing revenue by 40 percent and
developing and implementing a computer inventory system that enhanced the
business’ profitability.
Committed to the value of lifelong education,
McCoy earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, with summa cum laude
honors, from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2011. She also is a 2014 graduate
of the Ivy Tech co-sponsored Leadership Kokomo program, where she
enthusiastically supported the program’s focus on business professionals giving
back to the community.
McCoy has a long career in business
development, operations management, and community relations. This career has
included being a sales representative for Bona Vista Programs, a project
supervisor for a home construction firm, and several years as a real estate
broker and sales agent. She then put all her talents and experience to work as
the events and operations manager of the Greater Greenwood (Ind.) Chamber of
Commerce. In 2013, she returned to Kokomo to serve as Alliance and Chamber
operations manager of the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance and the
Greater Kokomo Chamber of Commerce. This role has offered the opportunity to be
professionally involved in virtually every business, industry and non-profit
entity in the community, including Ivy Tech Community College.
Since 2013, McCoy has shown dedication to the
community-building mission of the Alliance and Chamber. Through her ingenuity,
she has been instrumental in adding new Chamber members, reengaging others, and
adding programming that has been vital to growth and progress in the Kokomo
community. She understands the importance of person-to-person connections and
relationship-building as cornerstones for economic development.
“With her history of personal business success
and her service to her community through her leadership of the Chamber of
Commerce, Karen embodies both the spirit of Ivy Tech and the excellence to
which we want our graduates to aspire,” said Michelle Simmons, president of Ivy
Tech’s Kokomo Campus. “She is an exemplar for our students and deserving of
this recognition.”