New Marketing Division Opened by Former Homeless Woman

(Olathe, KS; July 28, 2009)-- Crossover Graphics, a design firm headquartered in Olathe, KS recently engaged with Radtke Tomberlin Marketing in the opening of new division, CGP Marketing & Advertising. Crossover Graphics’ owner and CEO, Stephanie Tillman, was formerly homeless, but now owns a flourishing company that has experienced 178% growth in sales since January, with projections showing 813% growth in sales by year end.

Radtke Tomberlin, the company Crossover Graphics has engaged, was a marketing and advertising company for thirty plus years, and has worked for large corporations such as Embarq and Sprint. Three of Radtke Tomberlin’s employees are joining the Crossover Team: an account manager, a designer, and a programmer.

While these new employees will assist in the daily affairs at Crossover Graphics, their primary focus will be CGP Marketing & Advertising, a new division of Crossover dedicated to providing marketing and advertising services. On July 27, 2009, the new employees began their jobs, and on August 17, 2009, the CGP Marketing website will go live.

The new processes and procedures obtained from this engagement will allow Crossover Graphics to streamline communication and increase efficiency in their business transactions. CGP Marketing specializes in design, marketing, printing, and writing services and will offer everything from complete advertising campaigns, one-on-one business presentations, marketing plans, web development, employee communications, brand strategies, and more. CGP Marketing will provide all the services companies need for design, marketing, and advertising projects.

Tillman is thrilled with the new addition to Crossover Graphics. She says, “It has been an amazing journey from where I was seven years ago, homeless, to this - owning a company that is growing so fast that I can barely keep up with it.” Tillman is especially excited about this venture because “gaining thirty years of experience with various processes and procedures will allow us to offer our clients even more high-quality services.”

Crossover Graphics (www.crossovergraphics.com) is a full service design company specializing in full-color printing, marketing, web, logo, and print design. It is committed to providing high-quality, affordable designs for businesses and ministries. The firm works directly with customers of all budgets to choose the right look for their business and ministry needs.

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Contact:
Crossover Graphics
Attn: Ashley High
706 N. Lindenwood Dr.
Olathe, KS 66062
913-440-4558

Weeks that Begin and End Crazy

You know it’s been an insane week when you start inventing alter egos named Sir Bradley Fitzwalter III with the Psychedelic Cape of Power. Yes indeed, Sir Bradley’s job is to answer the phones...or at least we talked about it. Don’t worry, I highly doubt you’ll ever have talk with him. Anyway, the craziness all started last week.

Thursday evening, Sarah (one of our designers) called Stephanie (the CEO) to ask about a book Stephanie wanted. Sarah promised to give Stephanie the book the next day. However, Stephanie mysteriously replied, “If you can find me.”

Friday morning, there were only four cars in the parking lot. Sarah, Kate (the marketing director), and I met in our office. Aside from one person in the office above us, the entire building was completely dark and deserted. It was especially eerie considering Stephanie’s words, “If you can find me...” What was that supposed to mean?

The mystery was solved on Facebook. But in all honesty, I was working. I am creating a press kit for Crossover, and needed some pictures which I knew were on the Crossover Graphics’ Facebook page. Anyway, Stephanie had posted a Facebook picture of her new office. Sure enough, after we’d all left on Thursday, Stephanie’s office had been transported down the hall and around the corner. We left a sticky note on Stephanie’s desk - “We found you!”

Sometime Friday afternoon, Kate came into the office gingerly holding Stephanie’s iPhone. We were supposed to make a video blog describing daily life at Crossover Graphics. We all looked at each other, and then at the iPhone. How many blondes and brunettes does it take to work an iPhone? Apparently more than four. After scrolling through the calender, the calculator, and the phone log, Lindsey (the receptionist), found the video button. We filmed four storylines, accidentally deleted one, and finally returned the phone to Stephanie.

This morning, we all walked into the office to discover boxes and papers and filing cabinets all over the place...or at least in places they had not been before. Sarah freaked out when she discovered an unfamiliar man in the CIO’s old office. Sarah, Kate, Lindsey, and I all wandered back to Stephanie’s office. Stephanie could only laugh at our lost faces, and then she took us around to meet the new people. Crossover Graphics just acquired a local marketing, advertising, and design company - hence the new employees. Stay tuned for more details about the exciting opportunities this acquisition will bring!

This week and the coming months will bring much change, and some of it will be crazy and challenging. However, without change, there could be no growth. Alan Cohen, author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, said, “It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”

--Ashley High is a PR Intern at Crossover Graphics (www.crossovergraphics.com)

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In case anyone wonders what this is - it's the Technorati number that allowed me to claim this blog. I have to post it in order to keep Technorati for this blog. In other words, you can ignore this post.

Or you could add us to your Technorati list...http://crossovergraphics.blogspot.com.

Races, New Executives, Trade Shows, & Babies

It was an exciting day yesterday - I beat Sarah (one of our graphic designers), to work! It may not sound like a big deal, but you have to understand that Sarah is unconditionally, always, and without fail, the first person to arrive at work. As I am mortally afraid of being late (have you never heard of the terrible, many-eyed Destroyer-of-Those-Who-Are-Late monster?), I am used to being the first person to arrive at everything. It has been quite a different experience for me to be relegated to “second-person-to-arrive” status.

Anyway, for about ten minutes, I relished in my first-person-in-the-building position. Then, Kate, the marketing director, arrived and off-handedly delivered some devastating news: Sarah was on vacation. Therefore, Sarah wasn’t even scheduled to be at work. Sigh. And I had been so happy. Sarah came home from vacation today and, like always, was already sitting at her desk when I arrived this morning.

And we’re glad that Sarah is back. It has been a busy couple of weeks at Crossover Graphics - a new executive, our first trade show, and the arrival of a seven-foot baby.

Shomari Tillman, our new Chief Information Officer, joined our team on Wednesday, July 8th. As he came into the office, we surprised him with donuts and streamers. To read more about Shomari and his journey from homelessness to an executive officer, click here. We are already seeing great changes as he takes the lead in organizing office procedures and policies.

We attended our first trade show, the Life Changers Conference, this past week. Lindsey, the receptionist, and Kate went early to set up our booth. Lindsey has previous experience with event preparation, but Kate was surprised at how long it took to set everything up. However, the booth looked great - we even bought bubbles to blow to attract the kids!

Probably the most exciting part of the week was the arrival of “my baby,” as Stephanie, the CEO, affectionately calls Jaycee, our mascot. Jaycee likes the color purple, eating tacos, and meeting with people and learning what their dreams are. He made his first appearance at the trade show this weekend. (Here's a picture of Jaycee, Kate, and Lindsey at the conference.)

Well, it’s about lunchtime, so I’ll close for today. And who knows? Perhaps by some magic, I’ll beat Sarah to work tomorrow.

--Ashley High is a PR Intern at Crossover Graphics (www.crossovergraphics.com)

Enjoying a play at Starlight with my husband.

Posted via email from Stephanie's posterous

Jaycee and the girls hanging out.

Hanging out with Jaycee at Life Changers event!!

Come stop by Bartle Hall to meet Jaycee!!! We're having fun meeting new people and learning what their dreams are! :)

Posted via email from Stephanie's posterous

Life Changers Day 1

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_0847.MOV (21048 KB)

My first iphone video. Loving it!

Posted via email from Stephanie's posterous

OUR NEW BABY ARRIVED TODAY!

Crossover Graphics is proud to announce the newest addition to our team. Today we delivered a healthy 7 foot tall baby boy....JAYCEE. Jaycee will not be put to work immediately at the lifechangerskc.com conference. It has been a long journey to bring him to life and we are thankful for all those who helped along the way.

Posted via email from Stephanie's posterous

Getting Ready for Life Changers Conference!

Check us out.

Posted via email from Stephanie's posterous

I'll Always be "Your Joy"

Remember when you went on vacation with your parents? It was full of excitement and the unknown. However, being in a new location can be scary for a child. That’s when you reached out and grabbed your dad's hands and your fears are calmed. If you were afraid during the entire journey or kept concentrating on "when are we going to get there?", you would have missed something amazing.

Don't miss a moment in the journey you are on with God. It is full of exciting times; times that are a bit scary, but He loves us and will always be there when we reach out for our Father’s familiar touch. Whatever you are called to do...DO IT WITH EXCITEMENT! FEAR NOT, for He is with you and will keep you safe, just as you would do for your own child. Enjoy the ride; He is with you always.

I rarely have secular musicians on my computer, but Chrisette Michelle is one of the few. This song came on this morning and I realized again how amazing our Father is. Sometimes we forget that He is our Daddy, not just some huge guy in the sky sprinkling down blessings or pouring out wrath. Today I am reflecting on how perfectly planned my life is. Everything has a reason, a purpose, and is for His greatest glory.

This song really struck me in many ways, so I wanted to share it with you:

Your Joy

Walked down the sidewalk
Staring at your feet
Wishing my steps were longer
So by your side I could keep

Keeping up with God is a challenge for me sometimes, not because He is moving faster than me (He is moving at perfect pace), it’s just that when I try to take lead, I get lost and have to run to catch up.

Hold your hand much bigger
Never wanted mine to grow
So I could always feel perfect
Inside your palms just so

Sometimes it is easier to stay where we are in Christ so we can feel safe and secure, but like a child grows, so must we also grow in our faith.  His palms are big enough for us all. There will always be room for us to fit perfectly.

No one loves me just like you do
No one knows me just like you do
No one can compare to way my eyes fit in yours
You'll always be my father
And I'll always be your joy

He is the one and only person who knows all our good, bad, fears, and triumphs, yet He loves us through it all and never judges. Look into the eyes of God and you will find peace, forgiveness, and love.

Laid me on your belly
Nights when mama wasn't home
Lightning made me shiver
And you never let me feel alone

Through the years that I had no mother, God was there. Through the years when I felt alone, He places us on his belly and holds us tight. Never a reason to fear. How big is his belly? There is room for all of us to be comforted there.

I tried to match your breathing
Beating my little heart against yours
Perfect were the nights we were sleeping
I never want to end what we are

If we master the breath and rhythm God has in our lives, we are closer to mastering our relationship with Him. Breathing is never perfect; sometimes we run fast and our breath is quick and hard, and sometimes it is slow and steady.  If we stop long enough to hear God's heartbeat in our lives, we can pace ourselves for the race He has laid out before us.

'Cause No one loves me just like you do
And no one knows me just like you do
No one can compare to the way my eyes fit in yours
You'll always be my father
And I'll always be your joy

One day he'll come on bended knee
And ask my love away from thee
And when I give my love to him
He'll always have a place within
One day he'll come on bended knee
And ask my love away from thee
And when I give my love to him
He'll always have a place within

This applies to anything in our life that walks in and has the potential to take our focus off God. We all have those moments where things may not seem more important but they still take more of our attention at the moment. For me at this time, it is Crossover Graphics. Although this is His project, I seem to take it on as mine. I must remember the order of it all. God is my father. There is nothing more important than that.  He'll always have a place within!


No one loves me just like you do
No one knows me just like you do
No one can compare to the way my eyes fit in yours
You'll always be my father
And I'll always be your joy.

--Stephanie Tillman is the CEO of Crossover Graphics (www.crossovergraphics.com)

Former Homeless Couple's Company Hires Executive

Crossover Graphics, a quickly growing design firm owned and managed by formerly homeless Stephanie Tillman, has recently hired Shomari Tillman as the company’s Chief Information Officer. The company’s rapid expansion has gratefully necessitated this addition to the Crossover team.

Tillman has an electrical engineering degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology. He left his job as a Business Analyst at H&R Block to join Crossover Graphics’ team. In the current state of the economy, his colleagues at H&R Block could not understand his decision, especially since his superiors were designing a new position as a promotion for Tillman, which he gracefully declined. On the basis of faith, Tillman’s journey is leading him into a new industry in the midst of a volatile economy, while risking the stability that H&R Block has created for his family. Tillman recognizes the heaviness of his decision, but embraces the profound change. His new position with Crossover Graphics includes creating process models, building infrastructure, and supporting current programs. However, it has been a long journey for Tillman to reach the place he is now.

After graduating from college, Tillman and his wife Stephanie, now the CEO of Crossover Graphics, continued the wild party lifestyle. Several years later, in 2002, the couple found themselves and their two children homeless.

With no other place to go, the Tillman family anxiously headed to the Salvation Army’s Johnson County Family Lodge in Olathe, Kansas. There, with nothing but four bare walls, a few beds, and their family, the Tillmans began the restoration process. Combined with God’s grace, dedicated Salvation Army workers, and a lot of hard work, the Tillmans were able to leave the Lodge after four months. Empowered with a new sense of faith and freedom, the family moved into their own duplex.

From there, Tillman accepted a job at H&R Block, and Stephanie landed a marketing position at an engineering firm. Both Tillman and Stephanie had the dream to assist the homeless and to educate others about homelessness. In response, the couple developed a mission and vision plan that included starting a government aid-free homeless shelter, establishing a clothing line, and writing a book about their experiences. However, when a friend encouraged Stephanie to try graphic design, plans began to change.

After experimenting with graphic design and teaching herself various design programs, Stephanie left her job, and in 2007 Crossover Graphics was established. Tillman enthusiastically supported his wife, sometimes working through the night to help her, even after a full day’s work at H&R Block.

The company has continued to expand, and in 2009, despite the declining economy, Crossover Graphics exploded with new growth, including a new office location and the hire of several new employees. Stephanie is very excited to have her husband join her at Crossover, “Life looks so different when you have your best friend by your side. I feel like I can accomplish anything.”

Crossover Graphics is a full service design company specializing in full-color printing, marketing, web, logo, and print design. It is committed to providing high-quality, affordable designs for businesses and ministries. The firm works directly with customers of all budgets to choose the right look for their business and ministry needs.

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If you would like more information about Crossover Graphics, or to schedule an interview with Shomari or Stephanie Tillman, please e-mail Ashley High at ashley.high@crossovergraphics.com