What’s the definition of a hometown? For Cheri Siebken, who relocated Galesburg more than 30 years ago, it’s the place where she’s raised her kids, built her career, and cultivated a deep investment in the well-being of the local community. Now joining Galesburg Community Foundation as its new communications manager, Siebken is ready to take her commitment to her hometown to new heights.
“My husband and I originally thought we’d stay for a couple of years and then follow a job someplace else, but we really fell in love with the community, and now I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else,” said Siebken. “I see this role as a chance for me to take all my experience and contribute more fully to my community so that it can grow and continue to be the wonderful place it’s been for my family. That excites me.”
“We’re so pleased to welcome Cheri to our team,” said Joshua Gibb, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO. “With her passion for this region and her diverse communications expertise, she brings us an opportunity to engage even more people and nonprofits in Knox and Warren Counties around our mission and the work we do.”
Siebken comes from Knox College, where she has spent nearly 18 years in a wide variety of communications roles, from website and content management to advancement and alumni relations to, most recently, admissions. Before Knox, Siebken held several other positions in the local community, including as a marketing representative for Galesburg Broadcasting, a marketing director at Galesburg Cottage Hospital, and a magazine publisher. She studied journalism at the University of Missouri.
In her new role, she’ll lead the Community Foundation’s communications planning and implementation, working closely with the development, grantmaking, and leadership teams to oversee digital and print storytelling, media relations, and social media.
“I believe strongly in the mission of the Community Foundation, and I’ve been impressed with the work it’s been doing to drive opportunities within the region,” said Siebken, citing the organization’s match challenge to help build the new Galesburg Public Library and its support in developing a number of Community Funds. “You’re starting to see Galesburg Community Foundation popping up in a lot of different contexts. It really is the ‘foundation’ of the community, in terms local resources.”
Siebken intends to play an active role in spreading the word about the Community Foundation’s work even further and, above all, helping Knox and Warren Counties flourish. “When our big manufacturers left, some people worried that our communities might disappear,” she said. “That didn’t happen, and it’s because people truly wanted to stay and maintain the integrity of what we have here. All the exciting things happening now—they’re a testament to people’s commitment to Galesburg and this region.”
