Southwest Indiana economic development groups merge
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The boards of directors for the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP) and the Posey County Economic Development Partnership (PCEDP) have approved a merger of the two organizations. The groups call the unification a “natural next step” to their ongoing collaboration. “It was organic. It felt like the right time, and as more things trend in that regional way, it just made the most sense,” said Jenna Richardt, vice president of economic and community development with E-REP.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Richardt said the merger will benefit businesses in Posey County.
“From a local perspective and our local businesses, they have somewhat of a larger platform now to really lean into to understand what is happening across our region,” Richardt said. “And we work well at the state level to understand and help them to determine what can we do for them that puts them up on the state platform or even the federal platform.”
E-REP says its presence has already been felt in Posey County. The organization over the past year helped secure incentives from the city of Mt. Vernon for the redevelopment of a former K-Mart building for use by CountryMark, in addition to helping the city complete its comprehensive plan.
“We’re certain that aligning efforts and delivering economic development services under one unified organization, with one unified voice will elevate Posey County’s ability to attract business and talent,” PCEDP President Jim Alsop said in written remarks. “We are excited about the future opportunities for Posey County that connecting with E-REP can continue to provide.”
Looking forward, Richardt says E-REP has the ability to break down all of its skill sets to understand how to perform best across the region, from marketing the region, attracting and retaining businesses, and providing additional resources to existing businesses.
“It gives us the ability to really look at each business individually. What are their needs? What are their challenges, and how can we come in and come alongside them to help through some of those processes?” she said. “There has been real buy-in from public and private partners to understand that we are here to help them.”
Richardt says the organization is also continuing its Talent EVV initiative, which aims to attract and retain more talent to the region.
“Our goal is to understand how we can take population from outside our region and bring them here. Why would someone want to live here, work here, play here, and how can we make our region better, not just from an employer standpoint, but all of the fun quality of place amenities that come along with that. Our organization is trying to figure out how we can do all of those things.”
The Evansville Regional Economic Partnership officially formed in April 2021 through the merger of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville, and Southwest Indiana Chamber.
E-REP represents Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties.