SBJ 03-2012

MARCH 2012

Directory of Advertisers

Inside M A RC H

20 1 2

Ameren Illinois ....................................20

WORKPLACE

MONEY MATTERS

Clash of generational cultures: Throughout our region, we are seeing great generational diversity among the men and women who comprise our workforce. Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y/Millennial workers share some common characteristics, but there are attitude and behaviors unique to each group. Employers can get the best out of their peo-ple by understanding the differences and encouraging communication among all in the workplace.

Page 6

Facebook fascination: Facebook hopes to raise $5 billion through its planned IPO, but those investors who do their homework will discover Facebook will need significantly high revenues or a sustained large profit margin to match the performance of shares in Google, which rose from an $85 IPO to nearly $600 per share in February. Looking back to the dot-com and dot-bomb bubble in the 1990s provides valuable perspective.

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INDICATORS Housing market improves: Home sales nationwide still are a concern, but the fourth quarter of 2011 saw solid gains in nine of 16 counties in Southern Illinois, including the most populated counties of Jackson, Williamson and Franklin counties.

That’s an encouraging measure; but, overall, the state’s economy is contracting slightly in the University of Illinois Flash Index, though improved from a year earlier. Get the latest on unemployment, motor vehicle and retail sales and other measures of economic health.

Pages 12-13

Bank of Marion......................................8 Bill Ecker, State Farm Insurance ..........20 Country Financial, Dennis Woodside .... 7 Datalock .......................................... 15 Feirich, Mager, Green & Ryan.............. 20

ACHIEVEMENTS Who is in the news? Find out who has been hired, who has been promoted or who has received an award for efforts in business. Make sure you check out our newest “Faces in the News” collection of business portraits and learn more of achievements and honors in regional businesses. If you know of a business or business person who deserves special recognition for advanced training, a unique honor or a business expansion, please let us know at sbj@thesouthern.com.

Pages 16-19

John A. Logan College ........................ 10 Leading Lawyers ................................ 11 Mutual Medical Plans, Inc. .................. 8 Oliver and Associates, Inc. ................ 22 Pepsi MidAmerica .......................... 3, 22 SIPMA ..................................................7

Contact us The Southern Business Journal is a publication of The Southern Illinoisan. Contact us via mail at 710 N. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, IL 62901, or at P. O. Box 2108, Carbondale, IL 62903. Also reach us on the Web at www.sbj.biz and via email at SBJ@thesouthern.com. The Journal is published 12 times per year monthly, and mailed to businesses, community development leaders, chambers of commerce members and other professionals in Southern Illinois. Copyright 2011 by The Southern Illinoisan, all rights reserved. A subscription may be obtained by calling 618-529-5454 or 618-997-3356, or by visiting our website.

SIU Credit Union ................................ 24

Publisher: Bob Williams  618-351-5038

Southern Illinois Healthcare................ 17

Editor: Gary Metro  618-351-5033

Southern Illinois University.................... 5

Advertising: Jason Woodside  618-351-5015

Williamson County Airport. ..................20

Circulation: Trisha Woodside  618-351-5035 Database Coordinator: Mark Doman  618-351-5042

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MARCH 2012

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

3

Cover Story It’s the customer!

Learn to see service from patrons’ vantage point

BY LES O’DELL

SBJ CORRESPONDENT

Customer service is a difficult concept to define, yet all of us appreciate instances when we receive it in an outstanding way.

We also know when the service we receive is less than ideal.

Unfortunately, as the 2011 National Customer Rage Study discovered, bad service is common, and consumers are angrier than ever before. Additionally, while many customers are complaining, those concerns are often unaddressed.

And that further increases dissatisfaction.

According to the study, conducted by the Center for Services Leadership at

Arizona State University, about 50 million Americans had a problem with a product or service last year — a level higher than any previous studies — despite ongoing efforts by business and industry to focus on customer service.

“The bad news is that American companies are pretty darn bad at customer service,” says Cheryl BurkeJarvis, an SIU associate professor of marketing, who specializes in customer relationships and service. She also is a research fellow with ASU Center for Services Leadership.

Burke-Jarvis says the survey has been completed five times since 1976, and the original study served as a catalyst for

‘If companies aren’t listening to what the customer wants, then they’re not basing delivery on customer expectations and needs.’

CHERYL BURKE-JARVIS SIU ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MARKETING

companies to put an emphasis on customer service.

“Despite all of the investment over 30 years, customers’ perception of service is much worse,” she says.

Raising the bar Burke-Jarvis adds that one factor may

be growing expectations of customers, thanks in part to companies that excel in customer service.

“There seems to be a shifting baseline, and firms that do a good job with service continue to push the bar,” she says.

SEE COVER / PAGE 4

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SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

MARCH 2012

Cover Story FROM PAGE 3 Regardless, she says companies need to look at service from the customers’ vantage point.

“I’d say the only thing that matters is what customers think,” she explains.

“Companies think that they are defining what customer service is, and that may be part of the problem. If companies aren’t listening to what the customer wants, then they’re not basing delivery on customer expectations and needs.”

That’s why some Southern Illinois companies are stressing customer service at all levels.

“We treat customer service as our No. 1 priority,” says Leann Biggerstaff, sales floor manager at Wright Do-It Center in Murphysboro. “We try to go the extra mile, and we try to build relationships with customers and help take some of the headaches away.”

Biggerstaff says a key to great customer service for her store is hiring the right staff members — finding friendly, outgoing and positive people. New employees go through extensive customer service training, she says, and management tries to look for opportunities to reinforce what staff has learned.

“We try to catch employees doing things well,” she says. “We tell them that we heard how they treated the customer and that they did a great job. It’s picking up on things and then encouraging them.”

Secret shoppers The store even uses a secret shopper program, a service contracted through the Do-It Best Corp. with a mystery shopper service company.

“Our participating member stores use the results in a variety of ways, though the most common use is to provide candid feedback to their store employees,” explains Do-It Best Rental and Retail Programs Manager Chris Hill. “Many will praise good results with monetary gifts or bonuses, movie tickets or restaurant gift cards. If the mystery shopper feedback is not positive, it’s an excellent development tool for improved customer service training.”

The Murphysboro store awards cash prizes and recognition to employees who score well with secret shoppers.

Biggerstaff says it’s a way of encouraging and training all employees.

‘If you have competition, you have to be on your game every day. It’s not just about getting a new customer; it’s about keeping the existing ones.’

BILL BONAN II PRESIDENT, PEOPLES NATIONAL BANK

Another way to discover customers’ desires is simply by asking them how a company can improve. Southern Illinois Healthcare uses monthly patient satisfaction surveys to gauge how its hospitals, clinics and other facilities are doing. CEO Rex Budde says he studies the regularly reported data from the surveys and takes into account anecdotal information such as letters, cards, personal stories and emails his office receives from patients and their families.

“The surveys correlate levels of satisfaction and show us the top areas we need to work on,” he says, adding that the data analysis is very sophisticated. “Plus, all of the data in total provides us with opportunities to know when someone does something particularly well.”

Employees vital Budde says that when he hears of an SIH employee going “above and beyond,” he will commend the employee in a personal letter sent to that person’s home.

“It’s more personal, and we recognize that it means more to them that way,” he says.

Burke-Jarvis says recognition programs and employee relations can have a positive influence on customer service, as well.

“Employees are critical,” she explains.

“Keep your employees happy, and they’ll keep your customers happy for you.”

Budde says customer service issues are raised in regular trainings for all SIH staff members, and they are discussed in a monthly memo.

“I try to tell everyone that we need to treat people like they are the ones we love most in the world because, sometime in the future, the one we love the most may be laying in one of our hospital beds. We want to be sure they are getting the best care,” he says.

For employees of Peoples National

ART SERVICES

Companies need to look at service from the customers’ vantage point.

Bank, service means going the extra mile, says President Bill Bonan II. “We want our staff to know our customers’ names and about them, so that when they come in, it’s a personal relationship,” he says. “I believe customers today expect good service, and to be successful in the future, we’re going to have to provide excellent customer service.”

Yet, even with employee recognition programs, mystery shoppers and customer service training, there are problems.

“The challenge with service is that every experience is going to be different,” Burke-Jarvis says. “Recognize that because each instance is unique, breakdowns are going to happen, and so you have to plan for failures and what you are going to do when they happen.”

Complaints are your friend Often, that means listening and responding to customer complaints, which is sometimes where another breakdown occurs, according to the Arizona State survey. Researchers report that 47 percent of customers who complain felt they received nothing as a result of their complaint.

“A complaining customer is really a firm’s best friend,” Burke-Jarvis believes.

“Research shows that really dissatisfied customers never complain; they just leave.

They don’t say a word to you as they leave, but they do say a lot to their friends and a lot online about you, which is another problem.”

Thanks to social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube, the impact of an unhappy customer is magnified. The traditional rule of thumb was that an unhappy customer would tell one or two dozen friends; whereas, one online rant today can instantly reach hundreds of people.

She says complaining customers will give you an opportunity to win them back, and they also will tell you what might be going on in the minds of other customers, both current and lost.

“Too many firms have too many barriers to complaining; they don’t want to hear the complaints,” she adds, pointing to two flaws in the way companies handle complaints. The first, called pingponging, points to the number of people customers must deal with to get resolution. The Customer Rage study SEE COVER / PAGE 11

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SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

MARCH 2012

Workplace Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials on the job: Can’t we all just get along?

BY ANGELA HOLMES-YOUNG SBJ CONTRIBUTOR

It seems to me that we are now seeing the generational differences in the workplaces of Southern Illinois in a major way. Many of my clients are currently dealing Holmes-Young with issues created by these differences on a daily basis. We all have been told to embrace differences, and even encourage them, to promote diversity in the workplace.

Does this apply to generational differences? Take some time to examine the differences between the generations in today’s workplace. Maybe with an explanation of the different generations and some reflection, you will be able to better manage and even benefit from these differences in your workplace.

If you personally have not yet seen these differences at work, do not worry.

You will. In my opinion, a smart strategy would be to educate yourself in advance, so you are ready to balance these differences. It is no surprise that each generation does really bring a unique perspective and can make a significant contribution to your company or organization. I will admit that I am one of those people who thought this topic was a bit boring and not relevant. Maybe that is the Gen Xer in me ready to slack and not see the importance. (Yes, I am a Gen Xer.) I like to think of myself as getting along with almost everyone and seeing the value in each person. However, maybe without realizing it, I was making value judgments about other generations based on my opinions only — not a smart way to make business decisions.

Let’s start at the beginning. You are probably very aware of which generation you belong to. For the sake of information, I will recap each pertinent

generation with a general definition.

Keep in mind, there are many, many definitions of each. I will also include the relevant characteristics that are said to be descriptors for that generation.

Of course, these definitions do not fit every single individual in the generation. For those who work with people from other generations, see if you recognize some of these traits within the generation. Think also of the differences, problems, issues, etc. that might be caused when people, who are so inherently different, come together in the workplace and try to get work done.

Veterans: These employees were generally born before 1946. They possess a strong work ethic and strong ties to the military. Many were in the military themselves or their spouse was.

Veterans seem to be able to get those impossible tasks done. Self-sacrifice and dedication are key elements that Veterans exhibit. Seniority, title and rank are important to them.

Baby Boomers: These employees were born between 1946 and 1964. They believe in the hierarchy of leadership and are very much team players. Baby Boomers are characterized as hard workers. There are further differences between those characterized as early Baby Boomers and late Baby Boomers.

Generation X: These employees were born between 1965 and 1979. Gen Xers are independent, self-reliant and entrepreneurial. Gen Xers saw how hard their parents worked and also saw their parents lose their jobs, anyway. They value leadership by competence. They have little or no respect for seniority, title, service or rank.

Generation Y/Millennial: Millennials were born between 1980 and 2000.

They are definitely tech-savvy and accustomed to having a constant connection with the world through technology. This may give way to their sense of being a citizen of the world.

They are quite capable of multi-tasking.

Millennials do consider themselves to

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be team players, but they define this differently than any generation before them. Millennials are generally considered to be sheltered by their parents, and they are closer to their parents because of it.

I can tell you that as a former, longtime human resource manager, it was very common to receive complaints from employees and supervisors alike regarding younger co-workers. Most complaints involved the younger coworker being accused of constant texting or surfing the net and not working. After investigating the details, more times than not, it was found that, yes, the younger co-worker was texting often and surfing. However, it was also found that this younger employee was in fact also getting the work done. The younger employee actually finished work before the deadline and then began texting and/or surfing. (Make sure you have a solid IT and social media policy, but that is a column for another day.) Let’s really think about this for a minute.

Once the Millennial finished assigned work, this employee had not been given anything else to do, so the Millennial was keeping busy.

Although the Baby Boomer probably would have asked for more work, we know that the Gen Xer probably would not have asked for more work. Here, we see that every generation would not handle this the same way. I’ll bet you are wondering about the quality of the work that the Millennial submitted.

In most cases, I can tell you that it was good and complete work. In the end, as a manager, you need to strive to match your managerial style with the employee to make this relationship mutually beneficial. Why not manage the Millennials the way they prefer to be managed, which will also result in more

timely and complete work along with higher employee satisfaction?

Furthermore, consider how the generational differences could be helpful to your organization in other ways. Maybe the Millennial tech whiz could assist your Veteran employee with the new computer system. Maybe the Veteran employee could assist the Millennial, as well.

I challenge you to view these differences as true opportunities to divide up your workload in a whole new way. By honestly embracing the differences in people and work style, everyone can benefit. Embrace the differences, and use them to everyone’s advantage. Other creative solutions to your workplace dilemmas might include mentoring programs or project teams that partner different generations with each other. Both have plenty to offer the other.

I think what truly fascinates me about these generational differences is that each generation is a product of that generation’s experiences. Before you judge another generation, you must at least try to understand why that generation is the way it is. I will also say that just because someone works differently than you, it isn’t always a bad thing. Maybe you, too, can learn something from your co-workers.

Just for fun, check out the quiz: How Millennial Are You? http://pewresearch.org/ millennials/quiz/index.php NEXT MONTH: Wellness in the workplace: You ask how can I afford it?

I answer how can you afford not to?

ANGELA HOLMES-YOUNG is vice president of Consulting & Human Resource Services for Your Professional Partners Inc. in Marion. She consults with clients of all sizes in a variety of human resource areas, including executive coaching. You can reach Angela by emailing angela@yourprofessionalpartners.com or calling 618-969-8800.

HUMAN RESOURCES CONFERENCE Topics include: NLRB - Recent Development & Rulemaking HR - A Critical Partner for Business Success Preventing and Reining in FMLA Abuse Strategic Selection Decisions The Science of Negotiation & Conflict Resolution

Friday, April 13 7:30am to 4:00pm John A Logan College Carterville, IL

The Illinois Department of Employment Security – Make it Work for You For More Information: www.sipma.org 618-998-7910 Register online at www.imec.org under “Events”

www. ankofmarion.com “I was in search of a particular business product for Golden Eagle that no bank in our area was offering at the time. After presenting my idea to the Bank of Marion, they created that product and tailored it to the specific needs of my business. Everyone there is friendly and does whatever it takes to keep things simple for the customer. I would be surprised to find any bank in Southern Illinois that is easier to work with or more accommodating than the Bank of Marion.”

Jim Pugh

Golden Eagle Distributing Business Account holder

THE BANK OF MARION BUSINESS ACCOUNTS PROVIDE: • INTERNET BANKING • DIGITAL DEPOSIT • WIRE TRANSFER CAPABILITIES • ACH ORIGINATION • VISA CHECK CARDS • PAYROLL DIRECT DEPOSIT • CASH MANAGEMENT - Including Interest Bearing Commercial Sweep Accounts

BUSINESS FINANCIAL SERVICES INCLUDE: • BUSINESS LOANS • LINES OF CREDIT • EQUIPMENT LEASING/ FINANCING • RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES • BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLANNING

At The Bank of Marion, we believe in doing business locally, with people you can get to know and trust. Our Business Banking Experts are always willing to come to your office and provide financial solutions that will help your business run more efficiently.

As a local bank, we are able to make quick lending decisions. We live and work right here with you, so our services and our decisions are customized to fit the needs of our southern Illinois customers.

Business Banking Solutions customized to fit YOUR business.

• WEALTH MANAGEMENT

www.bankofmarion.com b

(618) 997-4341

MARCH 2012

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

9

Elder Law Annuities and long-term care planning for a single person

BY RICHARD HABIGER SBJ CONTRIBUTOR

Medicaidcompliant annuities are a great planning tool for single persons, as well as married couples.

The key is to work with a financial professional, who either specializes in Habiger the use of Medicaid-compliant annuities or partners with a Medicaid-compliant annuity specialist. In addition, it is essential that you and your financial professional work with an elder law attorney, who can make sure the financial plan is consistent with your goal of qualifying for governmental benefits to help pay for long-term care.

A Medicaid-compliant annuity is quite different from annuities sold by most financial professionals. The annuities sold by most financial professionals, generally speaking, are designed to grow your investment and/or generate income for a period of time. If the funds you invest into the annuity are retirement funds, these traditional annuities defer income tax on the interest earned on the investment until the annuity owner begins withdrawing funds from the annuity.

Medicaid-compliant annuities, on the other hand, are not designed to maximize earnings or defer taxation.

Instead, they are designed to help protect at least half, maybe more, of what you have accumulated, all of which would otherwise be at risk of loss to a nursing home or other long-term care costs.

Only a limited number of insurance companies offer Medicaid-compliant annuities for long-term care planning.

They know the Medicaid laws, rules and regulations, which are much different from the laws that apply to traditional annuities; thus, they know how to design and structure Medicaidcompliant annuities.

When single people enter nursing homes, they must either spend down

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their assets to no more than $2,000 or take action to protect a portion of their assets, so they can qualify for Medicaid benefits to pay the nursing home bill. In this context, take action means rearranging the person’s financial affairs, much like a well-to-do person would do in order to reduce or eliminate death taxes. For single people, who are of modest means and facing the possibility of needing care in a nursing home, it means rearranging their financial affairs to protect their home or farm and their lifetime savings.

(Strategies to protect the home or farm are beyond the scope of this article.)

For a single person, a Medicaidcompliant annuity is designed to convert approximately half of the person’s assets into an income stream.

The other half of the person’s assets are transferred either to one or more trusted family members or to a trust. In either case, the assets are invested into a more traditional type annuity. With the income from the Medicaid-compliant annuity covering payment of long-term care costs during the penalty period (which is created by the transfer of half of the assets to the family member(s) or trust), the nursing home resident can become eligible for Medicaid benefits to pay the nursing home bill upon expiration of the penalty period or fiveyear look-back period, whichever comes first.

Note that the foregoing is the short version; do not attempt to do it on your own. The coordination of the Medicaidcompliant annuity and the more traditional type annuity must be precise. The mathematical calculations must be exact; merely $1 off on the calculations will run afoul of the new Illinois Medicaid rules.

When the person needs help in order to remain at home or transition to a supportive living facility, the same strategy can work to obtain VA, Medicaid or Community Care Program benefits.

When the person is a war-time veteran or the widow(er) of a war-time veteran, a similar strategy can be used to help the person obtain VA benefits. The VA benefits can rise to $20,446 per year for a single person. If the person is the surviving spouse of a veteran, the yearly VA benefits can be as much as $13,136 per year, depending on the level of care needed. If the plan is structured just right, these benefits can be used to hire someone (even family members) to help the person remain at home or pay for care in an assisted or supportive living facility.

The following is an example of how a properly structured Medicaidcompliant annuity would work for a single person, who is not a veteran or the surviving spouse of a veteran.

Assume that Mrs. Smith, a widow, is a resident of a nursing home in Illinois and that the monthly fee is $5,000. For purposes of this hypothetical, assume she has monthly Social Security income of $800 and that her spend-down amount is $100,000 (i.e., the amount in excess of $2,000 which disqualifies her from receiving Medicaid benefits to pay the nursing home).

Since Mrs. Smith is paying $5,000 per month for her care, and with her income being only $800, her monthly income shortfall is $4,200. With the monthly income shortfall amount of $4,200 then being added to the $5,000 monthly cost of care, the total burn rate amount equals $9,200. With this amount then being divided into the $100,000 spenddown amount, the resulting figure is 10.87 months.

This figure then gives us the portion of the $100,000 that can be transferred to trusted family members or to a trust.

By multiplying the $5,000 monthly cost of care by 10.87, the gift amount equals $54,350. This sum is in turn invested into an annuity that is designed to grow in value.

With the $100,000 spend-down amount being reduced by the gift amount of $54,350, the remaining sum of $45,650 is used to purchase a shortterm Medicaid-compliant annuity, By using a Medicaid-compliant annuity, structured for a period certain of 11

months consistent with the new Illinois DRA-compliant Medicaid rules, the Medicaid-compliant annuity will pay Mrs. Smith $4,160 per month, for a total pay-out of $45,760.

Mrs. Smith will be ineligible for Medicaid benefits until the end of the 10.87-month penalty period. However, during the same period, Mrs. Smith will have total monthly income of $4,960, which is available to pay the monthly nursing home costs. Since the nursing home charges $5,000, and Mrs. Smith’s income is only $4,960, she would have a monthly income shortfall of $40. This sum would be covered by pulling the amount from the $2,000, which Medicaid allows her to retain.

If Mrs. Smith decides to not use the strategy discussed in this article, she will need to privately pay for approximately 23 months until she has exhausted all of her assets except for $2,000. By using the strategy described, Mrs. Smith will protect $54,350 — a little more than half of her $100,000 spend down. Further, in the event that Mrs. Smith dies before the 10.87-month penalty period expires, Medicaid will not be entitled to any of the residual benefits remaining in the 11-month Medicaid-compliant annuity because no medical assistance benefits will have been provided to Mrs. Smith.

Consequently, in such an event, Mrs. Smith’s beneficiaries will receive any residual benefits remaining in the Medicaid-compliant annuity.

Note: The use of Medicaid-compliant annuities for married couples was discussed in this column last month. http://issuu.com/thesouthern/docs/sbj _february_2012-opt/1, at page 14. In future months, we will explore the use of annuities as a means of qualifying for VA benefits, while also protecting the bulk of the family’s lifetime savings.

RICHARD HABIGER is author of the Illinois edition of “How to Protect Your Family’s Assets from Devastating Nursing Home Costs: Medicaid Secrets.” He is an elder law attorney, who focuses on asset protection, Medicaid and VA benefits. You may contact him at 618-549-4529 or info@HabigerElderLaw.com.

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

11

COVER FROM PAGE 4 found the average was 4.4 contacts.

Secondly, she says there is a misconception in what dissatisfied customers desire.

“When you ask managers what unhappy customers want, they’ll tell you that the customers want money; that’s not the case,” Burke-Jarvis says.

Respect and dignity In fact, the study found that customers’ most desired outcome is simply to be treated with respect and dignity, followed by correction of the problem. Additional wants included an explanation, assurance the problem would not occur again, a chance to vent, a thank-you for doing business with the company and an apology. Getting their money back or wanting a free product or service in the future ranked eighth and ninth in the survey.

“Of the top seven things customers want, only one — fixing the problem — costs any money, and it’s something that you should have done anyway,” BurkeJarvis points out.

She suggests companies empower all employees to be able to do whatever is necessary to make a customer happy. She gives the example that every Ritz-Carlton employee, from corporate officers to housekeepers, is authorized to spend up to $2,000 to make things right.

“So, why make your employee come ask a manager if it’s OK to give a free dessert in a restaurant? Why not give them the power to do that? Empowering the frontline employees to make things right is very powerful. We’re often afraid that they will give away the business, but that doesn’t happen,” she says.

When it comes to customer service, Biggerstaff says the old adage still holds true.

“If we don’t take care of the customer, someone else will,” she says.

Bonan adds that what is true for the financial services industry goes for all businesses.

“There’s a bank on every corner,” he says. “If you have competition, you have to be on your game every day. It’s not just about getting a new customer; it’s about keeping the existing ones.”

LES O’DELL of Carbondale is a regular contributor to Southern Business Journal and The Southern Illinoisan.

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Retail sales for Southern Illinois cities City Anna Benton Carbondale Carterville Chester Du Quoin Harrisburg Herrin Jonesboro Marion Metropolis Mount Vernon Murphysboro Nashville Pinckneyville Red Bud Sparta Vienna West City West Frankfort REGION ILLINOIS

YTD Nov 2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

109.5 80.1 542.9 39.0 50.9 104.4 195.9 141.7 10.3 629.0 78.1 485.4 124.4 102.2 39.0 68.5 118.5 36.9 80.5 112.8 $3,150.0 $141,586.2

120.9 69.5 598.0 42.2 55.3 77.1 195.0 153.4 11.8 683.1 82.0 507.0 130.6 96.6 38.5 75.2 128.5 39.9 87.8 112.4 $3,304.8 $147,232.0

114.5 69.4 565.5 39.9 52.9 100.8 191.9 147.2 12.5 676.0 77.1 476.7 129.1 107.9 37.2 70.1 126.4 37.1 91.9 111.4 $3,235.5 $139,593.2

113.3 71.4 587.7 40.1 51.5 91.9 179.3 135.9 12.4 673.4 75.9 482.8 117.1 101.8 39.0 77.7 130.5 40.5 89.6 111.2 $3,223.0 $237,438.0

112.3 72.4 607.4 40.3 51.7 94.4 173.6 134.4 11.3 662.4 79.8 461.5 94.9 105.2 35.8 73.7 129.5 39.8 82.8 111.4 $3,174.7 $180,162.7

111.7 75.0 610.4 39.9 54.0 103.1 168.5 137.5 11.5 592.7 74.8 501.0 93.0 105.7 41.7 82.5 133.1 36.9 77.7 106.8 $3,157.6 $173,362.8

R

N I L L I Chicago Fed Midwest % change 06-10 Manufacturing Index                      

8.2% 7.3% 2.0% 5.8% 2.4% 25.2% 15.7% 11.6% 2.6% 15.3% 9.6% 1.2% 40.4% 8.6% 7.7% 8.8% 3.5% 8.1% 13.0% 5.2% 4.6% 15.1%

The CFMMI is a monthly estimate by major industry of manufacturing output in the Seventh Federal Reserve District states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. It is a composite index of 15 manufacturing industries, including auto and steel, that uses electrical power and hours worked data to measure monthly changes in regional activity. It is compared here to the national Industrial Production index for Manufacturing (IPMFG). Base year is 2007.

Starting in November 2005, the index excluded the electricity component.

105 104 103 102

IPMFG Dec 11 93.2

100 98 94 90 88 86 84 82

SOURCE: LATEST STATISTICS AVAILABLE FROM THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE. FIGURES ARE IN MILLIONS.

81 80

Unemployment rates for Southern Illinois counties, state and nation Alexander Franklin Gallatin Hamilton Hardin Jackson Jefferson Johnson Massac Perry Pope Pulaski Randolph Saline Union Washington White Williamson .,REGION ILLINOIS U.S.

Labor force

Jobless

Dec 2011

Nov 2011

Dec 2010

3,024 17,588 2,668 3,960 1,890 32,795 20,132 5,329 7,215 9,474 1,951 2,842 15,703 13,014 8,355 8,619 7,870 34,979 197,408 6,592,838 153,373,000

367 1,969 250 339 201 2,429 1,842 531 631 1,018 172 297 1,340 1,213 1,006 623 622 3,000 17,850 613,408 12,692,000

12.1% 11.2% 9.4% 8.6% 10.6% 7.4% 9.1% 10.0% 8.7% 10.7% 8.8% 10.5% 8.5% 9.3% 12.0% 7.2% 7.9% 8.6% 9.5% 9.3% 8.3%

11.5% 10.7% 8.6% 8.3% 9.7% 7.2% 8.6% 9.1% 7.7% 10.3% 8.7% 9.7% 8.0% 9.0% 11.1% 7.0% 7.6% 8.2% 8.9% 9.4% 8.2%

10.9% 10.7% 8.7% 8.9% 9.9% 6.9% 8.3% 9.9% 7.9% 10.0% 9.4% 8.9% 8.0% 9.1% 10.9% 6.3% 7.8% 8.2% 8.9% 10.3% 9.7%

SOURCE: ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. FIGURES ARE NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED.

Change month                     

0.6 0.5 0.8 0.3 0.9 0.2 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.4 0.1 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.9 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.1 0.1

78

Change year                     

76 74

CFMMI Dec 11

1.2 72 87.4 0.5 70 68 0.7 0.3 66 0.7 64 M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D ’11 ’10 0.5 0.8 SOURCE: FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF CHICAGO 0.1 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.6 Dec 11 Dec 10 Change 0.5 0.2 MONTHLY TOTALS 1.1 912 746  20.5% 0.9 YTD TOTALS 0.1 0.4 2,673 2,210  28.4% 0.6 2010 2009 Change 1.0 ANNUAL TOTALS 1.4 7,478 2,750  171.9%

Williamson County Regional Airport passengers

N

O

I S I N Consumer credit score

D

Credit scores are numeric reflections of financial behavior and credit worthiness and they are based on information included in a credit report. Ranging from 330 to 830, a higher score means a lower credit risk. Scores are from February 2012.

SOURCE: EXPERIAN

C

A

T

694

698

Anna

Region

699

692

State

U. S.

O R S U of I Flash Index

Total cars, trucks sold based on title applications filed.

Excludes motorcycles, trailers.

New vehicle sales Alexander Franklin Gallatin Hamilton Hardin Jackson Jefferson Johnson Massac Perry Pope Pulaski Randolph Saline Union Washington White Williamson REGION

I

Dec 11

Dec 10

Change

2010

13 99 22 34 6 166 92 40 29 58 16 17 82 115 53 64 72 210 1,188

16 101 22 26 12 133 112 38 24 46 9 10 82 77 40 51 52 172 1,023

 18.8%  2.0% 0.0%  30.8%  50.0%  24.8%  17.9%  5.3%  20.8%  26.1%  77.8%  70.0% 0.0%  49.4%  32.5%  25.5%  38.5%  22.1%  16.1%

126 965 222 236 97 1,320 848 327 269 558 73 129 844 793 486 446 571 1,796 10,097

2009 137 989 184 224 94 1,348 842 353 278 565 85 124 936 719 447 515 471 1,868 10,179

Change                   

8.0% 3.3% 20.7% 5.4% 3.2% 2.1% 0.7% 7.4% 3.2% 1.2% 14.1% 4.0% 9.8% 10.3% 8.7% 13.4% 21.2% 3.9% 0.8%

Alexander Franklin Gallatin Hamilton Hardin Jackson Jefferson Johnson Massac Perry Pope Pulaski Randolph Saline Union Williamson ILLINOIS

4 72 0 1 0 68 49 17 19 19 2 4 30 43 18 135 25,394

Q4 10 8 53 4 1 0 59 63 15 16 35 2 2 27 28 17 113 22,114

SOURCE: ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

Change

 50.0%  35.8%  100.0% 0.0% 0.0%  15.3%  22.2%  13.3%  18.8%  45.7% 0.0%  100.0%  11.1%  16.7%  5.9%  19.5%  14.8%

A

S

O

N

2010 19 259 8 8 8 358 264 78 91 116 8 6 131 122 84 590 103,455

2009 15 258 9 7 13 382 278 64 92 126 6 13 135 100 94 654 107,782

                

D

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

J

F

M

A

M

J

' 10

' 09

J

A

S

N

O

D

J ' 12

' 11

SOURCE: INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

Hotel/motel stats

Consumer Price Index

Total amount of revenue generated in Carbondale by hotels and motels for room rentals only.

The CPI measures average price changes of goods and services over time, with a reference base of 100 in 1982-84.To put into context, a current CPI of 194.5 means a market basket of goods and services that cost $100 in 1982-84 now costs $194.50.

Dec 11 Dec 10 MONTHLY TOTALS $438,178

Change

$442,960 

1.1%

YTD TOTALS $7,706,931

228

226

$7,710,436  <0.01%

2009 ANNUAL TOTALS

2008

Change

Change 26.7% 0.4% 11.1% 14.3% 38.5% 6.3% 5.0% 21.9% 1.1% 7.9% 33.3% 53.8% 3.0% 22.0 % 10.6% 9.8% 4.0%

$82,500 $45,750 $0 $55,000 $0 $112,500 $76,500 $39,000 $92,000 $64,900 $223,950 $115,000 $86,500 $67,000 $84,887 $105,000 $128,000

$43,250 $42,500 $83,250 $49,500 $0 $90,000 $75,000 $49,900 $64,000 $68,000 $73,500 $39,500 $72,000 $50,750 $97,500 $114,900 $143,000

224

U.S. city average Jan 12 226.7

222

220

$7,520,856 

MEDIAN SALES PRICE Q4 11 Q4 10

Total units sold, including condominiums

Q4 11

Jan 12 98.8

$7,725,727

SOURCE: ILLINOIS SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE. LATEST DATA AVAILABLE.

Home sales

108 107 106 105 104 103 102 101 100 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91 90 89 J

The Flash Index is an early indicator of the Illinois economy’s expected performance. It is a weighted average of growth rates in corporate earnings, consumer spending and personal income. An index above 100 indicates expected growth; an index below 100 indicates the economy is contracting.

2.7%

218

216

Change  90.8%  7.6%  100.0%  11.1% 0.0%  25.0%  2.0%  21.8%  43.8%  4.6%  204.7%  191.1%  20.1%  32.0%  12.9%  8.6%  10.8%

214

Midwest urban Jan 12 216.4

212

210

208 J

F

M

A

M ’11

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

J ‘12

SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Prices at the pump Average price per gallon of regular, unleaded gas as of Feb. 24 and Jan. 26, 2012.

Metro East Springfield Illinois U.S. SOURCE: AAA

Feb 12

Jan 12

Feb 11

$3.70 $3.64 $3.44 $3.38

$3.45 $3.28 $3.44 $3.38

$3.28 $3.23 $3.35 $3.23

14

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

MARCH 2012

Money Matters Facebook IPO

BY SCOTT MCCLATCHEY SBJ CONTRIBUTOR

Anticipation is high. Facebook filed an S-1 form Feb. 1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, taking its first big step toward going public.

It aims to raise $5 billion through its McClatchey upcoming IPO. Some of the details from the S-1 form:  Facebook’s revenue climbed from $777 million in 2009 to $3.71 billion in 2011.  Its annual profits went from $229 million (2009) to $1 billion (2011).  Its profits grew by 65 percent last year alone.  Its top source of revenue is advertising. (Twelve percent of Facebook’s 2011 revenues came from Zynga, a social network gaming company.)  The Google IPO raised $1.9 billion, and this IPO could potentially dwarf that.

Will this IPO live up to all the hype? It might; it might not. Let’s examine some other key tech IPOs and see how those shares have done since.

Google: The IPO set the share price at $85. In early February, the share price was around $580.

The frenzy is building. Should you care?

LinkedIn: On the day of the IPO, the share price climbed from $45 to a peak of $122.70 and settled at $94.25. At the start of February, LinkedIn was trading for $72.

Pandora: Shares were offered at $16 in June 2011; eight months later, they were trading at $13.

Zillow: Shares were offered at $20 in July 2011 and ended at $35.77 on the day of the IPO; in early February, Zillow traded at around $30.

All in all, these numbers look pretty good, right? Sure they do, to institutional investors. Keep in mind that the little guy gets there second. It is the institutional investor, not the small investor, who gets first dibs on the stock and frequently realizes the terrific upside. The individual investors get to get in after the shares take off; sometimes they pay a price.

Lessons from the dot-com (and dot-bomb) years The 1990s may seem like ancient history, yet there are examples from the past worth noting when it comes to IPOs. University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter has maintained a huge database on IPOs for decades. He did a study of 1,006 IPOs from 1988 to 1993 (these were all IPOs that raised $20 million or more) and found that the median IPO underperformed the Russell 3000 by 30 percent in the first three years after going

public, and 46 percent of the IPOs produced negative returns.

In 1999, 555 firms went public, and the median share price gain for these issues on the day of the IPO was 30 percent. But, what if you bought after the first day? If you did, the median gain after three months averaged 0 percent. Additionally, almost 75 percent of all U.S. Internetrelated IPOs from mid-1995 to 1999 traded underneath their offering price at the moment of publication.

Should mom and pop dive in?

As MarketWatch columnist Mark Hulbert pointed out, Facebook’s IPO will be three times as expensive as Google’s and about 40 times as expensive as the average large IPO since 1975. As Hulbert found in the wake of a chat with Professor Ritter, Facebook’s price-to-sales ratio (PSR) looks to be about 26, with 2011 revenues of $3.71 billion and a reported IPO valuation of circa $100 billion.

Google’s PSR was 8.7 at the time of its IPO. Looking back, Ritter found 76 companies since 1975 with trailing 12-month sales from the date of their IPOs of $3 billion or more (in 2011 dollars), firms with more or less reliable revenue streams.

Their average PSR: 1.0. AT&T Wireless was the highest of them at 8.9, and that was a 2000 IPO.

So, in other words, Facebook would need staggeringly high revenues (or a consistently remarkable profit margin) for its shares to behave as well as Google shares did in those first few years out of the gate.

Could the tech sector see a Facebook effect? Yes, remember the wealth effect of the Google IPO? Some of the best and the brightest in the tech sector became overnight millionaires and went off and founded their own profitable firms. That sort of thing could happen again; there are tens of thousands of start-ups now generating revenues off of Facebook’s platform, so you have a whole ecosystem of smaller firms that are anticipating the IPO as much as institutional investors.

Caution might be in order for those awaiting Facebook’s IPO. Individual investors have swung for the fences many times, only to strike out.

SCOTT MCCLATCHEY is a certified financial planner with Alliance Investment Planning Group, a Carbondale investment firm located at 115 S. Washington St. He can be reached at 618-519-9344 or scott@alliance investmentplanning.com. He also provides investment, retirement planning and insurance services to SIU Credit Union members through the SIU Credit Union Investment Services partnership. Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC.

Finding growth in a world going gray

BY MICHAEL P. TISON SBJ CONTRIBUTOR

Tison

While it was once difficult to convince American investors to invest abroad, today most respect the notion that when investment returns depend on economic growth, locating it and pursuing it globally

makes sense.

However, chasing economic growth is

more difficult in a world with rapidly aging populations, so the hunt for demographically favorable economies is on. Advantageous population trends in a nation may be just as important as stable, preferably democratic, political systems and established accounting and business regulations that underpin a reliable financial system.

Modern industrial capitalism emerged during a period of significant population growth in 18th-century England. A young, growing population in 19th- and 20th-century U.S. fueled the system further. Simply investing domestically throughout the last century has served

Americans well, since their home nation has been a leading center of growth.

Demographics and investors Young, vibrant and ambitious populations create both a dynamic labor force and a demand for products.

Collectively, they encourage improved efficiency in the supply of energy, food and other essentials — all spurs to technological and product innovation.

Studies have found that no matter the political system or the level of economic development, the predominance of entrepreneurial activities in any nation

lies within the 25- to 34-year-old age group.

While the U.S. remains the leader among world economies, its position is slowly winding down, with China waiting in the wings to assume the leadership role. The U.S. and the European Union each produced about 20 percent of the world’s economic output in 2010, down from about 25 percent in 1990, observes the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia. China’s percentage over the same two decades rose from less than 4 percent in 1990 to SEE TISON / PAGE 15

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

15

TISON FROM PAGE 14 more than 13 percent last year. The upward march of the numbers in the middle classes also is spurring economic growth in India, Brazil, Russia, Malaysia and other Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American nations.

Investor due diligence Emerging economies exhibiting such favorable characteristics exist on every continent, but investors likely will want to narrow the field to those countries that possess the right combination of political and financial stability to complement favorable growth demographics. Keep in mind that while the populations of developing economies are younger, they also are aging. By 2050, populations in Brazil and Mexico, for example, will be nearly as old as the U.S. population (21 percent of which will be 65 or older). Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population will be even older, and South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore will be jostling with Germany, Italy and Japan for the honor of having the oldest population. Even if demographics are not destiny precisely, they surely will affect the ways in which nations and their economies operate.

Bear in mind that the demographic dividend wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t last forever. And even if investing in the developing world appears a more attractive option now, it is a one-time chance for countries to improve their economies and juice living standards. So, while there may be enticing investment opportunities in East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, the Muslim world (including the Middle East and nations in North Africa and South Asia) and Eastern Europe, they are not uniformly attractive, nor are they all likely to develop in favorable ways.

No one knows with certainty how politics, economics and demographics will determine the economic futures of nations like India, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey and Brazil, among many others, but using the demographic dividend concept as a measuring tool may aid in making intelligent international investment decisions.

MICHAEL P. TISON is an investment advisor and registered principal with Raymond James Financial Services Inc., with offices in Harrisburg and Marion. He can be reached at 618-253-4444 or michael.tison@ raymondjames.com.

16

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

MARCH 2012

Achievements Bank awarded top rating

Faces in the news

First National Bank in Pinckneyville was awarded an “A” rating by Weiss Ratings, a leading independent assessor of U.S. financial institutions.

The bank was cited for its “exceptional financial strength” and “excellent financial stability.” Fewer than 2 percent of banks of any size nationwide meet these criteria, according to Weiss.

Aisin plants recognized for safety Schroeder

Rose

Lauterjung

Smith

Rudolph

Bursua

Myers

Rhode

Troue

Ashe

Woodside

Campbell

For the sixth consecutive year, Marion Aisin plants were recognized for their safety performance. Aisin Mfg. Illinois, Aisin Light Metals and Aisin Electronics Illinois were presented safety achievement awards at the Aisin North American Presidents’ Meeting for their safety programs and 2011 safety results.

The award recognized the North American plants that achieved safety performance targets.

Aisin Light Metals and Aisin Electronics were the recipients of the President’s Award for achieving zero recordables.

This is the third year in a row Aisin Electronics has achieved zero recordable injuries. Aisin Mfg. Illinois received the Platinum Award for achieving only one recordable injury.

B and A Travel receives distinction Harris

Hosick

Pinnon

Pulke

Jessee

Faces in the news Have you been promoted? Send a photo. Has a colleague at work completed an intensive continuing education program? Send a photo.

Others in the business community will want to know it, so please consider passing on your employment news and photos to the Southern Business Journal. Feel free to email the information to sbj@thesouthern.com.

Liaison Technologies opens Carbondale Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Liaison Technologies, 1075 Reed Station Road, Ste. B, in Carbondale.

Liaison Technologies is a global integration and data management company.

Schroeder accepts director role Julia Schroeder, Ph.D., has assumed the role of director of Missouri

Baptist University at John A. Logan College. She most recently served as vice president for instruction at Logan.

MBU currently offers bachelors degrees in criminal justice, applied science and behavioral science, along with the MBA and Master of Arts in counseling programs at Logan.

The partnership provides Southern Illinois residents with the opportunity to seamlessly complete a four-year degree or graduate program.

Heischmidt

Find more business news at www.sbj.biz.

Garden named after SI Elder Law Hospice of Southern Illinois recently announced that Tiffanny and Chris Sievers from the Marion-based SI Elder Law have taken the lead commitment toward the creation of a memory garden on Halfway Road in Marion.

Construction on SI Elder Law Memory Garden will begin once the $60,000 goal has been acquired to meet all expenses. To learn about additional naming opportunities, visit www.hopsice.org — How Can I Support — Memory Garden.

B and A Travel Service, with facilities in Carbondale and Marion, recently was designated by Disney Destinations as Southern Illinois’ Authorized Disney Vacation Planner for 2012.

This designation is based on the company’s support in selling Disney vacations, as well as its superior service and specialized knowledge on Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney.

Champion Investments donates Champion Community Investments, a non-profit corporation that provides economic and community development support in Perry, Jackson, Williamson, Franklin and Jefferson counties, recently made a contribution to support the work of Gum Drops, a non-profit organization based in Carterville.

The Gum Drops project fills weekend backpacks full of child-friendly food for children in 41 local schools. Champion Community Board of Directors presented a $1,075 check to Gum Drops founder

18

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

MARCH 2012

Achievements Amy Simpson during its Dec. 21 meeting in Zeigler.

McGrath qualifies for conference Mike McGrath, an Edward Jones financial advisor in Anna, qualified for the firm’s 2012 Financial Advisor Leaders Conference. This conference recognizes financial advisors, who are among the leaders in the financial-services firm.

McGrath was one of only 570 financial advisors, who qualified out of the firm’s more than 11,000 financial advisors. The conference will be in May at the firm’s headquarters in St. Louis.

Jerkins fills Canadian dealer class Jerkins Creative Consulting started its dealer candidate course recently in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The class marks an ever-growing presence of this Southern Illinois business in the international training market.

JCC specializes in providing business solutions for equipment dealers. The company offers a wide range of services that include online and onsite training, as well as merger and acquisition services, private consulting, financial and business evaluation and peer groups for agricultural and construction implement dealers. Chief Executive Officer Floyd Jerkins founded the company 20 years ago in Benton.

Juvers joins Tastefully Simple Christina Juvers of Carterville recently joined Tastefully Simple Inc. as an independent consultant.

Tastefully Simple is a national, directsales company featuring more than 60 easy-to-prepare foods. Juvers can be reached at chrisjuvers05@aol.com.

Rose earns CFP certification Jeff Rose of Carterville, owner and founder of Alliance Wealth Management, LLC in Carbondale, recently completed his continuing education requirement for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. Advisors that hold the CFP certification marks in the U.S. have met rigorous professional standards.

Lauterjung opens law practice After nearly 25 years of government legal work and working for private employers, Larry Lauterjung of Johnston City has

73 pounds last year between June and December.

The weight loss clinic is overseen by a physician, advanced nurse practitioners opened a solo private legal practice at 1702B and a registered/licensed dietitian. For more information or to read testimonials, W. Main St. in Marion. His practice will visit www.siweightloss.net. center on bankruptcy, DUI, traffic and Secretary of State license reinstatement.

A lifelong resident of Southern Illinois, Flagship status earned Lauterjung was a public defender in both Stereo One Carbondale recently was Jackson and Williamson counties before named an Alpine flagship retail specialist accepting a position managing the nine

by Alpine Electronics of America. probation departments in the First Judicial Stereo One Carbondale, which has been Circuit. Since then, he has worked in in operation since 1992 as an independent federal court as courtroom legal counsel for mobile electronics specialty store, is one of two of the area’s largest bankruptcy firms. only seven dealers to receive this honor in For more information on Lauterjung’s the state of Illinois. practice, call 618-997-5529 or log onto lauterjunglaw.com.

Find more business news at www.sbj.biz.

Johnson elected vice president

Steven Johnson of Carbondale, owner of the energy service company Southern Rodney D. Smith, vice resident for Lights, LLC, recently was elected vice Support Services/Compliance at president of Association of Professional Harrisburg Medical Center, recently Energy Consultants. became a Fellow of the American College of Johnson is a licensed electrician and Healthcare Executives, a leading energy consultant. His main focus will be professional society for health care leaders. on the recruitment and retention of Fellow status represents achievement of members. the highest standard of professional development. Only 9,100 health care Industry earns superior rating executives hold this distinction.

Natural Enrichment Industries, LLC, a manufacturer of high grade, domestically Rudolph takes over practice Dr. Chase Rudolph recently opened his made tricalcium phosphate, recently was own practice, Complete Family Eyecare, at awarded a superior rating from American 2813 S. Park Ave. in Herrin. He is seeing the Institute of Baking for both manufacturing plants, which are located in Herrin and former patients of Marion optometrist Sesser.

Dr. Richard Bursua, who retired at the Committed to protecting the safety of end of November. the global food supply chain, AIB conducts For more information on Rudolph’s Good Manufacturing Practices inspections practice, call 618-942-5465 or log onto throughout the food industry. AIB’s www.completefamilyeyecare.info. standards must be met to receive a superior rating.

Smith earns top credential

Illinois College in Harrisburg. He will help students, who are thinking of transferring to SIU after graduating from SIC, make the transition easier.

A community college graduate, Troue earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from SIU.

Ashe elected vice president Steve Ashe, operations manager for E.T. Simonds Construction Company in Carbondale, recently was elected to serve a one-year term as first vice president of Associated General Contractors of Illinois.

This is Ashe’s third year as an officer.

He served as secretary-treasurer in 2010 and second vice president in 2011.

He has been with E.T. Simonds for 28 years.

Woodside named to team Country Financial representative Dennis Woodside of Pinckneyville has earned a position on the insurance group’s distinguished All American team.

Woodside is among a select group of top Country agency managers and financial representatives who qualified for the award. Country has more than 2,000 agency managers and financial representatives in 14 states.

Country Financial honors five

Country Financial Heartland Agency Manager Rich Campbell of Carterville and four financial representatives from the agency have been named to Country Financial’s All American team.

Financial representatives Matt Duffy of Murphysboro, Mike Harris of Ozark, Kyle Hosick of West Frankfort and Paul Pinnon of Wolf Lake all received All American distinctions.

All American is awarded each year by Myers earns Mary Kay career car Country Financial to agency managers and Mary Kay independent sales director Rhode named Illinois Super Lawyer financial representatives who have excelled Adrienne Myers of Herrin recently in identifying insurance products and Veteran Carbondale attorney Shari R. earned the use of a new Chevy Malibu financial solutions that fit the needs of Rhode of Rhode & Jackson, P.C. has been sedan as a result of her achievements in honored with placement in the 2012 edition their clients. operating her independent Mary Kay of Illinois Super Lawyers. Only 5 percent of business.

Illinois attorneys are chosen for the honor Currently, more than 5,600 Mary Kay Pulke earns credentials each year. career cars are on the road nationwide.

Rend Lake College Foundation Children’s Super Lawyers is produced by Thomson Center Director Brooke Pulke of Tamaroa Reuters. More information can be found at Chance wins challenge has received a Gateways to Opportunity www.superlawyers.com.

Bethanne Chance of West Frankfort ECE Credential Level 5, the Infant Toddler recently won a $1,000 prize offered during Credential Level 5, and the Illinois Director Troue to coordinate program the Biggest Loser Challenge program Credential Level II. through SI Medical Weight Loss Clinic, Doug Troue recently was named SIU Pulke has been the center’s director for 1909 Coolidge Ave., in Marion. Chance lost Service Center coordinator at Southeastern the last 18 months. Gateways credentials

MARCH 2012

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

Achievements are recognized by the state of Illinois and awarded through Illinois Department of Human Services Bureau of Child Care and Development.

Jessee joins Western Baptist staff Hospitalist Ali Jessee, D.O., recently joined the medical staff at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah.

Western Baptist’s hospitalist program began in 2009. A team of hospitalists cares for hospitalized patients whose physicians are not on the hospital staff.

Hospitalists return their care to their primary care physician after they leave the hospital.

Rongey joins Fager-McGee Matthew Rongey recently joined Fager-McGee Commercial Construction Inc. of Murphysboro as a project manager.

Rongey earned a bachelor’s degree in Technical Resource Management from SIU and an associate degree in construction management technology from John A. Logan College. Fager-McGee Commercial Construction Inc. has served Southern Illinois since 1986.

Sanders earns certification Roger Sanders of Family Lawn Care in Herrin recently completed the necessary coursework and passed the examination to qualify him as a certified irrigation installer/technician.

This certification enables the installer to design and service commercial and residential irrigation systems. Family Lawn Care has served the region with lawn maintenance and landscaping service since 1995.

Bob White Insurance earns award Erie Insurance named Bob White Insurance Agency, LLC of Mount Vernon its Giving Network Agency of the Year Award for outstanding community service.

In honor of the agency’s work, Erie Insurance donated $2,500 to Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services, which is based in Carmi.

Lubsen attends expo Tina Lubsen, Au.D. with All American Hearing in Carbondale, attended Starkey Hearing Technologies’

first Hearing Innovation Expo Jan. 4 to 7 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The expo featured an array of worldrenowned speakers and educational course options. It was not only the largest event the organization has ever hosted, but also one of the largest for the hearing care industry as a whole.

Aisin Mfg. Illinois and Aisin Electronics promotions Aisin Mfg. Illinois, LLC recently announced employee promotions.

Those who received promotions include Giuna Kittu, section manager, Business Planning, Advanced Launch and Production Control; Wes Weaver, assistant manager, Human Development; Josh Sherertz, assistant manager, OMC; and Daniel Mullinax, assistant manager, Sunroof Manufacturing.

Aisin Mfg. Illinois, LLC, located in the REDCO Industrial Park area in Marion, manufactures sunroofs and door components for automotive manufacturers, including Toyota, Lexus, GM and Mitsubishi.

Aisin Electronics Illinois, LLC has promoted Shane Moore to assistant department manager of Finance/Cost/ Purchasing, Patrick Bays to section manager of PC/Logistics/Purchasing and Chuck Blumstein to assistant manager of Quality.

Also, AEIL recently welcomed William D. Cox as section manager for Safety and Human Resources. Located in Redco Industrial Park in Marion, AEIL manufactures electronic control units used in the automotive industry.

Public affairs officer named Amanda Patrick recently was named public affairs officer for Shawnee National Forest.

Before coming to the Shawnee, Patrick worked as the environmental education/outreach specialist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery in Jamestown, Ky.

Anti-crime organization Union County State’s Attorney Tyler R. Edmonds recently was named to the executive committee of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids — Illinois.

The bipartisan, nonprofit, anti-crime organization is led by Illinois’s best-

19

AT A GLANCE known police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, leaders of police officer organizations and crime survivors.

Century 21 presents awards Recipients of the 2011 Century 21 Quality Service Award and Pinnacle Award have been named. A Quality Service Award recipient must have achieved a customer satisfaction ranking of at least 85 percent or better from all returned surveys in 2011. A Pinnacle Award recipient has received a customer satisfaction ranking of 95 percent or better for at least two consecutive years.

Century 21 House of Realty is a fiveoffice real estate company, serving all of Southern Illinois, with offices in Marion, Carterville, Carbondale, Murphysboro and Lake of Egypt. Individuals with an (*) by their names received a Pinnacle Award.

Marion office: Nancy Cranston, Lake of Egypt; Jenell Brookhouse; *Melanie Colombo; *Brenda Hilliard; *Deborah Manion; *Jodi Seely; *Vicki Vaughn; *Jeanie Blue; and *Richard Davis.

Carterville office: Fortune Brayfield; *Tina Coe; *Elaine Melby; *Tammy Nelson; and *Mark Krones.

Carbondale office: Chris Sisulak; Audrey Arnold; Genny Peterson; *Jane Butcher; *Sherri Nance; and *Barbara Parrish.

Heischmidt joins Blake Law Group SIU graduate Lauren A. Heischmidt recently joined Blake Law Group, P.C. in Belleville.

Heischmidt received both her undergraduate and law degree from SIU.

Eklund receives credential Lee Eklund of Carbondale recently received a Gateways to Opportunity Illinois Director Credential Level 11.

Gateways credentials are recognized by the state and awarded through the Illinois Department of Human Services Bureau of Child Care and Development.

Lovin retires from Crossroads Linda Lovin recently retired as environmental services supervisor at Crossroads Community Hospital in Mount Vernon. She worked for the hospital since it opened in April 1981.

Businesses invited to participate in expo Saline County Chamber of Commerce will host its second annual business expo from 4 to 7 p.m. March 22 in Southeastern Illinois College Foundation Center in Harrisburg.

All businesses throughout the region are invited to participate in the expo.

Packages for booths, starting at $25 for chamber members and $50 for nonchamber members, are available for businesses to purchase, along with varying levels of sponsorships. This event is free to the public.

To sign up for a booth or for more information, email Saline County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lori Cox at lori.cox@sic.edu.

Workshop to prepare farmers in business Food Works will host a workshop from 5 to 9 p.m. March 8 at DunnRichmond Economic Development Center in Carbondale. It is aimed at those who are considering starting a small farm business.

Small Farm Dreams is a workshop in which prospective farmers interact with one another, assess their readiness to begin a farming enterprise and plan their next steps. Registration is required. Cost is $30, which includes a light supper. Additional farm business partners pay only $10.

For more information, contact Dayna Conner at dayna@eatsouthern illinois.org or 618-319-0542. To register, go to eatsouthernillinois.org.

Find more business news at www.sbj.biz.

Faces in the news Have you been promoted?

Send a photo.

Has a colleague at work completed an intensive continuing education program? Send a photo.

Others in the business community will want to know it, so please consider passing on your employment news and photos to the Southern Business Journal. Feel free to email the information to sbj@thesouthern.com.

F M G R Feirich / Mager / Green / Ryan

Attorneys at Law Providing Business and Personal Legal Services to the Midwest Commercial Transactions Workers’ Compensation Labor Negotiations Employment Matters Municipal Law Administrative Law

Banking Law Real Estate Transactions Probate and Estate Planning Business Organization

Located in the Westown Centre • 2001 West Main, Carbondale • (618) 529-3000

Visit our web site at www.fmgr.com

MARCH 2012

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

21

Business Fine Print Building permits

Bankruptcies

Marion

Chapter 7

Klein and Cook, Outer Drive, $750,000 River to River Residential Corp., 1515 E. De Young, $5,500,000 Barry Hall, 1507 Chart Hills, $95,000 Jerry Erwin, 600 Cedar Lane, $10,000 Jim Shotton Construction, Felts Drive, $242,000

Metropolis

James Little Enterprises, 1641 W. 10th St., $350,000 Reed Electric, 216 E. 9th St., $80,000 Mary Atkinson, 43 James Drive, $10,000 Paul Young, 3633 Shady Grove Road, $3,500 John and Romona Taylor, 418 E. 3rd St., $700 Sharon Borden, 1018 Market St., $1,000 Edward Warwick, 607 East 3rd St., $800 Mal Daniel, 505 10th St., $4,000 Reed Electric, 216 E. 9th St., $5,000 L N Worthen, 4415 Mann Lake Road, $9,000

Mount Vernon

Alexis Dodson, 420 9th St., $0 Ed Skelton, 1204 13th St., $0 Prince, Patton and Frick, 2901 13th St., $21,239 Williamson Asia, LLC, 826 Main St., $228,000 Petacular Pet Store, 1200 Veterans Memorial Drive, $54 Epworth United Methodist, 401 Main St., $0 Kent Saxe, 3 Curtis Court, $16,272 One Stop Flooring America, 318 10th St., $394,680 Williamson Asia, Inc., 826 Main St., $0 Dawayne Cotton, 1016 Wescott, $6,000 Radio Shack, 3106 Broadway, $5,817 Jeff and Rachel Sledge, 218 15th St., $80,000 Cub Scout Pack 103, various locations, $0 One Stop Flooring America, 318 10th St., $0 Panda Express, 4201 Broadway, $810,000

Murphysboro

Chris Carter, 811 Illinois Ave., $2,000 Chris Maegele, 17 N. 13th St., $20,000 Mike Clutts, 428 S. 15th St., $0 Ethel Cripps, 2111 Clay St., $2,000 Segundo Lopez, 13 Louis Wides, $1,000 Durice Runge, 1515 Gartside St., $18,000 Jean Lynn, 636 N. 11th St., $6,320 Terrance Svec, 1904 Clarke, $2,000 Cameron Smith, 433 N. 7th St., $5,000 Elizabeth Brooks, 2214 Commercial Ave., $1,900 SPIN, 822 W. Industrial Park Road, $2,200 Rhonda Myers, 315 S. 5th St., $3,000 Morgan, Marion and Carole, 2124 Rains St., $50,000

Jeffrey A. and Lisa M. Chmiola, 9548 Illinois 149, Murphysboro Jeffrey Lee Summers, 811 E. Main St., Christopher Cecil R. Parrish, 602 W. 8th St., Johnston City Seth B. and Bridget S. Rose, 600 W. Owens St., Carbondale Cathy M. McClure, 16323 Log Cabin Road, Johnston City Deborah L. Haseker, 16323 Log Cabin Road, Johnston City John Matthew and Linda Lou Misch, 105 S. Buchanan St., Marion Dennis Martin Wiese Jr., 503 E. Ash, Okawville Holly R. King, 2400 Blue Blaze Trailer Court, Herrin Shawn M. and Elizabeth S. Shurtz, 500 W. Florence, Sesser James C. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien, 109 S. 12th, Apt. D, Herrin Carol A. Wilbur, 4972 U.S. 51, Tamaroa Lori A. Daum, P.O. Box 101, Buncombe James S. and Donna S. Hall, 20407 Corinth Road, Pittsburg Andrea L. Dillon, R.R. 1, Box 216, Cave-inRock Amber F. Grammer, P.O. Box 191, Elkville Shawnell Talley, 819 Broadway, Metropolis William M. Gasa, 16 Butler Lane, Makanda Lori Ann Peebels, 1500 Legion Road, Carrier Mills Kenneth J. Shuber t, 5967 Daylily Road, Pinckneyville Belicia A. Shubert, 6 E Water St., Apt. 21, Pinckneyville Thomas W. and Leslie J. Steele Taylor, 540 Gilead Church Road, Vienna Susan Stickel, 308 Lawrence St., Benton Laren D. and Cyla R. Evetts, 2235 Wagon Creek Road, Creal Springs Andrew S. Causey, 470 Max Creek Lane, Vienna Latanya Span, 1400 N. Illinois Ave. No. 9, Carbondale Brian Q. and Jessica N. Herring, 14786 Circus St., Herrin Mariann Wright, 912 Tippit, Apt. 6, Carterville Nicole Adrienne Draper, 1002 N. Main St., Harrisburg Shawn Michael Beere, 432 W. South St., Harrisburg Jennifer Renee Griffith, 1500 Hardy St., Eldorado Scott P. Creighton, R.R. 1 Box 341A, Wayne City John H. Harpole, P.O. Box 71, Olive Branch Donald L. Sollers Sr., 2293 Doran Road, Creal Springs Betty Jean Armes, 446 W. Church, Apt. C, Benton Kella D. Price, 512 N. 12th St., Herrin

Tommy C. and Cynthia J. Parker, 501 Brown St., Creal Springs Dexter Kent and Marsha Kay Tannahill, 902 W. Center St., Fairfield Charles D. and Sharon K. Fairbanks, 3005 W. Woodlawn Place, Marion John Edward Raquet, 1180 Tall Tree Lake Road, Vienna Cecil Todd Emery, 419 Park Lane, Herrin Michael Jason and Amber Dawn Skinner, 20 Cripple Creek, Pinckneyville Jeffrey Eldon and Brenda Magelitz, 1095 U.S. 45 S., Vienna Gina M. Spiropoulos, 14520 N. Paul Lane, Bluford Bobby William Rice, 1015 Scott St., Eldorado Thomas L. and Amanda L. Hammond, 11 Hillerman Circle, Grand Chain Angus Topics Inc., 112 N. Church St., Carmi Wade E. and Heather R. Brady, 1916 Spruce St., Murphysboro Jill L. House, 4202 Lilac Lane, Mount Vernon Brenda L. Couty, Route 1, Box 25A, Elizabethtown Douglas C. Foster, 625 Friendship Loop, Goreville Leroy and Mar y Ann Light, P.O. Box 64, Vergennes Brian Allan and Cynthia Lou Kleindl, 1806 E. Radom Road, Ashley Kassi Lee Hancock, 203 Williams St., Anna Carol L. Cronin, 15304 N. Loop Lane, Mount Vernon Michael I. Willett, 8606 Travis Court, Herrin Bobbie E. Bracken, P.O. Box 825, Jonesboro Jana L. Clutts, 512 N. 12th St., Herrin Amanda K.J. McCormick, 313 N. Hickory St., De Soto Bill E. and Billie J. Taylor, 806 W. Delaware, Fairfield Michael D. Wyatt II, 410 S. Rains St., West Frankfort Laura Pearl Heacock, 511 W. 4th, Mount Carmel Catherine Jo Steely, 1907 Rolla St., West Frankfort

Chapter 13

Jared B. and Whitney N. Westbrook, P.O. Box 304, Norris City Stephen D. and Kellee L. Ticer, 536 Murphy St., Murphysboro Kim Sophia Jackson, 128 E. Harrison St. 1A, Carrier Mills Kenneth D. Grant, 704 N. Stuyvesant St., Benton Flynn C. and Nancy B. Carey, 710 N. Highland St., Kearney Collette Eileen Carnahan, 620 S. Main St., Red Bud Tabitha J. Smith, 769 Olive Branch Road, Mounds Jason W. and Gretchen S. Hill, 14622 Allen Road, Herrin

Emilia Y. Hafer tepe, 1190 Skyline Drive, Cobden Johnnie D. and Lawana C. Barnett, 80 N. Sato Road, Ava James E. and Nancy L. Johnson Farris, 11939 Cochran St., Marion Donald K. and Edna M. Doublin, P.O. Box 43, Millcreek David A. Garner, 1718 County Road 1620, Carmi Chad A. James, 14470 S. Division St., Carterville Aaron B. and Mechelle L. Rawlings, 490 Beech Hollow Road, Harrisburg Nathan S. and Melinda M. Mitchell, 305 S. Logan St., Creal Springs Judy M. Mezo, P.O. Box 17, Wolf Lake Johnny Ray and Mary M. Gaines, 1015 S. Kaskaskia St., Nashville James Kevin and Sara Long Roth, 1474 Cardinal Road, Carbondale Lisa L. Bradford, 421 E. End St., Carrier Mills Veronica D. Graham, 729 34th St., Cairo James A. and Bobbi J. Brady, 114 Aspen Drive, Mount Vernon Chris E. Williamson, 804 N. Vicksburg, Marion Cynthia A. Hagler, 1A Antler Court, Makanda Ar thur J. and Bozena T. Hawr yluk, 189 Fieldstone Drive, Chesterton, Ind. Mark D. Zimmerman, 4910 Vine Road, Sesser Shannon Lea Steels, 614 W. University Ave., Sparta Robert Kotschi Sr. and Robert D. Kotschi, 208 N. 23rd St., Vienna Jefferey S. Slater, 1704 W. Copeland St., Marion Kenneth R. and Nina L. Hall, 1650 Pleasant Ridge Road, Vienna Wendall Wade and Patricia Pauline Miller, 8967 Shawneetown Trail, Chester Shirley L. Fann, 217 W. Herrin St., Herrin Brian L. Owens, 516 Hickory Ave., De Soto Jennifer R. Gurley, 3935 Winghill Road, Cobden Martin A. and Tina L. Fletcher, 900 W. Sylvia Ave., Christopher Ryan Lee Gillespie, 1010 N. 10th St., Mount Vernon Ronald Cregg and Robin Denese James, 9105 N. State St., Opdyke Odessa L. Meeks, P.O. Box 2272, Carbondale Kathleen K. Kovac, 6680 Illinois 146 East, Anna Jeffrey Allen and Patricia Ann Scholebo, P.O. Box 28, Pinckneyville William L. Warner, P.O. Box 98, Marion Michael Leo and Pamela S. Seats, 8315 Taft Road, Nashville George E. Huppert, 1800 Waltonville Road, FL1 Suite 2, Mount Vernon Georgia L. McIntosh, 754 Old Boaz Road, Karnak Nathan K. and Valerie F. Potmas, 213 N. Elm St., Zeigler

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MARCH 2012

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL

23

Entrepreneur’s Mailbag Taking a step back from business planning

BY CAVANAUGH L. GRAY SBJ CONTRIBUTOR

Recently, I was contacted by a professional, who was looking to transition from his career as a road warrior to one that would keep him closer to home.

Having some Gray industry insight, he was still concerned that his knowledge of the market was lacking and wondered what he should do next.

Often, a client is taken from idea to business plan in a very short time. The reality is that businesses are like snowflakes, and a business plan may not always be the best first step for a new enterprise.

Contrary to my strong belief in business plans, I suggested that we put the planning aside in favor of a market feasibility study. A market feasibility study allows us to gain a better understanding of the market potential of a new venture before considerable time and money have been spent.

Reason behind the switch For years now, I have ventured away from the theory that every new idea needs a lengthy business plan at the outset. In an effort to better serve my clients, I have opted for a more a la carte approach that would allow new owners to ease their way into their new ideas. The reality is that not all business ideas are viable.

According to statistics published by the Small Business Administration, 30 percent of new businesses fail in their first two years, with 50 percent failing by the fifth year. The reasons for these failures; lack of experience, insufficient capital and poor locations lead the way.

With that in mind, what good does it do to invest significant energy into developing a business plan for an idea that may not stand a chance?

What’s trending In conducting a market feasibility study, it’s important that you are able to clearly describe your business’s products and services. There is also a need to understand what’s trending in your industry.

Simply put, in what general direction is your industry moving? If we examine

some popular societal and business trends of the past decade, what comes to mind?

Is it the aging of society, the globalization of small business, the rise of social networking, the greening of America, the no-carb diet, mobile technology? The list goes on. When I think about the trends that have driven my own industry and lead to a nation of entrepreneurs, here is what I come up with:  Increased access to education.  A shift to a more service-based economy.  Huge technological advances.  Desire for a quality-of-life change.  Increased international opportunities because of e-commerce.

Does your idea look to create or capitalize on a legitimate trend? If so, you could be one step closer to passing the feasibility test which could put you one step closer to success.

How you stack up A dangerous thing to hear from a small business owner is this: “I don’t have any competition.” This misconception might occur because the owner hasn’t taken the time to investigate who the competition is or because of some perceived superior

product or service. This is why conducting a competitive analysis is so important; it allows you to see how you stack up against the competition.

I will skip the review of the S.W.O.T. Analysis, but encourage you to visit the April 2011 article, “Analysis: Key to Outwitting the Competition,” for more insight.

After you have successfully gathered all of your market information and completed your S.W.O.T. Analysis, try using that information to develop a competitive statement or a unique selling proposition. The goal of this competitive statement is to clearly and concisely explain what sets you apart from the competition. As a toe-in-water approach to business development, a market feasibility study is not as comprehensive as a business plan; however, it may be what’s needed to move your next idea forward.

CAVANAUGH L. GRAY is director of business development for The Entrepreneur Café, LLC. For more information on developing a market feasibility study or for information on how to start, grow and succeed in small business, be sure to follow The Entrepreneur Café, LLC at www.ecafellc.com or on Twitter @TheECafe.

Mark Your Calendar March 8

Intermediate Access 2007: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry.

Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

March 13

Intermediate Excel 2007: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry. Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

March 14

Intermediate Access 2003: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry. Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

Beginning Adobe Illustrator: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room H123, John A. Logan College

Center for Business & Industry. Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

March 15

Advanced Access 2007: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry. Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

March 16

Advanced QuickBooks 2009: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry.

Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

March 20

Intermediate Excel 2003: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry. Call

618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

Using Social Media in Business: 9 to 11 a.m., room 150, Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, 150 E. Pleasant Hill Road, Carbondale. Free.

Call 618-536-2424 or email sbdc@siu.edu.

March 21

Advanced Access 2003: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry. Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

March 27

Advanced Excel 2003: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry. Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

Advanced Excel 2007: 8:30 a.m. to

4 p.m., Room F112, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry. Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

Beginning Adobe Acrobat Pro: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room H123, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry.

Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

March 28

Time & Stress Management: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Room F109, John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry.

Cost is $90. Call 618-985-2828, ext 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

For more information on John A. Logan or to register for classes, call 618-985-2828, ext. 8510 or email cbi@jalc.edu.

John A. Logan College Center for Business & Industry is at 700 College Road, Carterville, and cost is $55 unless otherwise noted.

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