David Alwan was born and raised in the meat business in Peoria, Illinois. His family's meat business, Alwan and Sons Meats, recently built a new facility in Peoria, Illinois. David left Alwan and Sons in 1998 to establish Echo Valley Meats as a wholesale meat producer and to establish a gift catalog and website.

David and his wife Dawn have two children, Jessica and Jordan. They live on their farm, Echo Valley Farms, where they raise angus cattle and board horses.

Our owner, David Alwan, was co-owner of Alwan and Sons Meat Company in Peoria, Illinois. In November 1998, David sold his share of the business and struck out on his own to start Echo Valley Meats with his wife, Dawn Fortner-Alwan. In the beginning, EVM consisted of one retail meat market in Bartonville, Illinois where our main office and packing plant are now located. David started EVM with the vision of pursuing a market share in the wholesale meat industry and expanding into the production of various meat products.

When David started Echo Valley, he first had be become a USDA Federally Inspected plant. In 2000 he completed a USDA certification course for Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

Once becoming USDA Certified, David and Dawn created a Holiday Gift catalog offering specialty meat products. Since starting the catalog in 1999, sales have progressively increased every year.

In 2001, David added a large processing facility and more employees to the Bartonville location, allowing him to produce and sell new products. This also has allowed him to expand into the private labeling market, making products for companies such as Swiss Colony and a grocery store chain in Chicago. He is also working with a company making a unique veal and shrimp sausage for a restaurant chain. He also became very involved in the Illinois Association of Meat Processors and attends their annular meat show each year. He has won numerous awards from IAMP, which you can find at the bottom of this page.

With his expanding product line and reputation for quality meats and meat products, David opened a second retail store, Echo Valley Meats of Peoria, on Knoxville Avenue in February of 2003. Echo Valley Meats of Peoria is a traditional old fashioned butcher shop with hand trimmed steaks, fresh cut meat cut daily, as well as ready to eat meals fresh in the case. With the help of Executive Chef, Ben Sedekum, David has created entrees and side dishes the customer can purchase and heat and serve or easily prepare. Our ready to cook meals take the time and hassle out of preparing healthy, tasty meals for the family. With the knowledge that his retail concept was working, David expanded into the Twin Cities by opening Echo Valley Meats of Bloomington in June of 2005.

David has also recently “hit the streets” selling quality meats to local restaurants, hotels, ball parks and arenas. Several Echo Valley products are served at the new US Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington as well.

David also took Echo Valley into casual catering services, offering a wide variety of grilled and smoked meats. Echo Valley Meats Catering does private and business functions as well as wedding. This venue has proven to be very popular.

David’s vision for Echo Valley is to expand his wholesale market share by producing new private label products as well as look to new market areas for the retail “old fashioned butcher shop” locations. His holiday gift catalog has grown over the years and the website is used by customers throughout the year for ordering. His market share is as infinite as his unlimited creativity.  He set his goals high for the company's expanded marketing goals.

Echo Valley Meats and David Alwan are self-made.  David had a vision and goals that he wanted to accomplish and he has done that.   He has educated himself, grown his business slowly and watched the changing market place.  David also became involved in the business organizations within his market as well as becoming involved in the community around him.  What better way to learn about your potential customers than to absorb yourself in the community. 

Because of his experience, people would come to David when they had questions about the meat industry. David knew that smart and successful businessmen know their industry, but they don't necessarily know everything about running a business. David realized that if he were to succeed with his vision, he had to contact someone for expert advice on how to succeed

Echo Valley's success is fueled not only by offering healthy, quality products with professional service, but also keeping a handle on the bottom line and having the desire to turn a profit…and that is where International Profit Associates was so helpful.

One of the most important things he discovered in growing his business was to get professional advice if you need it.  David hired IPA to give him advice on how to manage the rapid growth of his business and maintain control over the margins.  The experience, knowledge and expertise that the IPA consultants brought to the table has made all the difference.  With their no-nonsense approach and the valuable tools and training they provided, David has been able to grow his business and become a better manager and business owner.  David acknowledges that he would not be where he is today without the help of IPA.

• 2001 - Hosting annual fundraisers for the Bartonville Police Department, DARE programs and Bartonville Fire Department. EVM Bartonville has a fundraiser in the parking lot and donates the sale of grill items for that day to the local police and fire departments. The DARE car is displayed as well as fire trucks and the firemen show the community their equipment and gear.
• 2002 - David Alwan was awarded the Citizen of the Year Award by the Limestone Chamber of Commerce. Local community leaders selected him for his continued service to the community.
• 2004 - David was awarded a Distinguished Citizen Award from the Peoria and Bartonville police departments for catching a wanted fugitive when they attempted to pass bad checks at EVM. He also assisted in other arrests for bad check writing since then.
• 2004 - David was a Board Member for the Easter Seals Golf Classic, one of the major fundraisers for Easter Seals. He brought in several new corporate donations and had Echo Valley Meats donate the meat entrees for the banquet.
• 2005 - David was co-chair for the Easter Seals Golf Classic, one of the major fundraisers for Easter Seals. He again had Echo Valley Meats donate the meat entrees for the banquet.
• 2005 - David was selected as one the "40 Leaders Under 40" in Peoria by Peoria Magazines' Interbusiness Issues.
• 2006 - David is a board member of the 2006 Wines on the Prairie Polo Game for Easter Seals. He has donated money, time and resources to help organize and obtain sponsorship for the event.
• 2006 - David won the "Highest Award for Achievement" upon completion of the Dale Carnegie Course.
• David & Dawn donate hay from their farm to Central Illinois Riding Therapy for the horses used in the riding program.