Nikki Goodrich
Meet Beth Clark, our newest Board Member and Marketing Chair
Beth was born in Illinois; graduated with a BA from Illinois State; and is married to her husband Tom. They will celebrate their 45th Wedding Anniversary this year on April 15th. They have one son Patrick, who generously donates his videography skills to film and edit our annual meeting each year. They have one daughter in Heaven, Mary, who left this earth at age 16, in 2005.
Beth and Tom’s honeymoon was a cross country move to Walnut Creek, California, their home for 23 years. In 2001 they traveled cross country again so they could be closer to family. They took up residence in Peoria where they still live today.
In California, Beth worked for several advertising agencies and when it was time to start their family she stared her own business called Clark Graphics and Promotion, a graphic design and marketing company. During those years, she was contracted by the City of Concord to produce 2 large family festivals: Bay Area KidFest which she produced for 20 years and The Holiday Lightfest for 3 years. Beth was also a partner in producing one of the largest sport card collecting shows in California called the Card Collector Expo.
In Illinois, Beth switched careers and went into insurance sales. She began work for Coyle Insurance Agency in 2002 as a Benefit Producer/Account Manager, where she sold and serviced employee health plans. Arthur J. Gallagher bought the Coyle agency and Beth continued to work there as the VP of Benefits where she managed the staff of four until she retired in June of 2019.
Even before retirement, Beth worked with her son Patrick in his videography business. She learned to film and edit by doing weddings with Patrick in the early years of his career. She still uses those skills and you may have seen her filming at one of our Impact events, or watched one of the videos on the Impact YouTube Channel. She also loves thrift shopping and estate sales and re-sells out of several booths in Needful Things Antique Mall on Farmington Road.
Beth’s adjustment to retirement was not smooth. Even though the above mentioned video work and resale shopping/sales were fun and filled her days, she was missing something that gave her purpose. She tells us joining Impact helped, but being invited to be on the Impact Board as the Marketing Chair definitely made her feel valuable again.
“Working with dedicated, generous women who volunteer their time for Impact, has given me a sense of purpose again. These smart, talented women all share the desire to give back to this community we call home. I’m learning so much about the needs in Peoria and meeting lovely ladies of all ages. I am committed to being a life long member of Impact Center Illinois.”