One Voice & Infrastructure with Bennett Resnik of Cardinal Infrastructure
On this week’s episode of Building BN, CEO Patrick Hoban and Project Manager Nik Duffle speak with Bennett Resnik, Deputy Counsel and Director of Government Relations at Cardinal Infrastructure. Resnik consults with the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council on various aspects relating to the annual One Voice Campaign, primarily focusing “on the regulatory aspects of transportation, infrastructure, and economic development, as well as the project-specific issues and the policy issues involved around those topics.”
The One Voice Campaign, under the leadership of the BNEDC, is a pro-community campaign that brings together leaders from the City of Bloomington, the Town of Normal, McLean County, local labor, educational institutions, and privately owned businesses. These groups form the One Voice Task Force. The goal of the campaign is to make McLean County a stronger economic force and a better place to live.
When asked about the value of a collective, community effort like One Voice, Resnik said, “I think it's very important that the EDC has put together a group of various leaders in the community to come out and not just speak with one voice, but also individually talk about their different backgrounds and their perspectives on what's needed in the community.”
Each year, the One Voice Task Force chooses local projects to support in their quest to receive federal funding for local projects. And then each spring, the One Voice Task Force travels to Washington, D.C. to meet with our congressional delegation and show them our community stands united in support of the projects. Said Resnik, speaking about the importance of the effort and the competition that exists for federal funding dollars, “Coming up to D.C., constantly engaging with the delegation and these federal agencies are extremely important to stand out.”
Said Resnik, “The trip is incredibly important. And as you've seen from the results, very effective as well… Coming to D.C., interacting with people at the federal agencies provides an introduction not just to the agency, but also the programs that these projects can apply for. The funding piece is incredibly important… Equally important is the continued engagement and providing information to the delegation, congressional staff, and the agency, so that they can understand and appreciate the needs of communities like Bloomington-Normal.”
The One Voice trips have brought in over in funding to the local economy since the program began in 2006. The visit to DC this spring, scheduled for March 2-4, will be occurring virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen to the entire discussion with Bennett Resnik here. For more information on the One Voice Task Force projects, scholarships or to register please contact Patrick Hoban at patrick@bnedc.org or 309-452-8437.
