The 2024 Keynote speaker!

JOEL'S BIO:  Joel Baker is the founder and owner/operator of American Giants. For over a decade Joel has dedicated himself to researching and finding the 1960s giant advertising figures called Muffler Men. With the popularity of these giants resurging, Baker continues to research the giants and the company that made them, International Fiberglass. Finding lost giants, restoring them and setting them back up has also turned into services he offers others as demand grows for the vintage giants. Joel also works closely with the American Giants Museum in Atlanta, IL where much of his personal collection is on display.  

KAISA'S BIO:  Kaisa Barthuli is Program Manager of the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Through a program of grants and technical assistance, she works with individuals, nonprofit organizations, communities, and government agencies to preserve the special places and stories associated with historic Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. Kaisa began her career with the National Park Service in 1990, and has worked in over 20 National Park Service units in the area of cultural resource management.

JUDY'S BIO:  Judy's experience includes: Certified National Main Street Manager, a National Trust for Historic Preservation Program; created Downtown Collinsville, Inc. 501(c3) and served for over ten years as the Director of revitalization efforts; Volunteer project manager for the non profit World’s Largest Catsup Bottle Preservation Group; completed a $100,000.00 fund raising effort to restore the 170’ water tower in 2 years. 

Judy's awards include:  Received the Mid-West Living Magazine’s “Hometown Pride Award” for the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle project; Catsup Bottle selected as one of 40 Illinois preservation successes in 40 years by Landmarks Illinois, Chicago; 2012 recipient of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation “Advocacy” award for the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle, given by Landmarks Illinois, leading preservation for the State of Illinois.

Education:  BFA in Interior Design, Graduate Historic Preservation Program, University of Hawaii, and Miami University, Ohio.

MIKE'S BIO:  Mike's experience includes:  Senior graphic designer/department head for Engraphix Signage Co, St Louis. MO; Volunteer marketing and media director for World’s Largest Catsup Bottle; Volunteer for Downtown Collinsville, Inc. as graphic designer for corporate imaging and creator of monthly newsletter for the organization; served on the board of directors for DCI.

Education:  BFA from SIU Carbondale in graphic design.

JIM'S BIO:  Hinckley is the author of 22 books including The Route 66 Encyclopedia, Murder and Mayhem on The Main Street of America: Tales From Bloody 66, and Ghost Towns of Route 66. He has shared the Route 66 story at conferences and festivals in the United States and in Europe. 

JIM'S PRESENTATION:  Author, humorist, and historian Jim Hinckley of Jim Hinckley’s America will make a presentation about the marketing and promotion that transformed Route 66 from a highway into an American icon. In this program Hinckley will trace the evolution of the highways marketing from establishment of the U.S. Highway 66 Association in 1927 to the recent European Route 66 festivals. It is a story of innovative marketing strategies, cultural shifts, and visionaries that made the Main Street of America into the most famous highway in the world. 

BILL'S BIO:  Bill Iseminger was born in Bloomington, Illinois and grew up in Arlington, Virginia. He earned his B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma and his M.A. at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His archaeological experience includes projects in South Dakota and several regions in Illinois, including excavations and surveys at Dickson Mounds, Kincaid Creek, and the lower Kaskaskia River Valley. He worked at Cahokia Mounds for five decades (1971-2019) as assistant manager in charge of exhibits, interpretation, public relations, and the intern program, and for several years he led public field schools in excavations on the Stockade, Woodhenge, and Mound 50. He has written extensively about Cahokia Mounds and archaeology, including his books Cahokia Mounds: America’s First City and Identifying and Understanding Artifacts of Illinois and Neighboring States, and more recently From McLean to Mobile: A History of the 94th Illinois Infantry Regiment Volunteers, 1862-1865: The Mclean Regiment. Bill and his wife Gloria live in Columbia, Illinois.

BILL'S PRESENTATION:  This presentation will cover the sequence of cultural traditions near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers, that culminated in the development of America's first city – Cahokia Mounds. The site's major features will be discussed, including Monks Mound, the Woodhenge, the Stockade, and Grand Plaza, as well as the rise and demise of Cahokia and what archaeologists have learned about this dynamic urban complex and its influence throughout the Mississippian world.

CORY'S BIO:  Cory is President and CEO of Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau where he works to promote domestic and international visitor travel. The region is where two of the nation’s great roadways come together (Route 66 and the Great River Road) along the confluence of America’s three great rivers (Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois). Cory has a wealth of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry, spanning more than twenty years in various roles in Illinois state government, including as the former Director of the Illinois Office of Tourism.

GEOFF'S BIO:  Geoff Ladd is the co-chair of the Route 66 Monarch Flyway, which is now a committee of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway. 

GEOFF'S PRESENTATION: The "Flyway," which the Illinois Monarch Project debuted on November 18th, 2020, is a 66-mile-wide corridor that stretches from Chicago to St. Louis across the State of Illinois. The project is seeking to bring the unique aspect of Route 66 to Illinois’ efforts to help the monarch butterfly by planting native wildflowers and restoring habitat projects within the corridor. Geoff will give an overview and have information on how to participate in the program.

Artist at Benjamin Lowder

Board Member at Bucky's Dome Home

Center Director at  SIUE Fuller Dome

Founder at Cherokee Street Gallery

BENJAMIN'S BIO:  Benjamin Lowder is an artist who transforms fragments of vintage metal signs and reclaimed wood found along Route 66 into geometric assemblages that take on new life as art objects. The geometry guiding Benjamin’s artwork is inspired in part by the triangulated patterns of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes. Benjamin works as the Center Director of the Fuller Dome, Center for Spirituality and Sustainability, on the Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville campus. Benjamin also serves on the Board of Directors for Buckminster Fuller’s historic Dome Home in Carbondale, Illinois. Buckminster Fuller was a world-renowned inventor, author and futurist who lived and worked in Southern Illinois during one of the most important decades of his life. Fuller is most famous for his iconic geodesic dome patent. The region crossing route 66 from St. Louis to Carbondale is the most important region in the world for domes designed and built by Buckminster Fuller and companies he founded. To introduce more visitors to Fuller’s legacy, Benjamin hosts an architectural tour of this region featuring stops at the Climatron dome in St. Louis, the 400-foot-diameter Wood River dome, the miniature-earth dome on the SIUE campus, the Mary Brown Center dome in East St. Louis, and Fuller’s dome home in Carbondale. Mid-century modern architecture and architectural tourism hold world-wide fascination and Buckminster Fuller’s domes across the region are poised to be global attractors as the world discovers these architectural treasures. 

BENJAMIN'S PRESENTATION:  Benjamin will share the fascinating history of the miniature-earth dome that Buckminster Fuller designed just off Route 66 for the SIUE campus. He will also take us on a virtual architectural tour across Southern Illinois and St. Louis sharing the rich architectural history through which Route 66 passes. The triangle-faceted geometry of Fuller’s geodesic domes, that are scattered across this region like precious gems, has inspired Benjamin to create a series of artwork that is on exhibition as part of the 2024 Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference.

RHYS'S BIO:  Rhys lives in Tulsa and fell in love with Route 66 as a photographer first. He became an advocate for the road after attending a bridge preservation event in 2015. Since then he has become passionate about the road, its past, and its future.

Rhys also represents the Association as a member of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, the Route 66 Alliance, the Tulsa Route 66 Commission, and the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission. He is generally available to speak to groups and has helped others plan travel itineraries.

MARK'S BIO:  Mark Pierce has been a journalist and corporate communications leader in the St. Louis area for more than 30 years. A graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Mark’s love of music and connections with many who played pivotal roles in the Mississippi River

Festival story served as inspiration to write the first book that truly tells the MRF’s story.

MARK'S PRESENTATION:  For 12 summers, the Mississippi River Festival (MRF) brought musical diversity to the region, committed to featuring multiple genres of music like rock, classical, jazz, dance, barbershop, theater, and bluegrass. The outdoor concert series attracted more than a million fans and showcased legendary artists like The Who, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Heart, the Eagles, and Janis Joplin. The MRF was held on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, which borders Route 66 south of Edwardsville.

With rare, vintage photos, When the Stars Came Out is a presentation, based on Mark's book of the same name, that offers a unique perspective into the efforts of those who created the festival, those who worked during its 12-year run, the performers who created history, and the audience who keep the memories still alive today.

CINDY'S BIO:  Local historian Cindy Reinhardt has been researching and writing about Madison County for over thirty years. During that time, she has uncovered dozens of stories about Madison County residents who were nationally known during their lifetimes but are no longer remembered. The list of those forgotten includes inventors, politicians, authors, entertainers, and more. Reinhardt’s publications include two books, “150 Years of Hometown News,” a book that celebrates the sesquicentennial of the Edwardsville Intelligencer, and “Leclaire,” a pictorial history of the Leclaire National Historic District from Arcadia Publishing. She has written hundreds of articles highlighting Madison County history for local, regional and state publications. In addition, she is the author and editor of the award-winning MCHS News, published by the Madison County Historical Society.

RON'S BIO:  The Board of Directors Chairman and creator of “Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66” museum and organization, is owner of Stage Right Productions since 2000. Stage Right Productions is a live event production company that provides sound and lighting for small concerts and corporate events. Ron is an entrepreneur and has previously owned a computer technology company, an internet provider company, and a real estate investor. Ron sits on the Joliet Junior College Music Technology Board Committee as an advisor. He is a member of the Illinois Association of Museums and American Alliance of Museums and remains still a performing musician.

BIO:  Anne Maro Slanina, Ph.D.

Author Anne M. Slanina, Ph.D. is a retired professor of elementary/early childhood education at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, where she specialized in early childhood development, Reading and Social Studies education. As a Route 66 enthusiast who has been traveling The Mother Road annually for the past 18 years, she encourages parents to explore the beautiful United States of America with their children. Road trips on historic highways, like Route 66, help bring families closer together and expose children to the many wonders the nation's country sides have to offer. Her Adventures of Annie Mouse series include, among others: Annie Mouse's Route 66 Adventure: A Photo Journal, Annie Mouse’s Second Route 66 Photo Journal: The Journey East, a chapter book: Annie Mouse's Route 66 Family Vacation and a Coloring Book. You can learn more about Anne and her books at https://www.anniemousebooks.com 

PRESENTATION:  Family Friendly Route 66

JOE'S BIO:  Joe Sonderman is a St. Louis area radio personality and traffic reporter who has been writing books on Route 66 for 15 years. Since that first work, he has been collecting Route 66 postcards and photographs, some never published before, along with new research on the paths Route 66 took through the area to come up with an entirely new look at Route 66 St. Louis Style .

JOE'S PRESENTATION:  Joe's presentation will be based on his new book for Arcadia Publishing, Route 66 St. Louis Style, including discussing St. Louis' multiple alignments. For Route 66 to become the most famous highway in history, it had to pass through the "Gateway to the West." St. Louis is the largest city between Chicago and Los Angeles, and "St. Louee" comes first on the list of those that Nat King Cole and many other artists sang out on "(Get Your Kicks) on Route 66." The highway took a maze of different routes, including crossing the greatest of rivers on a bridge with a bend right in the middle. The roadside was lined with flashing neon, classic diners and gas stations where attendants provided speedy service. Also, there were classic amusement parks, drive-in theaters, a man selling frozen custard from a building adorned with wooden icicles, and a motel with a racy but beloved reputation. 

BILL'S BIO:  In 1964, Bill piled into the back of a Chevy BelAir station wagon and joined his family on a cross-country Rt. 66 road trip from Illinois to Disneyland. There was no air conditioning and no seat belts. It left an impression. Some 50 years later, Bill is actively involved in efforts to preserve, promote, and economically develop Rt. 66. He serves as Chairman of the Rt. 66 Road Ahead Partnership, sits on the Illinois Rt. 66 Scenic Byway Board, and is economic development director for Logan County. He's ready for another road trip any time, but with air conditioning and seat belts, please.

DAVE'S BIO:  David Tucker worked 60 years in the private sector in the hospitality and food service industry – from truck stop to fine dining, from a campground to a Holiday Inn.
The past 10 years, after Route 66 Enlightenment, have been focused upon promoting local tourism and the building of a museum as the cornerstone of a downtown redevelopment project in Gillespie.