DeKALB – The DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation celebrated 25 years of building business during its annual State of the County address Tuesday at the Northern Illinois University Holmes Student Center.

More than 350 people gathered at the Duke Ellington Ballroom to hear about past accomplishments during the organization's 25th anniversary and get a glimpse of where manufacturing could be headed in DeKalb County and the country.

Doug Dashner, a member of the 25th anniversary committee, outlined the industrial growth that has occurred since 1987 when the public-private partnership was first started.