APRIL 2016 INSIDE THIS MONTH 217-726-6600 • [email protected] www.springfieldbusinessjournal.com Home Expo p. 8 Meow Mobile p. 13 Lions Club p. 23 District 186: Part 2 p. 27 Coming to America UIS increases focus on international students By Zach Baliva Page 10 Photo courtesy of UIS via flickr.com Balen’s Restaurant p. 34 COMING IN MAY PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS SERVICES • LegalLaw Firms • Staffing • Consultants CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED SERVICE CHANGE THE PERMIT NO 209 NO PERMIT Staffing Agencies SPRINGFIELD, IL SPRINGFIELD, Springfield, IL 62705 IL Springfield, LISTS: PAID P.O. Box 398 Box P.O. U.S. POSTAGE U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL BUSINESS SPRINGFIELD Office Equipment & Supplies Advertising Agencies 2 | | Springfield Business Journal April 2016 PHOTO BY TERRY FARMER Meet Dr. Jerry Kruse Dean and provost, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine By Shannon O’Brien When Dr. Jerry Kruse began his career at the of a colleague whose research was initially “You need some people who can come in and “focused on making the experience for the alternative perspectives on a variety of issues. Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of students top-notch.” snubbed by medical journals, though primaryMedicine leader. over 30 His years focus ago was he simply had no to plan do This includes understanding new question your decisions...not only affirming eventually accepted and published: to move through the ranks to become its education.technologies Kruse and hasfinding consistently ways to embraceduse them decisions,He has but thealso questioning.good fortune Giving of abeing real, newto help technologies improve health and appreciated care and health their effect care surroundeddirect opinion,” by hemany said. people he trusts. One WithNow Michaelhis results was he proud, was boardgood work. of trustees However, named earlier him thisthe year,medical he on the medical industry. He said SIU has and really excited. was rewarded for that work when the SIU He wanted to spread the “Sheperson has he a turnsdifferent to regularlyset of capabilities is Wendy and Cox- a goodvery delighted.news he had found. offeredschool’s the dean job directlyand provost. to him. There was no alwaysHe recognizes been a leader that newin the students innovation are better and Largent, the school’s chief financial officer. He wanted to broadcast searchKruse to reachedfill the positionthis point – inadministrators his career by delivery of curriculum. this stuff all around. doing his job well and allowing the doors to different background,” he explained. “She’s a But a funny thing happened. open. “I became a family physician because I versed in technology than ever before. The good leader and she’s very balanced.” school is working to adapt curricula with a technologistAt home, andhe currentlyfinds great mentors support middle from variety of technologies for students to access schoolhis wife, girls Lois, along who with trained instructing as a spinmedical and He couldn’t believe it. liked so many things in medicine,” he said. “I via apps or other cutting edge methods. “They No one would listen, they was often asked to move into these positions aren’tKruse satisfied also pointed with standard to the school’s traditions surgical of couldn’t perceive it. of leadership, and I liked the duties I found curriculum delivery modes,” he said. pilates courses. She understands medicine, there even while missing the teaching and he said. “I’ll be gone for a few days, and she’ll Asked how frequently he writes, he said, the patients.” skills lab at the Memorial Center for Learning note everything in the newspapers that “you write when you’re inspired, and when He especially enjoyed teaching, often isand to portrayInnovation patients and so the medical school’s students use canof people are reading and leave it out for me. there’s time.” working with small groups of students standardized patients – people whose job it That camaraderie is really great.” Kruse appears to be a man who finds and offering career advice to residents. “To When Kruse is not ensconced in work at newinspiration role. everywhere. Finding the time for get to know those people and get to know practice particular skills while progressing orSIU penning he may humorousbe found playing poems a in round the style of golf, of all of it may prove a little trickier with his their capabilities was quite an exciting medicalthrough educationthe program to its – students.as further evidence working through logic puzzles called KenKen, Shannon O’Brien is a writer thing,” he said. that the university offers an innovative He wrote a poem in this style called and photographer at the University oneThough element his hasn’t administrative changed. dutiesHe is havestill Dr. Suess, using his nom de plume, Dr. Kruess. of Illinois Springfield. forced his focus to become more institutional, Regarding his colleagues, Kruse noted the Springfield Business Journal | | 3 importance of having people to turn to for “The Saga of Michael Klein” to tell the story April 2016 BUSINESS PROFILE Claudette Hayes, Mike Pendry and Ronice Pace PHOTO BY MARANDA POTTERF are employees of Gone for Good. Gone for Good Business employs adults with disabilities By Teresa Paul Gone for Good Secure Document Jefferson St. in Springfield opened a block recyclingDestruction, and located by employing at 1411 East people Jefferson with away from their main headquarters at St., supports the community both through 101 N. 16th St., it relocated to the new property, which also houses White Glove disabilities. “Gone for Good provides NAID Professionals, a janitorial and custodial (National Association for Information business also administered by UCP. Destruction) AAA-certified security, the UCP Gone for Good affiliates also highest certification available for secure exist in Birmingham, Alabama and Little document destruction businesses,” said Rock, Arkansas. The Springfield location Jenny Niebrugge, chief employment operationwas modeled since on2006. the example of the and business services officer for United Birmingham facility, which has been in Cerebral Palsy (UCP) Land of Lincoln, which administers Gone for Good. According to data supplied by the U.S Niebrugge“We provide said. “Our a high business quality service to Environmental Protection Agency, every customersthe community represent and other a wide local businesses,” 1,000 pounds of paper records securely “Our mission at destroyed and then recycled, sector businesses throughout conserves eight trees, 190 centralvariety Illinoisof public and and the private metro UCP is to provide gallons of oil, 3,500 gallons of water, 2,400 kilowatts innovative of electricity and 50 cubic withSt. Louis the area.”purpose of creating yards of landfill. As a program developed strategies to “People with disabilities are much like everyone jobs for adults with severe connect people else,” says Niebrugge. “They disabilities, Gone for Good want to work, make money, theis unique. document In addition, destruction all of partbuy thingsof their that community. they like. the revenue generated from with disabilities And they want to feel like to the community.” services helps support other strategiesOur mission toat UCPconnect is asprograms summer at campsUnited Cerebraland the peopleto provide with disabilitiesinnovative to SaddlePalsy Land Up horse of Lincoln therapy suchprogram. the community. Gone for Good goes hand- Gone for Good first opened here in within-hand disabilities with our and mission.” Niebrugge Currently, hopes to 2009 with the help of SourceAmerica, the location employs nine individuals a nonprofit agency supporting other agencies which provide employment see that number grow. “They have been Landopportunities of Lincoln for anpeople interest-free who are severelyloan to trained to do the job and love coming to disabled. SourceAmerica provided UCP work,” Niebrugge said. “They especially like the paycheck they receive.” help them with the startup costs for Gone “I would like to show others what people for Good. with disabilities can do,” said Claudette “We have two big pieces of equipment, Hayes, a Gone for Good employee. “If you the sorting conveyor line and the shredder have it in your mind that you can do it, then and baler.” Niebrugge said. you will.” Teresa Paul can be reached at From 2009 until 2014, Gone for Good [email protected]. was located at 1617 Groth St. When the 4 | | Springfield Business Journal UCP Enterprises building at 1411 E. April 2016 TECHNOLOGY Searching for increased online presence SCORE and Google work together for small businesses By Gabe House The Service Corps of Retired Executives “We have a grant from the SCORE at the Springfield chamber event. They will (SCORE) has partnered with Google to help Association … to put on these workshops host small business-oriented workshops “put Springfield on the map.” and this ‘Put Your Town on the Map’ (these require a $10 preregistration fee) for TheBusiness initiative’s pages andgoal updateis to helpthem smallwith workshop,” Bury said. “But this is in and they will also be working with small businesses in Springfield claim their Google partnership with SCORE and Google and business owners to claim their respective they have a basic promotion to get your Google pages. This service will be accurate, current information. It benefits the business online, including this effort to get withcompletely owners. free, and volunteers will be on business – according to Google, businesses Springfield on the map. hand throughout the day to work directly asthat well. are online grow 40 percent faster than “They’re trying to encourage small those that aren’t – but it’s a boon for Google businesses to get listed on Google Maps and “They say 60 to 70 percent of people Google search, to make sure the information that are looking for a business do so with “Their motive is they want to have the freecoming online up is presence accurate would and timely.” be an easy sell an online search, so if a business searched most relevant results when people do a It would seem that the benefits of a Burythemselves, said.