Carbondale Communiqué

Carbondale Communiqué August / September 2018 City of Carbondale, Illinois www.explorecarbondale.com Alicia Jackson named Carbondale’s Mayor’s Corner Diversity and Compliance Officer City of Carbondale welcomes new Salukis and Residents to Community ing to all areas of city government as well as links to area organizations and more. Carbondale is an open and inclusive community where all residents are heard and respected. City Council meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Tues- day of every month at 6 p.m. in the Civic Center, located at 200 S. Illinois Avenue. The meetings are also televised live on Mediacom Channel 16 and streamed live on our website. Mayor John M. Henry Welcome new Salukis and residents to Carbondale. Thank you for choosing to make Carbondale your new home. We offer many of the amenities of a larger city while maintaining the comforts Alicia Jackson and charm of a smaller town. By Dustin Duncan pliance with the law. son said. In Carbondale, you will find a The Southern “We want to work together,” She has a master’s degree from variety of housing options, state- Jackson said. SIU in Workforce Education with a of-the-art medical, technical and The city’s newest hire was born Most recently the Carbondale specialty in Human Resource Man- professional services and facilities, and raised in Carbondale and has City Council and the Egyptian Build- agement and her thesis paper excellent schools and churches two degrees from Southern Illinois ing Trades Council have agreed on was written about ‘Diversity in the and countless social and cul- University and is doing work that a project labor agreement to hire Workplace’. Jackson said it will be tural activities. The City is home is near and dear to her heart. Alicia more minorities on major construc- important for her office to enhance to more than 100 restaurants, Jackson was named Carbondale’s tion jobs. Now that the city and community relations by working unique specialty shops and name Diversity and Compliance Officer on Trades Council struck the deal, Jack- with the many different commu- brand stores. Discover the natu- June 18 after spending three years son said it is part of her job to work nity organizations within Carbon- ral beauty of Southern Illinois at as the assistant to the city manager. with the Trades Council to make dale. City Manager, Gary Williams one of our many parks and recre- She said Monday, that her No. sure residents know the positions said Jackson was a great hire for the ational facilities in the community. 1 priority at the moment is mak- are available and to advertise those position and is looking forward to As Mayor of Carbondale, I Mayor John M Henry and SIU ing sure the city’s affirmative action positions in an appropriate way. making progress. invite you to get to know your Student plan is updated to reflect her new She said she will soon be meet- “In the past few years, Alicia City officials, learn about all position and modern day circum- ing with the Trades Council to work has proven her ability to organize of the services available to you On behalf of the City of Car- stances. Additionally, the city’s out what is the best way to adver- diverse groups and in managing and get involved. In every issue bondale, welcome to our com- Women and Minority Business tise such jobs. complex tasks,” he said. “I’m confi- of this publication, you will find munity! Whether you’re here for a Enterprises report needs to be As for the position itself, Jackson dent that she’ll apply these skills well information on services as well few years or a lifetime, I hope Car- updated, as well. has listened to the community and to her new position which we hope as announcements and upcom- bondale is a place you are proud Currently, she said she wants to does share its concern about diver- will result in greater employment ing events. Also, I encourage you to call home. We look forward to make sure the demographics on sity in the workforce, but sometimes, prospects for minority residents.” to visit our website www.explore- meeting you. For more informa- city construction projects reflect things take time for it to play out. To reach Jackson at Carbon- carbondale.com, like us on Face- tion about City services, call Car- the demographics of the city. She “We have come to the point to dale City Hall, email her at ajack- book @ExploreCarbondale or fol- bondale City Hall at (618) 549- said it is also her job to help those where the position is filled and we [email protected] or call low us on Twitter @CarbondaleIL 5302 or stop by and visit us at construction companies be in com- now can now move forward,” Jack- 618-457-3228. for news and information pertain- 200 S. Illinois Avenue. Featured Employee of the Month: Jimmy Hill City Speaks of their business came from national Department: Southeast Wastewater Locally Made customers. Today the Internet is still Treatment Plant responsible for a large portion of By Steven Mitchell their sales and product awareness. Title: Plant Operator The company’s product line and Beautiful Displays is a local- customer base continue to expand. ly-owned company that provides dis- Beautiful Displays offers an exten- play, exhibit and graphic products to sive array of products that facilitate some of the largest companies in the brand awareness, customer engage- US, as well as to some of the smallest ment, and visual communication to businesses in Southern Illinois. This is businesses large and small. an impressive accomplishment con- One of the company’s biggest sidering the business began in 1991 sellers is their line of trade show dis- as Noteworthy Studio, an audio com- plays & trade show exhibit booths. pany that made CDs for bands in the All work is customized to order using local Carbondale music scene. graphics and design specifications Founded by Todd Freeman and either developed in-house or sup- Steven Mitchell Kevin Graham, the small company plied by the customer. set up shop on Main Street in Car- The level of design and custom- and decided to make their homes bondale. The business gradually ization required to meet customer here. As co-founder and CEO Todd Q: What would you name the autobiography of your life? evolved from recording and packag- expectations calls for a talented and Freeman put it; “As Beautiful Displays Answer: “That’s Challenging.” ing CDs to providing graphic design flexible staff. Beautiful Displays’ 11 continued to grow the one key ques- and printing of brochures, posters employees have cross-trained to tion always was - how do we make Q: What’s your go-to karaoke song? and banners for regional businesses. ensure those demands are met. our business model work in the Car- Answer: Zac Brown Band ft. Jimmy Buffet – Knee Deep. Brenda Henderson joined forces The advanced equipment used bondale area?” Q: If you could visit anywhere in the world you’ve never been, where with Kevin and Todd in 1998, and to produce their high quality prod- The City of Carbondale and local would you go? over the next couple of years the ucts and the demand for their prod- business owners like Todd and Answer: Sweden. team expanded the company to ucts also requires a great amount Brenda work daily to generate new include large format printing and of space. As the company has ideas, provide unique experiences promotional displays for trade shows expanded, it has outgrown all of its and embrace diversity one business, and events. They called the new previous locations. In the fall of 2016, one product, and one customer at a company Beautiful Displays. the co-founders cut the ribbon at time. It’s hard to describe to some- Before the Internet nearly all of their newest location in Carbondale’s one who hasn’t experienced it, but their business came from the local Bicentennial Industrial Park. that is what Carbondale does. And region. Seeing an opportunity, the Beautiful Displays is a local com- it is a business model that we will company became an early adopter pany that hires local residents, but embrace for generations to come. of online commerce. Beautiful Dis- Todd, Kevin and Brenda all grew up If you’re interested in learning plays was one of the first companies outside of the region. Coming here more about doing business in Car- in its industry to offer a web pres- to attend Southern Illinois Univer- bondale, feel free to contact Steven ence, and the website attracted a lot sity, they each fell in love with Car- Mitchell at (618) 457-3286 or steven. of attention. Within three years 95% bondale and the surrounding area [email protected] Carbondale City Council Meeting Schedule All regular meetings begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be held in City Council Chambers at the Carbondale Civic Center. Any changes to this meeting schedule will be published in accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Additional local government meetings are listed on the calendar on page 7. August / September 2018 August 14 August 28 Sept 11 Sept 25 Regular City Council Regular City Council Regular City Council Regular City Council Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting City Hall offices will be closed Monday, September 3 in observance of Labor Day. Keep informed of City News and Events: www.explorecarbondale.com 2 • Carbondale Communiqué • August / September 2018 WHAT’S GOING ON IN CARBONDALE On June 19, Southern Illinois Healthcare broke ground on a new family medical clinic and training facility on W.

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