GODFREY, Ill. – Six more businesses have joined the RiverBend Growth Association in recent weeks. They include Third Street Realty, B&B Custom Gifts and Apparel, Paper Planes Ministries, Anthony’s Property Maintenance, ADT Security Services and FLOCK & Food Truck Park.
Third Street Realty has two locations, one at 115 N. Washington in Bunker Hill, with a second brick-and-mortar location at 60 S. Hwy 157, Suite B4, in Edwardsville. Lisa Webb is the owner and designated managing broker.
The firm’s values are based on “family,” as Webb noted, and Third Street Realty’s mission is to “provide excellence in real estate services” to all its customers, clients and agents. Webb further shared that the realty firm strives to conduct business with the highest levels of professionalism, honesty and integrity.
“Our customers, clients, and our agents are considered family and deserve our full attention,” said Webb. “Our goal is to ensure a smooth process, all while educating our customers and clients as they move through the home selling/buying process from beginning to end. We have the expertise to handle those uncertain circumstances and we will navigate our customers and clients through the process respectfully while educating and communicating each step of the process.”
Third Street Realty services the areas of Madison, St. Clair, Macoupin, Montgomery, Sangamon, and surrounding counties with the expertise to handle residential, acreage, and investment sales with a special niche of short sale assistance and foreclosures. For more information, visit online at www.thirdstrealty.com or call (618) 650-8787.
B&B Custom Gifts and Apparel has been known for years as B&B Custom Ts under the ownership of Kevan and Marsha Bennett. Now located at 237 E. Delmar Rd., next to Target in Alton, the Bennetts stayed on to help with the transition of the business to its new owners, the Emerick and Robinson families, who purchased it in April 2023.
B&B’s James Robinson said, “As lifelong residents of the Riverbend area, the Emerick and Robinson families thought it was a perfect opportunity to buy B&B Custom T’s and continue to serve their community. Both families have been heavily involved with area school, sports clubs, and the Bethalto Boys and Girls Club where each has held various board positions and committee chairs. The purchase was a family decision as it’s a family-run business with their new college graduate daughters leading marketing and design.”
“Many people have asked – why keep the name?” Robinson shared further. “Emerick/Robinson felt passionate about ensuring that the existing customer base knew that the 30-plus years of serving the Riverbend community was still a focal point. Kevan and Marsha spent almost 90 days walking through the existing customer services to ensure that those needs could continue to be met.”
A slight modification to the long-recognized company name also reflects the added focus to the broad array of products already offered by B&B. “In addition to custom embroidery, screen printing, transfers, and all types of signage, we also offer custom gifts for any occasion and have added engraving and canvas photo printing to our robust portfolio,” explained Robinson.
The company hopes to build a strong network with the business community and continue its partnership in serving the Riverbend community through its Growth Association membership. To learn more, call (618) 463-0443 or visit online at www.bbcustomgifts.shop.
Paper Plane Ministries, based out of Brighton, noted that they joined the RiverBend Growth Association to further connect with other businesses, organizations and communities that share a desire to invest their time and resources in the Riverbend area.
With its Growth Association membership, Paper Planes Ministries is hoping to build a network of support from the local businesses, organizations, and communities in the Riverbend area – be it financially, in service, or in prayer – that ultimately believes in its vision to deliver the Gospel to the people.
“The idea for Paper Plane Ministries began when I was told the simple, yet life-changing story of the Gospel at the age of 15,” said Paper Planes Ministries’ David Bosarge. Since then, Bosarge has had a passion to go to poverty-stricken and violent communities to tell others about Jesus Christ. “Now, with my wife Emily, we are committed to doing just that.
“The idea for Paper Planes is not an institution, not a building, but a ministry whose goal is to transport kids and families by bus from the projects to a place where they can feel safe, loved, and at home: the local church. We believe that God will use Paper Planes Ministries to revitalize their communities from being filled with drugs, violence, and poverty to being filled with the life, hope, and love that the story of Jesus Christ has to offer,” Bosarge said further.
Visit paperplanesministries.org or call (618) 671-3530 to learn more about Paper Plane Ministries.
Anthony’s Property Maintenance is located in Godfrey and owned by Anthony Ingles. The company provides home improvement services, including lawn and garden care. Call (618) 217-9759 for further information regarding the services offered by Anthony’s Property Maintenance.
ADT Security Services offers smart home security with its array of alarm monitoring and security products and services, including on-the-go emergency response devices, cameras, fire and intrusion protection. The company has over six million customers companywide, with 200 sales and office locations and nine monitoring centers.
Tammie Smith is the company’s local solutions advisor. She has been with ADT for more than eight years now and has been in the sales and marketing industry for over 35 years. Smith noted that she is the proud wife of a U.S. Air Force veteran, mother to a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and a proud parent to four fur babies. She enjoys flower gardening, visiting with her grandchildren, time at the neighborhood pool, and experiencing new restaurants with family and friends in her spare time.
“My passion is networking with positive people and building lifelong relationships,” Smith said. “What I hope to get out of my Growth Association membership is professional development, networking opportunities, exclusiveness and education.” To learn more about the products and services provided locally by ADT Security Services, call Smith at (910) 232-0555.
FLOCK & Food Truck Park has become a popular hotspot in Alton, located at 210 Ridge Street, near Jacoby Arts Center and in view of the Clark Bridge.
Featuring a rotating list of food trucks, FLOCK also offers house-crafted cocktails and “not quite” cocktails, games, outdoor dining, live music, movie nights and other fun, family-friendly events. Matt and Laura Windisch are its owners.
“Matt and I are so excited to be one of the newest additions to the Alton community!” exclaimed Laura. “We ventured across the river four years ago from St. Louis and fell in love with the riverfront. We had spent that time traveling back and forth to our restaurant, Stacked Burger Bar in St. Louis, all the while longing to plant more roots in our new hometown.
“We are so grateful to have been given this opportunity to bring a fun new gathering place to Alton. Our hope is to bring folks from both sides of the river together to experience all that this town and its people have to offer,” she added.
As for joining the Growth Association, Windisch said, “While our free time is sometimes limited, we are always looking for more ways to get involved in the community. As small business owners, it is nice to have other folks in the same boat to talk to, bounce ideas off of, and sometimes commiserate with. With our membership, we are hoping to get more exposure in the Riverbend area as well and continue growing our network.”
For more information about FLOCK & Food Truck Park, visit online at flockalton.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. You can also call (618) 208-7988.
The RiverBend Growth Association is the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development organization for the 11 communities known as the Riverbend. For more information about the Growth Association, visit growthassociation.com online or call (618) 467-2280.