BVU Alum Named Executive Director of Storm Lake United
Storm Lake combines the best of many worlds for Texas native set to celebrate growth, diversity, and more in Buena Vista County seat.
Buena Vista University alum Breanna Horsey has been named Executive Director of Storm Lake United. Horsey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science in 2020, will oversee the organization and partnerships of all Storm Lake United events and activities, such as Wood, Wine & Blues, Storm Lake’s Summer Concert Series and much more.
“We’ll work to promote all businesses in Storm Lake while doing what we can to increase tourism and visits to our city,” she says.
Horsey isn’t just a BVU alum, she’s also a graduate student, on pace to complete her BVU master’s degree in organizational leadership this May.
“I have found working on my master’s at BVU to be both challenging and rewarding,” she says. “I’ve enjoyed the coursework in graduate school even more than I did as an undergraduate. I’ve found my niche and it seems to be a perfect fit for me.”
“In raising a child here, we are fortunate to get that feel of a smaller Midwestern community while additionally experiencing all the benefits of being in a place that’s home to people from all over the world.”
Breanna Horsey
BVU and Storm Lake, she maintains, were also ideal fits for Horsey, who relocated to the Buena Vista County seat, population 10,000, from Houston, Tex., population 6.6 million.
“I’m from a smaller town in Texas, but then lived in Houston for several years before moving here,” she says. “I worried about moving to a rural location and being in an area that lacked cultural diversity.”
In Storm Lake, she found one of the most diverse cities in the Midwest, if not the nation. Currently, there are 24 “native” languages represented among students at Storm Lake Community School District, for example. The Parade of Nations portion of Storm Lake’s Star Spangled Spectacular Parade has been point of pride here for decades.
“In raising a child here, we are fortunate to get that feel of a smaller Midwestern community while additionally experiencing all the benefits of being in a place that’s home to people from all over the world,” she says. Her stepson, Bazyl Horsey, also graduated from BVU in 2020, having earned a bachelor’s in computer science.
Prior to her role with Storm Lake United, Horsey worked in environmental science with the Buena Vista County Soil and Water Conservation District, an agency that operated under the umbrella of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
“As an urban conservationist, I worked with local, state, and federal agencies to help communities manage water conservation efforts,” she says. “We worked to manage stormwater, to clean and protect our waterways, to reduce human impact on our natural resources. Much of my work involved grant writing, fundraising, and forming partnerships for the betterment of our communities across western Iowa. I thoroughly enjoyed the outreach components of the position, which is what drove me to seek this leadership position in a community I love.”
Horsey and her husband, Tim Horsey, a native of Keokuk and the owner of Tim Horsey Insurance Agency, reside on Lake Avenue.