At first, I thought money invested into revitalizing main streets rather than industrial development was like throwing money down a rat hole. But now many people are moving out of the big cities to escape the rat race. They want to move to small, charming towns that offer a sense of place. |
The key to success is in the minds of the people. How do they see the problems and the opportunities in a town. |
There are always going to be those 'citizens against virtually everything' (CAVEs). But small towns must take chances to grow. |
This is the essence of your town. It's the great strength or attribute that distinguishes it from other small towns. |
Those towns show vitality and maintain a diversity of businesses. There were more examples of these type of communities in Indiana than any other state. |
Traditionally, we have looked at economic development as job attraction and job retention. |
We are going to develop a new model in economic development. We are going to be planting gardens of entrepreneurs in our communities. |