NuEra donation leads to 21 scholarships

OGLESBY — A total of 21 Illinois Valley Community College cannabis production certificate program students received $1,000 scholarships this fall funded by a $100,000 gift from NuEra.

NuEra Principle Owner Keith McGinnis of Ottawa made the gift to IVCC in March to support the program’s students and provide necessary equipment.

Recipients include Julio Aldana, Kaden Hawley and Tyler Lorden of Oglesby; Larry Alger of Peru; Brian Angelico, Tori Hattan and Ryan Schmitt of Streator; Danny Blackburn of LaMoille; Jacob Doonan of Ladd; Liam Duffin, Melinda Kramer and Amanda Neff of Princeton; Ebelin Euresti, Chance Ruger and Rebecca Smith of Ottawa; Anderson Ficek of Hudson; Zackary Kimball of LaSalle; Trisha Kreiser of Lostant; Jamie McPeek of Odell; Jason Smith of Marseilles; and Dylan Strait of Granville.

NuEra, headquartered in Wheaton, operates a cultivation center in Hillcrest, with medical dispensaries in Chicago, East Peoria and Urbana. NuEra also services the adult use cannabis market in East Peoria, Pekin, Champaign, Urbana and two facilities in Chicago.

For information about IVCC’s cannabis production certificates, contact ag program co-coordinators Caitlinn Hubbell at caitlinn_hubbell@ivcc.edu or Willard Mott at willard_mott@ivcc.edu.