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Darke
County Economic Development Director Marc Saluk gives an update
on county development
plans to investors in the Partnering for Progress
campaign. The quarterly meeting was the third of 2011
an was held at
The Andersons Marathon Ethanol plant in Greenville.
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County Development
Efforts Ready to Expand Again
Darke County Economic Development Office…
Darke County- Investors in Darke County’s Partnering for Progress (P4P)
campaign filled The Andersons Marathon Ethanol plant conference room on
July 29 to receive the economic development report for the third
quarter of 2011. Aside from the usual report on recent
development efforts, the crowd of approximately 60 heard some new
wrinkles from Economic Development Director Marc Saluk, including the
direction of P4P itself.
“In my mind, we have completed phase one of Partnering for Progress,”
stated Saluk. “Over the last 21 months, a lot has been done to improve
future development efforts through a lot of reorganization and
restructuring. We’ve focused internally, and for good
reason. But now, I believe we are ready to look outward.”
Saluk explained that, despite success in assisting businesses such as
dry-ice manufacturer Continental Carbonic come to the county, the
partnership has not focused overtly on the attraction of
companies. Instead, he said, development efforts have focused on
improving relations with businesses already doing business within Darke
County. Saluk said that the initial strategy was a necessary one.
“About 86-percent of new job creation in a rural county comes from
existing businesses,” he said. “That shows you that you really miss the
boat if you don’t do your due diligence internally. We had to
establish that we stand ready to help in any way we can on any
reasonable project a local business may bring.”
Recent job creating projects that occurred with some assistance from
P4P includes expansions at JAFE Decorating, Integrity Ambulance, HD
Supply, and American Plastics Recycling. At the meeting, county leaders
emphasized that the campaign would not lose this internal focus but now
felt they had the experience and resources to look to entice more
outside companies to relocate to Darke County.
Saluk stated that the creation of the first stand-alone Darke County
Economic Development website (slated to be launched later in August),
establishment of strong regional partnerships in West Central Ohio, and
other recent developments all now make business attraction a more
viable pursuit. Randy Gump, VP of the Darke County CIC, stewards of the
P4P funds, explained another key factor.
“The new administration in Columbus has been very clear that they are
focused on the attraction of businesses to the state,” explained Randy
Gump. “The likely new JobsOhio structure looks like it will also have
elements that will favor this as well. As our county-wide
development campaign matures, we’ve become better positioned to
capitalize on this.”
Also at the investor meeting, attendees received an update from
Continental Carbonic Plant Manager Scott Reece. Reece discussed
the number of local partnerships the plant had formed and praised the
community for its available resources.
In a new meeting feature that started this year, the Darke County CIC
presented its Business of the Quarter award to Brilliant Beginnings
Learning Center in Versailles. The company was selected for its unique
contribution to the community since its 2010 opening alongside the new
Versailles School. The first Business-of-the-Quarter award was given in
May to Specialized Castings in Greenville.
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Shawn
Daugherty (right) of Greenville Federal Bank greets John Marchal,
Sr (left) of Marchal
& Marchal law offices before the July 29
Partnering for Progress investor meeting. The event,
held four times
each year to provide a development update to investors, was held at The
Andersons
Marathon Ethanol plant in Greenville.
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