Coles Moultrie Electric Cooperatve
Coles Together
Continental Cooperative Services (Soyland)
Crossroads Workforce Investment Board
Edgar County Bank & Trust
Effingham State Bank - Midland States Bancorp, Inc.
International Paper FSB
Prairie Power Inc.
Shelby Electric Cooperative
Tuscola Economic Development Inc. (TEDI)
Tuscola National Bank
Connecting the Region’s Assets
East Central Illinois Development Corporation (ECIDC) invites the interested public to attend the four regional asset mapping open forums on December 2nd and 3rd hosted and facilitated at the Lake Land College Workforce Development Center, Room 103, Mattoon, Ill.Â
During these forums, all participating will be mapping East Central Illinois’ assets in four aligned groupings: education assets, innovation and entrepreneurship assets, infrastructure, connectivity and tourism assets, and regionally unique or branding assets. “The more minds involved in this process, the more comprehensive and useful the map will be for the region and all organizations and communities within it. This is the next step to becoming a region that thinks faster, connects assets faster, aligns resources faster, and acts faster,” said Paul Faraci, IL Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, reiterating Ed Morrison’s ideals on Open Source Economic Development.
“By mapping and then connecting the assets present in East Central Illinois, an awareness of potential opportunities will allow us to learn how to work together to more fully utilize those assets and market these aligned clusters in hopes to increase commerce and expand our sense of community,” said Brian Moody, Tuscola Economic Development Inc.
The next step following asset mapping will be to find those connections present amongst the regional assets. ECIDC will be using the identified assets and connections to construct ECIDC’s plan of action for the future. This resource will be available for all organizations, communities, and counties to utilize. The asset map will be viewable on the ECIDC website after construction at www.ecidc.com or by visiting www.eastcentralopen.net .
The mapping forum schedule is as follows: December 2nd from 10 a.m. to Noon: Brainpower (education), from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Innovation and Entrepreneurship. December 3rd from 10 a.m. to Noon: Quality, Connected Places (infrastructure and tourism), from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Branding Stories (unique or branding assets).
“A comprehensive asset map can only be all-inclusive if everyone is invited and many participate, so we urge you to take some time to contribute in at least one of the scheduled forums,” states ECIDC President Steichmann. If you would like to participate or have questions regarding asset mapping, please contact Trisha Mason at (217) 238-8233 or by emailing tmason16617@lakeland.cc.il.us.