Illinois Destinations Association Fall Member Meeting: Mayor's Reception at the Historic Fischer Theater

Episode Transcript
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Howard Fox (00:06):
/Hello everybody.
this is Howard Fox, host of theOutdoor Venture Series podcast,
and I am here in Danville,Illinois.
I am, Attending the conferenceof the Illinois Destinations
Association.
Now, I got down here early,toured around the city a bit, a
little walking, a littleexercise, a little food.
And now I am at the beautifulrenovated Fisher Theater in

(00:29):
downtown Danville, and I havethe pleasure of introducing to
you the Mayor of Danville.
Ricky, Williams.
Mayor, it's a pleasure to haveyou on the podcast and hear a
few words from you.
How are you doing today?

Mayor Rickey Williams (00:43):
I'm doing great, Howard.
We're so excited to have youguys here, and I just thank you
for this opportunity to tellpeople about how great Danville
is.
Fantastic.
Now I have to ask, how long haveyou been mayor of Vanil?
It'll be seven years next month.
So I was acting mayor for sixmonths before winning election
outright.
Okay.
And then I won reelection in,2023.

Howard Fox (01:03):
Fantastic.
Congratulations on that.
Thank.
Now, are you a longtime residentof the Danville

area?
Absolutely.
So my dad is from Westville, alittle town five miles south of
here.
So we lived there until themiddle of my second grade year,
and then we moved to Danville.
but I still played sports inWestville until high school, so
I consider myself both a tigerand a Viking.

Howard Fox (01:22):
Gotcha.
Now, where did, where did you goto school In, Advance, four
years college Master's.
Where'd you do, where'd you go?

Sure.
So I actually got a Bachelor ofArts, emphasis in political
science.
I kind of did pre-law atMilliken University in Decatur,
Illinois.
And then I was offered andworking towards a full
scholarship, to pursue a PhD inpolitical science, specifically
public policy and urbandevelopment down at Emory
University in Atlanta.
And about a year and a half shyof that after I had completed.

(01:52):
All of my coursework, all of myteaching requirements, and, two
outta three comprehensive exams.
I took a missions trip thatchanged my life.
long story short, I am not Dr.
Williams.
but, it's got a

Howard Fox (02:02):
ring to it though.

It does, but I, I learned a lot of great
things along the way, which I'mable to help use to, to use, to
help my people here in Danville.

Howard Fox (02:10):
Excellent.
Now, when you came back toDanville, how did you happen
upon this idea?
I'm gonna run for mayor, or I'mgonna accept this temporary
position as an interim mayor.

back when I was a senior in high school,
we had our first ever countywideyouth summit, and then I feel
like God kind of put it in mymind that I would be mayor
someday.
Fast forward, a lot of myprofessional work was, and, and
youth and, and familydevelopment.
So I learned a lot aboutmanaging people and money.
Long story short, I was on thecouncil for almost 10 years.
Our former mayor acceptedanother position.

(02:42):
State law says you have tochoose one from amongst your own
to be the acting mayor.
So then I became acting mayor,and that kind of rolled me into
this.
This eventually fulfilling whatI thought was my destiny for
over 20 years.

Howard Fox (02:55):
That is wonderful.
There, there's a saying in, inthe coaching field, what you
think about, you're bringingabout, so you have certainly
brought about that.
And I imagine you're alsobringing about right now the
renovation and the really, the,the exciting transformation of
Danville and this theater thatwe're in right now, the Fisher
Theater is, is.

(03:16):
I grew up in Detroit and we hadour own Fisher Theater, and that
was the first thing on my mindis I'm wondering, can it be as
grand as the one in Detroit?
And here I am with you in theauditorium.
This is a.
Wonderful.
example of some early Americanarchitecture and what did it
take to bring this,

Mayor Rickey William (03:37):
renovation about?
So Julius Heckler ii, he wasalso a friend, so interestingly
enough, Julius also graduatedfrom Milliken.
Go Big Blue.

Howard Fox (03:45):
Okay.
I

first met him at a reception there when I
was our homecoming king.
But, anyways.
Thanks to a very generousdonation.
We're talking millions ofdollars from Julius w Heckler.
He had his first date with hiswife here.
Okay.
She got ill and passed fromcancer some time ago.
He was here for a show andthought, man, this is in bad
shape, and he started thinkingabout his, his beautiful wife.

(04:06):
He said, I'm gonna do this onething.
That became another thing.
And then that came a full onrestoration.
So if it weren't for the lateJulius WW Second and the Heckler
Foundation, we would not bestanding in this structure.
When they got into the work,they found that the trusses were
probably six months away fromfailing.
It was that close to being gone.
So thankfully we had a patronsaying in Julius Heckler, and

(04:27):
then we had, a great carpenterthat came along and worked with
him, Paul Offit.
And, so many people donatedmoney as well and time and
effort and, The city, Danvillealmost tore this down over 20
years ago.
It was saved by one vote on thecity council.

Howard Fox (04:39):
Oh, wow.

So I thank God that they had some
courage, to, to save it, becausewe would not be standing here
right now if that, if theyhadn't.
And

Howard Fox (04:47):
I, I would imagine this theater is a.
Can be considered a crown jewel.
I mean, it's, it's a gatheringplace for many wonderful
occasions.

Oh my.
Everything from, big name actsto, acts to, we have an
incredible local theater,especially musical theater in
our community.
you also have a lot of communitymeetings here, so.
Local foundations, sponsorevents and galas here.
I mean, it really is not onlythe hub of downtown, but it's
once again becoming the hub ofthe community.
And we are trying to complimentthat.

(05:16):
in Danville we were one of theonly community downstate outside
of Chicago, Illinois.
We won a$3 million.
we.
Hometown and, downtownrestoration grant.
So a lot of the sidewalks thatyou've seen replaced.
We did a lot of sewageinfrastructure down here,
roadways and things like that.
So we are trying to do, I havean amazing team at the city and
we are working to do our part tosupport things like this.

(05:39):
I often tell people no one iscoming to save us.
It is gonna take and it, and thecity can't do everything.
I love, I love the city and Ihave an amazing team, but we
can't do it all.
The Fisher is incredible andthey have a wonderful, director
and amazing board, but theycan't do it all.
our nonprofits can't do it All.
Our businesses can't do it all.
But everyone can do something,even if it's just as simple as

(06:00):
taking care of your yard, takingcare of your home.
We all have something that wecan give that would not only
help us, but help everyone.

Howard Fox (06:06):
That's wonderful.
I'm curious, is there a.
Some El Cove, a seat, a piece ofthis theater that really just
kind of tugs at yourheartstrings and brings back
memories for you.

So you have to think when I was a kid,
this was closed.
But I'll, I'll tell you a quickstory.
So I'm actually a mixed kid,biracial.
My dad is black, my mom iswhite.
My dad told me a story when hewas young of being in eighth
grade and, He, his mom alwayssaid in, in the, they always
said in the balcony when he camehere and he thought, that's
where my grandma liked to sit.
Well, one day he came with someof his white friends and he was
told that they could not sit onthe floor, that they had to sit

(06:41):
on the balcony.
So that was a reation for him.
Also, my dad told me growing upthat I had a, my grandpa used to
do cleaning and he, he cleanedtheaters downtown, but I never
knew that it was this theaterthat he was talking about.
So.
Imagine my great surprise in2019 and, we're here for the
grand reopening and I'm sittingin the balcony and they announce
me and I'm being honored in thistheater.

(07:03):
And I look over and my dad hastears running down his eyes.
And I said, pop, what's wrong?
And he says, son, you rememberthat theater that I told you
about?
He was like, where I couldn'tsit where I wanted to.
He was like, now we're sittinghere in the balcony with you and
they're honoring my son.
He said, I, I just can't believeit.

Howard Fox (07:19):
That's so wonderful.
It's a journey, and I can onlyimagine how proud your father
was.

Mayor Rickey Willia (07:25):
Absolutely.
And I think the thing that I'mthe most proud of is that now
everyone feels welcome here.
I mean, at first they could notgive, they could not get,
especially, African Americanswho are more affluent to give to
this theater because of how theywere treated in the past.
Right now, it's a place foreveryone.
Everyone comes here, whetheryou're young or old, black or
white, rich or poor, gay orstraight Christian, Muslim, Jew,

(07:46):
or atheist.
Everyone is welcome at theFisher Theater.
Okay.
I'm

Howard Fox (07:51):
curious too, is there an event perhaps sometime
in the near future that if wecan get this, here I am.
the story is fantastic, but ifwe can get this event here and
it's just going, it's gonna belike the icing on the cake.
A particular event that we couldrecruit.

(08:11):
Yeah.

I am really excited.
They are on the verge of makingit a big announcement tomorrow,
so I can't steal their thunder.
Ah.
But I have a habit of doing

Howard Fox (08:19):
that.
I always

ask a question I can't really tell you
just yet, maybe tomorrow.
So, to make a long story short,one of the challenges that we
have is that if the, green roomsand such are below the stage
mm-hmm.
They are currently in baddisarray and not able to be used
yet.
So that hinders us.
From being able to get biggername acts and to do some bigger
production sometimes.
Well, let's just say all of thatshall be changing soon.

Howard Fox (08:41):
That is wonderful to hear.
One la couple more questions.
I know you're busy and again,thank you for hosting this
reception for us, this evening.
Where do you see this theatersay in 10 years from now?

10 years from now, I see us being the
premier place that major actswanna stop when they're cri,
when they're crisscrossing.
America being on Highway 74, weare just two hours from Chicago.
An hour and 15 minutes fromIndy.
Three hours from St.
Louis.
maybe three and a half hoursfrom Louisville, Kentucky.
So no matter where anyone isgoing to play in America, they

(09:17):
have to cross by or not too farfrom Danville.
And what I want us to be istheir stop along the way where
we get to see these big, awesomeacts.
That maybe wouldn't necessarilydo a show here, but because they
love the charm, the acoustics,because they meet such
wonderfully warm and nice peoplehere, and because it's such a
beautiful setting that they say,you know what, we'll make a
stop.
And that we, we have ourhospitality that we're known

(09:40):
for, and that, that makes themwant to come back and also tell
their friends.

Howard Fox (09:43):
Excellent.
One, another question.
I always say one last question,but there never is, you know how
that goes.
It's The, your, your work with,the city of Danville.
Tourism authority.
You've got Vermilion County,the, and you've got the
chambers.
And what's it like working withthem to help promote this city?

Well, without right now, we would not
be where we are without, ourvisitors bureau, Rhonda and
Tracy, those ladies areincredible.
They're dynamic.
They love this community, theylove our people, and as a
result, they are working hardfor us.
But it's great because, and morethan so than since I've been
back as a young professional.
What I am noticing is everyoneis working together.

(10:23):
It used to be folks got terribleto the city, wanted to keep its
stuff, and the visitors bureauof didn't wanna give any credit
to the city.
And Vermillion Advantage, theeconomic development and Chamber
of Commerce didn't work wellwith this, with this group.
But now we are all workingtogether, if everyone is rowing
in opposite directions, it'shard to get the ship, to make
any progress.
But when we're all rowingtogether, we make a big

(10:45):
difference.
And I think the theater, thevisitors bureau, And, for
million advantage combined withthe city and the county, we're
going, we're gonna keep makingprogress.

Howard Fox (10:54):
I have no doubt about that.
Final question, many listenersare gonna be hearing the, the
collection of the interviews Ido over the next couple days,
and it's an opportunity for youto, to speak to all of the
listeners, the thousands thatlisten to this podcast.
Hopefully the more, what wouldyou like to share with them

(11:15):
about why Danville?

Why Danville?
Because we have that awesomemixture of culture,
environmental, recreationalopportunities, and just charm.
The people here are kind andwelcoming.
there's lots of anything thatyou could wanna do.
You can even scuba dive in.
Danville out at Kickapoo in theold mines.
Oh boy.
We have a historic, nationallyregistered stadium.

(11:38):
We have this beautiful fishertheater.
If you are into the arts, if youare into the outdoors, if you
are into sports and recreation,if you wanna just have a good
meal and be surrounded byfriendly, warm, kind, welcoming
people, then Danville is theplace to be.

Howard Fox (11:52):
That's wonderful, and I am certainly feeling very
welcome, in the short time I'vebeen here and I'm having a, a
wonderful time, with, theTourism Authority and Tracy and
Rhonda, and I'm looking forwardto more activity.
And I really, really, from thebottom of my heart, am very
appreciative that you've takenthe time, to chat with us today,
mayor Williams.
It's been a pleasure and we wishyou, Danville, Fisher Theater

(12:14):
and whatever your other plansare.
Much success.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
This has been amazing and justwelcome to you and to everyone.

Thank you.

Howard Fox (12:28):
And we are back for another interview here at the
beautiful Fisher Theater inDanville, Illinois.
And I'm here with Ashton Greer.
She is the executive director ofthe Vermilion Heritage
Foundation.
I probably would be selling hershort, but just saying she has a
cool job, but she has a veryimportant job and it's been the
overseeing the renovation of theFisher Theater.

(12:50):
And Ashton, I would love to heara little bit about that story,
but first, tell us a little bitabout yourself.

Ashton Greer (12:56):
Well, I will say it is a really cool job.
I have three kids and every timethey come in here, they're like,
mom, your job is so cool.
And I'm always like, it is socool.
I love it.
Every day that I come in here,it just feels like I'm, I belong
here and I'm supposed to bedoing this work.
So, a little bit about me.
I've been in Danville since Iwas 18.
I love it here.
I call it my hometown.
And there's a lot of.
Haters and negative energyaround Danville, but I truly

(13:17):
believe it's a great place tolive.
I have a great quality of lifeand I love my community so much.
I have a master's degree inorganizational leadership and I
have my own leadershipconsulting company, and I also
do commercial real estatedevelopment.
So this job for me is honestly areally good combination of both
leadership and renovations andcapital improvements and
understanding how to take careof, and work, work through

(13:40):
projects on a building likethis.

Howard Fox (13:41):
Okay.
And I'm curious, with thatbackground and just with real
estate, you have, you kind ofhave your hand in a little bit
of everything and you also learnwho the right people to talk to
if I need, if you needsomething.
How did you come to be involvedwith the renovation of the
theater?

So I came on board at the Fisher Theater in
February of 2020.
So the restoration happened,that was

Howard Fox (14:05):
not the best time to come.
No.
Start a job?

No.
but I was in healthcare before.
Ah, so it was an even, a betterscenario I guess for me.
But, the Fisher Theater wasrestored in September of 2019
fully.
The restoration was complete.
We had our grand opening, andthen I started here just a few
months later.
As the operations director.
during that time, I did all theoperations of the theater,
worked with volunteers, builtthe programming, all of those

(14:28):
things.
And then I left the theater andI went to work for the mayor.
So I was the community relationsadministrator for three years
for the City of Danville.
And during that time, I wasinvited to be on the board of
Directors for the Fisher, becamethe board president.
And then when the Fisher wentthrough the transition that it
has gone through this year inleadership, I opted to step into
the interim director role tocarry it through, and now I'm

(14:49):
just here for good.
I think I've always just kind ofbeen involved from, from the
beginning and it feels very, itjust, it feels like it's
supposed to be.
I really have a lot of passionand a lot of.
The, the knowledge from allthose years being involved to
carry it forward.
So that's been really, reallycool.

Howard Fox (15:05):
Okay.
Now one thing I have to say isthe fact that your kids think
it's pretty cool what Mom doesfor a living Uhhuh and where
she, and they probably look atthis, I can go play in the
theater and I.
What has been the, your ahamoment in terms of coming into
this theater, seeing it throughonce it's been, restored and,
and helping to really make it ananchor for the community and

(15:28):
bringing.
the acts and the festivities,like we're having a, a festive,
a festivity this evening here asthe Illinois Destinations
Association kicks off theirconference.
What's it like to, to kind ofhave these events and really
showcase this theater inDanville?
Mm,

that's a great question.
I have a lot of pride in theFisher, but it doesn't belong to
me.
It doesn't belong to the boardof directors.
The Fisher was restored.
And is managed by a nonprofitbecause it really belongs to the
community.
And so when I came intoleadership here, the primary
thing that I really wanted tosee improve was our.
Friendliness in our ability toopen our doors to our community,

(16:06):
because that had been acomplaint in the past.
And I think as far as like anaha moment for me, honestly,
there's nothing like thisbuilding in Danville.
There's nothing like thisbuilding in in, in other parts
of Illinois.
it's so old, it's historic.
The architecture is incredible,the sound quality, it just
inspires me just being here andit's such, such a privilege to

(16:28):
get to be here every day,honestly.
And, As somebody who restoresold properties, the, the
commercial properties that I ownare also a hundred, a hundred
plus years old.
It just really, there'ssomething beautiful about
restoring and preserving historyand, and creating that legacy
and that longevity for ourcitizens and for future
generations.

Howard Fox (16:46):
Okay.
Where do you see the theater sayin 10 years from now?
Or what would you like to see?
Going on in this theater, thetypes of acts that are coming
here, so, or sooner.

Yeah.
So we, when the theater gotrenovated in 2019, it wasn't a
full renovation.
So we still have several areasof this building that are
unfinished, including the toptwo stories.
The basement is completelyunfinished.
and there's a few other areas aswell, like our gift shop, and
there's some other improvementsthat we need to do.
But what I see taking place overthe next, four to six years and

(17:19):
starting now as we, as we moveinto it.
I see us finishing this theater.
our board is really passionateabout that and our, our
leadership, we have a lot ofpeople that.
Have experience in grant fundingand in restoration and historic
preservation that are reallyinvolved with our, with our
organization.
So I could see us, finishingunder the stage and making green

(17:40):
rooms and dressing room space.
And we actually just got a grantfor that, a$280,000 grant.
So we're gonna be starting thatproject in 2026.
I can see us, after that, movingon to the upper two stories and
creating office spaces for otherarts organizations to have.
Space under one shared roof sothat we are sharing resources.
We can have, residency here withother arts organizations.

(18:01):
I could see us really completingthe structure and then becoming
more of an arts hub forDanville.

Howard Fox (18:08):
That was fantastic and I love that.
I love that vision.
Before we head out, question.
I'm curious if, is there, whatwould you want to say to our
listeners?
This is the Outdoor AdventureSeries podcast.
I'm here for the, IllinoisDestinations Association, their
conference, and we're gonna talkabout podcasting.
So what would you want to say toall of the listeners who are

(18:30):
gonna listen to this episodeabout why Danville and why?
And why the, Fisher Theater?

Okay.
I would say that if you aretraveling, passing through
Danville, have the opportunityto make a stop here.
It's just so rich with history.
It's, it's the home of so manyfamous stars.
It has a strong art.
presence, but I think that, notjust the Fisher Theater, but
there's a lot of quaint downtownboutiques.
And, we have Vermilion RiverBeer Company, a great place to

(19:01):
stop.
We have vineyards and breweries,and we even have an incredible,
outdoor community.
We have mountain biking trails,we have, state parks that are
just gorgeous.
So all in all, you could comehere and spend a couple of days
and have a great little getaway.

Howard Fox (19:18):
That's excellent.
Now, when your family andfriends come in from afar, and
do you, do you take'em on a tourof the, theater?

Always, always.
I give tours to this theater allthe time.
Okay.
anybody passing throughDanville, it seems like, has
heard of the Fisher Theater,especially because of the
connections to Gene Hackman andDick Van Dyke and Bobby Short
and, and others.
Many famous people have passedthrough here or been employed
here or performed here, played,played instruments here.
All of the things it seems like.

(19:46):
It is a destination.
People wanna see it, and it'sreally remarkable in here.
It's really beautiful.

Howard Fox (19:51):
That's fantastic.
And it's so, it's wonderful tohear that.
to share with you, I grew up inthe Detroit suburbs, and we had
a Fisher theater there.
And that, I don't know if it'sspelled the same, but I, I know
historically that was like a, acrown jewel of the city of
Detroit and seeing itsrenovation and now.
Coming to my second, FisherTheater here in Danville.

(20:11):
I mean, you've done a wonderfuljob and the team that is doing
the work, and it's justabsolutely fantastic and we
really appreciate you, takingthe time to spend with us and
chanting about your role and theFisher Theater.
If our listeners would like tolearn more about, the Fisher
Theater and the Foundation,where are the best places to go?

I would say go to our website, it's fisher
theater.com, which is, which isF-I-S-C-H-E-R-T-H-E-A-T-R e.com.

Howard Fox (20:40):
Excellent.
Well, we will have that in theshow notes and as well as some
photos, we will have a shottoday.
Ashton, it's been a pleasure tohave you on the podcast.
Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Howard Fox (20:55):
Hello everybody.
I am back here at the FisherTheater and I have the pleasure
of introducing you to DanaRowland from Vermilion
Advantage.
She is a director of theorganization, which.
And another way you might sayit's the Chamber of Commerce and
Economic Development.
Dana, it's such a pleasure tohave you here, for this short

(21:16):
interview, and I'm excited tobe.
Here for the next couple daysin, in, Danville, and I'd love
to hear a little bit more aboutyou and your work with the
Chamber.

Dana Rowland (21:24):
Yeah, thank you.
We're happy to have you here inour community.
We'd love to show it off.
I'm the director of the Chamberof Commerce.
We are a little different at ourchamber because we are the
Chamber of Commerce and EconomicDevelopment, so I oversee the
chamber side of things.
we love our community.
We oversee all of VermillionCounty and we have just under
500 members.

Howard Fox (21:45):
And how big is Vermilion County?
I mean, how sp spread out?
Are you, I mean, is I

think, I wanna say from end to end, we're about 90
miles.
Okay.
And population wise, there'sabout 79,000 in the county.

Howard Fox (21:58):
Okay.
Now, my familiarity with thechambers and the, the Boulder
City, Nevada Chamber ofCommerce, I mean.
There's an and economicdevelopment, there's an
attraction of new businesses, tocome to the city, families to
move to the city, and alsohighlighting a lot of the
experiences that are available.
And that's how I actually met,Tracy and I interviewed, a

(22:21):
couple folks from the, the, thepark and Lara Danzel from the
education, which was wonderful.
And so what are some of theopportunities?
That you are helping tofacilitate here in Danville as
far as the, the chamber isconcerned to bring businesses,
especially, the boutiques, the,the outdoor venture experiences,

(22:43):
the restaurants.
Mm-hmm.
What's going on?

We're really trying to highlight the
businesses we do have to getpeople in our communities.
So on the economic developmentside, we bring new business to
town, but on the chamber side,we support the businesses that
are here and we have, ourmembership is full of small
businesses that we love tosupport.
We have the most, green acresper capita in the state of
Illinois, and one of our membersis Kickapoo Adventures.

(23:08):
So I don't think people realizeall the things that we have
here.
And by supporting them andsharing what they're doing
through all of our networkingevents or advocating, Hopefully
we'll track people here andthey'll wanna stay and work and
play and live here.
We actually just came back froma trip to DC where we went and
advocated on behalf of themembers here.
Oh yeah.
And that was a great experienceto share our love for Vermilion

(23:30):
County and hope.
You know that they remember uswhen it's time to send some
money along.

Howard Fox (23:35):
There you go.
And, and I know that's hard worknow, do you also rely on grant
money from the, the state tokind of facilitate some of the
activities?
Yeah, we do

have a couple grants that, we are working with
right now.
And we do have a new programthat we just rolled out.
It's not new, we've done it fora while, but we actually have a
workforce education positionright now.
Jody is the director of that andshe's the liaison between
industry.
And the schools, so K through 12all throughout Vermilion County.
Just to get those students intothe pipeline of the workforce,

(24:05):
workforce is such a big problemright now.
And I think a lot of ourstudents don't know all the
opportunities here in ourcommunity.
So she's done a great job withthat on getting the word out,
hooking those two up togetherand just, letting them know all
the things here.

Howard Fox (24:18):
Excellent.
Now from your vantage point, asthe the chamber director.
Here we are in the FisherTheater.
It's gone through a, arenovation.
I, I just heard a little bitabout that from Ashton Greer.
How do you see the, the theaterhere and what it has to offer as
being one of the anchors forfuture development and
opportunity here for thechamber?

Yeah, the Fisher is such a staple in our
community, and it's sobeautiful.
I mean, just looking around,it's, they've done such an
amazing job of restoring it.
We love to have events here andpromote it.
things like this where we canget people from outside of our
community into the Fisher to seewhat an asset it is, I think it
just really draws a crowd.
everything from, we've seenweddings here to the galas.

(25:03):
And everything in between frommovie night to, different
businesses sponsoring eventshere, just knowing that we have
such an asset here to share withothers is it's a wonderful
thing.

Howard Fox (25:14):
Excellent.
Now I, I should have asked atthe onset, are you originally
from the Danville area?

I am not.
I'm actually from Streeter,Illinois, which is about two
hours north.
I know where that's at.
Yeah.
But my husband and I, actuallyjust bought about eight acres
here in Vermilion County tobuild our retirement home on.
So we're empty nesters now andour bed, that's gonna be big
home.
Well, not too big.
I want the kids to visit, butnot.
Stay too long.
Okay.
so we, yes, we, my husband isactually the welding instructor

(25:43):
at the community college here,so we are very rooted in, in our
community.

Howard Fox (25:46):
Okay.
Now, what is your, therelationship, and how you work
together with the tourismauthority, whether it's,
Danville or whether it'sVermilion County?
How are you all, kind of co.
Partnering together.
That's the right word.
Yeah.
We

love Tracy and Rover at the Visitors bureau.
They're doing great things.
at being the Chamber.
We get calls all the time oremails saying, what is in your
community?
if we're coming here, we're,what hotel can we stay at?
Where can we eat?
And we know that we can call thevisitors bureau or, Anyone in
the county and have a whole listready for them.
So we often refer people to thevisitors bureau and they also

(26:22):
refer people coming to thecommunity to us to promote our
businesses.

Howard Fox (26:26):
That's fantastic.
Yeah.
Now, Dana, if our listeners, Areare, join this episode and
they're hearing about Danvilleand what would you like to share
with our listeners and whyDanville?

I think Danville has amazing people.
I lived in Champaign County formany years and while it is also
great, Danville is just home.
It feels like home.
You can walk down the sidewalkand be greeted by everyone.
You see the community membershere really want what is best.
For the community.
And yes, we have our problems,but the positive just really

(27:01):
outweighs everything.
There's so much to do and somuch opportunity here that
people, they just don't knowwhat they don't know.
And I think if they came here,they would be pleasantly
surprised.

Howard Fox (27:10):
Fantastic.
And something that, that's acommon theme from the interviews
I have been doing.

Mm-hmm.

Howard Fox (27:15):
Now, before we, head out, I know there's the, the bar
is open mm-hmm.
And there's food on the tableand, I'm sweating bullets.
Yeah.
If our listeners would like tolearn more about you, Vermilion
Advantage, the economicdevelopment.
Yes.
Where are the best places to go?

they can check out our, our
website@vermilionadvantage.com.
Vermilion does have one L so Ilike to, to specify that.
And also we have a really bigsocial media, page on.
So it's just Vermilion advantageon Facebook.
we're getting ready to do ourannual scarecrow contest, so
you'll see those throughout thecommunity this week while you're
here.
And yeah, all of ourinformation's there.

Howard Fox (27:51):
Excellent.
Now, before I, I actually letyou go.
I noticed there was a Sign Ooverhead that said the Harry
Potter.
Is that your doing?
Yes,

that is actually the city of Danville.
They do first Fridays, the firstFriday of every month, and the
November theme is Harry Potter.
And we have people that comefrom all our surrounding states
to, that is our, I think theirbiggest one that they do at.
Great.

Howard Fox (28:11):
Okay.
So fantastic.
Well, Dana, it's been a pleasureto chat with you.
I hope we get to do some morechatting Yeah.
over the next couple days and inthe future.
Thank you so much.
All

right.
Thank you.

Howard Fox (28:26):
And we are back for another, mini, podcast interview
here at the beautiful FisherTheater in Danville, Illinois.
And I have the pleasure ofchatting with, Rihanna Alis.
She is the, community relationsadministrator, for the city of
Danville.
And.
She's got some really fun thingsshe gets to do.
And so first off, Rhianna, it'sa pleasure to have you on the

(28:48):
podcast.

Rheanna Ollis (28:49):
Yeah, thank you.
I'm really excited to be hereand excited to have, all of the
IDA here.

Howard Fox (28:54):
yes.
It's very nice.
And I am, I'm excited to behere.
Yes.
And present to the IDA.
So tell us a little bit aboutyour role here in Danville.

Yeah, absolutely.
So I am the community relationsadministrator.
I do everything from fun eventsand event series, like our first
Fridays event series to more ofthe less fun stuff of branding
and consistent branding to, ingeneral communications.
We're on news channels.
We write press releases.
We do all of the funcommunication things.
We're often called the partyplanners.

(29:24):
The party

Howard Fox (29:25):
planner.
I love it.
Now you, you said a couple wordsthat really piqued my interest.
Yeah.
First Fridays and a lot ofcommunities have First Fridays
and what makes the first Fridayshere in Danville unique.

So what makes ours unique is that they're
always changing.
So every first Friday of themonth, we have a different
theme, not just music, not justfood trucks.
we have a different theme everysingle month.
we decorate the entire downtownfor the day for it, and we
really just celebrate.
It's a great time to be able tojust sit down and take a breath
and be off, whatever devicesyou're on and just enjoy being

(29:58):
with people.
I always say one of my favoriteparts about first Fridays is
that, People when you're walkingaround, people aren't on their
phones.
They're chatting with each otherand giving each other hugs.
People you haven't seen in along time to, we have a group of
guys that sits outside one ofour local bars here, and they
pop up their chairs and they'reall matching and they're all
cute sitting together listeningto the music.
So, I mean.

(30:19):
Everything from that to bouncehouses and activities, like an
egg drop for the kids.
It's a little bit of everything,which, what makes it unique.

Howard Fox (30:26):
That is fantastic.
I noticed, as I was kind oftouring around downtown, I mean,
it's just a really quaint littledowntown.
Yes.
And a very enjoyable, a lot ofboutiques.
there's even a coffee shopnearby, which is the near and
dear to my heart.
Oh,

yes.

Howard Fox (30:40):
What is the unique, what is some of your first.
Favorite first Friday activitiesthat you have been involved with
or what, is there anything thatkind of stands out for you as
being very memorable?

Yeah.
we have.
Two events that I would say.
One is a traditional event thatwe do.
Danville's, got Talent.
we bring in contestants from allover Vermilion County, let them
compete right here actually onthe Fisher stage.
we give them prizes and we justcelebrate local talent from.
We have people, Dick Van Dykeand Gene Hackman, and we have
astronauts from here.

(31:10):
So we have a really cool historywith talent.
Anyway, so Daniel's gottalent's, a really special
moment for us.
being able to put, I mean, evenchildren, young children on the
stage and letting them performfor 700 plus people is.
Absolutely amazing.
And we get excited every yearbecause we get so close to
Absolutely Filling The Fisher,which is a special moment.
All on its own.

Howard Fox (31:31):
All on its own.
All on

it.
Yep.
Now are you

Howard Fox (31:33):
originally from Danville?

Actually, I'm from, just outside of Danville.
I'm from Oakwood originally.
But being from a small town likethat, you don't have places to
shop or eat or whatever it maybe.
So I grew up in Danvilleessentially my whole life.
Yeah,

Howard Fox (31:46):
that is fantastic.
Now, when friends come to visit.
What are your go-tos if, okay,first Friday's covered?

Yep,

Howard Fox (31:53):
you gotta come visit me in first Friday, but when
other friends and family come tovisit.
What's your go-tos for them?

Oh, this is a shout out, but not on purpose
and definitely not sponsored MadGoat Coffee.
That is a die hard for me.
Anytime I have to set up ameeting or bring somebody new
into town, mad Goat coffee'sright off the interstate here,
so we always stop in there andgrab a good drink.
They've never failed to impressanybody I've brought there.
and then here, here's anotherone of the great locations that

(32:21):
I'm always bringing people toand being able to show off.
The Fisher's beautiful.
It's super special for Danville,so yeah.

Howard Fox (32:28):
You have connections that'll open the door for you
here?

Yeah, the, current director was actually
my, boss and I took her role ascommunity relations
administrator.
So not only a little connection,but a big connection.
So yeah, ashing was a blessing.

Howard Fox (32:42):
I love that.
And by the way, to Matt, gocoffee.
I found them yesterday when Igot to Danville.
I bought my, pound of coffee andI took it back to the room.
They ground even grounded it forme, and I have good coffee in
the room instead of the, thoselittle devices.
So,

or their pastries.
They were, I literally went inthere this morning for my
regular morning coffee.
Of course.
I work in government.
I have to have a coffee to getmy day started.
Of course.
they were literally rollingtheir pastry dough, like you can
see them doing everythinghandmade, which is amazing.
You don't always get that,especially in a smaller town or
city like we have here.
Mm-hmm.
So it's really cool that we havenot only one location of Mad Go,

(33:18):
but two locations.
One in South Danville and one inNorth Danville.

Howard Fox (33:22):
That's fantastic.
One last, two last questions.
Sure.
For our listeners that are gonnabe part, listening to this
episode, they're all over theworld and they come into the
United States and they, they,what are we gonna do when we get
here?
Why Danville?

Because why else?
Why not try it out and see whatyou like?
The fun part of traveling andcoming to do different places
that we're all unique in our ownways.
But your uniqueness depends onyou.
So it's not gonna depend on mything.
What I might love might not bewhat you love.
So I say just come travelaround, experience it, see what
you like.
We have not only a great cityhere, central, but we have a

(33:58):
really cool, a lot of smallcommunities around us.
So just come visit, pick us,choose us,

Howard Fox (34:03):
choose choose you guys.
I, I love it.
I love it.
Now if our listeners would liketo learn a little bit more about
you, the work you're doing forthe city of Danville, where's
the best place to go?

Two places.
If you're looking into FirstFridays in downtown Danville,
check out First Fridaysdanville.com, or if you're
looking for City of Danville,things I manage, the entire
website is city of danville.org.

Howard Fox (34:24):
Fantastic.
Well, Rihanna, it's been apleasure to, have you join me
for this short, podcast episode.
We really appreciate you takingthe time and.
I know you have a lot of friendshere and they're waiting for you
to get back, but thank you somuch.
We appreciate it.

Thank you.

Howard Fox (34:43):
Okay, everybody, we are back here, still at the
Fisher Theater.
it's about a quarter to sixbeautiful fall day in Danville,
Illinois.
We have a reception going on,behind, me right now and.
I saw this really handsome guyand and gal, they were just
standing around doing absolutelynothing.
It's like, what are you guysdoing here?

(35:03):
Well, that's a joke folks, but Ihave the pleasure of introducing
you to Michael and StephanieEwing.
Michael and Stephanie have anice, embroidered, tops on with
a logo.
It's called the local.
There's a knife and a forkthere.
So I'm guessing you guys arecaterers?
Yes sir, we are.
And how did you get startedcatering here in Danville?

Stephanie & Michael (35:25):
Well, I've lived half my life in Danville
and half my life in Covington.
So we just, we come here a lotand, yeah.
Okay.

Howard Fox (35:31):
Born and raised here and decided to give it a try.
Now you had said Michael, youkind of spent a little time away
chasing aliens in New Mexico.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay.
And when did you all decide tocome back?
I've been back three years.
Three years, but therestaurant's been middle.
For three years also.
Okay, so the local is also arestaurant?
It was.
It was a

restaurant was, we closed in April to
pursue catering and we'reactually moving to Danville.
Okay.
Yes, we're building a tiny housethat's gonna go at Vermilion
River Beer Company.

Howard Fox (36:00):
Tiny.
I love tiny homes.
In fact, that's where I probablywill be looking.
'cause like I live in Las Vegasand everything is incredibly
expensive.
Yeah, I believe that.
So little tiny homes would bejust about right.
so you had the restaurant, howdid you decide to follow up with
the pursue the catering?
That's a hard, hard gig.
I think the people did for us.

They did.
People did.
That's the perfect answer.
They did.
When I opened the restaurant, Idid, it never even occurred to
me to do catering, and thenpeople started asking, and then
it just took off from there.

Howard Fox (36:28):
Okay.
Now what are you all known forin, in your, culinary, journey?
Chips and dip, or

you make a Housemaid chips and pimento
chip.
Yeah.
I kind of wanna say we little doa little bit of everything.
When we're cooking.
We're known for our burgers.
And then with catering, I thinkwe're known for upscale.
Dining more.
Okay.
We do a lot of plated meals,catering meals.

Howard Fox (36:51):
Okay.
Now for the guest here at thereception for the ida's
reception and, and we're havingit here again, folks at the
Beautiful Fisher Theater.
What, what are the, guestsenjoying this evening?

We have a spinach and artichoke dip with
house-made tortillas.
We have, Turkey cranberry jamand provolone sliders, jumbo
shrimp cocktail pesto, goatcheese, and sun-dried tomatoes
with house-made crackers, alemon bars.
A fruit tray and a vegetabletray.

Howard Fox (37:20):
Excellent.
So Michael, I was gonna ask you,who's the boss?
Why we, you and I both know theanswer to that.
That's the boss.
Yeah.
What is it that you enjoy aboutthis?
This type of business and kindof helping them put smile on
people, people's faces.
It's different.
Different.
We get to cook fun food thatpeople give us ideas to do for
'em, and it is just enjoyable.
Yeah.
Now, do you ever go, honey, I'vegot this idea for a dish.

(37:42):
I've been trying to do that.
It's not working out rabbits.
Hunting rabbits.
Yes, sir.
See, I have friends back inChicago there.
There's a huge Belgian communitythere.
Rabbit Stew, Belgian stylerabbit st.
See, there you go.
Go.
There you go.
You'll, you, trust me, you willget people coming down from
Chicago for this, right?
Authentic Belgian style rabbitstew.

(38:03):
You got that stuff

tomorrow.
I would give Rabbit a try.
I said I would give Rabbit atry.
I won't give sloppy Joes a try.
That's what he

Howard Fox (38:10):
wants me to do next.

And I,

Howard Fox (38:12):
I have, I'll do that.
I love it.
I love it.
Now if our listeners are comingto Danville, they, they, or they
want to learn more about.
this wonderful operation youhave the local, where's the best
place for them to go?

the local Covington one at Gmail.

Howard Fox (38:27):
Okay.
And you have a website?

That's our website.
The local Covington one at.

Howard Fox (38:33):
Okay.
dot.com.
Com.
Dot com.

That's my email.
Address's, not my website.
Stephanie, I may be working this

Howard Fox (38:38):
evening, but my head is still on straight.
Mine

is not.

Howard Fox (38:41):
Okay.

Yes.
You could email me too.
Oh, we can email.
You got everything?
Yes.
There

Howard Fox (38:45):
you go.
Nice.
Nice recovery.
Yes.
See, we're not even gonna cutthat out.
Michael.
are you also on social sites aswell?
We're all social media.
Okay.
Like Facebook.
Facebook, Instagram.
Excellent.
Excellent.
We have a website.
The local?
The local.
Yeah.
Covington one.com, right?
We got it buddy.
We got it.
We got it.
Listen, I want to thank you bothfor, ch briefly chatting with me

(39:08):
on the podcast.
And it again, it's, I love thisthe fact everybody's just so
friendly out here.
Yes, sir.
You guys are doing a bang up joband keeping, people fed.
And, I'm gonna go look for a, a,a beverage.
Now, it's not gonna be an adultbeverage, but it'll be a
beverage.
Thank you both for your time.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.

(39:31):
I am back here, at the, FisherTheater here in beautiful
Danville, Illinois.
It's, Tuesday night.
There's been a reception thatwas hosted by, the mayor, of
Danville, mayor Ricky, Williams,and we're all having a great
time.
And I came across this gentlemanvery distinguished looking.
And somebody had said, well,he's in the hotel business.

(39:52):
And I said, is his last namePatel?
And then sure enough, he's inthe hotel business.
But no.
All joking aside, it's apleasure to introduce you to PB
Patel.
He's a vice president of SunriseHospitality.
PB, it's a pleasure to meet you.
How are you doing today?

P.B. Patel (40:09):
You too.
I'm doing great.
It's nice evening.

Howard Fox (40:11):
Yes, it is.
Yes it is.
Yeah.
How long have you been inDanville?
I'm on 21 years.
21 years.

P.B. Patel (40:17):
Yes.

Howard Fox (40:18):
as far as Sunrise hospitality, how has the hotel,
business and the spaces, how hasit evolved over the years to
really be, help be an anchor forthe development that's going on
in and around Danville?

P.B. Patel (40:32):
Well, We started a new hotel in 2003 to develop
Holiday Next Express, and weopened the door on April 1st,
2020, 2004.
Yeah.
And then we have seen theopportunity for the future, and
then after three year we startedanother construction for a e in

(40:55):
that was against 74 unit withthe Hilton grant.
Mm-hmm.
And, again, we see anotheropportunity.
So we started Downplay Streetsby Marriott and which was open
in 2019.
Okay.
So we, we did quite good legworkin Danville.
We have a lot of support fromthe city of Danville as well as.

(41:16):
Convention, visa Bureau OneAdvantage and all of that stuff.

Howard Fox (41:20):
Okay.
And how are the hotel spacesbeing used?
Who's coming in and staying atthe hotels?
Are, are, and that question, andI have another one after that
regarding the length of stay,but who's coming and staying at
the hotels

P.B. Patel (41:33):
normally there are a lot of small corporations which
are inviting the visitors hereand all the weekdays we have.
A road construction crew.
We have a lot of corporateexecutive who is coming for the
man getting it manufacturingfacility, use some warehousing
corporations.
Are there that, what systemsupport guys are here.

(41:56):
Like some, they are putting SAPor some computer work mm-hmm.
In the warehousing automation.
So we a lot of different typeof, people.
We are seeing some of theoverflow from of Illinois, like
a football game.
University of Illinois Mom'sDay, father's Day.
Mm-hmm.

(42:16):
As well as graduation.
Okay.
We are surrounded by three majoruniversity like, university of
Illinois at Urbana Champion,about 45 mile west.
what university at Lafayette?
About 50 mile Northeast and,Bloomington, Illinois.
Indiana.

(42:37):
That is Indiana University.
It's about 70 miles southeast.
Okay, so that's a reasonable, sowe have reasonable, attraction
from universities, lot ofconstruction activity, group
cell on the weekend like awedding.
And NGCA to Nomin is a big.
Okay.

(42:57):
Kick up, start for the Danvillein March.
Middle of the march.
That's

Howard Fox (43:00):
big here from what I've been learning.
Yes.
Right.
And what other are you seeing?
The, in increasing, beds, bedrentals because of the
increasing activities withtourism and the sporting
activities coming into theDanville area.

P.B. Patel (43:15):
Yes, we do.
And we always welcome any group,any events we make that happen,
we try to accommodate them basedwith our ability.
And we give best service.

Howard Fox (43:27):
That's excellent.
Well, PB it's been a pleasureto, to chat with you a little
bit.
I know, I came over to youbecause I had read the article
on CNN and the history about thePatel family coming over from
India.
But all joking aside, you havesuch an important role in the
community here.
And, I, and it's just wonderfulthat you're here and supporting
this event for the, IllinoisDestinations Association.

(43:49):
So it's a pleasure to meet you.

P.B. Patel (43:50):
You too.
And thank you.
You're very welcome.

Howard - Fischer Outro (43:58):
Alright folks, that's a wrap from here
at the Fisher Theater here inDanville, Illinois.
I am here, for the next coupledays, Teddy, the Illinois
Destinations Association annual,fall meeting, and have the
pleasure of presenting to the.
attendees at the meeting.
But first we had a wonderfulreception here at the Fisher

(44:21):
Theater here in Danville,Illinois.
and I will say this theater isfantastic.
It's gorgeous.
What a renovation that has takenplace, and I am only, can
imagine, what a, what future.
experiences and pre,performances are gonna take
place, here at the theater.

(44:43):
We really appreciate Mayor RickyWilliams, for hosting this
reception.
And I personally would like tothank, mayor Williams for taking
some time out of, the.
festivities this evening to,join us on a short interview.
I'd also like to thank AshtonGreer, the Executive Director of
the Vermilion Foundation.
Dana Rowland, the Director ofthe Vermilion Advantage.

(45:06):
That's the ver chamber ofCommerce here in Vermilion
County.
Rihanna, ALIS, who isCommunications relations, a, a
administrator.
We've also had Michael andStephanie Ewing, our caterers
for this evening's event, aswell as PB Patel, VP of Sunrise
Hospitality.
Now remember, folks, you canlisten to this episode wherever

(45:29):
you get your podcasts from.
You can also find it on ourFacebook and LinkedIn pages and
the video of this podcast, whichwill also include, some photos
that were taken around Danville.
Earlier today will be includedas a part of that video as well.
Okay folks, wherever you are,whatever you're doing, go out
there and have a fantastic day.

(45:49):
and we look forward to sharing acouple more, podcast, episodes
with you from here at theIllinois Destinations
Association, fall meeting.
So until then, take care ofyourselves and we'll talk to you
soon.
Bye now.

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Illinois Destinations Association Fall Member Meeting: Mayor's Reception at the Historic Fischer Theater

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