Tag: duke energy

Radius board recommits to regional success with strategic budget increases, officer elections

Posted on by Radius Indiana

BEDFORD, Ind. (Dec. 13, 2021) – At its final meeting of the year, Radius Indiana’s Board of Directors announced a substantial budget increase that will support a number of strategic initiatives in 2022, including a large commitment to its region-wide tourism campaign. 

The board ratified its 2022 budget during its meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 8. The budget outlines opportunities for the organization and the region to maximize new initiatives that have been identified in the Indiana Uplands READI grant plan. 

These activities include increased tourism funding to market Discover Southern Indiana, support for WestGate@Crane’s microelectronics-related growth, a second cohort of Recast Cities, the Monon South rails-to-trails development, and expansion of the Choose Southern Indiana population attraction incentive program.

“We seek to support our region’s communities in as many READI project opportunities as possible,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana. “We are excited about the programs and projects that the Indiana Uplands READI plan has proposed and are ready to help bring those ideas to fruition in our region.”

The adopted budget would establish a multi-year initiative to support the implementation of the READI plan in the region. It would allow Radius to become a leader or partner in a handful of initiatives which align with the board’s strategic plan for Radius.

The budget also dramatically bolsters the Discover Southern Indiana regional tourism marketing budget, establishing the strongest regional tourism marketing initiative in the state. Misty Weisensteiner, former Executive Director of the Office of Tourism Development for the State of Indiana, is the chief operating officer of Discover Southern Indiana.

During the meeting, the board also re-elected former Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman to serve as chair of the board and approved the election of a new board member. Adam Gross, executive director for Career Coaching and Employer Connections for Ivy Tech – Bloomington, was elected to a four-year term. 

Additional 2022 Radius Board officers include: 

  • Vice Chair Misty McCammack, Duke Energy; 
  • Secretary Bryant Niehoff, Daviess County Economic Development Corporation;
  • Treasurer Jamie Shinabarger, Springs Valley Bank & Trust;
  • Executive Committee members Bryan Brackemyre, Indiana Municipal Power Agency; and John Wilkes, mayor of Linton.

“The year-end meeting is a great way to bring together community stakeholders and reflect on the economic successes of the eight-county region,” said McCammack. “Radius is in a good position to leverage additional resources in the year ahead. I’m excited to see how these programs will continue to drive business growth and investment in the communities and improve the overall quality of life within the region.”

Jennie Vaughan, chancellor of Ivy Tech’s Bloomington campus, was recognized as a retiring board member and was honored with a proclamation for her service on the board.

Vaughan contributed years of leadership to the Radius Indiana region, offering advice to bolster economic development efforts that was specifically related to education and workforce development topics. 

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve on the Radius Board of Directors,” said Vaughan. “As my service comes to an end, Ivy Tech-Bloomington will continue to be represented on the board. The Radius leadership and board members are working every day for the betterment of the region and I wish them nothing but success for their communities.”

Radius will hold its annual stakeholder luncheon in May 2022. More details will be available in the coming months.

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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.

Duke Energy Foundation Grant Bolsters Regional Workforce Programs

Posted on by Radius Indiana

BEDFORD, Ind. (June 8, 2020) — Radius Indiana received a $20,000 Duke Energy Foundation Grant, which will help support workforce development programs in the Radius region from new training opportunities to talent attraction.

Workforce/Talent Attraction and Retention is part of the strategic plan that Radius developed in 2018. Since that time, Radius has created several new workforce programs, many of which are a first for the region’s rural communities.

“With the financial assistance from the Duke Energy Foundation, Radius Indiana and our partners will be able to provide more programs for targeted populations, especially veterans, the construction trades and the justice-involved in the region, which are underserved and important to our workforce,” said Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “We are grateful to work with Duke and thank them for the generous grant that will help us bring new opportunities to our region and continue to be a resource to those who live and work here.”

Duke Energy is a constant supporter of economic development organizations and works closely with the communities it serves to understand the needs of businesses and community organizations. In addition to workforce development grants, the Duke Energy Foundation supports multiple economic development initiatives often to the benefit of rural counties like those in the Radius region.

“This grant is about helping Radius fill the skill gaps in our region’s workforce,” said Kurt Phegley, Duke Energy community relations manager for southwest Indiana. “The needs span a spectrum from advanced manufacturing to cybersecurity to construction trades. A well-trained workforce makes us competitive when it comes to attracting and retaining industry.”

Radius hopes to build the region’s workforce in both established and emerging industry sectors that are important to the regional economy. 

Advanced manufacturing is the region’s largest industry sector and provides jobs to 23 percent of the regional workforce. Radius is working with Vincennes University to implement the Catapult workforce training program at the Jasper Campus, which will upskill workers for jobs in manufacturing. In addition, Radius is working with local community corrections departments to use Catapult to train the justice-involved population of inmates released from county jails.

Construction is a much needed service that is struggling to meet local demand, in part because of a shortage of workers trained in the trades. Radius is partnering with the Indiana Construction Roundtable Foundation on the “Build Yourself” Training Program, which is equivalent to the first year of traditional apprenticeship training. Radius is the first rural region to try the program, which is also applicable to help the justice-involved population as well as those job seekers who need training to secure a job within the industry.

Cybersecurity is an emerging anchor industry for the region, due in part to the workforce needs of Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, where nearly 600 people are employed in cybersecurity and is also a growing need within many industries in the private sector. Radius is working with Eleven Fifty Academy (EFA), a non-profit bootcamp training program to establish Cybersecurity courses at WestGate Academy. Radius is also partnering with Ivy Tech to install a cybersecurity lab in Bedford. Through a national digital campaign, Radius is working to recruit veterans who could take advantage of the cybersecurity training programs and also fill myriad positions within the defense industry in the region.

For more information about any of the workforce training opportunities visit: radiusindiana.com.

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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 Facilitates Duke Energy Grants for Small Business Relief

Posted on by Radius Indiana

BEDFORD, Ind. (May 18, 2020) – Radius Indiana received $20,000 in Duke Energy Foundation grants this week, which are designated for small business assistance in four of the economic development group’s eight counties.The award is part of $200,000 in Duke Energy Foundation grants given to Indiana economic development organizations across the state offering crisis relief to small businesses.

Recipients include Crawford, Greene, Martin and Orange, which will each receive $5,000. Each county’s local economic development organization will then determine which local small businesses will receive assistance through an application process and needs assessment.

“We are grateful for companies like Duke Energy that are helping small businesses during this very uncertain time,” said Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “Part of our mission here at Radius is to support businesses in our region; and right now we are especially concerned about the wellbeing of our established, small businesses, and we will continue to look for ways to help ensure that they can sustain operations.”

Two additional Radius counties, Lawrence and Washington, have also been selected as direct recipients of Duke Energy grants. The local economic development organizations in those counties were also awarded $5,000, and will identify Duke Energy business customers in need of the funds.

“These are challenging times, and the COVID-19 crisis has been particularly difficult for small companies,” said Duke Energy Indiana President Stan Pinegar. “These grants will support those businesses that are the backbone of the Hoosier communities we serve statewide.

In April, Radius worked with Crawford and Greene counties to set up local, Rapid Relief Funds to aid small businesses. The dollar-for-dollar match program provided small, low-interest loans ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 to help businesses address immediate needs and help offset losses caused by COVID-19.

Small businesses in the region in need of assistance should contact their local economic development office. Businesses can also visit   radiusindiana.com/resources/#covid-19 for information on additional assistance programs and COVID-19 information.

For more information about Duke Energy grants visit news.duke-energy.com/releases.

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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.