Trillium Place: Thursday was a pretty great day in our community. After years of planning and hard work, Carle Health cut the ribbon on Trillium Place – a center for behavioral health for teens and adolescents. Both outpatient and residential care will be provided from this West Peoria location. You might not automatically think of the economic impact of a development like this, but let me offer you three reasons it’s important to the work GPEDC does:
- First, Trillium Place will generate its own local economic impact. It certainly employed local construction workers during the renovation and will create jobs for clinicians, therapists, administrative personnel, and others. Given the scarcity of such services in Central Illinois (and frankly most of Illinois outside of the Chicago area), I believe as families travel to Peoria to get these crucial services.
- Second, the services that will be provided are critical in our community. Our children are certainly not immune to behavioral health challenges. Having this facility and its comprehensive array of services is absolutely a quality-of-life enhancer. Whether it is attracting people to our region or retaining our population, having world-class physical and behavioral health services is a real advantage.
- Third, and maybe most importantly, Trillium Place will help improve our community as a whole. If behavioral health issues can be addressed earlier, we will see a reduction in crime, better health outcomes, improved educational attainment, and a better prepared and available workforce.
Thank you to Carle Health and all of their supporters who made this happen.
Distillery Labs Big Day: Thursday was also a big day for Distillery Labs. In the morning, it hosted the Illinois Falling Walls Lab pitch competition. Thirteen college students and early career entrepreneurs pitched to a panel of judges about their breakthrough technologies, products, and services. Three of the finalists were connected with Greater Peoria startups (HuMod, ShotHawk, and Rehab Ranger). The winner goes on to the international competition in Germany later this year. After Falling Walls Lab, Distillery Labs was the site of the board meeting for the Illinois Innovation Network, bringing together academic leaders from the other 14 innovation hubs in Illinois. To cap off the day, the Startup Showcase featured the pitches of the nine startups who went through the last two cohorts of the Distillery Labs gBeta program. Around a hundred people gathered to hear about these companies and to network with one another. If you missed the showcase, you can watch the recorded pitches here. This is just the latest set of events that will distinguish Greater Peoria as a true center of startup activity and support.
RISE Summit: The Workforce Solutions team spent the first half of the week attending the RISE Summit by the Peoria Area Chamber and YPGP. There were great breakout sessions with challenging and engaging topics like Overcoming Self-sabotage, Navigating Bias for Women in Leadership, Finding New Directions, Handling Change, and more. There were also great events after hours that provided the opportunity not just to network professionally but to get to know our fellow attendees on more personal levels and make connections that can grow outside the office. The team enhanced their skills and discussed great potential partnerships—all while spreading the word about the region’s workforce initiatives. Our thanks to the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce for putting together such a great opportunity.
AgTech Connect: The next AgTech Connect meeting will be held at Distillery Labs on September 17 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This quarterly meeting brings innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders in the AgTech sector to spark collaboration, promote sustainable growth, and drive regional economic opportunity. Presentations include Dr. Jim Lowe of the Center for Veterinary Innovation and Jason Yordy of TurkeyTrac and EarlyBird Nutrition. Register here.
Volunteer for Career Spark! We are still looking for volunteers for Career Spark, central Illinois’s largest career exploration initiative. This year, it’s being held at the Peoria Civic Center on October 1 and 2. We need your help to make it happen. Volunteers make this whole thing go! Volunteers can sign up now to represent their industry, assist with greeting buses, guide students between zones, monitor zone entrances and exits, and deliver volunteer lunches. Sign up here.
Have a great weekend.
Chris