MCEDC

Happy Jim Condon Day

by
Jim Condon – Plymouth H.S. Principal

Last evening I attended a celebration for Jim Condon, Plymouth High School Principal.  He was being honored for being named Indiana High School Principal of the Year.  I’m not sure what one does to stand out amongst your peers in the field of High School Principals, but being named such by peer review from other principals makes it quite an honor.  Dan Tyree, Plymouth Superintendent of Schools, emceed the event where Jim received several awards and accolades.  Plymouth Mayor, Mark Senter, spoke and presented Jim with a proclamation of Plymouth’s appreciation for him, part of which was to name December 11, 2014 Jim Condon Day in Plymouth.

Mayor Senter Congratulating Jim Condon

I mainly know Jim through our association on the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) Board.  Jim came on the board several years ago and in the time since I have grown to respect his thoughtful approach to all matters.  I’m proud to call Jim a friend and also proud of his well-earned award.  Congratulations Jim!

Oh, and Happy Jim Condon Day to all!

Picture Source:  AM1050.com

Indiana Regional Cities Forum

by

Through my position on the MCEDC (Marshall County Economic Development Corporation) board, I have met Regina Emberton, President and CEO of the Michiana Partnership.  Michiana Partnership is a regional organization that includes Marshall County and they are involved with marketing our area.

She shared the forum information below regarding IEDC‘s (Indiana Economic Development Corporation) promotion of their Regional Cities Initiative.  It’s not something I can attend, but I thought it was worth sharing here.

I truly believe the old adage that “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats”.  We need to work together as a region to grow our economy and our fate is at least peripherally tied to the success of South Bend/Mishawaka.

INDIANA REGIONAL CITIES FORUM

November 21, 2014
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

Gillespie Conference Center at the Hilton Garden Inn
53995 Indiana 933
South Bend, IN 46637

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) is holding regional forums across the state to discuss the governor’s Regional Cities Initiative and key findings from the study that benchmarks peer cities around the nation.
We are relying on you as leaders in your communities to invite others who should also attend. You can do so by simply forwarding this invitation. The types of individuals in your community who may wish to attend could include school superintendents, college/university leaders, Rotary and other volunteer groups, chambers of commerce and other business groups, elected officials, community foundations, religious leaders, arts organizations, economic development professionals, and other civic or business leaders. All are welcome to this meeting. 
Please visit www.indianaregionalcities.com to learn more about the Regional Cities Initiative.

Meeting Participation in Culver

by

facepalmMonday night I went to the regularly scheduled meeting of the Culver Redevelopment Commission at 5:00 at the Culver Town Hall.  I arrived to find the door locked.  I looked at the notice on the bulletin board and it stated that the regularly scheduled meeting had been changed to 4:00 and that they had added a joint meeting with the Town Council which they had moved to the Culver Library at 5:00.

As I’ve said here before I tend to cut volunteer board members a lot of slack.  They give a lot of time and often only receive slings and arrows from the public in return.  I don’t think that’s an excuse for making public participation difficult.  My position as Culver’s representative on the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation Board means that my representation there is closely tied to the work the redevelopment commission does.  I attend almost every meeting of the redevelopment commission.  It is on my calendar to be there on the third Monday at 5:00.  It frustrates me to no end when I make a special effort to be at a meeting only to find that they moved the meeting, with private discussion between meetings.  I’m not special.  They don’t have to let me know.  But I think it’s disrespectful and says something about their relationship with MCEDC.   While they have fulfilled the letter of the law by posting it on the bulletin board at the Town Hall I also feel it does a disservice to the community.  There is also a page on that same bulletin board listing all of the regularly scheduled meetings.  If someone other than myself had gone down to see when the next meeting was, read that list and didn’t check later to see that the meeting had been rescheduled they would have been standing out there fuming like myself.

Read more

MCEDC Newsletter

by

MCEDC (Marshall County Economic Development Corporation) has had a busy year so far.  As a board member I’ve been pleased with some of the progress we’ve made.  Here are a few highlights:

  • Installation of a new Executive Director, Jerry Chavez.  He started with MCEDC this Spring and hit the ground running.  Formerly with the Minot, North Dakota Economic Development Corporation, Jerry has brought new ideas and new energy to the position.
  • Revamped the MCEDC website.  It has been streamlined and the speed and usability has been increased without losing any of the underlying information.
  • Revamped the MCEDC Newsletter, now titled The Economic Development Perspective.  As with the website, the newsletter has been streamlined and the frequency has been increased.  It’s now an easier read and much more timely.
  • We have a Shell Building!
    Commerce Building

    Now dubbed “The Commerce Building“, the structure is located on Commerce Street in the northwest PIDCO industrial subdivision.  It is ready to show now and the shell should be complete by this time next month.

We’ve managed to do all of this without sacrificing any of our ongoing projects such as the County Development for the Future meetings, outreach to the community through SBDC and our commitment of support to Project Lead the Way.  I’m looking forward to more good things from MCEDC.  If you’re interested in keeping up on those, check out the newsletter link above and add your name to the mailing list.  There are more good things to come!

Colts Game

by

Colts Entry 10-5-14I was pleased to be the guest of Dave Behr and the IDEC (Indiana Economic Development Corporation) on Sunday for the Colts/Ravens game.  I was there representing MCEDC (Marshall County Economic Development Corp.) along with Jerry Chavez.  Several business leaders were also in attendance as well as Mayor Senter from Plymouth.  I’ve decided that watching the game from a suite is the way to go!  Ha!

The game was a good one and the networking opportunity was good as well.  It’s good to speak to people outside their normal work environment sometimes.  Those connections can be important.

Speaking of those connections, all of us from Marshall County also got to meet and speak briefly with Governor Pence.  I don’t expect that he knows my name, but I think he’s seen me enough now to recognize my face and know some of my issues.

Colts with Governor 10-5-14This was my first NFL game and that in itself was quite an experience.  Experiencing the crowd and seeing the stadium was all new.  Of course I can’t walk through a parking lot without looking at the drainage patterns or walk through a building without assessing the details.  Looking at the stadium structure with the retractable roof and such was fascinating.

All and all it was a good time and I think the discussions were worthwhile.  I will definitely go again if invited.