PEORIA MAGAZINE September 2022

A P U B L I C A T I O N O F W T V P

M A G A Z I N E

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2

That's a Keeper! CELEBRATING SMALL BUSINESS

JUNE 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 1

COVER STORIES 26 The Turners Behind the Turner Center By Mike Bailey 28 Turner: New Exporter of The Year -Sorce Freshwater Company By Mike Bailey

SPOTLIGHTS 34 Turner: Innovation of the Year - Kuzma Guitars By Nick Vlahos 38 Turner: Exporter of the Year - Ag World International By Scott Fishel 42 Turner: Women in Business Leadership Award - Francie Hinrichsen By Laurie Pillman 46 Turner: Small Business of the Year - iSTEAM Studios By Lisa Coon 48 Turner: Startup of the Year - Veloxity Labs By Lisa Coon 50 Turner: Small Business Advocate of the Year — Enabling Nonprofits, Inc., Brenda Grove By Linda Smith Brown

54 Turner: Government Contractor of the Year - Alegna By Bob Grimson 56 Turner: Community Partner of the Year -Morton Chamber/EDC By Phil Luciano 59 Turner: Rural Business of the Year - Savage Building Systems 66 Living It Up Local in Eureka By Scott Fishel 70 Eureka’s Maple Lawn Homes Celebrates a Century of Care By Laurie Pillman 84 ‘God Can Start Some Things’ By Phil Luciano

ON THE COVER: Clint Carter of Sorce Freshwater hauls in this recent catch from the Illinois River. Cover photo by Ron Johnson

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FEATURES 8 Seed and Soil: Goodbye Disney,

18 Mom and Pop:

74 Playing in Peoria:

Beecham’s Market, Four Generations Strong By Phil Luciano

Reel-ing In the Years At The Barn III By Steve Tarter

Hello Marshall County By Steve Tarter

22 EconCorner: A Q&A With

82 Playing in Peoria: A Decade of Dance

11 Seed and Soil:

Fred the Horse Cartoons By Dan Ackley

Jim Bullard, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis

Central Illinois Ballet By Laurie Pillman

12 Seed and Soil:

88 WordCount:

On the Farm, Finding Positives In the Pandemic By Emily Sharkey

60 Twenty Something:

Interview with Peoria Public Library’s new deputy director By Jennifer Davis

Bridging the Gap Between Ideas, Action By CeCe Hill

14 Dish and Drink:

98 People, Places & Parties

Giddyup to Macomb’s Horseshoe Central By Nick Vlahos

64 Peoria Retro:

When the Wild West Ruled The Stage in Peoria By Steve Gossard

17 Dish and Drink:

Cocktail Class – Plum Line By Dustin Crawford

SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 3

COMMENTARY

92 In 2022 As In 1776, Still Working On Becoming a Nation By John F. Gilligan 97 Making Decisions in Inflationary Times By Matt House 104 One Last Thing: Of Nightmares and Unfulfilled Gridiron Glory By Phil Luciano 106 Toon Town By Dan Ackley

AND MORE 7 Letter from the Editor 78 ArtsPartners Calendar 102 In Brief 108 Thank You, Advertisers

in this issue September 2022 contributors: Dan Ackley, Linda Smith Brown, Jim Bullard, Lisa Coon, Dustin Crawford, Veronica De Fazio, Jennifer Davis, Scott Fishel, John F. Gilligan, Jenn Gordon, Steve Gossard, Bob Grimson, Matt House, Phil Luciano, Laurie Pillman, Emily Sharkey, Steve Tarter, Nick Vlahos FOLLOW@PEORIAMAGAZINES: To subscribe or renew, visit peoriamagazines.com/subscribe.

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MONTHLY ISSUE 092022 ISSN: 947

October 12th - 6 pm to 9 pm

at Venue Chisca 1009 SWWashington St, Peoria, IL

David Vaughan Investments, LLC is sponsoring a Corporate Ping Pong Tournament in support of South Side Mission

Come watch this exciting day of Ping Pong action! Food and soft drinks will be provided by South Side Mission’s Culinary Arts Training School. Admission for spectators is free, but donations of any size are always welcome. For information on corporate sponsorship opportunities, registering teams or any other questions please visit DVIinc.com/community or email Dalton Mellon at dalton@dviinc.com

SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 5

E D I T O R I A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mike Bailey mbailey@peoriamagazines.com PUBLISHER Lesley Matuszak lesley.matuszak@wtvp.org C R E A T I V E SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Phil Luciano phil.luciano@wtvp.org WTVP DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS Julie Sanders A D V E R T I S I N G PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WTVP Lesley Matuszak lesley.matuszak@wtvp.org SENIOR CORPORATE SUPPORT MANAGER Angie Spears sales@peoriamagazines.com CORPORATE SUPPORT MANAGER Kristina Gamez sales@peoriamagazines.com DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY Tom Zimmerman sales@peoriamagazines.com julie.sanders@wtvp.org STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ron Johnson GRAPHIC DESIGN Debbie Cody

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L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R

HERE’S TO THE RISK-TAKERS

W elcometoPeoriaMagazine’s Small Business edition, dedicated to those who take the risks that drive our economy, often against formidable odds. This month we par tner with Bradley University’s Turner Center for Entrepreneurship to shine a spotlight on 10 central Illinois businesses/ entrepreneurs making their marks. FromSorceFreshwater, theEastPeoria start-up pursuing a promising business opportunitywhile simultaneously doing right by the environment – reducing the Illinois River’s Asian carp overpopulation for food andmore, a twofer if ever there was – to 23-year-oldMichael Kuzma, the recent Bradley grad who has invented a self-playing guitar, we found models of ingenuity and pluck. They are inspirations, every last one. And they are critical to our way of life. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, ourmom-and-pops “are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy,” creat ing two-thirds of net new jobs – 3million alone in 2021, the highest recorded in a single year (good news for Labor Day, just around the corner) – while generat ing 44 percent of U.S. economic activity. Indeed, nearly 33 million small businesses employmore than 61 million people in in America. Yet arguably it has gotten harder for them, in many ways. Recessions, pandemics and government mandates can hit them disproportionately hard. They are not

being “a little brave and willing to be uncomfortable because what that leads to is some beautiful outcomes. I realized if I can do this, anyone can do this.” The Turner Center is a big help for many business dreamers in navigating those sometimes-choppy waters. For years, the word on Peoria was that it was an inventive place, but not all that entrepreneurial. The Turner Center, under the direction of Jim Foley, deserves no small amount of credit for helping to turn that around, to establish that can-do culture. We’re excited about this issue. We were privileged to score an interview with Jim Bullard, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis, for our EconCorner. Speaking with Bob andCarolynTurner, the entrepreneurs/ phi lanthropists whose generous donations helped make the Turner Center possible, was a joy. Jack Gilligan provides ahistory lessonwhile reminding us of the importance of the rule of law… for business, for everything . Enjoy!

exactly first in line when the “too big to fail” money starts flowing. I developed something of a soft spot for the sole proprietors out there when I became one myself. In 2018, I was laid off. I long had wanted to scratch my own entrepreneurial itch, but I needed the nudge that only unemployment in one’s late 50s can provide. When I finally decided to hang my own shingle with a communications consulting business – following a Turner Center seminar, of course – what I discovered was liberating and scary. I loved the independence, working from home, settingmy own hours, seeing the grandkids more, pursuing clients that I wanted to work with. I’m grateful to those who took a chance on me. But I also became very familiar with the almost-disincentivizing costs of health insurance, taxes and middle-of-the night anxiety attacks. Early on, there oftenwas too little cashflow for comfort as the bills kept coming no matter the unreliability of the paychecks. Alas, my little learn-on-the-f ly business grew. In retrospect, my previous employer did me a favor. Francie Hinrichsen, who runs Founding Females and is profiled in this month’s mag, said it well: “What I've figured out is that entrepreneurship is … not (about) having a certain business acumen. It's not having a certain degree under your belt. It's not having a certain background.” Instead, it just means

Mike Bailey mbailey@peoriamagazines.com

SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 7

Tony and Ginger Malek, owners, Grandma & Grandpa's Farm

S E E D A N D S O I L

GOODBYE DISNEY, HELLO MARSHALL COUNTY Grandma & Grandpa's Farm

BY STEVE TARTER PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

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W atching Tony Malek chat easily with customers as hedispensesproduceand occasional preparation instructions on a Saturday morning at the Peoria Riverfront Market, you wouldn’t guess that, before he became a farmer, he was employed at Walt Disney World in Florida for 21 years. “I had to learn this. I had to learn how to plant and when to pick,” said Malek, referring to items like Swiss chard, kale and lettuce, some of the vegetables arranged on tables for sale at the market booth for Grandma & Grandpa's Farm in Sparland, the Marshall County town 25 miles north of Peoria. They come by the name of the farm honestly. “We live in my grandma and grandpa’s home in Sparland that was built by my great-grandparents,” said Ginger Malek. “It was a Gordon-Van Tine kit home. Parts came by rail car to Camp Grove, about five miles away, and brought by horse and buggy to the homestead for assembly.” “She put up withmy dream,” said Tony Malek, 62, referring to his job in guest relations with Disney. “My job was to make your day happy,” he said of the help he provided guests when problems occurred at the amusement park. For Ginger Malek, 54, returning to the family farm has been her dream and she’s making the most of it.

she and her husband lived in Florida. But the memories of growing up on a central Illinois farm never left her.

‘WE DON’T SPRAY SO EVERYTHING HAS TO BE DONE BY HAND‘

— Ginger Malek

When the opportunity arose 10 years ago, the couple transitioned from Florida to the farm— the old-fashioned way. “We’re not certified organic but we’re chemical-free. Weeds are always a challenge. We don’t spray so everything has to be done by hand,” she said. “We’re small. It’s just the two of us. We only have 25 people in our CSA,” said Ginger, noting that about an acre and a half of their seven-acre site is farmed, allowing the couple to raise produce as well as offering chickens and eggs to customers. It’s more than just running a farm that she likes. “I enjoy the interaction with people. I love being able to try and educate kids who don’t know where their food comes from,” she said. The couple makes time every Thursday afternoon for families and small groups to visit the farm, she said. The pair have seen the riverfront market grow in the 10 years they’ve been taking part. “You have 85 to 90 vendors. There’s arts and crafts. When we started, you couldn’t even get a bottle of water,” said Ginger. They don’t look at other farmers as competition at the market, she said. “If we don’t have something, I try to refer people to vendors that might.” Farm life means dealing with change, said Tony. “You have to follow the market. We always try to improve what we do.” Sometimes that means going out in the cold or extreme heat, said Ginger. “It can get up to 130 degrees in the hoop houses sometimes,” she said of the structures the Maleks use to start

seeds before transplanting them in the field. A small farmcan run into unexpected setbacks, too. “We bought 65 hens earlier this year to increase egg production. It takes four to five months before the chickens start laying but one morning, they were all gone. We had a mink attack. That put us back,” she said. While life on the farm can be trying, there are benefits, she said. “In Florida, it took an hour and a half to drive 25 miles, two and a half hours in the rain. Here we can travel the same distance in a half-hour,” said Ginger. As for future plans, Tony said he’d love to raise some four-legged animals. “Sheep or goats might be pretty easy. At this point, I need easy,” he said. So, after spendingmore than 20 years working at Walt Disney World, has he made it back for a visit? “I haven’t,” said Tony, smiling. “I tell you what I miss, though — the friends I had there and the Disney cruises. They were a real vacation. Of course, that was with the employee discount, too.”

Steve Tarter is a Peoria Magazine contributor who was born in England, raised in Boston, moved to Peoria to attend Bradley University and decided to stay. He has spent a career in journalism and public relations

A graduate of the University of Illinois, where she majored in nutrition and business, Ginger worked in retail and as a human resources director while

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10 SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE

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I try to be a “glass half full” kind of girl. When I look back over the past couple of years and the challenges we have had as a society during the pandemic, I choose to glean a few huge wins: one, for those in agriculture with an entrepreneurial spirit who grew their small businesses during a difficult time; and two, for the consumers who gained somuch knowledge about where their food comes from. When consumers experienced bare shelves at the grocery store for perhaps the first time in their life, it caused unease and, in some cases, great fear. It made them ask the question, “What will I do if the supply chain continues to be interrupted and I can’t leave with a cart full of groceries for my family?” As hard as that was in the moment, it was actually a good thing because it made people ask questions. Where does my food come from? Is there another way to become more self-sufficient?

S E E D A N D S O I L

ON THE FARM, FINDING POSITIVES IN THE PANDEMIC BY EMILY SHARKEY

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Can I cut out the middle guy and make more choices for myself andmy family? With struggle comes growth. For many, finding answers led them on a mission, of sorts: to find more local, small businesses to meet their needs. My husband Rob and I have the pleasure of talking to people not only in Illinois but all over the nation on a daily basis with our show “A Shot of Ag” on WTVP and our daily SharkFarmer Sirius XM Show on channel 147. The overriding theme this year has been that people want to be more connected with their food. Almost weekly, we have guests talk about choosing to sell their products directly to the public from their farms. This need for answers has allowed farmers to invite people who have never set foot on a farm to learn about what goes into raising the products that have for so long been taken for granted and just picked up at the grocery store. WITH STRUGGLE COMES GROWTH. FINDING ANSWERS LED THEM ON A MISSION Those visitors have been able to look a farmer in the eyes and ask questions about what the animal was fed and how it was cared for. They have been able to express their appreciation directly for all the work that goes into raising safe, affordable food in this country. Meanwhile, the process of selling

direct has allowed farmers to sell their products at a fair or even premiumprice and earn the money they deserve for all their hard work. In the past, due to fluctuations in themarket, farmers have struggled to even break even. We saw that firsthand with our dairy farmers when milk prices hit all-time lows. Most importantly, consumers got a story to tell when they serve a meal to friends and family. They can say they visited this fantastic local farm just outside of town. They can talk about the goats they did yoga with – yes, goat yoga is a thing. They can share tales of the chickens they fed, or the bottle of wine they picked that was made from grapes grown right here in Illinois. It has been a joy to talk to beef producers who have set up a little farm store on their properties to sell hamburgers and steaks to their neighbors and even ship their meat all over the country. I have never seen so many people seek out their local beef farmer and stock their freezers full of meat. For the first time, kids realized that hamburger doesn’t come from a room in the back of the grocery store. It’s raised on a farm, sometimes right near their neighborhood. It’s fun to hear from poultry farmers. Did you know there is such a thing as an egg vending machine? Our friend Tiffany fromWise Acre Farm inWindsor, California raises thousands of chickens each year and has a vending machine that allows people to stop and get fresh eggs of every color and size 24 hours

a day. Oh, and while you’re there, you can see firsthand how she rotates her chicken houses around to different pastures throughout her property. We have the privilege of chattingwith beekeepers like local Luke Harvey from Riverview Road Apiary in Chillicothe, where he invites people to learn about the health benefits of buying local honey, about how to start their ownhives, about how to respect and enjoy bees.

DID YOU KNOW THERE IS SUCH A THING AS AN EGG VENDING MACHINE?

We met Barry Fisher, a lamb farmer from Ellisville, who appeared on our show to talk about raising lambs and finding a niche market. We chatted with farmer and cheesemaker Ken Ropp from Ropp Jersey Cheese out of Normal about how he joined with other farmers to deliver their products to various locations during the pandemic. The list goes on and on. They say every cloud has a silver lining. Many farmers learned just that during COVID. Emily Sharkey is one half of the dynamic duo that make up “The Shark Farmer” broadcasting company. She and husband Rob Sharkey till the land at the family’s fifth-generation farm in the Bradford area. Their “A Shot of Ag” program appears regularly on WTVP PBS

SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 13

D I S H A N D D R I N K

GIDDYUP TO MACOMB’S HORSESHOE CENTRAL At the Jackson Street Pub, ‘we’ll put fries and cheese on anything’

BY NICK VLAHOS PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

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A t Jackson Street Pub, the horseshoes fit. And there’s one for just about every size. The restaurant and bar on the west side of Macomb might not look like much from the outside. It’s a bit weathered and worn, as might be expected from a business open about 40 years in its current form. But inside the dimly lit eatery is an inviting bar with plenty of liquor and craft beer, and cozy tables with gooseneck lamps. The menu features well-prepared bar food – including hamburgers, breaded pork-tenderloin sandwiches and onion rings, all crafted on premises. In the evening, the menu expands to include steaks, shrimp and chicken. But the signature dish, day or night, is the horseshoe sandwich. Across the area known as Forgottonia, Jackson Street Pub is fabled for it. “It’s a Macomb tradition,” customer Mike Jackson said on a recent afternoon. Despite his name, the street in front of the pub isn’t named for Jackson, nor does he own the place. That honor belongs to Carol Livermore. In 2001, Livermore and a partner purchased the restaurant and bar fromprevious owners Mike Carper and Dennis Moon. Livermore assumed full control about a decade later, after her partner died. The Jackson Street Pub horseshoe predates Livermore’s ownership as well as her waitressing tenure, which began five years before her co-purchase. “I don’t know if it was Dennis or Mike or whose idea it was, but it’s been a staple,” Livermore said about the sandwich. Legend suggests the horseshoe was invented about 100 years ago at the old Leland Hotel in Springfield. The classic version has a base of Texas toast topped with a hamburger patty. On top of that are French fries. All of it is smothered in cheese sauce. They call it a sandwich, but it most definitely is a knife-and-fork job. The meal spread beyond its capital city origins to become a staple at bars

and roadhouses across the middle of the state. Cheese-sauce quality, and its special ingredients, can make or break a horseshoe. Jackson Street Pub uses a commercial variety, but 11-year chef Billy Brown spikes it with beer – one can for every three cans of cheese sauce. The beer doesn’t have to be expensive, according to Brown. He usually uses Busch Light or Old Milwaukee Light. “I think it has more flavor in it,” he said. According to Brown, the suds thin the cheese a bit. That might be the only thin part of themeal. The Jackson Street Pub standard ‘shoe includes two hamburger patties. “It’s a lot of food. Some people don’t realize that,” Livermore said. “I tell them, ‘You’re getting a plateful. You’re going to want a nap.’” Jackson couldn’t finish his order. But Livermore said she’s seen football players from nearby Western Illinois University polish off two horseshoes in one sitting. “No way I thought they could do that. They’re big boys. Young men, I should say,” Livermore said with a chuckle. For those who are neither football players nor trenchermen, Jackson Street Pub offers a “ponyshoe,” a half order. Livermore said the hamburger ponyshoe probably is the most popular item on her menu. Jackson Street Pub separates itself from the central Illinois horseshoe herd in a couple of ways. It uses waffle fries (or “lattice fries,” as the menu states), not conventional French fries. Livermore said waffle

fries hold the cheese better. Toppings include chili, jalapenos and grilled onions and mushrooms. But variety might be the pub’s most impressive horseshoe aspect. No fewer than 11 versions are listed on the Jackson Street Pubmenu. Among them are ham, turkey, tenderloin, corned beef and fish. There’s even a garden-burger horseshoe. (For those watching their figures, perhaps?) Customers can combine those menu options. Depending on what daily specials are being offered, those might lend themselves to horseshoe treatment, too. Livermore said popcorn chicken and buffalo shrimp have been among the off-menu ‘shoes. “We’ll put fries and cheese on top of anything,” she said. Brown said he prepares at least 30 horseshoes and/or ponyshoes a day. There’s a good chance Livermore will serve some of them. Even after 20-plus years of restaurant ownership, she can’t put down her order pad. “I guess I’m just good at waitressing,” Livermore said. “I enjoy that. I love our customers. I love the pub.” Horseshoe af icionados around Macombmight consider it the perfect fit. “It’s a great place,” Jackson said. Jackson Street Pub, 835W. Jackson St., Macomb; (309) 837-9502; open 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Saturday.

Nick Vlahos is a longtime Peoria print journalist and a regular contributor to Peoria Magazine

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D I S H A N D D R I N K

COCKTAIL CLASS

Welcome back to Mixology 101

P L U M L I N E

S chool is back in session and temperatures are starting to dip,so it is time to shake together another drink full of flavor, brightness, and a touch of tartness. The Plum Line pulls the flavors of plums and apricots together with the brightness of lemon and a nose of thyme to start you off. This cocktail does not require a long preparation and goes down easily. Today we delve into sidecars, brandies and more stone fruit as we create a drink whose base takes us all the way to the Balkans and central Europe. There we find a long history of fermenting plums and then twice distilling them into eau-de-vie. Eau-de-vie traditionally means “water of life” in French and refers to brandies made from fruit other than grapes, in this case damson plums. Plum brandy holds a lot of tradition throughout central and eastern Europe, from informal get togethers and parties to formal and religious events such as baptisms, marriages, military service and Passover. We will be using one of these as the base for our cocktail today.

First, the TOOLS : For this cocktail you will need a cocktail shaker, a measuring jigger, a hawthorne strainer and a champagne coupe. As always, you will want to place the coupe in the freezer or fill it with ice water to chill. Next, the INGREDIENTS : To the cocktail shaker add:

• 1 dash lemon bitters • 2 dashes plum bitters • .75 oz. fresh lemon juice • .75 oz. apricot liqueur • 2 oz. plum brandy

Finally, the PROCESS : If you have more of a sweet tooth, feel free to use a sugar rimby running a lemon wedge around the rim of your coupe and dipping your glass onto a plate of sugar. Fill your shake with ice and shake hard for 10 15 seconds. As always, if you look poised and calm while shaking, you probably are not shaking hard enough. Using your hawthorne strainer, pour your cocktail into your chilled champagne coupe, garnish with a sprig of thyme and a lemon wedge, and enjoy!

About our mixologist: Dustin Crawford is co-owner – with partner Kip Rodier – of the 33 Room in Peoria Heights. Prior to that, the U.S. Marine Corps veteran traveled the world before returning home to work his magic behind the bar at various central Illinois establishments.

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M O M A N D P O P

BEECHAM’S MARKET, FOUR GENERATIONS STRONG Tremont’s throwback meat shop celebrates its 100th anniversary

BY PHIL LUCIANO PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

First generation: William and Iva Beecham

Second generation: Dorothy and Jerry Beecham (Jerry is William’s son)

Third generation: Mary and Lanny Beecham (Lanny is Jerry’s son)

Fourth generation: Keri and Dave Hughs (Keri is Lanny’s daughter).

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F or a century, Beecham’s Market in Tremont has not only survived, but thrived. The grocery burned to the ground twice, rising back each time. In more recent years, as Tremont lost multiple markets and mega-grocers poppedup in central Illinois, Beecham’s pushed into its fourth generation of family ownership. Though still a general store, the business has found a niche as a destination meat market. “We can’t compete with Walmart and the big chain stores in Froot Loops and Cheerios,” said Keri Hughs, the 43-year-old great-granddaughter of a co-founder of the family business. “But we can compete in the quality of fresh meat we provide.” In 1922, Wi l l iam and Clarence Beecham opened Beecham Brothers Grocery in the Peoria County village of Glasford. They offered a foreshadowing of the meat expertise to come, as they would slaughter chickens in the back lot to provide fresh poultry inside. In 1939, Jerry Beecham – the son of William and Iva Beecham – opened Beecham’s Market in Tremont, an ag town smack-dab in the middle of Tazewell County. (The Glasford spot would eventually close). The couple lived upstairs of the new Beecham’s Market – on Sampson Street, the main commercial strip – and got off to a solid start before a fire of unknown Jerry Beecham pauses inside his Beecham’s Market in Tremont (photo taken in 1940s)

origin broke out one night in 1940 as the pair slept. After Jerry Beecham awoke coughing on smoke, the couple struggled to get outside to a second-floor porch. As the first floor burned, their cries for help woke up a neighbor, the townmortician, who dragged a ladder to the porch and helped the couple escape. In the end, the entire building was destroyed, along with the market’s inventory, plus the couple’s car and a delivery truck parked directly out back. “All Mr. Beecham saved from the fire was a pair of trousers he slipped over his night clothes,” according to the Tremont News. “Mrs. Beecham saved only (a) fur coat which she threw around herself as she was carried to safety.” But soon a new Beecham’s Market opened, a few doors down on Sampson Street. Inanother strokeofmisfortune, a 1959 fire wiped out the place, prompting a third Tremont store – the current building – to be built on the same site. Eventual ly, the business was joined (and eventually run) by a third generation, Lanny and Mary Beecham. Meantime, their daughter Keri grew Second version of Beecham’s Market in Tremont, after the original Tremont location burned in 1940

up in the store, learning the trade and enjoying the customer interactions. “I’m very blessed that my grandfather and grandmother and my parents taught me (a) work ethic and to always put the customer first,” she said. In 2004, she wed Dave Hughs, a Morton native who worked at a lumber business. About seven years into the marriage, with her parents looking to retire, Lanny Beecham asked if the Hughs couple wanted to take over the business. “Her dad wanted to make sure we really wanted to do it, because it does consume your life,” Dave Hughs, 41, said with a grin. He works 12-hour days Monday through Saturday. His wife works weekdays at home for an insurance company, mostly for the benefits, but she comes into the shop in the late afternoon to lend a hand. Also keeping things humming are five full-timers and five part-timers. In addition to a deli, Beecham’s showcases top-shelf beef, pork and Third version of the Market in Tremont, after the second Tremont location burned in 1959. The building, still in use, soon will undergo an exterior remodeling.

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Clara Mathes is a freqent customer to Beecham’s Market in Tremont

Cashier Angie Riley of Beecham’s Market in downtown Tremont helps a customer

Local produce grower Larry Newcomb brings his tomatoes to Beecham’s Market

chicken, plus homemade sausage and bratwursts. The biggest lure may be the specialty burgers – fresh or frozen – that include the likes of bacon cheddar-jalapeno-turkey and corned beef with swiss. Such uniqueness helps a throwback grocer to succeed in a Walmart world. ‘WE'VE FOUND OUR NICHE AND TAKE CARE OF IT THE BEST WE CAN’ “Folks will bring in their meat list, say they’re going to Walmart (in Pekin or Morton), and come back and pick up their order,” Dave Hughs said. “We’ve found our niche and take care of it the best we can.” They also take care of customers the best they can. Many are regulars. “We all try to learn their names,” Dave Hughs said. “We kind of knowwhat they want. I’ve got people who like filets cut a certain way or cut in half with bacon around them.” Such attentiveness draws customers not only from all over central Illinois — Dave Hughs

but as far away as Chicago. Beyond the meat counter, they come for local items — honey fromDelavan, vegetables from Morton, soap from Dillon – not found at every other grocery.

This fall, Beecham’s will host an outdoor celebration to mark the family’s 100th year in business. Also, the storefront will soon get a makeover to freshen up the look.

Keri Hughs working the deli at Beecham's Market

As for any f ifth generation of ownership? That’ll be up to the Hughs’ lone child, Ella, 5, when the time comes. “If she wants to work this hard, she can do it,” Keri Hughs said with a smile. “It’s rewarding, but it’s a lot of work.” “We’re blessed,” added Dave Hughs. “We’re blessed to be busy.” Phil Luciano is a senior writer/ columnist for Peoria Magazine and content contributor to public television station WTVP

That’s theattraction for SteveandEthel Applegate, each 74. The couple often motors over from Pekin, especially for the inventory from Roth Countryside ProduceofMorton, suchas the volleyball sizedmelons on recent display. His wife, meanwhile, grabbed several ears of sweetcorn, not even bothering to pull back the husks to check the kernels. “It’s the sweetest corn I’ve ever had,” she gushed before adding in a whisper – as if revealing the store’s secret weapon – “and they’ve got great turkey burgers.”

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HELP A FOSTER CHILD IN IN IMMEDIATE NEED

Drop off items at these Talecris Plasma locations: Talecris Plasma Resources 1902 N. Sheridan Rd. Peoria, IL 61604 Talecris Plasma Resources 511 W. Washington Bloomington, IL 61701 Talecris Plasma Resources 241 S. Ma ttis Ave. Champaign, IL 61821

TOILETRY DONATIONS NEEDED!

Children in the foster care system who have been abused or neglected are often removed from homes with very few belongings. The J. A. Grifols Foundation and CASA Of The Tenth Judicial Circuit are making available to these at-risk kids sturdy duffel bags filled with everyday essentials (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.) and a stuffed animal.

Help CASA, J.A. Grifols Foundation and Bags Of Hope this by dropping your donations at any of the Talecris Plasma locations listed to the right. Talecris is a part of the Grifols network of plasma donor centers.

ca saofthetenth.o rg Become a CASA volunteer

SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 21

ECON CORNER

A Q&A with Jim Bullard, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis

INTERVIEW BY MIKE BAILEY

the most influential economists in the world. In that role, he participates in the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee, which regularly convenes – and has been in the news a lot lately – to set the direction of U.S. monetary policy. This conversation has been edited somewhat for length. Peoria Magazine (PM): Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has acknowledged that in hindsight, the Fed should have moved earlier to confront rising inflation. Was there something about this particular inf lationary episode that allowed it to sneak up on many economists, that led them to believe it was “transitory,” in Chairman Powell’s words? Jim Bullard (JB): I think so. This was all wrapped up with the pandemic and the large fiscal spending during the pandemic, combined with very easy monetary policy. The evolution of the pandemic made it so that it wasn’t clear when it was going to be over. In the spring of 2021, you had vaccines …

developed but not widely distributed yet …The thinking around that timewas that OK, the vaccines are going to be pretty successful and the economy is going to reopen and you expect some upward price pressures … because of that. That reopening phase was one that you certainly had to factor in when you’re thinking about making policy … Actually, the vaccines worked very well. As of July … 2021, the deaths per day from the pandemic had come way down… It looked at that point youmight get a clean end to the pandemic … As it turned out, you had further waves … All of these things were going on simultaneously as we were trying to make policy and look at the right moment to try to withdraw some of the monetary actions that we had put in place during the pandemic. PM: The Fed is now acting aggressively to curb inflation with a “whatever it takes” posture, and we’ve begun to see the effects. Are there elements of the latter – the response to increased

Jim Bullard

W elcome back to Peoria Magazine’s Econ Corner, a recurring feature in which we pose questions to experts about various economic issues and how they affect our lives and careers here in central Illinois. Doing this month’s Q&A is JimBullard , president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis and one of

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look at the market interest rates, they all changed dramatically way before we did anything. To some extent, that repricing is already in the markets. ... I think it’s a different era … In the Volcker era, the Fedwould raise interest rates, everyone would yawn and no one would pay any attention. So, he had to really work hard to gain credibility that … he and the committee were serious about fighting inflation. We’ve got the opposite situation here … with all the transparency around monetary policy and all the communication and the years of having low inflation … I’ve been telling people, you know, we barely had to lift a pinky finger. We just started to raise interest rates during the March April time frame. All the rates went up dramatically, and so in many ways, the future policy actions were pulled forward by financial markets … That’s an interesting feature and one that I don’t think everyone has completely digested, how different that is from the earlier (periods) … where that isn’t how it worked at all. You know, the Fed would move, and maybe the market would move later. PM: The Fed faces a balancing act, of course, as too little intervention may fail to produce the desired price stability, and too much may so restrain growth as to tip the nation into recession. Meanwhile, there is no shortage of advice. How do you know when you’ve hit the sweet spot with your actions? JB: Well, we’re getting plenty of criticism from all sides, so that makes me think that we’ve probably handled it about right ... It’s not easy to track the economy. It’s a very large object — $20 trillion plus per year in total GDP and national income. We do that on many fronts, partly by looking at the data very carefully but also by talking to people on Main Street — business owners, household level, community development, all kinds of different parts of the economy — and try to get a sense of how they’re actually experiencing the economy. It can be very informative … Sometimes you might draw one inference from the data you have, and

then you get a very different picture when you … seek out groups at a more local level. We’ll try to do the best we can to balance the two. I would say about … whether we’re in recession or not that there’s a discrepancy … GDP growth has been negative in the first quarter and the second quarter of this year. Usually, the rule of thumb is that that would be a recession. But there is no actual hard and fast rule about that. Labor markets were very, very strong through the first half of the year, and it’s really hard to say there’s a recession when unemployment is 3.5 percent and you added 2.7 million jobs in the first half of the year … This isn’t the kind of behavior you would expect if firms actually felt like it was a recessionary environment. They’d be cutting workers, not adding workers. So at least for now, it doesn’t look like we’re in a recession. Now others have been predicting that maybe we’ll be in recession in … 2023 sometime, but that’s a hazardous business, very hard to guess exactly how the economy will evolve over that kind of time horizon. So, I don’t think there’s a lot of information content to those kinds of forecasts. PM: Obviously you weigh multiple benchmarks, but are there one or two that really stand out for you, that move your needle? JB: Yeah, I do pay a lot of attention to inflation expectation because of my background and where my research was focused. I do like market-based estimates of inflation in the future … I think that gives us a sense on a day to-day basis, in reacting to current data, what the market is thinking the inflation scenario is going to be in the future … I’m very aware that markets don’t always get everything right … but nevertheless, you’ve got people with real money on the table, they’re trying to make the best guesses that they can ‘AT LEAST FOR ME, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WE'RE IN A RECESSION’

interest rates, for example — that have surprised you? Is this inf lationary period substantively different in any way than those that have come before? JB: I think the committee has moved rapidly to address the situation as it became clear that inflationwas broader and more persistent than we thought. We started taking actions which really culminated this past spring … by increasing the policy rate by 25 basis points beginning in March but then going to 50 (basis) points at the May meeting and 75 basis points in the June and July meetings. The 75 basis points at a meeting hasn’t been done for a long time. (Alan) Greenspan did it once in 1994, and if you want to get more than that, you have to go back into the (Paul) Volcker era. So quite a big response, but I think appropriate because the inflation rate has turned out to be much higher and much broader andmore persistent than we initially thought. Then in addition, we’ve got the runoff of the balance sheet. During the pandemic we bought a lot of government bonds that also helped mit igate the damage from the pandemic to the economy. But we stopped that in March and we allowed the balance sheet to start shrinking just a few months after that and that’s really getting going … Sometimes that gets forgotten, kind of a secondary tool ... I’m hopeful that we can bring inflation under control with these kinds of actions and more to come in the future. PM: Raising interest rates has long been called a “blunt” tool to address inflation. Can you discuss the other monetary policy tools at the Fed’s disposal, and their relative pluses and minuses? JB: Those (listed above) are the main ones that we’ve used. Actually, former Chair (Ben) Bernanke once said that … we bungle the quote … but basically he said that “monetary policy is 98% talk and 2% action.” (Laughs) The forward guidance – publicly communicating the likely future course of monetary policy – has been quite important because if you

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and trying to use the financial market instruments that are available to hedge their risks against inflation, so I think that’s an interesting metric to keep track of and to use to try to get a sense of where we are with respect to policy. Right now … expectations are down some, so that’s very helpful for us, but you do always have to be careful in interpreting exactly what’s going on. ‘I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN ... BRING INFLATION UNDER CONTROL OVER THE NEXT 18 MONTHS OR SO’ PM: We sometimes talk about “first, do no harm” as a public policy goal, but are there measures the federal government should be doing – or shouldn’t be doing – to help rather than hurt the situation? JB: I think inflation’s mostly a monetary policy issue. That’s why there are inflation targets for central banks all around the world. That’s why we’ve more or less decided over the last few decades that OK, we’ll let the Central Bank try to control the inflation rate and the economy, and we’ll let the federal government focus on taxes and government programs that they want to fund and so on. I think it’s a good division of labor. There may be a little bit of crossover from one to the other, but it … let the Central Bank focus on its primary task, which is to keep inflation low and stable. PM: It seems that rank-and-f ile Americans are confused by the arguably conflicting messages they’re getting from some quarters. On the one hand, with nearly 60 percent of them living paycheck to paycheck and with interest rates on the rise, they’re told they should be saving. On the other hand, they’re told they need to keep spending because if collectively they don’t, it could put the economy into recession. Which is it? Is there a constructive role that consumers can play? JB: I think this has been a bit of a failure of macroeconomics during the time I’ve been involved, which is that we have not explained these tradeoffs very well

JB: I think it is because it’s become an international standard since it was introduced in the 1990s. There was a lot of work at that time about whether this was a good number or not, and it kind of all settled down on 2 percent … We’re the biggest fish. If we abandon the target, all the other countries are going to do so, as well. I think you’d get global chaos if you did that. PM: You’ve spoken in the past about your concerns regarding the “Fed’s credibility in Main Street America.” Where does that stand now, do you think? JB: (Laughs.) We’re probably sinking. I’m hopeful that we can use the tools that we have now to bring inflation under control over the next 18 months or so. Hopefully, we’ll get on a disinflationary path that will be reasonable. I think … you’ll see that when firms make a judgement that they’d rather maintain market share rather than try to raise prices and possibly lose customers … PM: What’s your view of the Fed’s dual mandate to promote maximum sustainable employment and price stability – two things that may be at odds now – which some have called for an end to? JB: As far as the dual mandate, we’re hitting the employment side right now … so that’s why there’s somuch focus on the inflation side, because that’s where we’re missing by a mile. So that has really shifted the thinking of the Fed. I like a mandate that focuses more on inflation over themedium termbecause I think it gives a better picture of what the Central Bank can actually do, but that’s maybe a topic for another day. PM: Last question, and an important one. You grew up in Minnesota, and you’ve lived in St. Louis for a while now. Cardinals or Twins? JB: (Laughs) Ah, well, being in St. Louis, I’ve really come to love the Cardinals. They’re very competitive. But this year the Twins also are doing well … PM: So, World Series. You’ll be in heaven.

… What we’re doing is raising interest rates. That’s going to make it less attractive to pull consumption from the future to today, and more attractive to push consumption from today into the future … You’re going to consume less today but more tomorrow…There’s the same amount of consumption, either way, but you’re trying to smooth it out a little bit so that you’re not consuming everything today at a big party and then nothing next year or the year after … That’s the point of the interest rate movements that we’re seeing … PM: How sacred is 2 percent as an inflation target? Is that sort of a magic number for you?

24 SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE

SINCE 1897.

When Lydia Moss Bradley founded Bradley Polytechnic Institute in 1897, she envisioned a place that would provide professional training for the modern world, balanced with a liberal arts education. Today, 125 years later, we lead with her legacy as we educate students to fulfill that vision, cultivating individual minds for the good of all. Not just for the good of Peoria, but for the benefit of humankind.

Learn more at bradley.edu/125

SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 25

C O V E R S T O R Y

THE TURNERS BEHIND THE TURNER CENTER Bob and Carolyn Turner share their good fortune to tip the dominoes in Peoria’s economic favor

BY MIKE BAILEY

W ere it not for a certain couple, there might not be a Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University. Were it not for the Turner Center, theremight have been 32,000 fewer jobs retained and created in central Illinois over the last two decades, 700 fewer business start-ups, some $4.5 billion less in government contracts, another $84 million less in private equity investment, and fewer opportunities for 4,500 BU students working on nearly 900 community-based programs. It’s funny how the dominoes fall in making a community a better place. So, who exactly are these Turners behind Bradley’s Turner Center? Bob and Carolyn Turner are Illinois natives, the parents of four (one a BU grad), the grandparents of seven—soon to be eight. They nowreside in Savannah, Georgia, enjoying the life afforded them by very successful careers. They’re also among the top donors to Bradley University in its 125-year history, having given some $7.5 million. They are partners in every sense of the word, and though Carolynmatriculated

homemaker when they were young. “It was kind of a bubble but a comfortable bubble” for Bob and his two siblings, Mark and Susan. “You were very insulated to the outside world, other than we’d go to Peoria on Sundays and shop or have a meal.” Carolyn Witruk, meanwhile, was growing up in Chicago’s western suburbs – specifically, Elmhurst – also the eldest of three children, the daughter of a union mechanic. At the U of I, she’d learn the skills necessary to teach the deaf in Chicago’s Public Schools. For Bob, a first

The Turner family

at the University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana, their fingerprints are all over the Hilltop, including Bradley’s pioneering Business and Engineering Convergence Center. The two of themwere recognizedwith the President’s Award in 2010, and Caro lyn is an honorary alum. Bob is a former chairman of BU’s Board of Trustees. The latter’s story began in nearby Yates City, then a community of fewer than 900 people where Bob and his brother “literally must have mowed every yard.” His father, Bob, was a union pipefitter, his mother, Janet, a

generation college student, “Bradley was the opening to a much broader perspective.” When he graduated in 1977, however, “I’d just turned 21 and

the only thing I’d learned from an accounting degree was that I didn’t want to be an accountant.” He had an offer in the tax department at Commonwealth Edison, but “if there’s a hell on Earth, it’s the tax department.”

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Salvation came in the form of an opening in Bradley’s MBA program. “(BU Professor) John Wholihan threw me the lifeline that inmymind changed the trajectory of my career,” Bob said. “That’s why I’ve always been indebted to Bradley.” Wholihan and other Bradley mentors, notably economics professor Kal Goldberg – “To sit in his class was almost like going to stand-up comedy … He was just so sincere and generous with his time” – made all the difference in the world, at a BU known then and now for the strong bonds encouraged between students and staff. “I really enjoyed U of I but I always envied Bob for how personal his college experience was,” noted Carolyn. A bit of serendipity – those dominoes again – brought the Turners together. Bob had taken a job with Arthur Andersen — where fellow central Illinoisan and BU grad George Shaheen was a partner and made Turner his first Braves hire – when he was drawn to the reelection effort of then President Jimmy Carter. He took a leave of absence, and met Carolyn on the campaign trail. Their whirlwind romance resulted in marriage a year later with a combined $324 in their bank account and Carolyn’s 1976 Nova as her dowry, joked Bob. “Jimmy Carter lost, and we won,” he said. “And 41 years later, we’re still together,” said Carolyn. Their journey has been an adventure that first took them to North Carolina, then Pennsylvania, as Bob cultivated an interest in investing and they began building a family. “I always had an interest in investment but as great as Bradley was, there was not a direct line between Bradley and Wall Street,” Bob said. So, he’d learn the craft along the way, first at McMillion/ Eubanks and Integon in North Carolina, then at Mer idian Bank outside Philadelphia, before deciding in his mid 30s to scratch that entrepreneurial itch he’d always had. He cashed in a $22,000 IRA, which became the capital for the start-up

that would become Turner Investments where his brother would join him. “You’re either born a risk-taker, or not,” said Bob. While others were investing in AT&T and its safe 5 percent yield, he was taking a chance on newly formed Cisco. “I was always the perpetual optimist,” if also “just incredibly naïve,” said Bob. “Ninety percent of early-stage companies fail, not because of a lack of a good idea, but because of a lack of capital or the ability to get the right people involved. There was a lot of good fortune … but you’ve heard the expression, ‘the harder I work, the luckier I become.’ I worked really, really hard.” Ultimately, Turner became chairman and chief investment officer at the firm bearing his name and managed $30 billion in assets. By the turn of the century, Turner Investments was highly successful and Turner called his almamater, specifically BU Vice President and CFO Gary Anna, and later President John Brazil. “I said, ‘Listen, I’ve always wanted to give back to Bradley. I feel like Bradley really prepared me,’” said Bob. “They could have asked me to give money to a basketball arena. I would have been perfectly fine with that,” he said. Instead, what he heard was, “We’d really like to start this center for entrepreneurship. “I give them tons of credit for having the vision that Peoria needed something like this. Here we are, 22 years later,” and the Turner Center has become everything he hoped, said Bob, who is quick to credit Director Jim Foley and others for making it so. More dominoes. Today, the Turners are enjoying the perks of semi-retirement, traveling between their children's homes and elsewhere while Bob stays busy as an ordained minister. They’re back in Peoria four times a year to visit family – his mother and sister l ive in Elmwood – while Bob has served on the boards of Luke Haverhals’ Natural Fiber Welding and Seshadri Guha’s Tada. He’s aware of the economic bruises central Illinois has absorbed,

but is impressed by what he sees now. “The great thing about Peoria – and I think it’s the Midwest culture – is that everybody wants everybody else to succeed. On the East Coast, that’s not necessarily the case,” Bob said. “Everybody acknowledges that the next Google probably is not going to come from Peoria, but there are so many opportunities, particularly in ag tech … It’s just encouraging to see what is happening there.” The Turners played no small role. “Bob and Carolyn Turner have been major difference makers in the history of Bradley University and by extension the Peoria area,” said Doug Stewart, a retired Peoria banker who followed Turner as Bradley Board chairman. He described them as “visionaries … always thinking about the future and how Bradley could both sustain herself and gain a competitive edge.” Added current trustee and Federal Judge Jim Shadid: “The well-regarded Turner School is a very visible asset … Bradley, and Peoria, are the fortunate, and grateful, recipients of Bob and Carolyn’s commitment … in producing the leaders of tomorrow.” To all that, the Turners just say, “We’ve really been blessed … The more one gives, the more one receives.” For Bob, it’s simple: “For Bradley to succeed, Peoria has to succeed. And for Peoria to succeed, Bradley has to succeed, as well.” ‘YOU'RE EITHER BORN A RISK-TAKER, OR NOT‘ — Bob Turner

Mike Bailey is editor in chief of Peoria Magazine

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