Published in the 1/11/11 issue of the Suburban Journals Business Deal Sparked After Golf Course Quip What began as a quip on a golf course evolved into a business transaction for Jeff Herr and Mike Ogle. One day on the links last year, Herr — owner of Cullop-Jennings Florist in Collinsville — jokingly suggested Ogle purchase his business. Herr, who owned the shop for 18 years, was kidding at first, but the two got talking and realized they were on to something. Read the rest at http://www.shannonphilpott.com
Category: News Stories
A second-grader’s mission to warm Madison
A second-grader's mission to warm Madison 'I kept seeing a lot of kids without coats,' says girl When Z'Sanique Sanders, 7, told her principal she had an idea to warm up her classmates this winter, she meant business. The second-grader at Harris Accelerated Elementary School in Madison was serious about opening up her heart to the community, Principal Terrien Fennoy said. "She came to me in September and said 'I have an idea' and then she kept stopping by my office each week to remind me. She was persistent and genuinely concerned as the weather got colder," Fennoy said. Sanders' idea evolved from a wish to help her classmates into a community-wide winter coat drive called "From Our Hearts to Yours." Read the rest at http://www.shannonphilpott.com
Family Works to Remember Fallen Edwardsville Soldiers
Family Works to Remember Fallen Edwardsville Soldiers Monument Planned at City Park Doug and Jill Garbs remember their son as a "behind-the-scenes" type who aspired to serve his country as an army ranger. Spc. Ryan Garbs spent two years on secret operations as a U.S. Army Ranger before he was killed Feb. 18, 2007, in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. Ryan Garbs' story is similar to those of at least 74 other soldiers from the Edwardsville area. One fought in hand-to-hand combat during World War II, another was killed in a plane crash in North Carolina and two Hamel brothers were killed on the same day. Read the rest at http://www.shannonphilpott.com
Nonprofit Recognizes One of Its Own
Tenia Buchanan spent years shopping at Goodwill to provide necessities for her children. On a whim, she said, she applied for a job and 15 years later, as the store manager of the Fairview Heights store, she is now considered a local hero by the nonprofit. "I was a welfare recipient, a low-income parent looking for a job. When I started here, I never thought I would find myself in this position 15 years later," Buchanan said. "I've been very blessed with an opportunity of a lifetime." Buchanan's climb from store cashier at the Cahokia store to managing the Fairview Heights location took hard work and years of training, she said. It ultimately landed her the Local Hero Award, given by Lewis Chartock, CEO and President of MERS/Goodwill. Read the rest at http://www.shannonphilpott.com
Collinsville educator gets another chance to conduct
Collinsville educator gets another chance to conduct Retired music teacher to lead band in November Bruce Hawkins said he got the best going away present imaginable for a music teacher when he retired from Collinsville schools last year: A published piece of music dedicated to his years of service. Read the rest at http://www.shannonphilpott.com
Family Donates in Memory of Life Cut Short
Published in the 7/9/10 issue of the Suburban Journals Fairview Heights family donates in memory of life cut short New playground equipment added to center Family and friends say Lauren Glueck was a child at heart. Children flocked to her when she baby-sat and played on the playground at the Elks Lodge in Fairview Heights. So after Glueck died suddenly from cardiac arrest in November 2008 at 23, it only seemed fitting that her loved ones would honor her memory by helping build a new playground. [More...] "Kids loved her and she loved kids," recalled her mother, Patty Glueck, of Fairview Heights. After hosting a 2009 benefit in Lauren's honor, the Glueck family donated $5,000 for new playground equipment at the Old Lincoln Trail lodge. A bench in Lauren's honor and a new playground set sits next to the lodge banquet center, replacing worn-out metal equipment donated years ago. "Patty approached us and said that's what she wanted to do with the benefit money," said Brenda Morss, president of the Elks' Ladies Auxiliary. "It was a selfless act." Patty Glueck said the support she received from the lodge following Lauren's death made the decision easy. "The lodge opened up to us and gave us a place to go - they helped us through a very difficult time," she said. "Other members who had lost children shared their stories and made us feel like we weren't the only ones grieving. They are good people." A dedication ceremony was held last month. - Shannon Philpott
Metro East Libraries Brace for Massive Cuts
Evaporated state funding is claiming another victim: Libraries. The Lewis and Clark Library System, which links nearly every library book in the Metro East, on July 1 will no longer offer nonessential services to members - meaning the continuing education, legal advice and advocacy provided since the 1960s will end. Six positions will also be chopped.
Shannon Philpott-Sanders 