Lake County Partners' Big Event Brings Together Largest Crowd of Business & Civic Leaders Yet
Lake County Partners' signature annual breakfast, aptly named "The Big Event," once again brought together hundreds of business and civic leaders on May 17, 2019 for a morning focused on continued collaboration and business growth.
The Big Event specializes in giving companies and communities insights into the latest tools and trends that they need to fuel economic development, and this year's program zeroed in on business leadership and innovation. Keynote Speaker Sam Walker, The Wall Street Journal's leadership columnist and author of The Captain Class: A New Theory of Leadership discussed his bold ideas on talent development and competition, as inspired by his analysis of some of the greatest sports teams in history. "Just as in sports, in business it's the character of the leader that inspires greatness in the team, and the effective leader is not always who you think it will be," Walker informed the audience.
Big Event attendees also gathered insights from an economic outlook delivered by Melissa Bean, the president and CEO at Mesirow Financial Wealth Advisors. The importance of team building and leadership was front and center in the event program, with the speakers taking the opportunity to highlight the many ways in which community partners are working together to drive business success. "Creating connections is at the heart of what Lake County Partners does. By engaging with us, companies can tap into the talent, services and resources that are available through partners such as the College of Lake County, Lake County Workforce Development and the Lake County High Schools Technology Campus," said Lake County Partners' president and CEO Kevin Considine.
Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, who also sits on the Lake County Partners Board of Governors concurred, noting "Lake County's economy is booming, and our workforce is growing in a way that we aren't seeing elsewhere in the region. To ensure continued success, Lake County's leaders are working together to invest in and foster an environment in which people can thrive."
One company that has taken full advantage of the services offered through the Workforce Ecosystem is Libertyville-based Laser Precision, a family-owned metal fabricating manufacturer that has become a thought leader in workforce development, playing an instrumental role in shaping strategies that will benefit Lake County and the manufacturing industry as a whole. Laser Precision was presented with the Lake County Workforce Ecosystem Talent Innovator Award at The Big Event in recognition of the company's exemplary workforce development practices.
"Through the Workforce Ecosystem, Laser Precision has gotten involved in local manufacturing programs, tapped into talent at job fairs, established a new internship program and advocated for manufacturing at high school career path events," said Kimberly Wimer, Laser Precision's Human Resources Manager. "It's been gratifying to help shape a modern view of manufacturing, and develop new methods to attract and retain talent."
Richard Korengold, Lake County Partners Board Chair and Senior Managing Director with Mesirow Financial Wealth Advisors, noted "We've witnessed many exciting expansions and relocations in local key industries over the past year, and Lake County is poised for future growth. Young talent has never been more important for business success, and Lake County Partners is actively building on workforce programs and forging new relationships with leading educational institutions. We're also targeting professionals across the region through MetraMore-a new reverse commute express service on the Metra Milwaukee District North Line that was made possible through a first-of-its-kind public private partnership among leaders such as Metra, AbbVie, Horizon Therapeutics, Tenneco, Trustmark Insurance, Northwestern Lake Forest, the City of Lake Forest and the Village of Deerfield. It's never been easier to work in Lake County."
The Big Event is made possible with generous support from the Lake County business community including First Midwest Bank, Lake County, Mesirow Financial, CIBC Bank, Comcast Business, Cushman and Wakefield, Horizon Therapeutics, Innovation Park Lake County, a5 Branding & Digital, AbbVie, Advocate Aurora Health, Aerotek, Baxter, Bridge Development, Caterpillar, CBRE, the College of Lake County, Colliers, ComEd, Deigan & Associates, Flexan, General Mitchell International Airport, Great Lakes Construction Association, Hamilton Partners, Libertyville Bank and Trust, Loyola University Chicago, Manhard Consulting, Masuda Funai, Millbrook Properties, Sysmex, United Conveyor Corporation, Van Vlissingen and Co., Walgreens, Barbara's Bookstore, Lake County Transportation Alliance and Five Grain Events.