Plymouth

Ellert for State Representative

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Kevin Berger presenting ABC's endorsement and check to Francis Ellert at Coca-Cola Bottling in Plymouth

I had the opportunity to meet with Francis Ellert recently and present him with a check and endorsement from Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana (ABC).  Easterday Construction has been a member of ABC for nearly three decades and I have served on the organization’s State Board of Directors through four terms.  Francis has attended several ABC events and the organization has found him to be a like-minded individual that will fit well in representing our Free Enterprise cause.  I consider Francis a personal friend and I was pleased to be able to relay our support. 

This is Francis’s second run at the Indiana House District 17 position.  I supported him in his first run (see here) and will do so again this time.  Currently he has a primary challenger, but no Democrats have filed to run for the position in the Fall.  Turnout will still be important in the primary.  Since the Republican candidate  for President has been decided before the Indiana primary, it’s important to  make your voice heard in this local issue.

Lest you think voting isn’t important in the primary, there seems to be a real divide in the campaigning.  I see very few Harman signs in the Culver area where Francis is well represented.  I see mostly Harman signs in the Bremen area where Tim is well known.  Culver in particularly shouldn’t be complacent and assume that Francis has it sewn up!  We need to get out the vote and support him.

I can’t say anything bad about Tim Harman.  From what I know of him, he is a good person, has run a clean campaign and has the best interests of District 17 at heart.  But he’s not the known candidate that Francis is.  Francis ran a hard campaign against Nancy Dembowski in 2010 and I think he benefited from it.  Not only did it help him better define his positions, but it helped him make contacts that will be crucial when he joins the General Assembly next year.  Those contacts are what have garnered the support of the Indiana Chamber, the Indiana Manufacturers Association and the Indiana Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors.

Please consider helping me support Francis in the primary.  In less than a week we’ll be making this choice.  I can’t tell you how much I  look forward to voting for a candidate that I can truly support rather than choosing the lesser of evils.  I don’t think Francis tells election fairy tales.

Kevin

Super Tuesday Thoughts

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All of the news organizations are lathered up about today being “Super Tuesday“.  It’s all a little frustrating as I generally feel like the decisions on the national candidates have been made long before Indiana’s Primaries roll around.  Hoosiers have the opportunity to support candidates financially before the primaries, but in the end it’s the votes that count.  I guess we’ll have to see if the new method of awarding delegates makes Hoosier votes relative this year.

Along with the changes with the national delegate counts, we’ve seen some local changes as well.  For those of you that haven’t seen the new district maps, Marshall County occupies the majority of Indiana House District 17.  Fulton County to the south shares a portion of District 17 as well.  (See the map to the right)  We will no longer be “represented” by Nancy Dembowski as she will be in District 20.  The latest information I’ve received is that she didn’t file to run so she is retiring after this year.  That will leave Tom Dermody to run unopposed in the general election.  Mr. Dermody is the current Representative for District 20.

There are currently two Republicans, Francis Ellert and Tim Harman,  running in the primary to represent District 17.  As of this time I haven’t had the chance to learn too much about Mr. Harman, but I did support Francis Ellert in 2010 (previous blog post here) and feel he would do a good job representing the interests of our district.

On the Senate side, Marshall County is split along what appears to be township lines.  (See the map to the right)  West Township along with Union, Green, Walnut and Tippecanoe Townships along the south side of the County fall into Senate District 18.  District 18 covers all or part of 5 additional counties south of Marshall County.  The remainder of Marshall County is part of Senate District 9 which includes portions of Elkhart, Kosciusko and St. Joseph Counties to the north and east.

State Senator Randy Head currently represents District 18 which includes Culver.  Senator Head came to Culver to speak last Saturday, but unfortunately I was unable to attend.  Hopefully Culver generated a good turnout for him!  Senator Head is running unopposed in the primary and general elections.

State Senator Ryan Mishler currently represents District 9 which includes Plymouth and the remainder of Marshall County to the north and east.  Senator Mishler is running unopposed in the primary and general elections.

I would encourage you to take the time to learn about Francis Ellert and Tim Harman.  We often mistakenly think that our State representatives aren’t important, but they are key to decisions that affect our daily lives and how competitive our State is nationally and worldwide.  I’ll be cursing their decision a few years back to go to Daylight Savings Time when the alarm goes off next Monday just as I cheered their decision to implement Right to Work in the current session.

Hoosier Tire News Release from Marshall County Economic Development Corporation

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PLYMOUTH (Dec. 29, 2011) – Mayor Mark Senter and executives from Hoosier Racing Tire today announced a major new investment in Hoosier’s Plymouth production plant, which is expected to create a combined 20 new jobs in the near term.

Hoosier Racing Tire, Corp. will invest $8 million to construct and equip a new 37,000 sq ft expansion to their rubber mixing plant on site, integrating operations that have previously been outsourced to an Ohio based firm. 

Founded by Bob and Joyce Newton in 1957, Hoosier manufactures a sophisticated range of performance tires and is today the largest manufacturer of racing tires in the world.  The company’s corporate headquarters and distribution facility is located in nearby Lakeville, IN and the company’s manufacturing facility is in Plymouth.  Hoosier has steadily added staff and currently has over 400 employees, with the majority of these based in Plymouth.

“This is a major expansion for our company, and it speaks to our confidence in Hoosier Tire’s continued growth and viability in this area,” said John DeSalle, Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing.  “Last year was good to us, and this is a timely investment.  Financing of the project was sourced from our long time partners at 1st Source Bank.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Hoosier Racing Tire up to $140,000 in conditional Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits based on projected job creation.

The City of Plymouth will consider a tax abatement petition for real and personal property on January 11th.  At the filing of the petition on December 28th, DeSalle was commended by Mayor Senter and Plymouth Council members.  

“Hoosier Tire is important to our community in many ways,” said Mayor Senter.  “They are leaders in the field of racing because of an uncompromising commitment to excellence in their products and pure enjoyment of competition — both in the business world and on the track.  Plymouth is pleased to partner with them in this project, and hopefully on many ventures to come.”

“We have seen that companies like Hoosier Racing Tire are able to grow in Marshall County with decisive plans to outreach competition,” said Jennifer Laurent, Executive Director of Marshall County Economic Development Corporation.  “We welcome the expansion of the business and job creation, and also recognize a positive trend in local companies continuing to reinvest here as they weigh our assets against other locations.”

“NIPSCO’s Economic Development team was also a partner in making the project possible,” Laurent noted to Council members.  An existing electrical substation was required to be relocated by the building expansion plans, and NIPSCO participated in the cost and coordination of the move as well as necessary service upgrades.

Hoosier Racing Tire and Hoosier Tire & Rubber, historically two separate companies, will officially merge as one company to be known as Hoosier Racing Tire as of January 1, 2012.

2011 Marshall County Community Conversation

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Marshall County is holding another Community Conversation this November 16th at Swan Lake Resort.  This year’s conversation is titled 21st Century Workforce Readiness  –  Education, Industry and Workforce Development:  The Ties that Bind.  Everyone is encouraged to participate.  Below is the announcement flyer and a registration form.  Join the Conversation!!!

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2011 Forty under 40

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Images taken from the Tribune Business Weekly, May 30, 2011
Yesterday I attended the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce’s Forty under 40 luncheon at The Gillespie Center in South Bend.  I was there as Chairman of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC).  Jennifer Laurent, MCEDC Executive Director, was one of the honorees.  I was pleased to see that Andrea Cook of The Midas Center in Plymouth was also there as an honoree.  MCEDC is working to increase our regional ties and the recognition of these two influential women from our community can only help this effort.
Tracy Graham, former Notre Dame football player and current South Bend entreprenuer, was the keynote speaker.  He gave a motivational speech on the future of South Bend, refuting some of the negative connotations left by the Newsweek article naming South Bend #8 among America’s dying cities.  The University of Notre Dame, the convergances of transportation nodes and the high speed internet access provided by the Metronet were among a few of the positives he listed.  For better or worse, regionally our fortunes are somewhat linked to those of South Bend.
 
Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County and the Tribune Business Weekly for recognizing two of Marshall County’s bright young women.  Now we need to press the honorees to continue their efforts and not rest on their laurels.  Jennifer?  Andrea?  We’re waiting!  What are you going to do next to put Marshall County in the spotlight and on the map?  Best wishes for future successes!