August Voice 2017

J. CARLSON GROWERS PLANTING SEEDS OF SUCCESS PAGE 3

CONFLUENCE HONORS SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIPS PAGE 21

August 2017 | Volume 30 | No. 8

ILLINOIS TOLLWAY OPENS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IN ROCKFORD

The Voice is online at rockfordchamber.com

Happy 107th Birthday Rockford Chamber!

FOUNDERS’ DAY BLOCK PARTY Rockford Chamber members enjoyed a beautiful summer night celebrating 107 years in the community at the seventhannual Founders’ Day Block Party on Thursday, July 13 at the corner of West State and South Main streets in downtown Rockford. The event featured entertainment by the band Bourbon Country and catering by Blue Line, which offered a signature drink, Bourbon Peach Ice Tea, just for the event.

The event also honored the original founding members of the Rockford Chamber, who signed the declaration on

CONFLUENCE

Photos by Brian Thomas Photography

July 13, 1910, to establish the “Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce,” including current members: AT&T Barnes International, Inc. BMO Harris Bank ComEd, An Exelon Company HolmstromKennedyPC

J.L. Clark

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Rockford Register Star Rockford University Schmeling Construction Co. Woodward theVoice

The Illinois Tollway, in partnership with the Construction Business Development Center, has opened the first Technical Assistance Program location at Rock Valley College.

Companies interested in doing business with the Illinois Tollway on highway and vertical construction contracts are invited to the opening event on Aug. 8, 1 to 3 p.m., at Rock Valley College Stenstrom Center, 4151 Samuelson Road, Rockford.

The event is open to established transportation-related construction firms, including disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprise firms, and veteran-owned small businesses. It will focus on Illinois Tollway’s commitment to diversity and current initiatives, and resources and supportive services available to help businesses participate in the tollway bid process.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Education Outlook LUNCHEON

Sept. 7 • Radisson Conference Center For more info, see page 27 SPONSORED BY

ISC EXPANSION COMPLETED

Chamber to honor, celebrate successful

individual and organization partnerships for 2017

Visit us online at: rockfordchamber.com ■ online registration ■ keynote speaker video clips ■ event photos ■ list of Chamber events

Questions? 815-987-8100

Join the Chamber’s LinkedIn Group

Confluence: A convergence of forces, people, or things. Introducing the Confluence Honors by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. So much of what we do as individuals, businesses and as a community rely greatly on successful relationships, collaborations and partnerships. The Chamber wants to know your story and recognize partnerships that have been instrumental to people personally, to business growth, and in reaching successful outcomes that would not have been possible without the support and partnership of other people and organizations.

What is meant by partnerships? The truth is, we’d like you to help us define it! Our slate is clean and we are willing to consider any form of partnership or collaboration by people, organizations,

or other great stories. Take the time to think about what individual or organization you find yourself working with that helps move the needle on something. We’re betting there are many stories out there that need to be shared.

On page 21 of this issue is a further description of Confluence Honors and information for nominations. You can also review a nomination form by visiting our website www.rockfordchamber, for questions please contact our office at 815.987.8100.

Nomination deadline is September 8th, 2017. Later in the year, a special event will honor many of these partnerships and will also be celebrated in our 2017 ONE Magazine.

An event in June, featuring Olympic soccer stars Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini Hoch, celebrated the completion of improvements to Mercyhealth Sportscore Two, including the construction of a 133,000-sq.ft sports building east of the existing Indoor Sports Center.

The ISC expansion is one of the largest sports complexes in the Midwest, and is geared towards accommodating the area’s growing sports tourism market. It contains one full-size, enclosed soccer field with synthetic turf and paved spectator areas on either side.

The project also included improvements to the overall campus, including five multi-purpose lighted soccer fields, making 26 full-size outdoor fields overall, and three outdoor sand volleyball courts.

Wedgbury Stadium received a new synthetic turf field and NCAA professional level lighting system.

Construction costs for the Mercyhealth Sportscore Two campus improvements were just over $30 million. In 2016, 2,884,713 guests visited the Mercyhealth Sportscore Complexes, one and two.

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August 2017

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Chairman’s Perspective VIEWPOINT

ROCKFORD CHAMBER: Providing Community Leadership for 107 Years I want to thank everyone who attended the recent Rockford Chamber of Commerce, Founders’ Day Celebration. What a wonderful way to celebrate the 107 years that the chamber has worked with and for the business community that has shaped our proud history.

I also want to recognize our founding members, who, many years ago, embraced the vision of working together to improve how business gets done in Rockford. Their years of unwavering support has sustained and inspired our community. And many thanks to Rockford University for being the presenting sponsor of our celebration. Moving this longtime event to downtown Rockford was a fun departure and garnered many positive comments that were visible in the happy faces walking up and down the street. Music, refreshments and good friends — the perfect combination for a great evening.

One of the small groups that I visited with that night remarked that it’s good to change things up from time to time.

We all know this to be true, but we tend to get comfortable in the lane we’re in

and ride along in a mostly comfortable place. I want to thank the members and leadership of the chamber for not being complacent and remaining flexible in its programming. Oddly, the strength and stability of your chamber has come from keeping eyes clearly focused on the goal. The thing that impresses me the most about the chamber is its willingness and vision to look ahead and to know when it’s best to change direction to best serve our business community.

The chamber has done this for more than a century. It started when the chamber spent many years focusing much of its efforts on issues related to private business and economic development. As the chamber broadened its scope, it became more involved with the community, forming the original convention and visitors bureau and Council of 100.

Throughout the history of the Rockford Chamber, we have been instrumental in addressing important issues for the community and on behalf of business, including: ■■ Formed and operated a Credit

Bureau from 1944 – 1964 to support business community needs,

business

various government ■■ Studied restructuring options including City Management form and City-County Planning Commission,

addition,

the

decision

to

embrace

the

■■ Advocated for City Beautification, Flood Control, Illinois Constitutional Convention, Greater Rockford Airport, Labor Relations, Manufacturing Initiatives, and much, much more.

It’s clear that the chamber has been willing to step out on behalf of its members while staying focused on what is right and good for the Rockford area. At the same time, the chamber has been a good steward, making sure it has the resources; always ready to meet challenges on behalf of our business community.

In my 20 years of living here in Rockford, I have witnessed this strong commitment to leadership personally.

Recently, the chamber chose to assist our business community through the formation of the Rockford Leadership Alliance. The goal is to offer resources that help business move beyond the challenges of today and build the

Center at the Rockford Chamber of

of

the future. In

Richard Zumwalt Rockford Chamber Board Chairman

Illinois Small Business Development Commerce signals the support and resources for a full spectrum of business needs. These resources are greatly needed to assist those who are ready to make their mark in the business sector.

I am proud of my community and the long-standing work of our chamber.

In a 2015 article published in the Stowe Reporter, chambers of commerce were referred to as ‘magicians of Main Street.’

In the article, which cited the changes brought by chambers near and far, it stated “chambers adapt to the needs of their community and are at the forefront of developing and supporting initiatives/ solutions for the betterment of the community.” Sounds like the Rockford Chamber of Commerce to me!

Rick Zumwalt is Chairperson of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

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August 2017

Member Profile PROFILE

J. Carlson Growers Planting a successful business for 35 years

By Paul Anthony Arco To say Jon Carlson has a green thumb is an understatement.

Carlson and his wife Judy are owners of J. Carlson Growers, one of the top nurseries in Rockford. The popular eastside business is celebrating its 35th year in business.

“It’s been a great business,” said the Rockford native. “I learn something new every day. I work with great customers and many beautiful homes. It’s more than a job. It’s a passion.”

Carlson’s love for plants started at a young age. As a teenager, he enjoyed mowing grass and working in his family’s gardens. “I’ve always been an outdoor type of guy,” he said. “I could never sit at a desk all day.”

After earning a horticulture degree from Iowa State University, Carlson headed to the state of Oregon, where he worked for nurseries in Portland. He called the move one of the best things to happen in his career. “It expanded my knowledge of what I wanted to do. Portland is the nursery capital of the world.” Carlson and Judy lived there for four years before returning home to Rockford.

His return was timely. His grandfather, Gilbert Johnson, a well-known architect who designed many local churches, homes and schools, including East and West High Schools, passed away in 1977.

Years earlier, Johnson bought a 79-acre property on Newburg Road between Rockford and Belvidere that had been used as a corn and soybean farm. Carlson obtained his grandfather’s property and launched his nursery business.

Carlson opened his business in 1982, but not without a lot of effort. “It didn’t happen overnight.” Carlson built his nursery one plant at a time. To make ends meet, for eight years he worked as a mail carrier and maintained plants for Instant Jungle to help supplement his income.

Landscaping Top Area Gardens Tucked away off of Newburg Road, J. Carlson Growers can be difficult to locate if you miss the sign surrounded by trees.

Customers often tell Carlson his business needs more visibility. He disagrees. “We can’t handle massive amounts of people.

If you need to find us, you will. It’s all about word of mouth.”

One game changer for Carlson’s nursery came when he bought his first and

only tree spade in 1997.

“We used to dig all trees by hand. Within two years, it increased our production so much, we were able to buy a delivery truck and expand our business. It was the best purchase I’ve ever made.”

Today, J. Carlson Growers has three full-time employees and 14 seasonal employees.

They have residential and Carlson opened his nursery in 1982 on a 79-acre property on commercial clients, and Newburg Road once owned by his grandfather. supply plant material for After 35 years, Carlson is content with both landscapers and some of the best gardens in the area, including the success of his business. He’s had the Anderson Japanese Gardens, Nicholas opportunity to work with loyal customers, Conservatory and Gardens, and Klehm doing work he’s passionate about. And, Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Carlson’s most importantly, he’s done it outside, catalog of plants range from oak trees and where he’s happiest. The proof can be found in his office. It’s a box packed burning bushes to Japanese maples.

“We specialize in grafted conifers — with pictures and thank you notes from splicing two plants together. Red buds satisfied customers. “That,” he said, “is are popular as understory plants that the biggest reward for me.” grow under shaded trees. Customers are also looking for landscape around stone work, outdoor kitchens, decks, water features. My job is to educate and guide our customers. It’s about having a conversation.”

J. CARLSON GROWERS Jon Carlson, owner 8938 Newburg Road 815-332-5610 Jcarlsongrowers.com

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Guest Perspective INSIGHT

Now is the time: Audit your I-9s before the government does Increasingly, our clients are turning to us for assistance with their Form I-9s. The I-9, often tossed off as one of the handful of onboarding forms to be completed and stored in an HR file drawer to collect dust, is now being treated by more employers like the important document it is. That change in attitude is, very likely, a response to enforcement trends: Since late 2016, we have seen accumulating evidence that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be stepping up I-9 enforcement and investigation.

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to review your I-9s, now is that time, before the government comes knocking.

Why Now? Even before the enforcement-focused Trump Administration took office, employers had a new reason to be concerned about their I-9 compliance. In 2016, the Obama Administration published new rules that effectively doubled the penalties that the government can assess employers for Form I-9 errors and problems. No employer ever wants to be penalized by the government, and when each individual paperwork error (e.g., checking the wrong box, signing one day late) now carries a minimum penalty of $216, the size of the

overall penalty can increase quickly. Other mistakes and problems carry much higher minimum fines – and, not surprisingly, the government tends to seek penalties well above the minimum. (We have represented clients in cases in which the government’s proposed penalty is large enough to close the doors.)

In recent months, the Trump Administration has continued the push for an increase in I-9 audits through Executive Orders. First, in an order titled, Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, President Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to hire 10,000 new ICE officers, many of whom may be tasked with performing I-9 audits at employer locations. (Amidst a general hiring freeze and government cuts, this large investment sends quite a signal.) Second, in his Buy American and Hire American order, President Trump directed his cabinet to take action to “protect the interests of United States workers in the administration of our immigration system, including through the prevention of fraud or abuse.”

In the business context, a primary tool in the fight against “fraud or abuse” is ICE and its surprise employer site visits.

In addition, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently

issued a revised 64-page guide to completing the Form I-9 – which, it Penny Lechtenberg Brett Strand should be remembered, is itself just Lechtenberg & Lechtenberg & three pages long. All of this adds up Associates LLC Associates LLC to an environment in which we expect the number of audits and the not completed on time. Other benefits of size of proposed penalties to significantly internal audit include the following: increase. Thus, employers should begin I-9 management often falls to HR team preparing. members who may not understand the legal importance of the form. A good audit What to Do? will include training for those employees.

When ICE arrives for an audit (typically By correcting issues before an ICE audit, unannounced), it gives the employer three the employer will avoid the cost of a burdays to produce all Form I-9s and related densome administrative proceeding. An indocuments. By the end of those three days, ternal audit can serve as evidence of “good the employer will be expected to hand faith” efforts by the employer to comply over I-9s for its entire workforce, which with U.S. immigration law. In a future ICE ICE will then review for accuracy, format, audit, that can help mitigate penalties. appropriate updating and reverifying, For clients that have recently been apand other compliance factors. Any issues proaching us for assistance, our recomcan lead to investigations, penalties, and mendation is to take Form I-9s as seriously in extreme cases, criminal charges. as they do other compliance obligations, Employers’ best tool to prepare for this such as OSHA rules or wage laws. type of visit is to perform an internal audit of I-9s before ICE arrives, which allows the Penny Lechtenberg and Brett Strand are employer to recognize and correct flawed partners at Lechtenberg & Associates LLC. I-9 practices and errors in their existing Contact them at www.lechtenberglawfirm.com forms. An internal audit may find, for or 779-210-2940. example, that an employee has been The views expressed are those of Lechtenberg’s incorrectly annotating forms or reviewing and Strand’s and do not necessarily represent documents, or that a group of I-9s were those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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August 2017

Guest Perspective INSIGHT

Providing great customer service, security at venues At RAVE, we are thrilled about the ongoing development of our entertainment culture in downtown Rockford. Over the past two years, we have seen the highest ticket sales in nearly a decade. Our analytics are telling us that traffic from the Chicago suburbs and Madison is increasing in frequency, making Rockford an entertainment destination.

Because of the exciting increase in guests at our venues, customer service and safety has become even more of a focus for us. As you know, customer needs for specific types of service vary by industry, but the importance of providing personalized service and an excellent customer care experience is omnipresent.

As general manager of the Rockford Area Venues and Entertainment (RAVE) authority, creating a culture of customer service is at my core. Without our customers – the loyal patrons who continue to support local entertainment in the city of Rockford – there would be no business.

In the entertainment industry, excellent customer care comes in many forms, and it begins and ends with friendly, helpful service. Box office clerks, greeters, ushers and food and beverage servers are all responsible for ensuring guest satisfaction. Now more than ever, we’re making an intensive effort to approach security at the venues as a form of customer service as well. This means

Let your Voice be heard The Rockford Chamber of Commerce ­ elcomes and encourages submissions for The w VOICE of the Rockford Business Community.

Deadline is the 15th of the month preceding publication. Send news releases and other ­ items of interest to the business community to: The VOICE Rockford Chamber of Commerce 308 W. State St., Ste. 190 Rockford, IL 61101

For information about advertising contact Customer Service at 815-987-8100.

The VOICE of the Rockford Business Community (USPS 784-120). ISSN number 1086-0630, is published monthly by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce, 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, Illinois 61101.

Periodicals postage paid at Rockford, Ill. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The VOICE of the Rockford Business Community, 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, IL 61101.

providing security measures that are friendly and efficient without inhibiting the guest experience.

Safe, Friendly Environment If you’ve attended a show or event hosted at BMO Harris Bank Center or Coronado Performing Arts Center this year, you have probably noticed the increased public safety protocols we’ve implemented as you enter the buildings. This includes the clear bag policy, which prohibits large bags like backpacks and purses to be carried into the BMO Harris Bank Center, and the use of metal-detecting wands to screen all ticket-holders. These proactive measures are about both safety and improving the overall customer experience. The clear bag policy, for example, has enabled us to move fans through security much faster, which means less time spent waiting in lines at the arena entrances.

This year, we also started hosting exclusive pre-show block parties for ticketholders at the Coronado Performing Arts Center. These events are great for many reasons. Not only are guests able to enjoy food and drinks prior to each show, but they have the ability to enter the venue

at their own pace, alleviating Troy Flynn the lines both in RAVE and outside the theater and allowing security to screen guests at a hassle-free pace.

These are just a few of the many ways we are working to assimilate security into every event in a way that is highly effective, efficient and ultimately respectful to our guests. We work diligently to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to the ever-changing landscape in public safety.

It is our ultimate goal to provide you with a customer care experience that exceeds your expectations, each and every time you attend a show or event at one of the RAVE venues. When you walk through our doors, you should feel comfortable knowing that you are in a safe, secure environment, so your focus can be spent on enjoying world-class entertainment with family and friends.

Troy Flynn is general manager of Rockford Area Venues and Entertainment (RAVE).

The views expressed are those of Flynn’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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August 2017

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IGNITE

Young Professionals

Roommate wanted!

How to be a good millennial roommate Jack Moore IGNITE

Knowing that the majority of millennials will find themselves in this situation at some point, it feels necessary to discuss what you can do to be a good random roommate.

The millennial generation is known for many things. One of the first things that come to mind if you’re a millennial is debt – especially student loan debt. And with crushing debt, comes crushing consequences – like roommates.

According to a 2015 Forbes article, the number of 25- to 34-year-olds living with housemates has increased by an incredible 39 percent in the last 10 years. With that in mind, if you’re a millennial (like me) and moved to Rockford for a job (like me), then you probably live with random roommates (like me).

Living with friends is a totally different experience than living with a random roommate who is not used to your quirks. You may not understand one another’s sense of humor or really even have much in common. But, all roommates want the same thing: ontime rent and respect.

Knowing that the majority of millennials will find themselves in this situation at some point, it feels necessary to discuss what you can do to be a good random roommate.

The millennial starter pack for roommates, according to Reddit, involves dead plants, dirty dishes, an assortment of mismatching furniture, a pet and a passive-aggressive way of discussing problems. Sure, we all can picture the massive pile of dishes in the sink or the dying random houseplant no one’s watered since you signed the lease, but I want to focus your attention on the most prevalent and least discussed issue mentioned above: The passive-aggressive problem solver.

If years of living with more random roommates than I care to count has taught me anything, it’s that most people have no idea they are being passive-aggressive or inconsiderate of their roommates. For example, my girlfriend lives with a random girl who ties a knot at the top of the garbage bag when it is full. Normal, considerate roommates would notice that the garbage is full, grab the bag, take it out and replace the old bag with a new one.

Unfortunately, this girl has literally solved this problem by slapping a bow on top of it. This girl is either not very considerate or is passiveaggressively saying that she is above the peasant work of taking out the trash. A poor roommate, indeed.

A Checklist: Are You a Good Roommate?

With this, I felt it necessary to share a short list of questions you can ask yourself to see if you are being a good roommate.

1. Are you conscious of the things your roommate really does not like?

If nothing comes to mind, try actually talking to your roommate for a few minutes each day to get to know the person. Find out their likes and dislikes and then try to be considerate.

2. Do you make an effort to look for additional things that need to be done every once in a while? There are plenty of things you can do to help carry the load of maintaining a house/ apartment. If you don’t even know where the vacuum is located or you can’t remember the last time you did something like, clean the kitchen, then this one may be directed at you.

3. Does your stuff consume more area in the house than anyone else’s?

Have your shoes, clothes, work supplies, amazon deliveries, food, commandeered the common areas so much you can’t even see the couch?

(This one’s hard for me, but I’m working on it. Hey — nobody is perfect.)

4. Last, there is another side to all of this. Are you always complaining to your roommate about something that they did? It could be justified, but it is just as bad to continuously complain or make passive-aggressive remarks about things that in reality aren’t that big of a deal. It’s all about give and take.

Think you’d make a great roommate?

Email me at moorejk6@gmail.com and we’ll chat. We need a replacement for a roommate who is getting married. Yes, this whole thing has been a brilliant ploy to fill my empty roommate slot with a wonderful new roommate.

Oh, and to save stressed-out randomroommate millennials everywhere — that too.

Jack Moore is a CAPA Social Studies Teacher at West Middle School and member of IGNITE. The views expressed as those of Moore’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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August 2017

Guest Perspective INSIGHT

Solutions to preserve Social Security Program reaches 82nd anniversary In the financial planning world, Social Security traditionally has been considered one of the sturdy legs on a three-legged retirement resource stool.

The other two components are pension plans and personal savings. These three components are used to project a family’s financial success in maintaining their lifestyle throughout retirement. Social Security was never intended to provide the majority of most families’ retirement income, but it has unfortunately taken on that responsibility. A simple Google search will find many studies that show the same outcome: Americans are not saving enough for retirement, and therefore they will rely more heavily on Social Security benefits.

According to the Social Security Administration, one in seven Americans receive a Social Security benefit. In 1940, approximately 222,000 people received monthly Social Security benefits. Now there are over 60 million. This growth alone makes it easy to understand the value of this program to its recipients.

This growth is also partly the cause of Social Security’s future insolvency.

The Social Security Administration should hang its hat high on the many benefits it has given individuals and families since 1935: retirement income for retirees and spouses, disability income for those with a disability, and survivor benefits for those who have lost a spouse. Billions of dollars get paid out each year. Since its inception more than $16 trillion has been paid out!

What the Future Holds The good intentions of our past are now the complications of our present and future. Social Security is a program funded by payroll taxes. The trustees of the Social Security trust funds report that the funds are projected to be depleted by 2034. Total income into the trust funds is expected to exceed total costs through 2019. After 2019, the trust fund reserves will be needed to meet the deficit, and these reserves are projected to be depleted by 2034. After 2034, there will only be payroll taxes available to pay out required Social Security benefits, and it has been calculated that these payroll taxes will only meet about 75 percent of the costs. From the trustees’ report, it is evident that Social Security is on a course to insolvency.

Saving Social Security from insolvency so that the program can continue to provide benefits to those in need will be a great challenge. Like many presidents in the recent past, President Trump has taken a “wait-and-see” approach. Potentially making changes to

Ryan Monette Savant Capital Management

Social Security has been considered political suicide, in that the necessary change will impact those in the workforce (higher payroll taxes), retirees (decrease in benefits), or both!

Potential Solutions to Prevent Insolvency Change the way the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is calculated.

Annual COLAs ensure that those receiving Social Security benefits can maintain their lifestyles as the cost of goods increases with inflation. Currently, the COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Prior to 1972, there were only increases in Social Security when Congress decided there was a need to do so. Now, it is an annual calculation. Proponents of a change in the COLA have introduced using the chained Consumer Price Index approach, which has been said to be a more accurate measure for calculating changes in the cost of living.

Increase the payroll tax rate.

The Social Security payroll tax rate is currently 12.4 percent (employees pay 6.2 percent and employers pay 6.2 percent).

Increase the cap on taxable wages.

The Social Security payroll tax rate (above) is applied on the first $127,200 individuals earn each year. Earnings above $127,200 are not taxed by Social Security.

Increase the full retirement age (FRA). FRA is a term used to determine the age at which an individual can receive his “full” amount of promised Social Security retirement benefits.

An individual can receive a reduced amount of retirement benefits as early as age 62. For those born between 1947 and 1954 the FRA is age 66. The FRA gradually increases to age 67 for those born between 1955 and 1959 and is a full 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

Ryan Monette, CFP®, ChFC®, is a financial advisor with Savant Capital Management.

The views expressed are those of Monette’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™ and CFP® in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Sources: www.ssa.gov, https://www.ssa.gov/oact/ TRSUM/tr16summary.pdf

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R O C K F O R D

C H A M B E R

O F

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

C O M M E R C E

Small Business Enterprise Amazing travel career opportunities Become a tour leader!

By Sherry Pritz, NIU EIGERlab NIU EIGERlab’s incubating client and founder and CEO (Chief Experience Officer) of PhotoEnrichment Adventures (PEA), Ralph Velasco, has a tale or two to share regarding his travels as an international guide who has led tours in more than 60 countries on six continents.

Drawing on more than 10 years of experience in organizing, scouting and leading more than 70 international trips around the world, and more than 100 domestic trips in the United States, Velasco now is delving into a new travelrelated field.

Currently, he’s working with both the NIU EIGERlab (NIU E-L) and the Rockford Chamber’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) team members to assist him with his next initiative, which is teaching others to lead tours. TourOrganizerTraining.com (TOT), consists of an introductory webinar and online course series that trains everyday people, step-by-step, how to organize and lead their own tours, whether around the world or around the corner.

“It’s been a pleasure working with Ralph — his work ethic, his sense of urgency and his ability to organize tremendous

amounts of information are huge assets to his new business and launching this endeavor,” said Bo Boger, director of the Small Business Development Center.

Testing the Market During a recent TOT introductory session at NIU EIGERlab, the topic attracted individuals from Milwaukee who facilitated ghost tours, and local residents who are interested in executing tours in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and more distant locations, such as the Holy Lands.

TOT attendee Brian Cicioni, shared, “It wasn’t until I saw Ralph Velasco speak that I felt like I had a blueprint to follow.

His seven tips for a highly successful tour gave me a roadmap from which I can build future tours.”

During the session, Velasco shared, “I would have found the information and experiences I’m communicating through TOT to be a true asset had it been available at the time I started my business. There were much trial and tribulation, lost sleep and financial mistakes that could have been avoided.”

Velasco’s TOT attendees were quite impressed with his 42 percent clientele return rate, and the fact that many of the travelers who he’s led have chosen to

Ralph Velasco is turning his 10 years as an international tour guide into a new initiative to train others. join him on up to five additional tours.

“Based on the responses I’ve received in the initial informational sessions, there’s a market for the training,” he said. “People are interested in owning a business, and the NIU E-L and SBDC team have been instrumental in assisting me with testing my product to small groups and providing valuable feedback before sharing the information with the public.”

“Working with Ralph and assisting him with fine-tuning his TOT initiative has been exciting,” said Sherry Pritz, NIU E-L’s marketing and events coordinator.

“It’s wonderful to play a small part in an entrepreneur’s dreams coming to fruition.

Currently, he’s in the process of testing the market, which is always an exhilarating, yet

sometimes daunting, phase. The majority of the planning is complete, and the next crucial step is gleaning feedback from clients and fine-tuning the product. Thus far, all indications lead to Ralph assisting other entrepreneurs with the creation of full-time and part-time opportunities in the exciting world of travel.”

For more information about NIU EIGERlab’s services and programming, visit www.eigerlab.org or call Sherry Pritz, 815-753-2192.

Sherry Pritz is marketing and events coordinator at NIU EIGERlab.

The views expressed are those of Pritz’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Women-owned businesses make up one-third of economy Thirty-six percent of all businesses are women-owned, accounting for 12 percent of all business sales and 15 percent of employment, according to a report by the SBA Office of Advocacy, “Women’s Business Ownership: Data from the 2012 Survey of Business Owners.” The percentages are even more striking in certain minority groups.

Despite their average smaller size compared to male-owned firms, the 9.9 million businesses that are majority-owned by women contribute $1.4 trillion in sales to the economy.

The report also noted that: ■ Industries with the most women-owned employer firms range from restaurants to physicians and management consulting.

■ Women own a larger share of businesses in every minority group compared to their overall share of businesses. Almost 60 percent of Black/ African American-owned businesses and 44 percent of Hispanic-owned businesses are women-owned.

For the full report, visit https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/ Womens-Business-Ownership-in-the-US.pdf.

About the SBDC The Illinois SBDC at the Rockford Chamber of Commerce offers services free of charge to aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Rockford area, both chamber members and non-members. As a partnership between the Rockford Chamber and the Illinois DCEO, it operates out of NIU EIGERlab, NIU-Rockford, 8500 E. State St., and maintains an office at the chamber’s downtown location. For questions, contact Bo Boger, SBDC director, at 815-316-4301.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

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August 2017

 Destination

ILLINOIS, USA

ADDING WEALTH TO THE REGION’S ECONOMY BY GROWING TOURISM

Diversification key to success in tourism marketing

John Groh Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

Hosting many kinds of competitions in the region As a result of investments by

committee, R2OC, a certified 501(c)(3) organization, will for the first time offer

our region in facilities like

up to four $1,000 scholarships to 2017

the Mercyhealth Sportscore

total commitment split evenly between

R2OC student participants — a $4,000

Complexes and the UW Health

R2OC and Rock Valley College

Sports Factory, we have

as $7,000 in grant funding courtesy of

realized tremendous growth.

for grade school and middle school

Foundation — in addition to as much R2OC for robotics start-up expenses programming in Boone, Stephenson

Most financial planners will tell you that a diversified portfolio allows you to maximize your investments over the long haul. By not putting all your eggs in one basket, you minimize your risk and enhance your profitability.

Tourism is no different.

As tourism in the Rockford region has grown over the past 30 plus years, our constant has been sports tourism. As a result of investments by our region in facilities like the Mercyhealth Sportscore Complexes and the UW Health Sports Factory, we have realized tremendous growth.

Most recently, this growth was on full display in June as the new indoor facility at Sportscore Two opened to the public — the same week that the region played host to one of the largest sporting events our community has hosted — Premier SuperCopa, which brought 15,000 people to Rockford and Loves Park.

We are often viewed as a soccer haven in the industry, as our complexes are perfectly built to host these mega events. However, the RACVB board and staff believe we need a diversified approach in our tournament recruitment efforts, and as a result we have seen quite the mix of business over the years.

Take, for instance, the USA BMX Midwest Nationals. The tournament held at Searls Park on the northwest side of the community has been a showcase for the community for the past 40 years. This year, nearly 4,000 people attended the event (with participants and spectators from throughout the United States, Canada and Australia).

Another great example is the Rock River Off-season Competition (R2OC), a premier robotics event presented

by UTC Aerospace Systems and Woodward. Under the stewardship of a local nonprofit volunteer board and

and Winnebago counties.

Now in its fifth year, the R2OC competition will feature more than 700 participants, making up 36 teams from throughout the region. For those not familiar with this competition, you are missing out. This varsity sport for the mind features teams of 10 or more high school students who are challenged to build and program a robot to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors, raise funds, design a team brand and hone teamwork skills.

A final example is the success of Tough Mudder in our market. After bringing more than 15,000 people to our community in 2016, we are expecting even stronger attendance this year as the competition expands to include the Toughest Mudder competition,

which

will

feature

competitors racing throughout the night to determine supremacy over the obstacle course built on the grounds of the Chicago-Rockford International Airport.

Diversification

beyond

our

hallmarks of soccer and softball has given us an advantage in the industry.

Following this approach, we will continue to showcase all aspects of our great community to competitors who travel from all over the world to Rockford and the region. Sports tourism is a central component of what we do at the RACVB, and we are seeing an even brighter future thanks to our ability to attract and host events of all kinds.

John Groh is president/CEO of the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The views expressed are those of Groh’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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August 2017

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Guest Perspective INSIGHT

Partnerships raise awareness of career opportunities

Satisfying a long-term need for local talent

Bridget French Alignment Rockford

Homegrown talent ensures continuity of services, and a continuous supply of high-quality and interested recruiting prospects to consider for hire.

“Many of the men and women who become police officers know their entire lives it is something they want to do.” That was a statement made by Assistant Deputy Chief Michael Dalke, in discussing the importance of building a talent pipeline for the Rockford Police Department. Conversations with the Rockford Fire Department were similar: Both would like to see a local, diverse workforce trained and ready to serve as police officers or firefighters. Today’s local fire and police departments are predominantly white male, and are primarily hired from outside the City of Rockford.

Alignment Rockford will coordinate comprehensive pathways to develop and retain local, diverse talent, through a unique partnership with the City of Rockford, Rockford Public Schools, Rock Valley College and Rockford University.

The College and Career Academy model that was implemented at all of our high schools in 2012 allows students to take electives or “pathway” courses that are sequenced and result in college credit and/or industry certification. This coursework is important because it allows students to participate in a program of study that focuses on a common interestbased career theme.

Alignment Rockford will also work to ensure there are career awareness opportunities at the elementary and middle school levels to grow excitement and knowledge of the careers that exist within our police and fire departments.

Both the police and fire departments are currently engaged in many of our schools and doing great work.

Alignment Rockford is coordinating a scan of all awareness activities to determine what schools are being served, but more importantly what schools are NOT being served, to make certain that we are providing opportunities for all students in Rockford Public Schools.

We’ll also work with the police and fire departments to ensure there are robust work-based learning experiences for high school students that include site visits and job shadowing, among others.

Homegrown Talent The coordination of this work will reap long-term rewards for the City of

Rockford, growing talent from within, and providing a sustainable way to satisfy a long-term need for employees.

Homegrown talent ensures continuity of services, and a continuous supply of high-quality and interested recruiting prospects to consider for hire. The work is strategic because it has a longterm, talent-supply focus, which means that critical jobs can be filled faster with higher quality and more interested candidates. For the City of Rockford, it also means lower attrition and lower recruitment costs.

One of the goals of this pathways work is to create and develop a qualified, skilled workforce where there is a demand. There are currently 23 pathways, or courses of study, in our public high schools. Alignment Rockford is working to build out comprehensive pathways for all of these courses of study in order to promote college & career readiness for all of our students. We know that not all Rockford Public School students are going to stay in Rockford, and that’s okay. But for those who will stay, we want to ensure they’re aware of the opportunities that await them in our region — and we want them to be ready for those opportunities.

As the supporting agency for this work, Alignment Rockford has a continuous focus on aligning relevant and comprehensive workbased learning opportunities for our students, and forging the necessary partnerships to accomplish this goal.

Working together with Rockford Public Schools, our postsecondary institutions and local business partners, we are creating a framework that will allow all students to succeed. The success of our students and the vitality of our community depends on our ability to work together.

Bridget French is executive director of Alignment Rockford, a 501(c)3 that supports Rockford Public Schools by aligning community resources to meet the greatest strategic needs of the school district.

The views expressed are those of French’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

11

August 2017

PEARSON FASTENER: First to be awarded new IATF certification RVC BPI can provide expert assistance to companies The Rock River Off-season Competition on July 29 is a robotics event that combines sports with science and technology.

Photo from http://r2oc.org.

Scholarships, Grant Money to Robotics Teams The fifth-annual Rock River Off-season Competition (R2OC), a robotics event presented by UTC Aerospace Systems and Woodward, for the first time offered up to four $1,000 scholarships to 2017 R2OC students graduating in 2017 or 2018. The off-season event on July 29 at the Rock Valley College PE Center featured 36 teams from the Midwest, including five local teams.

Derived from the international FIRST Robotics Competition, R2OC combines sports with the rigors of science and technology.

“The students competing in this event are our future workforce, and our five local teams now have alumni interning or working at manufacturers in the Rock River Valley,” said Karen Hill, R2OC cochair. Visit www.r2oc.org.

R2OC also is working with the FIRST Robotics Competition in establishing up to $7,000 in grant funding to support the long-term growth and health of robotics programming in Boone, Stephenson and Winnebago counties. School districts interested in developing robotics programming for grades Kindergarten through 8th are encouraged to contact grants@ R2OC.org.

Pearson Fastener, which has manufactured quality custom cold headed fasteners at 1400 Samuelson Road in Rockford since 1971, recently earned the International Automotive Quality Recognition – IATF 16949:2016 from SRI Quality Systems Registrar, along with being awarded an ISO 9001:2015 Management System certificate.

IATF 16949:2016 is an international management system automotive “sector specific” technical specification based on ISO 9001:2015 and several other international automotive requirements.

IATF 16949, previously known as ISO/TS 16949, was developed by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), in conjunction with the international standards community.

This technical specification, when coupled with the applicable customerspecific requirements and IATFspecific auditing and qualification procedures, provides the basis for an IATF-recognized registrar such as SRI to certify Pearson Fastener Corporation.

“The certification shows their automotive customers worldwide that Pearson Fastener Corporation is committed to being recognized as a long-term supplier of quality goods and services,” said Edward L. Maschmeier, director of certification at SRI. “We were extremely pleased with the consulting assistance my team and I received from the Business & Professional Institute at Rock Valley College in helping us earn the IATF 16949:2016 recognition,” said

“We were extremely pleased with the consulting assistance my team and I received from the Business & Professional Institute at Rock Valley College in helping us earn the IATF 16949:2016 recognition.”

— Paul Chandler Pearson Fastener Paul Chandler, director of operations at Pearson Fastener. “Being the first not only in the region, but the nation to receive this recognition is not only very exciting, but a testament to our commitment to our customers and being world class.”

ISO 9001:2015 Management System Certificate In conjunction with earning the IATF 16949:2016 recognition, Pearson Fastener also was awarded an ISO 9001:2015 Management System certificate from SRI Quality System Registrar.

ISO 9001:2015, a process-based certification, recognizes organizations that can link business objectives with operating effectiveness. Companies that achieve management system certification to ISO 9001:2015 have demonstrated effective implementation of documentation and records management, top management’s commitment to their customers, establishment of

clear policy, good planning and implemenBernie Luecke tation, good reRVC BPI source management, efficient process control, measurement and analysis. Continual improvement has been institutionalized.

According to Chandler, “Without the guidance and expertise of Chuck Jenrich, obtaining our ISO 9001:2015 and IATF 16949:2016 certification would have been very cumbersome and frustrating. These expert resources available through Rock Valley College have certainly exceeded our expectations, especially the return on our investment.”

SRI Quality System Registrar located in Pittsburg, Penn., is an internationally accredited registrar for management systems standards, such as ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO/TS 16949, OHSAS 18001, ISO 13485, ISO 200001, ISO 27001 and ISO 22000, and environmental management systems standards such as ISO 14001, RC 14001 and RCMS. If your business has questions regarding the new ISO standard deadlines for certification or need expert assistance in obtaining your certification, call me, Bernie Luecke, director of the Business & Professional Institute, at 815-921-2067 or B.Luecke@ RockValleyCollege.edu.

The views expressed are those of Luecke’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Manufacturing News is sponsored by RVC BPI

12

The Future of Education/An Engaged Workforce

August 2017

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Rockford Public Library offers Universal Class online Education at your fingertips, anywhere, anytime

By Barbara Connors With the advent of online and customized education and degrees, the way we learn is changing. Rockford Public Library is part of that change of providing “education at your fingertips” with Universal Class, an education resource it offers at its website, www. rockfordpubliclibrary.org.

Area residents in possession of a library card and some extra time can dive into Universal Class from any computer with online access. More than 500 courses are offered; geared towards gaining a new skill, advancing a career, starting a small business … even positioning for a coveted new job.

“We have a policy on what kinds of classes and events the library will offer,” said Lynn Stainbrook, executive director of the Rockford Public Library.

She highlighted the library’s mandate to offer events and classes that encourage creative expression, stimulate imagination, promote curiosity about the world, assist community members to become technology literate, teach computer and technology skills for daily life, and provide job-readiness.

Stainbrook said more than 60,000 participated in a class or event at a library location in 2016. These numbers didn’t include participation in the library’s online resources. She recalled one husband and wife team who was laid off from their jobs, and found other ones after improving their computer skills at the library, followed by online training.

“The resources are there,” she said.

“We’re all sharing in the cost of it.

There’s no excuse not to learn.”

Using Universal Class A student browsing through the Universal Class catalog will find classes in accounting, business, soft skills, Adobe and Microsoft software, entrepreneurship, finance, web

development, office skills, legal, writing skills and more. With a username and password, courses are assigned, and Universal Class tracks lessons completed, gathers test results, and rewards CEUs, along with a Certificate of Completion proving mastery of the material.

Businesses with an intentional goal to create an engaged workforce can set up their own employee training program; assigning classes to employees with certain skill gaps. Stainbrook has talked with two area employment agencies about using Universal Class to help clients master skills necessary to apply for specific jobs.

“We’re not talking a 15-minute course,” Stainbrook said. “You will learn something. You can take courses and earn CEUs on your own.

You can do it at midnight, wherever you may be.”

Other Online Resources ■ The Rosetta Stone program online offers courses in multiple languages with printed progress reports.

■ The Free Illinois and Wisconsin Driver Education program offers practice tests for car, motorcycle and CDL driver’s licenses, including driver’s manuals, an FAQ section and detailed answers to 100 Department of Motor Vehicle questions.

■ Explora allows students and teachers to search full-text articles, essays and primary source documents.

Categories are organized by popular topic, topic overviews, Associated Press videos, text-to-speech for HTML articles, reading level indicators and an English Curriculum Standards Module to help educators find materials that meet Common Core and state-specific curriculum standards.

Barbara Connors is editor of The Voice.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

The Future of Education/An Engaged Workforce

August 2017

13

Guest Perspective INSIGHT

The employer’s role in recovery

Supporting employees struggling with addiction or mental illness There comes a time in every employer’s professional life when they are faced with an employee’s personal challenges. While the experts in the human resources department are often the most directly involved in the situation, what can – and should – an organization, supervisor, leader or colleague do to assist an employee who is struggling with substance abuse or a mental health disorder?

In the United States, 43.6 million people suffer from some sort of mental illness, and 20.2 million suffer from a substance use disorder, which means an employer’s support for behavioral health in the workplace is a key element to maintaining a healthy organization.

Plan As with many business issues, proper planning is always the most valuable strategy. Many companies offer some kind of support such as an Employee Assistance Program. But it is important to evaluate the depth of behavioral health resources that

are available to your employees. The organization should review practices and policies with their employment attorney to ensure compliance with any state or federal laws surrounding time away from work. The landscape of laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is ever evolving.

Communicate When the company leaders are comfortable with the care that is offered, communicate about the program. Communicate often and regularly. Not every employee will feel comfortable that such resources are confidential and there will be no consequences for seeking help. Some may be skeptical, so it is important to reassure them that their privacy is protected by law.

Another key component is creating a climate of self-care. Most employees encounter some level of stress at work or at home, but not all manage that stress in the same manner. We know that outside stressors can impact

an employee’s attitude, behavior or performance, so companies should foster an environment where individuals are encouraged to reach out for assistance with behavioral health issues.

Support When an employee is struggling with addiction or a mental health disorder (or perhaps that of a loved one), they need guidance, but may be reluctant to speak to a supervisor or HR professional about the situation.

In fact, employees who are seeking treatment should feel as comfortable as they would when making inquiries and plans for surgery. They need support, encouragement and a judgment-free work environment in order to heal and continue to make contributions to the organization. Ensuring the employee that their health situation is a priority can reduce job-related concerns and help create a foundation for successful treatment.

As an employee enters a treatment

Phil Eaton

program, Rosecrance Health make it clear Network that they have the support of the organization, but their privacy rights will be protected and no direct inquiries will be made about their status. Ensure that the employee has a clear protocol for contacting the appropriate benefits professional regarding time away, returning to work, and other logistical matters.

Plan. Communicate. Support.

Rosecrance offers training opportunities for businesses of all sizes.

We’re happy to help. If you or someone you know suffers from a substance use or mental health disorder, seek help.

Now. Phil Eaton is president & CEO of Rosecrance Health Network.

The views expressed are those of Eaton’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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The Future of Education/An Engaged Workforce

August 2017

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Business Briefs in Education BUSINESS BRIEFS Rockford Chamber members appear bolded. Thank you for your support of your fellow Chamber members.

YouthBuild Rockford Graduates Gain Employable Skills YouthBuild Rockford celebrated the graduation of its 22nd class of 33 students on June 28 at Memorial Hall in downtown Rockford. Each student earned a nationally recognized

construction credential from the National Center for Construction, Education, and Research or a welding certification through the American Welding Society. Eighteen of the 33 students received their GEDs or high school diplomas, and seven graduated with honors.

The year-long YouthBuild Rockford program, part of Comprehensive Community Solutions, Inc., helps 16- to 24-year-olds who are out of

school and unemployed to learn vocational skills in construction.

Trainees build or rehabilitate affordable housing for low-income families. The 2017 class rehabilitated three single-family homes, and logged 13,245 hours of community service in the Rockford area.

Mercyhealth Presents $250,000 Towards College of Medicine Expansion Mercyhealth presented a $250,000 check to the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford on July 19. The donation supports the college’s expansion to a four-year medical school, which will bring 55 first-year medical students to Rockford this August. Historically, medical students spend their first year in Urbana and complete their remaining three in Rockford.

SwedishAmerican Awards Scholarship to Associates’ Children SwedishAmerican awarded 15 one-year $1,000 scholarships to children of its associates through its

Associates’ Children Scholarship Program. Each applicant had to submit an application, essay, ACT scores, class rank, official school transcript, applicant appraisal, personal letter of recommendation and copy of his or her letter of acceptance.

Turning Students into Employees

Per Mar Security Services hired its first student, Luis Miranda, as Luis Miranda is the a security officer first hire of Per Mar through its Security Services’ “Grow Our Own ‘Grow Our Own Program.” Per Program.’

Mar employees reach out to students in local high school classrooms. Miranda told Per Mar he was interested in becoming a security officer after graduation on learning more about Per Mar’s job opportunities as a student at Moline High School.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

The Future of Education/An Engaged Workforce

August 2017

15

Guest Perspective INSIGHT

Getting to know you ....

Should you use assessments in your hiring process?

Mike Mastroianni MDM Consulting

Rockford is hiring…are you?

The Rockford region added 1,500 jobs from May 2016 to May 2017, going from 151,500 to 153,500 positions according to IDES. But there are no statistics to tell us if we’re hiring smarter. A wrong hiring decision can result in a lot of effort to either shape people to fit into roles for which they are ill-suited, or it can lead to termination, which has risks for litigation and public relations issues. According to Inc.com, estimates to replace an employee run as high as 150 percent of the terminated person’s salary when it just “doesn’t work out.”

Can you assess soft skills?

Absolutely. Each job has key competencies that a qualified candidate needs to possess to be successful.

How Do You Avoid Making a Hiring Mistake?

One of the most important tasks owners and HR professionals face is selecting qualified candidates for open positions. Despite its importance, interviewing is not an exact science, and those doing it have different skills and comfort levels when interviewing.

How can you increase your chances to select a competent and qualified candidate?

Be aware of what you are looking for in the top candidate, including both technical (job-related) skills and “soft-skills” to see if the candidate is a match.

Can you assess soft skills? Absolutely.

Each job has key competencies that a

qualified candidate needs to possess to be successful. Identify what those are, then screen candidates and compare their competencies to those required for the position to help you select a person who fits the role.

Are there specific interviewing techniques that can help hiring managers screen candidates?

Yes! Use open-ended questions (requiring something other than a yes or no answer) to get people talking. Once the candidates begin to talk, encourage honest answers by using non-verbal positive cues (smiling, head nodding, eye contact).

Verbally downplay negative things they might say by asking follow-up questions and verbally supporting them. For example, if a candidate says, “I didn’t really get along with my last supervisor because she was too demanding,” downplay that by saying, “I get it ...we all have had supervisors who are difficult to work for.

How did you handle that?” If the candidate goes on to tell you the details of what occurred, the hiring professional can say, “Excellent answer and very thorough. Sounds like you handled it the best way you could.” When a candidate feels comfortable, he or she will likely tell you more details that you can use to assess the right fit for your company.

Behavioral Interviewing Can Also Be Very Useful In behavioral interviewing, questions are asked about past behaviors to see what the candidate is likely to do when working for you. Most of the time, how someone behaved in the past indicates how he or she will behave in your organization.

Example questions include:

■■ Describe a time when you had to work to hit an aggressive deadline.

how an individ-

■■ Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone you didn’t like.

How did you deal with it?

is not a pass/fail test. The assessments

■■ We talked about your successes. ...

Tell me about a time when you didn’t meet your goal, and why.

potential to succeed in a particular role.

■■ Describe your favorite work activity at your recent job, and why you liked it.

applicant is to the job. These tools can be

If the candidate is comfortable, the detailed answers to questions like these can be very helpful in determining the likelihood of success within your company. Checking references is also often worth the time, as some previous supervisors will elaborate on the candidate’s performance, especially when the candidate has given them permission to talk to you.

reveal true personality traits sometimes

Consider Assessment Tools to Seal the Deal Computer-generated assessment tools can be used to measure and report on

ual’s traits relate to job performance. It gather information about an individual’s natural strengths, motivators and Some assessments can even provide a “fit index” to indicate how well-matched the surprisingly accurate, cost-effective and hidden in the interviewing process. The best part? They can potentially save a lot of money when compared to the cost of employee turnover.

Mike Mastroianni is president of MDM Consulting. He also is a Caliper partner, certified in the Caliper employee assessment tool. Visit www.mdmbusinessconsulting.com.

The views expressed are those of Mastroianni’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

16

The Future of Education/An Engaged Workforce

Issues to Watch LEGISLATIVE

New Illinois Laws for 2017

Here are some laws related to education that have taken affect this year. For specific language of the laws, visit www.ilga.gov.

EDUCATION Community College Residency Requirements SB 232/PA 99-0845 States that all students will be classified as residents of the community college district without meeting the 30-day residency requirement of the district if they are currently residing in the district and are youth: 1. Who are currently under the legal guardianship of DCFS or have recently been emancipated from DCFS and 2. Who had previously met the 30-day residency requirement of the district, but who had a placement change into a new community college district.

Breakfast After the Bell SB 2393/PA 99-0850 Requires all school districts in Illinois to implement and operate a “breakfast after the bell” program in accordance to federal guidelines. If the school falls below a certain threshold they don’t have to continue participating, but can voluntarily choose to participate.

School Transportation SB 1582/PA 99-0888 Allows a student in grades K-12 with an Individualized Education Plan and a staff-to-student ratio of 1-to-5 may be transported in a multi-function school activity bus for any curriculum-related activity except for transportation on regular bus routes from home to school or from school to home. This bill is for only six small schools.

Community College Audits SB 2155/PA 99-0691 Requires that part of recognition granted by ICCB must include regular peer audits of the finances and operations of community colleges.

Every community college shall be subject to a peer audit every five years. The peer audit shall review compliance with all state law including: transparency, contract formation, renewal, extension or termination, bonuses payments, and Open Meetings Act requirements.

Community College Trustee Training SB 2157/PA 99-0692 States that all trustees elected or appointed after the effective date must complete training covering community college and labor law, opening meetings law, freedom of information law, ethics, financial oversight and accountability, audits, contract law and the fiduciary responsibilities of a community college trustee.

Homeless GED Tests SB 2840/PA 99-0742 Provides that anyone who qualifies as a homeless person, child or youth, is under the age of 25, has completed a prep course and is taking the test at an ROE or the Cook County High School Equivalency Office does not have to pay any fees associated with taking a high school equivalency exam.

Community College Contract Blackout Period SB 2158/PA 99-0693 Establishes a blackout period beginning 45 days prior to local elections in April of odd numbered years and continuing until the first organizational meeting of the community colleges board of trustees. During that blackout period no addendum to modify and amend an employee agreement between a community college district and the district’s president, chancellor, or chief executive officer nor may an employment contract be made and entered into between the board and the president, chancellor or chief executive officer.

Higher Education Transparency SB 2159/PA 99-0694 Establishes new requirements and limitations on community college and public university contracts with the president or chancellors. Requires contracts to be agreed to in open meetings. Makes changes that would put severance payments and buyouts into an escrow account if there are pending charges against a president or chancellor.

Board of Trustees Training SB 2174/PA 99-0695 Requires every voting member of the governing board of a public university appointed, for a term beginning after Jan. 1, 2016, to complete a minimum of three hours of professional development training within two years after beginning service and within every two years of service thereafter. Requires the university to maintain on its website the names of all members who have completed training.

School Bus Owner Insurance HB 2262/PA 99-0595 Establishes a $2 million dollar liability insurance requirement for school buses may be met a single commercial policy of $2 million or a combined $1 million primary with $5 million of coverage under an umbrella policy. This was required to bring school districts in line with recently enacted minimum insurance requirements.

August 2017

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Rockford University PERSPECTIVE

Time to check your culture

Leadership sets tone with words, actions We spend most of the time of our adult life in work-related activities.

Unfortunately for many, (some studies suggest more than 75 percent of working adults) work is not enjoyable. Usually the main reason why people do or do not like work is because of the organizational culture. So what can we do to create a better organizational culture?

The problem is organizational culture is one of those “fuzzy” concepts that is difficult to define, quantify and measure.

Because of this, I believe many leaders spend little time attending to it. This is exactly the WRONG approach. Creating and nurturing an organizational culture should be a top priority for leadership.

To put it simply, organizational culture is the framework for how work gets done and how people interact with others both inside and outside the organization. A positive culture makes it easier to get work done and a negative or neutral culture makes it more difficult.

The role of leadership should be to make work easier to get done.

No one organizational culture is right for all organizations or all people. Even companies such as Google (Alphabet these days) which is touted for having great culture, has people who hate working there. Leadership’s job should be to define the type of culture that will be effective for their organization and then work to develop and nurture this culture. This takes considerable leadership time and effort, as cultures take a long time to develop or change.

Living the Values Leaders can start by identifying the values for which everyone in the organization is expected to follow.

Values are basically the “rules of engagement;” how people are expected to interact with each other, the standards of behavior and what should not be done. It is not enough to come up with a set of values and publish these on a website or post them around a facility; these values have to be lived and modeled daily by leadership. Everyone within the organization needs to be held accountable for supporting and not violating these values. The values also need to be discussed regularly and examples of people living these values at work should be shared and celebrated.

Next, leaders should determine if the physical environment of the workplace supports and reflects the values of the organization. For example, if one of the values for the organization is supposed to be “we trust each other in the workplace,” yet there are cameras throughout and all phone calls and computer activity

Jeff Fahrenwald Rockford University

is closely monitored, the values don’t match the environment, and people who work there will most likely become cynical.

Leadership can also look at daily operations to determine if what is being done and supported reflects the values. For example, if a value is “we strive to continuously improve,” yet the organization doesn’t encourage or support workers who want more training and/or education, people will see the disconnect.

If associates ask about why a process or procedure is done a certain way and the answer is, “we have always done it that way,” then daily operations undermine and erode the values and the culture. If a value is “respect for others,” yet people are regularly expected to work 60-plus hours a week and worklife balance is non-existent, then what is really created is a toxic culture where people are looking to leave.

Align Values with Mission I do not believe there is one set of values or one culture that is right for all organizations. What there should be is a set of values that will make it easier for people in a specific organization to fulfill the organizational mission and reach the vision. When mission, vision and values all align, and organizationally the majority of the workforce understands the mission and vision and lives the values, the culture will be positive and the organization has a strong probability it will succeed. This is what is supposed to happen, and it is the responsibility of leadership to ensure it does.

Author Studs Terkel in his book Working wrote, “Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying.”

Management and leadership in our organizations have a responsibility to create and nurture organizational cultures where this can happen, because organizational management and leadership are responsible for driving organizational success.

Jeff Fahrenwald is an adjunct professor and associate professor emeritus at Rockford University and vice president - strategy development and implementation for SupplyCore.

The views expressed are those of Fahrenwald’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

17

August 2017

Trusting the plan … even when I don’t want to (most of the time) How consistency wins over perfection We are obsessed with instant gratification and detest long-term work for long-term results. When exactly did we stop playing the long game and focus only on the shortsided wins or loses?

Race Goes to the Tortoise?

A wise coach once said to me that I needed to “trust in the plan.” Bogged down by frustration, lack of motivation and downright anger, trusting “the plan” was the last thing I wanted to do right then and there.

I wanted to give up on this plan — clearly it wasn’t serving me well. After all, it was hard!

The new plan that I saw someone else doing looked so much more appealing. Surely, I would be happier, see more results faster and be downright more interesting if only I was rid of this blasted plan and instead had that sparkly plan.

Looking at my own track record across various parts of my life, jumping to the next best things hasn’t really served me all that well. I think of it like a road map: to reach my destination, I could drive my car through the ups and downs of the mountains, which may be a bit uncomfortable or scary at times or I could take the glistening easy path around the mountain. When I chose the around-the-mountain path, I am somehow surprised when it takes twice as long to get to my destination. Why must the easy way also be the long way? I’m not quite sure, but it almost always seems to be true.

As a society, we seem to be very interested in the around-the-mountain types of plans. We are obsessed with instant gratification and detest long-term work for long-term results. When exactly did we stop playing the long game and focus only on the shortsided wins or loses? I’m apt to blame technology, but that’s just a hunch. Many of you probably are quick to blame Millennials, but I’d like to suggest that we’re all in a hurry – regardless of our age.

We owe it to ourselves, our community, our organizations and our future fellow humans to really examine that problem — examine why we are obsessed with the here and now and can’t stomach the idea of a process. The roots of that problem run deep and may produce information we may not like, but probably need to see. And, ironically enough, that’s long-term work. We won’t solve that question in a day. So, while I try to patiently wait for research, data and a real selfevaluation on this big subject to take place, I would suggest the following: When doing hard, messy leadership work, we need to trust the plan. We have to stop running away from the difficult conversations, the tedious moments of repetition, the mundaneness of perfecting our Leadership Development news is sponsored by Comcast Business.

Caitlin Pusateri systems. We need to lean Rockford Chamber into the idea that perhaps the answer to many of our leadership woes stem back to the basics — communication, accountability, trust and respect.

It isn’t fun or interesting to sit down with a problem employee and really talk (and listen) about why they aren’t performing, create an action plan and then hold them accountable. It isn’t fun to admit when we are wrong or yield that someone else’s idea may be better than our own. It’s not always energizing to look at gaps in our organization and really examine where a process could be made better or where safety features are lacking. But this boring work – this work is what leads to greatness.

Greatness doesn’t come from constantly finding the next best thing. Greatness comes from consistency in knowing what works. It comes from tweaking little things while holding true to the big things. It’s finding a plan and sticking with it — even on the days we don’t want to.

Leadership gives us this opportunity to practice this frequently. We can commit to consistency in our communication, our decisions to hold others accountable, our commitment to developing systems and processes that examine our failures. Consistency isn’t about rigidness – it’s about sticking to an overarching plan, even when something new and shiny comes along. It’s about knowing what our ultimate goals are and understanding how to balance our daily activities to move us in that direction. Consistency is hard – and that’s why it works.

Caitlin Pusateri is vice president, leadership development at the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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August 2017

New group helping homeless teens with clothing

By Alex Gary Kevin Ware has long been passionate about helping the homeless and a question by one of his daughters spurred action.

Breanna Ware, who is attending Purdue, asked him last winter where homeless teens go to get clothes. This spring, Kevin and Juanita Ware launched Just Breathe 815, which is collecting lightly used clothing and distributing them to homeless teens.

Homelessness is a difficult problem to track and to tackle. The city of Rockford, which has been cited for its effectiveness in eliminating homelessness among veterans, is shifting its focus to teenagers.

There are no solid statistics showing how big the problem is. The best numbers come from the annual School Report Cards from the Illinois State Board of Education. According to those statistics, seven percent of the Rockford School District’s 28,459 students in 2015-2016 – or 1,992 students – lacked permanent or adequate housing. And the number

has been rising. In the 2013-2014 school year, it was 1,732 students. The state average homeless school population is two percent. Whatever the numbers, Ware, who works for the Rockford Rescue Mission, knows the problem is significant.

Since launching in May, they’ve collected and distributed more than 1,600 items of clothing, and they’ve barely scratched the surface.

Just Breathe 815 has partnered with several businesses to be clothing dropoff sites – Salamone’s Italian Restaurant & Bar, Rockford Siding & Windows, 15th and Chris Burgers & Ice Cream, Selah Salon and Spa and B&H Office Furniture. Just Breathe 815 volunteers wash the clothes and then distribute them once a month at Second Congregation UCC/First Presbyterian Church at 318 N. Church St. to teens in need. The next distribution date is Aug. 19. If you’d like to donate clothing or get your business involved in the effort, contact Just Breathe 815 at justbreathe815@gmail.com.

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theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Quickly-changing retail industry will force changes in Rockford-area thinking

By Alex Gary

the municipalities where the items were purchased declined from the year before.

In FY2017, Winnebago County’s 11 incorporated cities and villages and Winnebago County received $40.12 million back from the state in sales tax revenue compared with $40.22 million in FY 2016. It was just a slight decline, but it marked the first year-over-year decline since 2010, during the depths of the Great Recession when the area unemployment rate tumbled to 19 percent.

Winnebago County has had a remarkable turnover in leadership in 2017. Rockford, Winnebago County, Loves Park and Machesney Park have new leaders in place. Rockford, Loves Park and Machesney Park, as well as Cherry Valley, Roscoe and Rockton, have been able to count on continually rising sales tax revenues to fund city services. That may no longer be the case, and instead leaders will have to contend with what to do with large retail spaces that no longer have new chains eager to move in.

We’ve seen some of this already.

The former space that was home to K’s Merchandise for years on Mulford Road now is a ServiCom call center. But the old Menards building on Illinois 173 and Illinois 251 – the first major store to open on that shopping corridor - remains unfilled along with several large vacancies on East State Street. Rockford already is home to many buildings that were part of a boom gone bust. Any trip around older sections of Rockford will showcase the manufacturing buildings of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, which now either have been turned into storage or sit idle. Is the Big Box space next?

A story in TIME magazine this month highlighted a trend that should be concerning city and county leaders across the country, “The Death and Life of the Shopping Mall.”

According to industry estimates quoted by Time, by 2022 one out of every four shopping malls in the United States will be out of business. We’ve already seen this trend hit the Rock River Valley.

Winnebago County used to be home to malls by the name of Colonial Village, Machesney Park Mall and North Towne Mall, to go with CherryVale Mall.

Colonial Village now is home to Heartland Community Church, Machesney Park Mall’s interior space long since closed, and it has a couple of department stores left facing Illinois 251 and Practice Velocity on the other side.

North Towne long ago was taken over by a series of discount stores.

The trend though is larger than shopping malls, as more and more turn to online shopping, where everything you need is a click away. More than 4,000 retail stores are being closed by major retailers in 2017 alone. These include such iconic names as Gymboree, Sears and Kmart, J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Payless ShoeSource.

Shifting Tax Revenues This shift to online shopping is quickly going to hurt the budgets of municipalities who rely on sales tax revenue to help pay for police salaries and new roads. It appears to already be hitting the Rockford area. According to Illinois Department of Revenue figures, in fiscal year 2017 – July to June – the amount of sales tax revenue collected by retailers in Winnebago County and returned to

Alex Gary is communications manager of Thinker Ventures.

Sales Tax Revenue Trends Fiscal Year

Rockford

% change

County total

% change

FY 2009

$22.69 million

FY 2010

$20.79 million

-8.3%

$35.07 million

-7.2%

FY 2011

$21.39 million

2.9%

$36.26 million

3.4%

FY 2012

$22.15 million

3.5%

$37.85 million

4.4%

FY 2013

$22.18 million

0.2%

$38.07 million

0.5%

FY 2014

$22.40 million

1.0%

$38.64 million

1.5%

FY 2015

$23.05 million

2.9%

$40.11 million

3.8%

FY 2016

$23.38 million

1.4%

$40.22 million

0.3%

FY 2017

$23.30 million

-0.3%

$40.12 million

-0.2%

$37.81 million

Source: Illinois Department of Revenue

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

19

August 2017

Rockford region cultivates opportunities at Paris Air Show More than a dozen aerospace organizations and companies promoted the strength of the Rockford region’s aerospace supply chain and pursued opportunities to expand their scope worldwide, June 19 to 22, at the 52nd International Paris Air Show. The fourday show hosts more than 142,000 professionals and more than 2,300 exhibitors from 48 countries.

The Rockford Area Economic Development Council and seven companies attended as part of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) pavilion: ■■ American Precision Assemblers* ■■ American Standard Circuits* ■■ Bertsche ■■ IMT Forge Group ■■ Ingenium Aerospace* ■■ Midwest Aero Support* ■■ MicroLink Devices, Inc. Of the seven companies who exhibited within the Illinois Pavilion, four (*) are

Rockford Area Aerospace Network members. RAAN is a consortium of companies working to increase the competitiveness of the Rockford Region for aerospace expansion and attraction. These types of shows provide opportunities to increase the international awareness of the Rockford region and create opportunities to help businesses grow locally by connecting globally.

Welcome Reception This year, in addition to traditional meetings, the Illinois Pavilion hosted a reception welcoming more than 100 people from several countries.

The RAEDC met with multiple economic development and trade organizations representing both municipalities and companies from France, Italy, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom, with services ranging from logistics companies to research and development facilities,” said Jimsi Kuborn,

vice president of investor relations.

“These relationships can lead to primary job growth by generating contacts with businesses in our region to global partners enabling them to provide additional services and products internationally. As with previous international trade shows, it is also a long-term opportunity for more global regions to grow their U.S. presence, more specifically in the Rockford Region by connecting with the RAEDC and RAAN members.”

The theme of conversations during the International Paris Air Show revolved around additive manufacturing and the process to gain Federal Aviation Administration approval for the 3-D printing of aircraft components. The future of the aerospace industry is revolving around innovation and disruptive technology. The Rockford region is readily equipped to continue to be a leader through research and development by incorporating new metals, new processes and new testing methodologies.

Participation in the International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget is vital to the economic development of the Rockford Region, home to four tier-one companies and more than 250 suppliers in a 90-minute radius.

“Working with the State of Illinois’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity provides the opportunity

for many businesses to meet with different types of companies during a short timeframe and learn about the highly skilled workforce, advanced manufacturing and aerospace supply chains and the logistics that make the Rockford Region, their Opportunity Region,” said Gerald Sagona, director of national business development for the RAEDC. “This is our second time attending this show, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it both times,” said Anaya Vardya, president & CEO of American Standard Circuits in West Chicago and RAAN member.

“Besides the exhibition itself, there are always a number of talks and conferences going on throughout the four days on a variety of aerospace-related topics.

Attending the Paris Air Show has helped us tremendously when it comes to not only increasing our aerospace business in Europe but globally as well. The Paris Air Show is a great investment of both time and money. We look forward to coming back in 2019.”

The Paris Air Show alternates annually with the Farnborough International Airshow in England as one of the world’s premier aerospace trade exhibitions.

The following companies represented the region in their own exhibition space: AAR Corp., Esterline, GE Aviation, Honeywell, UTC Aerospace Systems and Woodward, Inc.

Foreign direct investment opportunities sought in Washington, D.C. The Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC) represented the Rockford region in the Illinois Department of Commerce booth at the 2017 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington D.C., June 18 to 20.

The SelectUSA Investment Summit connects economic development organizations with investors from all over the globe looking to create partnerships or expand into the United States. This year more than 2,800 international business investors, economic development organizations (EDOs) and stakeholders met over the three-day summit. EDOs representing 51 U.S. states and territories met with decision-making investors from more than 60 international markets.

Nathan Bryant, president and chief executive officer at the RAEDC, was with the Illinois Department of Commerce’s exhibition booth, connecting with international businesses looking to expand or relocate their business into areas like the Rockford Region.

“We attend summits, conferences and tradeshows like SelectUSA to meet with businesses who are actively

seeking locations to expand or relocate into. One of our key advantages is the region’s skilled workforce and our nimble education-to-workforce pipelines developed to support industries already located here,” Bryant said. “Businesses want to know they can find established supply chains and a cost-effective location to conduct business, in an area that has the logistical support to move their product.”

During the three-day event, Bryant met with several European advanced manufacturing and aerospace companies to discuss the benefits of locating in the Rockford region, including the newly launched Qualified Sites Program (QSP), the highly skilled workforce, the strong aerospace supply chain, the advanced manufacturing capabilities, in addition to ideal logistics and the benefits of Foreign Trade Zone #176.

Attracting investors and businesses to the Rockford Region through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) opportunities takes time. The average time from the start of a project to the completion is 329 days.

20

August 2017

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

the News IN Members THEin NEWS

1. Stephen Nelson

2. Laura Baluch

3. Ryan Gailey

4. Cesar Sanchez

5. Linda Zuba

6. Dr. Bill Gorski

7. Dr. Michael Born

8. Dr. David Shoberg

9. Tom Myers

10. Shurice Hunter

11. Amy Ingram

12. Ann Kriens

13. Anna Derocher

14. Tom Glendenning

15. Chase Cain

16. Jeff Fahrenwald

17. Dr Ian Goldberg

18. Dr. Rehmat Sheikh

19. Steve Schultz

20. Dr. Diane Boone

21. Tiffany Staman

22. Kristin Hamblock

23. Nathan Brandt

24. Barb Ridley

Rockford Chamber members appear bolded. Thank you for your support of your fellow Chamber members.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS Rock House Kids named the following to its board: Dola Gregory, CEO; Dee Lacny, COO; Rich McLaughlin, president; Dave Koch, vice president; Sandy Trotter, treasurer; Vickie Kieffer, secretary, and Daniel Bross.

Rebecca Epperson was named to the board of trustees of Keith Country Day School.

The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau board elected the following as officers for one year: David Anderson, chairman; Bill LaFever, vice chairman, and Tim Myers, treasurer/secretary. The following joined the board for threeyear terms: Chad Anderson, Patricia Diduch, Jennifer Furst, Amanda Hamaker and Jay Sandine. The RACVB Foundation board re-elected one member and elected two for two-year terms: Al Castrogiovani, Pat Tulley and

Darrell Snorek (re-elected).

Stephen Nelson (1) was appointed to the Illinois Association of School Boards, Kishwaukee Division Executive Board. He will serve as the Resolutions chair.

United Way of Rock River Valley appointed the following to its board: Laura Baluch (2), Ryan Gailey (3), Mike Hughes, Robin Krestchman, Cesar Sanchez (4) and Linda Zuba (5).

NEW HIRES, PROMOTIONS, RETIREMENTS Northwest Bank of Rockford welcomed Amy Bruscato as vice president, mortgage banking leader, at its Perryville branch.

Dr. Bill Gorski (6) retired as president and CEO of SwedishAmerican, a division of UW Health, on July 1. Dr. Michael Born (7) is the new president and CEO. Mercyhealth welcomed David Shoberg, M.D. (8), board certified and fellowship trained pediatric

pulmonology physician, to its staff at Mercyhealth Kleckner, formerly Rockford Pediatric Pulmonology.

The Barbara Olson Center of Hope hired Chase Cain (15) as director of development.

Tom Myers (9), vice president of marketing and strategic planning, retired from SwedishAmerican, a division of UW Health on July 1.

SupplyCore hired former Rockford University assistant professor Jeff Fahrenwald (16) as its vice president for strategy development and execution.

Mayor Thomas McNamara named Shurice Hunter (10) as director of human resources for the City of Rockford.

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company hired Amy Ingram (11) as social media & communications coordinator and promoted Ann Kriens (12) to claims manager.

Jenny Caiozzo transitioned to destination development manager at the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and hired Mary Holmes as the new group services manager.

Fehr Graham named Anna Derocher (13) as marketing manager, and wastewater specialist Tom Glendenning (14) as project manager.

SwedishAmerican hired cardiologist Ian Goldberg, D.O. (17), and interventional cardiologist Rehmat Sheikh, M.D. (18) Meridian hired Steven Schultz (19) as corporate sales director.

EMPLOYEE/COMMUNITY RECOGNITIONS, AWARDS Diane Boone, M.D. (20), board certified ophthalmologist, Mercyhealth, was named a 2017 American Institute of Medical Professionals 10 Best Eye Surgeons in Illinois for patient satisfaction.

Heartland Hospice named Janine Idstein, volunteer coordinator and We Honor Veterans director, as the June

(continued on page 21)

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

21

August 2017

the News IN Members THEin NEWS

25. Thomas Freesmeier

26. Linda Julian

27. Sarah Schaefer

28. Julie Thomas

29. Jared Young

30. William “Bill” Lenters

2017 Champion of Caring - Employee of the Month.

Kristin Hamblock (22), benefits & payroll manager, Rosecrance Health Network, was recognized with a 2017 Workforce Game Changers Award by Workforce magazine.

Nathan Brandt (23), RN, neuro trauma intensive care unit, received OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center’s quarterly DAISY Award.

Barb Ridley (24), claims customer service representative, celebrated 35 years of service with Rockford Mutual Insurance Company.

Golden Apple Foundation named its five Golden Apple Teachers for 2017 in May: Thomas Freesmeier (25), Harlem

32. Tabatha Rickelman

music at Rockford Christian Schools and choir director at Westminster Presbyterian Church, received first place honors in the Choral Composition Contest of the Illinois American Choral Directors Association in June at Illinois State University.

Continued from page 20

Tiffany Staman (21), executive director, The Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford, achieved the CFRE credential for competence and commitment to the philanthropic sector.

31. Dr. Marc A. Zussman

33. Andy Bruhn

34. Rebecca Epperson

Middle School; Linda Julian (26), Willowbrook Middle School; Sarah Schaefer (27), Roosevelt Community Education Center; Julie Thomas (28), Harlem High School, and Jared Young (29), Belvidere North High School.

United Voices for Children gave Rosecrance Chaplain William “Bill” Lenters (30) the Bishop Jesse R. DeWitt Child Advocacy Award at its annual breakfast in June.

Marc A. Zussman, M.D. (31), OrthoIllinois, was presented with a 2017 Golden Apple Award by graduating residents of Rush University Medical Center at the orthopedic division’s graduation

35. Emily Hartzog

36. Dr. Michael J. Chmell

dinner in Chicago in June.

Mayor Tom McNamara presented Dr. Bill Gorski, retired president & CEO, SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW Health, with a key to the city of Rockford and proclamation of June 29, 2017 as “Dr. William R. Gorski Day” at his retirement dinner on June 30.

OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center gave its Daily Point of Light Award to volunteer of 15 years, Shirley Bartelson.

Meridian named Tabatha Rickelman (32) as Employee of the Month for June.

Andy Bruhn (33), director of choral

OF GENERAL INTEREST

Rebecca Epperson (34), CEO, and Emily Hartzog (35), vice president, Chartwell Agency, attended the Public Relations Society of America Counselors Academy Spring Conference held in Seattle.

Michael J. Chmell, M.D. (36, OrthoIllinois, was a keynote speaker at the Becker’s 15th Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain ManagementDriven ASC Conference in Chicago in June.

SwedishAmerican employees Steve Kirschbaum, Dwan Montgomery, Sharon Goldsmith, Sue Thompson and Tonya Gray completed training offered by the Center for Domestic Preparedness, in Anniston, Alabama.

22

August 2017

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Business Briefs BUSINESS BRIEFS implemented 20 community-based intervention groups in rural Illinois communities with nearly 200 adult men and women participating weekly for a year.

Rockford Chamber members appear bolded. Thank you for your support of your fellow Chamber members.

Rock River Bridge Hotel, LLC, and Aries Capital, LLC, announced a $2.5 million renovation to Cliffbreakers Riverside Hotel and Conference Center. Work already has begun on the facility’s 30,000 square feet of meeting space with an anticipated completion by Oct. 31. Guestroom renovations will begin in late summer with an anticipated completion of Feb. 28 of next year.

The American Association for State and Local History named the Byron Forest Preserve District the recipient of an Award of Merit for the Jarrett Prairie Center Museum Renovation Project. The renovated 4,000-sq.-ft. museum opened in fall 2016 with new permanent exhibits on the relationship of the people with the surrounding prairie.

RAMP received a $1,510 grant for transition services at Lena-Winslow High School from the Freeport Community Foundation.

Rockford Park District held a celebration and dedication for the new playground and renovations to Sinnissippi Park. Improvements include a new accessible path system and renovations to the existing 5- to 12-year-old playground, and a new musicthemed, 2- to 5-year-old playground and bag toss area near the Twin Shelters.

The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau reported that the Mercyhealth Sportscore Two hosted more than 224 all-girl teams from June 22 to 27 at the Elite Clubs National League Tournament; generating an estimated $2,520,000 in economic impact and bringing more than 7,400 people to the Rockford region. Seventy percent of the girls are expected to receive scholarships from more than 500 colleges and pro scouts while at the tournament.

The Mercyhealth Primary Stroke Center inside Mercyhealth HospitalRockton Avenue received the Get With the Guidelines® Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke SM Honor Roll from the American Heart Association.

Easterseals Chicagoland/Rockford hired KMK Media Group to market its services and community impact to the northern Illinois region.

Hospice Care of America hired KMK as its advertising agency of record for an ad campaign and social media strategy.

The SwedishAmerican Foundation’s 32nd annual Ryan Jury Memorial Golf Outing, held in June at Aldeen Golf Club, raised more

Rockford Park District Board of Commissioners has approved multiple agreements for Rockford Bank & Trust Pavilion at Aldeen Golf Club driven by Giovanni’s, 1902 Reid Farm Road.

Giovanni’s, which operates Graystone Grill, will continue its partnership with the facility.

Construction is expected to begin this fall at a projected $2.5 million cost. The facility is expected to open in June 2018. than $70,000, pushing total donations well over 1.2 million dollars. Proceeds go towards the expansion of the proposed new four-story Women’s and Children’s Tower.

SwedishAmerican’s Board of Directors approved in June a new 16-bed child and behavioral health adolescent unit for ages 5 to 17, in order to ease a severe shortage of inpatient psychiatric care for children in the Rock River Valley.

The unit’s total bed count will increase from 32 to 42.

SwedishAmerican will be the only hospital in Rockford to offer child psychiatric beds. The last local facility for pediatric psychiatric inpatients was Singer Mental Health Center, which closed in 2012.

SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW Health, held an employee peanut butter and jelly drive during its Founder’s Week in June at 21 locations to provide meals to children in need during the summer months. It donated more than 700 pounds of peanut butter and jelly for roughly 9,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the Rock River Valley Food Pantry and smaller food pantries in Roscoe/Rockton, Belvidere, Davis Junction, Byron and Rochelle.

Per Mar Security Services has expanded its monitored home security services to include smart home automation features include Lyric, the latest and most reliable wireless security and home control system; Total Connect, which lets you stay connected to your home with a tap on your touchscreen, and Skybell, a smart video doorbell allowing you to answer your door from anywhere with a smartphone.

University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners kicked off the Plant a Row for the hungry this summer and seeks donations of fresh produce through September by local gardeners, which will go to local pantries. Visit web.extension.

illinois.edu/jsw or call 815-986-4357 for drop-off locations, dates and times.

OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center’s Emergency Department received a donation from Saint Rita Catholic Church of nearly 30 stuffed teddy bears to provide comfort to anxious patients.

OSF distributes roughly 20 bears a week to patients, who bring them home.

Christian rock band, Casting Crowns performs its “The Very Next Thing” tour on Oct. 21, 7 p.m., at BMO Harris Bank Center. The Big Church Night Out tour takes place Dec. 8 at BMO Harris Bank Center at 7 p.m. The Chicago-based Cornerstones of Rock brings the music of legendary garage bands to the Coronado Performing Arts Center stage on Nov. 18 at 8 p.m.

The Tommy Emmanuel CGP Classics & Christmas Tour takes place Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m., at Coronado Performing Arts Center.

Tickets at Ticketmaster.com, the BMO Harris or Coronado PAC box offices, or 815-968-5222.

The Literacy Council received a $5,000 grant from The Mill Foundation in support of family literacy programs. PACT aims to initiate early literacy skills by providing parents with literacy activities to share with their children at home. Well Child equips parents and children with age and developmental appropriate material at various health clinics in Rockford.

Both programs supply children with books for their home libraries at no cost.

Win With Wellness, a communitybased, multi-level lifestyle change program addressing chronic disease and obesity risk in Stephenson and Carroll counties, recently was highlighted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Dr. Manorama Khare, research assistant professor, University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford, has

SwedishAmerican Hospital conducted a construction site collapse trauma disaster drill exercise in the Emergency Department on July 7. The scenario was based on a six-story old factory that collapsed during a construction restoration project in downtown Rockford. Multiple workers were struck by debris, fell from a significant height or were trapped under fallen rubble.

Mercyhealth’s clinical breast program in Rockford received a three-year, full accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, an elite branch of the American College of Surgeons.

OSF HealthCare now is offering Circle by OSF – a no-cost app that provides local, OSF-approved resources and tools for expectant and new moms with weekly updates on a baby’s development during pregnancy and for the first year, “to do” lists, links to OSF classes and support groups, tracking tools for weight gain, kick counters and feedings, and more.

Golf Advisor notified Rockford Park District that Aldeen Golf Club and Practice Centre ranked #21 among the Top 25 golf courses in the United States under $50; the highest-rated course in Illinois.

SwedishAmerican Foundation, Midtown District, Rockford Habitat for Humanity, Thrivent Financial and local volunteers are hosting the second-annual Midtown Community Work Day on Aug. 5. Six local residents who live in the Midtown District applied for a $2,500 exterior repair grant and will have work done to their homes including building ramps; painting; cleaning gutters; planting trees, flowers and shrubs, and replacing windows and doors.

SwedishAmerican is one of the first hospitals in Illinois and the only in Rockford to install the CsRx Full Service by Stericycle, a waste stream management system to help keep controlled substance pharmaceutical waste from entering public water supplies and from getting into the wrong hands by properly segregating and disposing it.

McClure Engineering Associates, Inc., and its Rockford team members have joined IMEG Corp., creating one of the largest civil engineering firms in the Midwest.

IMEG recently merged with another Illinois-based civil firm, Missman,

(continued on page 23)

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

23

August 2017

Business Briefs Chamber Advantages 101 BUSINESS BRIEFS MEMBERSHIP Continued from page 22 Inc. In addition to its Rockford office, it has offices in East Moline, Waukegan, Ottawa and Macomb, Ill. Digital Hive Mind received a 2017 American Web Design Award from Graphic Design USA for its design of J.L. Clark’s new website at www. jlclark.com.The work is featured in the June 2017 print and digital issues of Graphic Design USA and www.gdusa.com, online awards showcase.

The SwedishAmerican Foundation presented a $20,000 check to Patriot’s Gateway at its Capital Campaign luncheon at Rockford Country Club on June 14.

Upper Cervical Care Center – Rockford, a division of 1st Step Chiropractic, celebrated 14 years of serving the Rockford area at its anniversary community picnic on June 22.

Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) will conduct its next health and wellness program beginning Sept. 18 at SwedishAmerican Hospital.

Deadline to register is Sept. 8 at www.CHIPhealth.com, 815-9754523 or jody.perrecone@ CHIPhealth.com.

SupplyCore was awarded the U.S. Department of State Automotive Parts Contract, an estimated value of $25 million during a five-year period. It will provide high-quality repair, replacement and service parts to about 16,000 automotive vehicles used by the agency throughout the world.

Ninety percent of Edward Jones financial advisors said they will be working at the firm one to two years from now, according to a survey

by J.D. Power. It ranked Edward Jones “Highest in Employee Advisor Satisfaction among Financial Investment Firms” for the ninth time. The industry average was 51 percent.

KMK Media Group was hired

by Patriots Gateway Community Center to design a new corporate identity. It was hired by Cliffbreakers Riverside Hotel & Conference Center to publicize its $2.5-million facility renovation.

Upgrades and construction is expected to be completed by February 2018.

RAMP is assisting individuals with disabilities to obtain the skills to hire and maintain personal assistants/individual providers.

RAMP maintains a list of PA/IPs, who help its clients with household tasks, personal care, appointment scheduling, money management and certain health care procedures, with the permission of a doctor.

Mercyhealth Development Foundation’s annual Golf Play Day on June 26 at Beloit Club welcomed nearly 140 golfers and raised $24,000 to benefit Mercyhealth at Home (formerly Visiting Nurses Association of the Rockford Area, Mercy Hospice Care and Mercy Assisted Care).

WNIJ News won second-place in “best news series” in the 2016 Public Radio News Directors Incorporated competition for “Great Lakes Basin Railroad: Down the Line.” WNIJ 89.5 FM announced a new season of Sessions from Studio A, starting Aug. 3 and featuring new episodes every Thursday at 7 p.m.

The locally produced program is dedicated to showcasing regional and touring musicians.

Hoffman House’s Prime Spear won “best handheld” at Bite Nite, a fundraiser for Rock River Development Partnership on July 22 at City Market Pavilion.

The event featured bites from 20 participating restaurants from Rockford, Loves Park, Roscoe and Rockton.

SwedishAmerican, a division of UW Health, installed webcam technology designed for families to see their hospitalized infants in the Special Care Nursery whenever they wish, even if miles, or oceans, apart.

It’s the only hospital in Rockford and the third hospital in Illinois to offer NICVIEW to its patients.

Woodward, Inc., reported financial results for third quarter of fiscal year 2017, ending June 30. It had net sales of $549 million, compared to $508 million for the third quarter of last year; an increase of 8 percent.

Let your Voice be heard Do you have news to share?

Send news releases and other items of interest to the business community to: The VOICE, Rockford Chamber of Commerce 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, IL 61101 DEADLINE IS THE 15TH OF THE MONTH PRECEDING PUBLICATION

Do you enjoy meeting new people?

Then you belong in the Rockford Chamber’s Ambassadors Club!

We are looking for new members and would like to invite you to join our club!

We are the volunteer arm of the chamber and are the most visible, especially since we wear red. We are best known for welcoming new businesses and members at ribbon cuttings, grand openings, open houses and Chamber events. Our Ambassadors help ensure members obtain value from their membership by keeping them updated and involved and by encouraging active participation in the chamber.

We also meet monthly to visit a different chamber member and get to know their business while enjoying food from our many Chamber-member caterers and restaurants.

This is a networking and hospitality group you don’t want to miss!

For information on how to join, contact Sue Boyer, Rockford Chamber, at 815-316-4315 or sboyer@rockfordchamber.com.

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August 2017

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Community Events COMMUNITY

VetsRoll veterans are honored for their sacrifices as they make their way to Washington, D.C., in buses for days of remembrance.

Rockford Chamber members appear bolded. Thank you for your support of your fellow Chamber members.

AUGUST, 2017

Wednesday, August 2

University of Illinois Extension partners with the Illinois State Board of Education for Professional Development trainings on Aug. 2, 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Pearl City High School, 100 S. Summit St. A second training takes place on Aug. 9 at Willowbrook Middle School, 6505 Prairie Hill Road, South Beloit. Register at 815-235-4125 or web.extension.illinois.edu/jsw.

Thursday, August 3

Rockford Park District hosts a free Outdoor Public Art Walking Tour along the Rock River Recreation Path, 11 a.m., every Thursday through Sept.

7 from the lobby of Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, 1354 N. Second St. Visit www. nicholasconservatory.com or call 815-987-1654.

Natural Land Institute hosts Nature Poetry & Prose, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Nygren Wetland Preserve, 3190 West Rockton Road, Rockton. Free.

Registration by Aug. 2 at 815-9646666 or info@naturalland.org.

Friday, August 4

River District Association and partners present Shop the Blocks, 3 to 8 p.m., with downtown Rockford sidewalk sales, alfresco dining, live music and parklets.

Friday Night Flix features the movie, Finding Dory, on the north lawn of Davis Park in downtown Rockford.

Gates open at 7 p.m.; movie begins at sundown. For details visit www. facebook.com/FridayNightFlix.

The Winnebago County Court Appointed Special Advocate program hosts a Fundraiser, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Artalé Wine Company, 6876 Spring Creek Road, Rockford.

Tickets may be purchased at the door.

Visit winnebagocountycasa.org.

Saturday, August 5

Registration is open for the 33rd annual State Street Mile, presented by SwedishAmerican, a division of UW Health. Races begin at 6 p.m., at 219 E. State St., Rockford. Register online at bit.ly/StateStreetMile, call Rick

Durso, 815-985-7656, or visit facebook. com/statestreetmilerockford.

Sunday, August 6

The Rosecrance Recovery 5K Walk/ Run takes place at 7 a.m., at Rosecrance Berry Campus, 8616 Northern Ave., Rockford. Visit rosecrance.org/ recovery5k. For questions contact Betsy Liotus, eliotus@rosecrance.org or 815-387-1601.

Tuesday, August 8

The Illinois Tollway in partnership with the Construction Business Development Center hosts an Illinois Tollway Technical Assistance Program Opening Event, 1 to 3 p.m., at Rock Valley College, Stenstrom Center, 4145 Samuelson Road, Rockford. RSVP by Aug. 4 with Paul Murtagh, pmurtagh@prairiestate.edu.

Thursday, August 10

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society hosts a Fundraiser at the Rockford Rivets Game. Admission tickets include a Rockford Rivets baseball hat, voucher for a hot dog, soda and chips and door prizes. Visit www.

RockfordRivets.com (promo code: Lightthenight17) or contact Annie Hart, annie.hart@lls.org.

Saturday, August 12

Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity hosts an Application Seminar, 9 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., on Aug. 12 at Rockford Memorial Funderburg auditorium.

Another seminar takes place, 5:30 p.m., on Aug. 16 at Kenrock Community Center. Call 815-636-4573 or visit www.rockfordhabitat.org for a list of documents to bring.

Rockford Art Museum hosts its summer party, Art With a View, 6 p.m., at Riverfront Amphitheater at Riverfront Museum Park, 711 N. Main St. The outdoor bash along the Rock River features cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, music and entertainment. For tickets visit www.rockfordartmuseum. org or call 815-968-2787.

Tuesday, August 15

SwedishAmerican’s EMS Program offers an EMT-Basic class at the EMS Office, 4120 Charles St., Rockford, 6 to 10 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays through Dec. 14. Contact ems@ swedishamerican.org or 779-696-6082.

(continued on page 25

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August 2017

Members Caught on Digital ON DIGITAL Ceremonial ribbon donated by SERVPRO of Rockford.

Agrace Hospice Care held a ribbon cutting on June 19 at 7290 Argus Dr., Rockford.

Arco Machinery Movers LLC held a ribbon cutting and open house on June 23 at 545 Blackhawk Park Ave., Rockford.

Graham-Ginestra Home at Heritage Museum Park held a ribbon cutting on July 7 at 1115 S. Main St., Rockford.

Baci’s Kitchen held a ribbon cutting on June 20 at 2990 N. Perryville Road, Ste. 1100, Rockford.

Community Events COMMUNITY Continued from page 24

Thursday, August 17

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society hosts a Light The Night Kick Off Party, 6 to 8 p.m., at C.H. Robinson, 1252 Bell Valley Road, Ste. 103, Rockford. Includes picnic food, soft drinks and dessert. RSVP at bit. ly/2u4lXVz or contact Annie Hart, annie. hart@lls.org.

Saturday, August 19

Rockford Park District presents Atwood’s Excellent Adventure, 9 to 11 a.m., an “Amazing Race”-style trip around Atwood Park starting at the lodge, 2685 New Milford School Road.

No registration required. Visit www. rockfordparkdistrict.org/atwood.

Tuesday, August 22

Senior Follies presents SHOWBIZ, a musical revue, with performances, 2 p.m., on Aug. 22, 23 and 24 at the Nordlof Center, 118 N. Main St., Rockford. Open seating. Proceeds are donated to VetsRoll, which takes senior veterans to Washington D.C., over four days of honor and remembrance. Call 815-389-2214 for ticket locations. Tickets also at the door.

Thursday, August 24 The West Side Show Room and Rockford Area Arts Council

present the 2017 Rockford New Play Festival, featuring staged readings of six new 10-minute plays by playwrights from Rockford and around the world; inspired by the Women’s March on Washington, D.C. Visit www.thewestsideshowroom.com.

Century Plaza Business Center held a ribbon cutting and open house on July 11 at 7210 E. State St., Ste. 102, Rockford.

Rock House Kids hosts an Open House and Ribbon Cutting, noon to 1 p.m., at 1325 7th St., Rockford.

Refreshments and tours. RSVP at 815-962-5067, ext. 103, or barb@ rockhousekids.org.

Community Foundation of Northern Illinois hosts its annual Grantseekers Meeting, 3:30 to 5 p.m., at Memorial Hall, 211 N. Main St., Rockford. Visit cfnil.org/community.

Friday, August 25

The YWCA La Voz Latina Annual Recognition Banquet takes place at 5:30 p.m., at Giovanni’s Restaurant and Convention Center, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Includes presentation for “Latino of Distinction” and “Community Member of Distinction.”

Tickets at www.ywcanwil.org.

Club Pilates Chandan Place held a ribbon cutting on July 12 at 3065 N. Perryville Road, Rockford.

Saturday, August 26

Tough Mudder Half and Full take place, Aug. 26 and 27 at Chicago Rockford International Airport, 2 Airport Circle, Rockford. To register, visit toughmudder.com/events/2017chicago.

Cucina Di Rosa held a ribbon cutting on July 18 at 1620 N. Bell School Road, Rockford.

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August 2017

New Chamber Members BACI’S KITCHEN

LYFT INC.

Fast casual restaurant, specializing in house-made foods.

Dine in/carryout/delivery.

Breakfast/lunch/dinner.

2990 N. Perryville Road, Ste. 1100, 61114 Nicholas Castrogiovanni 815-329-6922 www.baciskitchen.com

A transportation network company providing a mobile phone application that facilitates peer-topeer ridesharing.

185 Berry St., Ste. 5000 San Francisco, CA 94107 Sarah Locke Henderson 310-438-0340 www.lyft.com

BERGER LAW FIRM LLC

PSD PRINTING

Berger Law Firm, LLC is a local general practice law firm serving Ogle, Winnebago and Lee counties.

P.O. Box 518 Byron, IL 61010 Maria Berger, attorney 815-234-4950 www.bergerlawfirm.com

PSD Printing is a full-service printing facility with specialty in digital printing, wide format printing and embroidery.

2421 N. Court St., 61103 Peggy Chamorro 815-608-3394

CLEO

Three offices serving residents: General Assistance Office; Township Assessor’s Office; Township Highway Department 119 N. Church St., Ste. 400, 61101 Jasper St. Angel, supervisor 815-962-8855 www.twp.rockford.il.us

Software 4949 Harrison Ave., Ste. 200, 61108 Kerrie Carroll 815-282-7600 www.cleo.com

CLUB PILATES CHANDAN PLACE We offer Pilates classes and private training for everyone!

3065 N. Perryville Road, 61114 Keisha Brown 815-860-0710 www.clubpilates.com/ chandanplace

CUCINA DI ROSA Cucina di Rosa is your neighborhood stop to get away for a breakfast, lunch or dinner.

1620 N. Bell School Road, 61107 Rose Mary Provenzano 815-395-5040

FLEET FEET SPORTS ROCKFORD Running specialty shop 1653 N. Alpine Road, 61107 Christine Bergsten 779-423-1435 www.fleetfeetrockford.com

THE HAVEN NETWORK Independent perinatal hospice, serving families enduring pregnancy loss and infant death.

124 N. Water St., Ste. 201, 61107 Stephanie Grimm 815-962-1512 www.thehavennetwork.org

ROCKFORD TOWNSHIP

SOSNOWSKI SZETO, LLP Sosnowski Szeto, LLP is a boutique law firm based in Rockford, with strong, local roots in the northern Illinois region.

6735 Vistagreen Way, Ste. 300, 61107 Roxanne Sosnowski, partner 815-900-7272 www.sosnowskiszeto.com

VINTAGE @ 501/BLUE LINE SPORTS PUB Downtown Rockford’s premier American pub and eatery. A vibrant environment with a touch of modern customer service. Comfortable and affordable destination.

501 E. State St., 61104 Matt Idzikowski 815-516-0544 www.vintagerockford.com

VINTAGE/BLUE LINE SPORTS PUB Downtown Rockford’s premier American pub and eatery. A vibrant environment with a touch of modern customer service. Comfortable and affordable destination.

211 Elm St., 61101 Matt Idzikowski 779-423-2125

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Membership Renewals Thank you to members who renewed with the Rockford Chamber of Commerce in June, 2017.

ADT Security Services, Inc. Al’s Carpet Flooring & Design Center ARCO Machinery Movers LLC Barrick, Switzer, Long, Balsley, Van Evera, LLP Benny & Sons Body Shop Bickford of Rockford Blackhawk Bank Bourn & Koch, Inc. Boy Scouts/Blackhawk Area Council Campos Construction, Inc. Cellusuede Products, Inc. Cherryvale Place, Senior Living CHIP Alumni of Rock River Valley Chuck Brauer Trucking Inc. Connect Hearing Ege WorkSmart Solutions, PC Electrical Workers Union/Local 364 IBEW 11th Street Express Printing, Inc. Feldco Windows, Siding & Doors First Midwest Group Franchesco’s Ristorante Fridh Corporation GE Aviation Geostar Mechanical Gommel Design Helen Hill Communication Horizons Inc. HR Capital Management Consultants Hulsebus Rockford Chiropractic InterTECH Integrated Systems, Inc. J.L.Clark Kent Feeds, Inc. Kinovate Heating, Cooling & Indoor Air Quality Lawn Care by Walter, Inc. Lonnie’s Stonecrafters, Inc. Mainstreet Financial Group Marco Midland States Bank - Wealth Management Midwest Mailworks, Inc.

Mosaic in Rockford Motivate Personal Physical Rehabilitation Murphy’s Pub and Grill North Park Rental Service, Inc. Northwest Bank of Rockford Plastic Parts International Inc. Policeman’s Benevolent & Protective Association Unit 6 - Rockford Raymond James & Associates RBC Wealth Management RJ Link International, Inc. Rock River Valley Tooling & Machining Association Rock Road Companies, Inc. Rockford Ambulatory Surgery Center Rockford Country Club Rockford Linear Actuation, Inc. Rockford Mutual Insurance Company Rockford Symphony Orchestra Rocknel Fastener, Inc. Rustoleum Corporation (Testor) Samco Sales & Marketing Inc. Shelter Insurance Companies SPXFLOW Hydraulic Technologies Staff On Site Midwest Inc. Summit CPA Group, P.C. Swanson’s Discount Vacuum, Inc. Terracon, Inc. The Abbey Resort & Avani Spa The Arc of Winnebago, Boone and Ogle Counties The Terrace Senior Apartments Thermo Fisher Scientific Triangle Metals USA Two Men and a Truck UPS USANA Health Sciences Womanspace, Inc. Zenith Landholdings, LLC

August 2017 Member Anniversaries Thank you to the members celebrating their anniversaries with the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

25-YEAR MEMBER

Community Foundation of Northern Illinois

15-YEAR MEMBER NICOMM Networks

10-YEAR MEMBERS

Heritage Woods of Rockford Rockford Local Development Corporation Town Square Publications Westminster Presbyterian Church

5-YEAR MEMBERS

Mid-States Screw Corp.

Prairie Street Brewing Co. Stateline Realty/Stateline Rental Properties

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

EVENTS

Upcoming Chamber Events AUGUST, 2017

SEPTEMBER, 2017

Business Women’s Council presents Speed Networking, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Rockford Country Club, 2500 Oxford St. Sponsored by First Northern Credit Union.

Ribbon Cutting at Rockford Star Tours, 1 to 2 p.m., Windstar Lines, Inc., 3510 Merchandise Dr., Rockford.

Tuesday, August 1

Thursday, August 3

IGNITE Rivets Game, 6:30 p.m. Cheer on the Rockford Rivets as they take on the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders at 4503 Interstate Blvd., Loves Park.

Friday, August 4

Government Affairs Council, 7:30 to 8:45 a.m., at Stockholm Inn, 2420 Charles St., Rockford. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL16) will give updates on congressional activities and priorities during the 115th Congress.

Sponsored by AT&T.

Wednesday, August 9

Ribbon Cutting and Open House, noon to 2 p.m., Rasmussen College, 6000 E. State St., Rockford, room 301, for its new surgical technologist program.

Enrollments begin October 2017.

Thursday, August 10

Ribbon Cutting and Open House, 4 to 6 p.m., Northern Illinois Vein Clinic, 2990 N. Perryville Rd. Suite 3400 (Perryville Place), Rockford.

Tuesday, August 15

Ribbon Cutting, 4 to 5 p.m., KFACT Inc.’s New GIRLS Space, 227 N. Church St., Rockford.

Chamber 101 with Speed Networking, 7:30 to 9 a.m., Century Plaza Business Center, 7210 E. State St., Ste. 102, Rockford. Quarterly orientation for new members and new employees of member companies. Sponsored by MembersAlliance Credit Union.

Thursday, August 24

Ribbon Cutting, noon to 1 p.m., Rock House Kids, 1325 7th St., Rockford.

Friday, August 25

Ribbon Cutting & Open House, 2 to 4 p.m., Rock Valley College Health Sciences Center, 3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford.

Wednesday, September 6

Thursday, September 7 11:30 am - 1 pm Radisson Conference Center 200 S. Bell School Rd., Rockford

Education Outlook LUNCHEON

Dr. Ehren Jarrett, Rockford Public Schools, shares progress toward advancing educaiton success for all students.

Sponsored by BMO Harris Bank (presenting), Humana and SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW Health (gold) and Rockford University (silver).

Friday, September 8

Government Affairs Council, 7:30 to 8:45 a.m., at Stockholm Inn, 2420 Charles St., Rockford. City of Belvidere Mayor Mike Chamberlain will be presenting. Sponsored by AT&T. IGNITE Golf Outing, 1 to 5 p.m., at Elliot Golf Course, 888 S. Lyford Road, Rockford.

Wednesday, September 13 7:30 - 9 am NEW LOCATION Rockford University Burpee Center 5050 E. State St. Regents Hall, 2nd Floor, Rockford

Breakfast BUZZ Patti Thayer, Thayer Lighting, Inc., presents “Building Your Business Through Strategic Networking.”

Sponsored by RSM US LLP.

Thursday, September 21

Expo Luncheon - Potential In Motion, 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., inside Owly Oop Sports Pub, 305 S. Madison St., Rockford. Master Certified Coach Tom Kelly presents “The Attraction Principle: How to Shift from Working to Get Clients to Attracting Them Effortlessly.”

Thursday, September 21 2 - 7 pm UW Health Sports Factory 305 S. Madison St., Rockford

(Budget / Growth Opps)

ROCKFORD CHAMBER

For information on advertising,

Join us at the 10th Annual Rockford Chamber Business Expo and launch your business contacts.

987-8100

The Alliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Alpine Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Rockford Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . 14, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26, 28

Blackhawk Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Rockford Lutheran School . . . . . 12

Brian Thomas Photography . . . . 24

Rockford Public Library. . . . . . . . 14

Broadmoor Agency. . . . . . . . . . . 10 Illinois Bank & Trust. . . . . . . . . . . . 4

SPECIAL SECTIONS

Q4 Strategies and Action Items

Advertisers Index ADVERTISERS

Comcast Business . . . . . . . . . . . 17

SEPTEMBER VOICE

call 815

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August 2017

BUSINESS EXPO Sponsored by Ticomix (presenting), Comcast Business and Mercyhealth (gold), Thayer Lighting, Inc., (silver) and The Morrissey Family Businesses (Business After Hours).

Illinois Small Business Development Center. . . . . . . . . . . 8 Klaas Financial Asset Advisors, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Northern Public Radio . . . . . . . . 10 OSF HealthCare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Rockford University. . . . . . . . . . . 13 Rock Valley College. . . . . . . . 11, 12 RSM US LLP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Stillman Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Thayer Lighting, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . 7 The University of Illinois at Rockford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Quartz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Upper Iowa University. . . . . . . . . 15

Rockford Bank & Trust Co.. . . . . . 9

Van Galder Bus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chamber Staff / Call 815-987-8100.............................................. Direct Line

Harold “Bo” Boger, IL Small Business

Development Center Director.............................................................. 815-316-4301

Sue Boyer, Member Relations................................................. 815-316-4315 Einar K. Forsman, President & CEO.......................................... 815-316-4304 Heidi M. Garner, Chief Operating Officer.................................... 815-316-4312

Doug Hessong, Director of Publications & Technology................... 815-316-4338 Lynette Jacques, Vice President, Member Investment. . .................. 815-316-4317 Doug Mark, Membership Development Executive............................... 815-316-4336

Stephanie Mathews, Administrative & Finance Assistant .................... 815-987-8100 Stacy Mullins, Director of Events. . ............................................ 815-316-4302

Caitlin Pusateri, Vice President, Leadership Development................... 815-316-4337 Doug Rand, Accounting Manager/Controller............................... 815-316-4316

Joan Sundvall, Membership Contact Coordinator......................... 815-316-4320

Chamber Board of Directors & Officers EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

DIRECTORS Andrew Benson Benson Stone Company, Inc.

Chairman of the Board Richard Zumwalt Z Resource

Jan Bowman TLC Construction

Vice Chair Michele Petrie Wintrust Bank

LaVonne Brown Savant Capital Management

Vice Chair Dan Ross Williams-Manny Insurance Group

Paula Carynski OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center Samuel J. Castree Staff Management, Inc.

Treasurer Amy Ott Boylan Catholic High School Immediate Past Chair Patti Thayer Thayer Lighting, Inc.

Joe Castrogiovanni Giovanni’s, Inc. Rena Cotsones Northern Illinois University Jean Crosby Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Crosby Starck Real Estate Don Daniels SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW Health

Rebecca Epperson Chartwell Agency

Patrick Shaw RSM US LLP

Ira Grimmett UTC Aerospace Systems

Karl Swanson Rockford Bank & Trust Co.

Tim Honquest Honquest Family Funeral Home with Crematory

Jon Thompson Butitta Brothers Automotive

Jeff Hultman Illinois Bank & Trust Michael F. Iasparro Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP Kris L. Kieper Machajewski YWCA Northwestern Illinois Patrick Morrow Alpine Bank Mike Paterson Mid-West Family Broadcasting Mark Peterson CBL Associates Cherry Vale

Laura Pigatti Williamson

EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS Einar K. Forsman President & CEO, Rockford Chamber of Commerce John Groh Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Nathan Bryant Rockford Area Economic Development

John Schuster Rosecrance Health Network

Let your Voice be heard Do you have news to share?

Send news releases and other items of interest to the business community to: The VOICE, Rockford Chamber of Commerce 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, IL 61101 DEADLINE IS THE 15TH OF THE MONTH PRECEDING ­PUBLICATION