Matt Stolz

Matt Stolz is Jim Minton’s administrative assistant. He underwent intensive training under his predecessor, Cindy Wene, who worked with Jim for over twenty years. Matt grew up in Decatur and has lived here for most of his life. His three children and several relatives also reside here.

Matt graduated as an honor student from Larkin High School in Elgin, Illinois, in 1994. His SAT score was in the top one-tenth of one percent of the nation. He was listed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students and was invited to attend West Point, though he elected to stay closer to home instead. In 1995, he graduated from Elgin Community College, where he attended on full-tuition academic scholarship and made the Dean’s List all five semesters, earning an A.A. in computerized graphic design. He completed his senior year of high school and his freshman year of college simultaneously. In 2002, after several changes of major and a few semesters off, he graduated from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, where he received another academic scholarship, earning a B.A. in psychology. Having had his fill of Chicagoland traffic and wishing to help take care of his aging grandparents, he returned to Decatur following his graduation to build a life for himself here.

Matt is a published author, poet, journalist, and essayist and has sold a number of his paintings in oil and acrylics. He has studied over a dozen languages and speaks a little bit of a dozen more. He plays five musical instruments, mostly for fun and with the Ansar Shrine Jazz Band. He is, as his mother often described him, a modern-day Renaissance man. He volunteers and raises money for several charities including Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Springfield.

Matt married his wife, Maria, in 2014.  His memberships include Saint John’s Episcopal Church, the Guild of Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, and the Triple Nine Society, a high-IQ organization, among others. He enjoys reading, hiking, martial arts, and singing, particularly Irish folk songs. For over a decade, he volunteered as the singing bell-ringer for the Salvation Army in Decatur, appearing in the Decatur Herald & Review and on WAND-TV, before deciding to hang up his jingle bells in favor of warm firesides and good company.