Month: November 2019

Registration Now Open for New Economic Development Course for Elected Officials

Radius Indiana creates educational opportunity to strengthen 

regional leadership and collaboration.

 

BEDFORD, Ind. (Nov. 12, 2019) — Radius Indiana hosts a free, region-wide economic development course for elected officials Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the French Lick Resort Meeting and Event Center. The course is designed for both incumbent and newly elected officials.

Radius created the intensive, one-day seminar, which will specifically target the needs of elected officials, as an extension of its annual Economic Development for Community Leaders Program. 

Experts from across the state will provide attendees insight and strategies in areas such as: 

  • Site Development with Chelsey Manns, Manns Consulting;
  • Workforce with Jim Plump, Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation;
  • Incentives with Matt Eckerle, Baker Tilly;
  • Business Retention & Expansion with Jason Hester, Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation;
  • Marketing and Branding with Jason Hester;
  • Entrepreneurship/Small Business Development with Courtney Zaugg, Plaka and Associates; and
  • Organization/Board Structure/Development with Wendy Chesser, One Southern Indiana.

Question and answer sessions will take place during both the morning and afternoon to allow participants the opportunity to dive deeper into the course’s focus areas. 

“When I first took office as a county commissioner, I thought I understood how to help my local economy, but I found out after I took office that the economic development field is more complex than I realized,” said Radius CEO and President Jeff Quyle. “I’d like to help other elected officials learn some of the insider perspectives so that they can increase their efficiency. All elected officials want what’s best for their community, and this seminar will help them pursue that more effectively.”

The course is made possible through the generous support of Radius Indiana’s regional utility partners, who will participate in a panel discussion during lunch, including Vectren, Smithville Fiber, Indiana Municipal Power Agency, Duke Energy and Hoosier Energy.

Among the first registrants is Jathan Wright, clerk-treasurer of Linton, “As a leader in my community, I feel it is important to take advantage of any opportunity to learn more about economic growth. We are fortunate to have Radius Indiana as a partner, who is willing to provide us with tools and information to assist with our economic development efforts. I would encourage all elected officials in the region to take advantage of this free course and return home with the knowledge to better their communities.”

Registration for the course is now open. Interested participants should visit www.radiusindiana.com to sign up for the free course.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

Calling All Entrepreneurs! Registration Opens for Radius Indiana’s Final Pitch Competition of 2019

BEDFORD, Ind. (Nov. 8, 2019) — Registration is now open for the final round of Radius Indiana’s regional pitch competition. The competition takes place Friday, Dec. 6, 2019, at WestGate Academy, and is open to high school students and adults in the eight-county region.

The contest is an opportunity to present a startup idea, product or business plan and receive useful feedback and advice from a panel of judges, which will be comprised of business owners and community leaders from the Radius region.

Participants will be divided into student and adult categories and will receive feedback from the judges, entrepreneurial advice from experts, as well as compete for cash prizes and in-kind services. Winners of the student and adult competitions will each receive a check for $1,000 for first place, $600 for second and $400 for third.

All participants from the first round of the pitch competition are encouraged to return for the second round and new applicants will be selected to join the competition.

All new business ideas are welcome and may be at any stage in the development process, including the prototype stage. Presentation topics may come from any range of business sectors, from software development to defense sector work, or restaurant and retail industries to a new product or service. Contestants will be judged on the following:

  • Problem and Solution
  • Competitive Advantage
  • Target Customer
  • Financials
  • Presentation
  • Visibility
  • Overall Pitch

Event registration and a guide to preparing presentations are available at www.radiusindiana.com/pitch-competitions/. The registration deadline is Nov. 29 and selected applicants will be notified by Dec. 2.

For more information contact the Radius Indiana office at 812-277-9778.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

South Central Indiana Partners with Radius Indiana for Economic Outreach

An informational session for a number of site selectors and business advisors to highlight southern Indiana was co-hosted in downtown Louisville by the South Central Indiana Economic Development Group (SCIED), an economic development alliance between the Indiana counties of Bartholomew, Clark, Decatur, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson Jefferson, Jennings, Scott and Washington and Radius Indiana, a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southwest Central Indiana.

This event is part of SCIED’s 2019 outreach program to raise awareness about the business strengths and opportunities in Southern Indiana. Local Economic Development professionals from both of the organizations introduced their communities to their Kentucky neighbors, showcasing the benefits of doing business in the region, which represent a total of 17 southern Indiana counties. They also highlighting available sites, demographics and the quality of the workforce that powers existing businesses.

Darrell Voelker, the President of South Central Indiana Economic Development welcomed all of the guests and discussed how important working together regionally can be when promoting our communities.  He also invited the attendees to consider our local southern Indiana Economic Development professionals as “partners” and to contact any of us whenever they have a question or an issue about a business development project regardless of what communities are being considered for the project. Voelker told them “we can be a resource for you anytime you need us”.

Radius President Jeff Quyle thanked our Utility partners Duke Energy, Hoosier Energy, Vectren, a CenterPoint Energy Company, and the Indiana Municipal Power Agency as they served as sponsors to support the event. Quyle also introduced Trevor Lane, representing the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Lane assured the guests that Indiana is an outstanding place for business and he encouraged them to “make friends” with the Local Economic Development professionals in southern Indiana.

“Our regions have worked together on many marketing events,” said Voelker. “We know when a new business locates in either of our areas, it will have a positive impact on the neighboring counties. South Central Indiana shares resources, workforce and infrastructure with many of the Radius communities and any opportunity we have to work together only strengthens our ability to attract and grow businesses.”

Quyle added, “It is in the true spirit of regionalism that these two organizations came together for this event. We have diverse assets, but a common mission—to grow the economy in southern Indiana”.

The Louisville event is one project in a series of marketing activities for South Central Indiana. This year, the outreach efforts have connected South Central Indiana communities with business advisers, real estate brokers, company executives, and site selection consultants in Indianapolis, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, Atlanta, New York, and Chicago. Members of our region also participated in international marketing events in Japan and Germany, as well as the Select USA trade show event in Washington D.C., with more than 1,000 company officials from international firms and organizations in attendance.

For more information: Darrell Voelker, dvoelker@hcedcindiana.org