Nancy Tyree with Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) did a great article for the Pilot News that gives an update on the progress in Culver. It appeared in the December 12, 2016 addition of the paper. This is the second in a series that MCEDC is doing on all the communities in Marshall County. The first one on Argos appeared last month. For those of you that don’t get the Pilot, I’ve reprinted the Culver article below.
This is one of the things MCEDC is doing to help promote the communities. We hope to put this out in other formats in the near future as a snapshot of what is happening in our communities. This should be useful to companies considering relocating to Culver and Marshall County. It gives you the flavor of the community and lets you know that things are happening here! Feel free to give Nancy feedback at: Nancy@marshallcountyedc.org
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Home to the second largest natural lake in Indiana and a private boarding school with national acclaim, it’s easy to view Culver as a resort town. But for the people who live there, it’s not a vacation spot—it’s a home, and they’re dedicated to the Town’s preservation and growth. Town Council President, Ginny Munroe describes Culver as, “a community of planners,” stating, “we have a track record of success with community involvement and thrive on taking on projects—no challenge is too big.” Town Council member Tammy Shaffer agrees, “Every project we take on has sustainability in mind. That’s what’s going to keep our small Town thriving.” Culver business owner and Marshall County Economic Development Corporation Board member, Kevin Berger, adds, “Our comprehensive plan, Stellar proposal, and housing development are all community-based collaborations.” It is no surprise then, what this collaborative, planning community has achieved in the last few years.
Updated from Original Post 12-8-16: Culver has decided to commit to going after Stellar Community status in 2017. This is a follow-up to the 2016 attempt. While we were unsuccessful last year, the reviewers said we did nothing wrong – we were just out done by the competition which had huge support from their County, Community Foundation and private funding. In order to beef up our presentation this year and “dream bigger” as recommended by the reviewers, the Culver Stellar Committee is looking for some things to add to our list. Here are a few ideas that I think should be considered.
Image from WTCA Blog
Town-wide Wi-Fi – I think it would be great if we could be a connected community. I think we could probably accomplish this with a transmitter on the First Farmers Bank & Trust Building for the Downtown and the Lake House Grille tower for the Midtown area. Possibly something at Park ‘n Shop would cover the Uptown area. Another option would be to possibly add it to the new street light system (though this might be too late). I know some communities work out something with a local provider to give an hour of free service a day with a hourly fee for additional service there after. That’s if the Town determines the cost to be prohibitive. (Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery. Plymouth has this…)
Image from MinnPost
Sidewalk History – I think it would be interesting to replace sidewalk sections with historical notes about the town. They could be random historical facts or where appropriate, facts relating to the location. Examples of random items could be a line from a Cole Porter song, a George Steinbrenner quote or a line from one of the movies filmed in Culver. Specifics could be something about the Great Bank Robbery in front of the FFBT downtown from when it was the State Exchange Bank, the caricature of Mr. T with the Pill in front of Diva or something about the Corner Tavern, Snyder’s Hardware, Verl’s Barber Shop or any of the dozens of historical structures that Jeff Kenney used to mention in his walks down Main Street… I would suggest that the Town fund review and if they approve an application, fund that panel completely. (Okay, I stole this idea from a recent visit to Key West, but per the image, St. Paul is doing it too…)
There are some other ideas that have already been added to the list by others. These include a history mural on the theater (a revival of a Second Century project from years ago), a renovation of the theater into a mixed use venue to possibly include performing arts, and expansion of both the Beach Lodge renovation project and the Cavalier Park projects. Most of my ideas are smaller ancillary projects, but go along with the general comments that we needed to tie everything together. Most of these would affect all of the individual bigger projects.
If you have any ideas to add, feel free to do so here and I’ll be happy to carry them to the committee if you don’t have time to participate personally.
This past week most all of us celebrated Thanksgiving. The original Thanksgiving is known as a celebration of coming together after the a successful harvest. Most of us have moved away from direct ties to the harvest season, but Thanksgiving still celebrates a successful year. It has also morphed into a celebration of family. This has become more significant as our families have become more far flung. Often this is one of the few times we gather as family.
As I’ve mentioned here before, Easterday Construction Company is a family business. This has more than one meaning to me. While on one level, it references the ties I have to my great grandfather, Russell Easterday, who started the business, in my mind it also references my ties to the employees that have been here for year after year. Many ECC employees have been here for decades.
That longevity has benefits that translate into mutual knowledge in the way things are done and a confidence that you can’t buy. On the flip side it adds responsibility when considering jobs and a sense of urgency for finding work to keep everyone working. Employees in a small family business are also family and often friends.
As with many holidays, Thanksgiving has become extended. We had Thanksgiving with family the weekend before and celebrated Thanksgiving with friends the weekend after. In a way, we’ll be celebrating it with another group of friends we only see once a year next weekend. So, even though I’m a few days off the actual holiday, Happy Thanksgiving to and from everyone at Easterday Construction Co., Inc.!
Cornucopia image borrowed from www.timeanddate.com