2007 RAEDC Annual Meeting & Dinner Presentation Available
More Than 750 People Attended RAEDC Annual Meeting & Dinner;
Keynote Speaker Angelos Angelou Urged Rockford Region to
Seize Moment and Maximize Economic Opportunities
View the Video from the Event:
Part 1 (30 min.) Part 2 (31 min) Part 3 (25 min)
To view pictures from the event, click here.
Rockford, Illinois – More than 750 business leaders and elected officials attended the annual meeting and dinner of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council at Giovanni’s Restaurant & Convention Center tonight.
The keynote speaker was one of the nation’s top site selectors, Angelos Angelou. Also speaking at the event were David Schertz, outgoing RAEDC chairman of the board and administrator of OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center; John Chadwick, incoming RAEDC chairman of the board and vice president and general manager of WREX-13; and Janyce Fadden, RAEDC president.
Keynote Speaker
Mr. Angelou’s firm, AngelouEconomics - based in Austin, Texas - is one of the largest, independent economic development and site selection consulting firms in the country. Austin is nicknamed “Silicon Hills” because of the number of high-tech companies it has, many of which were attracted to the city by Angelou when he worked for the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
“Mr. Angelou is a noted expert in building a technology economy and a sought after speaker on global economic development,” said Ken Edge, Chairman and CEO of AMCORE Bank. “His insights and recommendations in relation to the Rockford economy should help us as a community in determining how we grow and attract new businesses.”
During his keynote presentation at the RAEDC annual meeting, Angelou presented his findings and made recommendations based on customized research he conducted about the Rockford Area. “Angelos gave our region plenty to think about tonight,” stated Janyce Fadden, RAEDC President. “We were able to see through a leading site selector’s lens how our community looks from an outsider’s
perspective. Not only were our community leaders challenged to think more deeply about regional collaboration, but we were presented challenges resulting from the growing global supply chain. Angelos urged our community to embrace the immigrant population and ethnic diversity, while continuing our efforts to attract and retain the next generation of workers.”
Earlier in the day, Angelou was taken on a “windshield tour” of the community by RAEDC Vice President of National Business Development Eric Voyles. “In addition to the customized research he conducted prior to his visit, the tour gave us an opportunity to showcase our region’s assets to Mr. Angelou,” stated Voyles. “We hope to be working with him more closely in the future, as he now has the
Rockford Region on his radar for future projects in which he may be engaged.”
Angelou also conducted a private session with over 25 regional economic development professionals this afternoon prior to the annual meeting and dinner. He discussed the latest trends in economic development and shared best practices from successful communities throughout the country. “Angelos gave us and our regional partners ideas of how we can differentiate ourselves,” stated Fadden. “We were able to work with him in a small group to hear first-hand what we should be focusing on and how we can best work together.”
2007 Results Celebrated
During her presentation, Fadden announced economic development results from the year, including details of 160 projects managed, 20 project wins, and over 1,000 jobs retained or created, including:
- Anderson Packaging’s 260,000 square foot expansion;
- Ingenium Technologies’ addition of 80 skilled workers;
- Renovations by Woodward and TAC; and
- The attraction of Radius, Canz, and WATT.
Fadden also discussed the power of collaboration and gave examples that resulted in improving the competitiveness of the region, including:
- The Attracting and Retaining Talent to the Rockford Area Steering Committee was formed between the RAEDC, RACVB, Rockford Chamber of Commerce, Next Rockford, the City of Rockford, and Winnebago County. The committee is working to implement recommendations made by Rebecca Ryan and Next Generation Consulting, including the creation of a broad-based young professionals organization, LiveBig Weekend, and the Jobapalooza professional career fair.
- Congressman Manzullo, the Greater Rockford Airport Authority, and RAEDC jointly hosted trade delegations from South Korea, Japan, and China. Regional leaders also collaborated to host three days in Rockford as part of the Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce Entrepreneurial Days and to develop a growing relationship with Lidköping, Rockford’s industrial trade agreement city.
- The Rockford Area Association of Realtors Commercial & Industrial Committee collaborated with the RAEDC to host a luncheon with Keynote Speaker Bob Ady, a leading site selector.
- The Workforce Connection, Winnebago County, RAEDC, and Growth Dimensions of Belvidere and Boone County commissioned a Laborshed Analysis to produce data about our region’s available workforce.
The RAEDC 2007 Annual Report is available upon request at 815.987.8118 and online at: www.rockfordil.com/pdf/pubs/2007AnnualReport.pdf
Looking Ahead: Rockforward!
RAEDC Chairman of the Board David Schertz highlighted the RAEDC’s new five-year economic development strategy for 2008 – 2012 called “Rockforward! Funding the Future We Want Now.” “Collaborating for economic development is the key to our region’s continued success,” stated Schertz. “This year, the RAEDC received tremendous support from private and public sector leaders when we launched our groundbreaking economic development initiative. As we embark on a $7.5 Million
campaign to generate $2.8 Billion of new wealth over the next five years, the Rockford Region answered loud and clear with extraordinary support. Just eleven weeks into the campaign, our community has committed over 75% of the five-year goal.”
“An exciting part of our campaign is to invite all the parties that form the economic realities of today to join us,” stated Fadden. “We are meeting with current investors, large, medium, and small cap companies, municipal governments, labor and trade unions, and minority-owned firms. They all have a stake in our region’s success, and we invite organizations to contact us to learn more about getting
engaged with our work.”
RAEDC Annual Meeting Sponsors
Keynote Speaker Sponsor: AMCORE Bank
Premier Sponsors: Alpine Bank, First Northern Credit Union, GrahamSpencer Advertising/Design, Greenlee - A Textron Company, and OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center
RAEDC President’s Circle and Platinum Investors: Alpine Bank, AMCORE Bank, AT&T Illinois, City of Rockford, ComEd, Greater Rockford Airport Authority, IBEW / NECA, IronWorkers Local Union 498, JP Morgan Chase, Northern Illinois Building Contractors Association, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, Rockford Area Association of Realtors, Rockford Health System, Rockford Register Star,
SwedishAmerican Health System, UPS, Village of Machesney Park, Winnebago County, Woodward, WQRF TV / WTVO TV, and WREX-TV.
ABOUT THE RAEDC
The primary role of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council is to enhance wealth creation in the Rockford Region by marketing the area and helping employers retain and create quality jobs. The RAEDC works closely with many partners to serve as a one-stop resource for clients, to improve the competitiveness of the region and to engage the community in the work of economic development.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.rockfordil.com/pdf/pubs/2007AnnualReport.pdf
Tonya Lamia, RAEDC Vice President, Investor Relations
t: 815.987.8118 / c: 815.997.3724
tlamia@rockfordil.com