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LEAD introduces The Lincoln Way at
Strategic Plan reveal
[March 02, 2025]
Lincoln Economic Advancement and Development (LEAD)
administrator Andrea Runge hosted an introduction to the LEAD
strategic plan for the next three years on Friday, February 28th in
the Steinfort Room of Lincoln Memorial Hospital. About 30 people
were in attendance at the meeting, many of which have been involved
with the development of the plan.
The morning began with a brief opportunity for
networking among the attendees while enjoying coffee and sweets.
When Runge began the meeting she noted that she enjoyed offering
networking opportunities as they build relationships. She talked
about a childhood memory of a group that gathered in the interest of
preserving the memories and relationships of students who attended a
small one room schoolhouse in her community. She talked about how
the people gathered together each year and spent time renewing those
relationships. She said that networking is part of what they group
then had, and it is a part of what is needed now. She said it was an
opportunity for people to come together and just be together.
She went on from there to introduce herself formally,
and talk about the presence in the room. She said those in
attendance represented members of the LEAD board, those involved
with the strategic plan process and members of the community.
She did a quick review of her history in Lincoln, noting she was
hired by the LEAD board on March 16, 2021. The board consisting of a
group of individuals in the community, had formed in 2019 and had
from that time worked to establish an organization that could
support hiring an administrator. She was that person.
She said that the organization established its
identity with a mission statement of “To empower Lincoln’s economic
health and vitality” and a vision of “To become the community of
choice.” The group would hold to established values of establishing
or creating trust, stewardship, collaboration, hospitality and
optimism,
She said the immediate strategies in 2021 had been set at
“Strengthen Relationships, Retain Businesses, Prioritize
Opportunities, Expand Operations, [and] Promote Entrepreneurship.”
Runge offered an overview of the LEAD activities in
2024. She noted that she had worked with Dorsey Hill, a fellowship
recipient of the Economic Recovery Corps. The two had visited
Lincoln business owners, addressed the Lincoln City Council, and
Hill had written grants for funding that would help with economic
development in Lincoln. She said that unfortunately, one week before
the grant recipients were to be announced, the federal grant funding
programs had been shut down by the new administration.
Runge had also conducted an online survey of the wants and needs of
the community in relationship to economic development and formed the
first Strategic Plan focus group. She said the goal had been set to
reveal the strategic plan within the first two months of 2025, and
she and the group had achieved that goal just in the nick of time.
Runge was using a PowerPoint presentation within her discussion and
reviewed the slide that discussed how the plan had gotten its start.
The group established eight capitals of economic development,
Natural, Cultural, Human, Social, Political, Financial, Built, and
Individual (intellectual).
Then looking at the input from the survey, the group categorized
each need or want identified into one or more of the eight capitals.
She said for example one survey had indicated that the community
needed more trees. This went into the “Natural” category. Another
survey answer spoke about character in the community, this fell into
two categories; “Cultural” and “Social.”
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The group then worked to establish five strategies
for 2025 through 2027.
Strategy 1 – Elevate Profile
Strategy 2 – Support Workforce
Runge said in Strategy 2, work had been and is still underway to
draw local youth into the workforce. She spoke about supporting
Junior Achievement of Central Illinois, hosting a “Career Spark”
event with local junior high students, and initiating a new Career
Spark project called “Career Spark – You’re hired”
Strategy 3 – Strengthen Infrastructure
Runge spoke about the need for public transportation of some kind.
She said it was difficult for people who did not have vehicles to
get to jobs. She said that knowing what that transportation would
look like was still to be determined but maybe it was public
transportation or something like establishing Uber or other share
ride vouchers for workers.
Strategy 4 – Enable Capital
Runge said that there is a “knowledge gap” on how to obtain capital
in business. She said the goal would be to work with new and current
business owners to strengthen that knowledge and open doors to
funding opportunities that may be unknown to them.
Strategy 5 – Advance Business
Runge wrapped up this portion of the presentation with the final
slide illustrating the steps that will be taken within the five
strategies.
She said she and the board will be working to give
action items to each category and that the future of the overall
plan will be reliant on building collaborations and strategic
partnerships within the community to help activate and implement
those action items.
As the day neared its conclusion, Runge offered the "Pièce de
résistance" that she had been talking about early in the meeting as
the “Big Reveal.”
It was a video entitled The Lincoln Way that is one of the first
collaborations of the new plan. The video was choreographed and
recorded through the efforts of Cale West with Prynt Digital, Jacon
LaMoth of Jacob Tyler Media, Ethan Frontone and Justin Harnacke of
Double Oak Branding, and Zak Luken Z Culture Productions, all
Lincoln businesses.
The actors in the video included Runge, West, LaMoth,
Frontone and Harnacke. The film had a “Mission Impossible” flavor
meshed with “The A-Team” as the opening scenes showed Runge
delivering black cases to the offices of the other four whilst they
were absent. They enter their respective spaces, open the cases and
receive a call from Runge telling them it is time for them to all
meet.
The action moves to a dark room with the four men facing Runge,
where she tells them it is time to get started with the plan, The
Lincoln Way.
The film goes on to address in a creative manner, the assets of the
community such as its history and character, and its central
Illinois location between Chicago and St. Louis.
After the video had played, Runge said that the team had worked on
the reveal for quite some time, and she was excited that the entire
plan had come together with the work of young entrepreneurs already
in the community.
It was also noted that the reveal video would be just the first.
There are plans to set up a digital campaign that will begin with
this video and work through other story lines that will entice young
people seeking new opportunities into the community.
Runge said there will be additional survey’s and other research
measures taken as the LEAD and Lincoln Way teams move forward across
the next three years.
The day ended shortly after the video and guests were encouraged to
enjoy another time of networking.
[Nila Smith] |
