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The Adams County Workforce Initiative began in April 2013 when more than 40 area leaders gathered to discuss workforce issues and create a platform for continued collaboration. Several key issues were identified during the April meeting and three teams were established to address the most critical of those issues.

Career Guidance Team: Working with businesses to convey to individuals the career opportunities and earning potential available in the Adams County region
Work Readiness Team: Developing work-ready citizens to become successful, productive members of the regional workforce
Succession Planning Team: Ensuring that as workers retire, the knowledge of those retirees stays with local companies and within the community

All three groups have been meeting regularly and as a result of those meetings have developed missions and goals specific to their area of workforce development. In this installment, let’s focus on Career Guidance.

Career Guidance Team

MISSION: Encourage, Educate & Connect
Encourage and foster awareness of careers; educate youth and job seekers about area career opportunities; build connections between families and local employers

Activities of the Career Guidance Team include:

• Conducted survey of junior high and high school principals to assess career guidance opportunities and gaps in Adams County schools
• Conducted “Career Roadshow” pilot project at Central (Camp Point) Freshmen Orientation night, March 13, 2014
• Planning a second Career Roadshow for Spring 2015
• Conducted a meeting with Adams County school counselors to develop an implementation plan for career guidance activities 
• Hosted a joint meeting with the Work Readiness team to share both teams’ plans

The Adams County Workforce Initiative is being guided by a steering committee consisting of representatives from the Workforce Investment Board of Western Illinois, John Wood Community College, United Way of Adams County, Quincy University, West Central Region Education for Employment System #240, Quincy Public Schools, Vatterott College and the Great River Economic Development Foundation. Individuals interested in becoming a member of one of the workforce teams should contact Angela Caldwell at 217.223.4313 or caldwella@gredf.org. 

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2^nd Annual Business Survey Results Reveal Pattern in Region’s Strengths

The Survey was conducted by GREDF in partnership with City of Quincy and Adams County.

Quincy and Adams County, Illinois… 62 individuals and organizations responded to the 2014 online survey conducted by the Great River Economic Development Foundation in partnership with theCity of Quincy and Adams County. The number of completed surveys is lower than the 203 received last year, but officials still see value in the data.

The 15-question survey was designed to gauge the current business environment in our region and set benchmarks for measurable growth. Trends emerged in the areas of community strengths and weaknesses, as well as business expansion plans.

“We’ll weave the positive findings from these surveys, such as our high quality of life and building availability/cost, into the outreach messages we share with site consultants and potential developers,” says Marcel Wagner, president of the Great River Economic Development Foundation. “The weaknesses identified by survey respondents tell us that we need to continue to focus on workforce development and workforce attraction.”

When asked the community’s strengths as a place to do business, the top two strengths remained the same. 79% of survey respondents chose quality of life (down from 80% in 2013) and 53% indicated cost of living was at the top of the list (down from 64%). Strengths that moved up in this year’s list include Building Availability/Cost (43%) and Community Leadership (40%).

“The Quincy area remains an economical choice for both start-ups and established companies looking to expand their operations,” says Mayor Kyle Moore. “Not only do we offer a low cost of living and high quality of life, we also offer resources and support to help businesses succeed.”

Cost of doing business took over the number one spot in Community Weaknesses at 47%, pushing workforce/labor market to the number two spot at 44%. While the local cost of doing business is competitive, comments indicated that room for improvement exists when it comes to the State of Illinois. Workforce development is a national issue and will continue to be one of the region’s top priorities.

When asked to rate the quality and availability of workers in the area on a scale from one to seven with seven being the highest/most favorable: 56% of respondents have a favorable opinion of the quality of workers in the area (down 7% from 2013) and 64% of respondents are neutral/positive when it comes to availability of workers in the area (down 4%).

Projected employment needs trended slightly lower in this year’s survey, although remained positive overall. 26% of respondents indicated their projected employment needs are increasing compared to 36% in 2013, while 58% report their needs as stable, up 3% from 2013. With 44% of businesses surveyed planning to expand within the next three years (no change from 2013), developing a plan to attract and train a qualified workforce is essential for continued growth.

Survey respondents indicated they are experiencing recruitment issues with the following positions or skills (2013 numbers in parentheses): Scientific/Technical 41.3% (19.7%), Skilled Production Labor 32.6% (26.5%), Marketing/Sales 19.5% (17.6%), Unskilled Production Labor 17.3% (21%), Administrative 17.3% (10.8%) and Management 10.8% (12.9%). Other in-demand positions and skills include IT/programming, accounting and industrial maintenance/electricians.

This year, two questions were added to the survey to ascertain succession planning within area organizations. 40% of respondents have a succession plan in place, 24% do not have a plan, but indicated they will need to fill positions made available due to retirement in the next 5 years and 11% do not have a plan, but also do not plan to fill the positions.

“Proactive and targeted business retention and recruitment are key to the economic future of our region,” says Les Post, chairman of the Adams County Board. “We look forward to using the findings from the survey to focus the work we do with our partners in economic development and better address the challenges and opportunities the business community faces.”

Future surveys are planned to track the progress of economic development efforts.

For a quick look at the survey results, click here.

[share]Community leaders and stakeholders are making progress on a shared vision for workforce development in the Adams County region. The Adams County Workforce Initiative began in April 2013 when more than 40 area leaders gathered to discuss workforce issues and create a platform for continued collaboration. Much work has been done since that time to move workforce development forward.

Several key issues were identified during the April meeting and three teams were established to address the most critical of those issues.

1. Career Guidance Team: Working with businesses to convey to individuals the career opportunities and earning potential available in the Adams County region
2. Work Readiness Team: Developing work-ready citizens to become successful, productive members of the regional workforce
3. Succession Planning Team: Ensuring that as workers retire, the knowledge of those retirees stays with local companies and within the community

All three groups have been meeting regularly and as a result of those meetings, have developed missions and goals specific to their area of workforce development.

Work Readiness Team

Activities of the Work Readiness Team include:

• Develop and adopt a list of essential workplace skills and organize them into foundational, intermediate and advanced levels – completed
• Partner with the Workforce Investment Board of Western Illinois to validate these essential skills by obtaining employer and agency endorsements – completed
• Share the essential skills document with area agencies to ensure prospective employees are hearing the same work-ready message – ongoing
• Identify ways for candidates to illustrate/validate their work-ready skills to employers – ongoing
• Host a joint meeting with the Career Guidance team to present both teams’ plans to area employers

The Team unveiled its Essential Workplace Skills document during a press conference on Wednesday, August 27, 2014, as part of Illinois Workforce Development Week. It also shared a list of employers and agencies that have already endorsed the essential skills and made endorsement forms available to organizations interested in supporting the initiative. Employers or agencies interested in receiving a copy of the endorsement form may download a pdf here.

The Work Readiness Team will hold a series of workshops for agency representatives to provide a more in-depth introduction of the essential skills and how the Team will be promoting the skills, to those individuals working on the front lines of workforce placement and development. The schedule for the workshops is:

• September 9, 9:00 am, Quincy Senior Center
• September 17, 1:00 pm, John Wood Community College
• September 25, 3:00 pm, Quincy Workforce Service Center 

Workshops will include resources to assist agencies when preparing job seekers, group discussion on the challenges and resources to help job seekers that often have barriers to seeking and keeping employment such as those job seekers with felonies, lack of child care, and transportation issues. For more information about these workshops, contact Howard Kirchner, Director of Workforce Development, Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials at 217.222.1560 x230.

The Adams County Workforce Initiative is being guided by a steering committee consisting of representatives from the Workforce Investment Board of Western Illinois, John Wood Community College, United Way of Adams County, Quincy University, West Central Region Education for Employment System #240, Quincy Public Schools, Vatterott College and the Great River Economic Development Foundation. Individuals interested in becoming a member of one of the workforce teams should contact Angela Caldwell at 217.223.4313 or caldwella@gredf.org. 

WIU Supply Chain Management Day

Western Illinois University is holding a Supply Chain Management Day on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, on their campus in Macomb, Illinois.

The event is part of an ongoing effort to foster interaction among employers, current and prospective WIU Supply Chain Management majors and WIU faculty and staff.

In addition to attending the event and meeting with students, employers are invited to display information about their companies and share job and internship opportunities during an afternoon Career Fair.

Schedule of Events

Advisory Board: 8:00 am – 11:00 am, Stipes 501
Lunch/Set-Up: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm, MAC Gym Conference Room – Spencer Recreation Center
SCM Career Fair: 12:00 pm – 4:45 pm, MAC Gym
Dinner with employer representatives, students, and faculty/staff: 5:00 pm, University Union Lamoine Room

Keynote Speaker

Mark D. Schweitzer – Managing Director of Intermodal and International Freight, Archer Daniels Midland Company

The event is free to attend, but employers are asked to register by September 3, 2014.

Click here for more information and to register.

International Industrial Environment & Sustainability Fair (FIMAI)

Join the Illinois Office of Trade and Investment’s Mission to the FIMAI in San Paulo, Brazil, November 11-13, 2014.

The FIMAI is Latin America’s most important industrial and environmental fair. FIMAI attracts global leaders in environmental technology that address sustainability efforts worldwide. Every year, over 400 exhibitors and 20,000 participants gather in Sao Paulo for this event, generating approximately $800 million in new business.

This event is geared to companies in the industrial environment technologies, including: environmental technology and services companies that offer solutions in water/wastewater treatment, energy efficiency and clean energy, hazardous waste, green building, environmental licensing and conservation, sustainability and environmental health and safety.

Illinois companies who qualify for this mission will receive:

• Trade show booth space to exhibit products
• 50%-75% reimbursement of travel costs for hotel and airfare in accordance with state and federal regulations
• Optional service for matchmaking appointments to meet prospective partners, agents and distributors
• Briefing materials
• Interpreter services
• Group ground transportation to programmed events
• Assistance with travel logistics

Space is limited to 10 Illinois companies and only 3 spots remain. Please contact Kelsey Schrenk, 312.814.8531 or kelsey.schrenk@illinois.gov, for more information regarding your company’s eligibility and participation requirements. Applications are due August 27th.

Click here to view a PDF with more information. 

JWCC Workforce Outreach Program Schedule – Fall 2014

John Wood Community College has announced its Fall 2014 Workforce Outreach Program schedule. All workshops will be held at JWCC’s Workforce Development Center, 4220 Kochs Lane, in Quincy. Email wdc@jwcc.edu or call 217.641.4971 for more information and to register.

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The Quincy Entrepreneurship Center at GREDF, in collaboration with several Quincy area organizations, is hosting an informational event for current and aspiring entrepreneurs on Saturday, August 9th. The 2nd Annual Entrepreneurship Expo will take place in the Quincy Mall Community Room from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The Expo is free and open to the public.

“We wanted to provide a one-stop learning experience for entrepreneurs at any stage of the process,” said Kimm Minnick, property manager for the Quincy Mall. “We worked with our partners to create an action-packed agenda that includes presentations and time for one-on-one interactions and specific questions.”

The day will begin with a Small Business Development Center presentation outlining the steps to starting a business – including the importance of a business plan and cash management.

At noon the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce (QACC) will announce the winner of the 2014 Business Plan Competition.

Lunch will be provided by the Quincy Mall immediately following the QACC announcement. Participants will have an opportunity to network and ask questions during this time. Stations will be set up for specific topics in the areas of financing a small business, marketing and sales, legal and tax issues, and human resources.

According to Charles Bell, director of the Quincy Entrepreneurship Center, planning the event has been a group effort. “When we initiated the event last year we wanted to get a number of organizations involved so current and prospective small business owners would have access to a wide network of local resources in one place,” Bell said. “It was so well received we decided to improve the event and hold it a second year.”

The Entrepreneurial Expo is being coordinated by GREDF in collaboration with the Small Business Development Center, Quincy Mall, Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce, John Wood Community College, Quincy University, The District, Illinois WorkNet Center and the Quincy Business and Technology Center.

In addition to the presentations and small group discussions, packets of information will be available outlining where to go for further assistance, as well as information about local training opportunities and schedules of upcoming entrepreneurship events.

There is no cost to attend, and no RSVP is required. Questions may be directed to Charles Bell at GREDF – 217.223.4313 or charlesb@gredf.org, or any of the participating organizations.

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Economic development is not an endeavor of a single person, or even a single organization. Successful economic development is a collaborative and aggressive process. That’s where you come in. 

Together with our partners at the City of Quincy and Adams County, GREDF invites you to fill out this short, 15-question survey to help us gauge the current business environment in our region. By providing feedback, and encouraging others to do so as well, you are helping identify and address the opportunities and challenges our area businesses face. 

Your feedback will help us be proactive in our mission to maintain and improve economic stability in the region which in turn gives your business a strong foundation from which to thrive and grow.

Thank you for your participation.

Take the survey.

“This survey is a proactive effort to identify and better understand area businesses and both the opportunities and challenges these businesses face. Our organization looks forward to continuing to partner with City and County officials to address the issues raised in the survey in meaningful and measurable ways.”
– Marcel Wagner, GREDF president

“I’m pleased to be partnering once again with GREDF and the County to get the feedback we need to help further the economic vitality of our region.”
– Mayor Kyle Moore

“We hope that all of our area businesses, both large and small, will participate in this second annual survey. Business retention and recruitment are key to the economic future of Adams County and the results of this survey will help outline the needs of the business community and give us good guidance to help make improvements.”
– Les Post, Adams County Board Chairman

Aggregate results of the 2nd Quincy and Adams County Business Survey annual survey will be shared in the coming months. 

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How are we doing?
2014 Strategic Plan Mid-Year Update

It’s been 6 months since we unveiled the GREDF Strategic Plan. The plan is a guide for the Board of Directors, staff, committees and stakeholders and serves as a blueprint for Board policy decisions, guiding the organization’s investment in economic development initiatives, programs and projects. The plan also provides direction by anticipating and responding to changes in the local and national economy.

At last week’s quarterly board meeting, GREDF staff gave a mid-year progress report of the organization’s activities and goals as they relate to the Strategic Plan. We’d like to take this opportunity to share portions of that report with you, our stakeholders.

Here’s our six goals and a quick overview of the progress we’re making:

1. Business Retention & Expansion (BRE)

Goal: Conduct one official retention visit per week and record the data in BRE software so that we may track and respond to opportunities and threats.

Progress: To date, we have conducted 32 BRE visits (61% of our annual goal) and assisted a number of companies with site-selection, workforce issues and referrals to our partner organizations.

2. Workforce Development

Goal: Facilitate a coordinated workforce initiative to align activities of Adams County area organizations, and coordinate projects that directly connect local businesses with educators to help grow a well-educated and informed future workforce.

Progress: To date we have hosted a high school and community college counselors academy and participated in over two dozen workforce steering committee meetings and meetings of the career guidance, work readiness and succession planning teams.

3. Business Attraction

Goal: Promote the Quincy/Adams County region to national and regional site consultants and individual companies who may have an interest in relocating or expanding.

Progress: To date, we have met one-on-one with 26 consultants and communicated electronically with 68 national consultants on a monthly basis. We have responded to four Request for Proposals from companies looking to grow or expand their manufacturing, warehousing, call center and office operations.   

4. Marketing/Branding

Goal: Design and implement a program to market, promote and brand the Quincy/Adams County region.

Progress: To date, 47 companies have asked for our Community Branding Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP was developed by a steering committee of community partners spearheaded by GREDF and is the first step in creating a new brand for the region. We have also developed three targeted site selection marketing packets for potential businesses/investors.

5. Entrepreneurship Development

Goal: Nurture and encourage entrepreneurship in the Quincy/Adams County region by making information and assistance more readily accessible.

Progress: To date, our Entrepreneurship Specialist Charles Bell has met one-on-one with prospective and new business owners conducting: 19 start-up/financing meetings, 2 business acquisition meetings, 10 business expansion meetings and 3 business meetings to identify new markets.  

6. Membership

Goal: Maintain and increase GREDF’s private membership investment by developing a clear rationale for support, restructuring member investment levels and defining management of the membership program.

Progress: Staff has developed the new Investor Program and recommended investment calculator. We have met one-on-one with over a dozen current members and sent an electronic survey to all our members to assess the perception of GREDF and explore opportunities to increase investment levels. To date, four companies have committed to the highest level of investment – the $10,000 Chairman’s Club. The new program has been well received and a number of other companies have increased their levels of giving.  

We invite you to view our 2014 Strategic Plan and the 2014 Annual Work Plan Mid-Year Report in its entirety (some information, including business names, specific assistance and project details, has been removed to maintain confidentiality).

We want to hear from you! Comment below or tell us how you think we are doing by emailing gredf@gredf.org or calling 217.223.4313. And please contact us today if we can assist you or your business.

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The Board of Directors of the Great River Economic Development Foundation (GREDF) along with GREDF president Marcel Wagner, today announced that Maggie Strong has been appointed Vice President of the organization.

Effective June 16, 2014, Strong’s primary focus as a part of GREDF’s executive team will be marketing and communications, as well as membership. Strong has spent the last six and a half years as a part time project manager with GREDF. She brings to the role more than 10 years of marketing and fundraising experience.

Strong earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Arts Management from Quincy University. She began her career as a project manager and later director of client relations for a local marketing and public relations firm.

“Maggie has been a tremendous asset to the organization, a creative and dedicated part of the staff and always focuses on what is best for Quincy and Adams County,” said Marcel Wagner. “I am very excited to have Maggie step into a bigger role with GREDF and believe that she has and will continue to help GREDF become a highly effective economic development organization.”

Strong will begin coursework to become a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council in the fall. In addition to leading the marketing and communications and membership portions of the GREDF Strategic Plan, Strong will be involved in GREDF’s business retention and expansion efforts.

Strong is president of the Midsummer Arts Faire Board of Directors and a member of the Quincy Preserves Board of Directors. She was named as a Quincy Herald-Whig YP 20 Under 40 honoree in 2010 and received the 2013 City of Quincy Arts Awards Volunteer Leadership Award. 

Contact Maggie at maggies@gredf.org or 217.223.4313. 

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The Board of Directors of the Great River Economic Development Foundation today announces the creation of a new membership program called The Investor Program. GREDF staff, under the direction of the Board’s Membership and Nominating Committee, has developed the new program with the goal of maintaining and increasing private membership investment.

Growing membership investment will allow GREDF to fulfill its mission to maintain and improve the economic vitality of the Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, region through the retention and expansion of existing businesses and the attraction of new businesses to our region.

“Over the past year, GREDF has developed a new strategic plan that better aligns the organization’s goals and strategies with our annual budget and work plan,” says Dan Henke, Chairman of the GREDF Board of Directors. “One of the key goals we identified was to develop a private membership investment program to help support our activities.”

GREDF currently has 200 member investors. The new program provides an updated, more clearly defined structure and calculator for determining membership investment levels. “We have always received great support from our members and for that we are very grateful. Now we are asking members to align their investment with their business operations and success,” says Glenn Bemis, Chairman of the GREDF Membership and Nominating Committee.

The staff has developed a recommended annual investment calculator that bases levels of giving on a combination of three criteria:

1. Number of local employees
2. Company revenue
3. Percentage of regional customers

The recommended level of investment for financial institutions is based on deposits.

GREDF is the only organization solely dedicated to economic development for Quincy and Adams County. Although the organization receives annual contributions from both the City of Quincy and Adams County, over 50% of GREDF’s income is raised through private membership investment.

“This is about partnerships with our region’s businesses,” says GREDF President Marcel Wagner. “Our goal is to add value to our area’s business and industry through things like business retention and expansion and workforce development. Our new Investor Program is a way for companies and organizations to invest in these efforts and be a part of our region’s success.”

The new levels of investment are as follows:

• Chairman’s Club $10,000+
• President’s Club $5,000+
• Executive’s Club $2,500+
• Manager’s Club $1,000+

In addition to the benefits that go along with supporting economic development activities in our region, based on the level of investment, member investors may receive a members-only e-newsletter, invitation to a members-only annual breakfast, listing and link on www.gredf.org, listing on the annual report, recognition at the annual meeting and an invitation to the board of directors annual dinner.

GREDF is pleased to announce that three local organizations have stepped up to become the first $10,000 Chairman’s Club members: Adams Networks/Adams Telephone, Blessing Health System and The Knapheide Manufacturing Company. 

“For 166 years, Knapheide has proudly called Quincy, Illinois and Adams County home,” states Harry Marcionetti, Senior Vice President of Operations, at The Knapheide Manufacturing Company. “Our involvement and support of GREDF will help ensure that we have the economic growth and development within the region to support our endeavors for tomorrow and beyond.”

“The Blessing Health System considers its GREDF membership as an investment in Quincy, Adams County and the tri-state region,” says Maureen Kahn, incoming President and CEO of the Blessing Health System and a GREDF board member. “We need a strong economic development organization to support job creation so that those of us who benefit from economic development can continue to grow our own enterprises.”

“As a cooperative we understand the focus of investing our time and assets locally and GREDF is no different,” says Jim Broemmer, Chief Executive Officer of Adams and a former GREDF board member.  “At Adams we continue to make investments in communication services in our region to support our communities growth and sustainability and we see GREDF as a partner in this mission.  We are proud to be a supporter.”

In addition to these investments, GREDF has received commitments from a number of other area companies to increase their levels of giving. “We’ve been knocking on a lot of doors to find out more about our region’s business community, thank them for their past support and ask them to consider becoming a bigger partner/investor,” says Wagner. “We have had very positive feedback.”

Past and current members will be receiving an electronic survey in their email inboxes in the coming days. The quick, 8-question survey asks for feedback on GREDF’s strategic plan and asks recipients to answer a few confidential questions about their business which will help GREDF staff prioritize business retention and membership visits.

For more information about the new GREDF Investor Program, click here, or call Maggie Strong at 217.223.4313.

[share]The GREDF Strategic Planning Committee met this week to review the strategic plan adopted by GREDF’s Board of Directors in December of last year. The plan serves as a blueprint for Board policy decisions, guiding the organization’s investment in economic development initiatives, programs and projects.

In today’s eDevelopments, we’d like to share our progress on our top priority: Business Retention & Expansion. The ultimate aim of BRE is to stimulate local economic development by helping existing businesses increase their sales and employment through a combination of programs that not only increase these firms’ competitiveness, but also improve the community’s quality of life.

Our BRE goal for 2014 is to make one official BRE visit per week. An official retention visit is different than more frequent need- and project-based outreach with businesses. A retention visit is defined as a targeted, data-gathering meeting initiated by GREDF with five goals in mind:

1. Identify businesses with plans to expand.
2. Identify businesses at risk of leaving or downsizing.
3. Identify business and community problems.
4. Provide assistance.
5. Build relationships.

GREDF uses a BRE software called Synchronist to collect, analyze and report the aggregate data collected during BRE visits. We are pleased to report that we have surpassed our goal during the first five months of the year, conducting 28 official BRE visits ytd. 

Through these confidential visits, we have identified and addressed existing projects and issues, and are servicing the capital, workforce and infrastructure needs of our area businesses as a result. We have identified trends and opportunities and look forward to ongoing dialogue with our region’s business community.

We look forward to sharing our 6-month Strategic Plan update in June. Until then, we’ll be busy furthering our mission: to maintain and and improve the economic vitality of the Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, region through the retention and expansion of existing businesses and the attraction of new businesses to our entire region.