Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonja Tillman.
Sonja, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started out as a media coordinator for a boutique agency in Daytona Beach, Florida. Benedict Advertising gave me a home and a place to grow, I was like a duck in water. Benedict worked with National Clients like Subway, Tony Chachere’s and Guy Harvey. After being in the media department, I worked as the Director of Operations and Production Manager. Then I took a leap of faith after meeting my husband, we decided to move back to his hometown of Warner Robins for better work. This lead to me working with WMAZ, one of the most viewed TV stations in the country. While I was at WMAZ, I worked as an Account Manager and was lucky enough to work with the team at Cherokee Brick.
After a few months, I knew I wanted to work at Cherokee Brick. After a few conversations with the VP of Production, Kate Sams Peavy (who is also the fifth generation of the family business), it was official I would be the first Director of Marketing at Cherokee Brick. I started in December of 2017 and hit the ground running. What a lot of people don’t understand is that we are not just a small family run business in Georgia. We have two plants, Macon, Georgia and Jackson, Mississippi along with distributors in 36 states and 32 salespeople. My main job was to get our brand awareness out there and with the help of the executive staff, I think we have been pretty successful. I’m also working with safety and doing internal marketing, making sure our production staff is as safe and well-informed as possible. I can’t see what the next five years have in store for myself and Cherokee Brick.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t know of anyone that has had a smooth road. I think everyone has their set of challenges. I did not get my bachelor’s degree until 2019. I was very fortunate that I had people that believed in me no matter my educational background. I also set out to learn as much as possible about all things marketing. Listening and learning from others is worth more than any education. I still struggle with balance. I could work 24/7 because I love what I do so much. I will be up at 3 am on Instagram, liking and responding to comments. I’m trying to get better but I love seeing what people have to say about our brick. Brick is so much more than a building product. It’s a product that can literally last a lifetime, brick always will have a story to tell.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m the Director of Marketing for Cherokee Brick. I’m a one-person band for the most part. I do all of the social media, advertising placement, video editing and any tangible items we need. Cherokee Brick was formed in 1877 here in Macon, Georgia. We are on over 4,000 acres. It was one of many brick companies at the turn of the century. We survived where others did not. We moved to our current location in 1903, in fact, the oldest building on our campus is now our IT department.
I love that I work for the fifth generation brick manufacturer. We are a true family-owned and operated business. We have our brick on houses, schooling institutions and other buildings all over the country. We don’t have elaborate production machines, we are not run by robots. We have men and women touching every single brick that is made. We produce over 200 million brick a year. There is so much that goes into making one brick color and we make over 100 different colors for residential and architectural uses. We have the ability to make custom colors, blends, and special shapes. We source our clay right from our property, and we leave the land better than we found it. Our environmental footprint is minimal because brick can be recycled. No other building product can say that.
What were you like growing up?
I was a quiet kid and really didn’t like other kids because I grew up with adults. It wasn’t until the third or fourth grade my personality really came out. I became a social butterfly. I have a quick wit and I was told a few times I laugh at the most ridiculous situations. My grandmother (mema) always said my special talent wasn’t singing or dancing it was the fact I could befriend anyone. I can talk to anyone and I can usually connect with people, which has served me well as a marketing person. I tried my hand at sales once and all I got was into trouble. I would go into retail places and leave with new friends and shoes or whatever they were selling and I didn’t sell anything. I played soccer in high school and was in drama and musical theater.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2275 Cook Dr. Atlanta, GA 30340
- Website: www.cherokeebrick.com
- Phone: 800-277-2745
- Email: marketing@cherokeebrick.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherokeebrick/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherokeebrick/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherokeebrick.com
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cherokee-brick-mcdonough?osq=cherokee+brick
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/cherokeebrick/
Image Credit:
Fifty-One Acres
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