ANAMOOSE - As the new director of the McHenry County Job Development Authority, Bonnie Helm would love to see former residents come back home.

It's an area of economic development that is personal to her. An Anamoose native, Helm left the area years ago only to return in 2010 to take an active role in her community.

"I love being back," she said. "Along with my parents, Anamoose gave me the tools and self-confidence to pursue my dreams, and now I think it is time to give back to the town and state I never forgot."

Jill Schramm/MDN Bonnie Helm, director of the McHenry County Job Development Authority, hangs a poster at a Velva business Sept. 18 to advertise an upcoming meeting.

Helm's first project was initiating the planning for the 100th anniversary all-school reunion. Pleased with how that event went, she now is looking at a five-year school reunion that includes activities meant to entice alumni back home.

She also serves on the Anamoose City Council and as president of MainStreams Inc., also known as Save the Bank, which seeks to preserve the town's 1909 bank building. She chairs the Anamoose Housing Task Force and the Anamoose Planning & Zoning Task Force.

She became director of the JDA in September.

Helm said she hadn't planned on applying when the position first opened. But she started thinking maybe she could do it after Alyce Heer of Anamoose urged her to consider it. Her inquiry into the position led to immediate hiring and training.

"She's very good at leading people," Heer said. "She's very organized. She knows what she wants to do and what she wants you to do. She's very good at delegating."

The Anamoose community has drawn on Helm's knowledge in grant writing and law and benefitted from her experiences in building remodeling, she said.

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Back to give back: Anamoose native comes back to area as JDA director