Tag: becky skillman

Radius holds final board meeting of 2023, votes in new slate of officers for 2024

Posted on by Radius Indiana

BEDFORD, Ind. (Dec. 20, 2023) – Radius Indiana’s Board of Directors announced new members as well as a new set of officers at its final meeting of the year on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at the French Lick Resort.

The board also ratified its 2024 budget that outlines opportunities for the organization and the region to maximize Radius’ current programs and initiatives that it currently supports. 

These funding activities include ongoing strong support for tourism marketing through the Discover Southern Indiana brand, the development of multiple aspects of the Monon South Trail, Radius’ business retention and expansion program, the continued evolution of Choose Southern Indiana’s population attraction incentive program, and further support for Naval Support Activity Crane and the Crane Regional Defense Group.

“Radius is excited to dedicate its 2024 budget to continue to grow and support the wide array of programs we’ve developed to help expand our communities’ ecosystems throughout southern Indiana,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana. “We are looking forward to new opportunities in 2024, specifically in defense, tourism and workforce attraction.”

During the meeting, the board also elected a new slate of officers for 2024. The 2024 Radius Board officers includes: 

  • Chair Jeff Pipkin, Hoosier Energy
  • Vice Chair Bryant Niehoff, Uplands Science and Technology Foundation
  • Secretary Heather Setser, Lake Patoka Marina
  • Treasurer Brent Sternberg, German American Bank
  • Executive Committee members Shance Sizemore, Lawrence County Economic Growth Council; Sam Craig, Mayor of Bedford; and Paul Quick, Smithville.

Four Radius board members were recognized as retiring board members. Former Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, Justin Green (Mayor of Salem), Bryan Brackemyre (Indiana Municipal Power Agency), and Shanni Simmons (Vincennes University) were honored with a proclamation for their service on the board. 

Special recognition was given to former Radius CEO and current board Chair, Becky Skillman, as she retires after more than 10 years of service to the organization. Quyle thanked Skillman for her passion and dedication to the region, and noted her immeasurable impact throughout her tenure.

“It’s been a true honor and my absolute pleasure to serve on the Radius Indiana board for the past decade,” said Skillman. “I have no doubt the organization is in great hands moving forward and will continue to lead the state in groundbreaking regional economic development achievements.”

The meeting also featured guest speaker Matthew W. Finn, chief economist at 1834, a division of Old National Bank. In his role, he is responsible for the company’s economic outlook, asset allocation guidance and portfolio management. Finn provided insight into the current state of the economy, future trends and areas of opportunity, emphasizing how labor markets have entered a new and persistent reality of tightness that does not appear to be headed toward loosening in the near future.. 

Radius will hold its annual stakeholder luncheon in February 2024. More details will be available early in the new year.

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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.

Radius Indiana honors Becky Skillman at Annual Stakeholders Luncheon

Posted on by Radius Indiana

BEDFORD, Ind. (March 2, 2023) – Radius Indiana held its annual stakeholder’s luncheon Feb. 15 at the French Lick Resort. Over 130 regional stakeholders gathered as Radius discussed ways the organization is ‘Investing in Our Own’, showcasing a few of Radius’s biggest ongoing initiatives.  

Radius Indiana Board of Directors Chair Becky Skillman opened the meeting, thanking stakeholders for their continued support of the organization and commemorating her own 10 years of involvement. 

“Our region is benefitting from a great deal of positive developments and investments, and our opportunity for growth is as strong as many of us can remember in recent years,” said Skillman. “When I joined the Radius organization in 2013, I knew that we were poised for some incredible developments, and the leaders of this community did not disappoint in delivering time and time again.” 

Skillman handed the meeting over to Jeff Quyle, Radius CEO and president. Quyle recapped the organization’s eventful 2022 and the significant investments in the Radius region: READI projects such as the microelectronics project at the WestGate Technology Park and Catapult, a four-week manufacturing training program. 

Radius had the opportunity to work with its counties and communities on these initiatives and helped spur economic development progress in new ways that will help the region flourish. 

“We look forward to this event each year because of the engagement and support we receive from our partners and stakeholders,” said Quyle. “We know that investing in our own region will have lasting effects, and we are excited to see the wheels of progress turning rapidly.”

Quyle then introduced the lineup of speakers comprised of local leaders in the Radius community who are actively participating in programs offered by the organization. The featured presentations included:

  • Blaine Parker, Radius Indiana – Spark Downtown
  • Kristal Painter, Orange County Economic Development Partnership – Business Retention and Expansion
  • Christy Johnson, Radius Indiana – Choose Southern Indiana
  • Misty Weisensteiner, Radius Indiana – Discover Southern Indiana
  • Justin Green, Mayor of Salem and Dan Bortner, Indiana Department of Natural Resources – Monon South Greenway

The presenters recapped the 2022 progress of these projects and shared the next steps expected to occur over the next few years. Johnson shared that a workforce talent attraction program is launching in conjunction with Choose Southern Indiana. The program will invest in incentive payments to new employees who are hired from out-of-state by local businesses in the participating counties: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Martin, Orange, and Washington. In addition, Parker introduced the Spark Downtown Facade Loan Program. Radius recently secured funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for businesses in participating Spark Downtown communities to help them make improvements to almost any facade project that is visible from the road. 

“Spark Downtown’s purpose is to help restore and revitalize our downtowns, which are the heart and soul of our communities,” said Parker. “We recognized during the past year that our communities often lack the necessary funds to take on some of the projects that they would like to complete to help revitalize those blighted areas of their downtown areas, and this loan program is intended to help move more projects forward.”

As Mayor Greene and Bortner finished comments on the Monon South Greenway and Next Level Trails, Bortner had the opportunity to introduce a surprise for Skillman to honor her 10 years of service to Radius: a congratulations video from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.

“Whether she was serving in elected offices or at the helm of Radius as CEO or on the board where she continues to lead, Becky’s authenticity, vision, and collaborative approach has been a constant throughout her entire accomplished career”, said Holcomb. “The next decades look bright because of the trails she’s blazed.”

Radius thanks Skillman for her 10 years of commitment, dedication, and passion to the region and the state of Indiana, and looks forward to her continuous leadership for years to come. 

In a post-event survey, stakeholder luncheon attendees noted quality-of-life as the most important investment for Radius Indiana, followed closely by downtown development and population attraction. Radius will continue to look for avenues to support these initiatives in its region.

If you would like to attend Radius Indiana’s Stakeholder Meeting next year or learn more about the Spark Downtown Facade Loan Program, please contact the Radius office at (812) 277-9778.

Radius Indiana Chairman of the Board Becky Skillman welcomes the crowd at the Feb. 15 stakeholders luncheon.

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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. It 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.