Nathan Frank | 35
Advertising sales manager
In his work managing a sales team at Adams Outdoor Advertising, Nathan Frank drove revenue streams and worked directly with clients and community leaders to ensure that their advertising campaigns met their needs and expectations.
A transplant from Texas, Nathan views the opportunities available in Peoria as immense. Not only did he manage to make an impact within his organization, hiring an almost entirely new sales team and growing revenue nearly 30% since starting at Adams in 2021, through volunteerism and community engagement he helped make Adams Outdoor Advertising a well-known name to young professionals in the greater Peoria area.
He joined the board of the Young Professionals of Greater Peoria and became its vice chairman, and has done further networking through the Chamber of Commerce. He also is a member of The Big Table’s Oversight Committee.
“His love and appreciation for the things greater Peoria has to offer have made him a true ambassador for the community,” said his nominator.
Advice to your 20-year-old self: “I would tell 20-year-old me to be more genuinely curious about careers, about the world, about life in general. I jumped right into a career and I wish I had explored different internships, different fields, etc. I think if you can take the idea of being ‘genuinely curious’ into any conversation or aspect of life, you will learn and develop in ways that are totally unexpected.”
Biggest challenge: “My mother was a single mom who went to work during the day, school at night, and worked on weekends a second job. I went to work with her on weekends to help … Looking back, I believe that is what gave me the work ethic, drive and determination to give my family the best life possible.”
Leadership definition: “A leader is someone who is a servant to others to help them reach their full potential … A leader gives before they take.”
Peoria needs: “I would bring further development to the riverfront. Peoria has such great potential and I feel a large part of it depends on that. If we can bring bars/restaurants to the riverfront, that will spur commerce for the rest of downtown and in turn the rest of the city. We need to create more reasons for tourism, and I feel that would be the key driver.”