Rising expectations

Partnership will ‘turn up the heat’ on marketing efforts

By DERRICK GINGERY derrickg@fwbusiness.com

The grace period is over for the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership.

Group President and CEO John Sampson knows his organization, now in its third year, is under pressure. He has investors, board members and others who expect the group to produce leads that eventually will turn into new industry in the region.

Sampson said the group was directed last month by its board of directors to “turn up the heat a little bit” and increase the partnership’s visibility. He said there still is a lot of work to do to change outsiders’ perceptions of northeast Indiana, and success is difficult to measure.

“This is hard to do under the best of circumstances,” he said. “I don’t know how much will ever be enough. We have 25 years (of economic decline in the region) to make up for. I don’t know if it will ever be enough.”

The partnership was created in late 2005 to market the region around the world to site selectors and companies looking to expand. It includes 11 counties, stretching from LaGrange and Steuben south to Wells, Grant and Wabash.

During the past two years, it has been building its infrastructure and raising money. With that now complete, partnership members want to see some more tangible results. More here.