Junior Achievement Board of Directors & Staff

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Cody began his career in retail with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 1995 while attending Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Cody has spent the previous eleven years in various managerial positions within Wal-Mart. In 2003 Cody relocated to Lincoln, IL as General Manager of the Lincoln Wal-Mart. Prior to moving to Lincoln, Cody operated facilities in Monett, MO and Fayetteville, AR.

Cody serves on the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army, is a member of the Steering Committee for the Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival, coaches youth baseball, and is Treasurer of the Lincoln Logan County Chamber of Commerce.

Cody and his wife, Sara, live in Lincoln, Illinois, with their two sons Coleman and Cooper.

PSC

Toner graduated Cum Laude from Bradley University in 1989. He then started his career with IBM as a Sales Representative. He continued his IT and Consulting career with New Resources in 1996. At NRC, he was promoted to Management then was part of the PSC Group acquisition in 2001 where he took over as Vice President. Toner currently leads the downstate IL operations which includes St. Louis and is the 6 Sigma Deployment champion for his organization.

Toner has been involved with JA since 1992 as a classroom consultant as well as a Board Member. JA awarded Toner the Louis B. Neumiller Founder's Award and Peoria's business community gave him the distinction of a "40 under 40" Leader in 2002.

He and his wife Suzie have two girls and reside in Peoria. In his spare time he enjoys working out and playing music with his band Those3Guys. They perform locally and for charity events.

Farnsworth Group

Gary joined Farnsworth Group, Inc. in 2001 and is Section Leader of the Peoria Municipal Section, Peoria Center Manager and oversees the management of the Water/Wastewater Section in the Denver office. He has over 20 years experience working with government and private entities in the area of infrastructure planning, design and construction, working on projects in 25 states, from Hawaii to New York. Gary currently has client and project responsibilities for more than 15 government and private clients in the central Illinois area. Gary has overseen the growth of the Peoria Center from 20 employees in 2001 to over 50 in 2007 with more growth anticipated.

Prior to joining Farnsworth Group, Inc., Gary spent 15 years with Environmental Science & Engineering, Inc. (now MACTEC). His last position there was Associate Vice President and Water/Wastewater Group Leader with responsibilities in over 25 offices nationwide. During that time, Gary initiated the design-build efforts of the company in the areas of infrastructure improvement projects and grew the water/wastewater services sector from less than a $1 million a year to over $10 million per year.

Gary and Lisa have been married for 27 years. Lisa teaches 3rd grade in Lewistown, Megan is a freshman at Monmouth College majoring in Education and Nathan is a freshman at Lewistown High School.

Junior Achievement of Central Illinois

Jill is a graduate of Illinois State University where she majored in education. Since graduating from ISU, Jill has focused her career path on education. She has been a 7th/8th grade Literature teacher, substitute teacher with District 87 and Unit 5 school districts and a training consultant at State Farm Insurance.

Jill joined Junior Achievement in January 2007 as the Education Coordinator. As an Education Coordinator, she is responsible for coordinating JA in classrooms in McLean County and Logan County, and also for recruiting new JA classroom consultants. Jill is also a member of the Normal Rotary.

Jill currently resides in Bloomington with her husband, Carl, and two children, Allison and Kyle. She seeks to be involved in her children's activities and is an avid reader.

Illinois American Water

Dean is responsible for the water distribution operations in Peoria, Pekin, and Lincoln Illinois. He came to Peoria in 2005, after leading utilities in Wisconsin and Illinois.

He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a B.S. and Masters Degrees in biology. He has been Past President of the Lions Club, his church, as well as district and state professional organizations. He is currently a member of Downtown Rotary.

He resides in Peoria, with his wife Susan and pet lab. His children are living in Wisconsin and Colorado. In his spare time, he enjoys snowboarding and motorcycle racing.

OSF Healthcare System

Jim is responsible for the development and execution of OSF HealthCare system-wide marketing, communications plans, and activities. He directs the efforts of system-wide partners, i.e., advertising agencies, database marketing firms, and a patient satisfaction company to ensure optimum utilization of marketing-related dollars for the system and the individual entities (including six hospitals and one nursing home, 80 physician offices and a health insurance company). Jim oversees an accumulated annual budget exceeding $5 million.

Jim enjoys running, basketball, coaching youth soccer, and teaching courses in Healthcare Planning & Marketing, Healthcare Economics, and Methods of Research for the School of Graduate Studies of the University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Illinois. He and his wife of 30+ years, Sharie, have four children.

McGladrey & Pullen

Thomas M. Farrell is a Partner in the Central Midwest Economic Unit of McGladrey & Pullen LLP. He has 20 years of experience in our Peoria, Springfield, and Galesburg, IL offices. He was promoted to Partner in 2003 and currently holds the leadership position of Financial Institutions Practice Leader for the Central Midwest Economic Unit which consists of offices in St. Louis, Springfield, Champaign, Peoria, and Galesburg.

Tom's current responsibilities include a concentration in providing audit, accounting, tax, and consulting services to financial institutions. Tom also has significant experience providing similar services to manufacturers, wholesale/distributors, retailers, and transportation companies. Additionally, Tom serves annually on McGladrey & Pullen LLP's audit and accounting internal inspection team which performs quality control reviews of approximately 100 offices.

Tom has been recognized as a Financial Institutions Specialist and a concurring reviewer by McGladrey & Pullen LLP's National Office of Audit and Accounting.

State Farm Bank

Jennifer joined State Farm Insurance in 1992 after graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University with a BA in Accounting. She began her career in Accounting, but branched out to many other areas and leadership roles in the State Farm organization. Some of these include opening the Customer Response Centers, helping establish an integrated financial services sales support resource for Agents, and gaining experience within Life Insurance Operations. Jennifer currently serves as Bank Operations Manager where she oversees Deposit Account Operations. Additional academic accomplishments for Jennifer include earning the Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriting, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Chartered Life Underwriter designations.

Jennifer and her husband, Eric, live in Bloomington with their son Jake. They are members of Resurrection Lutheran Church and enjoy being involved in many activities there. Jennifer was a member of the 2007 Leadership McLean County graduating class and, in her spare time, she enjoys traveling to Minnesota to see family, running and reading.

National City Bank

Aimee graduated Summa Cum Laude from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing in 2002. During her tenure at ISU, Aimee was named the Most Outstanding Senior in Marketing in the College of Business. Aimee began her career with National City Bank in the Retail Development Program. During this time, she has worn several hats within the retail bank. Aimee currently is the Assistant Vice President and Licensed Financial Specialist of the Hershey Road branch in Bloomington. She currently holds Series 6 and 63 investment licenses as well as Illinois Life and Health insurance licenses. Most of Aimee's time is spent working with small business owners and investment clients, offering personalized solutions to meet their needs.

Aimee began her involvement with JA as a classroom consultant and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors.

Aimee currently resides in Normal. In her spare time, she enjoys working out, playing soccer and tennis, cheering on the Green Bay Packers, and loves to spoil her dog, Bailey.

Princeville State Bank

Todd began his banking career 14 years ago after receiving his B.S. in Business Finance from Southern Illinois University. In this time he has held a number of different position on both the retail and commercial side of banking. He currently works as a Business Relationship Manager at Princeville State Bank at the location near the Shoppes of Grand Prairie. This position allows him the opportunity to work and assist local businesses with their banking needs.

Todd has kept active with community involvement by volunteering for groups, such as, the Peoria Alternative High School, the Rebuild Together Foundation (Christmas in April), the Boy Scouts of America W.D. Boyce Council, Easter Seals, and serving on the board for JA.

Todd enjoys almost all outdoor activities with emphasis on golfing and fishing. His black lab (Ruby "Tuesday") is normally by his side during most of these occations. During his vacation you might find him at places like Myrtle Beach, N.C. (golf) or Kentucky Lake (fish).

RLI

Mr. Kennedy is Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of RLI Corp. (NYSE: RLI) and its subsidiary insurance companies. The RLI Group, based in Peoria, Illinois, includes specialty insurance companies offering a diversified portfolio of property and casualty coverages and surety bonds, operating in all 50 states from 23 office locations including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Boston and Hawaii.

Mr. Kennedy has over 17 years of in-depth legal experience, including corporate, litigation and regulatory matters with RLI and prior to that his private practice specialized in securities, mergers/acquisitions and corporate governance/compliance in various fields including the financial services. Before joining RLI, he was a partner at Hunton & Williams LLP in Atlanta, Georgia, where he represented public and private companies in a variety of financial services and other industries. Mr. Kennedy has published articles and been a speaker on various corporate law topics.

Mr. Kennedy holds a B.B.A. from Western Michigan University (1986) and a J.D. from Wake Forest University Law School (1990), and lives with his wife and three children in Peoria, Illinois.

Simantel

Susie joined Simantel in 1981, immediately after earning her Bachelor of Science degree in mass communications and graphics from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. As Simantel grew, she mastered several job positions, including Creative Director, Account Supervisor and Vice President. Susie is strong on strategy, a big picture thinker and full of creative ideas. Her work has earned hundreds of local, regional and national awards for Simantel. In 2003, Susie and another long-time employee, Kevin McConaghy, purchased Simantel.

Susie has been successful in the development and implementation of integrated programs for a wide variety of Simantel clients over the last 25 years. In 2004, Susie and Kevin were awarded Small Business of the Year Award, and recognized by local peers with an Award of Excellence. Susie has also been an adjunct teacher at the Bradley University Communications College.

Susie lives in Peoria with her husband, Mark, and their three kids, Andrew, Erin and Molly.

U.S. Bank

Tom is a Vice-President at US Bank working in the Bloomington-Normal market. Primary responsibilities will include growing the bank's presence in the business services division, with emphasis on generating new business loan and deposit relationships.

Academic accomplishments include a BA in Business Management from the University of Illinois - Springfield and graduation from the National Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma.

Besides serving on the JA board, Tom also serves on the board at West Lincoln-Broadwell School District 92 and the board for Normal Rotary Club. He is a past president of: Lincoln-Logan Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Lincoln, Inc. and Lincoln Kiwanis. He also served as chairman of the board for Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, was a board member for the Lincoln Area YMCA.

Komatsu America Corp, Peoria Manufacturing Operations

As a mother plant, Komastu's Peoria facility designs, manufactures, sells, distributes and supports large off highway dump trucks used in open pit mining world wide. Jim began his career with Komatsu, PMO more than 20 years ago. He has held positions of increasing responsibility in Purchasing, Industrial Engineering, Production / Inventory Control Management and Operations Management. As Project Manager he is currently responsible for organizing and directing activities to improve and enhance the performance of the manufacturing operation and supports the office of the General Manager, Manufacturing as his chief of staff.

He earned his BA in Business Management from the University of Illinois- Springfield (1989) and his EMBA in leadership from Bradley University's Foster College of Business (2005).

Jim enjoys basketball, music, golf and working around the house. He and his wife Suzy reside in northwest Peoria and have five children. They are active members of St. Vincent DePaul Roman Catholic Church.

Accenture

Brian graduated from Marquette University in 1988 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career in Milwaukee with Accenture (then Andersen Consulting) in January of 1989 where he has spent the majority of his time serving automotive and industrial manufacturing clients. He was promoted to Partner in September of 2000. Brian currently has responsibility for Accenture's business in Peoria.

While in Milwaukee, Brian served on the Board of Directors for COA Youth and Family Services, an inner city educational and social program organization. He and his wife Kris moved to Peoria in 2006.

Brian and Kris met in kindergarten almost 40 years ago and have been married for 19 years. They have twin 4 year old daughters, Eden and Alaina. In their spare time they enjoy boating, golfing and spending time with their family.

National City Bank

Bob began his banking career in the Chicago Loop with The Northern Trust Bank in 1976 and was with them for thirteen years. He then spent twelve years in the suburbs with The First National Bank of Chicago that ultimately became J. P. Morgan Chase. He has been managing the Metro Centre branch of National City since March, 2004. During his career, he has held numerous staff and line positions.

Bob graduated from DePaul University in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. He has been involved in many civic and charitable groups including acting as the President and Treasurer of The Antioch Chamber of Commerce, Antioch Lions Club and, St Mary of Woodstock Parish Council. He was also the Regional Coach Administrator of The Woodstock American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). He is currently on the Peoria Chamber of Commerce, Business Advocacy Committee and active at the Holy Family Catholic Church and their grade school basketball and soccer coach.

Bob resides in Peoria with his wife of more than thirty years, Judi, and they have five children with Therese being the only one remaining at home.

Caterpillar Inc.

Ned works as Senior Business Resource Manager in Caterpillar's Global Finance and Strategic Support Division. He earned his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign and is a CPA. Prior to joining Caterpillar in 1990, Ned worked at Price Waterhouse in Peoria.

Since joining Caterpillar, Ned has held a variety of financial positions, including several positions in Caterpillar's European operations in the UK, Switzerland and Belgium as well as serving as Director of Internal Audit. Ned is a classroom consultant and also served as Secretary-Treasurer of JA in Peoria prior to going overseas.

Ned, his wife Dee Dee and their two daughters live in Peoria.

Afni Insurance Services

Palumbo's career in insurance started in 1978. He joined Progressive Insurance upon graduation from Denver University. During his tenure with Progressive, he received his MBA from Regis University. After 17 years of various positions in management, Palumbo left to become part of a start up property casualty company, Affinity Insurance Group. He held the position of Sr. VP of Claims. From 2001 to 2003, he held the position of Western Regional Manager with Unitrin Insurance Company based in San Diego. He moved from California in February 2005, after 18 months with Professional Claims Services, where he was the COO.

As Director of Business Development, Palumbo is responsible for the profitable growth of Afni's Insurance Services.

Joe and his wife Jerri have one son. They live in Bloomington. In his spare time, he enjoys coaching his son in junior golf and soccer. Current community service include board membership for Katie School of Insurance and Financial Services and volunteer work at East View Christian Church.

Caterpillar Inc.

Bob is employed by Caterpillar, where he is responsible for the worldwide deployment of IT asset management processes and systems. During his 24 year career with Caterpillar, he has held positions in Accounting, Manufacturing and Information Technology. Prior to his current position, he was IT manager for Cat Ag Products Inc., where he was responsible for the implementation of an ERP system and startup of two Joint Ventures.

Before beginning work at Caterpillar, Bob graduated cum laude from Purdue University with a BS in Industrial Engineering. In 1986, he earned his MS in Business Management from Aurora University.

Bob enjoys golfing, bowling, working around the house, and coaching his daughters' soccer teams. He is currently president of his homeowner's association and has served as an officer on two other homeowner's associations, been a member of his daughter's school board, president of the school's Home and School (PTA) association and co-chair of his church's capital campaign. He, his wife Lisa and two teenage daughters currently reside in Dunlap and have previously lived in north and northwest Peoria.

Simantel

Rick Richardson is the Chief Operating Officer of Simantel. He joined the firm in 2007.

Rick graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1989 with a degree in finance. He joined Arthur Andersen in Chicago as an auditor and then worked in a number of progressive finance positions in the investment management industry, with Stein Roe & Farnham and Phoenix Duff & Phelps, the latter as Controller. He completed his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1995. In 1997, he joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a management consultant and relocated to Peoria. Rick then spent five years as the VP of Finance for Kathryn Beich, Inc. in Bloomington, helping to lead the transition of the school fundraising business from Nestle USA to private equity investors. Most recently, he led the business and financial operations of Clifton Gunderson LLP, the nation's 13th largest public accounting firm.

Rick lives in Peoria with his wife, Kara, and their two children.

In addition to serving on the board of JA, currently as Chairman, Rick is a member of the Illinois CPA Society, the AICPA and has served on the Finance Committee of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Peoria.

Caterpillar Inc.

Ed Scott has had responsibility for Caterpillar internal auditing and the Office of Business Practices.

Ed began his career with Caterpillar Inc. as a Finance Analyst in Corporate Treasury in 1981. He held several finance positions at Caterpillar until he joined Caterpillar Financial in 1986 as Assistant Credit Manager in Baltimore. Ed moved to Santiago, Chile to become Finance Representative for the Southern South America District Office of Caterpillar Americas in 1987. He returned to the Peoria in 1990 where he was Foreign Exchange Administrator in Corporate Treasury and later Treasurer for Solar Turbines in San Diego, California. Ed relocated to Nashville in 1996 to become Treasurer of Caterpillar Financial and in 2002, was appointed Vice President of Cat Financial with responsibility for Marine and Latin American retail finance operations as well as worldwide cross border transactions. Ed was named as the Executive Vice President and CFO for Financial Products Division in 2004. He relocated to Peoria to assume his current duties in April 2007.

Ed holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Marquette University and an MBA from the University of Illinois. He is former Chairman & Treasurer for the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence. Ed also previously served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee.

Ed and his wife, Karen, reside in Peoria. His two children, Ted (26) and Christopher (23), reside in Tennessee.

State Farm

Margie Southard, HIA, ALHC, is vice president operations - human resources at State Farm corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Ill.

Southard began her career with State Farm in 1984 as a health claims processor at corporate headquarters. She transferred to Frederick, Md., in 1988 as a health claims examiner and was promoted to health claims supervisor. In 1990, she became a human resources representative in the Columbia, Md., office. In 1993, she moved to Ballston Spa, N.Y., as assistant human resources manager and was promoted to manager there in 1995. She returned to corporate headquarters in 1998 as superintendent - management development and then in 2000 moved to Concordville, Penn., as an assistant division manager. She was named claim manager - property and casualty in Birmingham, Ala., in 2003 and returned to corporate headquarters as assistant vice president - diversity/human resources in 2004. She assumed her current position in 2006.

She received the Health Insurance Associate (HIA) designation in 1986 and the Associate, Life and Health Claims (ALHC) designation in 1989. Prior to joining State Farm, Margie was a speech and language pathologist in Birmingham, Ala., for 4 years. Margie received a bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

Junior Achievement of Central Illinois, Inc.

Larry is privileged to serve the growing Junior Achievement (JA) family of schools, business professionals and board members.

This local JA office has nearly tripled in classroom reach since 03-04, now reaching over 10,000 students a year. That growth makes JA of Central Illinois the fourth-fastest-growing office in America, out of 140+ coast-to-coast. The local renaissance has earned this office several local and national awards, both in and out of JA circles.

Larry graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Communication degree from Greenville College in 1993, and Penn State′s Developing Managerial Effectiveness class in 2006.

After seven years in marketing and advertising, and running his own business as well, Larry spent three years as Peoria Christian School's Business Department Head and Director of Public Relations. It was there that he learned first-hand how valuable JA is to not only the students, but also to those from the business community. He has been with JA since January 2004.

Larry was honored to be in the inaugural class of 20 Under 40 Leaders in McLean County in 2006, and also the 2006 Class of 40 Under 40 in Peoria. His active participation at Riverside Community Church includes teaching the Good $ense Financial Course and Contagious Christian classes. Larry, his wife, and their three boys reside in Peoria.