The winner of the inaugural “Create-a-Crunch Essay Contest” is a student at Red Bud HS in southern Illinois who won 2,500 boxes of cereal specifically designed for her school. “Musketeers Cinnamon Crunch” will be delivered soon by Gilster-Mary Lee, a leading private label food manufacturer that more than 20 years ago made “Flutie Flakes” and more recently “Mahomes Magic Crunch.” It’s headquartered in Chester, Illinois, with more than 3,000 employees at a dozen plants across Illinois and Missouri. The contest, in partnership with the Illinois Manufacturers Association, attracted over 300 essays that answered two questions: What manufactured product impacted their life the most? And: What could manufacturers do to lure more students into the field of manufacturing? Gilster-Mary Lee CEO Tom Welge, the fourth generation of run the company, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander in the audio clip below about the company and the contest, which will be held again this fall.