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West Central Indiana Partnership outlines regional plan, talent and marketing programs to Vigo County commissioners
Summary
The West Central Indiana Partnership presented a regional plan and programs — including an intern experience, leadership pipeline, a regional census and support for a Fowler Park disc-golf grant — seeking county collaboration and local participation.
The West Central Indiana Partnership briefed the Vigo County Commissioners on a regional plan and a slate of programs intended to strengthen collaboration, workforce pipelines and regional marketing across five contiguous counties.
Josh Alsup, vice president of regional engagement for the West Central Indiana Partnership, told the board the group is staffed, aligned with the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, and modeled on similar regional partnerships in Indiana. "We wake up every single day thinking about regionalism and how we can advance West Central Indiana," Alsup said.
Alsup said the partnership's goals include strengthening regional collaboration, expanding housing availability and affordability, investing in regional infrastructure, promoting economic development and workforce growth, and enhancing quality of life. The partnership also described several implementation programs: a West Central Indiana Talent Network, an intern-experience program for college interns, a civic-engagement series, and a reimagined leadership academy built on prior regional leadership programs.
Jonathan Eilbruck, director of strategic programming, described the intern experience as "providing community connection beyond the work experience." The program will run six events in June and July; last year 31 interns participated and the partnership opened registration on April 7 with a May 9 closing date, seeking 30–50 participants this year.
Jess Crawford, vice president of strategic marketing, described marketing initiatives and a concrete example of regional support: the partnership provided a letter of support for a grant application from Vigo County Parks and Recreation for a championship-level disc-golf course at Fowler Park. Alsup said the group coordinated stakeholder sign-ons and that the applicants received the Indiana Destination Development Corporation grant.
The partnership also outlined a regional census day planned for April 24 aimed at collecting at least 250 responses per county across the five-county region to measure community sentiment and track changes over time.
Commissioners praised the partnership's work and noted the local Chamber's role and the casino-resort-backed funding that supports the regional position. The board accepted the presentation; there were no formal votes tied to the briefing.
