It was nice to get a hand written note from the Cavalcade Staff. Believe it or not, I still have my Cavalcades, though they are not regularly referenced. I know the work that went into producing the 2014 edition will be under appreciated by their classmates now, but no doubt appreciated greatly in the future.
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:
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!
Easterday Construction Co., Inc. participated in the ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors) STEP (Safety Training and Evaluation Process) program this year and achieved Silver Level status. Thanks to all our employees that made this possible.
I 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.
This 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.
At a recent ABC meeting our council manager, Felisha Minnich, had a list of all the members present with the dates they joined ABC. It turns out Easterday Construction Co., Inc. joined Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana (now Indiana/Kentucky) on this day in 1983. Thirty one years of anything isn’t insignificant. That’s seven years longer than I’ve been back with ECC!
Since joining, we’ve had various employees involved with the ABC, serving on committees, attending apprenticeship, etc. I’ve served on the Michiana Council Steering Committee, served 5 terms on the State Board, served on the committee reviewing the by-laws and served on the Political Action Committee. There is something to be said for “getting out what you put in”. I am in general agreement with the ABC philosophy and I’ve learned a lot from interactions with other contractors I respect.
Felisha Minnich
While Easterday Construction Co., Inc. holds memberships in various other organizations, ABC is probably the one that has the closest connection to the ECC philosophy. There is no group that I agree with 100% and I am often one of the lonely “Nay” votes on the board, but I would still recommend ABC membership to my peers. If any of those peers are reading this, I suggest they contact Felisha. Felisha has done a wonderful job and holds our Council together. ABC scored big when they added her to our “family” and I don’t hesitate to recommend a conversation with her.