The Greater Centralia Chamber of Commerce’s chamber member lunch on Wednesday featured “Meet the City Manager,” Galen Mahle.
In January of 2025, Mahle took over the position of City Manager in Centralia. A Centralia native, Mahle attended Centralia High School, Kaskaskia College, SIUE, and Northern Illinois University. He received his Master’s Degree from Northern Illinois University.
“I did all of these experiences with the hope that one of these days I’d get to return to Centralia and do anything I could to help with keeping growth and progress in the community,” stated Mahle.
Mahle’s work experience started at the Centralia Recreation Complex at the age of 14. Since then, he has had many jobs focusing on community programming, including Director for Campus Recreation at Northern Illinois University, Program Coordinator at the Centralia Recreation Department, Associate Director of O’Fallon, Missouri YMCA, and most recently the Village Administrator in New Baden.
During an audience Q&A, Mahle answered questions about the city’s recreation programming and the new recreation director, where sports programming has already begun this year. He’s looking forward to working with Shannon Cooney on a 3 on 3 basketball tournament on one of the July weekends of the concert series. In the fall, the soccer program will expand through a partnership with the Little Egypt Soccer program.
When asked about the open economic development director position, Mahle stated that it is a difficult position to fill, but they hope to find the best person for the position who can attract, retain, and help grow businesses in the community. In the meantime, Mahle is filling some of the gaps, which include bringing grants back into compliance.
Adding to the message of business development, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marcus Holland noted that there are several upcoming new businesses to be excited about with Centralia House, Re-Purpose Development, and the downtown winery, Colden Brewery, The Commonwealth and The Green Grill, Simplysoul, and many other businesses planning to open soon.
The monthly program was held at Tee Shots, the new restaurant at the Greenview Golf Course. About 50 were in attendance.
Most of the information in this article is courtesy of Jamie Resch-Allen, Centralia Chamber Marketing Coordinator
