Highland Around Town — Feb. 2 edition
Noon Wednesday, Feb. 2, is the deadline to appear in next week’s “Around Town” listing. We must receive your event in writing with a contact phone number for questions. Due to the number of submissions, events may run only one time in print, will be edited and appear in the week before the event date.
Email: lifestyle@bnd.com. Mail to: Highland News Leader Around Town, Belleville News-Democrat, P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427. Questions, call Jennifer Green at 618-239-2643.
Thursday, Feb. 3
▪ National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) — 7-8:30 p.m. Online via Zoom. Virtual support meetings for family members and other caregivers of individuals with mental illness. Meetings are peer-led and rely on the knowledge and experiences of the group to help one another. Registration is required in order to receive the link to these meetings. For more information or to register, contact Pat Rudloff at silverlining6@charter.net.
Friday, Feb. 4
▪ Book Sale — 9 a.m. to noon. Tri Township Library, 209 S. Main St., Troy. Book donations accepted during the book sale and on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library. During inclement weather, if the Triad Unit 2 School District is closed on the day of the sale, it will be canceled. 618-667-2133.
▪ Saint Louis Zoo Job Fair — 9 a.m. to noon. The Living World, North Entrance, St. Louis Zoo, 1 Government Drive, St. Louis. For those interested in part-time work at the Zoo. In addition to spring, summer and fall employees, the Zoo also is seeking applicants who have immediate availability this winter. Energetic, responsible and service-oriented individuals are needed for part-time positions, including engineers and conductors for the Zooline Railroad, catering and food service personnel, groundskeepers, gardeners, retail and parking lot attendants, and more. Flexible weekday and weekend positions are available for ages 15 (work permit required at time of hire) and up. For more information: 314-646-4816 or stlzoo.org/employment.
▪ Highland Fish Fry — 4-7 p.m. VFW Post 5694, 1900 VFW Road, Highland. Fish, chicken, shrimp, sides. Carryout and limited indoor dining. Masks required for customers going through the serving line. No call-in orders. facebook.com/vfwpost5694
▪ Friends of Highland Area Scouts 8th annual ‘Know It All Trivia’ — 7 p.m. Knights of Columbus Hall, 12454 Illinois 243, Highland. Check-in begins at 5:30 p.m. Prizes for top three teams. Silent auction and raffles. Cost: $100 per table donation, eight players per table. Snacks welcome. Drinks can be purchased at the KC Hall bar. No coolers or outside beverages. To register: Tricia 618-593-1778 or mrs.stodd05@gmail.com; Sheryl 618-791-3154 or sheryl.hess3@hotmail.com.
Saturday, Feb. 5
▪ ImpactLife Blood Drive — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Highland Fire Department, 1122 Broadway, Highland. Appointments are required. 800-747-5401 or bloodcenterimpact.org.
▪ Caritas Family Solutions 9th annual Heart & Soul Gala — 6 p.m. Virtual event. The gala serves as the nonprofit’s largest fundraising event, supporting its mission of strengthening the social and emotional well-being of individuals and families in order to create healthy relationships, loving homes, and strong communities. The agency’s services include foster care, pregnancy care for women experiencing homelessness, adoption, counseling and independent living for adults with disabilities among other service lines. Free and open to the public. Register online: caritasfamilysolutions.org/gala
Saturday, Feb. 5, & Sunday, Feb. 6
▪ St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: Chan Conducts Tchaikovsky — 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis. Conductor Elim Chan makes her SLSO debut with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony, celebrating the folksong of Ukraine. Tan Dun’s percussion concerto captures the threat, sadness, and resolve of humanity in the face of natural crises. In celebration of Lunar New Year, traditional dress is encouraged, not required. slso.org
Tuesday, Feb. 8
▪ ‘Cram the Car’ Food Drive — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital, main entrance area, 12866 Troxler Ave., Highland. In recognition of February being National Canned Food Month, HSHS Home Care Illinois is holding their annual “Cram the Car” food drive this month for the Highland Area Christian Services Ministry food pantry to help those struggling with food insecurity. Accepting non-perishable items. 217-685-0702 or Valerie.Engelbart@hshs.org.
▪ Parents of Addicted Loved Ones — 7-8:30 p.m. Online via Zoom. The PAL group provides education, support and hope to family members and loved ones of someone who has an addiction of substance use disorder. If you would like to join the teleconference, please call/text 618-567-6095 or email craigloddeke@yahoo.com. palgroup.org
Thursdays, Feb. 17 through March 17
▪ Art of Soul! Hands-On Artistic Fun for All! — 7-9 p.m. EvUCC, 2520 Poplar St., Highland. The Highland Arts Council presents its seventh Art of Soul, a workshop of artistic fun for ages 14 to 103. Each workshop highlights a different art. Art of Soul costs $40 which includes the entire FIVE session experience and most materials! (If you attend the ukulele class, there is a $20 rental fee. If you’d like to purchase the ukulele after the class, it is $20 more.) For session information or to register: highlandartscouncil.org/art-of-soul or call 618-558-0054.
Friday, Feb. 18
▪ 2022 Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge — 6 p.m. Collinsville Veterans of Foreign Wars, 1234 Vandalia, Collinsville. This winter, the metro-east community is invited to be bold and get cold by taking the Polar Plunge in Collinsville to support Special Olympics Illinois athletes. To register: bit.ly/CollinsvillePlunge. For information: Justin Dunning, at jdunning@soill.org or call 618-248-8558. More information is available at plungeillinois.com.
Illinois Sheriffs’ Association Scholarship
The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association announces that it will be awarding over $58,000.00 in college scholarships throughout the State of Illinois to students wishing to pursue higher education during the 2022-23 academic year. The scholarships are to be applied to tuition, books, and fees only. The student must be enrolled full-time at a certified institution of higher learning within the State of Illinois.
Sheriff John D. Lakin, Madison County, will be awarding two scholarships in the amount of $500.
There will be no restriction on any applicant by reason of race, age, creed, color, sex or national origin. The only limitations are as follows:
applicants must be a permanent Illinois resident
scholarships must be utilized at institutions of higher learning within the State of Illinois
students must be enrolled as a full-time student during the 2022-23 year (excluding summer session).
Applications are now available at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, 405 Randle St., Edwardsville, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, or online at ilsheriff.org.
Students must complete the application, answer the essay question, and return all documentation to the sheriffs office in their permanent county of residence by Tuesday, March 15. (must be postmarked by this date). A directory of sheriffs offices is available on the Illinois Sheriffs Association website.
Poettker Construction Achieves big Growth in 2021
Poettker Construction, an award-winning family-owned construction company, closed out the 2021 calendar year with tremendous employee, financial and market sector growth across the company.
After a difficult year navigating through the pandemic, Poettker grew its employee base by 18% with new hires and promotions across every department and level — from leadership, preconstruction, and project management positions to field supervision, safety, and quality control roles.
Following the sudden passing of the company’s founder and CEO, Charles “Chuck” Poettker in July 2021, the company expedited its strategic succession plan and restructured its executive leadership team, naming Keith Poettker as chairman and CEO, Ryan Poettker as president, Kimberly Luitjohan as executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Jonathon Carroll as executive vice president and chief operations officer.
Six employees were also promoted to vice president positions including: Philip Pingsterhaus, VP of finance; Tracy Millard, VP of human resources; Eric Kraeger, VP of information technology; Kevin Poettker, VP of business development; Corey Noder, VP of risk management; and Walker Gusewelle, VP of project management.
“What a tremendous and challenging year to end on such a high note for our company,” said Keith Poettker, chairman and CEO of Poettker Construction. “Heading into a new year, I’m humbled and privileged to continue my father’s legacy of building relationships on unparalleled service, quality of work, and safety for its people and business partners.”
Poettker continues to be a Best Place to Work, national best in class business, and a top contractor in the Midwest and Southeast. The company ranked as one of the top 10 construction firms in the St. Louis area and was recognized nationally as an ENR Top 400 Contractor for the first time by Engineering News-Record.
Poettker also had a very strong year in the education, multi-family, and retail markets. The company completed a mixture of new construction, renovations, and additions for five schools; broke ground on the new 92-unit Revela Senior Living facility in O’Fallon; and enhanced online shopping and grocery pickup services at 47 facilities for multiple major retail chains.
Poettker also supported over 35 non-profit organizations through philanthropic partnerships, advocacy, fundraising, and volunteering initiatives in 2021.
Following a 2020 hiatus on its annual golf classic benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois, Poettker held the event in 2021 and raised a record-breaking $37,000 in donations. Since 2017, the Poettker golf classic has raised close to $175,000 for BBBS’ mission. To close out the event, BBBS awarded Poettker with a Big Defenders award for making a significant impact on the organization’s mission.
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 12:00 AM.