EDC hosts 2012 Regional Economic Development Summit
Regionalism & Collaboration Will Grow Our Economy
January 31, 2012 (Peoria, IL)—Nearly 200 regional leaders attended the 2012 Regional Economic Development Summit. The Economic Development Council for Central Illinois hosted the event in an effort to keep dialogue, regarding regional development, open and moving forward.
A panel of speakers discussed case studies of regional successes and challenges in economic development, new site requirements for attracting businesses, financial tools to help businesses expand and grow jobs, tips on growing jobs and examples of the latest business attraction and expansion success to keep and get more jobs. Event speakers included:
Tracey Bosman – “Site requirements for attracting business”
Tracey Hyatt Bosman is Director, Strategic Consulting with Grubb & Ellis. She specializes in Business Location Services, assisting companies in finding the optimal location for new or expanding operations. Her specialties include incentives negotiation, global strategic business planning, and market analysis. Ms. Bosman works with a wide range of sectors, including data centers, manufacturing, back office and contact center operations, and logistics.
Jim Mamer – “Critical financial tools for keeping and creating jobs”
Jim Mamer is the Co-Chief Executive Officer and President of Hometown Community Bancorp. He joined Morton Community Bank in September of 1986 as the Executive Vice President and was promoted to President in February 1988. He has been a regional community volunteer since beginning his banking career and he has been instrumental in economic growth for our entire region.
Dick Taylor, Economic Development Administrator, Elmwood – “What your community needs for job growth”
Dick Taylor is the Economic Development Administrator for Elmwood. He’s been a resident of Elmwood since 1986. He was hired by the city immediately following the 2010 tornado to coordinate the recovery effort and then was retained by the City for a second year to pursue economic development. Dick is here to talk about what your community needs for job growth and the regional collaboration that helped rebuild his community after the devastating tornado.
Laurie Barra – “Business Attraction: Opportunity for 2000 new jobs”
Laurie Barra is the mayor of Pekin and also served as a council member in Pekin from 1995-2003. Mayor Barra sat on the Pekin Park Board of Commissioners from 1979-1995 and served as president for 2 years.
Doug Parsons – “Recent business expansion tools”
Doug Parsons started with Excel Foundry & Machine in 1992. He’s been President of Excel since 1997. He is currently invested in several other small and mid-size companies and seeks to utilize his entrepreneurial passion and experience to help others.
EDC President Vickie Clark said the event was designed to further engage these leaders in current regional economic development activities. “There are multiple critical roles we all have to do if we want to keep and create jobs in this region. It is imperative that all of our regional leaders are on the same page, working towards the same goals.” The EDC is also gearing up for its next 5 year strategic plan and Clark said this was a great opportunity for get input from these leaders on the EDC progression to the next level.
The summit also included a work session where participants shared their thoughts on the most important economic development activities for their individual communities and the region as a whole. This information will be compiled and shared with regional leaders in the next few days in order to help them in their economic development decision-making processes.
[Download main PowerPoint presentation]
[Download notes and handout from Tracey Hyatt Bosman, Grubb & Ellis]
[Download PowerPoint presentation from Doug Parsons, Excel Foundry & Machine]
[Download PowerPoint presentation from Richard Taylor, City of Elmwood]