Paula Kirkpatrick has served on the ICCA board as the SE District
Rep, Vice President and President. She also has worked as the Facebook page administrator. Paula was the head cheerleading coach at Tri-County High School off and on for 21 years, beginning in 1989. Her squads competed at State Competition several times, placing as high as second. She also had a squad compete at Nationals in 2003. Paula was honored with Cheer Coach of the year in 2018. Paula retired in 2021, after teaching 33 years at Tri-County Schools. Paula lives in Keswick and when not subbing, she can be found hanging out with her 7 grandchildren, scrapbooking with friends, reading or planting lots of flowers. Paula was a cheerleader in high school and likes to continue to be involved with cheer in the state of Iowa.
Dana has coached cheerleading at her alma mater, Ames High School, for 16 years. She started out as an assistant coach for two years, then became the Head Winter Coach (basketball + wrestling) in 2011. She became the Head Fall Coach (football + competition) in 2021 and has placed in the Top 5 at state 9x in various divisions since then (4A Cheer/Dance, 4A Time Out, 4A Virtual Fight Song, 4A Virtual Band Chant, Coed Stunt, Coed Cheer/Dance, 4A Stunt), including STATE CHAMPIONSHIP titles in Coed Cheer/Dance and Coed Stunt Group in 2024. In her “day job,” she works as the office manager at Championship Productions, which is a company that produces instructional athletic coaching videos.
Since joining the board in 2020, Dana has served the ICCA in several different roles, including SW District Rep, Central District Rep, Interim Special Olympics Director, All-State Co-Director, and now the Vice President. Dana has been married to her husband Blake since 2010 and is the mother of two rambunctious boys, Bradley and Trenton. If she should ever have any spare time, you’d likely catch her at the gym, poolside/lakeside in the summer, or binge-watching Bravo shows or a Netflix series!
Cindy Byrne has been coaching at Northwood Kensett for eighteen years. She coaches football, basketball, wrestling and competition squads. She has also coached junior high cheer for six years. She has served on the ICCA board for eleven years. Her roles have included Central District Rep, Northeast District Rep, Vice President and President. Cindy has worked as a laboratory technician for over forty years, the majority of that being in pediatrics, and loves what she does. In her spare time, she loves to travel, is a voracious reader, loves to plant flowers in the summer and spend time in her yard.
Kenna has been an active member of the board, serving as Southwest District Rep (2002-2015), Vice President (2006-2007), President (2008-2009), and Executive Director (2012-present). In 2008, she was named the ICCA Coach of the Year. She coached high school cheerleading at Essex for 10 years and Winterset for seven.
Kenna currently works as an insurance agent at Integrity Financial Group (located in Winterset, Waukee, and Gilbert, Arizona). She lives in Winterset with her husband Eric and dogs Murphy and McCoy. If she’s not traveling to her son’s baseball games or visiting her daughter in Arizona, she’s probably at the GYM!
Kristen has been a board member since 1990 serving as All-State Director (1990-2007), State Competition Director (1991- 1996), Vice President (1992-1993), President (1994-1995), SE District Rep (2008-2016), Vice President (2016-2017), President (2018-2019) and Executive Director (2020-2023). She currently serves as a Trustee. Kristen was honored with the ICCA Contributor of the Year Award (2000), the National Federation National Contributor of the Year Award(2000), and with the ICCA Lifetime Achievement Award (2011). She coached football, wrestling and basketball cheerleading and dance for 26 years at Clear Creek Amana High School. Her teams competed at both the state and national level, earning multiple first place finishes at the state competition. She has judged cheerleading competitions at the local, state and national levels. She also worked with the Iowa Special Olympics for over 20 years, judging for the cheer and dance state competitions. In 2018, she retired from teaching high school English for 38 years at Clear Creek Amana High School. Kristen currently lives in Marion with her significant other, Dave and her labrador, Jack.
JoEllen coached cheerleaders at the HS, MS, and All-Star levels for 31 years. She has been a technical judge and scoring judge In various state competitions throughout the years, taught NF and AACCA coaching courses, been a speaker on the national level, and also conducted camps throughout the state of Iowa. She has been active in the Iowa Cheer Coaches’ Association for nearly 30 years and has served as ICCA’s Southwest District Representative, Vice-President, President, Financial Manager, and Secretary while currently serving as Scholarship Director and as a Trustee. In 2002, she received the ICCA/IHSAA Coach of the Year award, and in 2014 the ICCA/IHSAA Lifetime Achievement Award for her accomplishments and service in coaching cheerleaders in the state of Iowa.
Sandy Norby coached at Osage High School for 10 years. She coached football, basketball and wrestling cheer. She was invited to be on the cheer coaching team for the Iowa Shrine Bowl. She served from 2005-2020. Also, Sandy cheered at the very first Shrine Bowl in 1973!
Sandy, along with another former cheer coach, had the opportunity to start up a cheer program for cheerleaders to perform at the opening ceremonies for the State Special Olympics in 2006. Sandy and another cheer coach were involved for several years. Sandy became an ICCA Board Member in June 2008 and still serves on this board. She is the At-Large District Rep for her area.
Betty Lou Jones has served on the ICCA Board of directors for 29 years. She has held the positions of Northwest District and North Central District Representative, Director of the ICCA All Star Cheer Squad and member of the Financial Committee. She is currently Co-Director for the All-Star Cheer Squad. Betty Lou coached for 39 years at North Kossuth, North Sentral Kossuth and North Union High Schools. She is still a mentor to new coaches at North Union. Over the years she has been privileged to be awarded the ICCA Cheer Coach of the Year, ICCA Lifetime Achievement Award and ICCA Cheer Contributor of the year awards. She also received the National Federation Interscholastic Spirit Coach Award for Section IV and The Iowa Basketball Coaches Association Don Logan Service Award. Cheerleading has been in Betty Lou’s blood since she cheered in high school and college and still enjoys being involved with cheerleading.
My name is Desire Grismore-Jones, and I proudly serve as the Southwest District Representative on the ICCA Board. I am a high school teacher and cheerleading coach at Wayne Community High School in Corydon, Iowa, where I also co-sponsor the Student Council. Balancing my roles as a mother, wife, educator, and coach has been an incredibly fulfilling journey.I began coaching at Wayne in 2009 as the Varsity Football Cheer Coach. Over the next few years, I expanded my coaching roles to include Varsity Basketball Cheer in 2010 and Varsity Wrestling Cheer in 2011. In 2012, I introduced a competition cheer team, which I have been fortunate to coach ever since. My squads regularly participate in ICCA events, including the State Championships, Honor Squad, and All-State Tryouts.The ICCA has played a significant role in the growth of my cheerleading program by providing invaluable educational resources and fostering connections among coaches. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to be both a member and a board representative, and I look forward to continuing to support and contribute to this amazing organization.
Michelle McCann
NW District Representative
Honor Squad Director
Special Olympics Director
cpucheer@gmail.com
I’m Michelle! I am the head high school cheerleading coach at Center Point-Urbana, and I have been coaching there since the 2013-2014 school year. I coach football and competition cheerleading in the fall and wrestling and basketball cheerleading in the winter. I was a four-year cheerleader at Center Point-Urbana from 2002-2006. I live in Vinton with my husband, Dan and our three cats. On top of coaching, I work part time at my long-time family business in Vinton, Benton County Title Company. When I’m not coaching or working, you’ll probably find me watching early 2000’s WB teen drama TV shows while hanging out with my cats. I have been an ICCA Board Member since 2019, and I have served or are currently serving in roles such as Rep Council, At-Large Representative, Special Olympics Director and District Representative. I have so much love for the sport of cheerleading, and my goal as a board member is to help grow cheerleading in the state of Iowa and to positively connect with cheerleaders and coaches around the state and help make cheerleading great for them as well!
Bethany Brink joined the ICCA Board in 2019 as an at-large member. She is currently the ICCA All Star Director and NE District Representative. Along with being a high school math teacher, Bethany Brink has been the head coach for football,wrestling, and competition cheerleading at North Linn High School since 2008. She has coached at both the middle school and high school level. Bethany lives in Coggon and has an adult son, Dominic who visits regularly to do laundry and get a home-cooked meal. When she isn’t doing something cheerleading or school related, she enjoys bowling in a league with her family and singing karaoke.
I am a native of Brooklyn, Iowa. I have four adult children and six grandkids. I am a para-educator at BGM High School, with my days split between special education and at-risk students. I began my coaching career in 2001 when my oldest daughter was in junior high. Over my 24 years, I have coached a variety of squads, including high school football, basketball, and wrestling cheer, as well as junior high football and basketball cheer, YSF youth football cheer, and a year of all-star cheer at a local gym. I served several terms on the ICCA rep council before being elected to the board as an at-large representative, of which I am currently in year two. I am proud to be part of an organization like ICCA that makes coaching education and safety top priority. There is so much training available to all members at the annual spring coaches conference.
Jordan Sytsma has been the Head Football and Competition Cheer Coach at Gilbert High School for the last eight seasons. She has served on the Iowa Cheer Coaches Association board for two years, representing the Central District.
Married to her husband Cody and a proud mom of two, Jordan loves balancing her busy cheer life with cozy nights at home, quality time with friends, shopping adventures, and movie outings.
My name is Angie and I’ve been coaching cheerleading for 10 years at East Marshall. I began my coaching journey as a full time volunteer cheer coach starting in 2010 through 2012 for football and wrestling cheer. I came back to coaching in 2017, and I now coach our football, basketball and wrestling cheer teams. I introduced East Marshall to ICCA events beginning in 2019 including Honor Squad, All Stars, All State, Special Olympics and then added State Cheer Championships in 2023. I served on the ICCA Rep Council in 2023 and 2024. I’m passionate about building confident, spirited cheerleaders and building connections with coaches across the state. I have been a part of the East Marshall team for 16 years, where I serve as the Athletic Director’s Secretary. Outside of school, I own and operate my own hair salon, blending creativity through hair services, intuitive readings and connection with my clients for almost 20 years. Having my own business has allowed me the flexibility to balance being a mom, wife, secretary, and a cheer coach.
Family is at the heart of everything I do. I’ve been married to my husband Craig, a hard working farmer, for 17 years. Together, we have raised five children (two biological and three adopted) Quin, Raelyn, Rylee, Landon and Hudson. We stay plenty busy with our kids’ activities such as cheer, dance, 4H, and ball games. When I am not coaching or working, I am spending time with my family. I enjoy watching WWE wrestling, I love everything mermaid and I enjoy making cheer bows for my cheerleaders and other schools.
I am grateful for my friendships and connections through cheer. My goal is to continue growing within the cheer community and to continue to build strong, meaningful relationships with fellow coaches across the state. It’s an honor to contribute to shaping the future of the sport I care so deeply about as being part of the ICCA Board of Directors.
Kristi Carew is a cheerleading coach at Garner Hayfield Ventura. She currently coaches GHV’s competition squad and the varsity basketball cheerleaders, but has coached varsity and jv football and basketball as well as junior high cheerleading over the past 18 years at GHV. Prior
to coming to Garner Hayfield Ventura, she was the head coach at Fort Dodge Senior High from 1997-2000. One of the highlights of her coaching career has been providing opportunities for her cheerleaders through ICCA. She has had cheerleaders participate in State Cheerleading Championships, the Iowa Cheer Honor Squad, the ICCA All Star Squad, the Iowa All State Squad, and Shrine Bowl. She is proud to serve on the ICCA Board of Directors and continue to help provide opportunities for cheerleaders and coaches around the state.
In addition to coaching, she works as district librarian at GHV where she teaches library and STEM classes to preK through 4th grade students. She also serves the Forest City and Northwood Kensett districts as their library/media directors. She is a part of the Iowa Children’s Choice Award Book committee which is a middle grade book award for the state of Iowa. She finds joy in matching books to readers and growing a community of book enthusiasts in her day
to day interactions with students.
When not coaching or working in the library, she enjoys spending time with her family. She and her husband Steve love to travel and spend time with their adult children Olivia and Patrick and the family golden retrievers, Brynnie, Diesel, and Sunny.