Thursday, February 09, 2012
 
sponsored by

Logan 2.0 -- Grow Lincoln & Logan County Initiative announced

Send a link to a friend

(Originally posted Thursday)

[February 09, 2012]  In a news conference Thursday morning at the new site for Aldi, 2500 Woodlawn, the Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership announced the implementation phase of the Logan County Economic Development Master Plan. The master plan has received an endorsement from a majority of the public entities and organizations countywide and has now moved into the implementation phase.

HardwareThe implementation phase will be called Logan 2.0 the GLLC Initiative, with the acronym representing Grow Lincoln & Logan County. The GLLC Initiative will use community volunteers to review, recommend and accomplish objectives from the plan. The GLLC Initiative uses the five major initiatives of the master plan as its major points of focus. These initiatives are called Building a Compelling Place; 21st Century Infrastructure and Cultivating Entrepreneurs; Leverage Higher Education Assets; Capitalize on Hub Location; and Strengthen Position as Illinois Wind Capital.

Over the past month the development partnership has sought volunteers to head each of these initiatives. They looked for people outside of the partnership who are not elected officials but have specialized expertise in one of the five major initiatives. The partnership has decided on three, all of whom are specialists in their field and will bring life, creativity and ingenuity to the GLLC Initiative. The partnership is still looking for volunteer specialists in two fields: Capitalizing on Hub Location and Strengthen Position as Illinois Wind Capital. Volunteers should be Logan County residents and have experience in one of the two fields.

Committee chairs will accept volunteer committee members to work on their initiative. The development partnership will provide each committee with a starter kit that will offer guidance and reporting formats. It is the hope of the partnership that the committees and their work will grow organically as they identify needed projects. Each committee will also have a partnership board member appointed to it. The board member will act as a liaison and serve as another reporting method for the partnership board of directors.

Thursday morning the economic development partnership and the GLLC Initiative announced the following volunteer leadership for the initiative:

Logan 2.0 chief operating officer -- Crystal Alley is a lifelong resident of Lincoln. She has been employed for the past 18 years with the corporate headquarters of State Farm Insurance, working in human resources and the systems department as a business analyst and in a number of roles for enterprise projects. She is passionately involved in the community, serves as the co-chair for the Education Cooperation Committee and was the communication chair for the One Cent Makes Sense for Logan County campaign. She served as vice president of District 27 board of education and represented District 27 on a number of significant educational committees in recent years. She is constantly seeking creative ways to foster and promote community involvement. Crystal and her husband, Shane, have two daughters, both graduating in May. Adrienne will graduate from Lincoln Community High School and Arielle from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in animal sciences, pre-vet.

21st Century Infrastructure and Cultivating Entrepreneurialism -- Mark A. Houpt is a five-year resident of Lincoln and Logan County. He has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry in a multitude of arenas, including military, finance and higher education. He currently serves full time as a chief technology officer in the higher education context, owns his own IT consulting company and holds numerous IT certifications in areas such as networking and information security. He is married to Maria Houpt, a small-business owner herself. Together they have three boys, Samuel, Joshua and Benjamin. Mark and his family reside in rural, central Logan County.

[to top of second column]

Leveraging Higher Education Assets -- Kristi Powell is the site supervisor of the Lincoln Center of Heartland Community College. She is on the board of directors for the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce, where she has been an integral part of the Leadership Academy and the Workforce Readiness Expo. She is passionate about education in Logan County and looks forward to collaborating with other schools to capitalize on the many opportunities for both traditional students and lifelong learners in the Lincoln community. Kristi is the mother of four children, is married to Deron Powell and lives in Mount Pulaski.

Creating a Compelling Place -- David Lanterman is the chief fiscal officer for Capitol Strategies Consulting in Springfield. He was previously the chief information officer for the Illinois Department of Corrections, where he managed a staff of 100 employees and a $15 million annual budget. He has been an active entrepreneur in downtown Lincoln for over 20 years, owning Corner Cakery with his sister and Beans & Such with his mother. In January 2011, he purchased the Lincoln Theater 4 cinema and has made great strides in renovating the 90-year-old facility. He is a staunch advocate for downtown Lincoln and the community in general. He has served two terms as president of the board of directors for Main Street Lincoln and continues to be active in many projects to revitalize Lincoln.

For public information on the GLLC Initiative, the master plan and progress, the development partnership has dedicated a page on its website to this work. The page will be periodically updated with progress, provide information on the volunteer leadership and seek public support on specific initiatives. The partnership's website is www.lincolnlogan.com.

The Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership is a nonprofit organization with the goals to develop new business, retain current business and enhance the quality of life in Lincoln and Logan County.

[Text from file received from Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership]

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor