Q&A with retiring E-REP CEO Tara Barney
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In July, Tara Barney announced she would retire as CEO of the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership in January. In September, Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke was selected to lead the economic development group following his departure from public office next month.
Before E-REP, Barney was president and CEO of the Southwest Indiana Chamber of Commerce from 2018 to 2021. She spoke with Inside INdiana Business about her work with the Evansville business community and how she plans to spend her retirement.
In 2021, the chamber merged with the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville and the Economic Development Coalition to form the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership. How did that collaboration come about?
It’s one of those great ideas that was 20 years in the making. We saw the power of it during COVID because obviously, that was right after we’d been in the COVID circumstance. All three of those organizations had been deeply integrated in serving our constituencies in a different manner than we had before because COVID demanded it. We found in doing so that we had a lot of capacity to work effectively together.
We were working on a lot of things that were highly aligned, and it just gave us clarity of purpose and it let us make the argument to our constituencies in a fashion that we never could have before. It set us up to really think forward about how we could be a better value proposition and impact entity for the region.
What’s changed in the Evansville area since E-REP was formed, and what’s stayed the same?
The most apparent change, and one that gets talked about elsewhere, including Indianapolis, is we are more comfortable and knowledgeable about working as a region and wear that with a little bit of pride. We’re moving away from the traditional rural vs. urban, and we understand the power of the entire region and the labor shed that’s serving our businesses and our communities.
Our assets as a region and our challenges as a region haven’t changed that much in two years since the merger. We believe, our board believes and many of our stakeholders believe that we’re far better equipped to take advantage of our opportunities and to work through some of the challenges we have.
We’ve got a phenomenal new [I-69] bridge being built [over the Ohio River], and how we’re ready to take full advantage of that as it comes online is an opportunity that none of the predecessor organizations could have been impactful in setting our region up for that potential. E-REP is far better able to do that sort of thing on behalf of the region.
What are you most proud of during your time with E-REP and the business community?
I’m very proud of the governance we’ve built. The trust that we are building. I would never say it’s complete with our many stakeholders because our stakeholder set changed. Each of our predecessors’ organizations had their group of stakeholders.
We are far beyond just having grudging consent. We are now seen as being trusted in some fashion by our public sector partners, our private sector partners, our members and our stakeholders. Many of those groups overlap, but they all have their separate needs and interests.
I’ve worked in six markets in my career. This business community reflects an understanding of the culture and the importance of our citizens’ needs in a fashion that is much stronger than any of the other business associations that I’ve led. As a group, they have put priority on understanding and addressing poverty and mental health challenges and getting their heads around the impacts of COVID. That’s not historically an area that business associations lead in.
For every region in Indiana, we’ve got to play to the value of every individual in our markets to set ourselves up for success. That’s a hallmark of the work that both the chamber and now E-REP do. It’s more reflective of the fact that we are an association of businesses that think together collectively on behalf of the region.
What challenges have you seen during your time with E-REP?
We are careful to not boast. We are very humble, and we are satisfied with our lifestyle to the extent that we don’t look far afield as often as I wish we did. We’re doing better at that.
We are now very deliberate in looking at best practices in other markets and not trying to reinvent the wheel. We’re very deliberate about understanding that there are other markets in the Midwest and in the center of this country that we can learn a lot from because we’re all facing and working in the same global economy. That’s been an area that’s required some attention, and it’s getting that attention.
We are now recognizing that we’re not going to compete globally unless we cast our eyesight a lot higher up and look at what that means to be in the global market.
What can you tell me about upcoming developments in the Evansville region?
The most exciting first-of-the-year initiative is we’re going to have a first blush at a strategy for our relationship with the Ohio River that spans 50 miles. It’s not just a little plan. It’s a regional look at the Ohio River and southern Indiana from the Illinois line clear over to the eastern line of Warrick County. That’s going to set us up for a vastly bolder conversation on quality of place opportunities and a very clear understanding of business and development opportunities.
One of the lines of sight we have is the timeline for this I-69 bridge because when it opens, we’ve got to be ready as a region to capture opportunity from that. That plan is going to come out early next year, and it’s going to be very exciting.
I’m hopeful that we will be able to still get a project that we’ve been working on for a number of years now at 5th and Main and figure out the financing on that one. We’re very close. It’s a hard one. Inflation hasn’t helped, but I’d love to see that get more clear by the end of the year, but I’m cautiously optimistic.
We’ve got an exciting upcoming year in January. We’ll have a new mayor for the region, and we’ll have a new executive in this space, both of whom know this region very well. That’s going to be a really exciting time for the Evansville region.
How do you feel about the direction of E-REP with Lloyd Winnecke in charge?
I couldn’t think of somebody better to step into this role. Lloyd and I worked closely for the entire time I’ve been in town, so he knows not just the staff, but he knows the board. He served on the board, and he knows the culture of this organization and how it’s set up to be deliberately forward-looking.
He will need very little coaching from me, but I will certainly be available at his convenience as we make the transition. I couldn’t have imagined a better successor for the work I love doing here. I love my time in this community, and I’m going to be an enthusiastic volunteer.
What advice do you have for your successor?
My advice to him, and it’s nothing new, but E-REP has built an extraordinary staff, and it’s full of bright professionals who are really knowledgeable in their own disciplines and are great colleagues working together. My advice is going to be to let this team brief him and set him up for whatever ways he’s going to choose to put his mark on this work, and he certainly will.
You were recognized as an Indiana 250 honoree this year by IBJ Media. How did it feel when you received the news?
It was a huge honor. I am not a born and bred Hoosier. I joke because I was born in that state to the east, and I’ve literally worked all the way around Indiana. And Indiana’s beat me out on dozens and dozens of economic development deals over the course of my career. So it’s very cool to finally get to work in Indiana and to be part of the success story.
It was a huge honor, and I hope it’s reflective of the fact that southwest Indiana is doing all we can to be a very relevant part of Indiana’s future.
What are your retirement plans?
I’m going to be a good volunteer to Lloyd and E-REP for a bit. There are some boards and initiatives that I’m very interested in. I just had a new grandchild who’s got a little time on my radar.
After I take a few months to breathe, I’ll likely do a little consulting. I’m very interested in how chambers, economic development and other organizations don’t just merge for the sake of merging but to find ways to better platform their governance for the future.
That’s just a very interesting trend that’s happening around the country right now, not just because it’s fun to rearrange the deck chairs, but because a lot more power is coming from having a strong understanding of the unique role of the public and the private sector and how they fit together. I find that fascinating. So I’ll probably consult a little in that space, but otherwise, I’m going to get in a kayak and look at a lot of birds.