The following is this week’s I AM, YOU ARE, WE ARE Honoree by Jodie Ingram
“The grass is greener where you water it” – Neil Barringham
Chad Thomas has been taking care of lawns for as long as he can remember. Coming from a farming family, he has always loved to mow and work outdoors. Upon graduating high school, he was employed at Burt’s General Store, a lawncare and feed store business. Once Burt’s General Store sold their business, they handed their clients to Chad, which allowed him to start T&L Lawncare. Eventually Chad sold his portion of T&L Lawncare and opened his own business C&D Outdoor Improvement. In 2022 Chad would then open C&D Feed n Seed.
I was lucky enough to visit his C&D Feed n Seed store located at 329 W Main Street in Hoopeston for our interview. It has an amazing selection of quality pet food; you can find dog food, cat food, chicken feed, cattle feed, bird food, grass seed, and if you can’t find what you are looking for you can always put in a request! Fiona, the cat, made sure to welcome me as I entered the store, she really is the purrrfect employee! I loved the hometown, family friendly atmosphere and I loved meeting Chad and his mother, Sandy, even more!
You’ll find Fiona the Cat at C&D Feed n Seed
Chad loves his small-town community and has never had any desire to leave Hoopeston. He has built his business and his family here. Chad married his wife, Robin, in 2000 and they have one son. Chad’s love for his family and tradition has transpired into a beautiful Christmas light display located at 928 W Penn Street in Hoopeston. When he was younger, his grandparents always loved Christmas lights. Every year, he would help them decorate and every year they would add more lights. Once Chad was grown and had a family of his own, he knew he wanted to keep the tradition alive. So, every year, he would add to his own light display, which currently consists of over 140,000 lights plus animation! Unfortunately, Chad’s Grandma passed before seeing his first animated display in 2013, however he hopes she is proud. He continues to add lights every year for Grandma and for the community of course! You can check out Chad’s light show on his Facebook page, Thomas’s Light Show.
When Chad is not running a business or working on his light show he can be found volunteering for the Hoopeston Emergency Management Agency and the Lincoln Illinois Weather Service as the Hoopeston Weather Observer. He is an avid model rail roader and puts on a small Halloween display. Chad is grateful for his community and their support of his businesses. He loves living in a place where everybody knows everybody and passes with a wave.
Chad, the love you have for your small town is contagious, your dedication to creating a beautiful Christmas light display is admirable, and your small businesses are a valued and appreciated piece of Hoopeston. The grass is a little greener and the winter days are a little brighter because of you. Thank you, Chad Thomas, for watering your community with love and dedication.
If you have someone you would like to share,
visit https://forms.gle/deCPiQ1cxn1pDLhZ9
or contact Ashton Greer, City of Danville agreer@cityofdanville.org or
Nicole Van Hyfte, Vermilion Advantage nvanhyfte@vermilionadvantage.com.