Panelists announced for Thursday symposium

STERLING – Panelists have been announced for Thursday’s Sauk Valley Symposium, which will feature a keynote address by an expert on the impact of globalization on the Midwest’s economy.

Richard C. Longworth, author of “Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism,” will speak at 6:30 p.m. at the Jerry Mathis Theater on the campus of Sauk Valley Community College, 173 Illinois Route 2, Dixon.

Longworth’s address will be followed by a panel discussion with representatives from government, industry, economic development, business, agriculture and the college’s faculty.

Among the panelists:

–David Barajas Sr., a Sterling-Rock Falls businessman and former Sterling Township supervisor.

–James G. “Jim” Burke, mayor of Dixon since 1999.

–Katie Dallam-Pratt, marketing/technology coordinator, University of Illinois Extension, and an active member of the Farm Bureau’s Young Leaders program with her husband, Andy.

–John Gvozdjak, president and chief operating officer of Frantz Manufacturing, Sterling.

–John Nelson, assistant professor of business, Sauk Valley Community College.

–Betty Steinert, economic development administrator for Whiteside County.

–Jim Wright, professor of sociology, Sauk Valley Community College.

Longworth will participate in the panel discussion. Larry Lough, executive editor of Sauk Valley Media, will moderate. A question-and-answer session will conclude the program.

Sauk Valley Community College and Sauk Valley Media are sponsors of the symposium, which begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception for Longworth in the SVCC East Mall. Books on First of Dixon will have copies of Longworth’s book available for purchase.

Longworth, of Chicago, is a native of Boone, Iowa. He is a fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and is a former reporter at the Chicago Tribune.