Business Solutions for Spring 2018

S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 7 BUSINESS solutions MADISON in the comunity At Madison Communications, our employees both live and work in the communities we serve. We believe taking an interest in our neighbors and supporting local causes truly sets us apart from the competition. Take a look at these examples of our recent activities. Food Drives Help Two Community Centers Madison Communications wants to do our part to help end hunger in the communi- ties we serve. To work toward this goal, we conducted a food drive in fall 2017 to benefit the Staunton Helping Hands Center. In spring 2018, we held an employee contest to see who could donate the most food items for the Mt. Olive Care Center. The winner of the contest received a Walking Dead dartboard. Thanks to everyone who donated to these two food drives! Madison’s Teacher of the Year Contest 2018 marked the 13th year of our annual Teacher of the Year Contest, which has contributed more than $12,000 to our local school districts. Residents can nominate their favorite teacher for this award, provided the teacher is employed by a school district in the Madison Communications service area during the calendar year for the contest period. Qualifed nominations are posted to Madison’s website for voting, and the three teachers who receive the highest number of votes each receive a $500 cash award and plaque. In addition, their homeroom classes get to enjoy a pizza party hosted by Madison. This year, 100 area teachers were nominated and the winning teachers were: Mrs. Brenda Grigg – Alhambra Elementary, Mrs. Colleen Favre – Ben-Gil Elementary, and Mrs. Barb Osmoe – South Macoupin Head Start. We congratulate these outstanding educators and thank them for all they do for the students in our communities. Ecycling Drive is Part of Our “Go Green” Initiative Old electronics must be disposed of carefully since they can contain toxic substances such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. To make it easier for area residents to safely dispose of devices they no longer want, Madison Com- munications sponsors Ecycling Day twice a year. Our most recent event was held on March 10 at our Staunton office, in partnership with CJD E-Cycling of Edwardsville. This family-owned recycling company’s mission is to keep as much as possible out of the landfills and put it back into the community to become new and refurbished materials. Participants were invited to bring anything metal with a cord—appliances, computers, printers, and more—for free recycling. TV sets were also accepted for a small fee. Nearly 10,000 pounds of electron- ics were brought to the event, and Madison appreciates the community support of Ecycling Day. Another “Go Green” program of Madison Communications focuses on decreasing paper use—our SmartHub app. It lets you manage your Madison account and pay your bill electroni- cally. To encourage participation, we’re currently running a “Go Green and Win Green” promotion. Each month we’ll draw the name of one customer using SmartHub to receive a $10 bill credit. Not yet signed up for SmartHub? Create your account now at gomadison.com. Sheila (left) and Nat help stock the shelves with groceries at the Mt. Olive Care Center. Scott and Dawn hold up the Walking Dead dartboard used as the prize for the Madison employee food drive contest to benefit the Mt. Olive Care Center.