Business in the 217: Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance CEO Ryan McCrady - 02/10/25
09:13 Share

Business in the 217 here with your host Trent Arnelson and good morning, good morning, good morning and what a wonderful morning it is to have our chat with Ryan McCready. You know we do that twice a month as we can and

He's the president and CEO over at the Springfield Segment Growth Alliance. And we get to chatting about business innovations, infrastructure, all sorts of economic, ergonomic information. It's really always positive. Good morning, sir. How are you today? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on. Well, again, always a pleasure. Always our pleasure. Now, generally speaking, we get to talking about the warehouses and...

the downtown, I should say, the old and the new Capitol. We get down to Shields. But really, we've covered all of the innovations that have occurred at those places in our last discussion. So, sir, what can you tell us about, for those looking for work, what can you tell us about the resources that are being offered by the Illinois WorkNet Center? Well,

Well, the Illinois WorkNet Center is a tremendous resource in the community. It's located at the intersection of 9th and South Grand, and a lot of people commonly call that the unemployment office. But what has changed over the years is it's not just where the Illinois Department of Employment Security exists. They have all the resources, all the service providers that can provide resources to job seekers in the same building in what they call a one-stop shop. Specifically, the Illinois WorkNet Center is funded through the federal and

and state government through what's called the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act. And they have funds to set aside to do two things. One, to help unemployed or underemployed individuals get prepared for jobs, to get resources, to be able to be ready for their interviews. And then for employers, they provide connections to these unemployed individuals. They can do basic aptitude testing. Basically, they can get people ready to go to work.

And my experience is that the individuals that come out of the Illinois Work Dent Center programs have a very high retention rate with employers where they end up getting employed. So it's the kind of place that we need to make sure that businesses and job seekers both know about. Absolutely. And again, as you sort of alluded to, we call it the unemployment office, but perhaps that is a poor use of our ability to describe things because sometimes

It can provide a lot for us and perhaps that term unemployment office maybe doesn't have the same positive connotation that we know that it should have. It is getting people jobs, it is getting people working, getting people's lives in better positions than they were previously in, no? No.

That's exactly right. And for clarity, unemployed individuals, but also what's called incumbent worker training. So maybe you're employed right now, but if you had another little bit of skill training or certification, you could be up employed. You can move up in an organization, increase your earning power. They provide resources for that to resume writing.

It's just a tremendous resource that exists right there in the community. All the services are provided to both job seekers and businesses at no cost to the job seeker or the business. In doing economic development, the Illinois WorkNet Center is a really important partner of ours at the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, and we're excited to work with them. And it's just amazing what they can do there. Absolutely. You know, they say knowledge is power, and yes,

Well, depending on which philosopher you ask, they'll say that that's either true or very true, because, of course, the thought eventually does become an action. But we need the thought first. We cannot do it without the seed to sprout the plant, sir. Sir, this is always a great discussion, and thank you for educating us about the Illinois WorkNet Center and all that it provides the community with, but...

Sir, we've got to take a quick commercial break, and then we're going to come back and we're going to talk about an event in the community.

one that we think the community will be very excited for. What do you say, sir? That sounds great. Thank you. Absolutely. First, folks, Ryan McCready's not going anywhere. We're going to chat about local first event when we come back. So why don't you grab something lovely to eat, something warm to drink, and ensure your favorite seat remains as comfortable as when you last left it. And we'll be right back.

And you are correct. We are returned. This is Business in the 217 here with your host, Trent R. Nelson. And, well, Ryan McCready is still here. We are still here.

We first got into the Illinois WorkNet Center, a really awesome institution, organization, really necessary, as Ryan McCready noted, not only for the Springfield Segment Growth Alliance, but for all of us. And what could be better than that? And again, we ensured that everyone knows that those infrastructural innovations, whether up north,

the railroad relocation, whether in downtown or Shields or on the west side, he said everywhere. We'll have more information for you next time we chat. But Ryan McCready, sir, what can you tell us about this Local First event? So Local First is a group of businesses in Springfield and Sangamon County where they focus

focus on doing as much business locally as possible. And they have an event coming up on February 26th from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m. It's going to be held at A-Sign. We all know where that location is there on First Street. And A-Sign has a really cool...

display of historic signs around the community. And they have a really nice venue there for building a host events like this. But Local First Springfield's having their event there from 5:30 to 7:30. Great opportunity to meet local business owners, to network with them. And it's really important 'cause businesses do business with other businesses. And getting out, getting to meet your local folks, spending your money locally, maximizing that economic impact by doing that is really important. So we hope people can show up for that event.

Absolutely. February 26th, 2025. That's 530 to 730. There will be a guest speaker as well. And, well, you'll have a good time. You'll get to see some folks you know, some folks you do not know yet. And hopefully you'll all spend some money with one another. And that'll be pretty good, would it not? Mr. Ryan McCready, sir, you are supreme. We appreciate you.

This is a shorter chat than we usually have. We know we've got to let you go. You're a busy individual, and certainly we appreciate that. Before we do let you go, however, will you remind our listeners where they can learn more similar information like that, which we've just been getting into here today when we're not doing so? Sure. Check out our website, thriveinspi.org. Also check out our social media sites, too. You can link to them from our website where you'll hear about the events we talked about and other ones, too.

feel free to give us a call, 217-679-3500. Be happy to talk to you, make a presentation at a club you're in. We just really enjoy getting out and being about the community. So please connect with us. You're here first, folks. They want to help you, but first you've got to help them help you. That's often how it works.

Mr. Ryan McCready, sir, we appreciate you very, very much. We appreciate the Springfield Sermon Growth Alliance, and we hope that you and everyone else has a wonderful rest of your day and week, and we'll catch you real soon, all right? Thank you so much, Trent. Absolutely. Business in the 217 here with your host, Trent Arnelson, and, well, why don't you go out, play a part in your community, whether it is going to the local FIRST event...

trying to shop amongst your community as best you can. Support small businesses as Ryan McCready noted or perhaps you are looking for work perhaps you're looking for new work. Well the Illinois Workman Center they have a lot of wonderful options to ensure that you can keep on developing because we all wish to grow tall and when one of us does we

we all feel a little bit more like we can too. So until we do this thing all over again, we hope that our listeners have a wonderful rest of their day and week, and we'll catch them all real soon as well.