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Tom Foppe, Foppe Visual Communication attended the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois annual event. The 26th annual Salute to Southwestern Illinois Awards Dinner, which recognized those contributing to the success of the Metro East region. The event was held Thursday, May 6, 2010 at the Meridian Ballroom at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
John Foppe, native of Breese, Ill., served as this year’s keynote speaker. Born without arms, John managed to re-engineer his day-to-day life and leverage his triumph over adversity to become an internationally recognized speaker, business trainer and author. John’s remarks for the evening will focus on how the biggest vision can be derailed by the smallest bit of resistance. He will share insights that are now being used to orchestrate the missions of visionaries and change agents around the world.
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John’s remarks for the evening focused on how the biggest vision can be derailed by the smallest bit of resistance and he shared insights that are now being used to orchestrate the missions of visionaries and change agents around the world. The keynote was sponsored by the Madison Bond Workforce Investment Board and FGM Architects.
The Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois drew a crowd of approximately 300 for its 26th annual Salute to Southwestern Illinois Awards Dinner recognizing two individuals and two organizations for their contributions to the continued success of the Metro East. This year’s recipients included Senator Frank Watson, 51st District-Illinois; longtime labor relations figure and educator, Mr. Edward Harrick, Center Ethanol Company and Abengoa Bioenergy. The event was held May 6th, 2010 at the Meridian Ballroom at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Senator Watson was honored for his 30 years of public service, which were highlighted by his leadership on medical malpractice reform and the creation of the Illinois Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) program. Edward Harrick was recognized for his dedication to fostering labor-management cooperation in the Metro East, including the 20 years he devoted to help build the Leadership Council’s Labor-Management Committee into one of the strongest and most successful committees of its kind in the country. The awards ceremony also saluted both Abengoa Bioenergy and Center Ethanol Co. for their job-creating investments in our region’s alternative energy sector.
In his acceptance speech, Watson spoke of the importance of people working together. “My 30 years in the legislature was all about working with others to make the quality of life better for the people of Southwestern Illinois,” stated Watson.
Mark Tade, manager of employee relations with U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works and president of the Leadership Council, gave the welcome address for the evening, reflecting on ups and downs of the prior year and looking to the future.
“While the levee issue remains the most critical and immediate one facing our region, we refuse to allow it to define our future,” stated Tade. “That’s why our Vision 20-20 initiative is so important.”
He noted the significant progress made during the past year on this collaborative partnership of the Leadership Council, the Mid America and Madison-Bond Workforce Investment Boards and our region’s institutions of higher learning.
“Vision 20-20 is yielding an action-oriented roadmap that will focus the region’s collective energies, resources and networks on cultivating our key strengths and opportunities,” added Tade. “This will enable us to build upon our advantages in such areas as freight, manufacturing and energy production, while exploring new economic drivers that will support the continuing creation of jobs and investment in the Metro East for the next decade.”
Steve Jankowski, Director of Alumni Affairs for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and former Illinois Bureau Chief for KSDK-TV, was as master of ceremonies.
The Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois is a member-based, economic development corporation representing Madison and St. Clair counties. The Council works to attract/retain jobs and stimulate capital investment through its coalition of leaders in business, industry, labor, education and government. These effective partnerships serve as a driving force behind successful economic development efforts throughout the Metro East region.
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