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Pinckneyville company expands with hardcover books and more

BY: CHRISTI MATHIS
FOR THE SOUTHERN

Sunday, November 20, 2005 1:53 AM CST

PINCKNEYVILLE - A Pinckneyville company has expanded its repertoire with a special creation. Craig Williams Creative Inc., through its CommunityLink, has published a full-color 152-page hardcover coffee-table book celebrating the 175th anniversary of Naperville in 2006.

"It's a beautiful book and they love it," Craig Williams said of the book that was the culmination of a great deal of time and effort.

Williams, the company's creative director, president and chief executive officer, and his team are also developing companion DVD presentations in conjunction with the coffee-table books and call their product addition "Speaking Volumes."

The name is a dual reference to the voice-over driven photographic presentations of the book and the fact that the publications do "say" a great deal about the communities they represent, Williams said.

The 9-by-12-inch commemorative book features photography by Keith Cotton, of Cobden, and by Lisa Lehr, CommunityLink director of photography. Writer Stephanie Penick detailed the city's illustrious past, its growth and current achievements.

The hardcover books are a new element to the products offered by Craig Williams Creative. Beginning in 1996, the company has specialized in soft-cover, magazine-style publications as well as relocation guides, street maps and online community guides.

Employing 61, the company is located at 4742 Holt's Prairie Road. The new Mosaic Series hardcover coffee-table books are already generating considerable interest, Williams said.

A volume is being created in honor of the 400th anniversary in 2007 of the founding of Jamestown, Va. Talks also are under way regarding publishing agreements with other cities, regions and even states for the photograph-filled publications, Williams said. The Mosaic Series will be launched nationally later this year, he said.

There are other developments under way at the company, too. In 2005, the firm donated the labor to produce a 56-page hardcover publication authored by Tom Bardle to benefit the Pinckneyville Volunteer Firemen's Association.

In addition, CommunityLink recently launched xMedia at the American Chamber of Commerce Executives annual meeting. Williams said the patent-pending technology enables his company to develop publications in a fraction of the time typically required and "marries the sponsorship process with an innovative e-commerce model that enables sponsors to preview the completed publication, select and reserve their advertorial space, complete their purchase, and even build their ads, all online."

"This is an amazing tool," Williams said. "We think it could revolutionize the way chambers of commerce do business."

Additional information about Craig Williams Creative/CommunityLink and the products the company offers can be found on-line at www.communitylink.com or by calling (800) 455-5600.

mathis5@hcis.net

618-357-8391