BVU Alum Earns Iowa Western Honor
Clarinda resident, the first woman to serve on the Page County Board of Supervisors, enjoys a career in serving her community.
Buena Vista University graduate Elaine (Freudenburg) Armstrong, of Clarinda, was recently named the 2023 Iowa Western Community College Outstanding Alum.
Armstrong attended Iowa Western in 1966 and 1967. She earned an associate’s degree and worked in and around Clarinda, most notably as a reporter and photographer for 27 years in serving the Clarinda Herald Journal.
“One of my goals was to earn my bachelor’s degree, which I did at the age of 45.”
BVU graduate Elaine Armstrong
Through the years, she attended BVU classes in Clarinda as well as Council Bluffs. She also took a correspondence class with a professor who worked on the main campus in Storm Lake. In 1992, Armstrong earned her BVU degree in business management and walked through the Victory Arch during Commencement.
“One of my goals was to earn my bachelor’s degree, which I did at the age of 45,” she said.
Later in her career, she worked for two years with the Clarinda Chamber of Commerce. Voters then elected her to a position with the Page County Board of Supervisors, the first woman to serve in that role. She was reelected five times and retired from the Board of Supervisors in 2016.
Along the way, Armstrong helped establish Grandma’s House Daycare in Clarinda, which opened in 2005. She remains on the site’s Board of Directors and has seen Grandma’s House grow to serve more than 100 children from birth to age 10.
“We didn’t have a public daycare option in Clarinda,” she said. “My goal was to establish one. It took years, but we got it done.”
Armstrong continues to serve her community in several civic endeavors. She was a Lieutenant Governor for Kiwanis. She’s on the Waubonsie Mental Health Board of Directors. She was the first woman to serve as President of the Clarinda Foundation. She is also a Chamber of Commerce Ambassador and teaches Sunday School at Clarinda Global Methodist Church.
She is also the mother of one and the grandmother of 21-year-old twins. While reflecting on her career and the alumni award presented by Iowa Western, she said, “I am proud to say that I have always promoted lifelong learning.”