March 29, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Wagners celebrate 15 years and community support

In October 2007, Jim and Jen Wagner decided to take a leap of faith.

They opened their own business Wagner Signs and Graphics based in their home.

In 2012 Jen left her job to focus on the business full time.


Customers would pick up signs from a box at their house and a Christmas sale would be held at the high school since they didn’t have an actual storefront.

Expansion followed with the business growing from a home-based company to actual brick-and-mortar location at 109 N. Main Street in 2016. In 2018, Jim left his job as a store manager at Blain’s Farm and Fleet to help run the business full time.


“My past employment was very demanding and took me away from my family,” Jim said. “Now I see them much more and that’s why I left my past employment of 25 years. The best decision I have made for my family for sure.”


On Oct. 23, 2019, the Wagners purchased their building at 209 E. Lincoln and expanded even further. A further expansion of 850 square feet is currently underway.


When they moved to Lincoln Street most of the production moved from their house to the store.
“I don’t miss it out of our home because we now have more of just a family life at home and it allows us to have a separation from our business,” Jim said.


Now the Wagners are able to do full-color graphics, car decals, indoor and outdoor signage, textiles, embroidery and screen printing. The business is thriving.


“We never thought it would grow into this,” Jim Wagner said.


“We have so much support in this community and our customer base outside of St. Joseph has also grown,” said Jen.


To celebrate the Wagners are holding a block party on Oct. 1.

The party will include a 42-foot obstacle course and bounce houses. Those will be available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Wagners have paired with The Blend Spot to offer free drinks to the first 80 children starting at noon. Roch’s will have a two-man band from 3 to 6 p.m. and Matt Walsh from Engaging entertainment will be DJing from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. The Wagners will also be offering 20 percent off on their entire stock items and they will be giving away gift cards or items every hour.

Jim said the key to the business’s success has been his wife Jen.

“She has been a saint for sure,” Jim said. “She is my organizer and has done so much to grow this behind the scenes. If not for her we would not be where we are today.”

Jim said the business has enabled him to be there for the community in ways he had never expected.
“I have dealt with a lot of emotional things with this business,” he said. . “It’s been so rewarding to be there for our community.”

The Wagners have created shirts and items to honor community members that have passed away in tragic circumstances. The proceeds from the sales go to families or scholarships.

“They are very emotional situations,” Jim said. “And it still brings tears to my eyes every time the families walk into our store.”

While some families may be unable to live and work together, that cannot be said for Jim and Jen.
“Jen and I overall work very well together,” Jim said. “Each of us has our part that we do.”


Jim and Jen work on separate floors at the Lincoln street location and sometimes work different hours.
“Overall, it’s been very rewarding,” Jen said.


During the pandemic, the Wagner’s son Mason worked at the store quite often.


“He can now do all of the embroideries,” Jim said. “He calls himself the master embroiderer.”


Daughter, Brynlee, also helps at the shop.


“This has been very rewarding to work with our family and hire staff within our community,” Jim said.


Community means a lot to the Wagners.


“This community is the only reason we stay in Illinois,” he said. “We are very grateful to this community for supporting us over the years and helping us grow. This is why we try to find ways to give back. We will never forget our roots and will be forever indebted to this community. We love this town.”

Banner
Related Posts

Family Fun Guide March 1-3

February 28, 2019

February 28, 2019

Each week we provide a list of some fun activities to do with your family. Here are this weekend’s events....

Weekend Family Fun Guide March 8-10

March 8, 2019

March 8, 2019

March 8-10 Free Kids Movie 10 a.m. Savoy 16 A Free Movie will be shown at the Savoy 16 starting...

Deadline approaching for Pageant

May 27, 2019

May 27, 2019

The deadline to compete in the Champaign County Fair Queen and Little Miss Pageant is this week. The Champaign County...

SJO to host event for seniors

April 1, 2021

April 1, 2021

The administration at St. Joseph-Ogden High School wants to give their seniors some sense of normalcy.   “The decision to have...

Painter ‘making a difference’ during his time in St. Joseph

December 20, 2019

December 20, 2019

Max Painter loves to serve his community. Painter, who was appointed to the St. Joseph Village Board in August, said...

Harper brings Wednesday Addams to life

April 2, 2022

April 2, 2022

The characters in the Addams Family are well known. But that didn’t stop the actors at St. Joseph-Ogden from putting...

Birthday parade to celebrate Voges

April 28, 2020

April 28, 2020

St. Joseph resident Bruce Voges has seen a lot in his life. And Tuesday will be another first. To celebrate...

Little Prince and Princess voting now open

August 3, 2021

August 3, 2021

Donation cups are available at Dairy Queen, IGA and Longview Bank. Voting is also taking place online. Little Prince Declain...

Booker to be honored tonight at fire station

October 12, 2023

October 12, 2023

When Ross Booker was 10 years old he went with his mother, Marita, to volunteer with their church group at...

Ceremony to honor Edwards scheduled for Thursday

December 9, 2020

December 9, 2020

A Gift of Hope Flag raising ceremony will be held on Dec. 10 at 4 p.m. at the St, Joseph-Ogden...

Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon results

April 27, 2019

April 27, 2019

More than 11,000 runners took to the streets of Champaign-Urbana this weekend for the 11th annual Christie Clinic Marathon. The...

St. Joseph Chamber cancels egg hunt

February 16, 2021

February 16, 2021

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce has announced that it will not be holding its annual egg hunt. The hunt...

CU Feed the Need to distribute food this week

August 26, 2020

August 26, 2020

CU Feed the need has even more food to distribute this week thanks to the St. Joseph Food Pantry. The...

Weekend Family Fun Guide

May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019

The Weekend Family Fun Guide is sponsored by Island Travel Group and Events. May 18 1-4 p.m. Museum of the...

Weekend Family Fun Guide

June 14, 2019

June 14, 2019

Every weekend we pick at least three events that we think are can’t miss for families in this area. This...

Comments
Leave a Reply