Plymouth Town Hall Vision Meeting

Plymouth Town Hall Meeting 2-6-16For those of you that missed the Vision Meetings in Argos and Culver, there is another opportunity to attend and voice your opinion.  A third Town Hall Meeting is being held in Plymouth this Saturday.  See the flyer to the right.  I have also included the text of a press release MCEDC is sending out to the local media below.

This is an important topic as we make decisions on how to move Marshall County forward.  I hope to see you there!

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Press Release

Plymouth, IN (February 3, 2016) – The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) will be holding a Town Hall meeting at the Plymouth Council Chambers this Saturday, February 6th at 10am. The meeting will address the Marshall County Vision, an effort supported by community leaders and a citizen’s group of 120 members and growing whose goal is to improve the quality of life of all Marshall County residents.

The Marshall County Vision is an initiative aimed at raising awareness of the needs that our community faces and building consensus on the ways in which we can securing funding and implement long-term development plans to meet these needs. Specifically, the long-term plans proposed by the initiative will require $27 MM in funding for community development and $52 MM for county-wide roadwork. These funds will be used to extend the Metronet, improve infrastructure, create more affordable housing, increase workforce development efforts, and repair and maintain 911 miles of road in Marshall County.

Since the Vision initiative began last summer, MCEDC has presented it to elected officials and at 7 service organizations across the county, as well as Town Hall meetings in Bourbon, Argos, and Culver. These meetings have resulted in greater support for the Vision initiative, and we hope the upcoming Plymouth Town Hall meeting will do the same. More importantly however, these meetings have given community members a chance to voice their opinions and build consensus on the development plans which will impact our county’s future.

According to MCEDC President/CEO, Jerry Chavez, Marshall County already has the tools necessary to secure funding to improve our community, we just need to implement them. He states, “No one else is going to help Marshall County, we have to help ourselves. That’s what the Marshall County Vision is all about.”

All Plymouth residents are encouraged to come to the meeting and learn how they can make Marshall County a better place to live and work for years to come. For more information, please contact Jerry Chavez, President/CEO, at (574) 935-8499.

About Marshall County Economic Development Corporation:
The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is the lead countywide economic development organization servicing Marshall County, the City of Plymouth, and the Towns of Bremen, Bourbon, Argos, Culver, and LaPaz. MCEDC’s mission is to expand and diversify the economy of the county and its communities by fostering investment in new and existing businesses and creating entrepreneurial capacity.  Visit MCEDC on the web at www.marshallcountyedc.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

 

 

Regional Cities Initiative on WNIT’s Economic Outlook

From the right:  Regina Emberton – President and CEO of The Michiana Partnership, Jeff Rea – President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Diana Lawson – Executive Director of the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jerry Chavez – President & CEO of the Marshall County Economic Development Corp.

MCEDC‘s President, Jerry Chavez, was on Economic Outlook last month discussion the Regional Cities Initiative and Marshall County’s role in it.  As previously discussed here, Marshall County, St. Joseph County and Elkhart County form one of three regions in Indiana that were awarded $42 Million in State grant money.  Check out the video link here.

Leaders across North Central Indiana will host Regional Cities “Watch” events on Tuesday

 

SOUTH BEND, Indiana (December 11, 2015) –  Leadership groups in Elkhart, Marshall and St. Joseph counties, collectively known as The Regional Cities of Northern Indiana, are planning “Watch” events open to the public at three digitally connected locations Tuesday afternoon as information about $84 million in economic development grants is shared statewide via “live” streaming from Indianapolis.  The events, while physically hosted in Elkhart, Marshall and St. Joseph counties, will be cross-linked via Twitter’s Periscope application over the Internet.

“This tells you just how engaged our region is and how high the level of anticipation is,” commented Regina Emberton, President of Michiana Partnership and Vice Chair of the Regional Development Authority (RDA) for the Regional Cities of Northern Indiana.  “Residents from 22 cities and towns in North Central Indiana are gathering at three locations across the region to watch history in the making.  And they’re using Periscope to connect all three sites at the same time.  With things like this happening, it’s easy to see how Regional Cities has already had a big impact on North Central Indiana.”

Each ‘Watch’ event is scheduled to start between 12:30 and 1 p.m. when the “live” web feed from Indianapolis begins.

At 1 p.m. the Strategic Review Committee will go “live” on the Internet. At some point during the meeting, their recommendations will be made public. The IEDC board is then expected to vote on the committee’s recommendations.  Once the voting takes place and the regional grants are made official, Governor Pence will announce them in a live press conference from the same location.  The press conference is currently scheduled for around 2:30 p.m.

In Marshall County, the event will be at Swan Lake Resort, 5203 Plymouth Laporte Trail, Plymouth.  The Elkhart County event will be in the Crystal Ballroom of the Lerner Theatre at 410 S. Main St., in downtown Elkhart.  In St. Joseph County, the event will be at Union Station Technology Center in the Renaissance District, 506 W South St. in downtown South Bend.  Some, if not all locations, will offer light refreshments.

To see any of the Periscope video feeds from the three “Watch” events on Tuesday, visit the Regional Cities of Northern Indiana Facebook page.  Feeds will also be linked to the Regional Cities of Northern Indiana Twitter page.

MEDIA CONTACTS FOR SPECIFIC “WATCH” LOCATIONS

Elkhart County
Terry Mark, Communications Dir., Elkhart CVB
Terry@AmishCountry.org
(574) 262-8161, Ext. 222, Mobile (574) 361-6210

Marshall County
Jerry Chavez, Pres. & CEO Marshall County EDC
Jerry@MarshallCountyEDC.org
(574) 935-8499, Mobile (574) 780-8734

St. Joseph County
Willow Wetherall, Union Station Technology Ctr., Renaissance District
IgniteMichiana@gmail.com
(574) 360-4337

About Regional Cities of Northern Indiana
Regional Cities of Northern Indiana serves over half a million people in 22 interconnected cities and towns in Elkhart, Marshall and St. Joseph counties. The group consists of and leverages the vast experience and services of Northern Indiana’s leading business, academic, philanthropic and government leaders to develop transformational economic development projects and strategic initiatives that will improve quality of life and spur population growth. The Regional Development Authority (RDA), comprised of a five-member board representing all three counties, is guided by the strategic plan developed by Regional Cities of Northern Indiana as it oversees projects of regional importance.

 

MEDIA CONTACT
Regina Emberton
Remberton@MichianaRegion.com
(574) 400-5432