EDA Grant: This week Greater Peoria EDC finalized all the paperwork for the award of a new three-year Partnership Planning Grant from the US Economic Development Administration. The grant will help serve as base operational funding for 2025 – 2027. Over the past three decades, we have used this annual funding to support the important work of developing and implementing the region’s Big Table Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). But beyond the operational support, GPEDC has leveraged this funding to build an incredible relationship with EDA that has resulted in 8 grants totalling nearly $28 million tens of millions of federal funds invested in Greater Peoria in projects in the last ten years alone. Thank you to the regional staff at EDA in Chicago for their faith in our work, and to the GPEDC board of directors, investors and staff for making this all possible.
Defense: Greater Peoria played host to the quarterly meeting of the Illinois Defense Manufacturing Consortium. The group includes representatives from manufacturing communities in north and central Illinois, including Peoria, Rockford, the Quad Cities and Chicago. Other consortium members include the University of Illinois Chicago (project lead), IMEC and the American Manufacturing Communities Consortium. The group works individually and collectively to address challenges and opportunities in the manufacturing sector, specifically to bolster the industry’s ability to support US defense capabilities. The quarterly gathering, which allowed us to showcase Distillery Labs, brought the partners together for networking, progress sharing, and collaboration toward project goals. Regional economic development is not just limited to GPEDC’s five counties. We love being a part of wider initiatives that benefit us locally.
Workforce Meets Metal: This week, GPEDC hosted the Workforce Meets Metal Round Table, bringing together local metal manufacturers to explore strategies for unlocking workforce potential in partnership with IMEC and the METAL Project of Jobs for the Future. (METAL stands for Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeships & Learning). Morton Industries, Quality Metal Products, and Alcast were among the attendees, engaging in meaningful discussions on training, innovation, and forward-thinking practices. These conversations are vital as manufacturing plays a key role in our regional and national economy. GPEDC is proud to be part of these efforts and looks forward to more roundtables that foster collaboration and growth across Greater Peoria.
USDA-RD: Speaking of visitors, we were happy to meet with the new Illinois state director of the Office of Rural Development in the US Department of Agriculture, Jesus Ortega. USDA-RD oversees a number of valuable programs targeted at improving economic outcomes in our rural communities, including programs that finance business expansion, support rural housing development, and facilitate community investment. It was great to meet Director Ortega and get a better understanding of how Greater Peoria EDC can tap into their programs to assist our communities and their businesses and to engage in a dialog about the challenges and opportunities in our region.
More Celebrating Kathie: Last week, I mentioned that Kathie was named the Small Business Advocate of the Year by the Illinois SBDC at Bradley University at its 7th Annual Small Business Awards. But I forgot to share the link to a short video that they made as part of the award. You can watch that here. Certainly an honor worth two mentions.
Did You Know? This is probably not as much of a “hidden gem” as previous weeks, but Cynthia had a recent chance to tour the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research – better known in these parts as the “Ag Lab.” While thousands of Greater Peorians drive by their building each day, few know what goes on there or have a real appreciation for how amazing a resource it is. Lots of locals (and others) know that the Ag Lab was responsible for developing the solution that allowed for the mass production of penicillin. But their impact isn’t limited to a breakthrough decades ago – every day they are working closely with farmers and crop associations to develop solutions to modern agricultural problems and find new uses for the crops we grow right here in Central Illinois. Their work has a ripple effect on our local economy as farmers are able to be more productive and sell their products in more markets. Be on the lookout for construction of a new research greenhouse that will be getting underway next year.
Have a great weekend.
Chris