New Teammate: We are very excited to welcome Carolyn Williams to the Greater Peoria EDC team, and to Greater Peoria itself. This week, Carolyn joined us as our new Director of Workforce Solutions. And as a bonus, she is a transplant, moving to our community from Birmingham, Alabama. She comes to us after managing statewide workforce programming for the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. In her role here, she will help craft and steer workforce initiatives that help both employers and potential employees. A considerable part of that work will be serving as the managing director of the Regional Workforce Alliance, the region’s collective impact organization that helps ensure a robust and equitable talent pipeline. Carolyn is excited for a new role in a new community and is a lover of sports, particularly tennis, and cooking. Please help us welcome Carolyn to our community.
Chip’s Tool & Machine: Another team also gained a new member. Chip’s Tool and Machine, a machining shop that has been operating on the southside of Peoria for 45 years, recently joined the Greater Peoria Manufacturing Network. They are dedicated to being a quality supplier of machining fixtures, service tools, prototype development, prove-design parts, as well as short run production. They have earned a reputation of high quality work at reasonable prices and employ competent and efficient employees that offer years of experience in precision machine work. We are excited to have them add their expertise and capabilities to the robust set of providers that call the Network home.
Did You Know?: One of the key activities of GPEDC is to connect with our existing companies, working to better understand their business and address barriers or opportunities for growth. I want to start using this space to shine a light on some of the companies we meet, because you might be as surprised as we are about the great work being done in Greater Peoria. This week, Cynthia and I met with the leadership of Cibes Symmetry. Did you know that our region is home to the US headquarters of a Swedish company that makes custom elevators (largely for home use)? And that they have not one, but two factories here? That’s Cibes which acquired Bella Elevator three years ago. They employ about 150 people at their facilities in Peoria County (near Mossville) and Roanoke and design, build and ship thousands of lift systems across the country. Just another bit of proof that Greater Peoria is the intersection of designers and makers. If you know of an interesting business you’d like us to meet, drop me a line.
AgTech Connect: A reminder that the next AgTech Connect event is next week: August 18 from 10 – 11:30 am at Beck’s Hybrids in El Paso. Beck’s state-of-the-art seed processing facility will serve a great backdrop for a discussion about business innovation. The event is planned to connect entrepreneurs with resources in our community to support their business development. We hope you can join us for this valuable networking event. Please RSVP here by August 16.
Big Table Registration: We are still looking for table facilitators for the next Big Table event, happening October 17–18 at the Four Points Sheraton Peoria. Join us for two days of bold conversations, fresh ideas, and regional collaboration. Register here today to attend or serve as a table facilitator and help shape the future of Greater Peoria.
Have a great weekend.
Chris