Coles Together EDO is a 501c6 non-profit Economic Development Organization (EDO) representing a unified voice for Coles County, Illinois. Coles Together EDO proactively markets and develops communications activities to promote the competitive advantages and resources of Coles County, thus enabling a thriving, diverse, innovative, healthy, and growing ecosystem for all business sectors enhancing community engagement, empowering citizens, and driving a high quality of life. By working together, employers bring sustainable job creation, business expansion, and longevity needed for a flourishing county. Coles County, Illinois, is a tertiary marketplace with two micro-cities, Charleston and Mattoon, and provides a perfect blend of rural agri-business communities, such as Oakland and Ashmore, consisting of over 652,000 residents within 60 miles.
Coles Together EDO proactively promotes the area through marketing and communications efforts to build positive awareness of new investment and job creation activities. The Coles Together team assists with new business attraction, retention, and expansion of firms and industry sectors, while also working with the local community on workforce retention, recruitment, training, and skills advancement needed by area employers. Coles Together supports all business activities. Coles Together administer Enterprise Zone benefits for Coles County including property tax abatement (commercial projects 3-year declining abatements 100%-75%-50% and Industrial project abatement 100% for 10 years on-site improvements), building materials sales tax exemption certificates, and waive building permits for industrial projects; and also helps administer the Community Development Corporation (CDC) gap funding at a blended rate for specific qualifying projects.
Coles Together EDO’s vision for the future is to build positive awareness and promote economic development opportunities to enhance a thriving and innovative business growth culture for current and new businesses generating sustainable job options, sustainable revenue stream, and a high quality of life for all Coles County and surrounding community residents to live, work, and raise their children. For over 38 years, Coles Together has been a Coles County convener for governmental, agency, business, industry, and other prominent stakeholders to synergistically collaborate in shaping the future. From growing the existing economic power zones, attracting new businesses, and maintain a supportive business-friendly environment; Coles Together unifies collective voices in creating a strong tomorrow for everyone in the community.
A CONVERSATION WITH
OUR CEO & PRESIDENT...
President/CEO
DR. RONDA SAUGET
Dr. Ronda Sauget, MBA, has a proven track record of working collaboratively to accomplish strategic regional objectives and simplifying complex challenges into actionable solutions. She is especially skilled in organizational growth and project development - establishing vision, setting strategic direction, enrolling key stakeholders, funding development, and translating strategy to successful action/outcomes. Dr. Sauget has led nationwide teams and community/military alliances with high impact results. She has a strong track record of working collaboratively to accomplish strategic regional objectives and simplifying complex challenges into actionable solutions.
Dr. Sauget has had a long history working in the aviation field and with the DOD, US Air Force, and US Space Command. She was instrumental in working with Illinois Private Aircraft Industry and Part 139 General Aviation Airport Directors in the planning, implementation, and passage of 2007 Fly Away and 2009 Replacement Parts Tax legislation process. This legislation enabled significant growth of the Illinois Aviation Industry and sustainable jobs with the extension of this legislation work in 2020 and 2021.
On April 13, 2024, Dr. Sauget was recruited to join Coles Together as its President & CEO. Coles Together is non-profit 501c6 economic development organization (EDO) representing a unified voice for Coles County, Illinois. The mission of Coles Together is proactively provide marketing/communications activities to promote the competitive advantages and resources of Coles County, thus enabling a thriving, diverse, innovative, and growing ecosystem for all business sectors, enhancing engagement, and empowering citizens. With strong experience in economic and community development, workforce enhancement, multi-modal transportation (river, road, rail, air, and pipeline) supply-chain logistics, infrastructure planning/development/funding and development areas.
In the role of Executive Director and CEO, Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, Dr. Sauget solidified financial stability for this high profile not-for-profit 501c 6 organization with over $1M in contingency funding development; represented nine STL Metropolitan Illinois counties, impacted over 700,000 residents (second largest population center outside of Chicago); built significant membership expansion from 130 prominent companies to 260 within 5 years with $19B in industrial revenue assets; and revitalized the prominent political capital of the Leadership Council. In 2018, Leadership Council was recognized with the St. Louis Arcus Award for the 1st time in the organization’s 40-year history as the top Economic Development Organization of the Year.
Just a few of her many accomplishments, include she advocated and received over $2.4B in multi-modal transportation infrastructure of new investments in SWIL with $222M in new funding for the Merchants Rail Bridge and $539M in multi-year IDOT funding infrastructure investments for roads, bridges, and airports. She grew the Military Affairs Committee with enhanced military engagement of 4 wings and 31 Scott Air Force Base mission partners with $3B in economic regional impact. She led the regional community in winning the prestigious Air Mobility Command Abilene Award in 2012, 2014, and 2019 in competition with 27 communities nationwide. She supported the military spouse licensure with unanimous bi-partisan support for first in the nation 2018 teacher reciprocity and 2020 expedited licensure of 110 Illinois professional licenses and led nationwide effort for multi-state military licensure reforms, enhanced strategic infrastructure planning, retention, expansion, and construction of Department of Defense Military Construction Projects infrastructure, and advocated for $300M in new base construction, including $100M Joint Use Planning Center, $41M Communication Facility, and other prominent DOD projects.
Dr. Sauget established first Illinois Government Contracts (GOVCON) collaboration enabling 24 minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses to pre-qualify for municipal, state, and federal contracting work. She served as the first honorary commander of the 375th Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command Civic Leader, and the first DOD DAF HQ Pentagon, Washington, DC, US Air Force and US Space Force Civic Leader Program from the SWIL region. She drove the creation of workforce program for business and military communities focused on STEM and technical career skills with community engagement to over 45,000 students and educators annually. For this program, she was recognized by East-West Gateway Council of Governments as a top talent development campaign. She worked on the $220M American Bottoms Levee Restoration project since 2007 and recognized as the best-of-the-best Public Private Partnership nationally by the U.S. Corps of Engineers and highlighted in the Mississippi River Commission report to President Biden.
During her tenure as an SVP and Corporate Director of Competitive Intelligence Research, Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, Inc., she created and directed the Fleishman-Hillard International Competitive Intelligence (FH CI) Research Group. The FH CI group contributed over $6.2 million in net annual sales revenue in 2003 and $6.8 million in 2004. While starting the group as a support function, the FH CI group quickly became a top profit generator for the organization and consisted of more than 100 employees and interns working in 24 countries. She provided integrated and enhanced client-based marketing and communications strategies to a large number of Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations, especially in the areas of competitive intelligence, strategic positioning, crisis support and communications, product development, and managerial strategies to C-Level Executives worldwide. The St. Louis Federal Reserve was one of the first clients, adding other government agencies that included the U.S. Treasury, U.S. Mint, U.S. Department of the Army, and Office of National Drug Control Policy. In her first position, she served as a Market Intelligence and Communications Senior Research Analyst, St. Louis 8th District Federal Reserve Bank.
Dr. Sauget has multiple college degrees – AS in Mathematics, BSBAs in Finance and Marketing, MBA, and D.MGT in Strategic Management, Competitive Intelligence, and Executive Leadership along with being recognized as a Scholar by the Midwest Academy of Management. Of her many awards and recognition, she has been recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal Most Influential Business Women’s Award, U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Award for Excellence in Communication, PR, and Community Engagement, and St. Louis “Winning Women Executives Influencing Now” Regional Economic Development Award.