CCO of Peoria—What Is It?

On April 14th at the Industry Institute (Women & Minority Business) Dinner, the Community Construction Outreach of Peoria (CCO) was introduced. The CCO’s aim is to establish and then franchise sustainable contractor and workforce capacity-building efforts in communities throughout the footprint of the OSF Healthcare System and beyond.

The vision of this new endeavor is “a community transformed through leadership, increased economic opportunity, innovative education and diversity.” Additionally, the mission statement is “to enhance communities by increasing and sustaining diversity, a skilled workforce and qualified contractor capacity.”

Commercial, governmental and residential construction in the Greater Peoria Area (as well as many communities throughout the Midwest) is very strong, and currently, there are shortages of workers in the skilled trades. These shortages will be exacerbated as major construction projects come online for OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Bradley University and Peoria Public School District 150, to name just a few. Meetings of area representatives from skilled trade unions, construction firms and major employers have resulted in the formation of the Community Construction Outreach of Peoria.

The participants who assembled for the CCO’s initial strategic planning retreat earlier this year represented a diverse group of experienced stakeholders from the business, industry, government and education arenas:

• Amir Al-Khafaji, Chairman, Dept. of Civil Engineering & Construction, Bradley University
• Carter Barnes, Executive Construction Manager, OSF Healthcare System
• Mike Chihoski, Senior Vice President, Engineering, OSF Healthcare System
• McFarland Bragg, Executive Director, Peoria Community Action Network
• Michael Everett, President, West Central Building & Construction Trades Council (Electrical Workers Local #34)
• William “Bill” Gregor, Construction Executive, M.A. Mortensen Company
• Clyde Gulley, City of Peoria 1st District Council Member; President, Consolidated Business Systems
• Kelly Petersen, Sr., Chairman & CEO, Absolute Risk Management Strategies
• Dan Silverthorn, Executive Director, West Central Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council
• Andre Williams, President & COO, Absolute Risk Management Strategies

We, as stakeholders, adopted 10 guiding principles that we feel are very important in setting the foundation as to how we will work together to accomplish our mission. Here are several key principles:

• Community Development—offer opportunities to all citizens, remove barriers to participation and keep the community informed
• Economic Self-Sufficiency—invest resources and provide coaching, mentoring and business skills development
• Change…Sustainable Change—let go of past grievances so we can look to the future and not repeat past mistakes, share our ideas, stay committed, strive for continuous improvement and listen to our constituents
• Success—maximize diversity and minority participation
• A Model Program—create tools to permit development of entrepreneurship, relevant educational systems and successful business practices.

We welcome anyone in the community to participate in this unique community collaborative. Please contact any participants listed above. IBI