ROOTED IN COMMUNITY
Our dedicated team is here to support both new and existing businesses as they embark on new ventures. Through our robust business retention program, strategic marketing, and targeted recruitment of new businesses and industries, we deliver impactful results in workforce skills development.
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As companies navigate the complexities of the global marketplace, we provide the leadership needed to address workforce skills, leverage business development incentives, form partnerships with municipal governments, and ensure robust infrastructure support. We areyour trusted guide, ensuring your business thrives in Coles County.
A CONVERSATION WITH
OUR CEO & PRESIDENT...
DR. RONDA SAUGET
,MBA
President/CEO
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
BUILT ON FOUNDATIONS
Our company is grounded in the core principles of workforce development, quality of life, and infrastructure, ensuring a thriving environment for both businesses and residents. By focusing on building a skilled workforce, we empower industries to succeed while offering individuals opportunities for growth. Our commitment to fostering a high quality of life creates a vibrant community where people can live, work, and prosper.
Infrastructure is key to the vision of sustainable development. By maintaining strong connections with local governments and ensuring access to essential resources, we provide the foundation for businesses to grow and succeed. This integrated approach combines the strength of our workforce, the quality of our community, and the reliability of our infrastructure to drive lasting progress.
ELEVATING OUR COMMUNITY, TOGETHER
Discover what makes Coles County a prime location for business and living. Explore our strengths in real estate, industry, and the economic indicators that drive success in our community.
