Salukis in Business
Tom Harness — Owner and President, Harness Digital Marketing- ’01 Elementary Education ; ’08 MSED Education Administration
Like many non-traditional Saluki students, South Dakota native Tom Harness ended up in southern Illinois for the first time when he attended a social event.
Harness, currently the owner and president of Harness Digital Marketing, had completed four and a half years in the Army, and was intending to go to college — he’d even applied to and been accepted at another university — when he came to the region to attend a wedding.
“At that event I met some people who would become lifelong friends, and while spending time with them I found that this area of the country was really appealing. When I realized SIU had some great programs, I made the decision to move here and they took me in,” Harness said.
Harness’ first stop, was at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill, where he worked to get his associates degree before transferring to SIU Carbondale.
“While I was working on my associates in Computer Science, a friend recruited me to volunteer at a local primary school, and that experience sparked a recognition in me that I was sort of made to be an educator, and so I changed my major and ended up matriculating and completing and elementary education degree at SIU,” Harness said.
Harness was really fortunate. While he was completing the student teaching requirements for his degree, he was offered a job teaching fifth grade at Herrin Elementary. He accepted that position, but eventually moved on a three-year stint as a technology teacher at Unity Point Elementary in Carbondale, IL.
“I was so fortunate to get the opportunity to teach right after completing my degree, and it was just such a good match, that while I was there I decided to go back to school at SIU and get my Education Administration degree. At that time, I had dreams of being an IT Administrator,” Harness said.
Harness completed his Education Administration degree in 2008, and was teaching an Intro to Education class for the university for a third semester when he was approached by his friend, Kathy Lively, who told him that the winery and destination entertainment center, Walkers Bluff, was looking for a Chief Information Officer to oversee their infrastructure.
“And so I interviewed with them and spent about two and a half years in a job that really tied together my love of education and information technology. But after a few years I realized that what I really wanted to do was strike out on my own,” Harness said.
Harness credits his wife, Beth, who is also a Saluki, with giving him the support to explore his dreams of being an entrepreneur.
“She believed in me and thought I could do anything, and I love her for that. But we had a daughter, and as a family man I needed to provide the income to support my family, and so I began to explore what my business might look like,” Harness said.
At that time, the world of social media and digital advertising and marketing had really begun to pick up, and Harness started consulting for Megabyte Technology Services in Herrin.
He also began to explore how to put his tech and education backgrounds to work, and formed a relationship with SIU’s Small Business Development Center, where he put together a business plan that involved Social Media and Digital Marketing.
The rest, as they say, is history, but really what it amounts to is really hard work.
Harness Digital Marketing currently works with businesses and organizations on Social Media, SEO, and Email Marketing. But that is not where the story ends.
Harness’s experience in Education, IT, Digital Marketing, Leadership, Non-Profits and Business, helped him to define his unique branding style, which he has used to raise over $20,000 for various non-profits and bring awareness to lesser known charities.
And he has done so by wearing an intentionally ugly Christmas suit to businesses around the region as a way to highlight the spirit of giving and the charities he is supporting.
For several years he also enlisted the help of local Channel 3 TV news anchor, Kevin Hunsperger, and together they visited businesses to raise money — for a donation they’d provide a photo op with both guys in their #UglyChristmasSuit.
Harness said that he will most likely be retiring “the suites” for good this coming year, but advises people to be on the lookout for his next adventure.
“I think in this area people get so used to something that you have to mix it up a little. I’m not sure what it will be this year, but I’m always open to any ideas,” Harness said.
Harness is also a newly elected Alderman for Ward 2 in Carterville, IL, and he is looking forward to serving the Carterville community in its growth and development.
“Last year I participated in the Delta Leadership Institute and it really sparked something in me. It gave me, I guess, the hope or possibility that I could and should serve my community. So I came back and talked to my wife and I said I think I want to run for alderman but I’m going to do it differently.
According to Harness, Delta Leadership Institute is all about servant leadership, not politics.
“I told my wife, I’m a servant leader and that’s how I’m going to approach this. So I did, and I let people know that, and I won,” Harness said.
Harness said he’s a bit shocked at this win, but that so far it has been an honor to meet the people and in his ward.
Harness remains a dedicated Saluki, and said that his identity as “one of the pack” formed specifically during his graduate work.
“As a non-traditional student, I was out of synch with the younger student body on a social level. I basically wend to school then came home and did my homework. But when I went to grad school, I connected with a different, more mature colleagues. At that point I really stretched into my identity as a Saluki and had a lot of fun tailgating, going to basketball games, and really just taking advantage of what the campus had to offer on a social level,” Harness said.
Harness also said that he would never have anticipated that getting his degree would lead him to where he is now, or how he would come to use his chosen course of study.
“The core of getting my degrees was really about instilling certain foundations in a pedagogy in me that I still use on a daily basis in my business. It is basically still my job to educate people, whether that is a business owner to the effectiveness of digital marketing, or the public, about my client’s businesses. Never underestimate the way in which you will use your education or how it will affect you,” Harness said.
Harness lives with his wife, Beth and his daughter, Mia, in Carterville. Harness is also a lover of craft beer, and it considering becoming certified as a beer judge, and is following the progress of SIU’s Fermentation Sciences in hopes that they will offer that program.
“Salukis in Business” celebrates the our Saluki Alumni who have taken the risk to go into business for themselves. If you’d like to be the focus of this weekly feature, or nominate someone you think we should feature, please email us at alumni-socialmedia@alumni.siu.edu.
