News

East Central Open Retreat set to plan for region's future

East Central Illinois Development Corporation (ECIDC) has announced a regional retreat aimed at building an all-inclusive action plan for the future of the counties it encompasses to take place next month. These counties include: Christian, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Moultrie and Shelby.

Twenty-five leaders, representing all counties and sectors, have agreed to participate in a two-day interactive session to map regional assets and construct a plan based on the possibilities of connecting these assets on October 22-23 at Allerton Park in Monticello, Ill. All participants share a common interest in education, workforce development and economic development and are a sample of the sectors of government, economic development, workforce development, business and industry, media, religious involvement, human resources, philanthropy and community service.

ECIDC has assigned five objectives or goals to the retreat. The first objective is to build relationships by bringing all leaders interested in workforce development, economic development, and education together. Then the group will begin mapping and connecting assets in search of links across the boundaries of communities and counties to discover new possibilities for collaboration and regional growth. The plan for the region will be constructed by the group as a collective effort in order to increase the likelihood of its success. The retreat is meant to create growth through the open sharing of ideas and the adoption of translucency. “We hope to transform our communities through this retreat by arming the participants with the tools they need to grow and become leaders in the global economy,” states Steichmann.

The retreat will be led by Ed Morrison, who has over 20 years of experience performing strategy projects in regions across the U.S. Morrison is also an economic policy advisor for the Purdue Center for Regional Development and founder of the Institute for Open Economic Networks.

The retreat was made possible through a cooperative effort amongst ECIDC and several partners. They include: Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Crossroads Workforce Centers - Olney, Centralia, Mattoon, & Effingham, the Effingham County Community Foundation and Mattoon Area Community Foundation-affiliates of the Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation, Lake Land College, Ameren, Shelby Electric Cooperative, Agracel, Inc., Coles Together, Tuscola Economic Development Inc., and Mattoon Area Industrial Development.

For more information on the East Central Open Retreat or the efforts of ECIDC please contact Trisha Mason at (217) 238-8233.