One of my ToDo List items as Chairman of Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) was to see a new website up and running and get MCEDC tied into some of the social media outlets. Thanks to Jennifer, Derek and Pam, this is one I can strike off my list. (The benefits of Chairing organizations is that you can direct other people to do things and then take credit for their hard work. Thanks guys!) If you haven’t visited the new website, you can do so here. It takes most of the good things from the old site and has added some functionality. Some of these originated internally and some were the result of our work with Ady Voltedge on our marketing plan.
The website has been up since the first quarter of this year. In the past month, Derek has added the social media connections. MCEDC is now posting to Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. You can go to the MCEDC home page and there are a couple of places with the connection buttons for these services. Visit the site! More clicks there help our SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ratings and that could mean the difference in attracting new business to Marshall County. If you Google it to find it, that helps even more…
Easterday Construction Co., Inc. is once again participating in Red Shirt Fridays this summer to show our support for our troops. The field crews reinstated this on their own this year. We’re happy to support them with new shirts as they need them.
The pictures herein show John Singleton and Murgurel Stephan in their red shirts at our Deborah Road remodel project. They’re installing siding as we prepare to wrap up this project. Dave Epley (not shown) was also on site in his red shirt today Thanks guys! Way to go!
Any past or current clients that would like a shirt to show your support, stop by our office and we’ll hook you up. Support the Troops!
I attended an Energizing Indiana Seminar on Tuesday in South Bend presented by the Indiana Energy Association. In our area, the partners that we work with are NIPSCO and AEP. (Marshall County REMC has programs as well, but opted out of IURC (Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission) due to what they felt were onerous reporting and oversight requirements and the associated costs.) There are quite a few incentive programs available to businesses and residential customers as well. Unlike some of the tax incentive programs such as EPAct, these programs provide checks directly from the Utility Companies which means municipalities and other tax exempt entities should be able to take advantage of them as well.
Many of these programs encourage renovations that will pay savings dividends on their own. (Green That Saves Green!) The incentives are there to give the extra kick to encourage implementing them now. I am planning on researching this further and I will include details here, but if you’re interested in pursuing this, please contact us and we can look into your specific situation now!
Easterday Construction has been involved with multiple multi-family housing projects over the years. The Garden Court projects have figured prominently in our experience. Currently many of the economic indicators are reportedly pointing towards the need for more multi-family housing. Rental properties are projected to be in demand. A recent article here points to the Top Ten Reasons for owning multi-family housing. Check out the article and contact us if you’re interested in a foray into this type of investment.
Construction materials prices rose 1.4 percent in March, the largest monthly increase since April 2011, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s April 12 producer price index (PPI) report. On a quarterly basis, construction materials prices increased 2.7 percent and are 3.8 percent higher than March 2011. Following a similar pattern, nonresidential construction materials prices moved up 1.6 percent for the month, 2.9 percent for the quarter and 4 percent year over year.
Excerpt from ABC Construction Economic Update, April 12, 2012