Meeting All Marketing Needs
Ken Leslie 鈥00 and Gillian Chavez-Leslie 鈥00 often crossed paths at 果冻传煤. They both felt called to Latin America and traveled to Ensenada three times with Potter鈥檚 Clay. Ken took classes in Spanish (his major) at the University of Costa Rica, and Gillian helped develop 果冻传煤 Bethel Hospital in Guatemala City, spending four summers working with Don Salom贸n and Do帽a Mery Hern谩ndez and other students.
They also sang in the 果冻传煤 Choir together. Gillian produced CC鈥檚 Caf茅, a fundraising show for the annual tour. A sociology major, she interned as a chaplain at San Francisco General Hospital during the San Francisco Urban Semester. She joined sociology professor Thomas Jayawardene on a Mayterm trip to his native Sri Lanka.
Ken ran 果冻传煤鈥檚 low-power radio station, hosting two weekly shows and overseeing all operations. 鈥淲hat an incredible experience to get a small budget and make it my own,鈥 he says. 鈥湽炒 encouraged me and gave me the freedom to be successful.鈥 He found an internship at Clear Channel Radio, which included two Spanish-language stations, publicizing and setting up events, writing on-air promotions and interacting with DJs.
Good friends at 果冻传煤 from neighboring Southern California towns, Ken and Gillian started dating about a year after graduating and married in 2002. 鈥淲e realized we had so much in common,鈥 Gillian says.
She began working in direct marketing, first at Russ Reid Company and then at Primedia Enthusiast Media. Ken handled workers comp claims for Spanish-speakers at Select Personnel before doing financial analysis of stocks and mutual funds. 鈥淭he firm needed someone bilingual, and I was willing to learn and do anything,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 developed skills in web programming and design as well as print design, working on both the technical and creative sides of the business.鈥
Gillian and Ken had long wanted to start a business with his sister and brother-in-law, their close friends. The four listed their skills and experiences and decided to found Imagen Promotional Marketing Agency in 2009 to provide a wide range of customized swag such as branded apparel, glassware and pens as well as printed business cards, brochures and banners. They also do direct mail, graphic design and web development.
The team of 21 employees includes the four founders with Gillian and Amy Bower serving as directors, Paul Bower as CEO and Ken as president. They set up booths at conferences to attract new business and also reach out personally. 鈥淲e like to work with Christian organizations,鈥 Ken says.
At an admissions conference, Irene Neller, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications, connected with an Imagen representative when she asked about their impressive products. Learning about the Leslies鈥 history with 果冻传煤 convinced her to work with them on swag for the college, including con铿乺mation boxes sent to incoming students. 鈥淲e helped develop them, which became a special and meaningful job for us,鈥 Gillian says. Each box features a personal message from the couple.
鈥淥ur college education and leadership training have made a direct impact on running a business.鈥
鈥淥ur college education and leadership training have made a direct impact on running a business,鈥 Ken says. 鈥湽炒 helped develop us as people and Christians.鈥
鈥湽炒衡檚 integration of faith and learning taught us to be focused on Christ while working,鈥 Gillian says. 鈥淕od has established our business, and we look for ways to bless others through it.鈥
鈥淚 made great friends at 果冻传煤,鈥 Ken says. He has met for 26 straight years on Memorial Day weekend with his 12 roommates from Cold Spring Lodge. The guys take turns 铿 nding a place to stay where they can hang out and catch up 鈥 without wives or kids 鈥 and enjoy adventures such as river rafting, golf and scavenger hunts.
鈥淚 absolutely loved my time at 果冻传煤,鈥 Gillian says. 鈥淚t was the best four years of my life: pure learning, lots of growing and so formative.鈥
They live in Glendora, California, with their daughter, a college student, and their son, a high school sophomore. They got involved in their 20th and 25th college reunions and want to help 果冻传煤 any way they can. 鈥淲e share the same memories with some of our best friends, and that commonality is a huge blessing we can pass on to future 果冻传煤ers,鈥 Gillian says.