IBJ Business News
Ameren offers assistance grants
COLLINSVILLE – Ameren Illinois is providing grants of up to $2,000 to non-profit organizations who are experiencing difficulty paying their utility bills.
The funds are administered through the Energy Assistance Foundation, and are available to qualifying 501(c)3 organizations that have an active Ameren Illinois electric account.
Grant amounts will be determined based on the number of applicants. The maximum award is $2,000 and will be applied directly to the organization’s electric account.
Non-profits can go to www.amerenillinois.com or call Ameren Illinois Customer Service at 1 (800) 232-2477.
GateHouse Media files for Chapter 11 in Delaware
DOVER, Del. (AP) — GateHouse Media Inc., which owns more than 400 community newspapers around the country, including dailies in Rockford, Peoria and Springfield, among others in Illinois, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware.
The filing comes after the Fairport, N.Y.-based company announced that it would file a prepackaged bankruptcy plan in order to restructure $1.2 billion in debt.
Under the plan, Newcastle Investment Corp., which owns 52 percent of GateHouse’s outstanding secured debt, will combine GateHouse’s media holdings with a batch of Dow Jones Local Media publications it bought from News Corp. Newcastle will then issue stock in a new publicly traded holding company, New Media Investment Group. Holders of GateHouse secured debt could take stock in the new company or cash.
SMPS St. Louis names board members
ST. LOUIS – A new group of board members has begun its term for the St. Louis Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services.
Michelle Yates, director of marketing at Lawrence Group, will serve as president, and Amanda Payne, marketing specialist of Farnsworth Group, Inc. will serve as president-elect. Vicki LaRose, president at Civil Design, Inc. will transition from current president to immediate past president. Additional board members are:
- Treasurer Carie Dunn, director of marketing at Trivers Associates
- Secretary Courtney Kinamore, marketing coordinator at S.M.
- Wilson & Co.
- Communications director Tracy Abernathy, marketing manager at SCI Engineering Inc.
- Membership director Laura Hogan, business development at BSI Constructors Inc.
- Programs co-directors Cheryl Vancil, marketing coordinator at Oates Associates Inc. and Stacie Moritz, marketing coordinator at BSA LifeStructures
- Special events director Amanda Bohnert, marketing manager at S.M. Wilson & Co.
- Sponsorship director Stacy Robben, director of client development at Lawrence Group