Ted Macon of Farmers State Bank of Hoffman served as the Keynote Speaker of the “Love Our Community” Annual Banquet.

Macon currently serves the bank and Executive Vice President and will assume the role of President and CEO later this month. Macon is also a member of numerous local boards, including the Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School Foundation, Community Link in Breese, Illinois Bankers Association, and Kaskaskia College Foundation. Macon also serves as pastor at Holy Garden of Brayer Church in Carlyle.

Taking the podium at the opening of the banquet, Macon said:

“My name is Ted Macon. I am the Executive Vice President of Farmers State Bank of Hoffman, and with banks located in Hoffman, Central City and Hoyleton, I believe we have a good perspective of what it means to truly be a community. Because while those communities may be separate municipalities, I get a firsthand glimpse of how each town is interwoven into what I see as a microcosm of this great country that we all call home.

I see the manufacturing and commercial sectors in Centralia and Salem, and I see the rural economies of Hoffman and Hoyleton and Irvington and all of these different sectors how they truly depend on each other and really are what make this area proud. Business in Centralia and Salem depend on customers that live in Hoffman and Iuka, Irvington and Sandoval, Central City and Hoyleton the same way the businesses in those communities depend on customers that live in Centralia. And not only the customers, but the communities themselves depend on the city of Centralia for vital services that they can then deliver to their residents.

When we all work together, I believe that is what truly inspires progress and inspires connections. It forces us to acknowledge that all of our community, while separate, are irrevocably interwoven and interdependent on each other. Just the simple fact that our community realizes this and embraces it, makes me love my community even more.

I have lived in this area my entire life. I was born here, raised here, I work here. My wife and I have chosen to start and raise our family here. And lord willing, I plan to die right here in this area. ANd there is one thing that I have noticed throughout my entire life. When it comes to people who talk about this area, especially when they talk about the city of Centralia, and that is so often, I hear people talk aobut the “good old days” and how Centralia was.

I’ll tell you what I see. I see a revival in this community. I see people stepping in executive and managerial roles in both the public and the private sector. As well as people opening businesses that whole-heartedly believe in this community. When I look around this room, I see professionals that understand that loving your community is far more than just a sentiment, it’s an action.

I have seen the plans on Facebook that the Cooneys have unveiled for their downtown space. I have seen what is going on at the Green Grill building. I have an up-close view of the investments being made right here at Kaskaskia College to improve students’ access to programs and obtain state-of-the art equipment. Serving on the college foundation board and my wife being a faculty member at Kaskaskia, I see George, who goes out and fights for any loose nickel he can find in Washington and in Springfield. I see up close the effort of the faculty members here to provide quality education. All that energy that they use with just one pull, and that is to provide a knowledgable and well trained workforce for all of you in this room. That you have acccess to well trained workers, and that’s what allows this community to thrive.

And that’s just a couple of examples of what I see. There are numerous others. There are businesses being built and opened. There are people who are literally putting their money where their mouth is to make this community better. The way I see it, every new business that opens is a new product or a new service that was previously unavailable in this area. And when you add to that that then makes this community a better place to live.

I, probably like all of you have friends that I grew up with, that I went to school with, that moved out of this area looking for more and better opportunities. But I see opportunity all around us. But I realize though that seeing opportunity isn’t enough. More importantly, the people in this room not only see opportunity, but you seized opportunity and have capitalized on it and are using it to create more and greater opportunities for to others. To me, that is the definition of loving your community and the people in it.

I’ll close with this - My wife will tell you that I love the show The Office. I literally watch it every night, because its on one channel somewhere every evening. I love that show, The Office. I think it’s hilarious, and I have seen all of the episodes several times. But in the very last episode of that show, the character Andy Bernard, who is played by Ed Helms, he has a line that says, ‘I wish there was a way to know that you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.’ Well, I truly believe, with what’s happening right now in this city and in our communities, that these will one day be referred to as “the good old days”.

So to close, I would encourage all of you to just keep doing what you’re doing. Keep working together, keep collaborating, keep investing, keep hiring, and mentoring. Really show the world what is possible when a community loves itself enough to dream big. Thank you.