On Earth Hour, hundreds of millions of people, organizations, corporations and governments around the world will come together by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. In the U.S., Earth Hour sends a clear message that Americans care about their security and want to turn the lights out on dirty air, dangerous dependency on foreign oil and costly climate change impacts, and make the switch to cleaner air, a strong economic future and a more secure nation.

Participation is easy. By flipping off your lights off on March 27th at 8:30 p.m. local time, you will be making the switch to a cleaner, more secure nation and prosperous America.  Set your clock. Earth Hour will once again cascade around the globe, from New Zealand to Hawaii.  Since its inception three years ago, Earth Hour’s non-partisan approach has captured the world’s imagination and became a global phenomenon. Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 – involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents.

Last year, 80 million Americans and 318 U.S. cities officially voted for action with their light switch, joining iconic landmarks from around the world that went dark for Earth Hour, including:

Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, the Las Vegas Strip , the Golden Gate Bridge, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Great Pyramids of Giza, Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament in London and the Sydney’s Opera House.

Bloomington-Normal’s Earth Hour is sponsored by Imagine Green Bloomington/Normal and Vladimir/Canterbury Sister City Green Team. Last year’s major participant partners included:

• Avanti’s – lights dimmed in restaurant
• City of Bloomington – most lights off at City Hall
• U.S. Cellular Coliseum – advertised Earth Hour on sign
• Erik Prenzler – advertised for two weeks on sign on Empire Street
• Heartland Community College – reduced energy
• Illinois State University – reduced energy and advertised on Main Street sign
• ISU Credit Union – advertised on Main Street sign
• Illinois Wesleyan University – reduced energy
• State Farm – most lights out at Corporate and some at Corporate South
• Town of Normal – most lights out at City Hall, Children’s Discovery Museum and Normal Theater

This year’s new participant partners include:

• Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area
• Sister Cities of Canterbury, England and of Vladimir, Russia

The Earth Hour team is looking for additional partners.  For more information, contact Joe Grabill at turtlecn@verizon.net.

Earth Hour reminds us there are many things we can do to reduce your business’s impact on the environment and, at the same time, SAVE MONEY:

• Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones.
• Buy reusable dishware to reduce waste.
• Start recycling and ask employees to participate.
• Subscribe to online newspapers to reduce paper waste.
• Teleconference, instead of commuting to meetings.
• Turn off the lights when they are not needed.

To learn more, visit www.myearthhour.org.

Cheryl Harvey of Bloomington was recently hired to the new grant-funded position of regional healthcare workforce associate at the Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area (EDC).

In this position, she is responsible for investigating and coordinating regional programs that positively impact healthcare workforce development. Her duties include promoting group facilitation and regional collaboration, communicating with regional partners and organizations and recommending activities to address regionally-identified needs.

This position was created and is fully-funded through a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The grant was awarded to the EDC to promote a collaborative project within Central Illinois. The long-range goal of the project is the creation of a regional collaborative structure with the primary purpose of enhancing workforce development initiatives within Central Illinois. The initial focus is on healthcare workforce initiatives. To learn more about the grant, click here.

Harvey previously served as program director and case manager for a mental health outreach coalition. She also has experience as an adjunct professor at Gavilan Community College, Gilroy, Calif. teaching a variety of courses focusing on mental health issues. She has also served as a counselor in an adult residential mental health facility, where she taught educational courses and facilitated small group sessions. Harvey earned a dual bachelor’s degree in psychology/counseling and theology from William Jessup University in San Jose, Calif.

The EDC is a private not-for-profit organization that helps businesses and communities in McLean County prosper. It is a leadership organization, investing the community’s assets to grow and improve its prosperity and quality of life.

The Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area (EDC), a non-profit organization that assists businesses and communities in McLean County, is the recipient of a $161,700 grant funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).

“The purpose of this funding is to improve workforce development efforts in the healthcare sector and to promote collaborative efforts between hospitals, long-term care facilities, universities and community colleges,” said Therese McMahon, deputy director of the Office of Workforce Development at DCEO. “The result should be a win for all of Central Illinois, especially job seekers and patients.”

This grant was awarded to the EDC to enhance healthcare workforce development within Central Illinois, including Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, Jacksonville, Springfield, Peoria and surrounding areas. The long-range goal of the project is the creation of a regional collaborative structure. The overall vision is to improve networking, promote collaborative processes and increase communication of regional initiatives in the 22 counties comprising the Central and North Central Economic Development Regions. The hope is that individuals and communities within these regions will benefit from this collaboration through the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

“We are honored that DCEO has recognized the EDC as a leadership organization capable of directing this important regional effort,” said Kelli Tillery Hill, EDC vice president. “Once this initial healthcare workforce project is carried out, we hope to duplicate the process with other targeted industries.”

The grant project, managed by Hill with input from focus groups and individuals across Central Illinois, is spearheaded under the umbrella of the Central Illinois Regional Collaborative Effort (CIRCLE), with support from foundations and organizations in Illinois and across the nation. CIRCLE was initiated to sustain nursing workforce activities and partnerships of the Partners in Nursing (PIN) of Central Illinois. Support obtained from DCEO to investigate interest in regional collaboration around healthcare workforce made this effort possible.

I remember settling down on my bed with the newest issue of a popular teen magazine one day back when I was around 14 years old. I always looked forward to getting my monthly magazines – ‘Teen, Seventeen, YM and the like; I’m pretty sure I subscribed to them all. As most  teen girls know, it is CRUCIAL to stay on top of the latest celebrity gossip, fashion trends and makeup tips. However, as I was flipping through my “bible,” I came across a different sort of article about a subject I had never heard of before – the treatment of women by the Taliban in Afghanistan. It was a fascinating article – my young mind had never before conceived that this type of behavior was allowed – revered, even – in this modern day and age. It broke my heart to learn what the Afghan women went through; that some of them even encouraged it, because they had never known any differently.

This was my first introduction to Mavis Nicholson Leno, more famously known as Jay Leno’s wife. She has been a driving force behind the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campaign to Help Afghan Women and Girls and the United States’ most outspoken critic of the Taliban’s horrific treatment of women. Why am I talking about this on the EDC’s blog? What does this have to do with McLean County or economic development? Well, Mavis Leno is this year’s keynote speaker at the YWCA McLean County’s Women of Distinction awards dinner (Thursday, May 27th).

I have been involved with the Women of Distinction event for the past three years. I first became familiar with it back in 2004 when I was an intern at a local company and was invited to attend. Eleanor Clift was the keynote speaker.  I remember being excited to be at an event where I had actually heard of the keynote speaker before – you see, I had watched her many Sunday mornings on The McLaughlin Group on PBS (thanks to my dad). Regardless of whether or not you agree with her political beliefs, you have to admit, she makes the show interesting. Anyway, at the event, I bought two of her books, one of which was Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment.

This book was a major eye-opener. I never knew the struggle that women went through to get the right to vote. Why don’t they talk more about this in school? I remember learning that the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920, but I don’t remember learning anything else about it or what securing that right entailed. I think if they taught this, maybe young people would be more inclined to get involved in the political process. But, I digress…

This book (and Iron-Jawed Angels, the movie it was made into starring Hilary Swank) changed my view of my life as an American citizen. I no longer take the right to vote for granted; I try not to take our other basic rights for granted. So, when I was invited to be part of the Women of Distinction steering committee a few years ago, I heartily said “yes!” I love the YWCA and what it stands for: eliminating racism and empowering women. I feel this year’s keynote speaker defines that mission down to its very core.

So, back to this blog post’s title, “Who is a Woman of Distinction?” Well, I think Mavis Leno is a woman of distinction. She has worked tirelessly for her cause. But, you don’t have to be a celebrity (or married to a celebrity) to be a woman of distinction. You don’t have to chair a national campaign to be a woman of distinction. A woman of distinction is someone who has made a difference in someone’s life, in her community, in her profession; someone you would want your daughter, your sister, your niece to emulate. Your next-door neighbor could be a woman of distinction. Your co-worker could be a woman of distinction. Your child’s baby-sitter could be a woman of distinction. All it takes is for you to recognize her. All it takes is for you to nominate her. Don’t wait for someone else to do it; follow Mavis Leno’s lead, follow our “founding sisters’” lead, and GO FOR IT!

For more information or a nomination form, click here.

So many of us sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by - ”Let someone else take care of things, not me.” While we may not come right out and say it, we sure think it. I once worked in a community where a friend of mine who knew that I worked in a city hall that had its share of drama and intrigue asked me, “How can you work down there with all that rabble?” - no doubt, referring to the elected and appointed officials with whom I spent my days and many late evenings. And, indeed, in this case they were a loutish sort, filled with vim, vigor and ego. I would not deny his characterization of this group; however, I took offense to his disdain for my participation.

To be clear, I was paid for my participation with the “rabble,” but I answered him with, “I am partnered and work with the rabble because you are not there.”  In other words, this fine man (who happened to be a college graduate with a good degree, but more importantly, with or without an education he was generally agreeable, curious and logical)  did not find it worth his time to participate in his community, but felt he could call them a pejorative name and discredit my professional choice of work environment at the same time. Imagine that!

My plea to you is that the world is not going to get better with all of you sitting on the sidelines. The community and its improvement is a participation sport. In fact, the EDC offers an easy way to participate in something we can all agree on and in which we can participate: our economy. The EDC works to help the community prosper. We do this through the resources provided to us by investors, public and private.  If you want to participate in your community, call City Hall and ask to get on a commission or committee, and call the EDC and invest some of your dollars in long-term growth. We use our funds efficiently, we have outstanding programs, we can offer you businesses and organizations that can tell you we have helped them…and we offer no “rabble” whatsoever.

The New Leadership Board (NLB) is an advisory group of people ages 17-39 who work with the EDC leadership to establish an additional set of priorities for the economic future of the Bloomington-Normal area. The goal is to create a generational dialogue and provide ongoing input to our business, economic and political leadership regarding these emerging generations’ concerns, bringing a voice to this untapped resource.

EDC NAMES RICHARD EIKENBERG ONE VOICE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

The EDC recently awarded a local college student the opportunity to participate in its 2010 One Voice Washington, D.C. trip. Paige Maynard, a junior at Illinois Wesleyan University and originally from Granite City, is the 2010 Richard Eikenberg One Voice Scholarship recipient.

The scholarship, named in honor of past EDC chair Richard Eikenberg, is awarded each year to a college student from one of four EDC investor schools: Heartland Community College, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University and Lincoln College – Normal. The EDC recently held a cocktail reception fundraiser which raised enough money to send one student on the trip, all expenses paid.

“We are very happy to be able to continue this scholarship program,” said Brooke Weishaupt, One Voice program manager. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a student to network with local leaders and discuss current issues in federal legislation with the decision-makers themselves.”

The selection process was based on applicants’ responses to essay questions regarding local economic development projects, volunteer/civic engagement experience and their personal interest in the trip opportunity. The top three finalists were then interviewed.

About One Voice:
One Voice, under the leadership of the EDC, is a pro-community campaign that has brought together leaders from the City of Bloomington, the Town of Normal, McLean County, rural municipalities, labor, local educational institutions and local private businesses. These groups form the One Voice Task Force. Each year, the One Voice Task Force chooses local projects to support in their quests for federal funding. In the spring, the Task Force travels to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Bloomington-Normal area’s congressional delegation and show them the community stands united in support of the projects. The goal of the campaign is to make McLean County a stronger economic force and a better place to live. The 2010 trip will take place March 9-11.

About the EDC:
The EDC is a private, not-for-profit organization. Its mission is to help businesses in McLean County grow and to attract new businesses to the community. The EDC is a leadership organization, investing the community’s assets to grow and improve its prosperity and quality of life.

We have recently begun advertising for a project assistant internship position for this spring/summer. Unfortunately, we do not have the funds this year to offer this as a paid position. However, we are willing to work with the student if he/she desires to obtain college credit for this experience – and, let me tell you, it will be quite an experience.

Many students turn up their noses at unpaid internships, thinking “why work for free?” and only want to work for the cream-of-the-crop corporate companies. What they don’t understand is that, many times, smaller organizations such as ours depend very heavily on their interns and are willing  to offer them a wide array of experiences and responsibilities that they most likely would not have elsewhere. The most important line in our internship description below is “Other duties/projects as needed.” At the EDC, we tend to craft our internships around each individual intern – What are his/her strengths? What does he/she have experience in? What does he/she WANT to have experience in?

For example, our last intern was a public relations major. While we had her do a variety of general office assistance, we also played up to her strengths by having her lead our social media awareness campaign. She created our “Social Media for Business” presentation and also presented it alongside our CEO at three seminars where local business owners, corporate vice presidents and others were in attendance. Previous interns have also built the foundation for our current programs and databases, including our research databases and site location assistance program.

So, while you may not be getting paid monetarily, you WILL get paid with resumé-building work experience, portfolio-enhancing projects, networking opportunities with influential businesspeople and the chance to grow and develop your personal work ethic and character.

Here is what our current Project and Data Analyst Ken Springer, who finished his master’s degree while interning at the EDC,  had to say about his internship:

“Interning at the EDC was an adventure.  Often, I’d find myself thrust into situations and projects with which I had no prior experience.  This terrified me at first, but I quickly realized that what I was really getting was an opportunity to develop new skills and test my ingenuity.  The EDC staff was great at letting me work  on the outside edge of my comfort zone, but was still there to give guidance when necessary.  Interning at the EDC requires you to think quickly and critically.  Your boldness is rewarded with a wealth of experience.”

Jonah Ralston, who is currently working on his doctorate degree at  Michigan State University, also talked about his experience:

“The benefits of internships cannot be overstated; they provide valuable practical experience, and they allow you to make a number of professional contacts. They offer an opportunity to differentiate yourself in a highly competitive job market or in an application to increasingly selective graduate programs. My time at the Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area afforded me many interesting opportunities, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time interning there during my senior year at Illinois State University.”

Grace Leopold, our most recent intern, now holds a marketing position in Chicago. She is thankful for all the knowledge she gained during her experience:

“Knowing essentially nothing about economic development when I first heard of the EDC, I anticipated learning a great deal during my time spent there. Not only did I learn a great deal about the vast array of hard work that goes into developing and retaining business in a community, I also learned politics, finance, community outreach, work ethic, dedication and what passion for a job really means. My internship was the most memorable and educational experience of my college career by far.”

Project Assistant (Internship)

The Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area (EDC) is a private, not-for-profit organization that helps businesses in McLean County grow and attracts new businesses to our community. We are a leadership organization, investing our community’s assets to grow and improve our prosperity and quality of life. We provide a number of services for businesses, including: small business/entrepreneurship services, financial assistance, research/demographic information, real estate services, workforce development and government advocacy. For more information about the EDC, visit our Web site at www.bnbiz.org or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bnbiz.

We are currently seeking an intern for the spring and summer who would like to develop his/her professional skills.

Intern Responsibilities:

• Adding to and maintaining the EDC’s various databases of available commercial/industrial properties, as well as further building relationships with local realtors and brokers, including those in rural municipalities
• Processing basic requests for community/demographic information
• Writing newsletter/blog articles on various economic development/business topics
• Scheduling and preparing for meetings
• Assisting staff with special projects
• Answering phones
• General office duties
• Other duties/projects as needed

Requirements:

• Strong communication skills
• Good computer skills
• Access to reliable transportation
• Sense of professionalism
• Quick learner
• Organizational skills
• Ability to multi-task

Undergraduate internships are unpaid; however, the intern will have the chance to work and network with several local business executives and potential future employers. Interns will be paid mileage and pre-approved expenses if necessary for activities. Hours will be semi-flexible, approximately 10-20 hours/week according to project needs. The EDC is willing to undertake additional steps to allow students to earn college credits for this internship, if desired.

To apply, send your resume and cover letter by March 1st via email to Brooke Weishaupt at brooke@bnbiz.org.