The 2022-2023 Board
Jeff Dillman
Past President
Born and raised in Decatur, Illinois, Jeff came to Masco Packaging with over 20 years in State and Federal Government. He takes satisfaction in helping his staff and customers.
He is very active in the local community, serving on boards and helping locally owned businesses. He is a proud member of the Springfield Elks Lodge, Eagles Lodge, and the TRN. Jeff recently served as the Chairman of the Ambassadors for the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and was the Ambassador of the year in 2018 and 2019.
Jeff is married to his wife Mary Beth and he enjoys relaxing in their outdoor oasis, cooking, hunting, fishing, and spending time with their boxer Otto.
Cindy Davis
President
Cindy is President and co-owner of Resource One Office, a contract office furniture dealership and design firm. Resource One employs 20 staff and provides furniture and space-planning/design services to clients in both central Illinois and across the U.S.
Resource One is a member of the National Independent Contract Dealers Council, a select group of Knoll dealers across the country who meet three times a year to discuss best practices. Resource One is a certified FBE Diversity Supplier to the State of Illinois. Resource One created and sponsored the First Annual Green Symposium for Central Illinois in 2003 and has continued for 16 years presenting this learning experience for architects, designers, and facility managers.
Cindy has been married to Larry Davis since 1975. They have a son and two daughters, two grandchildren, and love to travel, walk and cook together.
Jake Rourke
Vice President
Jake has been a producer with TROXELL since 2016. As a consultant in the insurance industry for more than 7 years, Jake focuses on home, auto and commercial insurance and Group Benefits.
Jake is a member of many organizations in the Springfield area including the American Business Club. He also recently graduated from the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce “Leadership Springfield” class.
Jake grew up in the Springfield area and attended Chatham Glenwood High School. After high school he attended Illinois State University where he was a 4 year letter winner in football and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2010.
Troy Klunick
Treasurer
Troy was born and raised in Springfield. After attending Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and working in St. Louis, he made his way back home. Troy has been a practicing CPA with a focus in taxation since 2015 and upon his return to Springfield, he has advanced his career at Eck, Schafer & Punke, LLP.
Troy is passionate about supporting local businesses and is committed to helping Springfield succeed. Along with his wife, Kelly, you can often find them walking or running with their dogs through Washington Park.
Robert Frazier
Robert Frazier serves as Operations Manager for All In One Management & Services, Inc. Robert prides himself on exceeding the customer’s expectations in any venture that he takes on. You can expect 100% transparency when working with Robert and he enjoys good old-fashioned hard work!
Stephanie McDannald
Program/Events Chair
Stephanie McDannald is the manager of Emerson, a family-owned commercial printing company in located in Divernon IL. Emerson Press opened its doors in June of 1968 and has expanded from a small offset printing operation to a full service print house offering full color printing, design, large format, promotional items and screen printing for t-shirts.
Stephanie graduated from Millikin University in 1988 with a bachelors in marketing and after working for a large printing company in St. Louis, joined Emerson Press late in 1989 to help build the business as a salesperson. Stephanie has been a part of several groups and has served on the board of Illinois Women in Leadership and Women Entrepreneurs of Central Illinois. She is also a part of Network Unlimited of Springfield and a proud member of the Divernon American Legion Auxiliary.
Stephanie has been married to Doug McDannald since 1995 and has 1 son, Colton, a teacher at Auburn High school.
Justin Knoedler
Justin joined the local first Board of Directors in 2018. A native of Springfield, Justin graduated from Springfield High School in 1998 along with his twin brother, Jason. He then went on to play baseball at Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) and Miami University (Ohio) where he studied business finance and administration.
After college, Justin pursued a career in professional baseball that spanned ten years and included stints with the San Francisco Giants, Oakland A’s, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Florida Marlins, and Los Angeles Dodgers. When his playing days came to an end, he spent seven years coaching at LLCC where he help lead two teams to the NJCAA national tournament. Justin also owns The Clubhouse, and indoor baseball and softball facility in Chatham, Illinois.
In 2017, he joined the business development team at the Bank of Springfield where he works closely with their business customers on day to day banking needs. Justin married his wife, Ann, in 2009 and they have a daughter, Makenna.
Paul Layton
Sara Linn
Sara Linn is a communications & security specialist at AmeriCall Communications here in Springfield, Illinois.
She joined the technology sector about 5 years ago, and feels that it was one of the best professional decisions of her career. The industry moves very fast and keeps her full attention with its demands. She is driven more than ever to exceed her customer’s needs and provide them with the absolute best in technology and peace of mind.
As a loving wife & mother, her life is just as rewarding and busy at home. From Friday night Auburn High School football games, to cookouts with neighbors and friends, there is never a dull moment at the Linn house! Concerts, Cardinal games, travel to Florida and finding the most unique BNB’s all over the state of Illinois are just a few other things she likes to do while relaxing.
She is very excited to be a part of Local First Springfield, and she can’t wait to meet new friends!
Paul co-owns UNDERDOG Sports and Fanfare with his wife Kelly, which they opened in late 2018. Although he was born and was raised in Belleville, about a dozen miles from Busch Stadium, he has deep roots in Springfield that originate in the 1800's, with many of his relatives being current residents of Oak Ridge and Calvary.
Paul has a checkered educational and business past that brings a wealth of experience to Local First Springfield. He holds a diverse pair of degrees with an Electrical Engineering degree from LSU along with a Benedictine Marketing MBA. He's engineered products and led development teams in Central Illinois and St. Louis for three decades before hanging it up to start a business from the ground up. Kelly says, "Don't let him fool you, he just wanted to build a bigger fan-cave than he had at the house."
At UNDERDOG Sports & Fanfare, his experiences deliver a blend of playing, coaching, engineering management and customer delight experience in Lean Startups. UNDERDOG Sports uses Lean methodologies which gets us very close to our customers while building out product lines that they want. It's all about our customer family!
Jordan Stott
Jordan is a 2004 graduate of PORTA High School in Petersburg and a 2008 graduate of Illinois College in Jacksonville.
He has 13 years of experience in the financial services industry and for the past 2 years has been leading the accounting placement division for The Specialized Recruiting Group in Springfield, IL.
Jordan, his wife Christina, and their four children live in Petersburg. He enjoys running and spending time with family and friends while supporting the local community.
Taylor Stevens
Taylor Stevens is the Client Care Manager for Synergy HomeCare here in Springfield, IL. She began this journey after spending two years as a Legislative Assistant for the State of Illinois. Synergy HomeCare had just opened their doors when Taylor joined the team. In the last three years, Taylor has helped build the Springfield office into one of the top HomeCare agencies in Springfield. The goal of Synergy is to help people of all ages stay independent in their home; wherever that may be for them.
Taylor is described as seemingly to have more hours in the day than most of us do as she not only joins organizations like the Jaycees, Marketing Senior Lifestyles, Chamber of Commerce, IWIL, Local First, Salvation Army, Local First and SCAN; but also volunteers to chair committees and takes the lead on projects. Her quest to keep building her skillset is obvious as she is a recent graduate of Leadership Springfield, a 40 under 40 Recipient and an Athena Award Nominee. Through hard work, kindness, determination, and having faith in our Lord, this single momma is determined to lead by example and show her daughter just how powerful a woman can be.
She is very excited as she strives to help continue to build Springfield and create solutions all around the community. "I'm just a small town girl with big dreams!"