The Society of Manufacturing Engineers

This Month's Technical Meeting

Thursday, November 8, 2007:

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers,

Decatur Chapter 58 presents:

J. Craig Coil

President,

Economic Development Corporation of Decatur & Macon County

Craig Coil joined the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) in 1988 as an Area Development Representative. During his career with the State of Illinois he held various positions including Targeted Industry Specialist, Division Manager of Industry Development, Division Manager of Market Development and Senior Corporate Services Manager. In 1996, while working for the State of Illinois, he received the Distinguished Economic Developer Award from the Illinois Development Council, a statewide association of economic development professionals.

In July of 2002, Coil was named President of the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County (EDC). The EDC is a nonprofit public-private corporation responsible for business attraction and retention efforts in Decatur and Macon County and acts as the administrator of the Decatur/Macon County Enterprise Zone and the Decatur Foreign Trade Zone. In the last three years alone, the EDC has worked with local, state and federal partners to access nearly $40 million in assistance for local employers. The EDC has also facilitated projects which have resulted in the creation and/or retention of more than 3,000 jobs and private sector capital investments of more than $300 million. These efforts have resulted in the Decatur Metropolitan Statistical Area seeing one of the largest decreases in unemployment rates of any area in the state.

In 2007, Coil was presented with the Illinois Development Council Chairman’s Award for outstanding service to the Association and for outstanding contributions to Illinois Economic Development, the first award of its kind given to an IDC member.

( For more information about the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur & Macon County, check online at: http://www.decaturedc.com/ )

If possible, please submit reservations by Wednesday, November 7, 2007.

For Reservations & Location Map: