Wood River

Lynn Engelman returned to Illinois in 2018 after a 20-year career in Virginia where she worked as a Community/Environmental Planner for the Air Force. During that time, Lynn served as the Cultural Resource Manager/Historic Preservation Officer for Chanute AFB and Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command/Air Force Logistics Command. In that capacity she was responsible for ensuring compliance with historic preservation and cultural resource laws and regulations for historic buildings/structures and archaeological resources on Air Force installations and training ranges.  Lynn has a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and a Masters of Urban Planning from the University of Illinois.

Highland

Arnie was first elected to the MCHS Board of Directors in November 2006 and chosen as Treasurer in January 2010.  He is long-time resident of Highland. Arnie spent his entire professional career as an administrator at SIUE, eventually serving as Controller.  He retired in 1993 and has found volunteering to be an avocation that “keeps me out of trouble.” He says, “It is a pleasure to serve on the Board of Directors of MCHS.”

Granite City

Tallin Curran is a native of Granite City and is currently employed as the Information Technology and Facilities Manager for the Six Mile Regional Library District in Granite City. One of his responsibilities is the oversight of Six Miles of History, a digital repository of photographs, videos and documents preserving the history of Granite City, Mitchell and Pontoon Beach. Curran has a Bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He currently serves on the Cool Cities Committee, an advisory committee to the mayor and city council in Granite City.

Troy

Leslie Bednar is Executive Director of the Illinois Heartland Library System, a state-supported agency providing services to 520+ libraries in central and southern Illinois. She studied history at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and library and information science at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During her career Leslie has worked in historical museums, archives and libraries, all with a goal of connecting people to resources. She lives in Troy with her husband and family.

Troy

Robert A. Clouse received his B.A. in Anthropology from Indiana State University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois –Urbana. Originally from southern Indiana, he has conducted research in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Spain and India. He was adjunct faculty at the Universities of Minnesota and Alabama for over 35 years. Most recently he was Executive Director of The University of Alabama Museums, a position from which he retired in 2013. Robert and his wife live in Troy, and take opportunities to travel nationally and internationally as often as practical.

Edwardsville

Arno Ellis joined the MCHS Board in 2019 shortly after his retirement from U. S. Bank where he worked for 33 years.  At the time of his retirement he held the position of senior vice president/human resources director for the bank’s Corporate & Commercial business lines. Arno served twice on the Goshen Preservation Alliance board.  He graduated from SIU-Edwardsville, receiving a BS in Business Administration with a specialization in Organizational Behavior and Development.  He has been a nearly life-long resident of Edwardsville and is married with two daughters and a grandson.

Edwardsville

Stephen Hansen joined the MCHS Board in 2017 and currently serves as the Society’s Vice-President. He is Emeritus Dean and Professor of Historical Studies at Southern Illinois University (SIUE).  Before his retirement he held a number of administrative posts at the uni­versity, most recently as Interim Chancellor. After retiring from SIUE, he continued his schol­arly research and remains active as a consultant for institutions of higher education. He has pro­vided active service in a number of capacities for various professional organizations and agen­cies. He has also served on the Executive Committee/Board of Directors of the National Council of University Research Administrators where in 2013 he was awarded their Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Hansen lives in Edwardsville with his wife, Julie.

Collinsville

Over the course of two decades, Charlotte Knapp developed financial services software for three St. Louis corporations. She also participated in development and marketing of resources for a Christian publishing house. She holds a BS in Business Administration, an MS in Secondary Education and a Graduate Certificate in Library Science, all from SIUE. Since her retirement, she has spent many years as a volunteer at historical museums and libraries. She is an experienced genealogist who has worked on both her own family tree, as well as others, for more than 30 years. Charlotte is a native of Collinsville where she continues to reside.

Edwardsville

Candace Ladd joined the MCHS Board in 2013 and is currently serving as Society President.  Candace’s roots run deep in Edwardsville where the Ladd family has resided for four generations.  She left Edwardsville for college in Wisconsin and has since lived in Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia and California before returning to Edwardsville in 1991.  Candace received a B.A. from the University of San Francisco and an M.B.A. from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.  She holds a Certification in Production and Inventory Management. Her business background is as a project manager and implementation consultant for a multi-national manufacturing software company.  She enjoys traveling, reading, gardening and sewing.

Alton/Godfrey

Lacy McDonald manages the Genealogy & Local History Library branch of The Hayner Public Library District in Alton. She has been with Hayner since February 2012. Lacy holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science and a Graduate Certificate in Rare Book and Special Collections Librarianship from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She grew up in Arkansas and has since lived in Iowa, Minnesota (where she attended Carleton College), Florida, and several cities in Illinois. Lacy currently lives in Godfrey with her husband Jeff and their two children.

Edwardsville

Stephen Mudge comes from a long line of prominent Madison County attorneys and judges who have practiced here for over 100 years.  He has been an attorney for nearly 40 years with Reed, Armstrong, Mudge & Morrissey, P.C.  His primary specialty is trial practice, and he also serves as a mediator and arbitrator on personal injury cases on a regular basis.  His great, great grandfather, Solomon Hinckley Mudge, moved to Madison County in 1836 and the family homestead is still in the family.  Steve spends a considerable portion of his off time maintaining and improving the property, where a home built in approximately 1845 still stands.  Steve is a life-long history buff and enjoys outdoor work, home restoration, including barn restoration.  Steve resides in Edwardsville, Illinois, and has two sons, John and Taylor.

Edwardsville

Originally from Marine, Jeff has been on the MCHS Board since 2004. He is a second generation surveyor at his business, Madison County Surveyors, Inc. His involvement with the Society has included presentations on surveying as well as the coordination of historic walks for Edwardsville school children.  He also served on the Edwardsville Settlement Bicentennial committee.  His hobbies include the collection of antique surveying instruments, books, maps, and other memorabilia which he uses to educate the public on the history of surveying.  He lives in Edwardsville with his wife Melinda and four children.

Edwardsville

Cindy Reinhardt was elected to the MCHS Board in 2011. As a local historian, she is the author of two books of local history. She also writes and edits newsletters for the Madison County Historical Society and Friends of Leclaire and regularly contributes articles to numerous state and local publications. She serves on the board of the Friends of Leclaire, the Madison County Historical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society. In addition, from 2004-2018 she served on the Edwardsville Historic Preservation Commission. She is a retired SIUE book buyer and lives with her husband, Mike, in the Leclaire National Historic District in Edwardsville.