Gov. Blagojevich Announces $250,000 in New Funding to Continue Helping Entrepreneurs Grow
Posted on September 18th, 2006
DCEO Director Jack Lavin Lauds Innovative Efforts of the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University
PEORIA - Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich’s top economic development official visited the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University today to announce $250,000 in new funding and to highlight the Center’s work to help local entrepreneurs and their promising ventures develop into successes in the marketplace.
“By bringing in new companies, making strategic investments to help small businesses grow and taking innovative steps to open new markets, we are offering more people better jobs across Central Illinois. One of the most important ways we have been expanding our economy over the last several years is by encouraging entrepreneurship. The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship is helping us turn promising ideas into promising companies that are putting more people to work,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship received initial funding to act as a regional hub to coordinate all small business development, entrepreneurship training and development activity in the North Central region in 2004. This is the third grant of $250,000 that the Center has received to provide entrepreneurs with the tools they need to make their ventures successful.
The Turner E-Center is one of 18 entrepreneurship centers Gov. Blagojevich has opened. The entrepreneurship centers make up one vital component of the Illinois Entrepreneurship Network (IEN), a comprehensive network of resources designed to strengthen the state’s capacity to develop small businesses into market successes and help entrepreneurship act as a more dynamic engine of growth. Gov. Blagojevich launched the IEN Web site, www.ienconnect.com, which features a free business needs assessment and a referral within 24 hours for personalized, face-to-face assistance. Entrepreneurs can also call toll-free 1-800-252-2923.
The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship was established in 2001 by a gift from Robert and Carolyn Turner. It builds on the Foster College's historic strength in small business administration and family business. The Turner Center brings together educational, research, and related programs and services to help entrepreneurs and family business owners create more successful businesses.
“Gov. Blagojevich and I believe that we must provide our entrepreneurs and small businesses with all of the financial resources and the support to help them create more good jobs. And that is exactly what has been happening for the last several years at the Turner Center,” State Senator George Shadid (D-Pekin) said.
The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship offers challenge grants and a number of other specialized resources for its clients. The $5,000 awards assist entrepreneurs or small businesses with obtaining professional services for comprehensive business plan assistance, evaluation of a proposed start-up or expansion or other accelerated support purposes. Award funding is determined based on the potential for successful achievement of a significant business milestone for client firms. The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship has awarded 12 challenge grants awards to date totaling $60,000.
"We appreciate the confidence placed in the work of the Turner Center staff as demonstrated with the continued funding of the programs underway to assist entrepreneurs nurture successful ventures in this region," said Dr. Peter Johnsen, Bradley Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. "We remain committed to making the resources of the Center available to even more entrepreneurs to increase development activity in Illinois."
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Director Lavin highlighted some of the successes of the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship:
The Kern Group, Inc., founded by Greg and Scott Kern, has developed a new product called "SADIE" to be initially marketed to public transit agencies. SADIE is a protective enclosure that includes a video monitor with audio and a video camera. This device provides for enhanced interior vehicle security and safety and for delivery of advertising, information and public service announcements. Because of the potential homeland security applications, The Kern Group was invited by DCEO to participate in a homeland security trade mission to Israel in June. Part of its $5,000 challenge grant was used by the Kern Group to participate in this trade mission with the remainder to be used to develop marketing materials.
Administering medication requires great care and excellent information. With its flagship product, pac2tm, InformMed, founded by Kathy Francis, can supply nurses with the tools they need to treat their patients with confidence, linking hospital drug data with nurses at the bedside to ensure correct dosages. InformMed has received two $5,000 challenge grants over the past two years. The first award was used by InformMed in the completion of its product development test program and to develop potential investor awareness of the need for this product. The second award was used to create a marketing position plan and marketing materials to introduce this new product.
ISoy Technologies Corp., was established in 2004 to develop, manufacture and market a new class of natural sun care, skin care and anti-aging products utilizing SoyScreentm, which was created at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization and Research in Peoria. ISoy has exclusively licensed the core patent from the USDA and has developed two additional patents to which it has exclusive rights. Ray Willis is the president and founder of ISoy. The $5,000 challenge grant was used for specialized legal services to develop a long-term strategic agreement with the largest US manufacturer and distributor of cosmetics additives to the major cosmetic companies.
“The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship has played a critical role in helping young firms with high growth potential develop into economically viable and sustainable companies that will grow and create Central Illinois jobs. We’ve done our homework in studying the strengths and challenges of growing a small business, and this center is designed to offer targeted services most in need by local entrepreneurs, including access to capital, markets, networks and technology,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Gov. Blagojevich recently announced that Illinois added more new jobs than any other state in July. In July, Illinois led the nation in monthly job growth by creating 31,100 new jobs. This is the second time this year Illinois has created more new jobs than any other state, which has never happened before in recorded history. Illinois also led the nation in job growth in April. The total number of new jobs created this year is 75,200, which is the best start to a year since 1998. Since January 2004, Illinois has gained more than 150,000 new jobs. The Illinois unemployment rate has been below or the same as the U.S. unemployment rate since May 2006, the first time this has happened in seven years. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security compiled these statistics.
Site Selection Magazine also ranked Illinois third in the nation for attracting new and expanded corporate facilities in 2005, and Business Facilities Magazine named Illinois the top state for biotech growth last year.
