Through the Years

Marvin Steinkamp - Past Board Chairman

What is your first memory of the bureau?

“I got on right when the changeover of the previous bureau happened. One of the first things I did was get on a committee, the same one that interviewed jo kathmann, so if it has been 20 years since her first publication then that’s about how long that I’ve been here.”

You have watched the bureau grow exponentially over the last two decades, how does that make you feel?

“It makes me proud to be honest. It feels unfathomable where we were and where we came from. The first number of years we were under supervision from the state, we had an attorney working for us to try to get cleared up from the previous administration and now we’re probably second to none as far as I’m concerned in terms of people recognizing ILLINOISouth. We’re a mainstay, it’s come a long way. Maybe 20 years is a long time but honestly, it goes by pretty quick.”

We’ve talked about the last twenty years, how do you feel about the next twenty?

“In my lifetime, and I’m starting to get more seasoned in age, technology was minimal when I first got on the board to where we’re going with that - and now communities are linking together and interacting together to get people to take that trip and make a trip through a community. I think the technology in the next 20 years will probably be unfathomable just like it was 20 years ago, and I think a lot of places will improve their offerings of tourism too. There are always new things popping up in our area, we’ve made a name for ourselves now and better things will come.”