The Voice

Looking back on GRCC’s year of momentum The Chamber accelerated progress in 2025, and there’s even more on the horizon By Christine Hand, managing editor The Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) is on a roll and gaining momentum. Under the direction of its new(ish) CEO, Angela Kay Larson, an engaged board of directors, and…

Creating buzz for nonprofits A strategic marketing approach By Rebecca Francis, Ignite Change Solutions In an increasingly crowded philanthropic landscape, nonprofits must do more than simply exist. They must stand out. Effective marketing isn’t about selling a product; it’s about selling a vision, a mission, and an opportunity for people to be part of something…

Rethinking ROI The power of partnership By Brittany Freiberg, Rock Valley College Foundation At a quick glance, the relationship between businesses and nonprofits could be viewed as one-sided. The nonprofit makes the ask, the business supports the cause, and both move on to the next meeting, event, or campaign. Although that model can produce good…

What collaboration looks like Solving our most significant social issues together By Pam Clark Reidenbach, Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence Talk without action is a waste of time and resources. Isolated activities or interventions result in more and more programs and more and more money needed to fund them. Perhaps it’s time to abandon…

From sticky notes to AI-ready systems Build your own app to upgrade processes By Sam Kirker, SJK Enterprises Sales run through Stacey’s spreadsheet, customer service runs through Carl’s Post-it Notes, and the warehouse runs through Willie’s brain. Every small business has a version of this duct-taped system that keeps the train on the tracks day…

Seize the moment The time is right for renewed regional investment in economic development By Terrance Hall, Eight Fifteen Impact In March 2024, the Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) engaged Eight Fifteen Impact to develop a new strategy and tactical plan for the organization’s newly chartered economic development work. At the time, I was…

Civics Our rights, duties, and privileges as citizens By Angela Kay Larson, Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce On my desk, you’ll find a small textbook, “First Lessons in Civics,” published in 1898. The book is a relic, yet I find many of its lessons enlightening, causing me to wonder why civics is no longer standard…

Politicians, lone nuts, and dancing guys The story of resurgence in the Village of Durand By Village of Durand Mayor Sheila Hoffman As elected officials in local government, we step up to tackle the challenge to leave things a little better than we found them. That’s exactly what the Village of Durand has set out…

GRCC task force announces business community expectations for new RPS205 superintendent Earlier this year, the GRCC Board of Directors assembled a task force comprised of members from the Government Affairs and Talent Committees with the objective of capturing the voice of business in relation to the RPS205 Board of Education’s efforts to recruit a new…

Clean energy dominance Illinois needs to reclaim the nuclear energy leadership it held decades ago By Michael Dunn Jr., Region 1 Planning Council Our local elected leaders have spent the past two years working closely with ComEd and state and federal officials to develop a strategy for funding critical energy infrastructure. The key questions before…