Category News

Rushville Farm Credit Mid-America is growing! They have chosen to expand their operations and remain in Rushville. First opening in the 1970’s, today they have a team of 8 employees servicing $115 million in loan volume. Gary Coleman, Regional Vice President hosted the groundbreaking event as the formal greeter and spoke to the group about the business and the journey of selecting a new site. Several Farm Credit board members attended and offered a few words on behalf of the directors. Mayor Mike Pavey and ECDC Director John McCane also spoke. They thanked Farm Credit for the decision to stay in Rushville and for contributing to the growth of agri-business in Rush County. Pictured are staff, board members, Chamber and ECDC Directors, Mayor Pavey, Commissioner Ken Masters and other elected officials.

Rush County announces its participation in ACT’s Certified Work Ready Communities (CWRC), a national workforce development initiative designed to assist counties in developing their workforce pipeline to provide skilled workers for employers. The Rush County Economic & Community Development Corporation (ECDC) recently received word of acceptance into the initial county Academy, an executive leadership and training program that will be held October 21 -22 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The CWRC initiative provides a framework for certifying counties as “Work Ready”. ACT awards this certification when counties achieve percentage goals of individuals in the workforce earning a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) and businesses recognizing and preferring the NCRC. This standardized workforce skill credential is earned by taking and scoring a certain level on the ACT WorkKeys test. These certificates help assure employers that the people hired or advanced will have foundational skills to succeed. The certificates also act like passports, regardless of where an individual lives or moves, the certificates testify to work readiness.

“One of the first questions being asked by new companies searching for land or buildings is ‘what’s your local workforce like?’ Being able to advertise the fact that Rush County has a certain percentage of its workforce that has earned the NCRC will be a huge advantage and is a great economic development tool, said John McCane, ECDC Executive Director. “Once we learned that ACT was opening the CWRC program to individual counties, we convened a Leadership Team to discuss the opportunity and put together the application. That team consists of ECDC, County Commissioner Ken Masters, Mayor Mike Pavey, Chamber Director Sandy Fussner, Rush County School Superintendent John Williams, Assistant Superintendent Matt Vance, Ivy Tech Corporate College representative Kim Thurlow, WorkOne representatives Melissa Leaming, Jody Springer and Leslie Shaul and Industry Representative INTAT, David Reid. When we learned of our acceptance into the program, the Leadership Team designated Carolyn Bunzendahl, ECDC Client Services Manager, and Melissa Leaming from WorkOne to attend the Academy. At the Academy, they will learn more about ACT’s testing infrastructure, data gathering and reporting. They will establish performance metrics for Rush County. ACT will assist and provide technical support as we work together to achieve those goals. The monthly data that ACT will generate will provide solid evidence that our community has the skilled workforce to support economic growth.”

For more information on this initiative, call the ECDC at 765-938-3232 or go to http://workreadycommunities.org.

All motorcyclists are invited to join ABATE of Indiana on the annual motorcycle ride with Governor Mike Pence. This is a benefit ride for the Indiana National Guard Relief Fund. Motorcycles should arrive in Rushville approximately 11:00 a.m. Friday, October 4th. Everyone if invited to come to the Rushville Park (near swimming pool) on Friday to hear the Governor speak and to meet the riders. Governor Ride to Rushville

From left to right are owners Stacey, Rhonda, and Lacey Hornaday, Mayor Pavey, Clerk-Treasurer Ann Copley and ECDC Director John McCane. The new eatery is located at 514 W 2nd Street.

The City of Rushville recently assisted Twisted Sisters Bar, LLC with a Small Business Loan Program loan to assist them is opening their bar/restaurant. A loan for $25,000 will be used to help finance the cost of restaurant furniture and equipment as well as working capital. Twisted Sisters Bar is located at 514 West Second Street and plans to on creating 2 full time jobs and 3 part-time positions.

Mayor Mike Pavey said: “This business has made an investment into the community and will help create local job opportunities for the residents of Rushville. We are happy to support their efforts”.

The loan program is an Equal Opportunity Program, open it to all qualified businesses located or locating within the corporate limits of the City of Rushville. The goal of the program is to help local businesses obtain capital in an effort to create or retain jobs in the City of Rushville. John McCane explained that there are also funds available for businesses locating outside the city limits as long as the business is located in Rush County. He stated: “One of our missions at ECDC is to promote entrepreneurship and encourage young college-educated professionals to stay in or relocate to Rush County. This particular loan certainly fits that criterion. We encourage others to think about starting a new business or expanding their current business. We have many resources to assist with those endeavors”.

SBA Community Day 9-13

Training to upgrade skills in Advanced Manufacturing.
Duke Scholarships

Wanting to Start College this fall? Or maybe just take a class or two? Ivy Tech Community College Richmond admissions staff and advisors will be at Rushville Public Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday August 1, providing information on admissions requirements, financial aid, classes and degree/certificate programs and registering current students for the fall semester that starts Aug. 19. Those unable to attend and have questions should contact Stephanie Hill Alexander at 1-800-659-4562 Ext. 1216.

The Pioneer Engineers Club 65th Annual Reunion is Thursday Aug. 1st to Sunday Aug. 4th. It will be held at Caldwell Pioneer Acres, 3707 S 200 W, Rushville. Daily activities include: Parade, Working Line-Shaft Machine Shop, Entertainment, Saw-milling, Field events, Threshing, Corn Shelling, Calliope, Horsepower test, Baling, Broom making and more! They expect 25+ Large Steam Engines, 300+ Tractors, Large variety of gas engines, 100+ Flea Market vendors, and plenty of good food. This is a fun annual event for all ages. Be sure to visit www.rushvillerepublican.com or www.pioneerengineers.com for complete listings.

ECDC is working with Partners for Progress, a group of Rush County residents who are making an effort to maximize all the positives of our county and to address areas of concern as well.
One of our projects is to assess the needs of the downtown district of Rushville. Your presence is requested on July 15, 2013. We will meet at 6:00 at the Chamber of Commerce to begin this project by taking a “Dream Walk”. Empty buildings in the area bounded by Perkins, Water, the railroad, and Morgan streets will be marked. We ask that you dream of how these spaces could be used by placing a sticky note with your idea on the storefront. You will be asked to envision the ideal components of a small, rural downtown. For example, do we need a specific kind of business or service in Rushville? Are there amenities you’d like to see in the downtown area? Green space? Parking? Demolition? Don’t forget to look up – how could the second stories of existing buildings be used? What kind of downtown would you like to see, building by building, lot by lot? Come share your ideas!
Partners for Progress has been working diligently on several community projects. The information gained from this walk will be used for planning and grant-writing purposes. We appreciate your willingness to help. It will take input from everyone to make Rushville a vibrant community once again. If you cannot attend this event, please share your ideas with us by filling out a form that can be picked up and dropped off at the Rushville Republican office at 126 S. Main, or the Mayor’s Office, 133 W. First St.
Date: July 15. Rain Date: July 22. Begin walk at Chamber of Commerce, 315 N. Main, at 6:00 pm. Please call Jason Clemmons at 561-2777 with questions.

To view the Spring Edition of the Rush County ECDC Newsletter, please click on the link.

ECDCNewsletterSpring2013