By Sam Thomas
BLOOMINGTON- For the past decade, McLean County officials and business leaders have made an annual pilgrimage to Washington D.C. in search of funding and support for local projects in what has been dubbed the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council’s ‘One Voice Fly-In Trip.’
Past attendees of the trip gathered at the McLean County Museum of History Wednesday night to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the program.
Kyle Ham is CEO of the EDC and he says the program serves as a critical link between McLean County and our elected officials in Washington.
“When you talk about doing this as ‘One Voice,’ and bringing Bloomington-Normal under one umbrella, it’s to say that we’re going to go out there and speak with one voice, so we know that those in Washington recognize us as one unit,” he said.
Ham added that the program played a large role in Normal’s Uptown Amtrak Station, as well as various improvements in mental health and criminal justice in the community.
A congregation of nearly 40 leaders make the trek each year, and Director of Governmental Affairs for the Laborers’ International Union of North America Mike Matejka has taken part in the program each year for the past decade.
He says the program harbors a diverse group of community members that gets things done on behalf of McLean County as a whole.
“One of the unique things about ‘One Voice’ is that we do the hard work as a community in terms of figuring out what things could have a long-term impact for all of us, and bringing that together with not just one groups interest, but the whole community’s interest,” he said.
The group has secured $25 million in funding for local projects since its inception one decade ago.
Normal Mayor Chris Koos has also been a part of the annual trek for the past decade, and he agrees that the bipartisan dynamic of the program ensures that the community’s voice, as a whole, is heard.
“This can’t be political,” Koos said. “It’s about our community, and it’s about everyone standing together for the benefit of our community.”
Sam Thomas can be reached at Sam@WJBC.com.
