HWD trustees 2018-05-22 009
Local News

Homewood hires hometown marketing director

Jennifer Quirke was sworn in as Homewood’s marketing director at the May 22 village board meeting. “Homewood is my adopted hometown,” Quirke said. “Homewood is where my heart is.” 

Jennifer Quirke was sworn in as Homewood’s marketing director at the May 22 village board meeting.
 
“Homewood is my adopted hometown,” Quirke said. “Homewood is where my heart is.” 
 
  Jennifer Quirke, right, 
  receives congratulations 
  from Village Attorney 
  Chris Cummings after 
  she was sworn on Tuesday
  as the village’s new
  marketing   director.
(Photo 
  by Quincy Crump/H-F 
  Chronicle)
 

Quirke served on the board of Foundation 153, a nonprofit created to support Homewood School District 153. She said she helped rewrite the foundation’s bylaws, installing term limits that pushed her off the board.
 

“Since I was part of Foundation 153, there has been kind of a gaping hole in my heart to do something for my community,” Quirke said. “When this job actually came up, I wasn’t actually looking but I thought ‘How on Earth could I not actually go for it?’ It would be my dream job. How could I possibly pass up the opportunity to marry what I am skilled at doing with helping my community?”
 
Quirke started in her new position on May 4.
 
Her previous jobs were marketing manager at Morningstar Inc. and product communications manager for Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management. She’s originally from Valparaiso, Indiana, but moved to Homewood almost 13 years ago. Her husband, Nick, is a Homewood native. 
 
“As a resident of Homewood, Jennifer’s knowledge of the community and involvement with community institutions and activities will serve her well,” Village Manager Jim Marino said in a statement. “This, coupled with her professional experience, will allow her to easily transition into the position and continue the successful marketing campaign.”
 
Quirke’s job will be to promote economic development activities and community events both inside and outside the village through public relations, social media and advertising.
In April, the village launched the “Think Homewood” campaign that uses cartoons to share messages of what makes Homewood special. The campaign, geared toward new home buyers, has gained national attention. The economic development marketing campaign uses baseball language to spotlight “five star TOD players” on the village roster of transit-oriented development sites. 

Quirke said she’s a big fan of both projects and believes they’ve already been successful.
 

“The Think Homewood campaign is fantastic and it has put Homewood on the radar for a lot of people” who may not have paid attention to Homewood otherwise, Quirke said.

“My job is to tell the story of Homewood. Not only that, but to entice new home buyers, that millennial set that, truthfully, every village is trying to attract. My job is to communicate with our current residents and make sure that the communications that we do have with residents are transparent and we are consistently mindful of how we’re spending their dollars.”

According to the village statement, Homewood received 168 applications and interviewed 11 candidates. 
 

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