MAJOR DONOR SPOTLIGHT
Mari Connelly, CASA Kane County’s Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, has owned and operated AlphaGraphics St. Charles for over eighteen years. During that time, Mari has utilized her unique blend of hard work, employee satisfaction, and dedication to customer service to grow her business into one of the top 15% of all U.S. AlphaGraphics centers. Her focus on meeting the needs of her clients in a constantly changing business environment has earned her the AlphaGraphics Chairmans Club Award for seven consecutive years. Mari has served on the AlphaGraphics Network Leadership Council, having been elected by her Chicagoland peers to represent the region on a national level.
Mari first heard about CASA Kane County from Lynn Cali and Mary Ann Lindquist who would come into AlphaGraphics each year to print the annual auction program. “Lynn suggested that I should consider becoming a CASA, and on another occasion, Mary Ann invited me to the CASA auction as her guest.”
Mari decided to join the Board of Directors in 2007. “After waiting for my own children, Christopher and Jordan, to become a bit more independent, I felt the need to help other children who are not as fortunate to have the kind of loving and stable childhood both I and my children have experienced.”
Mari wanted to learn as much as she could about the CASA program and the role of our volunteers. She completed the same 40 hour training program that is required of all CASA/GAL candidates, and even accepted one of our Probate Court cases.
When asked what has surprised her most about the CASA program, Mari said, “I’m most impressed with the excellent quality of training provided to the advocates, including the continuing education programs. I was amazed at the many hours each CASA/GAL freely gives to the children they advocate for. Another surprise was the fact that the organization does not receive any government funding - all income is raised through grants, donations and fundraising.”
Over the last several years, Mari and her staff have changed their focus from being a printer to that of a marketing communications provider. They offer a wide range of marketing services to their clients, including one-to-one, cross-media marketing solutions. This encompasses:
- Personalized marketing
- Direct mail services, including dimensional, targeted mailings
- Promotional products
- Web-based marketing solutions, such as Personalized URLs
- Email marketing and response
- Creative marketing design and copy creation
Of course, they print too! CASA Kane County is proud to have such a strong partnership with Mari and her AlphaGraphics team!
