ARTICLE HEADLINE
When I started in the economic development field in 2001, the focus was still primarily on traditional business attraction and retention. Today, regional economic development organizations who are making an impact are also heavily engaged in talent....talent development, talent attraction, and talent retention. Programs like Seize Des Moines and  Access Dubuque are great examples of how economic development organizations are partnering with employers to promote their communities to the best and brightest. Live Greater Peoria is our platform for a similar effort. Employers and organizations can take advantage of the program by adding LiveGP.org to job postings, sending newcomers to our monthly orientation sessions, and inviting us to join you for future career fairs. The effort is already gaining steam and we are excited to continue providing critical marketing support to our recruiters.

Another pillar of economic development today is innovation. Our ability to support the development of innovative businesses led by innovative people will be critical for growing and diversifying our regional economy. A team of over 25 volunteers representing regional organizations, companies, education, and government are working on a project to support and expand that type of innovation for GP. Volunteers traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas earlier this week to benchmark with The Venture Center and the Innovation Hub to learn more about makerspaces, STEM learning, and startup accelerators. Big plans are underway for our region, so stay tuned for more details in upcoming months.

And speaking of big plans, we can't wait to share the progress on ours. We are 15 months into our strategy and excited to share an update with our investors, partners, volunteers, and friends. Join us on May 5th from 3-5 pm at the Warehouse on State for our first GP Annual Meet-up. The event will include details on our progress, several special guest speakers and videos, and the presentation of our first Team GP awards. We hope to see you there!

Our progress is exciting and only possible through the support of our GPEDC Investors. Their funding and support are working each and every day to help us grow business and talent in our region. If you aren't involved yet, consider joining us. Everyone is needed and welcome!

Jennifer Daly
Join Us For Our First Annual Event!
Team Learns in Little Rock
A group of 14 from our Catalyst Team just returned from a quick trip to Little Rock, Arkansas. We met with the leadership from The Venture Center and the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub to explore best practices for coworking and startup accelerators, makerspaces, creative design, and developing STEAM skills in middle and high school students. Our tours and discussions really confirmed that the strategies we are pursuing are right on track. And as impressed as we were with both centers and their teams, they were really impressed with the makeup and diversity of our team and the progress we have made in this arena. 

We want to thank the folks who joined us on the trip, suffering 16 hours in a minivan in pursuit of excellence for our region:

Jay Babin, Caterpillar and River City Labs
Brent Baker, GPEDC
Kathie Brown, Univerity of Illinois Extension
Beth Derry, Peoria County Regional Superintenden of Schools
Kayse Doering, Farnsworth Group
Randon Gettys, GPEDC
Jake Hamann, Onefire
Dan Henderson, Caterpillar
Katie Kim, The Kim Group
Doug Leunig, Artist
Matt Nelson, Northerly
Chris Setti, City of Peoria
Joe Spanier, Caterpillar and River City Labs
Get Ready for Bradley's Brave Launch
The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University is pleased to announce its inaugural business accelerator program, Brave Launch. Brave Launch is designed to assist entrepreneurs accelerate the startup process through innovative curriculum and real-world interaction. This program works for startups, small businesses, and corporate innovation teams and is available to the community, students, and faculty.
 
Send Your Newcomers to Welcome to GP Orientation!
Invite your new employees to attend Welcome to GP, an orientation session designed for any individual who is new to our region.  These free sessions will be held monthly, beginning in May, and include an introduction to the great things Greater Peoria has to offer and fun swag bags.

Welcome to GP printed postcard invitations are available through our office. Postcards are free for any GPEDC Investor and are a great item to hand to a new employee. Your newcomers can register to attend Welcome to GP at LiveGP.org. Contact Kate Carroll at kcarroll@greaterpeoriaedc.org for more information.   

Peoria Magazines Hosts State of Volunteerism - May 3
Peoria Magazines State of Volunteerism Forum will take place on Tuesday, May 3 , 2016 from 7:30am - 11:30am  in the Peoria Civic Center Theater in conjunction with iBi magazine' s " Community Impact " issue. 

Join local nonprofit, business and community leaders as they share ideas related to volunteerism, corporate responsibility and community engagement in a TED Talk-style forum.

Forum sponsors include AMT, Ameren Illinois, Caterpillar Inc., Greater Peoria EDC, Peoria Civic Center, PNC, Heart of Illinois United Way and WMBD-TV .
Meet Branson Moreno, CICESS Apprentice
CICESS (Central Illinois Center of Excellence for Secure Software) is the first Secure Software Apprenticeship Program in the nation. It was developed by local employers in partnership with Illinois Central College and found a home at the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council (GPEDC) in 2015.

Branson Moreno is a local student in the CICESS program. His apprenticeship employer is local media and innovation company, OneFire. "The CICESS program has given me the opportunity to learn more about my interests. Working as an apprentice while I go to school has allowed me to pay for school so I do not have loans to pay back", says Moreno. "The fast pace of the classes at ICC are challenging, but help keep everything you learn fresh in your mind. The teachers all have real world experience in the industry and love to share it with the students. Without the CICESS program I would not have been able to attend school full time and get such great benefits."

The next CICESS cohort begins in the fall of 2016.  If you are a student or employer interested in participating in the CICESS program, please contact Kate Carroll at kcarroll@greaterpeoriaedc.org or visit our website for more information.
Does Someone You Know Need $10K to Grow Their Business? 
Startup Peoria's KeyStart is an investment competition for early stage, scalable businesses. Winners receive  $10,000 in entrepreneur-friendly investment capital. 

Have someone you think would be interested in applying to KeyStart? Download the flyer and share it with friends, co-workers, and clients! Questions? Reach out to our own Randon Gettys at 309-495-5972 or rgettys@greaterpeoriaedc.org .
Share Your Input with Peoria International Airport
Peoria International Airport (PIA) is seeking your input! Take their  survey and share your thoughts on current flights, new destinations, and more. If you have some ideas on how PIA can offer services and destinations that best meet both business and leisure travelers, they want to hear from you!

Take the PIA Survey
#TeamGP Spotlight: Cara Allen - Peoria Area CVB
Cara Allen, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors  Bureau, has traveled the world with her family but decided Greater Peoria was the best place to put down roots, both personally and professionally.

Allen was born and raised in Manito, IL and graduated from Bradley University with a Baccalaureate Degree in Communication and Business Management. After marrying her high school sweetheart, Tony, life whisked them off to Germany for his job in the Army. Fast forward a few years and the Allens have returned to Central Illinois, with their two children in tow, to settle in Dunlap.

Nest Member, DevBright, Launches GovPermit
In mid-2015 Peoria, IL was awarded the
"Startup in a Day" grant from the Small Business Administration. In doing so, the City of Peoria pledged to take on three initiatives: replace paper business and licensing processes with software, create a database for all business resources available to new companies and share best practices with other communities.

Competing against global software giants Adobe and Oracle among others, DevBright - a local startup company - saw the opportunity and started drafting their own solution - GovPermit.
Struggling to Find Talent? Make Your Own
We've heard it a million times. "I can't find the employees I need." Does this sound like the
mantra coming from your HR department? We can help.

Make Yourself GP is a program designed to help our region develop the talent pool we need by bringing together educators and employers to work hand-in-hand on the development of our future workforce. Here's what you can do to help make Make Yourself a success:

#1. Offer an internship and/or job shadow opportunity for a high school student through Career Cruising GP. We need to begin work-based learning with our kids way before they reach college! An experience can last for a few weeks, months, or a full semester. Anything you can offer is valuable.

#2. If you need program coders, join the CICESS Apprenticeship Program. These kids are amazing and your influence during their training will land you a ready, loyal talent pool.

#3. If you are a manufacturer, join our monthly Strategic Manufacturing Group to help plan our Discover Manufacturing Expo and other workforce exploration events and activities for students. Healthcare providers are invited to our Strategic Healthcare Group, and anyone working in the education, workforce, and career development arena should join our Workforce Alliance.

By encouraging students to explore our most critically needed careers and inviting them to learn in our work-places, employers can develop the future talent they need. 
Support Peoria Promise, Join Peoria Zero K Event - June 4
Peoria Promise is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to foster economic development through the improved education of District 150 students. The Peoria Zero K, a unique and family-friendly event held at
the trail bridge over Knoxville by Junction City, is a fund raiser for Peoria Promise. It's a 'non-race' with a short walk over the bridge, so everyone can participate. Bring your friends and family to enjoy music, food and fun! 


THANK YOU GPEDC INVESTORS!
Our programs, projects, and initiatives wouldn't be possible without the support of our GPEDC Investors.  Please help us thank them!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Thursday May 5 - GP Annual Meetup
The Warehouse on State - Register and don't miss out!
Wednesdays - 1 Million Cups
Wednesdays at 7:30am - Buzzed Coffee
Wednesdays - The Nest
Open coworking  every Wednesday 9am-5pm
Thursday May 26 - LiveGP Orientations Start!
Send your GP newcomers to an orientation luncheon - Register Online
Webinars for Employers every Wednesday in April

TRACK OUR PROGRESS
The Greater Peoria EDC has established a five year strategy and measurable goals as part of the Focus Forward Plan. We will be updating our investors and stakeholders each quarter on our progress in achieving the following goals by 2019:

HELP EXISTING BUSINESSES STAY AND GROW
25 interstate firm expansions/retentions by 2019, as measured by our clients
1,000 new high quality jobs created/retained by 2019, as measured by our clients

GROW NEW BUSINESSES
30 new companies created by 2019, as measured by Startup Peoria clients
150 new high-quality jobs created by 2019, as measured by Startup Peoria clients

ATTRACT NEW BUSINESS
10 new interstate firm locations by 2019, as measured by our clients
750 new high-quality jobs created by 2019, as measured by our clients

TRAIN OUR WORKFORCE
50% increase in capture rate in targeted jobs by 2019, as measured by our clients
50 apprentices transitioned to full-time employment in our region, as measured by our clients

RETAIN OUR WORKFORCE
Improve employee retention rate by 20% by 2019, as measured by our clients.

ATTRACT NEW TALENT
30% increase in new hire capture rate, as measured by our clients.

Our quarterly progress reports are sent out quarterly in April, July, October, and January.