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Ushering in the New – Fly Champaign-Urbana Welcomes Executive Director Gene Cossey

Event Celebrates New Opportunity and Development at Willard Airport

SAVOY, Ill. (Dec. 16, 2015) – Today in a special event, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign officially welcomed Gene Cossey to the community as the Executive Director for the University of Illinois – Willard Airport. Cossey’s selection to the Champaign-Urbana team followed a national search led by a university-appointed committee. He has more than 25 years of airport management experience and most recently served as the Director of Operations at Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Executive Director Gene Cossey

Executive Director Gene Cossey

“Gene brings a wealth of experience to Willard Airport and can begin work immediately on the strategic and air service development plan recommended by the Advisory Board and adopted by the University,” said Associate Chancellor Michael DeLorenzo.

“I’m very happy to be joining the University of Illinois – Willard Airport team and thank the community for being so welcoming,” said Cossey. “The Airport Advisory Board and University staff have already launched several programs to enhance growth at the Airport. I’m excited to take the role of leading these new initiatives and look forward to continuing the momentum they have already established.”

During today’s welcoming event, the Champaign County Association of REALTORS® presented a check to the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation in the amount of $5,000 to assist with obtaining an economic impact study for the Airport, a project in partnership with the University of Illinois. The study, which will be completed by Sixel Consulting Group, the Airport’s air service development consulting firm, will determine the current economic impact the Airport has on Champaign County while highlighting the potential impact that would come from improved services and additional flights. The Champaign County Association of REALTORS® obtained the funds through a Smart Growth Action Grant sponsored by the National Association of REALTORS®. The study will assist the University and community by showcasing growth initiatives that help position the Airport as a regional transportation asset.

Champaign County Association of REALTORS® Check Presentation

Champaign County Association of REALTORS® Check Presentation

“The Champaign County Association of REALTORS® is eager to support and help fund this economic impact study on the future expansion of Willard Airport,” said Stefanie Pratt, president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®. “We believe this effort will provide long-term benefits for both the local housing and commercial real estate market, promote business growth, further the ongoing success of the University of Illinois and overall economic vitality of Champaign County. This study provides an opportunity to attract new residents and businesses to our community and further improve our area’s image as an exciting place to live and work.”

In addition to the $5,000 contributed by the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®, a number of other area businesses have contributed funds towards the study. Businesses that have contributed to the study fund include:

  • Champaign County EDC
  • City of Champaign
  • City of Urbana
  • Deep Silver Volition
  • Farnsworth Group
  • Flightstar Corporation
  • Frasca International
  • Human Kinetics
  • Litania Sports Group
  • Robeson’s, Inc.
  • Village of Savoy

During today’s event, the Airport also showcased new American Airlines branding and terminal updates. The terminal updates have been underway and passengers will notice that the check-in area has been reskinned to align with the new American Airlines branding and that two updated kiosks are featured for easy, hassle-free check-in. The ticket counters in the departure lounge have been moved closer to the departure gate which has opened the room up and allowed for a more comfortable and welcoming area.

In August, the University of Illinois – Willard Airport along with members of the Airport Advisory Board unveiled new Airport branding initiatives which included new logos, a revamped IFlyCU.com website and a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. To coincide with the brand unveiling, the Airport has been implementing a full strategic marketing and air service development plan which has included a traditional advertising campaign, social media and outreach efforts focused on both the general traveling public and local business communities. The goal of the marketing and air service develop plan is to encourage more travelers from Champaign County to utilize the Airport for their travel needs.

About Fly Champaign-Urbana

When you Fly Champaign-Urbana you save time and money. Minutes from anywhere in Champaign County, University of Illinois – Willard Airport offers competitive fares with access to more than 175 cities on four continents with just a single stop. The Airport is served by American Airlines with six daily non-stop flights to Chicago O’Hare and a daily non-stop flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth on American Eagle. University of Illinois – Willard Airport boasts a terminal facility that is easy to navigate and parking is just a few steps from the plane. Next time you travel, remember to Fly Champaign-Urbana.

Press:

Fly Champaign-Urbana welcomes Executive Director Gene Cossey, Smile Politely

New Willard leader already has wheels up, The News-Gazette

Donation will cover cost of economic impact study, WCIA 3 News

University of Illinois Willard Airport welcomes new Executive Director, FOX 55/27 Illinois

Photos:

Champaign County EDC

Champaign County Association of REALTORS®

 

 

 

Four Champaign-Urbana Companies Featured in ChicagoInno’s List of “10 Illinois Startups To Watch Based Outside Of Chicago”

In ChicagoInno’s latest ranking of the “10 Illinois Startups to Watch Based Outside of Chicago“, four Champaign-Urbana companies make the list – Quicket Solutions, IntelliWheels, Agrible, and OceanComm.

Quicket Solutions, a 2016 Innovation Celebration award finalist, is located in the University of Illinois Research Park. They provide cloud-based, mission critical solutions for law enforcement and other public safety agencies. The e-citation and e-report system used is a turnkey solution that enables digitization of information at the source of incident, real-time data sharing, fast and easy report generation and intelligent data analytics. Quicket will enable clients to recapture lost revenue, recognize new revenue and increase officer safety. Most importantly, this solution represents a game changing departure from current e-citation models by offering a zero upfront cost, pay-as-you-go model for clients.

In late November, Quicket was named a winner in the City in a Cloud Innovation Challenge hosted by Amazon Web Services.

IntelliWheels, a 2012 Innovation Celebration award recipient, is located in Champaign and Rantoul. They are the innovation house for wheelchair technology and recently launched Tinker, the first ever 3D product configurator in the wheelchair marketplace. Tinker’s goal is to create transparency in the wheelchair industry and using educational tools, empower wheelchair users, their families and caregivers to ensure their voice is clearly heard in the wheelchair ordering process. They are also the maker of The Easy Push and FitGrips.

Earlier this month, IntelliWheels was selected as the local InnovateHER Business Challenge Winner.

Agrible, a 2015 Innovation Celebration award recipient, is located in the University of Illinois Research Park and is one of the fastest growing companies in Champaign County. Their focus is to provide innovative, easy-to-use products that farmers and companies can use to improve their production. They create predictive analytics tools that deliver field-specific data and forecasts to help with decision-making on the farm. Current customers include independent growers, software developers, soil test laboratories, crop consultants, insurance agencies, commodities companies, traders, and major ag chemical companies developing seed technologies and new production methods.

Agrible recently celebrated the grand opening of their new headquarters.

OceanComm developed wireless communications that work underwater. They use acoustic waves, much like dolphins and whales, to improve communication. In May, OceanComm was named one of the oil and gas industry’s most promising technologies.

 

2016 Innovation Celebration Finalists Announced

IC LogoThe Champaign County Economic Development Corporation is pleased to announce finalists for the 11th 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 the 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 2016, held at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, January 22, 2016 from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. To RSVP and learn more about the event, visit www.innovationcelebration.com.

Award Finalists

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Social Venture Award
PSYONIC
Pens to Lens
MakerGirl

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Student Startup Award
Blink Technologies
FlipWord
BioAnalytics

Entrepreneurial Excellence: New Venture Award
Inprentus
Quicket Solutions
RINGR

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Advocacy Award
iVenture Accelerator
Stephanie Larson
Paul Magelli

Innovation: Economic Development Impact Award
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
State Farm Research & Development Center
The Pygmalion Festival

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Management Award
John Busbee
Mike Folk
John-Paul Buzard

Innovation: Longevity Award
Wolfram
Pixo
R Systems NA, Inc.

2016 Innovation Transfer Award Recipient – University of Illinois
Dr. Paul Hergenrother

Innovation in Engagement Award – Parkland College
Award recipient will be announced at the event.

The EDC is pleased to work with the following sponsors of Innovation Celebration 2016: the University of Illinois’ Technology Entrepreneur Center, Research Park, Office of Corporate Relations, and Office of Technology Management, along with Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Parkland College, Singleton Law Firm, Serra Ventures, Pavlov Media, BRG Sports, City of Champaign, Village of Rantoul, Martin Hood Friese & Associates, EpiWorks, Illinois Applied Research Institute, Fox Development Corporation, Ramshaw Real Estate, Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC, U of I Employees Credit Union, Surface 51, M2 on Neil, and McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff.

 

 

 

Innovation Celebration 2016: Save the Date + Nominations Open

We are pleased to announce the 11th Annual Innovation Celebration in recognition of those individuals and IC Logoorganizations 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.

January 22, 2016
5:30-8:30 pm
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Lobby

The awards have been established to recognize the various ways in which individuals and organizations have utilized innovation, creativity, and leadership for entrepreneurial endeavors and economic development in the community. Please nominate as many people/organizations as you would like. Nominations will be viewed and judged in early December 2015 by a panel of past winners, sponsors and community & university leaders. Finalists will be announced soon after.

To learn more about the event, nominate someone, view past award winners, watch our videos, and RSVP, visit our event website.

#INNCEL

Interested in sponsoring the 2016 event? Email Liz Kellner (Innovation Celebration Committee Chair) for more information.

Nominations are open to the public and will be accepted through November 27, 2015.

Capital One Opens the Illinois Digital Campus Lab at University of Illinois Research Park

From the UI Research Park:

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (Oct. 23, 2015) – The University of Illinois and Capital One (DOW: COF), today announced the grand opening of the Capital One Illinois Digital Campus Lab in Research Park. The Digital Campus Lab is Capital One’s newest lab and the company’s first partnership with a university.

The Lab will focus on research and experimentation in data science and data technologies as well as on infrastructure automation and use of the most modern programming frameworks and technologies such as Open Source, Big Data, Cloud, DevOps, among others. University of Illinois students, both undergraduate and graduate, will work year-round in the Lab.

“Engineering is a critical focus for Capital One and we’re attracting top talent – designers, software engineers, data scientists and product managers – and empowering them with the technologies they need to rapidly innovate based on what consumers want today,” said George Brady, Executive Vice President of Technology Operations at Capital One.

The new Lab extends Capital One’s presence in Illinois, where it has a large facility in the Chicago area. The Digital Campus Lab will leverage the strength of data analytics research and education at the University of Illinois, which crosses many disciplines including computer science, math and statistics, finance, and information science.

“With the opening of this Lab, Capital One has shown a commitment to providing real-world opportunities to our students as they apply in real time what they are learning in the classroom,” said interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson. “Adding a customer-facing corporation to the Research Park broadens the experiences our students may tap, enriching their Illinois education.”

The University of Illinois Research Park is home to innovation centers for multinational corporations and publicly traded firms including ADM, Dow Chemical, John Deere, Yahoo!, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Caterpillar, State Farm, Citrix, Raytheon, and Abbott.

About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., had $208.8 billion in deposits and $310.5 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2015. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has branches located primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Press:

Capital One opens digital lab at University of Illinois, Blue Sky Innovation (Chicago Tribune)
What’s in your laboratory? UI and Capital One open facility on campus, The News-Gazette

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