Welcome to Locally Grown! Locally grown introduces you to the people and stories behind local Lake County businesses. Today it is our pleasure to introduce you to Sedrik Newbern. Sedrik Newbern is the President of Allstate Insurance: Phoenix Insurance & Financial Services.
Sedrik Newbern is a philanthropist at heart, running his agency, Allstate Insurance: Phoenix Insurance & Financial Services in the very county that he likes to serve. His insurance company is located in Libertyville, but today I found him at the Libertyville Sports Complex, volunteering for his son’s field trip.
Sedrik grew up in Nashville where he earned his MBA with a concentration in Economics. His work in philanthropy has helped him join many boards, including the Tennessee State University College of Business Alumni Advisory Board and Western Kentucky University Marketing Advisory Council. He was also recognized as one of Lake County Illinois’ Most Influential African Americans, and he received the Alumni Achievement Award from Western Kentucky University Gordon Ford School of Business. He has also received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Civic Leadership Award from the GLMV Chamber of Commerce.
When Sedrik started working for Allstate, he quickly rose to the top in the corporate offices. During his 18 years on the corporate side, he worked hard with Allstate to diversify its advertising and his influence helped make their advertising bilingual. This turned out to be a great tactic for the company and it helped put his name on the map. His job with Allstate brought him to nearby Northbrook, Illinois, but he soon fell in love with Lake County. He liked his upbringing in the south, and feels the same connection here in Lake County.
After the recession and company layoffs, he decided to take his future into his own hands and make sure his roots stayed in Lake County. Sedrik opened his Allstate agency in Libertyville and got to work giving back to the county that he and his family loved. According to Sedrik, “I’m the guy who loves to help people. Protecting their assets, homes, cars…” and he doesn’t stop there.
Sedrik and his wife created a foundation called The Precious Gift of Hope Foundation which raises money to support education, efforts against domestic violence programs, career development programs and scholarships for teen moms.
When he’s not raising money for his foundation, Sedrik is coaching basketball for the lower grades in his son’s school, St. John’s Lutheran School, or working on projects as the President of the Lake County Extension Foundation which raises money for 4H programs, horticulture education and master gardeners.
You would think that Sedrik would be happy with how busy he stays in his everyday life, but in addition to all of that, he’s a published author. Sedrik wrote the book, Unconditional Forgiveness about the journey he went through forgiving his father who abandoned him and his mother when he was a baby.
Sedrik’s second book is ready to hit the shelf in April 2017 called Unpack Now — Get Rid of The Baggage in Your Relationships; The Power of Forgiveness.
When I asked Sedrik what he likes to do in Lake County, he mentioned the local attractions like Six Flags Great America, walking in the forest preserve by his house, and hitting up the mall. “We are close to anything we want to do,” he said with a smile on his face. He also talked about how Lake County is close enough to the city to visit, but far enough away that he still feels like he’s living in a small town.
After my hour with Sedrik, I have to say that this business owner reflects exactly what makes Lake County great: people who work hard, give harder and love the land they live in.
Get to know Sedrik Newbern next week as he sits in as our guest editor and brings you his picks for the week on our Facebook Page and in our Newsletter.
Allstate Insurance: Phoenix Insurance & Financial Services
1013 W. Park Ave., Libertyville | (847) 362-0099
Allstate Insurance: Phoenix Insurance & Financial Services is open Monday through Friday,
from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Disclosure: Allstate Insurance: Phoenix Insurance & Financial Services is our featured Locally Grown Business of the Month. This series of features is part of a paid partnership with Little Lake County. Contact littlelakecounty[at]gmail[dot]com if you are interested in featuring your own locally-owned business in our series.
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