More than 70 people gathered Monday for the life member/spouse luncheon, which featured guest speaker Jeff Stein, radio broadcaster in Cedar Falls/Waterloo.

Stein is an author, historian and broadcaster. A recipient of the National Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History, he is recognized as the foremost broadcast historian in Iowa.

His daily radio feature on Iowa history, “Iowa Almanac,” airs on more than 30 stations statewide. A past member of the State Historical Society of Iowa board of trustees, Stein taught at the college level for 25 years, including at Iowa State University.

He spoke about ordinary Iowans who had unordinary ideas and were successful. Examples included the invention of the Eskimo Pie and the start of Vermeer manufacturing in Pella.

Vermeer first started with an invention that used a hoist to raise a wagon bed and later the invention of the first big round bale machine. The company has grown over the years to become a leading manufacturer of industrial and agricultural equipment.