Peoria Tops National Credit Rating List
 Peoria ranks among the top 10 cities for best credit score in the nation. Experian released its second-annual “State of Credit” list of cities with the highest and lowest credit scores. Peoria came in at #8, Wausau, WI. was #1 and Harlingen, TX was last on the list. Eight of the top 10 cities with the highest scores are in the Midwest while Southern states scored the lowest.
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Barton Receives Prestigious National Award  We congratulate Glen Barton, former chairman of Board of Directors of The Heartland Partnership Foundation for being awarded the 2011 National Outstanding Director of the Year. This prestigious national award is given out each year by Outstanding Director Exchange (ODX).
Learn more about ODX and Glen's Award by clicking here |
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Peoria's Cumulative Voting in Question  The public is invited to be part of a discussion on how Peoria elects its City Council during two public informational meetings. This initiative is being led by Bradley’s Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service (IPL) with support from The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce and others.
Click here for advance details regarding the public informational meetings Click here to watch video from the recent press conference
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New Financing Opportunity for Regional Projects The Heartland Partnership is proud to announce a new funding opportunity for regional businesses. The Tri-County River Valley Development Authority (TCRVDA) is now operational in Central Illinois. TCRVDA is a localized unit of government that provides long term financing using bonds instead of traditional lending and is most beneficial for manufacturing and non-profit businesses. Click here to watch an interview with Kip McCoy regarding the new program |
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Small Business Saturday  November 26th is Small Business Saturday It's a day dedicated to supporting small businesses throughout our region. We have launched the Small Business Saturday Central Illinois Facebook Page. Find it, Like it and then start sharing your stories about small business and Central Illinois. We’ll soon be adding videos of area mayors and small business owners talking about what Small Business Saturday means to them.
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37th Annual Community Thanksgiving Luncheon  The 36th Annual Thanksgiving Day Luncheon will be held on Friday, November 18 at 11:45 a.m. The event will be at the Embassy Suites with the community narrative given by Ed Rapp, Group President and CFO of Caterpillar, Inc. Rapp will be presenting "Don't Take It for Granted: Your country, your community, your family. This is a time to not only celebrate everything we enjoy in our country, community and families, but to be mindful of our responsibilities to each."
Click here to reserve your seat |
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Business Retention Visits The Heartland Partnership family of companies employees will be visiting 200 regional companies at the end of October during our 2011 Business Retention Blitz. We want to hear what’s happening with the regional business climate. Watch for more information as we may be coming to visit you! In November we'll have aggregated information from these visits available online. |
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Learn to be a Better Leader with CLS  The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership School (CLS) unites 42 adults around a single goal: to motivate and inspire its participants to a higher level of community awareness and involvement. Now in its 37th year, Community Leadership School has become the trusted program for transforming talented people into true community leaders.
Learn more about CLS 2012 by watching this video Click here for 2012 CLS schedule and application |
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Energy Co-Op The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce is offering an Energy Purchasing Cooperative to help Chamber members save money on their monthly utility bills and provide long term budget stability in a deregulated market. The program has offered commercial services since 2007 and this year residential service has been added. Meaning, if your employer is a chamber member, you are eligible to sign up for the program in your own home. Members have reported saving up to 14% on their energy bills. The program is being administered by CQI Associates. Click here for details |
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United Way  The Heart of Illinois United Way hosted its 20th annual Day of Caring on September 9th bringing together volunteers from local organizations to promote volunteerism and community unity. Over 60 organizations joined The Campaign Kickoff Breakfast at the Civic Center. The United Way has given us a chance to give back but volunteering and community unity is important 365 days out of the year. The overall goal is to improve community value which will result in driving the economy forward. We continue to encourage you to get involved.
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Specialized Manufacturing Event  Manufacturing is alive and well in Central Illinois. While many companies are still rebounding from the economic downturn, we have seen an increased demand and business is returning to pre-recession levels. Unfortunately we are in need of skilled workers to fill the jobs at those factories. We can’t wait for the government or the educational system to solve this problem, that’s why we have created a program that will help to deliver the workforce we need. The 3rd annual Discovering Manufacturing Career Expo is happening on October 26th. This event is designed to showcase the modern career in manufacturing. This event has grown from less than 100 students attending in 2009 to nearly 700 high school students from 24 schools attending this year.
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Pack the Place  Join us for Project Pack the Place sponsored by Methodist College of Nursing in November. On November 18th Arbys will be hosting a special Packtivity to celebrate the grand opening of their new store and our monthly Third Thursday Lunch will be November 17th at Rizzi's downtown. We'll have special offers available for both event, just visit our website for information.
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