PEORIA MAGAZINE November 2023

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complete the program with little to no out-of-pocket costs and 95% of individu als who earn industry certification after the program are employed. More about the ICC Solar Pipeline Training pro gram is at https://icc.edu/programs/ solar-pipeline-training/

Illinois Central College reported 7.6% growth in the number of students en rolled in the Fall 2023 semester. Total enrollment of more than 7,500 also represented an 8.6% increase in the number of credit hours compared to the previous year. It is the largest freshman class in four years. ICC attributed the growth to several factors, including bet ter access to financial support through MAP and Pell grants, ICC scholarships, apprenticeships and expanded work force development programming. Tuesday, Nov. 28 is Giving Tuesday , a grassroots movement that “reimagines a world built upon shared humanity and generosity.” Launched in 2012, the international movement has sparked millions of acts of generosity by people of all ages and raised billions of dol lars for organizations around the globe. Learn how individuals, companies and organizations can get involved at giv ingtuesday.org. Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey , president of Illinois Central College , had solar panels installed on her home by graduates of the ICC Solar Pipeline Training program. The program follows the Earn and Learn apprenticeship model, which combines training with concurrent work experi ence. Quirk-Bailey said many students

Gale Credit Union has merged with Kembra Peoria Credit Union . Kembra in Peoria, 2318 W. Willow Knolls Rd., will continue to operate under the same name, adding a Division of Gale Credit Union. A new office at 2990 Court St., Pekin, formerly known as the Taze well County Government of Gale Credit Union, will now operate as Tazewell Area Credit Union, a Division of Gale Credit Union. Membership is open to anyone living or working in a 10-county region that includes Peoria, Woodford, Tazewell and Mason counties. Peoria Charter Coach recently took delivery of two 2024 MCI J4500 coaches from Motor Coach Industries (MCI). It was the 60th motor coach delivered to Peoria Charter Coach over the course of its seven-decade relationship. The new vehicles feature 56-passenger seating, a 180-degree color backup camera and a Cummins clean-diesel engine. Peoria Charter Coach, the largest privately owned charter bus company headquartered in Illinois, achieved a 96% gain in revenue while returning to pre-COVID-19, 2019 earnings. The privately held company transports more than 500,000 passen gers annually.

George Manias , long time owner of George’s Shoeshine and Hatters at 101 SW Adams St., Peoria, was honored on Sept. 21 with the Peoria Histori cal Society ’s 2023 Henri

de Tonti Award. Among the speakers at the award presentation were for mer Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis , former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood , business leaders John Bearce and Hen ry Holling and Phil Luciano , co-host of You Gotta See This! on WTVP. Bradley University celebrated the opening of its new high-fidelity, multi-patient nursing simulation lab at a ribbon-cutting event on Sept. 29. The new $850,000 lab allows Bradley nursing students to access high-fi delity nursing manikins that provide medically immersive, life-like simulat ed medical scenarios in a controlled environment. Experiential learning like this has proven to decrease adverse patient events, such as medication errors. The lab will also allow Bradley to provide nurse simulation training for high school students at Manual High School and Peoria High School.

130 NOVEMBER 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE