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.

BEDFORD, Ind. (Aug. 28, 2019) – Radius Indiana announced today the dates for its fourth annual economic development conference for community leaders coming to the French Lick Resort April 14-16, 2020.

Attendees at the two-and-a-half day Radius Indiana Economic Development for Community Leadership Program will participate in educational sessions on relevant topics such as real estate development, strategic planning, business retention and attraction, workforce, marketing, business finance and incentives, and community development.

“Community leaders in Indiana continue to want to hear about practical ways to support their local economies,” said Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “Our course really begins to explain how to be effective in the Indiana system of economic development.”

Speakers from state agencies, site selection companies, secondary education institutions, and financial firms will share best practices and offer perspectives on local and regional economic strategies. Topics are focused on the day-to-day functions of economic development and are designed to help leaders keep the needs of economic development at the forefront of their efforts as they return to their daily responsibilities.

“Last year’s economic development course really opened my eyes regarding how many municipal decisions and policies, regardless of how seemingly insignificant, impact the municipality’s economic development,” said Marvin Abshire, Greene County Attorney.

Some scholarships will be available from local partners in the program. Local Economic Development Organizations and those interested in attending are encouraged to contact the Radius Indiana office to learn more about scholarship opportunities in their area. Registration for the course will be $450 for Radius region officials and $500 for other local officials, covering the cost of all classes, materials and meals.

Registration for the Radius Indiana Economic Development for Community Leadership Program will open Monday, January 6, 2020. Registration information will be available on the Radius Indiana website.

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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. (Aug. 21, 2019) — Radius Indiana continues to strengthen its working relationship with Japanese governmental and business professionals, with a site selector trip, the preparation for additional regional leaders to travel to Japan, and the celebration of the 2019 Japan-America Society of Indiana (JASI) Gala.

A Radius team of elected officials and local economic development leaders traveled to Chicago in July to meet with the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO). This was Radius’s second site selector trip to Chicago in recent months and part of the organization’s continuing economic development outreach program, which included a trip to Japan last fall.

Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle was joined by Mayor Joe Wellman of Washington, Mayor John Wilkes of Linton, Zach Brown of Orange County and Bryant Niehoff of Daviess County. Conversations focused on workforce attraction, development, training and retention activities.

“Like all companies across the nation, Japanese firms are facing manpower shortages and are seeking new programs and ways to address those shortages,” said Quyle. “Our Radius delegation provided several examples of new initiatives that are being explored among our businesses, schools, and partners such as Regional Opportunity Initiatives.”

The JETRO technical staff then briefed the Radius group on demographic trends in Japan that will impact the flow of business investment from Japan into the U.S.

The Radius team also met with Consul General of Japan Naoki Ito and members of his staff, with similar discussions about the strength of Japanese companies in his 10-state Midwest region. Consul General Ito has previously visited the Radius region in early 2018 to speak to local government and business leaders, and to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony of M&C Tech in Washington–the first Japanese manufacturer in the region.

Being able to build these kinds of working relationships is helping our communities in so many ways,” said Mayor Wilkes. “Linton is honored to be a part of these valuable networking opportunities for growth. The one-on-one relationships I’ve built with distinguished leaders and the knowledge I’ve gained for my community is how successful change comes about. I intend to continue building our Japan-Indiana network.”

On August 7, Quyle and local economic development leaders from Greene, Orange, Lawrence, Crawford, and Daviess Counties traveled to Indianapolis to attend the Japan America Society of Indiana’s 2019 Annual Gala. The gala serves as JASI’s most visible cultural event of the year and supports its efforts to promote friendship, exchange, and cooperation between the United States and Japan.

Governor Eric Holcomb and Consul General Ito were both in attendance at the gala. Guests at the reception heard a keynote presentation from Dr. William Tsutsui, President and Professor of History at Hendrix College, Arkansas, specializing in economic, environmental, and cultural history of Japan.

“JASI is an invaluable partner and has helped Radius build a strong network in which we can cultivate economic development opportunities,” said Quyle. “The gala is a great event that we look forward to each year, and will continue to foster our growing relationship with JASI.”

Radius is also pleased to announce that six regional leaders are working to secure scholarships through the office of the Japanese Consulate that will give them the opportunity to travel to Japan for economic and educational outreach. The Grassroots Exchange Network-Japan Invitation Program (GEN-J) is sponsored by the Japan Foundation and affords participants an all-expenses-paid, weeklong trip to meet with Japanese businesses and cultivate relationships to encourage foreign investment in 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 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. (Aug. 15, 2019) — Radius Indiana welcomes Keeley Stingel as the vice president of Talent Attraction and Retention. The newly created position supports the organization’s increased efforts in workforce development, which is a key focus of its strategic plan enacted this year.

Stingel is set to begin at Radius Sept. 9 and brings with her nearly a decade of experience in community and economic development. She will help administer programs that promote the in-migration of new workers to the region, as well as assist with programs that support the improvement of skills and entrepreneurship among existing residents. 

In this position, Stingel will support Radius Indiana’s ongoing projects of developing and piloting veterans’ recruitment initiatives and local/regional re-entry programs, as well as supporting workforce training and upskilling programs in the region to improve employment productivity among employers. Stingel will coordinate Radius efforts with local economic development leaders, with area business and educational programs, and with state and federal programs. 

“I look forward to joining the Radius team. The organization continues to be able and willing to adapt to meet the needs of the region. I’ve enjoyed working with them in former roles and most recently as a member of the Washington County Council,” said Stingel. “I believe that rural Indiana is poised for growth and transformation. In my new role, I will work to optimize and retain existing talent while attracting new talent to ensure that the Radius region will be a sustainable and prosperous place to live and do business.”

Before joining Radius, Stingel served as the Executive Director of Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana. As the director, she worked to build consensus among community leaders and generate community buy-in in the effort to address homelessness in Southern Indiana. She helped expand the organization’s white flag shelter program, which served 70 people during the 2018-2019 winter season with a total of 1,500 visits since the start of the program. Stingel has also worked with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. 

“Radius Indiana is excited to add Keeley to our team,” said Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle. “As I’ve known Keeley over the years and followed her career, I’ve been impressed with her proactive, thoughtful approach to topics, and I’ve been gratified that she is a talented member of her generation who has remained in rural southern Indiana and dedicated her passion to improving lives and communities here.  Knowing that she is joining the Radius team gives me a rewarding sense of satisfaction that our strategic plan will continue to change the way we approach our role in southern Indiana.”

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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.

 

Reposted from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 14, 2019) – Today, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, in partnership with the Purdue Center for Regional Development/Extension Community Development, announced six sites will receive technical assistance and capacity-building support as part of the Rural Opportunity Zone Initiative.

“The goal with this initiative is to equip the leadership in rural opportunity zones with necessary materials to attract capital to their designated areas,” said Jodi Golden, Executive Director of OCRA. “By maximizing their potential, these sites will be positioned to be competitive with opportunity zones from around the nation.”

The purpose of this initiative is to build the capacity of Opportunity Zones in rural Indiana to attract private, public and/or philanthropic sector investments that support locally-driven priorities. This program is funded by a Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the Indiana U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. The selected county sites are as follows:

• Crawford;
• Daviess;
• DeKalb;
• Knox;
• Newton; and
• Switzerland.

Last year, Governor Eric Holcomb nominated 156 Indiana Opportunity Zones with the help of an advisory group from around the State. The Office of Community and Rural Affairs completed an initial assessment of the zones and determined forty-six sites are rural opportunity zones.

“We are excited to work in partnership with the Office of Community and Rural Affairs in helping local Opportunity Zone sites pursue plans that place them on a path of economic progress,” noted Bo Beaulieu, Director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development. “Our hope is that these communities will become the model of how to bring about positive changes in areas that have experienced economic distress over the past decade.”

Each site may receive support to include:

• Guidance in establishing a task force;
• Proprietary data products that profile types of properties in the area;
• Assessment of key economic drivers;
• Profile of existing businesses and companies in the zone and surrounding areas;
• Transportation infrastructure and connectivity;
• Discovering the area’s community/economic development assets;
• Suitability analysis;
• Mapping of broadband services in the zone; and more.

The goal of the Opportunity Zone initiative is to encourage long-term private capital investment in low-income urban and rural communities. The program offers long-term federal tax deferral on capital gains for investments in designated zones, with additional tax exclusion from new capital gains achieved from those investments. For more information visit, www.in.gov/ocra/2725.html

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Under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch, who also serves as the Secretary of Rural Development, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs’ (OCRA) mission is to work with local, state and national partners to provide resources and technical assistance to assist communities in shaping and achieving their vision for community and economic development. For more information, visit ocra.in.gov.

BEDFORD, Ind. (Aug. 7, 2019) – Radius Indiana released a quarterly update today to its Radius Manufacturing Index (RMI). The new index showed continued growth in the eight-county region, powered by an increase in the growth rate for manufacturing jobs, an increase in the number of manufacturing establishments and an increase in the percentage of earnings in the region attributed to manufacturing. 

RMI was developed by Radius Indiana and gives the organization an analytic tool that monitors several facets to gauge the strength of the manufacturing industry in the region, and provides cumulative information about 12 data indicators of the manufacturing sector.

This second quarter 2019 RMI update shows how the region is performing in comparison to the state of Indiana. The raw number of the RMI is 60.26 for the quarter, which represents the total scores of the 12 factors included in the index; the previous RMI was 58.65. The overall state index saw a score of 58.05, compared to a previous 59.94.

“Creating the RMI has given Radius an opportunity to have a unique look at an industry that is so important to our region,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius. “Having this tool available lets us see how the index is changing quarterly and allows us to continuously see how manufacturing affects our region.”

The Radius Manufacturing Index uses statistics from publicly available sources to provide an estimate of the state of health of the manufacturing sector in the region. The index is a backward-looking tool that reflects conditions approximately six-12 months in the past, based on the dates for some of the statistics used. Data used for this RMI update was gathered on July 31, 2019, using JobsEQ.

“The Radius Manufacturing Index provides us with a measure of the overall health of our regional economy which relies heavily on our strong manufacturing base,” said Bryant Niehoff, Executive Director of Daviess County Economic Development Corporation. “Manufacturing is certainly growing in Daviess County in the most recent part of the economic cycle.  New manufacturing firms like M&C Tech and Eagle Railcar, along with the growth of our existing manufacturers like GPC, IsoFlex Packaging, and NASCO have brought new investment, jobs, and diversification to our local manufacturing sector.”

For the state, the decline in the index appears to reflect the continuing diversification of the state’s economy with growth in non-manufacturing sectors. Manufacturing establishments in the state did increase, but by a smaller percentage than in the Radius 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 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. (June 12, 2019) — Martin County is the first local government in southern Indiana to take advantage of the new low-interest loan program from Radius Indiana. The county has secured $97,949 to improve local infrastructure.

The Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) from Radius, a program that originated through the United States Department of Agriculture, provides low-cost loans to local governments to make community and economic development capital improvements at costs that are favorable to taxpayers.

Tim Kinder, Executive Director for the Martin County Alliance and a Radius Executive Officer, brought the IRP loan program to the attention of local government leaders.

“We are appreciative that Radius offers this new program to help our local governments,” said Kinder. “It’s another great asset that this region has to offer and I look forward to hearing about how other counties benefit from the IRP.”

The Radius IRP makes loans at 3.5 percent interest rates and has lent the money to Martin County for a 10-year period. Biannual repayments have been scheduled to coincide with the county’s property tax collections to ease the county government’s cash flow.

“Martin County’s investments in the county jail and courthouse roof repairs are necessary improvements that we had to make in response to the deteriorating condition of the buildings,” said Dan Gregory, Martin County Commissioner. “Our county has limited financial capacity to make investments from reserve funds and this loan program is making it possible to get the problem fixed.”

The tax base in Martin County is constrained by state and federal ownership of a high percentage of property in the county, restricting the ability it has to make capital investments.

“The United States Department of Agriculture offers this IRP program to help rural communities across the nation. We found that Indiana has not taken the opportunity to use the IRP in the past while other states have been using it effectively for quite some time,” said Jeff Quyle, Radius President and CEO. “I am hopeful that rural communities in our region will take advantage of the favorable rates to make investments that strengthen their local communities and economies.”

Local governments such as counties, cities, towns, and redevelopment commissions interested in the program should contact the Radius office at (812) 277-9778 for more information.

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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. (May 6, 2019) — Radius Indiana is joining the U.S. Small Business Administration in celebrating National Small Business Week, an annual event to recognize the nation’s top small businesses, entrepreneurs, small business advocates and champions, and Radius is actively taking steps with new programs to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs across its eight-county territory.

This year, May 5-11 is National Small Business Week. As part of the celebration, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, they’re working to grow small businesses, create 21st-century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness.

More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. The Radius region is home to nearly 5,000 small business, making up over 90 percent of the work establishments throughout the eight-county area.

Anthony Christian, Director of Data Analysis and Development at Radius, is a certified business advisor for the Indiana Small Business Development Center. He has been holding entrepreneur/help sessions in the Radius region to offer free help and assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners who are at any stage of a business development project.

“This is a new initiative for Radius and we are excited to partner with ISBDC to connect and offer assistance to small businesses,” said Christian. “No matter where they may be in their process–from finding an attorney to copyrighting something, to getting connected to a CPA for tax help, we can offer that kind of help. These sessions allow us to work directly with the small business owners that are the big contributors to our regional economy.”

Christian worked with local economic development organizations (LEDOs) to expand the work that ISBDC is offering in the Radius region. Together, the groups organized the help sessions to support entrepreneurs. Dubois County was one of the first counties to recognize the value of bringing the service to their own community’s small businesses.

“The Radius partnership with ISBDC is a very valuable asset for the entrepreneurs in Dubois County,” said Ed Cole, President of Dubois Strong. “The service that Anthony is providing is very important and I look forward to what will come from his sessions.”

As part of the new strategic plan that Radius adopted in the fall of 2018, Support for Small Business and Entrepreneurship has become a top focus of the organization. The SWITCH Study, with collaboration from the Southern Indiana Development Commission,  is intended to help establish a network of entrepreneurial centers in this region and allow the sharing of resources throughout the network. Once completed, this study will bring together the public and private sectors by building an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs throughout the region. The study is expected to be completed this fall.

In addition, Radius will be hosting a pitch competition for high school students and adult entrepreneurs in October. The competition is meant to encourage original thinking with a business-plan focus. More details will be available in the coming months.

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

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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. (May 3, 2019) — Radius Indiana traveled to Dallas and Chicago last week to meet with site selectors and share the advantages of doing business in the Radius region. This was Radius’s first site selector trip to Dallas in several years and the organization is continuing its outreach program efforts that began in 2016.

Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle was joined by a representative from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation in Dallas to help the state agency with its outreach and visited consultants working in logistics, real estate incentives and site location work.

“We are always excited for new opportunities to meet with site selectors,” said Quyle. “Taking these trips outside of the Midwest is important as ever to spread education and awareness about our region, and we get to keep up to date with the trends that site selectors are looking for and make sure our region is following that curve.”

Later in the week, Michael Thissen, Executive Director for Crawford County Economic Development Corporation, represented the Radius Region at the Indiana Power Partnership in Chicago. The event was sponsored by the statewide regional power agencies bringing site selectors together with regional economic development organizations to learn more about site selection trends and gather the latest information on corporate strategies in expansion and location.

The two-day event included 32 attendees, with 17 experts in site selection and business location services, as well as The Indiana Economic Development Corporation and representatives from the German American Chamber of Commerce, The Italian Trade Agency, & The Japanese Exchange Trade Organization (JETRO).

“The event had great impact with a terrific concentration of expertise to build meaningful and honest relationships with those who can help us grow as a region,” said Thissen. “It was helpful for us as economic developers to listen and learn the nuances of site selection and to be better prepared in providing the needed critical information when we answer information requests.”

Radius Indiana will continue its outreach program efforts with more site selector trips in 2019, with sessions scheduled in Cleveland and Atlanta.

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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. (May 2, 2019) — Radius Indiana is continuing its support of its tourism initiative ‘Discover Southern Indiana’ by joining the State of Indiana and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development in celebrating Visit Indiana Week May 5-11.

Visit Indiana Week is an annual celebration of tourism in the state in conjunction with National Tourism Week.  Each day of the week is meant to celebrate a different aspect of tourism:

• State Parks Sunday: Free admission to the 51 DNR properties throughout the state
• Get Moving Monday: Enjoy the great outdoors, from hiking to yoga outside
• Tasty Tuesday: Treat your taste buds at a locally owned restaurant
• Wayback Wednesday: Visit one of the historic sites Indiana is home to
• Thirsty Thursday: Support the hundreds of wineries and breweries Indiana has to offer
• Family Fun Friday: Get the family involved by spending the day at your favorite Indiana spot
• Sweet Saturday: Celebrate the end of the week with your favorite dessert

Indiana State Parks Deputy Director Ginger Murphy sees this week as a great opportunity to remind Hoosiers that state parks are already open and that great things are going on year-round, not just when summer rolls around.

“Visit Indiana Week helps us connect with the communities near our state parks. Those who visit us also visit and spend money in nearby towns and helps guests know what’s available in those communities,” said Murphy. “Through State Park Sunday, when it is free for everyone to visit us, we give those who may not have been to a state park a chance to go for a hike, picnic, nature center visit, bike ride or other outdoor experience for the first time.”

‘Discover Southern Indiana’ invites you to visit their website to see what each county in the region has to offer during Visit Indiana Week.

“Tourism is such an important part of our local economy and we are honored to get to celebrate it for a week,” said Blaine Parker, Radius’ Director of Tourism and Quality of Place. “Our region has so much to offer and ‘Discover Southern Indiana’ allows us to tell our story of what is here in our backyard that we want other people to come enjoy and experience.”

‘Discover Southern Indiana’ is a region-wide tourism driver and is the first of its kind for the area and gives an identity to the opportunities the Radius region has to offer to its visitors. To learn more about ‘Discover Southern Indiana’, visit www.discoversouthernindiana.com.

In 2018, Indiana welcomed 80 million visitors, a 1.3 percent increase from 2017, according to the IOTD. The tourism industry is responsible for 5 percent of all Indiana jobs and saves Indiana residents an average of $561 in state and local taxes per household.

According to Rockport Analytics, tourism is one of the leading industries in the Radius region, accounting for $290.4 million in tourism spending and providing 3,930 jobs in 2017. With such a level of economic impact on the region, tourism serves as a large economic driver for jobs and quality of place initiatives.

IOTD aims to foster a spirit of partnership among the Office of Tourism Development, local Convention & Visitors Bureaus, attractions, and Indiana communities through innovative programs and effective initiatives that grow the statewide industry, increase economic impact, and create jobs.

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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.