Presidential Visit: I’ve mentioned before that a really cool aspect of Distillery Labs is that it is just one in a system of fourteen innovation hubs in the Illinois Innovation Network, a program of the University of Illinois System. (We also happen to be the first hub to open, but we don’t like to brag….too much.) So it was fitting that Distillery Labs was a stop on U of I President Tim Killeen’s roadshow this week. The President was joined by leadership of the three main campuses (Urbana-Champaign, Springfield, and Chicago), local educational leaders from UICOMP and ICC, Representatives Jehan Gordon-Booth and Ryan Spain, and a host of others to tour our new facility. More importantly, we participated in a great conversation about how Greater Peoria can leverage institutional assets (research, innovation, students) to help our startups. And even better, how the University of Illinois can leverage Greater Peoria to make themselves more successful. We look forward to future visits by President Killeen and his team and being able to showcase even more great advances.
TWG: While not quite a presidential visit, we were also visited this week by a pretty influential person. Kristin Richards, the Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), was the guest speaker at this month’s Technical Working Group meeting. (This is a monthly education and networking meeting for all of the region’s community and economic development partners.) Director Richards provided an overview of Illinois’ newly adopted five year economic development strategy. The plan outlines how Illinois can leverage its assets – logistics, workforce, manufacturing strength, etc. – to attract new business and help existing businesses grow. Director Richards talked about recent improvements in Illinois’ incentive packages and shared about how they were looking at further enhancements to remain competitive with other states. She also engaged attendees in a great conversation about Greater Peoria, our strengths, and our opportunities. DCEO is a really important partner for GPEDC and all our communities, and it was great to connect more personally with its leader.
More Brazilians: Last week, while I was in Denver, Kathie stood in for me and hosted more friends from Brazil. Our friend and great contact, Flavia Andrade of IDL Ventures, brought two visitors for a side trip to Peoria before the ClimateTech conference in Chicago. Leandro Scalabrin is the CEO of a Brazilian startup, SWA, which provides management solutions to educational institutions and agricultural cooperatives. He was joined by Jonhey Lucizani of Itaipu Parquetec, a business park and incubator in southwest Brazil. The trio of visitors were treated to a tour of Distillery Labs, a discussion around farming practices with the Peoria County Farm Bureau and Illinois Farm Business Management, and lunch with Doug Cruitt of Distillery Labs and Marcos Hashimoto of Bradley University (a Brazilian who teaches innovation and entrepreneurship). Kathie was also able to take them to visit the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) where they explored several incredible opportunities for collaboration in research with Dr. Ron Hector, Research Leader, Bioenergy (BER) Research Unit; Dr. Daiane Lopes, ORISE Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Bioenergy (BER) Research Unit; Dr. Roque Evangelista, Research Chemist, Bio-Oils (BOR) Research Unit; and Dr. Steve Peterson, Research Chemist, Plant Polymer (PPL) Research Unit (biochar)—the day finished at Precision Planting’s PTI Farm in Pontiac, where they witnessed the latest innovations in precision agriculture. We love meeting new people and showcasing our region. We are really proud of the work we have done to build relationships like these with international companies, institutions, and partners.
Makers on The Move: Don’t forget to register for some of the “Makers on the Move” bus stops in Greater Peoria next Friday. The bus will stop at Enercon in East Peoria (4:15 – 4:45 pm) and Philippi-Hagenbuch in Peoria County (5:00 – 5:30 pm). The first day wraps up with a happy hour from 6 – 7:30 pm at Distillery Labs in downtown Peoria, sponsored by Greater Peoria EDC. You can register for all the events here and see the full schedule of stops.
Career Spark: Next week is a BIG week as our annual Career Spark expo is held on October 1 and 2 at the Peoria Civic Center. It might be hard to get a hold of GPEDC staff over those two days as it is an “all hands on deck” sort of event. Want to get a glimpse of Career Spark? Drop me a line, and I’ll sign you up for one of our VIP tours.
Roadway Safety Survey: Have a favorite route or a spot that could use some improvement? Now’s your chance to share! The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission is looking for feedback from Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford County residents and travelers, and asks you to take just 5 minutes for a roadway safety survey (available in English and Spanish). Help them prioritize improvements and make the roads better for everyone. Your voice counts. Take the survey now at https://www.tricountysafety.org/survey.
Have a great weekend.
Chris