Photos featured are award winners in the
Home In Wayne Instagram Contest.

1st Place & People’s Choice
Julie Dishman

2019
AnnualReport2nd Place
Turner Richie

3rd Place
Angel Groveswww.whywaynecounty.com

Overview
The Economic Development
Corporation (EDC) of Wayne
County enjoyed anothersuccessful year in 2019.
New opportunities were
explored, expansion plans
were developed, existing
policies were updated
and new challenges were
presented.
Robert W. Warner,
Chairperson
At the start of 2019, five goals were implemented forthe year.
• The first goal was to finalize the Home In Wayne website.
The purpose of the Home in Wayne website is to promote
the benefits of living and working in Richmond and theWayne County area. The website was fully functional
in January so this goal was achieved. Renee Doty, theManager of Community Affairs, took the lead in managing
the development of this website and making the contacts
to get the site up and running.
• Our second goal was to work with the Western Wayne
Regional Sewer District (WWRSD) to develop a solution to
the sewage treatment capacity concerns in the Western
Wayne sewer district. By the end of the year, throughmultiple meetings between Western Wayne Board
Members, EDC and Wayne County representatives, andSugar Creek employees, an agreement-in-principle had
been reached regarding the plant capacity and sewage
rates. EDC President Valerie Shaffer has been involvedin this process for over four years by attending monthly
WWRSD meetings, along with numerous other meetings
with local and state officials, to assist and promote thissolution.
• The third goal was to investigate and develop theremaining land within the existing Phase I of the Midwest
Industrial Park to try to best utilize the land remaining inthat area. The Industrial Park Committee, consisting of
the EDC staff, board members, and interested community
participants, met with consultants who provided
environmental guidance and site planning to maximize theavailable tracts of land. Sarah Mitchell was instrumental in
facillitating the process with consultants and securing

quotes from contractors for the investigative fieldwork.
• Our fourth goal was to find additional large tracts ofland that may be available so that we could have multiple
sizes of shovel ready sites ready for future businessprospects. An option was acquired on 326 acres near the
existing Midwest Industrial Park and the necessary due
diligence investigation of the land had started by year’s
end. President Valerie Shaffer was involved in handling thenegotiations to obtain this option.
• The fifth goal was to review and update the EDC by-laws
and EDIT guidelines. Sub-committees consisting of board
members and EDC staff, along with EDC attorney George
Sowers, met and completed updates on both of these
documents, bringing them in-line with current needs andrequirements.
Other highlights for the year included:• Hiring Theresa Lindsey as the Office Manager. Theresa
has been a key addition to the EDC staff.
• Working to find a developer to reinvent the Elder
Beerman building in downtown Richmond and turn it into
a focal point for the city.
• During 2019, the EDC helped facilitate 6 projects
representing $56.3 million in new, private investment in the
county. Additional information can be found elsewhere in
the annual report about those projects.
• Learning about the new federal Opportunity Zone
program and determining how we can capitalize on ourstate designated zones led us to work collaboratively with
the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce and City ofRichmond administration and a consultant to identify andpromote projects in our Opportunity Zones in Richmond.
• Joining the 21st Century Talent Region outlined inGovernor Holcomb’s Next Level agenda.
I have highlighted some of the projects that various
members of the staff have initiated and completed, and I
would like to add that I believe Valerie, Renee, Sarah, andTheresa make up a very strong economic development
team and I am certain they will continue to be valuable
contributors to the future of Wayne County.
I would like to thank the Board for allowing me to be
the Chairperson during 2019. I have thoroughly enjoyedworking with the Board and the EDC staff to help makeWayne County a better place to live and work.
Robert W. WarnerMarketing Development
Downtown

EDC Staff

Brand Consolidation
As the EDC’s priorities
have evolved so
Opportunity
Zone Activities

stories as Home in Wayne stories andhave ourinitiatives.
Overestablished
begin posting on the Home in Wayne
ThetooFederalTax projects
Cuts andandJobs
Act of 2017
Valerie Shaffer
thelastcoupleofyears,
aseconomic
websitea new economic development tool called Opportunity to reinforce the brand and drive
President
developmentchangedto beOpportunity
more traffic
to the website. 3. Position the EDC’svalerie@whywaynecounty.com
Zones.
The U.S. Treasury
designatedZones
14 years of service
consciousofqualityoflife
amenities,
theinvolvement
inthe
Hoosier
Opportunity
throughout the country to incentivize investments inneed fornew initiatives
additionlocal
andHome in Wayne initiatives so theidentified
Censustracks toarose.
betterInaddress
needs
to
the
marketingwedoto
promotecommunity
and stakeholders understandsuch as business growth, housing and infrastructure
Wayne County for business development how these initiatives support the overall
projects.
and expansions, we also began place- mission of the EDC. In addition, webased marketing. With the creation of developed a communication plan to
Hoosier Opportunity and Home in Wayne inform our audiences of the changes thatit became difficult to maintain clarity and were being made. Unfortunately, before
Renee Doty
Manager of Community
focus while demonstrating to stakeholders we could launch the consolidation plan
EDC
of
Wayne
CountyTakes
Affairs
the EDC’s involvement in these new COVID-19 took over much of our timerenee@whywaynecounty.com
Ownership of Former17Elderyears of service
initiatives. Toward the end of 2019 we and attention. Through a series of stories
Beerman
Building
began work with Ashley Sieb Marketing about how the community and businesses
Officials from the City of Richmond, Wayne County
to develop a brand consolidation strategy made changes to meet the challenges ofGovernment and business and community leaders
we would launch in 2020. Under this plan, the pandemic we were able to transition
knew when Elder Beerman’s parent company
the 156
followingrecommendations
were Brightside
Of thezones in Indiana
only two Opportunity
Zones stories to Home in Wayne.
filed for bankruptcy and the building became
made:
1. Combine
the Homein WayneandAll 2ourweredesignatedin Wayne
County,Censustracksandnew stories can now be found at
vacant the next owner of the property would
9 inBrightside
Richmond.
As the Opportunity
Zone
programwas
Facebook
pages into one
Homehomeinwayne.com.
Consolidation efforts
have a large impact on downtown Richmond’s
new,community
leaders
knew they’dwillneedmove forward in the near future.
in business
Wayne andpage.
2. Rebrand
Brightside
future. Having just completed the demolition of
Sarah Mitchellassistance in putting the best investment opportunities
of Existing
the former hospital building, Manager
electedofficials,
Business & Education
forward. The EDC worked closely with our partners
business, and community leaders
were notsarah@whywaynecounty.com
at the City of Richmond and the Wayne County Area
2 years of service
looking for a repeat. The retail building
has a large
Chamber of Commerce tofootprint making it an anchor of the downtown
engage Thomas P. Miller andarea and having it sit in disuse and deteriorate was
Associates and together we
not an option if officials could stop it. A taskforce
createdprospectus
that
Chair –aRobert
Warner(Hagerstown Town Council)
was created, headed up by Wayne County
features five development
Commissioner Ken Paust and through much hard
Vice Chair – Sayward Salazar (Mayor of the City of Richmond)
opportunities mostly geared
work the goal to gain control of the building
Treasurer– Randy
Templin (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)
towardcreating
additional
was finally realized. Since that time, the EDC has
housingor mixed
use housing
Theresa Lindsey
Secretary– Larry
Parker (Richmond Common Council) rallied local leaders to be involvedin planning
Office Manager
projects in the downtown
efforts forthe redevelopmenttheresa@whywaynecounty.comof the building.
Immediate
Past Chair– Tim Frame (Wayne County Area Chamberof Commerce)
New to our team in 2019area.
The five
projects
Engineering and architecture firm RQAW were
include the redevelopment
engaged to develop plans and associated costsof the former Elder Beerman
for redevelopment options andPartnering
to affirm that thebuilding in the 600 blockproperty was structurally sound.
The property is
Communities
of East Main Street, thealso featured in Richmond’s Opportunity Zone
Cambridge City
Roger Golden(WayneKnollenberg’s
andHittle County
buildingsCommissioners)in the 700 block
Prospectus which is actively being marketed toofSusanEast Main,
Kessler’sbuilding
on the cornerCenterville
Yaegerthe(WayneCountyCommissioners)
developers and brokers.
of East Main and 10th and the Starr Neighborhood
EconomyPete Zaleski(WayneCountyCouncil)
District.
Efforts are
currently
underway
to market theseHagerstown
opportunities
to (Cambridge
suitable developers.
Beth LeisureCity Town Council)

2019 Officers

2019 Board of Directors

Kyle Turner (Centerville Town Council)
Chad Bolser (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)(appointing body)

MiltonMt. AuburnRichmond
Wayne County

Business Retention & Expansion
In economic development, business retention andexpansion is a program designed to strengthen theconnection between companies and the community
while encouraging each business to continue to growor remain in the community. We call this BR&E forshort. BR&E is the most important function of the EDC
and we take this role very seriously. In 2019, the EDC
made 43 visits to existing Wayne County companies.
During these visits we learn about the opportunities
and challenges the businesses are facing, help provide
resources to resolve problems, gain insight on theirtalent attraction and retention efforts, and provide
pertinent information on federal, state, and local
programs. During six of these visits, we learned of
new investment opportunities that we were able tohelp secure. While each investment project resulted inlocal financial support to incentivize growth in Wayne
County versus another company location, we also
provided valuable connections and intangible support
to help facilitate the growth of these companies.

Elevator Equipment Corporation

Jobs Committed – 20
New Investment - $953,229
EDIT Grant Awarded - $15,875

In March, Elevator Equipment Company which
manufactures elevator components and systems,
purchased a building adjacent to their location at 2230
NW 12th Street in Richmond allowing the company
to expand their operations. Minor construction was
required as well as the purchase of new equipment,
including an overhead crane. The company anticipates
hiring 20 new full-time employees as a result of the
expansion. The company invested over $950,000 andreceived an EDIT grant of $15,875 to assist with costs
associated with the expansion.

Purina Animal Nutrition, LLC
Jobs Committed – 5
Jobs Retained – 80
New Investment - $9,960,000
EDIT Grant Awarded - $280,000

Periodically companies need to evaluate theirprocesses in order to remain competitive. Such was
the case for Purina Animal Nutrition who needed
to streamline some production and warehousing
processes to improve efficiencies. After the company
evaluated it’s options it made the decision to invest in
new equipment in their facility located in Richmond.
As a result, the company invested $9.96 million andcommitted to creating 5 new jobs while retaining 80.
The EDC provided a grant of $280,000 to assist withcosts associated with new machinery and training of
new and incumbent employees.

TBK America, Inc.

Jobs Committed – 5
New Investment - $2,406,000
EDIT Grant Awarded - $25,000
TBK America purchased new machinery which allowed
them to add new product lines to their facility. To
accommodate the new machinery the company also
had to make building improvements. As a result of the
project, the company committed to creating five new
full-time jobs and made an investment of $2.4 million
dollars. The EDC provided the company with an EDIT
grant of $25,000 to assist with the purchase of new
equipment, building improvements, and training of
new and incumbent employees.

SmithFoods, Inc.

Jobs Committed – 34
New Investment - $9,300,000
EDIT Grant Awarded - $93,000
SmithFoods, Inc. added a new production line toincrease the plant’s capacity to produce dairy andnon-dairy products with an extended shelf life. The
expansion included a new investment of $9.3 million
and a commitment to create 34 new full-time jobs
by 2022. The company received an EDIT grant of$93,000 to offset the cost of equipment, construction
and training for new and incumbent employees. The
company provides private label food service andcontract manufacturing services to it’s customers.
Milk is sourced from the region, including a dairy farm
located in Wayne County.

DAK Americas, LLC

Jobs Committed – 30
New Investment - $32,022,339
EDIT Grant Awarded - $140,000
The company (formerly known as Perpetual Recycling
Solutions) began operations in Richmond in 2010 and
was acquired by DAK Americas in February of 2019.
Shortly after the acquisition, DAK decided to expand
it’s facility at 1561 NW 11th Street in Richmond making
a $32 million investment and pledging to hire 30 new
full-time employees by the end of 2022. The EDC
provided an EDIT grant of $140,000 to assist with thepurchase of new equipment, building construction,and the training of new and incumbent employees.
The project is also being used to make improvements
to the facility to modernize procedures. The company
recycles waste plastic bottles into FDA food grade
flake to be used in new food and drink containers aswell as other uses.

2019 Project Summary
Total New Job Commitments – 114

Total Jobs Retained – 80

Total Annual Payroll - $8.7 million



New Investment - $56.3 million



EDIT Grants Awarded - $577,575

Ribbon Cutting on
Blue Buffalo Facility
In June Blue Buffalo cut the ribbon on their $200
million state-of-the-art facility in the Midwest
Industrial Park. Highly visible from Interstate 70 the400,000 square foot facility produces products using
natural ingredients for dogs and cats, creating 165
full-time jobs. The plant has the capacity to produce
more than 1 million pounds of dry dog and cat foodper day and features a new best-in-class design
resulting in quality matching human food standards.
Construction of the plant began in 2016. Blue Buffalo
is now part of the General Mills family of brands.

Holland Colours Americas, Inc.

Jobs Committed – 20
New Investment - $1,660,000
EDIT Grant Awarded - $23,700

Located at 1501 Progress Drive in Richmond, theproducer of colorants for the plastics industry
expanded its operations by adding a new productline. The company invested over $1.66 million andcommitted to creating 20 new full-time jobs. Joe
Bauer, President of the Americas Division said the
project is far more than product expansion. It will also
provide state-of-the-art equipment that will allow thecompany to grow in a sustainable manner. The EDC
provided an EDIT grant of $23,700 to assist the cost of
new equipment and for training of new and incumbent
employees. The company has been located in Wayne
County since 1987.

What&

Strategic Planning

we Accomplished

Where We

In 2013 the EDC began work on a strategic plan involving
the input of 375 stakeholders and set the course for theorganization for the next 5 ½ years. Ady Advantage was
hired to assist with the plan activities including oneon-one interviews, an online survey and research into
demographics, industry sectors, and current trends.
The Ady Advantage team, along with elected officials,
EDC board and staff, business, and community leaders
created a unified vision for the future and a game plan
for revitalizing Wayne County’s economy.

Economic Development Goals• Focus on growing and attracting businesses for which
Wayne County has a compelling business case.
• Help grow the skill level of the workforce.
• Engage stakeholders to help promote economic
success in the county.
Key strategies to help support our goals looked at theorganization’s capacity, program and initiatives, as wellas the county’s physical infrastructure and businessenvironment. From there, the Implementation Plan was
created and has served as the EDC’s North Star since
it’s creation. Below is a summary of activities achieved
from the Implementation Plan that align with the threemain goals identified above.

Highlights and Accomplishments
Leadership Development• The creation of the Manager of Existing Businessand Education position enabled the EDC to increase
it’s focus on existing business retention and expansion,
while also making meaningful connections between
industry and education to help bridge the skills gap.
Community Engagement and Support• We worked with partners to create initiatives andprograms such as Manufacturing Matters, an education
program created to improve the skills of the workforce;toneed GoFind a Job Friday, where high school students andcompanies connect during lunch at all five high schools;
ACT’s Certified Work Ready Community initiative, adesignation received based on testing a percentage of
our workforce to help them expand career awarenessand reduce turnover in the workplace; Hoosier
Opportunity, a website for companies in Wayne, Jay
and Randolph counties to post open positions freeof charge in an effort to boost career opportunity
awareness; and Home in Wayne, a talent attraction andretention initiative.
• We developed strategies to increase communication
to appropriate audiences through eblasts, social media,
and other communication platforms.
Business Retention and Expansion• The creation of a survey for existing businesses
allows us to consistently gather information on needs
and challenges of the companies we meet with. We
developed a packet containing information on local andstate programs and resources that can be of help tobusinesses.
• We conduct, on average, 55 business retention andexpansion visits per year. Since 2014, the EDC has worked
on 32 existing business expansion projects resulting inincreased investment in Wayne County. Most projects
resulted in the creation or retention of jobs.
New Business Attraction• We evaluated the benefits of participation in regionalorganizations. The EDC is a member of two; the East
Central Indiana Regional Partnership which is focusedon marketing the region and lead generation for new
investment projects, and the Eastern Indiana Regional
Partnership which focuses on regional planning effortsaligned with potential funding opportunities.
• Since 2014, the EDC has been able to attract six newcompanies to locate in Wayne County.

Labor and Education• We meet annually with all five public school
superintendents and high school principals to explore
ways to improve workforce development strategies.
• We work with many community partners to assist
our students with career awareness to enhance theviability that they will stay in the community and finda suitable career in which they can be successful.
Strategies we have helped to establish or have been
partners in include: Manufacturing Day, Find a Job
Fridays, WorkKeys testing, high school and community
job fairs, Hoosier Opportunity and Home in Wayne.
Physical Infrastructure• The EDC recently obtained an option to purchase
326 acres of land in Richmond for expansion of theMidwest Industrial Park to ensure the county has
adequate shovel-ready land available for development.
• We have worked to create a relationship with thereal estate community to promote industrial andcommercial properties that are privately owned
to match prospective companies with appropriate
real estate opportunities. These properties aremaintained and promoted on the EDC’s website,whywaynecounty.com.
• Joined efforts to assist the Western Wayne Regional
Sewer District with expansion of the wastewater
treatment plant to accommodate existing companies
and new investment opportunities in the Gateway
Industrial Park, located off Interstate-70 near
Cambridge City.
Quality of Life
• The EDC developed the Home in Wayne campaign
and website to promote Wayne County’s quality of life
attributes to existing and prospective new residents
with the overall goal being to attract and retain talentand to help grow the population of Wayne County,
as well as support our companies talent recruitment
efforts.
• We engaged with other organizations across thecounty to support their efforts to promote Wayne
County as a great place to live and work.

Strategic Planning – What’s
Next?
As economic priorities change, the work of
the EDC continues to evolve with it. A newplan is needed to guide the future work of
the EDC and the county to incorporate more
efforts related to quality of life and talentattraction and retention that will continue toinclude a focus on business development. It’s
important to find clarity and to focus on what
the priorities need to be over the next several
years, as well as how our resources will beallocated. New partners need to be identified
and included in the planning process as well
as existing partners who are also moving
in new directions to ensure Wayne County
continues to pursue a thriving economy
and offer an attractive quality of life in
the most collaborative way possible.
Together we can work to continue todiversify and strengthen our economy
and showcase why making your homeand locating your business in Wayne
County is a great decision.

2014-2019 Business Development Efforts

32 Existing businessexpansions
6 New businesses

Projects

38 Total

Job Commitments

1,685.5

New & Retained
Payroll$64.3 million

New Investment$356.5 million

Wayne County Personal Income Changes

2013

Annual Per Capita
Personal Income$35,203

Hourly Per Capita
Personal Income$16.92

2018$41,505$19.95

Increase Over
5 Years

18%

$3.03

Industrial Park Development
Wayne County’s industrial site inventory is an important
asset that aids in our ability to accommodate new andgrowing businesses. As industrial park lots have soldand been developed in recent years, our Industrial
Park Committee has been working to develop shovelready sites for the EDC to market. Work is underway
to ensure adequate infrastructure is in place for new
industrial development in both of our existing parks
and in areas identified for expansion. The areas

identified for expansion required several due diligencereports that help the committee understand if the landis adequate for the types of companies we hope toattract. Lastly, existing areas of the Midwest Industrial
Park also need attention to ensure that the park can
be fully developed. All of this work is initiated by thestaff, but overseen by the committee, to ensure thatthe community is prepared to offer various sizes ofshovel ready sites for sale to our targeted industries.

Wetland Mitigation

To enhance the remaining land use in Phase 1 of theMidwest Industrial Park some remediation work
is required. Due to several wetlands that exist in
this area of the park, the EDC engaged a wetlanddelineation consultant and a local surveyor todetermine if it was feasible to apply to the Indiana
Department of Environmental Management to repair
field tile to mitigate four wetlands on site. In addition,other drainage issues were identified that need to beaddressed. Once wetland mitigation and drainage
challenges are complete, the EDC will have larger,
more viable sites to market for development in phase
I of the park.

Midwest Industrial Park –Phase III Underway

The EDC entered into an agreement for an option
to purchase 326 acres of land adjacent to theMidwest Industrial Park. Site investigations,
including environmental studies and soil borings,
were completed with no significant findings anddiscussions with representatives of utility companies
were held to ensure the site could be served forindustrial customers. While more due diligence isunderway prior to being able to exercise our option
to purchase the land, the EDC has begun marketingthe site and submitting it where applicable in requests
for information from site selectors and the Indiana
Economic Development Corporation.

Workforce Development
Hoosier Opportunity on the Road

Hoosier Opportunity is a website developed tohelp employers in Jay, Randolph, and Wayne
counties connect with jobseekers from anywhere.
Employers in the three counties can post theiropen positions free of charge. Job seekers cancreate profiles, upload their resumes, and search
open positions, also free of charge. The EDC works
to promote Hoosier Opportunity in a number ofways, including attendance at local job fairs. Job
fairs not only give us a chance to connect withjob seekers and students getting ready to set
out on their career path, but companies
who might not be aware of the benefits
the website offers. We attended job
fairs for the IMPACT program at
the Boys and Girls Club as well as
the Opportunity Fair sponsored by
Gateway to Work, Reid Health andthe NAACP Chapter #3066. We set
up a booth at the City of Richmond’s
Halloween open house where over
1,000 people attended. In addition weparticipated in two high school job fairs
for 700 Wayne County seniors.

Manufacturing Day

Manufacturing Day is a day set aside nationwide to promote the benefits and the many
career opportunities offered in manufacturing.
Manufacturers host open houses, provide tours,
career workshops, and other events. As part ofManufacturing Day activities in Wayne Countynine businesses offered tours and information
sessions to area high school students. Companies
who participated in 2019 included: Contract
Industrial Tooling, Blue Buffalo, Ahaus Tool andEngineering, SugarCreek Brandworthy Food
Solutions, Osborn International, Hill’s Pet Nutrition,
Primex Plastics Corporation, Berry Global, andBelden Wire and Cable. Close to 200 high school
students participated from Richmond, Lincoln,
Northeastern, and Centerville.

Find A Job Fridays

What started out as a social media hashtag becamea real life activity. Local companies visited all five highschools on scheduled Fridays throughout the school
year setting up displays in the cafeteria and talking
to students about the benefits of working at theircompanies and the skills and education required. The
initiative provides companies a chance to promote theircareer opportunities to future employees and gives thestudents a chance to explore what type of careers they’reinterested in as well as classes they need to pursue tobe qualified. In 2019, Contract Industrial Tooling, Reid
Health, Dot Foods, Primex Plastics Corporation, Hill’s Pet
Nutrition, Berry Global, Quanex, Johns Manville, and Blue
Buffalo participated. We want to thank these companies
and all five school districts for their collaboration.

Talent Recruitment & Retention
Home in Wayne

Home in Wayne started out as a mini holiday campaign toremind friends and family when they returned home forthe winter holidays that Wayne County might be worth asecond look as a place to live and work. The initiative now
includes a robust website providing data and information
to help people either make the decision to remain or
relocate in our county. More information is added as
it becomes available, as well as new partners who
can help us in our mission to promote Wayne County.
Late in the year the EDC, along with the Wayne County
Area Chamber of Commerce and the Wayne County
Convention and Tourism Bureau, held an Instagram photo
contest. Prizes were awarded to the top three photos anda people’s choice award. Better Homes and Gardens Realty
provided the prizes and allowed us to use their Grand Hall tohold the event. The winning photos as well as many others will
be included in a view book that will be available digitally, as wellas in print, for employers to use in their talent recruitment efforts.
The materials will also be used to provide information to individuals
seeking more information about Wayne County. Find us on Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and at homeinwayne.com. Use #homeinwayne
when posting positive news about Wayne County. View the winningphotographs on the front cover of this annual report.

Hoosier Opportunity

Hoosier Opportunity is a resource for
employers and job seekers in East Central
Indiana. We market the website to employers
and job seekers alike using a combination of
traditional and social media. With an annual
marketing budget of $30,000 we’ve utilized
billboards, radio advertising and contractedwith Ball State University Athletics for a
combination of advertising including signs,
radio announcements, and social media at
designated athletic events. In addition, we’ve
participated in a number of job fairs as well asheld a gift card give-away at a Richmond HighSchool basketball game against Winchester

who is located in Randolph Country, one of our
Hoosier Opportunity partners. We’ve placed
ads in Western Wayne News as well as in theWayne County Area Chamber of Commerce’s
magazine and directory. And most recently weutilized geofencing to reach people in areas
where they might be using their cell phones.
Geofencing allows us to track usage and gaugeinteraction. And, of course, we continue to use
Hoosier Opportunity’s social media to reach job
seekers and eblasts to promote the website
to employers. Find us on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and at hoosieropportunity.com

Marketing
Brand Consolidation

As the EDC’s priorities have evolved so
too have our projects and initiatives. Overthe last couple of years, as economic
development changed to be more
conscious of quality of life amenities, theneed for new initiatives arose. In addition
to the marketing we do to promote
Wayne County for business development
and expansions, we also began placebased marketing. With the creation of
Hoosier Opportunity and Home in Wayne
it became difficult to maintain clarity andfocus while demonstrating to stakeholders
the EDC’s involvement in these new
initiatives. Toward the end of 2019 webegan work with Ashley Sieb Marketing
to develop a brand consolidation strategy
we would launch in 2020. Under this plan,
the following recommendations were
made: 1. Combine the Home in Wayne andBrightside Facebook pages into one Homein Wayne page. 2. Rebrand Brightside

EDC Staff

stories as Home in Wayne stories andbegin posting on the Home in Wayne
website to reinforce the brand and drive
traffic to the website. 3. Position the EDC’s
involvement in the Hoosier Opportunityand Home in Wayne initiatives so thecommunity and stakeholders understandhow these initiatives support the overall
mission of the EDC. In addition, wedeveloped a communication plan toinform our audiences of the changes thatwere being made. Unfortunately, before
we could launch the consolidation plan
COVID-19 took over much of our timeand attention. Through a series of stories
about how the community and businesses
made changes to meet the challenges ofthe pandemic we were able to transition
Brightside stories to Home in Wayne.
All our new stories can now be found at
homeinwayne.com. Consolidation efforts
will move forward in the near future.

Valerie Shaffer
President
valerie@whywaynecounty.com
14 years of service

Renee Doty
Manager of Community
Affairs
renee@whywaynecounty.com
17 years of service

Sarah Mitchell
Manager of Existing
Business & Education
sarah@whywaynecounty.com
2 years of service

2019 Officers
Chair – Robert Warner (Hagerstown Town Council)
Vice Chair – Sayward Salazar (Mayor of the City of Richmond)
Treasurer – Randy Templin (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)
Secretary – Larry Parker (Richmond Common Council)
Immediate Past Chair – Tim Frame (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)

Theresa Lindsey
Office Manager
theresa@whywaynecounty.com
New to our team in 20192019 Board of Directors

Partnering
Communities

Roger Golden (Wayne County Commissioners)
Susan Yaeger (Wayne County Commissioners)
Pete Zaleski (Wayne County Council)
Beth Leisure (Cambridge City Town Council)
Kyle Turner (Centerville Town Council)
Chad Bolser (Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce)(appointing body)Cambridge City
Centerville
EconomyHagerstown
MiltonMt. AuburnRichmond
Wayne County

Follow us:
whywaynecounty.com
homeinwayne.com
hoosieropportunity.com
www.linkedin.com/company/EconomicDevelopmentCorporationofWayneCountyIndiana
twitter.com/edcofwayneco
https://www.facebook.com/homeinwayne

900 North E Street, Suite 100, Richmond, Indiana 47374 | 765-983-4769