Resident believes in helping his community

By Cindy Cruz
Clint Verhagen believes in the importance of helping his community. Some time ago, when he wanted to make a difference, Clint approached a village board member and inquired if he could help by volunteering for a commission that was in his area of interest.

The village’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) was a good fit because Clint has an interest in urban planning.

As chairman of the EDC, he helped the commission to create a survey that the residents of South Holland submitted to the village. As a direct result of that survey, the village was able to bring Panera Bread® to the community.

“It was exciting to see that the residents of South Holland could help encourage and convince an anchor business like Panera to locate itself in South Holland,” Clint said.

A financial adviser since 2000, Clint attended Calvin Christian School, Illiana Christian High School, completed his undergraduate degree at Trinity Christian College, and
earned an MBA at Olivet Nazarene University.

Clint enjoys working with the EDC, which has a goal of helping the village to grow its business environment for South Holland while keeping the values that have made the
town what it is today.

Seeing the individual members of the EDC working together as a team, regardless of differing opinions, has been the most rewarding aspect of being part of the EDC. In addition to the EDC, Clint is a member of First Reformed Church of South Holland, the Lions Club of South Holland, and the South Holland Business Association. He and his wife, Merley, have a 2-year-old son Ian, and a 3-month-old daughter, Nicole.

“I really appreciate the fact that South Holland has been able to keep a quiet, small town atmosphere and values, which can be challenging to maintain while being so closely located to a major U.S. city. In addition, the location of the town is extremely convenient for access to the City of Chicago and
major expressways,” Clint said.