Lake County Partners Board of Governors Chair Steve Madden, right, hands the Community Investment Award to Josh Fischer. People ordering a burger or cheese curds from a Culver’s may not think twice about where the bag in which the food arrived was made, but it may well have been manufactured at Fischer Paper Products’ Antioch plant.
Steve Madden, the chair of Lake County Partners Board of Governors, said the company makes more than two billion bags a year for a variety of restaurants, convenience stores and other companies.Along with giving the award to Fischer paper, Lake County Partners gave Gina Schuyler, the CTE chair in Grayslake Community High School District 127, its first-ever Talent Achievement Award and learned about artificial intelligence from the keynote speaker.
Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner said after the event Fischer Paper’s decision to build its new plant in town was a crucial piece in the development of the Antioch Industrial Park. The company is also a community partner.Opening the new plant four years ago, Madden said it created 50 new jobs, bringing the total number of employees to over 140. He said Fischer is also a member of the Lake County Workforce Development Board, where he helps employment needs industry-wide.
Through her work as the CTE chair for District 127, Madden said Schuyler not only helps create job opportunities for students at the two high schools in Grayslake, she plies her efforts throughout the county. “I was taken aback by the award,” she said. “It involves so many people. It’s really an ecosystem. You approach somebody, and then you approach someone else. The relationships help develop job openings.”