Pictured above: Members of the EBCC Community Engagement Committee brainstorm
The EBCC Impact: Crafting Community Engagement One Step At a Time
A Conversation with Shannon Techie
By: Grayson Bourke
The East Bluff Community Center’s mission is to foster community engagement and neighborhood
stabilization, and we are dedicated to pursuing this mission in a variety of ways. For instance, our
Community Engagement Committee is connecting residents of the East Bluff to the EBCC to create a
greater sense of community ownership of the EBCC and its activities. The goal is that residents will
become advocates and ambassadors for the center and in turn, the neighborhood. The person leading
this committee just so happens to be one of EBCC’s most dedicated board members, Shannon Techie.
Shannon has been on the EBCC Board of Directors for about two years now. Prior to her tenure as a
board member and her current role as a stay-at-home-mom, she was an urban planner and community
& economic development professional for the city of Peoria for eleven years. Before she advocated on
behalf of residents for the city of Peoria, Shannon was a Peace Corps Volunteer as well as an alumnus of
Western Illinois University where she received a master’s degree in community development. When
inquiring Shannon about her thoughts on Peoria’s East Bluff neighborhood, she says that “I continue to
believe that the East Bluff has so much opportunity for growth and improvement. This neighborhood is
vital to the health of the city.” This mentality of community service is what fueled Shannon to be the
chair of our first EBCC Community Engagement Committee.
The purpose of the EBCC Community Engagement Committee is to foster relationships that allow
members of the neighborhood to connect with the EBCC’s programs and connect neighborhood
residents to the EBCC and to one another. Shannon thinks that the EBCC is a perfect example of
sustainable community development and that we are well-equipped for the task at-hand. She says that
“from the inception of the East Bluff Community Center, I have been impressed by how volunteers with a
big vision established it and grew it into the neighborhood beacon that it is today; a very bright spot in
the East Bluff Neighborhood, providing much needed services and programs to residents!”
If you or someone you know would be a good fit to add value to the EBCC Community Engagement
Committee, please give us a call at (309) – 839 – 0781 or email us at
ebcc@eastbluffcommunitycenter.org and let us know! Members of the committee must live in the East
Bluff neighborhood, have a teamwork mentality, and have a desire to spread hope and opportunity to
the community. We are eager to hear from you how we can all work together to improve our
neighborhood!
Pictured above: Community Engagement Committee Chair and EBCC Board Member Shannon Techie
512 E. KANSAS ST.
PEORIA, IL 61603
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