Walmart Provides $5,000 Grant to the GLCEDC

The Pontiac Walmart, through the Walmart Foundation, recently announced that the Greater Livingston County Economic Development Council (GLCEDC) was the recipient of a $5,000 grant for their work in facilitating economic development opportunities for the communities and residents of the Livingston County area.

"We are excited to have local support for our efforts from Walmart.  Walmart understands that economic development is a team effort and that it takes financial support from all of the various industries and employers to be successful", said Larry Vaupel, CEO of the GLCEDC.

Steve Lawson, General Manager of the Pontiac Walmart stated, "We are pleased to be able to support local organizations like the GLCEDC that are making a positive impact on the local economy and in the lives of area residents."

The GLCEDC is funded by annual member investments from local businesses, the Livingston County Board, and area municipalities.  Their mission includes efforts to recruit and retain businesses, train and assist entrepreneurs starting new businesses, and facilitate economic development activity in the region.  More information about the GLCEDC can be found at their website: www.youropportunityawaits.org.  To learn more about the Walmart Foundation, access their website at: http://walmartstores.com/CommunityGiving/.

Workforce Board Offers Hiring & Training Assistance

The right job applicant is out there... we can shorten your search time. 

We are Livingston County’s Hiring and Training Resource.

We can help you with:

Employer job postings – We make sure the right people see your listings.

Recruitment assistance and hiring events – We customize the hiring process to meet your company’s specific needs. Services may include applicant referrals, collection of resumes, job fairs, screening of applicants, assessments and behavioral based interviewing.

Skill and aptitude testing – We offer a variety of pre-employment testing services to make sure your potential applicants have the skills needed for the job.

Labor market information – We help you stay informed of the local labor market with up-to- date wage rates and projected labor demand.

Training services – We have the resources and the referrals on training programs for your employees as well as potential funding sources.

The Grundy Livingston Kankakee Workforce Board is committed to maintaining a strong workforce in Livingston County. Most of our services are free to employers and can be customized to meet your specific set of needs.

For more information call:

Ann Rzasa

Business Services Coordinator

909 N. Liberty Street 

Morris, IL 60450 

815-585-6722 

arzasa@glkwb.com

www.glkworkforceboard.com

Is your Business Ready to Go Global?

The State of Illinois has a new program to financially assist Illinois businesses in exporting their products. The STEP Program will provide grants to businesses who attend one of ten Trade Missions sponsored by the State.  Additionally, if a Trade Mission does not align with your product, you may be eligible to receive a $1500 grant to create an individual trade mission designed specifically for your company.  The State will arrange meetings with potential trading partners and reimburse 75% of your hotel and airfare.  The State has $1.25 million allocated for this program.  Their goal is to double exports by 2014.

This is a rare opportunity and we hope that many of our businesses take advantage of the availability of these funds. Please contact the GLCEDC staff for more information regarding this program.  More information can also be found on the State's website: http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/exports/Pages/STEP.aspx

2011 Business and Economic Development Survey

The GLCEDC believes that the best way to understand the local economy, the needs of local businesses and gain valuable insight into the growth opportunities of local businesses is by seeking direct input from business leaders.  To this end, the GLCEDC has partnered with the local Chambers of Commerce to develop a survey for businesses so that we can collect and analyze data relating to the business climate of the county.  This data will lay the foundation for our analysis as we track the local business climate over time. 

It is important that we receive responses from as many businesses as possible. We want to hear from businesses of all sizes and types.  To encourage participation, the GLCEDC is offering a dozen FREE DONUTS to businesses that complete the survey.  Businesses will also receive a personal presentation of the survey results by GLCEDC staff.  Non-members will also receive two free tickets to the GLCEDC Annual Meeting being held on January 18.

If you own or operate a business, please take 15 minutes to complete the survey.  It only contains 25 questions and will provide important information to the GLCEDC, local chambers of commerce and civic leaders as we work together to facilitate success for our local businesses. Take the following link to complete the survey online.  

Livingston County Business and Economic Development Survey

Is there an App for that job? Check with Rural Development

By Colleen Callahan, Director of Illinois USDA Rural Development

When we’re looking for an answer to something these days, it’s common to “google it” or ask, “Is there an app for that?” 

It turns out there is an app for job creation. It’s the intended application of USDA Rural Development. As a lender, rural development’s commitment is to finance the future of rural communities. To that end, USDA Rural Development has been working to pursue some of the same strategies suggested recently in the proposed American Jobs Act. 

In Illinois, rural development has assisted rural communities to provide the infrastructure and support for innovative businesses that are the key to job creation and retention.  

USDA Rural Development assists with building basic infrastructure that supports economic development in rural communities, including electricity, water systems, broadband and housing.

We create and sustain rural job opportunities and support entrepreneurs from the micro-enterprise level to large-scale manufacturing, so those who live in rural communities don’t have to commute to metropolitan areas in order to support their families and pay their mortgages. 

In partnership with other public and private sector businesses, the loans we are providing to rural businesses have created or saved more than 5,600 jobs in Illinois. And we continue to improve the economic climate of rural areas by helping develop additional job opportunities for the underserved rural areas and populations.

Those of us in rural America know that in difficult times, we need to come together to work out a solution that benefits everyone, not just a few or just those in certain geographic areas.

It’s about balance.

What happens when our atmosphere gets out of balance? We have storms.

What happens when our systems get out of balance? We get sick.

And what happens when we don’t use a balanced approach to our governmental decision-making? We create our own demise.

Elected leaders in Washington need to acknowledge the consequence of one-sided initiatives as they work to support job growth and build a stronger future for all Americans. 

A wise man once said that nothing can ever be sliced so thinly as to not have two sides. His wisdom can be applied to how we find solutions to our current needs.

Consequently, there is an app for job creation. It’s called common sense.

And partnering with rural development, when rural communities and businesses want to create and sustain jobs, makes good sense.

Illinois Office of USDA Rural Development

Reshoring Initiative Seminar

Reshoring, or Onshoring, is a movement by the manufacturing community to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US that have been "offshored" over the last 20 years.  There are many factors that have led to a shrinking of the competitive price gap that offshoring has historically had.  Higher transportation costs, the increasing wage levels in emerging economies, and technological advancement by US manufacturing are a few of the factors that are leading the way to a reshoring of US manufacturing jobs.  Below is information on a seminar regarding this topic that will take place in Park Ridge, IL on September 30th.

Bringing Manufacturing Back to America

Friday, September 30th
 7:30am - 11:30am

TMA Headquarters
 1177 S. Dee Road
Park Ridge, IL 60068

REGISTER NOW

The Midwest Reshoring Initative helps level the playing field for American manufacturers competing against offshore suppliers.  The initiative is an industry-led program designed to bring orders and jobs back to America.

•               Find out how to COMPETE WITH and BEAT offshore manufacturing

•               Learn what OEM's really want from U.S. suppliers

•               Meet local manufacturers who have benefited from Reshoring

Learn how local production and sourcing will:

•               Improve your balance sheet

•               Make product innovation more effective

•               Reduce the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of purchased parts and tooling

The Midwest Reshoring Initiative has teamed up with TMA, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, and the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (IMEC) to create a special half-day seminar for suppliers and manufacturers to learn more about how they can increase sales and bring jobs back home.

All participants will receive a FREE copy of the proprietary Total Cost of Ownership Estimator software, developed by Harry Moser, founder of the National Reshoring Initiative.

Cost: $49 for members of TMA/AME and IMEC clients, $69 for Suppliers, $99for Non-Suppliers and Consultants

For more information or to register, click HERE!

LC Unemployment Rate is Below National and State Averages

Ladonna Russell from the Grundy Livingston Kankakee Workforce Board notes the following about Livingston County's current unemployment rate of 8.5%. This is below the National average of 9.1% and the State average of 9.5%.

"July 2011 County unemployment rates were release this afternoon. Livingston County UI rate for July is 8.5% or 1,628 individuals unemployed. This rate has remained steady with only a little variation. If you compare the rate to the same time as last year (July 2010), the rate has drastically dropped. The July 2010 rate was 10.5% or 2,067 individuals unemployed. This is good news."

Good news, indeed.