BEDFORD, Ind. (Dec. 23, 2019) — Radius Indiana economic development leaders took information and insights about their southern Indiana region north for a day as hosts of an educational session in Indianapolis with site selectors. The session is the last of 2019 and part of Radius’s continued outreach program to raise awareness about the business strengths and opportunities in the eight-county region.

Radius President Jeff Quyle, other Radius staff members, utility partners and five economic development leaders from Daviess, Greene, Lawrence, Orange and Washington counties joined Quyle to discuss the latest news about the regional economy.

“Networking is an important part of my job and it’s great to have opportunities like this to meet new people and create new connections,” said Orange County Economic Development Partnership Executive Director Zach Brown. “Whether it’s learning about a new program going on in a community or getting to hear a new perspective from a site selector, I always get valuable information to take back to the job.”

The leaders from southern Indiana gave informative presentations to business advisors to showcase their communities, as well as the demographics and the quality of the workforce that powers the existing businesses in the eight counties. Radius also showcased a number of new workforce training, upskilling and attraction initiatives that are emerging.

“Site selector events with Radius allow me to stay up to date with an Indiana region that I don’t get to physically visit,” said Resource Vice President of Incentives and Location Advisors Brittany Mann. “It’s always nice to hear about ongoing projects and learning that the counties are putting resources into quality of life and workforce development- both areas that come up in my field constantly.”

This is the fourth annual Indianapolis site selector event and is the latest in a series of regional and national visits Radius Indiana has facilitated on behalf of the eight-county region since starting this program in 2016. The outreach efforts will continue into 2020, with sessions scheduled in Columbus, Chicago, Cleveland, Louisville and Nashville.

“Some of the most important connections we can make are with our neighbors,” Quyle said. “We will continue spreading awareness of the ongoing initiatives and programs in our region and being able to showcase what we are doing has proven to be beneficial for our counties. We are grateful for the site selectors in Indianapolis who continue to work with us to help us keep growing our region.”  

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of the region to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

Bedford, Ind. (Dec. 13, 2019) — Radius Indiana is proud to announce the winners of this year’s final pitch competition held at WestGate Academy Dec. 6. The contest drew participants from multiple Radius Indiana counties as well as entrepreneurs from across the state.

Winners of the High School Competition:

• First Place | Peyton Davis of Greene County, Crane Connect
• Second Place | Michael Claycamp of Jackson County, Aquapon
• Third Place | Lara Santiago of Daviess County, Lion’sMane

Winners of the Adult Competition:

• First Place | Aaron Schnur of Vanderburgh County, Endless Eyewear
• Second Place | Nickey Ramsey of Tippecanoe County, Junobie
• Third Place | Geng Wang of Monroe County, Civic Champs

Participants were given three minutes to present startup ideas, products or business plans and then received useful feedback and advice from a panel of judges. Winners of the student and adult competitions each received a check for $1,000 for first place, $600 for second and $400 for third.

“I think the pitch competition was a great way to get students and the community to be alert about problems in our area and then come up with creative ways to solve them. For students especially, it’s a great way to learn business skills, as well as crucial general skills that they’ll be using later in life,” said Davis, winner of the high school competition with his pitch for Crane Connect, an easy-to-use website that creates connections between contractors and highly qualified employees. 

Schnur, who won the adult competition to launch the website for his company, Endless Eyewear, a rental subscription for designer eyewear said, “This experience and prize money will be a big help in launching Endless Eyewear early in 2020. It will go toward hiring the expertise to finish the website and purchase initial inventory. In addition, the experience and feedback from the judges and other participants is invaluable as I meet with investors and fine-tune my business plan.”

The judges for the adult competition were Landon Young from Elevate Ventures, Steve Bryant from Ivy Tech and Sawyer Sparks from Soy-Yer Dough; the high school competition was judged by Joyce Poling from Ivy Tech, Megan Cox from Genie Supply and Terri Brown from the Small Business Development Center. Each judge came into the competition with previous pitch competition judging experience.

“I want to thank all of our participants and judges for making our pitch competition a success. We are encouraged by the range of ideas and interest from within our region as well as from other areas of the state,” said Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “We know that cultivating new business ideas and supporting entrepreneurs is vitally important to strengthening our region and small business growth.”

Based on the interest and participation in this year’s events, Radius Indiana plans to host additional competitions in 2020.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

French Lick, Ind. (Dec. 3, 2019) — Radius Indiana held the region’s first economic development course for elected officials today at the French Lick Resort Meeting and Event Center. Nearly 50 incumbent and newly elected officials from all eight Radius region counties, as well as representatives from Clark, Floyd, Knox, Monroe, Morgan, Owen and Vanderburgh, participated in the inaugural event.

Radius created the intensive, one-day seminar, which specifically targets the needs of elected officials, as an extension of its annual Economic Development for Community Leaders Program. 

Experts from across the state provided attendees insight and strategies in areas such as: Site Development with Chelsey Manns, Manns Consulting; Workforce with Jim Plump, Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation; Incentives with Matt Eckerle, Baker Tilly; Business Retention & Expansion/Marketing and Branding with Jason Hester, Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation; Entrepreneurship/Small Business Development with Courtney Zaugg, Plaka and Associates; and Organization/Board Structure/Development with Wendy Dant Chesser, One Southern Indiana.

The course is intended to strengthen leadership and collaboration in area counties, cities and towns, and aligns with Radius Indiana’s strategic focus to serve as an educational leader for economic development.

“Participation in this new program has exceeded our expectations, and confirmed the need for this type of educational opportunity; we have elected officials from every corner of our region and also several officials from neighboring counties,” said Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “A strong working relationship between those in office and economic development professionals is essential, and I believe this course can help us all work toward a shared goal of building and sustaining our communities.”

Radius Indiana’s regional utility partners, Vectren, Smithville Fiber, Indiana Municipal Power Agency, Duke Energy and Hoosier Energy, co-sponsored the course and hosted a panel discussion during the lunch hour. Thanks to these partners’ generous support, Radius was able to offer the program free of charge.

City of Washington Mayor-elect Dave Rhoads was among the attendees and said economic development should be a top priority for those elected to serve, “Today many of the speakers touched on how important it is for our city government, county officials and economic developers to work together. We know that attracting new businesses and growing jobs is a very competitive process, and I look forward to taking the new information that I learned today to help us showcase all that Washington and our entire region has to offer.”

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

Radius Indiana creates educational opportunity to strengthen 

regional leadership and collaboration.

BEDFORD, Ind. (Nov. 12, 2019) — Radius Indiana hosts a free, region-wide economic development course for elected officials Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the French Lick Resort Meeting and Event Center. The course is designed for both incumbent and newly elected officials.

Radius created the intensive, one-day seminar, which will specifically target the needs of elected officials, as an extension of its annual Economic Development for Community Leaders Program. 

Experts from across the state will provide attendees insight and strategies in areas such as: 

• Site Development with Chelsey Manns, Manns Consulting;
• Workforce with Jim Plump, Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation;
• Incentives with Matt Eckerle, Baker Tilly;
• Business Retention & Expansion with Jason Hester, Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation;
• Marketing and Branding with Jason Hester;
• Entrepreneurship/Small Business Development with Courtney Zaugg, Plaka and Associates; and
• Organization/Board Structure/Development with Wendy Chesser, One Southern Indiana.

Question and answer sessions will take place during both the morning and afternoon to allow participants the opportunity to dive deeper into the course’s focus areas. 

“When I first took office as a county commissioner, I thought I understood how to help my local economy, but I found out after I took office that the economic development field is more complex than I realized,” said Radius CEO and President Jeff Quyle. “I’d like to help other elected officials learn some of the insider perspectives so that they can increase their efficiency. All elected officials want what’s best for their community, and this seminar will help them pursue that more effectively.”

The course is made possible through the generous support of Radius Indiana’s regional utility partners, who will participate in a panel discussion during lunch, including Vectren, Smithville Fiber, Indiana Municipal Power Agency, Duke Energy and Hoosier Energy.

Among the first registrants is Jathan Wright, clerk-treasurer of Linton, “As a leader in my community, I feel it is important to take advantage of any opportunity to learn more about economic growth. We are fortunate to have Radius Indiana as a partner, who is willing to provide us with tools and information to assist with our economic development efforts. I would encourage all elected officials in the region to take advantage of this free course and return home with the knowledge to better their communities.”

Registration for the course is now open. Interested participants should visit www.radiusindiana.com to sign up for the free course.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

BEDFORD, Ind. (Nov. 8, 2019) — Registration is now open for the final round of Radius Indiana’s regional pitch competition. The competition takes place Friday, Dec. 6, 2019, at WestGate Academy, and is open to high school students and adults in the eight-county region.

The contest is an opportunity to present a startup idea, product or business plan and receive useful feedback and advice from a panel of judges, which will be comprised of business owners and community leaders from the Radius region.

Participants will be divided into student and adult categories and will receive feedback from the judges, entrepreneurial advice from experts, as well as compete for cash prizes and in-kind services. Winners of the student and adult competitions will each receive a check for $1,000 for first place, $600 for second and $400 for third.

All participants from the first round of the pitch competition are encouraged to return for the second round and new applicants will be selected to join the competition.

All new business ideas are welcome and may be at any stage in the development process, including the prototype stage. Presentation topics may come from any range of business sectors, from software development to defense sector work, or restaurant and retail industries to a new product or service. Contestants will be judged on the following:

• Problem and Solution
• Competitive Advantage
• Target Customer
• Financials
• Presentation
• Visibility
• Overall Pitch

Event registration and a guide to preparing presentations are available at www.radiusindiana.com/pitch-competitions/. The registration deadline is Nov. 29 and selected applicants will be notified by Dec. 2.

For more information contact the Radius Indiana office at 812-277-9778.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

BEDFORD, Ind. (Oct. 15, 2019) — Radius Indiana is proud to announce the winners for its first-ever regional pitch competition that was held on Friday, October 4 at the Stonegate Art and Education Center in Bedford. 

Winners of the High School Competition:

• First Place | Gracie Madison of Daviess County, Retech 
• Second Place | Lara Santiago of Daviess County, Lion’sMane

Winners of the Adult Competition:

• First Place | Hunter Hawley of Monroe County, Blueprint Stats
• Second Place | Abby Taylor of Crawford County, Backroads Market
• Third Place | Valerie Hovis of Martin County, The Flower Project

Madison won the high school competition with her pitch for a Tech Refurbishment App, an affordable way for middle-class families to acquire technology. Hawley won the adult competition to further market his company, Blueprint Stats, a service that helps high school basketball teams with statistical analysis and film breakdown.

Each participant was given three minutes to present his or her product/service. Slideshow presentations, as well as examples of already created products, were presented to the judges.

“The Radius Pitch Competition in Bedford was a great experience for me while building my business in Indiana,” said Hawley. “The importance of opportunities like these cannot be stressed enough, because aside from providing resources to local entrepreneurs, they also provide all who pitch an opportunity to refine and think critically about their venture. This award will go a long way towards getting the word out about Blueprint Stats and helping us reach our goal of making athletes, coaches, and teams better at what they do by helping them understand their own performance.”

The judges for the event were Landon Young from Elevate Ventures, Steve Bryant from Ivy Tech and Steve Hawkins from Hoosier Hills Credit Union. Each judge came into the competition with previous pitch competition judging experience.

The participants of the competition were judged on the following criteria:

• Problem and Solution | Identifies the problem their business would solve and how their product or service would provide a solution

• Competitive Advantage | Explains how their business is different and better than similar, existing products or services

• Target Customer | Identifies who would use this product or service

• Financials | Explains pricing structure for their product or service or estimated profitability of the business

• Conclusion | Explains how they would use the prize money for their business if they win

• Presentation | Ability to answer the judge’s questions and clearly present their product/service overall and clearly communicate the message

• Viability | Potential for success in the future for the product/service

“It was an exciting night getting to be apart of the first annual Radius Indiana Regional Pitch Competition, ” said Bryant. “The judging panel were all amazed by the depth of the business ideas and the prospects for success. We look forward to the next step of the competition and final winners as the pitch process wraps up.”

The other participants in the event included:

• Amanda Mundy of Crawford County
• Damir Cavar of Monroe County
• Ryan Miller of Dubois County
• Garrett Beatty of Lawrence County
• Michael Harkness of Orange County

The final round of the competition will be held in early December. More details and registration information will be available next month.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

BEDFORD, Ind. (Oct. 4, 2019) — Radius Indiana joins the U.S. Small Business Administration and the National Association of Manufacturers in recognizing Manufacturing Day, an annual event on the first Friday of October, which celebrates modern manufacturing and is meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. 

Manufacturing is the fifth-largest employer in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over 21,000 workers are employed in the manufacturing industry in the Radius Region and an average of 231 employees have been added each year in the past three years.

In anticipation of Manufacturing Day, Radius Indiana prepared a quarterly update today to its Radius Manufacturing Index, which gives the organization an analytic tool that monitors several facets to gauge the strength of the manufacturing industry in the region. 

The new report showed continued manufacturing growth in the eight-county region, powered by an increase in the number of manufacturing establishments and an increase in the average of earnings in the region attributed to manufacturing. The overall index did see a slight decrease, falling from 60.26 to 57.45, which can be attributed to other regional industry sectors gaining more employees at a high rate, causing the manufacturing sector to not grow as quickly as it has in the past. 

Five of the twelve indicators in the index rose during the quarter, five declined, and two remained unchanged.  Some of the declining factors represented slower comparative growth in the manufacturing economy, and are signs of continuing manufacturing growth.  The Radius region continued to add new manufacturing business establishments during the quarter, for example, but not as many as in the previous quarter.

“Our regional economy maintains a strong foundation of manufacturing,” said Radius President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “The strength in manufacturing appears to be providing the financial fuel to allow other parts of the economy to grow as well, allowing our communities to see increasing diversification of income sources.”

In recent months, several manufacturing companies located in the Radius Region announced expansions and investments that will increase the size of facilities and employment opportunities. 

Most recently, Berry Global, manufacturers of a wide variety of plastics, tape and adhesive products for a number of different industries, announced a 40,000-square-foot expansion at its Odon facility. The multi-million dollar investment will create a dozen new jobs in the region.

“Manufacturing is critical to our economy both here in Daviess County and in the Radius Region. With Berry Global’s recent announcement, we are continuing to see strong investment and growth in the manufacturing industry within our region. Berry Global’s investment is a testament to why it’s so important to celebrate this industry and inspire the next generation to explore careers in modern manufacturing,” said Bryant Niehoff, executive director of Daviess County Economic Development Corporation.

Other notable announcements include Indiana Fabric Solutions, a certified Women-owned Bedford business that produces high-quality, reusable sewn fabric packaging products; the company is undergoing a 25,000-square-foot addition that will house new equipment, materials and service capabilities for the industrial sewing company. In addition, Metal Powder Products in Campbellsburg, formerly NetShape Technologies, announced an expansion in response to continued growth in both production and employees. MPP provides custom-engineered powder metallurgy product solutions to customers in a variety of industries located around the world. 

Radius Indiana encourages manufacturers to take advantage of regional resources such as the Radius Regional Impact fund, which offers loans and grants to support job creation and business growth. The SBA offers programs that can help grow and strengthen the industry. Visit https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/in/indianapolis to learn about programs and events that are available in your area.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

BEDFORD, Ind. (Sept. 3, 2019) — Radius Indiana is hosting its first-ever multi-county pitch competition on October 4, open to high school students and adults in the eight-county region. The contest is an opportunity to present a startup idea, product and/or business plan and receive useful feedback and advice from a panel of judges, which will be comprised of business owners from the Radius region.

Participants in the competition, which will be split into two categories based on age groups, will receive feedback from the judges and entrepreneurial advice from experts, as well as compete for cash prizes and in-kind services. Cash prizes will range from $200 to $1,000 depending on the level of competition that is won.

The competition will be divided into two regions, allowing four counties to compete at each of the opening rounds of the competition. Participants will have three minutes to give their presentation. The winners of the east and west regional contests will meet head-to-head in the final round, where the ultimate winners will be announced.

The first round of the contest will be concept-focused, with the winning participants from the two first-round competitions asked to refine their idea/product for the final round.

East Region: Crawford, Lawrence, Orange, Washington Counties

October 4, 2019 | 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

StoneGate Arts and Education Center | Bedford, IN

West Region: Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Martin Counties

October 4, 2019 | 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

WestGate Academy | Odon, IN

Final Round: Top contestants from East and West Regional competitions

December 6, 2019

Time and venue TBA

Pitch competitions are an important source of new small businesses. In Indiana alone, there are over 508,000 small businesses, with 1.2 million jobs supported by those businesses. Within the South Central Indiana Small Business Development Center region, 17 new businesses were started in 2018.

“Supporting entrepreneurship, at any point in the creative process, has become a very important initiative to Radius,” said Radius Indiana CEO and President Jeff Quyle. “Our entrepreneurship and small business growth support are services that allow Radius to provide a new level of depth and assistance to the local economic developers in our eight counties.”

All new business ideas are welcomed and may be at any stage of the development process, including the prototype stage. Presentation topics may come from a wide range of business sectors, from the restaurant industry, to new software development, to defense sector work. Contestants will be judged on the following:

• Problem and Solution
• Competitive Advantage
• Target Customer
• Financials
• Presentation
• Visibility
• Overall Pitch

Information about event registration and a guide to preparing presentations for the competition are available at www.radiusindiana.com/pitch-competitions/. The registration deadline is September 20. Selected applicants for the competition will be notified by September 24.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.