Awards & Success Stories

While working with hundreds of individuals and businesses throughout the course of a year, you come across a variety of amazing success stories, including those deserving of special awards. We periodically list extraordinary individuals and businesses on this page.

The Great River Workforce Development Corporation, Inc., NFP Proudly Presents Its
2010 Educational Scholarship Winners  

Brittney Harlan graduated from Civic Memorial High School and will be attending Lewis & Clark Community College. After obtaining her Associate’s Degree, she plans to transfer to SIU- Edwardsville and would one day like to be a math or art teacher or an art therapist. In addition to holding a part-time job while in high school, Brittney was also very active in softball, cheerleading, choir, and community volunteerism. One of her teachers at Civic Memorial describes Brittney as conscientious, dependable and a positive role model for her peers. Brittney credits her parents as role models and mentors to her and her four sisters.

Katelyn Heineman graduated from Civic Memorial High School with a 3.97 cumulative grade point average and ranked 17 out of 199 students in her class. She is attending Lewis & Clark Community College this fall and plans on a career in nursing. While still in high school, Morgan took some on-line classes at the college and also had the opportunity to shadow a nurse at Alton Memorial Hospital. Among her many high school extracurricular activities, Katelyn was the editor-in-chief of the year book, she was on the Student Council, and she was in the National Honor and Spanish Honor Societies. On top of all this, Katelyn still had time for basketball, soccer, babysitting and volunteer work in the community. 

Kalisha Halcom graduated from Civic Memorial High School with a 3.6 grade point average. She will be attending Lewis & Clark Community College this fall and plans to get her associates degree in nursing. Her goal is to become a pediatric or obstetrics nurse. Throughout high school, Kalisha was a very active volunteer in her church’s youth ministry, devoting much of her time to children with special needs, such as Down Syndrome and Autism.

Elizabeth Dowell graduated from Mulberry Grove Jr./Sr. High School in Bond County, where she earned dual credit course for college. She plans to continue her education at Kaskaskia College this fall.  Elizabeth has a love for writing, and has already won awards and recognition in writing contest. Her goal is to become a writer of stories for young adults. While in high school, Elizabeth was on the yearbook staff, worked part-time, and was a volunteer for the American Cancer Society.

Brian Mathus was ranked fifteenth out of 525 students in the 2010 class at Alton High School and graduated with a grade point average of 4.44. This fall he will be enrolled in the architecture program at Lewis & Clark Community College that transfers to the University of Illinois. After winning first place in two regional competitions, Brian went on to compete in the W.Y.S.E. (Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering) and I.D.E.A.  architecture competitions at the state level this past spring. While at Alton High, Brian was president of the National Honors Society and the Marching 100 school band. He was also the editor and director of the school’s bi-weekly news and public service announcements and the Senior Film.

Heather Hosford  is a graduate of Alton High School and plans to attend Lewis & Clark Community College in the fall. When Heather was a junior she decided to pursue a career in nursing, and at the age of sixteen earned her certification as a Nursing Assistant. Since June of 2009, Heather has worked as a CNA at Glen Haven Gardens, an assisted living facility in Alton, while she completed her senior year. After earning her Associate’s Degree in Nursing at LCCC, Heather plans to transfer to a 4-year institution to get her Bachelor’s Degree. She would eventually like to become a nurse anesthetist.

Individual Achievement Award Winners . . .

...recognizing the determination, accomplishments
and perseverance of individuals who have overcome
significant obstacles in achieving their personal career goals.

Shelley Greenwood – State Winner

Following a divorce, Shelley Greenwood needed a better job to support her 8-year old twin daughters, Kara and Tory. Prior to her divorce, she was working part-time at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, but decided that she needed to go back to school. Initially, she was in the Nursing Education Program at Southwestern IllinoisCollege when she realized that becoming a Registered Nurse was not her destiny. She then discovered Health Information Technology.

Becoming a full-time student was quite a challenge for this mother of twin girls. It meant going to classes four days a week while working the afternoon shift on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Cardinal Glennon. Unfortunately, her daughter Kara was diagnosed with autism which meant extra responsibility and frequent trips to speech and occupational therapy sessions. Only after the girls were in bed would Shelley have an opportunity to do her own homework and then try to be in bed by midnight only to rise at 5:45 a.m.

Shelley maintained a 3.7 grade point average and was the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship awarded to her by the Belleville Zonta’s Club which promotes professional business women worldwide. In April, Shelley was presented with the Huffman Award for High Academic Achievement, an honor reserved for one outstanding Health Information Management student at each accredited University program in Illinois.

Shelley graduated in May 2007 from Southwestern Illinois College with an Associate Degree in Applied Science in the field of Health Information Technology, and she took the State Board Exams in August. Shelley also earned a certification to record information on tumors for the national registry for cancer patients. On completion of her state boards, Shelley was offered a position at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri in their Tumor Registry Department.

Trinetta Bolds

There was a time when Trinetta Bolds knew exactly what she wanted to become and where she wanted to go. Then some life changing events happened and her dreams were placed to the side. Trinetta was involved in an abusive relationship, dropped out of high school, and became a teen mom to her son Toshun. She knew her life was going nowhere and neither was her son’s.

She had heard about the Madison County Employment and Training youth program and came for help in February of 2005. She was enrolled into both the E-Learning program to complete her high school classes on-line and the youth work experience program to develop some much needed work skills.

Trinetta knew she had many obstacles to overcome in order to successfully complete her diploma and keep her job. Her first year of progress was slow due to her abusive relationship and overwhelming insecurities. Finally she was able to break off her relationship and move on. Her work site supervisor and career specialist encouraged her to keep working toward her goals. By December of 2006 she had obtained her diploma and had received compliments about her work and dedication. Even though she had transportation problems, she continued to make it to work, learning to take the bus and riding with others, as well as juggling child care for her son who is now 5 years old.

Trinetta completed her diploma requirements in one year and successfully enrolled into Sanford Brown’s Medical Billing and Coding program. She sought assistance from other agencies and was provided with food stamps, a medical card and financial help for child care. Trinetta was able to rise up and face the challenges in her life and focus on what was really important. She is still very focused and determined and proud of whom she has grown to be. She says “I know what is important in life now and I want my son to have this knowledge also”. Trinetta is beginning her externship this month and will soon graduate and begin a new career.

Denietra Franklin

Due to family concerns, Denietra Franklin was forced to move to Illinois at the beginning of 2007. At that time, she only lacked a state exit test in order to graduate from her high school in Texas. Denietra was willing to do whatever it took to complete her diploma. She tried to enroll in Madison High School, but she was told that she would be unable to earn any credits through the traditional school until the following year. However, a concerned counselor from Madison High informed Denietra about Madison County’s E-Learning Program. Denietra wasted no time in contacting Madison County and did everything she needed in order to become enrolled. Denietra completed three core classes, a state test and wrote a letter to the board of education requesting permission to be granted a diploma. She finished all requirements in two short months while holding down a full time job at McDonalds. She happily received her high school diploma in the fall of 2007. The average student would have let the pressure stop them. Instead Denietra persisted and jumped through every hoop that was placed in front of her. She is now attending classes atSouthwestern Illinois College and is studying to become a Registered Pediatric Nurse.

Patrick Grant

Patrick Grant’s career as a truck driver very quickly came to an end a few years ago. One day, on one of his runs, he received a speeding ticket, and subsequently lost his CDL license and his secure job. Left without a job or any income to support his family his marriage fell apart, and he was left to raise his three young children.

Most of his adult life Patrick worked on cars for himself, friends and family. He was very good at this and liked this type of work. He checked out the Auto Technology course at Lewis and Clark Community College. This was the training he needed to find a new career. But he faced the problem of trying to juggle school and raise his three children, ages 6, 2 and 7 months, as a single parent. It was a struggle raising his kids, going to school and doing his home work at night, but fortunately he qualified for state daycare support and had the additional support of family members whenever they could. Through these times, Patrick kept his goal in sight: to complete the Auto Tech. Program.

This tale does have a happy ending. He interned at Midas and they liked the quality of his work so much they hired him. He is now working full time and his family is back together. Turning his life around was not an easy task. Yet he persevered through the hardships and came out not only successfully employed again, but also earning the respect of his family and friends.

David Holt

David Holt came into the Bond County Career Center looking to pursue a new career path after he had been laid off from a local company in January 2005. Although David appeared to have a very strong work ethic, plus no breaks in his employment as a material handler, he soon discovered that he failed to possess a marketable skill that today’s workforce demands. He followed all job search recommendations, including registering with the Illinois Skills Match system, but failed to get any significant matches or job offers, since factory-related positions in his area of Bond County are very limited.

Newly married with three stepchildren, David wondered how he was going to support his family. It didn’t take long for David to discover that Radiology Technology was his chosen field. He entered into the Radiology program with Kaskaskia College commencing July, 2005. Returning to school later in life also provided a great challenge for David. He attended school during the day, while his evenings were spent helping his stepchildren with their homework and school activities, then followed by his own course work until the early morning hours. During the summer semesters, he traveled over 184 miles round trip to Decatur to his clinical site. During his two years at Kaskaskia College, he was an active member in the Radiology Club and Phi Theta Kappa Honor, graduating cum laude in May 2007.

A few weeks after completing his state boards, David was hired to join the staff of Hillsboro Hospital’s Radiology Department. He hopes to broaden his horizons in areas such as ultra sound, cat scans, or even nuclear medicine. David is a true inspiration of an individual who would not let life’s obstacles stand in the way of earning his degree and beginning a new career.

Toni Reynolds

When 29 year old single mom Toni Reynolds came to see a career specialist, she was VERY sure of what she wanted to do for a career, but unsure of how to get there. She had decided to attend Sanford Brown College for their Medical Billing and Coding program, and she knew that she needed help with tuition costs. She realized the PELL grant and her work study wasn’t quite enough to pay for her tuition, so she came to the Madison County Employment and Training office hoping she could receive the additional help she needed.

Toni’s background is the reason why she is a survivor and why she has goals for both her and her two children, seven-year-old Kyra and five-year-old Kaelen. Toni herself grew-up with a single mother and three siblings trying to make it on their own. Life was tough; she was exposed to drugs, abuse and alcoholism in her own household, and she somehow overcame those obstacles. Because her mom would work two jobs just to make ends meet, Toni admired her mom’s perseverance and strength. Toni and her siblings spent most of their time with their grandparents and sometimes even on their own, alone and caring for themselves. Toni’s past work experience brought her to see some necessary changes that she needed to make in her life. A hard worker, she held positions as an assistant to the mentally and physically handicapped, as a loan officer, and as a union representative working with licensed childcare providers. While all of these jobs were fulfilling, the work environment and pay was less than desirable. That led Toni to pursue a career that would provide better pay, a better working environment and allow her more time to spend with her own children.

Toni maintained a straight A average and perfect attendance while in school. She received her certificate from Sanford-Brown on October 14, 2007 and was hired full-time by Mid America Psychiatric in Granite City. Toni’s positive attitude has resulted in a successful career at last!

Business Leadership Award Winners . . .

. . . recognizing a private sector company that has
demonstrated leadership and made significant contributions
to workforce/economic development activities.

Kelly Cobb – Culver’s

“Every guest who chooses Culver’s leaves happy”, that is the mission statement for Culver’s Restaurant. It isn’t just a plaque hanging in the 350 restaurants nationwide, it is something that the Culver’s employees live by. For Kelly Cobb, owner and operator of the Edwardsville Culver’s, that mission statement extends beyond his facility to the city of Edwardsville, Madison County and beyond.

Kelly Cobb first walked into the Granite City office of Madison County Employment & Training in August of 2005. He was breaking ground on a new Culver’s to open in Edwardsville and was in need of recruitment assistance. Over the next few months, Kelly fully utilized the available services and hired the majority of his staff by December 2005. In January 2006, the Edwardsville Culver’s opened its doors.

But that was just the beginning of Culver’s involvement with local workforce development. As Culver’s continued utilizing Madison County Employment & Training for its hiring needs, Kelly also became a member of the Madison-Bond Workforce Investment Board, the board’s Marketing Committee, and the Madison-Bond Youth Council. In November 2007, Kelly’s enthusiasm was recognized by the youth council membership and the group elected to make him their Chairperson. Along the way, Culver’s has also donated food on numerous occasions for board meetings and focus groups. In addition, Kelly represents Culver’s as an Ambassador for the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce.

Culver’s community involvement does not stop with workforce and economic development. They routinely give to the American Red Cross, they have a youth scholarship program, and they hold fundraisers in which 10% of its total sales are donated to charitable organizations.

It has only been two years since Culver’s opened in Edwardsville, but the positive economic, workforce and community impact is already immeasurable. For the 40 employees of the Edwardsville Culver’s, providing leadership and serving the community is just part of the mission.

YourTravelBiz.com

Your Travel Biz (YTB) is a home-based internet travel business that develops, sells, and supports online travel websites for referring travel agents. It was founded in 2001 by J. Lloyd “Coach” Tomer, Scott Tomer, and Kim Sorenson.

With only six employees, the business initially operated out of an office in the First National Bank Building in Alton. As the number of employees grew over the next few years, so did the need for more office space, and in 2005, the company moved to Edwardsville. In 2006, with 139 employees, YTB relocated again, this time to the old K-Mart building at 1901 East Edwardsville Road in Wood River. The company currently occupies 20,000 of the building’s 117,000 square feet and has 252 employees.

Over the last year Duane Vancil and the HR staff at YTB have been utilizing MCETD’s virtual video interviewing and assessment tests when hiring customer service representatives, who on average earn $10.00 an hour. The YTB staff has found that this screening process has helped match new employees with the right managers more effectively and, as a result, they anticipate decreased turnover rates.

As the $10 million renovation project continues to the former K-Mart store, YTB projects that it will have 550-600 employees by the end of the year.

Individual Leadership Award . . .

. . . recognizing a private sector individual or economic
development professional who has made significant contributions
to workforce/economic development through a leadership role.

Debra Angleton

Debra Angleton, an employee of MCETD for over 30 years, has had a very challenging year, and, as usual, she has shown strong determination and dedication.

In November 2006, a long-term MCETD employee and friend of Debbie’s, Susan Hutchens, passed away unexpectedly. As the office supervisor, it was up to Debbie to keep things moving as smoothly as possible, while she and the rest of the staff dealt with their grief. About this same time, Owens Illinois closed, adversely affecting over 300 area employees. For Debbie this meant long work days while she learned and implemented new Trade Adjustment Act protocols and tried to fill the void left by Susan’s death. After relocating from Granite Cityto the Alton field office so that she could manage Susan’s case load, Debbie was also soon faced with hiring and training three new career specialists.

In the spring of 2007 Debbie’s husband Bob was diagnosed with throat and tongue cancer, and shortly thereafter the two learned that they had to move from their home of 22 years due to hillside damage behind their house. Following surgery, Bob underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments for two months that required daily 60-mile roundtrips to St. Louis. Throughout this time Debbie worked half-days in the office, transported Bob to the hospital for his treatments, found and bought a new house, and packed up their belongings for the move. Throughout these trying months, Debbie did her best to maintain a sense of normalcy for her active 15 year old son, and true to form, remained professional and upbeat in the office.

Debbie’s consistent strength and leadership skills are well known to staff, but the emotional and physical challenges she has faced over the past year were more than most of us could have handled. But not Debbie. Those qualities continued to shine through even during the worst of times.

Innovative Solutions Award . . .
Critical Skill Shortages Initiative . . .

. . . recognizes innovative workforce/economic
development programs, projects and/or initiatives that have
resulted in the economic growth of a community or region.

BEST Project

The BEST (Basic and Effective Supervisory Training) Project, initiated to address the nursing shortage in southwestern Illinois, was made possible by a two-year Critical Skill Shortages Initiative Grant and the collaborative efforts of the regional healthcare industry, two community colleges, and three workforce investment boards. The project was developed in response to regional reports that “dissatisfaction with supervisor” was a leading cause of nurses leaving their jobs. Support for the sector-based strategy was based on the assertion that better training supervisors/managers would decrease turnover rates among nurses. The project operated from March 2005 through June 2007 and was not only successful in providing much needed workforce training to healthcare professionals in nine counties, but also in forming and strengthening private-public partnerships in southwestern Illinois.

In Madison County the Center for Workforce Training at Lewis and Clark Community College facilitated the training sessions, which were generally held in the work place. Sessions ranged from two to eight hours in length, and participants were paid their normal rate of pay while attending classes. In some cases, additional staff was paid to cover for frontline supervisors while they were in training, and all personnel costs were absorbed by the employers. During the first year of the project, direct training costs were funded entirely by the CSSI Grant. During the second year training costs were evenly split between the grant and the employers.

Over the nine-county region twelve employers and 837 different employees participated in the initiative. Two hundred and forty-three of these participants were employed in MadisonCounty at Alton Memorial Hospital, Anderson Hospital, or Saint Anthony’s Health Center. Among all the trainees, there was a 91% satisfaction rate for course content and a 95% satisfaction rate for instructors both years.

Journey Award . . .

. . . recognizes the accomplishments of an individual
who exited WIA/JTPA/CETA prior to July 2004 and whose
workforce journey has led to more than just their individual success.

Connie L. Carroll

In the early 1990s the Carroll family was struggling financially. Connie and her husband had two small children and were making ends meet only because of the public assistance they received. This led Connie to the Madison County Employment and Training Department (MCETD) office in Alton and the start of her journey. With the assistance of Shirley Wiemers at MCETD, Connie qualified for training through JTPA and in 1992 started the nursing program at Lewis and Clark Community College. A strong will, coupled with a fervent desire to make life better for her family, helped Connie overcome the fears and self-doubt that accompanied her return to school, and in December 1994, she received her Associates Degree in Nursing. Over the next ten years, Connie worked as a private duty nurse and as an RN with the Head Start Program in Madison County.

With the complex record keeping that went hand in hand with her position at Head Start, Connie soon become very proficient with computers – particularly database programs. In 2004 she transferred to Head Start’s information systems (IS) department and in 2005 Connie enrolled in the University of Illinois’ on-line liberal arts program.

Connie continues to work full-time at Head Start while maintaining a 3.75 grade point average, and is on track to get a Bachelor of Arts Degree this May. Connie’s long term educational goal is to obtain a Master of Science Degree in Management Information Systems.