Author Archives: hoyle@dcedc.org
Opportunity Unbound hosts first DeKalb County
Young Professionals gathering
Elevate Event Slide Show KL
A special thank you to Katherine McLaughlin for the photos
PROJECT SUPERNOVA
DeKalb, Illinois
Team Curran poses for a quick picture after lunch on Project Supernova before getting back to work on this 160 acre site located at the ChicagoWest Business Center in DeKalb, Illinois.
We are proud to once again partner with Krusinski Construction Company to help bring a build to suit, 800,000 SF dry storage facility to the northwest corner of Gurler and Peace Road. When completed in March 2025, the project will feature a state-of-the-art automated storage and retrieval system.
Curran has begun phase one which includes the mass grading, soil stabilization and erosion control. Later phases include backfill, fine-grading and topsoil re-spreading. Curran’s paving team will also be laying over 40,000 tons of HMA that will be manufactured at our DeKalb asphalt plant.
Join us in promoting local sourcing, enhancing supply chain risk management, and fostering agility.
We are excited to launch our groundbreaking supply chain solution, revolutionizing supplier scouting, supporting local and diverse suppliers, and empowering small to medium-sized manufacturers. Together, we can strengthen Illinois manufacturing sector by connecting local manufacturers and suppliers.
Contact us below to learn more and schedule a call. Let’s collaborate for a robust economy!
Attention young professionals, plan to attend the first of many future events offered by Opportunity Unbound/DCEDC to connect with other 21-40-year old’s.
Elevate is DeKalb County’s first countywide young & professional group.
Details can be found below.
May 2023 Newsletter
Press Release: Curran Contracting Company
For more information:
Nick Schram
P: 815.455.5100
nschram@currancontracting.com
Jason Recob named Curran Contracting President
Crystal Lake, Illinois (May 29, 2023) – Curran Contracting, a leading northern Illinois heavy highway contractor and infrastructure solutions company, is proud to announce Jason Recob as its new President.
Recob is the company’s fifth president since Curran formed in 1936. He is taking the reins from Rick Noe, who announced his retirement as Curran President in the fall.
“Jason is the right choice for Curran,” Noe said. “His extensive senior management experience will complement Curran’s growth strategy in the Midwest. His leadership skills, business acumen and core values align perfectly with our company’s goals.”
Recob’s first day with the company is May 22. He comes to Curran from Miron Construction Co., where he was Senior Vice President of Project Management. Curran’s growth strategy focuses on customer relationship development to widen its current business footprint and focusing on operational excellence which are areas that appealed to Recob.
“I am excited to be at Curran,” Recob said. “Curran’s family business model is one that invests in its talented employees and provides quality service to its clients. That’s a credit to Curran’s strong leadership over the last 87 years. I look forward to building on that strong foundation.”
Recob received a bachelor’s degree in Building Construction Management from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and a master’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Cardinal Stritch University. He and his wife, Amy, have four children.
About Curran Contracting
Curran is a premier site development, excavation, mass grading, paving and asphalt sales contractor for commercial, industrial and government clients with three Illinois offices in Crystal Lake, DeKalb and Oswego. Curran is a leader in the public and private transportation sectors. For more than 85 years, the contractor has earned a reputation of excellence by focusing on the core values of family, improvement, integrity, partnership and respect. For more information, visit currancontracting.com
Curran Contracting Company 286 Memorial Ct. Crystal Lake, Illinois 60014 815.455.5100
When Sundog IT partnered with Kishwaukee College’s Workforce and Community Education department to participate in the College’s internship program, Dale Boughton didn’t hesitate to start the conversation.
“Initially, the internship program seemed too good to be true,” said Boughton, Sundog’s Service Manager. “When we agreed to take part, I was always waiting for the catch.” Boughton is no longer waiting. “There is no catch,” he said. “It’s all upside.”
Sundog hired its first intern from Kish, Cole Kelly, in 2021 and continued the intern program with Ben Heinisch in 2022 and Tyler Butler in 2023. Through federal and state grants, Kish covered 50% of the interns’ wages as they received on-the-job training at the DeKalb-based IT company. All three former interns have been hired as full-time Level II Engineers.
“The quality of the students made it an easy decision to hire all three full-time. They are eager to learn and present themselves well,” Boughton said.
Internships are just one focus of Kish’s Workforce and Community Education department. The College collaborates with many local employers as a partner in workforce development, offering customized training, short-term training programs, career services, internships, apprenticeships and advisory committees. Sundog serves on Kish’s Computer Information Systems Advisory Committee. Together, employers and faculty share information and ideas to ensure that programs and curricula are responsive to real-world workforce experiences and needs.
Kelly, Heinisch and Butler all offered strong approval for Kish’s Computer Information Systems program, noting the many industry certifications allow students to quickly gain relevant skills and knowledge.
“I ended up at Kish because I had a plan in my head not to take out any loans, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to a four-year college right away,” Kelly said. “IT was something I could find work in without much experience. And it is exactly what I want to be doing and exactly where I want to be.”
For Heinisch, CIS courses allowed him to discover his career interest after initially being unsure of what program he wanted to pursue when enrolling at Kish. He highlighted the hands-on lab work offered in the courses.
“I wanted to be doing something a little more involved,” Heinisch said. “Kish gives you an actual environment to work in. You are doing real configuration.”
Along with Kish’s quality instruction and course structure, Butler commended how simple Kish’s Career Services made finding work opportunities, especially through the Handshake app.
“It’s very easy to work with and showed me all the different opportunities in the area,” Butler said. “It’s how I was able to find the internship at Sundog.”
From an employer perspective, Boughton said working with Kish has been smooth and straightforward as Sundog has developed its intern program.
“They really drive the student coordination and make it easy for the students to juggle their educational obligations with getting hands-on, real-world experience — while letting me know of any grants or assistance to really make it a win-win,” Boughton said.
And that is a main focus of Kish’s Workforce and Community Education department.
“You look for ways to support one another. This is one way our students can connect their classroom experience with real-world applications,” said LaCretia Konan, Dean of Workforce & Community Education. “It’s the ideal time to train a student your way and open up the pathway to increasing your talent pipeline. Kish truly is preparing our future workforce.”
To learn more about Kish’s workforce development opportunities, including internships, customized training and more, visit kish.edu/workforcepartnerships. To learn more about Kish’s Computer Information Systems program, visit kish.edu/cis.
Photo Caption: Sundog employees (left to right) Tyler Butler, Ben Heinisch and Cole Kelly each started at the DeKalb-based IT company as interns from Kishwaukee College. Sundog hired all three to full-time positions following their internships as the company looks to build on its partnership with Kish.
Tia Anderson, DCEDC Class of 2024 has been recently awarded the Leo Olson Award from the United Way.
Tia’s profound passion and commitment to volunteerism and service work is apparent to all who know her. This prestigious award is given to recognize the commitment to the United Way and the spirit of volunteerism and service work.
DCEDC would like to congratulate board member Tia Anderson on this award. We are grateful to have you serving our board.
DCEDC Board Member April 27 2023 receive Leo Olson award from KUW
