Foreign Visitors: GPEDC was proud to co-host, along with gener8tor and Distillery Labs, a visit by the American Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) to Peoria as part of their weeklong program in Illinois. ACE brings together business and government leaders from countries that are members of the Organization of American States (OAS). Over 70 people visited Peoria from 20+ countries visited Distillery Labs this past Tuesday to tour the facility, network with Peoria’s startup ecosystem, and hear the pitches of eight startups, including Peoria-area companies DigiFarmz and Humod. A number of great connections were made with leaders of entrepreneurial ecosystems in countries like Argentina, Costa Rica, Belize and Brazil.
GPMN Meeting: The Greater Peoria Manufacturing Network held its quarterly meeting last Thursday. The program consisted of presentations from three different organizations. Jason Johnson of Thomasnet to explain the components of a Digital Marketing Program. Susan Morris, the Director of Cybersecurity Advisor at Illinois APEX provided an informative presentation of the services Illinois APEX provides businesses in the procurement of Federal, State, and Local government contracts. Brent Ruth from the Association of Supply Chain Managers Lincoln Land Chapter introduced information on how the organization furthers careers in Supply Chain Management through their partnership with universities and the certification programs for those employed in Supply Chain positions.
SkillsUSA: Just a few days into her job, Cynthia volunteered to be a judge at the SkillsUSA state championship held at the Peoria Civic Center last weekend. The competition welcomed thousands of high school students from across the state to show their skills in everything from cosmetology to diesel mechanics. Cynthia (along with our great partner Amy McCoy of the Pekin Chamber) served as a judge for several competitions, including job interviews, prepared speeches, impromptu speeches (where students created speeches on the spot from prompts we provided), and a student government simulation. She says it was inspiring to see the level of talent, preparation, and passion these students brought to the table. She also noted that she wished opportunities like this had existed when she was in high school.
National Apprenticeship Day: Speaking of workforce development, Cynthia and Sally visited Alcast this week to help celebrate National Apprenticeship Day. Since 2018, Alcast has been an active and engaged partner in the creation of the Industrial Maintenance Apprenticeship Program at www.icc.edu. Their approach is straightforward but powerful: if the talent isn’t available, invest in growing it from within. We used what we learned from Alcast to highlight the importance of apprenticeships across our social media platforms. You can learn more at our LinkedIn post.
Have a great weekend.
Chris