Year: 2012

MCEDC Reelection

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Despite diligent campaigning on my part, my proposed successors all lost yesterday’s election.  I will be Chairman of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) for another year.  I have enjoyed the interaction in the position and feel I have learned a lot, but I had offered to step down.  It is not an onerous position, but I often cannot devote the time to it that I think it warrants.  My real job often gets in the way of my extracurricular activities!  For better or worse, my peers on the board disagreed with my self-assessment.

My involvement in MCEDC serves multiple personal and business goals:

  1. It is a way to give back to our community.  It is truly a need that was neglected before MCEDC’s inception.
  2. It is a way for me to know what the trends are in Marshall County as well as our region.  This helps me give direction to Easterday Construction.
  3. It is a way to influence the direction of Marshall County.  MCEDC has been a force in drawing our communities together and finding common goals that move our county forward.  I am proud to have been a part of this.

Regarding other board member updates, Roger Umbaugh was reappointed by Marshall County as their representative.  Don Mahoney was reappointed by Argos as their representative and accepted another term as Treasurer.  Bill Davis, Bremen’s representative, accepted another term as Vice Chairman.

I’m looking forward to another year of making a difference.  As always, suggestions are welcome.

Excerpt on Right to Work from Brian Bosma

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Brian Bosma at RTW Signing

…when as many as a half of the companies looking to create jobs in the U.S. take non-RTW states off the table, removing this barrier to opportunity is absolutely key to the economic future of our state.  Governor Daniels has informed me that his phone is already ringing off the hook with employers wanting to know more about Indiana and the opportunity to expand here.  I have personally heard from representatives of Michigan and Illinois companies considering relocating to Indiana, and have even had personal conversations with manufacturing representatives from as far away as Germany and Italy that have renewed interest in Indiana in light of the adoption of this pro-job pro-freedom policy.  It is certainly a victory for all Hoosiers that courageous legislators were willing to put it all on the line for our state’s future success, even in the face of shouts and intimidation. Please extend your thanks to all of the members of the House and Senate who worked together to advance this critical policy…

Taken from an email from Brian Bosma.  (View entire email here.)

Indiana Becomes 23rd Right to Work State!

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Congratulations to our Indiana Governor and all of our Indiana legislators  that worked hard to pass Right To Work legislation this session.  They withstood a lot of heat in order to do the right thing.  Thank you also to the Democratic Caucus for staying and making their position heard rather than leaving for Illinois again.

I have no doubt that this was the right thing to do, both as an employee freedom of choice issue and as an Indiana Economic Development issue.  Maybe Indiana can be the first State in our Midwest region to begin to stem the tide of manufacturing jobs moving to the South.

See my previous post on why I supported Right To Work here.

Quote from Tony Sellers

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“When we were kids we were sent to our rooms as punishment.  Now our kids want to live in their rooms with their iPods.  We have to change that.”  –  Tony Sellers

Heard at the January 24th Culver Town Council Meeting where Tony was requesting that Culver become the first Come Alive Outside community in the United States.  Tony Sellers is owner of Sellers Services, Inc.    He has taken on Come Alive Outside to promote getting children outside and active.