 Making Manufacturing Matter 2015
Awards event honors distinguished manufacturers
from metro counties
In July 2015, The Alliance for Illinois Manufacturing announced the date for the second annual Manufacturer of the Year Award for Cook County and each of the collar counties. This awards event, held on October 7th in Chicago, celebrates manufacturers with a reputation for leadership and involvement in the industry and its supply chain, with a keen focus on technology and innovations, as well as demonstrated commitments to the community.
Kane County utilized direct contact, press releases, and Kane County Connects to solicit nominations from county municipalities and manufacturers; in total, 11 manufacturer nominations were submitted from across Kane County. The nominees were reviewed by the Jobs Committee of the Kane County Board before the winner, Cast Aluminum Solutions of Batavia, was selected.
At the September 11th Kane County Board Jobs Committee recognized the nominees and announced the winner. Also in attendance were speakers from various manufacturing education programs from Kane County; D300 Advanced Manufacturing Pathway, Fox Valley Career Center, Aurora University Institute for Collaboration, and Aurora Regional Pathways to Prosperity Project. A resolution was also passed by the Jobs Committee recognizing October 2nd as Manufacturing Day.
To register online for the event visit the Alliance for Illinois Manufacturing website. For more information, please contact Christopher Toth, Land Use Planner with the Kane County Development and Community Services Department.
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Heart of the Community
Grant Program
Funding supports Placemaking in cities
Since 2014 Southwest Airlines has sponsored the Heart of the Community grant program, a community-based project to revitalize and activate underutilized public spaces in urban centers. To date the program has supported public space improvement projects from Portland, Maine to San Antonio, Texas. These and other projects have sought to enliven community spaces that have fallen into disrepair with fading appeal to pedestrians. As Placemaking continues to gain traction as a means for sustaining vibrant communities, the program also seeks to raise awareness for the concept among community members and promote volunteerism to reclaim and restore community assets.
The Project for Public Spaces defines Placemaking as "a movement that reimagines public spaces as the heart of every community. Rooted in community-based participation, Placemaking involves the planning, design, management and programming of public spaces and capitalizes on a community's assets and potential to create vibrant destinations-such as neighborhood gardens, community markets, and downtown squares. For more than 30 years, Placemaking has sparked social, economic, and environmental benefits in communities around the world."
Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit planning, design and educational organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces that build stronger communities. Their pioneering Placemaking approach helps citizens transform public spaces into vital places that highlight local assets, spur rejuvenation and serve common needs. The PPS blog page is channel for news, best practices and other resources for community improvement advocates.
Applications for 2016 projects can be submitted now through October 16, 2015.
To learn more about the 2016 grant program and to request application materials, visit the Heart of the Community FAQ webpage.
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National Benchmarking Report
on Bicycling
Study looks at metrics for bicycling activity among
US children and adults
The US Bicycling Participation Benchmarking Study Report was published in March by People for Bikes, an advocacy group focused on improving the experience for riders. The study explores a number of riding tendencies among cyclists across various age ranges. The report utilized survey data obtained from over 16,000 U.S. adults. Bicycling participation was measured in the context of 10 activities including leisure activities, chores and sports.
Some of the study's key findings include:
- 34% of Americans (103.7 million people) ages 4 and older, rode a bicycle in the past year.
- 53% would like to ride more often.
- 52% of adults are worried about being hit by a motor vehicle.
- 48% of adults do not have a working bicycle in their household.
- Among adult Americans who don't ride, 12% have never ridden, 29% say they are likely to ride in the future and 44% say they are unlikely to ride in the future.
- Only 31% are satisfied with the bike lanes, trails and paths available to them.
- 46% of adults would be more likely to ride if bicycles were physically separated from cars.
- 29% find it easy to connect bicycling with public transit.
A complete summary of the benchmarking report can be obtained from People for Bikes.
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KCHD Newsletter Receives
National Award
Health Matters newsletter recognized by the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC)
The Health Department's newsletter Health Matters was awarded a gold medal from the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC). The award was issued in the Print Newsletter category. "As a recipient of a NPHIC award, the Kane County Health Department has been designated by an independent panel of judges at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication as among the year's best in public health communication," stated NPHIC President William Furney. NPHIC is the leading national organization for public health communication professionals. NPHIC's ranks include public information officers, risk communicators and health educators at state, tribal and local health departments across the country. As the recognized voice of public health communication, NPHIC's award program offers gold, silver and bronze awards in 17 public health communication categories.
Health Matters is issued once a month to coincide with the Kane County Board's Public Health Committee meetings. Visit the Health Department's website here to subscribe to the newsletter and keep up-to-date with all the goings-on in public health.
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