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2019 Innovation Celebration Finalists Announced

CHAMPAIGN, IL, February 26, 2019 – The Champaign County Economic Development Corporation is pleased to announce finalists for the 14th Annual Innovation Celebration in recognition of those individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions, taken risks, and provided leadership to ensure the continuing economic success of Champaign County, the ongoing success of the University’s economic development mission, and the growth of entrepreneurial talent and energy in our community.

Innovation Celebration is not merely an award for accomplishment, but a benchmark of success for those outstanding individuals, organizations and corporations who are nominated and selected to receive this prestigious award. Additionally, Innovation Celebration serves as a tangible collaboration between the Champaign County EDC, University of Illinois, Parkland College, and the community.

The winner of each award category will be announced at Innovation Celebration 2019, held at Parkland College on Friday, March 29 from 5:30 – 8:30 PM. To RSVP and learn more about the event, visit www.innovationcelebration.com.

Award finalists – winners to be announced at the event:

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Social Venture Award
Serve as change agents by creating and implementing sustainable solutions to reshape society, benefit humanity, and address social concerns.

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Student Startup Award
Formed by students in the last three years and demonstrates a commitment to continuing success through entrepreneurial talent, creativity and energy.

Entrepreneurial Excellence: New Venture Award
Formed in the last three years, and demonstrates a commitment to continuing success through entrepreneurial talent, creativity and energy.

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Paul Magelli Advocacy Award
Actively engage, encourage, coach and mentor entrepreneurs in the community, and provide extensive support to help them achieve success.

  • Mark Aardsma
  • Edwin Moore
  • Roland Garton

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Management Award
Demonstrates expertise in assembling resources, creating an organization, and working to build and implement effective action plans.

Innovation: Economic Development Impact Award
Has made a significant economic development impact in the community and continues to demonstrate their commitment to Champaign County.

Award winners – announced ahead of the event:

2019 Innovation Transfer Award—University of Illinois
Recognizes an individual or group from the University of Illinois whose research has resulted in either a discovery or a work with the potential for significant societal impact.

 2019 Alexis Wernsing Innovation Award—University of Illinois
Recognizes an individual or team from the University of Illinois that has channeled their experience living with a disability into positive change through the creation of new products, environments, or protocols that enhance quality of life.

2019 Innovation in Engagement Award—Parkland College
Recognizes an individual or group at Parkland College who has shown support of the college’s community engagement mission.

The EDC is pleased to work with the following sponsors of our 14th Annual Innovation Celebration: the University of Illinois’ Technology Entrepreneur Center, Research Park, Office of Corporate Relations, and Office of Technology Management, along with Parkland College, Lodgic Everyday Community, Carle, Serra Ventures, Surface 51, Singleton Law Firm, City of Champaign, Ramshaw Real Estate, Litania Sports Group, Pixo, Hatch Ag Group, Huawei R&D USA Champaign, Hanson Financial, Community Solutions Incubator at the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois, Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC, Prominic.NET, IllinoisVENTURES, and Busey.

 

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Press:

Here are the 2019 Innovation Celebration finalists, Smile Politely

Finalists announced for 14th annual Innovation Celebration, The News-Gazette

Champaign-Urbana Ranked Top Startup City By Silicon Prairie News

For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Laura Bleill, Associate Director
University of Illinois Research Park
217-244-7744
lwbleill@illinois.edu
www.researchpark.illinois.edu
www.yourewelcomecu.com

Carly McCrory, Executive Director
Champaign County Economic Development Corporation
217-359-6261
carly@champaigncountyedc.org
www.champaigncountyedc.org
www.yourewelcomecu.com

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA RANKED TOP STARTUP CITY BY SILICON PRAIRIE NEWS

CHAMPAIGN, IL, February 13, 2019 – In a new study measuring the startup ecosystems of an 11-state region it calls “the Silicon Prairie”, Champaign-Urbana ranked Number 2 out of 42 communities analyzed for startup and entrepreneurial activity.

Champaign-Urbana ranks above much larger cities including Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City.

“We’re thrilled to receive this community ranking which recognizes and celebrates the incredible entrepreneurship culture and resources we have in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois’ fastest-growing city,” said Carly McCrory, Executive Director of the Champaign County EDC.

“Breaking this down, the “grade” we are most proud of coming out of this report is the “A” in the community spirit category,” said Research Park director Laura Frerichs. “This reflects our strongest asset as a knowledge city – an engaged community that thrives on true collaboration and strong partnerships.”

College towns are a “magnet” for startup and entrepreneurship activity. In addition to Champaign, Madison, Ames, Iowa; Columbia, Missouri; and Iowa City all rank in the top 12.

“Champaign, Illinois, home of the University of Illinois, dramatically overperforms expectations based on population – finishing in the Top Five. For example, in 2017 the community had 21 venture fundings for nearly $75 million dollars. There were also 37 SBIR/STTR grants in the region. These elements suggest that early stage companies and research are generating hundreds of jobs in Champaign (between 390- 620).”

The study also indicates that Illinois as a state, although expected to be strong due to its size, overperforms its “expected value” when it comes to venture capital. Chicago was the overall No. 1 community measured; Springfield also made it into the top 20.

“Venture Capital funding activity in the region increased by 28% from 2016 to 2018 despite the decreasing number of companies receiving funding. Chicago was a significant spur for the region – but other communities such as Lincoln, Nebraska and Champaign, Illinois provided valuable community funding growth,” the report reads.

The study was performed by Chapman and Company out of Omaha. The 11 states measured include Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The methodology for the report measured eight specific components:

  • Small business activity
  • Cool jobs
  • Sustaining companies
  • Structure
  • Innovation
  • Venture investment
  • Community spirit
  • Connectivity

“Chapman and Company attempted to measure those components using relatively near-term measurements,” says the report. “The challenge in measuring startup activity and entrepreneurship is that there is always a desire for more accuracy – but more accuracy usually occurs at the cost of time or comparables.”

The full report is available here: http://siliconprairienews.com/2019/02/spn-special-report-the-2018-state-of-the-silicon-prairie/

 

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Community Partners Celebrating February as CTE Month®

For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Carly McCrory, Executive Director
Champaign County EDC
217-359-6261
carly@champaigncountyedc.org
www.champaigncountyedc.org

Stephanie Stuart, Vice President, Communications and External Affairs
Parkland College
217-353-2170
sstuart@parkland.edu
www.parkland.edu

Community Partners Celebrating February as CTE Month®

CHAMPAIGN, IL, February 1, 2019 – The Champaign County Economic Development Corporation and Parkland College will join community, regional and state partners to celebrate February as Career and Technical Education Month®, or CTE Month®, which recognizes the value and accomplishments of career and technical education programs in the U.S.

Throughout the month of February, area entities will participate in this national celebration, created by the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE), chiefly by disseminating information on CTE programs and opportunities in and around Champaign County through the social media campaign, #CTEinIL.

#CTEinIL is designed to promote CTE programs and career opportunities in Champaign County and throughout the state of Illinois. Participating organizations, schools, and employers will use the #CTEinIL hashtag throughout the month of February to build awareness about their own initiatives, while also helping to tell the story of CTE opportunities within the state.

Participating organizations include:

Champaign County Chamber of Commerce
Champaign County Economic Development Corporation
Champaign County Regional Planning Commission
Champaign Unit 4 School District
Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation
Early College & Career Academy
Education for Employment System #330
ICATT Apprenticeship Program
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
IMEC
Mahomet-Seymour Community Unit School District #3
Parkland College
Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 149
Rantoul Township High School
Urbana School District #116

What is CTE? Career and technical education, or CTE, is education that directly prepares students for high-wage, high-demand careers. CTE covers many different fields, including health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing, hospitality and management and many more.

CTE encompasses many different types of education, from classroom learning to certification programs to work-based learning opportunities outside the classroom.

For more details on CTE Month®, as well as partnering companies and organizations celebrating #CTEinIL, visit http://champaigncountyedc.org/cteinil.

 

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SBA Administrator Linda McMahon Visits Champaign

Through our Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC and in partnership with University of Illinois Research Park, we were honored to host U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Linda McMahon in Champaign today, September 24.

This visit is a continuation of the Administrator’s nationwide SBA Ignite Tour dedicated to highlighting SBA programs that help entrepreneurs start businesses, grow their companies, and create jobs in the local community.

We highlighted small businesses in our community, including Serionix, AirScout, Petronics, and Reconstruct – all located in EnterpriseWorks at University of Illinois Research Park.

In addition to showcasing small businesses, we also talked about our local entrepreneurial ecosystem and the services / programs we have in place to help small businesses succeed, including services through the SBDC / International Trade Center and programs like University of Illinois Research Park’s Shared Services Program and the City of Champaign’s Small Business Incentive Program.

View photos here.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration: The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

Press:

JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton Visit Champaign-Urbana

Today we hosted JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton in Champaign-Urbana to showcase our community & meet local employers. We heard from many about why they choose our community – low cost of living, great companies to work for, access to talent, no traffic.

Cathy Singer, VP Engineering, gave us a tour of Oath, the largest employer in University of Illinois Research Park. They are a Hadoop Center of Excellence & lead data projects for the company. Employees were happy to share their love for #chambana, one moving here from CA for better quality of life.

Next stop was Granular in their beautiful space (with live plant walls!). Landon Frye, Business Development, & team shared history of company & why #chambana – it’s the place where technology & ag thrive together. Many employees grew up on farms & went to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Heard from Ben, COO of EarthSense, about their advanced machine-learning and robotics products to manage urgent threats to agriculture. Their TerraSentia robot is currently being used by leading crop breeders & plant scientists.

Ron van Os, CEO of Inprentus Inc., shared their history, including growth from EnterpriseWorks into new location in Champaign. Provider of ultra-high precision optical components (diffraction gratings). The company was founded in 2012 by UIUC Professor Peter Abbamonte.

The LifeFoundry team shared their startup story which began in 2017. Company applies robotics, synthetic biology, & machine learning to accelerate the R&D of biotechnology. Since start, have grown to about 15 employees.They are located in EnterpriseWorks.

Ryan & Ryan at PhotoniCare, founded in 2013, shared their mission to revolutionize healthcare by providing physicians with better diagnostic tools. Complete with demo, showcased technology focused on ear infections – focuses on diagnosis, treatment & monitoring.

Lori, CEO of Pixo, shared company start & success in attracting talent. Located in Urbana, they have only ever needed to recruit two people outside of #chambana in 20 years. Here because: talent, cost of doing business, and culture of community/region.

View photos here.

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