Elevate Springfield featuring Shelley Clements: Elevating Through the Power of Community Branding and Relationships

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Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive into strategies and stories that help you rise to your full potential.
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Each episode, we'll talk about how you can take intentional steps to elevate your life and your business while making a meaningful impact on those around you.
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Along the way, we're gonna bring in the change makers from our community that are already elevating.
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We'll bring the actionable strategies, you bring the discipline and follow through, and together we can elevate Springfield.
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Alright, let's go, Springfield.
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Time to 10X your life, your business, all of it.
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Time to crush those goals, time to get after it.
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Let's go.
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You are listening to the Elevate Springfield Podcast.
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Robert Farrell here, certified 10X coach, speaker, and mentor, here to bring you actionable strategies.
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You bring the discipline and follow through, and together, we're gonna Elevate Springfield.
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We're coming to you again from beautiful downtown Springfield in the Big Dog Construction Studio.
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Hey, we've got so much going on in Springfield right now.
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Make sure you are participating.
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Get out there, network with folks, be a part of the community, support local businesses, support local nonprofits, and let's go, we can all grow together.
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So, hey, another great episode for you today.
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We're gonna get right to our guest after the break.
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All right, and we are back.
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Another gorgeous day in downtown Springfield.
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Joining me in the studio today is another downtown Springfield mate, I suppose, just about a block away.
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We've got Shelly Clements from the Springfield Sangaman Growth Alliance.
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Shelly, how are we doing?
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Doing great.
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It's kind of fun to hear you say that.
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Yeah, because it is recent within the last few weeks here.
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Yeah, I had to stop myself in my mind because I was just about to say Tulo again.
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But uh no, it's Clemence now.
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So yeah, congratulations on the case.
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That's awesome.
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That's awesome.
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So, well, we're gonna talk about you know SSGA and all the things and all the community stuff, but let's first learn a little bit about Shelly.
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Tell us about your background.
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So originally from Decatur, Decatur girl, all pretty much most of my life.
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My entire family is from there.
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Um, my parents did move away for a little while up to Chicago because that's what young people do.
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Um, and then came back.
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So, but uh my whole family lives over there.
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So I I went to Millican.
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I graduated from Millican and actually moved to Florida for a while.
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I did the whole boomerang thing, worked for a public relations firm in downtown Sarasota.
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Um, that's where I got started.
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Okay.
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Then I took a job at a manufacturing company.
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Water purification is kind of a big deal down in Florida, obviously.
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Of course.
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Worked for a water purification manufacturing company.
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That was really interesting.
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I learned a lot there.
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And then my husband and I at the time were looking to start a family and an opportunity came up.
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I'm here in Springfield, leave I ran shop.
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Oh, there you go.
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And so I pursued that opportunity and was thrilled to be offered that job and move up here to Springfield.
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Most of my life coming to Springfield meant going to the mall.
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Going to the mall, yeah.
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You did.
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Heading over to White Oak.
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As we were talking before, I'm a I'm a Decatur guy too.
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So yeah, grew up over there.
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So I knew how to get to the mall, but other than that, I hadn't really like driven around Springfield much.
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I knew what I knew about it was there was a lot of one-way streets.
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So I remember when I moved up here, I actually I needed a lot of help.
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You know, how do you get here?
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How do you get there?
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And working at Levi Ranch Up is one of the highlights actually of my career.
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I learned so much there.
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What a great company, what a great atmosphere.
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It is a company full of wonderful people.
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And I am lucky to today to still do business with them in my position that I have now.
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So was there for about eight, seven or eight years, I think, and a management opportunity became available at Springfield Clinic.
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Okay.
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Um, and so I was kind of at that point in my career where, you know, either keep doing what you're doing or decide to maybe step into a leadership position.
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And so I was lucky enough to start working as a manager at Springfield Clinic in the marketing department there.
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It was just me and two other people at the time.
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Sure.
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The clinic was right on the edge of a lot of growth.
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And I say that's that's a small team for the for what is now a very large organization.
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Right.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Again, wonderful a group of people.
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I can't say enough about my former boss over there, Patty Kuhn.
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She was wonderful.
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And she had been there for quite a while too.
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But Patty and I, I helped Patty grow that team.
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And uh, I was at the clinic for almost 10 years, and uh the opportunity came up to advance my career again at the Growth Alliance.
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And so that's where I'm at right now at the Springfield Sangment Growth Alliance.
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At the time, actually, it was the land of Lincoln Economic Development.
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It wasn't SSGA back then.
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It was a very big mouthful of words and also like maybe not so descriptive words.
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And so I joined Josh Collins at the time, and uh we decided, hey, you know, maybe we could have a better name.
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Maybe we could have a different brand identity.
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Um and the Growth Alliance was, I think, two years old at the time.
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They had really been only functioning for a year.
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Sure.
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It was all put together.
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I think it started in 2017, 2018 was when it became operational.
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And so yeah, we started working on a new name and a brand, and we needed business cards and letterhead and you know, all that kind of stuff, which was great because I had been through a couple of uh brand refreshes at the clinic.
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So yeah, we started doing that, and we Springfield Sangman Growth Alliance came up and arose out of that.
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That's what I was gonna ask.
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Is that did you pop that out and it was just that was the note the winner?
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Or was it just kind of we're going through it?
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There was a lot of whiteboarding, um, input from board members, you know, talking about what is important, what's the identifier for us, and what can help communicate what we're trying to do here.
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So growth definitely was a big part of of that.
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And uh yeah, Springfield Sangment Growth Alliance won out.
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Yeah, and I think it's important to have the Springfield Sangamon in there too to show that it's you know it's not just Springfield, it's the entire county.
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That's correct.
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Yeah.
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Sometimes people forget that, but yeah, it's the entire county that we support.
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So absolutely.
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Yeah, no, I was trying to think of I I thought the original name was only a couple years, two or three years.
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Yeah, it was like two years.
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Yeah, two and a half, maybe.
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Right.
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It was a it was a mouthful.
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I would tell people when I got my new job, I was like, Where do you work?
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I would tell them and they're like, What does that mean?
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Yeah, yeah.
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No.
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Good job on the rebrand.
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That was good.
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That was good.
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So I'm a Millikan grad as well.
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So we'll see if we have one other thing in common.
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What high school did you go to over?
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I went to St.
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Teresa High School, actually.
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Yeah.
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I was a MacArthur guy.
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So a long history of uh St.
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Teresa graduates in my family.
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My grandfather was actually on the committee to decide what their mascot and colors and all of that were.
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Yeah.
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So cool.
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Go we go way back.
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Yeah, no doubt about it.
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Very cool.
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So Sarasota, when you went down there, just find a job there, or did you say, hey, I really like Sarasota, so I'm just gonna go to Sarasota.
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So my um my husband at the time, um, his family had purchased a business down in the Venice area.
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Um Venice is a little lesser-known town.
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It's right in between Sarasota and Port Charlotte in Inglewood area down there.
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And so we got married and we moved down there for their business.
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Um I was like, okay, I start sending out the resumes, you know.
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And for me, it was really exciting because it was a whole different world to me.
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You know, moving from central Illinois, which was all I'd ever known, down to a coastal area, big downtown area like Sarasota.
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Venice is very small.
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So the opportunities there weren't really as a lot for me.
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So I kind of was, you know, focusing in the Sarasota area.
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But really great opportunity for me as a young professional.
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I joined a really popular association down there called the Florida Public Relations Association.
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FPRA is what they call it.
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That was really my first, I guess, put dipping my toe in the water of joining a professional association.
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Um and it was really great for me because again, I was new to the area.
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I didn't know anybody.
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Um, so I not only made friends, but I made professional development opportunities.
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I was able to get involved in on their board.
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Um, I helped with their website and um I it was a great opportunity for me, my first time participating in like an awards opportunity.
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Sure, sure.
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Um, submit your work for award recognition and really learned a lot through my involvement in that association.
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Love it.
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So was marketing, communications, was that always part of the plan?
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Like maybe like back in high school at St.
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Teresa, like, yeah, that's what I'm gonna do, or when did that come about?
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The true answer to that question is no.
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I actually went to Milliken on a vocal performance scholarship.
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Okay.
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I sort of sang a little bit.
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Didn't you just do the national anthem for the women's professional baseball league?
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I will so sidebar, that was a wonderful experience.
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What a special thing for women in general, the women's professional baseball league.
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But then for us in Springfield to host that, I mean, there were people from all over at those games.
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I I had the pleasure of doing it, I think, five or six times.
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And it was a very special experience, and I'm so proud that I was able to be a part of it.
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Yeah.
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So that was last night.
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Yeah, I didn't realize you did it that many times.
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That's cool.
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Very cool.
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Really, I'm I'm just very honored to have been asked.
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So yeah, it was great.
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So anyway, yeah, I'm in a band, a local band.
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Um, well, I've been in a few different ones, but so yeah, singing was kind of like, hey, this is what I'm gonna do.
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Um and then I got to Millican and I was like, singing's what I'm gonna do.
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And I we actually are one of the only schools that had a show choir.
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I don't know if you knew that.
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I they don't have it anymore.
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But at that point, for anybody that doesn't know Millikan, Millican is a phenomenal musical theater, all performance, all the things, right?
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And so got there, you know, started participating, started to realize how much time it was taking up.
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I kind of wanted to be a regular student.
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Um, and it became very clear to me.
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And you being a Millikan grad, you understand the theater and performance students there are not regular students.
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The amount of time that they spend on what they're doing and they're committed to is unbelievable.
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And kudos to all of them.
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But it became very clear to me right away that I was more interested in my sorority and being a regular student and being having time to go on spring break and being just a regular student.
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So I kind of decided pretty quickly that singing was my hobby.
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And so then it was like, well, what am I gonna do?
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And I had always had an interest in like public relations and in relationship building.
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And so I had a professor that I spoke with and it was like, Hey, have you thought about communications and public relations?
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And so that's kind of the the path I chose.
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There you go.
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So that's how I got on that path.
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And I've loved it ever since.
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I took a class there.
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I remember, and I can't remember the professor's name, but um it was a specifically a gender communications class.
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And I thought it was just so interesting.
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Yeah.
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The different ways that you know people communicate, whether you're male or female, and you know, just all different ways that people communicate.
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So yeah, there's a lot of different little intricacies that people don't realize when you really start diving deep into that.
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It's really cool.
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Yeah.
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So at LRS, was it a marketing CR, the all the all the things?
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Yes.
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I was a marketing communications coordinator, and I've always had a an interest in the the technology.
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I was very lucky at uh it was Crane Environmental, was where I worked in in Florida, the manufacturing company.
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And I'm gonna date myself here because I don't feel that old, but um, that was when e-commerce like just took off and people started selling things and creating shopping carts and everything online.
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And so the corporate company that we were associated with had a competition between all of their business units.
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Whoever could create a shopping cart feature on their website to sell their products, there was a some sort of prize involved.
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And as the communications person, the marketing person, of course, I got pulled into that project.
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Right.
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Well, that was probably the best thing that ever happened to me because we were, I would say, a mid-size company.
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So I started working very closely with the IT people and they taught me how to write basic HTML code and kind of teaching me little aspects of, you know, when you're doing stuff online, you know, images have to be this size and all of that good stuff.
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And because of that, I really picked up a lot of novice IT knowledge.
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It's amazing how that fits with marketing a lot.
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Yeah, especially like and then it was kind of it was so new, you know.
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But what an exciting project for me to work on.
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We actually won.
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I don't really remember what we won, but we won.
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Oh, you won.
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So there you go.
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So here we are selling little like reverse osmosis systems to car washes, you know, was one of the things we sold online.
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They just buy it online.
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That was like a huge deal.
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That just didn't happen back then.
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So anyway, we thought we were gonna maybe move back this way for family reasons and wanted to have kids and all that kind of stuff, and applied to that job at LRS.
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So yeah, became a marketing communications coordinator over there and started kind of just really learning all about this amazing international company tucked into Springfield, Illinois.
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And the different products that they have there.
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Dick Levi's story is amazing in itself, in my opinion.
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He and um his two partners wrote this software for something that was needed at the state of Illinois, and it worked so well, they decided, well, maybe we have something here.
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Right, yeah, you know, and then boom, they've got this amazing product that they've sold all over the world.
00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:44.720
I could I could go on and on.
00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:47.440
I've I really learned a lot at LRS.
00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:52.399
The benefits that they provide their employees is really very family focused.
00:13:52.559 --> 00:14:05.519
I often joke that I have both my kids because of Dick Levi because their benefits are were just so good there and they're just so good to their employees that it allowed me to deal with some of the things that I struggled with to get my kids and all that.
00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:06.399
Great experience.
00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:10.720
Shannon Heisler is still the director of communications and marketing over there.
00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:17.279
I she's a very good friend of mine, definitely one of my close mentors, and I learned a lot from her.
00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:18.960
So really great people, great experience.
00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:20.000
No doubt about it.
00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:34.639
I one thing I love about on the show here, I've talked to so many different people and and the reach that companies here in Springfield, you know, LRS is a great example of that, just the reach of what some people are doing from Springfield to impact things across the world, across the country, or whatever.
00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:36.320
It's just really cool to see that from right here.
00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:37.360
Aaron Powell It's amazing.
00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:38.080
It's amazing.
00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:38.399
Yeah.
00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:40.320
Their products pretty much touch everybody.
00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:41.440
No doubt about it.
00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:43.759
So let's dig into SSGA a little bit.
00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:46.480
We've had Ryan in a couple of times over the last year.
00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:51.840
So we've deep dived into what SSGA is, but remind everybody who you guys are and what you guys do.
00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:52.240
Yeah.
00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:57.759
So the Springfield Singaman Growth Alliance, uh also known as the SSGA, or sometimes people just call us the Growth Alliance.
00:14:58.000 --> 00:14:59.039
Yeah, I tend to say Growth Alliance.
00:14:59.279 --> 00:14:59.759
Yeah, that's fine.
00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:00.799
That's uh that's fine.
00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:05.600
I actually love that because it kind of proves that we have created our identity.
00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:07.279
We didn't have one when I got there.
00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:08.799
New company, new everything, you know.
00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:11.679
And that's that's what I use in casual conversation with most people.
00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:13.679
It's hey, talk to the growth alliance about that.
00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:14.879
Yeah.
00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:20.080
And I love the fact that people know what you meant, you know, because it just means that we we're getting something right.
00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:25.120
But we are the um economic development corporation for Springfield and Sangman County.
00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:36.159
Um, we are a public-private partnership, which means that we do get funding from the city and the county, but we also have private investment from a lot of our local leading uh corporations.
00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:46.000
And so because of that, um, we do have a board of directors and it really is made up of leaders from those corporations that support us as investors.
00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:50.639
We also have strategic local partners as well represented on the board.
00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:53.759
Um, and then of course the county and the city as well.
00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:57.440
The mayor and then the chairman Van Meter sit on our board as well.
00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:02.240
We really focus on supporting our local businesses that are here already.
00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:13.759
We meet with them regularly, set up what we call BREs, which is a business retention and expansion visit, really just to understand, you know, what are you, is there anything that you're struggling with right now?
00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:16.960
Is there something that we can do to connect them with a resource?
00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:22.879
So that's one thing we always, Ryan always says it's easier to grow a customer than to get a new one.
00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:28.960
So if we can help businesses here that are succeeding succeed even more, maybe they want to expand.
00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:30.799
Um, maybe they need a new building.
00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:42.159
Um, so you know, that might involve remodeling and different needs as far as like permits from the city, you know, any way that we can assist them in something like that, you know, we want to help do that.
00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:47.759
There was an article actually that came out this week about the kindness and co business that's opening down.
00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:48.559
Yeah, I saw that.
00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:52.480
Um and Kathy Strukely and I used to work together at Levi Ray and Shop, actually.
00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:55.279
And so I had heard that she was kind of starting a new thing.
00:16:55.360 --> 00:17:04.000
And I said, Hey, Kathy, you know, your new business, that's if you need any some advice or if there's something the Growth Alliance can do to help you, please let's meet.
00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.400
You know, I'll I'll get something set up with Ryan.
00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:13.039
And so we did that, and it was really great because they were having some struggles and not knowing where to look for that for help.
00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.160
We were able to basically, they had a notepad and paper.
00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:20.480
Oh, you need to call this person, or we're gonna send an email to this person and hook you up with that.
00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:21.279
You know what I mean?
00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:22.960
And so that's what we're here for.
00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:26.720
Ryan, a lot of times we'll call it we're like a concierge service.
00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:29.920
Let us connect you with the help that you need.
00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:32.000
And so we we spend a lot of time doing that.
00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:34.960
And we've had, and I've seen that a lot personally too.
00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:37.119
Like I've received many emails from Brian.
00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:38.880
Hey Robert, meet so and so.
00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:39.200
Yes.
00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:44.559
You guys, I think you guys could really especially through your work at the Capital Area uh Career Center.
00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:45.599
Absolutely for sure.
00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:50.640
A lot of opportunities there, workforce development, all that sort of thing, which is important to what we do.
00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:55.279
But also the there's the sexy part of what we do, which is attracting new business.
00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:59.759
Um, and a lot of times people think that's all we do, but it's actually not.
00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:02.240
We spend more time trying to support our local businesses.
00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:04.319
But attract a new business is a big part of it.
00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:18.079
And one of the reasons the Growth Alliance was put together was because there had been some efforts, some economic development efforts in our community, but it was kind of a part of something else, um, not necessarily like a total focus for somebody.
00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:22.720
And so a study was done in 2017 to say, hey, what should happen here?
00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:32.640
So also through that study, it was determined that Springfield and Sangman County hadn't really been purposeful about getting ourselves out there in the world.
00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.039
There are a lot of Springfields in the country.
00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:41.839
And so we didn't necessarily have Springfield, Illinois didn't necessarily have a big identity outside of Illinois.
00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:45.759
So attracting new business as a part of what we do is important.
00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:51.680
So that strategy includes getting outside of our community and attending some conferences.
00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:58.240
Um, there's a group of people that are hired as consultants for a lot of corporate businesses called site selectors.
00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:02.400
And so they meet regularly at multiple events throughout the year.
00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:02.880
Sure.
00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:06.960
Um, and so what we decided was it was important for us to be there.
00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:13.759
They needed to meet us, they needed to know our faces so that we could talk to them directly about Springfield and Sangman County.
00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.400
You know, putting a face with a name is important.
00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:18.160
You can email people all day long.
00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:20.960
You can tell them, hey, Springfield and Sangman County is great.
00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:35.519
We participate obviously in requests for information, RFIs, when uh, you know, businesses or maybe a consultant is doing some research on a location for a business that's looking to relocate, or maybe they're gonna just open a second location, things like that.
00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:40.240
So they need to know when we respond, oh, that's yes, Springfield, Illinois.
00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:40.480
Yeah.
00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:41.599
I know who they're talking about.
00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:47.119
I talked to Ryan at this conference and he was telling me all about their new Amazon warehouse project.
00:19:47.279 --> 00:20:03.359
Those are very, very important connections for people to make so that they remember us the next time they get a new project that comes across their desk and they're like, you know, I remember talking to, and they have a dual rails site in Springfield that could really work for this opportunity.
00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:11.039
So establishing those relationships was not happening in our for our community before the Growth Alliance was put together in a purposeful way.
00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:18.720
Obviously, there are some really great people trying to do some economic development, but not in a really purposeful and and that's the only thing that they were focusing on way.
00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:20.640
And so that's what we're doing, and that's why we're here.
00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:21.200
I love it.
00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:21.599
I love it.
00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:26.720
Yeah, so much more impactful when you are able to create those relationships in person with people and then they come back.
00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:33.119
But one one thing that's really cool about you guys' work, and you just touched on it, is seeing some of those come across.
00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:36.079
Maybe seeing some stuff that, hey, we might be getting this.
00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:37.279
That'd be really, really cool.
00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:46.000
And I know you guys can't talk about those things, but it's got to be super cool on you guys' side to see, and there we got these folks that are interested in Springfield, whether it ends up happening or not.
00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:49.440
You got these groups that are here that are thinking about coming to Springfield.
00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:50.480
It is really cool.
00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:53.759
And I will say, and I know I I sometimes I mention Ryan a lot.
00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:55.119
I've really enjoyed working with Ryan.
00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:57.119
I've learned so much from him.
00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:04.799
He is really good at what he does, and I've learned a lot from him because obviously I was economic development wasn't my thing, not before I got into it.
00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:09.279
That's the beauty of being in marketing, is you kind of transfer your skills to different industries.
00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:11.920
And that's one of the things I love about it as well.
00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.160
But Ryan always talks about economic development is a marathon, not a sprint.
00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:20.480
So we may find out that someone's looking at us, but we don't know who they are.
00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:21.519
We don't know anything.
00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:32.559
We all we know is because a lot of times what happens with those RFIs is they're looking for a place that has this much square feet, they're looking for this much electricity, they're looking for this much water, you know, those kind of things.
00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:36.000
So really we don't get a lot of information about what the actual business is.
00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:44.079
So when we finally get to that point where we're know a little bit more about what's going on, or maybe we are notified we're a finalist, it gets really exciting.
00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:47.680
You know, but that could take a two years for a project.
00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:51.599
So it's really exciting when something actually comes to fruition and happens.
00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:55.200
Um and we're we've been really excited to have some nice wins here.
00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:56.640
Yeah, some big wins lately.
00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:59.759
The Amazon warehouse was really exciting for us.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:05.920
It really opens up opportunities for warehouse and logistics opportunities in our community.
00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:18.480
Um, and one of the other things that Ryan always tells people is a lot of times when you get one project, it kind of wakes up other people in that industry to look at you and go, oh, maybe they're an option for us too.
00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:25.119
So a lot of times you'll see an another one come in when you get a win in one different industry.
00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:26.720
So get that snowball rolling.
00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:27.839
Absolutely, absolutely.
00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:33.680
And we we had a little bit of that with the Frito Lay warehouse project, which is still an option.
00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:36.240
There's an option still on that warehouse.
00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:38.559
That's a definitely still a possibility.
00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:41.680
Um, it might just be a different company, it might not be Frito Lay.
00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:47.200
They made they've just made some different decisions on their side with their business specific to them.
00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:48.640
It had nothing to do with Springfield.
00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:50.240
So the wins have been great.
00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:51.519
We definitely are looking for more.
00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:52.160
Oh, yeah.
00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:53.200
Keep the wins coming.
00:22:53.279 --> 00:23:00.559
But I mean, when we go to your, you know, I go to the annual meeting there, and you guys put together a fantastic book of the year in review.
00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:05.440
And since you're you guys' inception, it's in the I don't know how many billions of dollars worth of impact.
00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.839
It has been a we've been lucky.
00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:16.319
Um, and it's been great for the community to already be realizing after seven years some significant economic impact to our community.
00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:21.839
Our whole point here is to have more people living and working in Springfield and Sangman County.
00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:26.400
And that means, you know, increasing economic prosperity here for everybody.
00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:28.480
And, you know, you do that in a lot of ways.
00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:32.400
So bringing business in, businesses all need qualified employees.
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:37.359
We actually here in central Illinois are known for having really great workforce people.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:39.839
If we can recruit more in, we want to do that too.
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:42.319
So uh workforce development is always important.
00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:47.839
And that's we definitely work with companies that are looking at our area to identify people who could work there.
00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:53.839
Because they may come here and get a big old building, but if we don't have the people for them to put to work, then that's a problem.
00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:58.079
So yeah, that's definitely a big part of that attraction aspect as well.
00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:58.559
Right.
00:23:58.799 --> 00:23:58.880
Yeah.
00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:14.240
The workforce side, Ryan always says when he s speaks to groups for me and everything, you'll one thing that people don't realize is you might think it it the opposite, companies look for a low unemployment rate at a place because if they see a high unemployment rate, that's not that's not attractive to them.
00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:20.559
They're they're fine competing for workers, but a low unemployment rate means that people are actually working and wanting to work.
00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:21.599
Absolutely.
00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:22.400
Qualified workers.
00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:22.720
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:23.279
Qualified workers.
00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:24.720
Yeah, that's what that's what they're looking for.
00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:25.440
Yeah, absolutely.
00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:26.880
Um we we do.
00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:27.839
We are known.
00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:34.240
Um, and when I say we, I mean Central Illinois, not just Sangaman County, for really hardworking, qualified employees.
00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:37.200
So we benefit that way in our community as well.
00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:37.920
Absolutely.
00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:40.400
What's your favorite thing about working for the growth alliance?
00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:49.039
Really, right off the bat, my favorite thing was getting to interact and meet with a lot of our local leaders in the community, business leaders.
00:24:49.279 --> 00:25:06.640
It has been really educating for me to get to know some of them personally, but also professionally and and hear how they think through decision making and how does what Springfield and Sangaman County, what we're doing, what would be beneficial to the community, affects their business.
00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:10.480
All of them are so supportive of this community.
00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:18.000
They want their business to really be completely supportive, be involved in what our community does.
00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:28.799
It's been amazing to me to see, and I think just the more you experience that you get, and I guess the older that you get, you realize that not everybody just goes to work, shows up, and goes home.
00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:29.200
Right.
00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:31.920
You know, there are a lot of people who really care.
00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:37.200
And and I've really enjoyed getting to know a lot of our local community leaders.
00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:40.400
Um and the Growth Alliance has provided me that opportunity to do that.
00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:40.799
Absolutely.
00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:42.000
I've really enjoyed that.
00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:49.279
So, from a marketing perspective, what are some strategies you guys have used to really grow the reach of the Growth Alliance?
00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:52.480
Uh so there's a a really cool thing that we did.
00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:54.960
This I think is our second year that we're doing it now.
00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:58.640
This is just one quick, very specific thing that I think is kind of neat.
00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:05.119
So, as we started attending these conferences where these site selectors are, keep in mind these are people we want their attention.
00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:10.480
We were like, aside from these conversations that we get to have with these people, you know, how do we be memorable?
00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:14.319
We did put put together, we have a e-newsletter that goes directly to them.
00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:17.680
The content is specifically about what things that they would want to know.
00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:18.400
Not long.
00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:20.880
These people have a very short attention span.
00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:24.720
What can we do at these conferences to really kind of reinforce?
00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.599
Don't forget you talk to people from Springfield and Sangaman County.
00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:32.079
And so we put together a little slogan called The Search Is Over.
00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:35.599
I'm a big music fan, so survivor, the search.
00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:36.079
Yeah.
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:39.519
But it just gave me this idea, you know, they're site selectors.
00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:43.759
Their entire job is searching for great sites for whoever has hired them.
00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:52.000
Um, so we we put together this idea of the search is over and created a little leave behind for them.
00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.839
So it's a postcard with the state of Illinois on it.
00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:00.559
There's obviously a specific thing that notes where Springfield and Sangaman County are.
00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:00.799
Sure.
00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:04.480
Says the search is over on it, talks about no need to look any further.
00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:05.440
The search is over.
00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:08.240
Springfield and Sangaman County is the place to be, that kind of thing.
00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:10.000
It's you know, on brand for us.
00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:18.079
And then we attached a little air tag to it because they might throw the card away, but they're not gonna throw that air tag away.
00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:18.480
No.
00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.039
And even if they don't keep the air tag, they'll give to their kids.
00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:21.920
Somebody's keeping it.
00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:22.160
Yeah.
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:26.799
Yeah, because it's just something useful, you know, and also memorable, clever.
00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:27.920
Look, that's an air tag.
00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:28.799
The search is over.
00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:29.200
Wow.
00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:30.160
Like clever.
00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:36.240
So we put together some materials that would be available throughout those few days that they're at the conference.
00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:40.160
So the little card with the air tag on it was the main piece.
00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:50.000
But then an ad in the little booklet that they have everybody gets, searches over, you know, ties it in, little table tents in, I think it was the Wi-Fi password.
00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:50.559
Oh, sure.
00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:50.720
Yeah.
00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:56.319
So all the tables have these table tents with the Wi-Fi password, the search is over, Springfield and Sangama County.
00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:07.279
So it just really was an easy, clever, nice way, very specific, very targeted to hopefully have them remember, oh, Springfield and Sangamon.
00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:08.319
I remember, yeah.
00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:08.799
Uh-huh.
00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:12.960
Um, and at the same time, we also geofence the conference.
00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:18.960
So while they're there in that location and they're scrolling on their phone, they get served an ad.
00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:27.119
The search is over, Springfield and Sangamon County, or one of our little testimonial videos that, you know, talks about Springfield and Sangaman County.
00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:31.680
Ryan actually at one of our conference had someone walk up to him and say, Oh, hey, Ryan.
00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:33.839
And he was like, I'm sorry, have we met?
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:36.960
You know, and he's like, No, I just watched you on your video that was on my phone.
00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:40.960
You the search is, you know, so that has been very successful for us.
00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:48.480
And it's again helped us really gain identity with these very important people to remember Springfield and Sangaman County.
00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:50.240
And that's what we're trying to do.
00:28:50.319 --> 00:29:00.880
You know, we want to be in their mind when they get a new request or from a customer or get hired to be a consultant for somebody else that's, you know, opening some brand new company.
00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:04.319
Oh, yeah, I should call these guys and see what they've got available.
00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:07.599
You know, relationships are everything in this kind of business.
00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:08.640
No doubt about it.
00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:19.599
Well, I mean, of course, some businesses invest in the SSGA, but for any businesses out there or individuals out there, how can they help support the mission of the Growth Alliance?
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:27.039
So, and I'm sure hopefully by now everyone is familiar with Thrive and SPI, our campaign, community marketing and branding campaign.
00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:31.599
Um, it's the first branding and marketing campaign that Springfield and Singham County ever has done.
00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:36.799
And it's been really helpful in obviously creating that identity for our community.
00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:40.559
Funny side note, so Ryan worked at the EDC in Decatur.
00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:43.200
And Decatur did this a, you know, a few years ago.
00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:44.799
I remember when they kicked it off.
00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:46.000
It was limitless Decatur.
00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:47.039
I had the t-shirt.
00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:47.440
Yeah.
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:50.079
I mean, it was kind of a big deal for the Decatur community.
00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:53.920
And uh being that we're from there, it's something that you kind of paid attention to, you know.
00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:55.759
Yeah, I was still I was still there at that point.
00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:56.079
Okay.
00:29:56.799 --> 00:29:58.799
So I've only been in Springfield for about 10 years now.
00:29:58.960 --> 00:29:59.039
Okay.
00:29:59.200 --> 00:29:59.920
So yeah, I was still there.
00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:01.839
At the limitless side.
00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:04.480
Watching it from afar, I was just like, I was just really proud.
00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:05.599
Like, wow, this is great.
00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:06.799
Decatur needs this.
00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:09.279
And I mentioned I sing in some bands.
00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:24.559
And at the time I was singing in a Decatur band and I did not know it, but I was actually in their first Decatur Limitless community marketing and branding video because they came out, you know, obviously you want to shoot different aspects of a community.
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:29.359
And I was singing in the band at a bar one night and they came in and shot some footage.
00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:33.839
And so when Ryan and I first met, he was, I'm from Decatur, you know, that kind of thing.
00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:34.640
He's like, Oh, you are?
00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:36.000
I'm like, Yeah, guess what?
00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:37.119
I'm in your video.
00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:38.799
You know, it was kind of so funny.
00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:40.319
Like, we laugh about it all the time.
00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:53.359
Um, but anyway, so the Thrive an SPI campaign has been really successful, not just locally, because obviously we want our community members to be mindful of what a wonderful and unique place that we live in.
00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:56.640
But also that campaign goes nationally as well.
00:30:56.799 --> 00:31:03.839
And it's been very successful that way too, in addition to these conferences and meeting these site selectors and all of that that we do.
00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:14.640
But when you live in a community and you unfortunately, and I don't think it's just here, I think it happens a lot of places because I have been able to live at other places and I think it happens other places too.
00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:16.880
But a lot of times you get the there's nothing to do here.
00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:17.359
Oh, yeah.
00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:19.200
You know, this place sucks.
00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:29.680
You know, um, you know, people, I think it's easy when you're like right in the middle of something to kind of forget the special and wonderful things about the place that you maybe live in.
00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:39.279
And so the Thrive in SPI campaign part of it was to remind our community what a great place we have to live, work, and play here in Springfield and Sangaman County.
00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:49.839
So hopefully, maybe it's helped people kind of change their tune a little bit because what you think is what you say, you know, and what you say becomes like what you do.
00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:51.279
And Ryan has a whole thing on that.
00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:53.759
What you do becomes what you become known for, right?
00:31:53.920 --> 00:31:54.240
Something like that.
00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:56.240
So we want to be positive.
00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:57.920
Is our community perfect?
00:31:58.079 --> 00:31:59.920
No, no community is perfect.
00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:03.599
But we also have an average 17-minute drive time to work.
00:32:04.079 --> 00:32:09.440
We have one of the most low cost of living here in central Illinois.
00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:14.480
You can get way more for a house here for your money than you can other places.
00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:18.079
You can actually have a big yard here than you can other places.
00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:22.079
Your salary goes a lot farther here in our community.
00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:26.880
And so that's why I think sometimes you'll see what we call boomerangs.
00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:32.400
The younger generation maybe moves away for a little while and then they're paying all this money in rent.
00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:36.480
And it's like, oh my God, like, am I ever gonna be able to afford anything?
00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:41.519
And or maybe they want to start a family and and not spend two hours in the car to work every day.
00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:46.720
And they come back because our community offers some really beneficial life things here.
00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:52.960
I talked to a lot of business owners and leaders around over the last year and a half on this podcast where that was exactly that.
00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:54.079
And they're a boomerang.
00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:55.759
They left for a while and then they came back.
00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:56.240
I did it.
00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:57.119
I did it.
00:32:57.279 --> 00:33:01.359
You know, I left for like I think eight years I was gone and came back.
00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:06.400
But we want people in the community to talk positively about our community.
00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:09.440
You never know who you're sitting next to at a restaurant.
00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:12.960
It could be a site selector that's in town, just in for the week or whatever.
00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:21.680
We now with the Shields Sports Complex, we have people coming in all the time from other places.
00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:22.799
They have jobs.
00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:37.279
They might be a leader at their business, and maybe their business is looking to move, or maybe they're looking for a new opportunity in their personal life for their job, and they just want to move to our community and get a job here because they had a positive experience here.
00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:37.519
Right.
00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:44.880
Um, those opportunities, we want everyone to be supportive of Springfield and all of the wonderful aspects that it has to offer.
00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:47.440
And one of those things that you can do is become a Thrive Ally.
00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:49.759
There is a program that's on our website.
00:33:49.839 --> 00:33:51.599
Um, it kind of looks like a yearbook page.
00:33:52.240 --> 00:34:06.720
Um, but those are all people who have said, you know what, if someone is new here or moving here and they have questions that they just want to ask a regular person, like, for example, say you're a runner and you're moving to a new community.
00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:12.639
You maybe you were a part of like a big running group back at your old place or some sort of association, whatever.
00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:18.559
People that have volunteered to be Thrive Allies always give us like three things that, you know, their interests.
00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:30.079
Um, and so they can get on the website and look at all the Thrive Allies and find somebody who has similar interests in them, shoot them a quick email and say, hey, you know, I'm moving to your area or I'm looking to move to your area.
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:31.679
Running is really important to me.
00:34:31.840 --> 00:34:33.199
I see that you're a runner.
00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:37.280
Would you mind sharing with me your experience with the running community there?
00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:39.440
What kind of races are available?
00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:47.679
You know, what are the support aspects of people who run and kind of help people get acclimated to the community and learn about us from just regular people.
00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:48.079
Right.
00:34:48.239 --> 00:34:51.440
And that program has been beneficial to people in town.
00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:52.239
Oh, I bet it has.
00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:05.760
Strong.
00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:06.239
Love it.
00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:06.480
Yes.
00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:07.039
Love it.
00:35:07.199 --> 00:35:12.960
Well, speaking of uh, you know, one thing that you know well here, like you talked about, is the music community, right?
00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:14.400
So what's your band right now?
00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:17.360
So I'm in a band right now called uh Grand Theft Audio.
00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:17.760
Uh-huh.
00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:19.679
We're actually based out of Decatur.
00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:23.039
There's a lot of overlap between Decatur and Springfield bands.
00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:24.320
We're an 80s rock band.
00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:24.800
Okay.
00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:25.280
There you go.
00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:26.719
So much fun.
00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:27.119
Yeah.
00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:28.320
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:32.800
Um we'll be at Weebles actually, I think in either November or December here in town.
00:35:33.039 --> 00:35:33.360
Okay.
00:35:33.599 --> 00:35:35.840
Before the, I was with a band called After Sunset.
00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:38.159
It was a pretty popular band here in town for a while.
00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:43.840
I think all I could speak for all of the band community when I say we're all really looking forward to the curve coming back.
00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:44.320
Sure.
00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:48.320
So happy for Amy and Ray and all those guys with their project going on.
00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:53.599
As heartbreaking as that was, I'm just so thrilled that they're able to get the curve going again.
00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:57.199
And I think everyone is just so excited for us to be back up and running.
00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:00.800
And it's great how they post all their progress that they're making.
00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:02.079
So that's neat to watch.
00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:02.960
No doubt about it.
00:36:03.119 --> 00:36:06.480
So 80s rock, do you have a favorite group that you guys cover?
00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:09.199
Ooh, so we do a lot of Night Ranger.
00:36:09.280 --> 00:36:09.519
Okay.
00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:10.400
That's really fun.
00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:13.920
There's a Scorpions tune that I'm trying to get them to do right now.
00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:14.159
Okay.
00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:18.719
Gary, who is my co-um lead singer, um, he's my partner in crime.
00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:19.760
The man can sing.
00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:20.960
Oh my goodness.
00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:27.440
He's I'm like the luckiest girl around because not only are the musicians talented, but Gary can sing his face off.
00:36:27.599 --> 00:36:28.880
I mean, just amazing.
00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:36.320
And so I'm like, Gary, like, I really want to do this song because I want you to sing the lead because I want to scream those high harmonies like you wouldn't believe, you know.
00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:40.400
Because 80s rock, I mean, the scream and high harmonies, that's where it's Oh, that's it.
00:36:40.480 --> 00:36:41.519
Yeah, that's where it's at.
00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:43.679
So yeah, lots of good stuff, though.
00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:48.480
We're actually adding Cherry Pie by Warren next week.
00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:51.119
That song has actually kind of been enjoying a compact.
00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:52.000
It has, yeah.
00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:56.320
Because of a a show that all the young kids watched over the summer.
00:36:56.480 --> 00:36:59.519
Um, I'm trying to remember what show that was, but it was very popular.
00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:00.000
Right.
00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:04.480
It's funny how that happens because that's happened to a few songs recently where a random 80s song made a comeback.
00:37:04.719 --> 00:37:06.400
I'm like, seriously, that okay.
00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:09.840
Well, it was it was because of this or a TikTok trend or what something.
00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:10.880
I'm like, I don't care.
00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:11.760
That's a great song.
00:37:11.920 --> 00:37:12.880
I can't wait to do it.
00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:13.039
Right.
00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:14.239
Yeah, it'll be fun.
00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:15.199
So cool.
00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:15.840
So cool.
00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:18.400
Well, check you guys out for any of your upcoming shows.
00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:19.039
So please do.
00:37:19.280 --> 00:37:20.960
Yeah, where do they go to find out when you guys are playing?
00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:25.199
We're on Facebook, so all you have to do is search for Grand Theft Audio Band.
00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:26.559
You must include the word band.
00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:27.039
Right.
00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:32.880
I think before I joined the band, there was a little bit of trouble with the whole Grand Theft Auto Audio.
00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:35.840
We do kind of play off of that, especially with our logo and stuff.
00:37:36.159 --> 00:37:37.119
But it all got worked out.
00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:41.280
But yeah, Grand Theft Audio Band on Facebook, and you can find where we're gonna be.
00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:42.880
Well, Shelly, so much great stuff today.
00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:44.719
I like to close with these last couple of things.
00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:45.119
Sure.
00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:51.119
Let's give the audience a piece of advice, one on the personal side, one on the professional side to help them elevate their life or business.
00:37:51.599 --> 00:37:56.880
So personally, I would say I think two things are really important that I've learned over the course of my career.
00:37:57.039 --> 00:38:00.400
And one is always be transparent and honest.
00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:06.880
If you mess up, say you messed up and then present a solution because no one is perfect.
00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:09.039
We all learn from messing up.
00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:11.280
The other thing is I think just show up.
00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:15.760
I know personally I've had people in my life that just show up and it makes a difference.
00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:26.960
I think it makes more of a difference than people realize to have the people that you care about show up in your life for the things that are important to you or things that you didn't even realize they show up.
00:38:27.119 --> 00:38:28.480
Be one of those people who shows up.
00:38:28.719 --> 00:38:29.039
That's right.
00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:29.519
Show up.
00:38:29.679 --> 00:38:30.800
That's the first step toward anything.
00:38:31.199 --> 00:38:31.599
Let's go.
00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:36.800
And is there anything we can do community-wide to help all of us here elevate Springfield and the surrounding communities?
00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:40.800
I can't stress enough how important it is to be positive.
00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:43.599
Look for the positivity in in everything.
00:38:43.840 --> 00:38:47.440
Even when we don't agree, we're never gonna all agree on everything.
00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:52.559
But that doesn't mean that there isn't something positive to see in whatever it is that's going on.
00:38:52.719 --> 00:38:53.760
The positive is there.
00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:54.960
We just have to find it.
00:38:55.119 --> 00:39:04.320
And I think that that makes a huge difference in how we communicate with each other, how we interact with each other, um, and and remind each other that we're we're all in this together.
00:39:04.400 --> 00:39:12.880
We're trying to all make Springfield and Sangamon County a really great place for not just us right now, but for the future generations.
00:39:13.039 --> 00:39:13.760
So come on.
00:39:13.920 --> 00:39:14.960
Well, Shelly had a great time.
00:39:15.039 --> 00:39:15.440
It's fun.
00:39:15.599 --> 00:39:16.320
Thanks for having me.
00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:17.039
This was great.
00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:17.599
Absolutely.
00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:18.880
So Thrive and SPI.
00:39:19.119 --> 00:39:22.320
Thrive and SPI.org is the website for the Growth Alliance.
00:39:22.480 --> 00:39:22.800
Yep.
00:39:22.880 --> 00:39:23.920
We're actually getting a new one.
00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:26.000
I'm working with Levi Ranch Hop right now.
00:39:26.079 --> 00:39:26.320
All right.
00:39:26.559 --> 00:39:28.719
We'll be launching a new website probably before the end of the year.
00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:29.280
Awesome.
00:39:29.599 --> 00:39:30.559
It was just time, you know.
00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:31.280
A little refresh.
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:32.719
Gotta like that.
00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:32.960
Yeah.
00:39:33.119 --> 00:39:33.519
There you go.
00:39:33.679 --> 00:39:33.840
Cool.
00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:34.800
Well, thank you again.
00:39:35.039 --> 00:39:36.159
Thank you for having me, Robert.
00:39:36.400 --> 00:39:36.800
Absolutely.
00:39:36.960 --> 00:39:37.440
Great time.
00:39:37.599 --> 00:39:40.079
Well, we're gonna let Shelly get back to Elevate in Springfield.
00:39:40.159 --> 00:39:41.679
But for the rest of y'all, we'll be right back.
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:47.519
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00:40:52.800 --> 00:40:54.719
Well, thank you for joining us today, everybody.
00:40:54.880 --> 00:40:57.199
Appreciate you making us a part of your day.
00:40:57.360 --> 00:41:00.159
Hey, don't forget while you're out on social, check ours out.
00:41:00.239 --> 00:41:04.159
You can check my personal one out at RobertFarrell at everywhere.
00:41:04.559 --> 00:41:09.920
Check out those Elevate Springfield pages, those big dog business coaching pages as well.
00:41:10.159 --> 00:41:12.000
Check us out over on YouTube.
00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:17.199
Give us a subscribe, give us a like or a follow on any of those channels.
00:41:17.360 --> 00:41:19.440
We would certainly appreciate it.
00:41:19.679 --> 00:41:22.320
So, hey, take what you learned today.
00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:25.840
You bring the discipline and follow through and together.
00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:27.039
That's right, y'all.
00:41:27.199 --> 00:41:28.719
We're gonna elevate Springfield.
00:41:28.960 --> 00:41:29.440
Be great.