Archives July 2015

RUSHVILLE BECOMES FIRST INDIANA CITY CERTIFIED AS BROADBAND READY COMMUNITY!

In a concerted effort to promote private investment in broadband infrastructure, The City of Rushville and the Rush County Economic & Community Development Corporation completed all steps required to apply for the Broadband Ready Community certification. Application was made to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and its Broadband Ready Communities Development Center.

The City of Rushville has been notified that it is the first of Indiana’s 119 cities to be certified as a Broadband Ready Community (BRC). “Having this certification sends a signal to the telecommunication industry that our community has taken steps to reduce barriers to broadband infrastructure investment”, said John McCane, ECDC Executive Director. “We have been meeting with our partners at NineStar Connect to move this process forward; they of course are extremely supportive, and have been a partner with Rushville and Rush County for several years.

“We are excited to have earned this designation”, said Mayor Mike Pavey. “Our City Council passed an ordinance at its last meeting that outlines the City’s process for dealing with construction or deployment of wireline or wireless communications facilities to provide communications services. We are establishing a procedure to review applications and issue permits for new projects. Reducing the regulatory hurdles that deter investment is a key step towards creating an environment ripe for broadband investment. This certification says that yes, Rushville absolutely is ready for new investments and expanded broadband development.”

“NineStar Connect is excited that Rushville is the state’s first city to be designated ‘Broadband Ready Community.’ We have been working in partnership with the City of Rushville over the past several years in bringing the latest in fiber optic connectivity to the businesses and organizations in and around Rushville to ensure that Rushville’s professional community has the best connectivity available anywhere,” stated Michael R. Burrow, CEO of NineStar Connect.

The Indiana General Assembly passed a bill earlier this year establishing the Broadband Ready Communities Development Center. The new law sets guidelines for how the center can declare a community “broadband ready” after it creates application review and permitting procedures for communications projects.

Indiana Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith says providing businesses with in-demand amenities is “the essence of the Regional Cities Initiative.” He says earning the Broadband Ready Community certification sends a positive message from Rushville to broadband providers.

 

KROGER invests $1.2 million; builds new Fuel Center in Rushville

Kroger Central Division leaders celebrated the grand opening of a new fuel center adjacent to the company’s Rushville store at 202 South Main Street in Rushville Friday morning.
The total economic investment in this fuel center is $1.2 million. Kroger’s project was led by Project Manager Reggie Henderson. This investment strengthens Kroger’s economic and workforce commitment to the local Rushville community and will create additional jobs.
At a time when many companies, particularly retail companies, have slowed or stopped their investments in facilities and job creation in Indiana, Kroger Central Division has accelerated their pace of investment.
According to President of Kroger Central Division Jeff Burt, “The grocery, pharmacy and fuel markets are very competitive in Indiana, but also very important for The Kroger Co. Our solid success in the marketplace allows us to make significant economic and work force investments in our Indiana stores. Our investment in Rushville is a strong vote of confidence and allows us to continue providing quality products, competitive prices and outstanding customer service, while being a supportive community partner. The Rushville fuel center will allow us to provide the nation’s best retail fuel rewards program to customers in that neighborhood.”
As part of the grand opening event, Kroger is donating $250 in fuel gift cards to the Rushville Volunteer Fire Department and $250 in fuel gift cards to the ARC of Rush County.

ECDC Hosts Social Media Event: Blogging 101

Does your organization have a website? What’s its purpose? Brand identification, public relations, and lead generation?
If you want to improve your SEO (search engine optimization), which means increasing visibility, therefore, bringing more visitors to your site, great, fresh content is the key. Effective blogging can and will improve SEO, which leads to a higher ranking, more hits, more leads, and more sales.
Join a group on Wednesday July 22nd, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Rush County Economic & Community Development Corporation Office, 210 E US52 Rushville, IN., upstairs conference room for “Blogging 101” with Randy Clark of TKO Graphics.
“We at the ECDC have been talking about doing a blog for a while, but have just not sat down to define what that would look like and the main topics we would write about,” Carolyn Bunzendahl of ECDC stated. “We do know that having a regular blog would help our website rise to the top of Google search rankings. We’re looking forward to learning about the process and hearing the suggestions of Randy Clark. We are so fortunate to have the East Central Small Business Development Center as a partner; they are the ones who continue to bring these great resources to our community.”
Blogging 101 covers:
•Why blog, how often, and what about
•Blog planning and promotion
•Creating ideas, using an editorial calendar, and copy editing
This presentation involves action plans that you’ll work on during the presentation and take away to improve the consistency, subject matter, and quality of your business blog.
Randy Clark is the Director of Communications at TKO Graphix, where he blogs for TKO Graphix Brandwire Randy is passionate about social media, leadership development, and flower gardening. He is a beer geek and on weekends he can be found fronting the Rock & Roll band Under The Radar. He is the proud father of two educators has four amazing grandchildren, and a public speaking wife.