Our NEI business development team, along with our regional partners at the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership and the Northwest Indiana Forum, coordinated a four-day excursion, the Indiana On Top Tour, earlier this month for a group of site consultants to familiarize them with all that northern Indiana has to offer.
We facilitated meetings with LEDOs, investors, and partners and showcased unique events and experiences across Northern Indiana. We watched a TinCaps game from the beautiful offices of Carson LLP, explored the hidden gem of LC Nature Park, visited the extraordinary Joseph Decuis Farm, and had breakfast and an informative tour of Electric Works and Amp Lab.
The rest of the trip featured a Notre Dame football game and a sunrise breakfast overlooking Lake Michigan with the Chicago Skyline in sight.
The five site consultants we hosted for the weekend were:
- Barry Albrecht, Strategic Location Services
- Paige Webster, Webster Global Site Selectors
- John David Hunt, Webster Global Site Selectors
- Sabrina Champagne, Sikich
- David Gaines, Goldstone Consulting Group
“Thank you for the privilege of participating in the fam tour. Every event was memorable, engaging, and provided time to network and connect with everyone in a more personal and relaxed manner,” Champagne said.
“Everything was fantastic. The food was great. The Notre Dame game and the tour of Electric Works were fun,” Webster said.
I want to thank the hard work of our business development team of Chase Gibson and Jackson Long, as well as our regional partners in South Bend-Elkhart and Northwest Indiana, for making this event a success.
Additionally, I want to thank our utility sponsors AEP, Duke Energy, NIPSCO, and Wabash Valley for their sponsorship and support of this event. Familiarization tours are a great opportunity to put the unique attractions we have here in Northeast Indiana on full display.
We heard great feedback throughout all parts of the trip from our guests about the high quality of the place, memorable experiences, the friendly people, and the valuable connections we helped them make. I look forward to working with our new friends to build on this trip and bring additional economic development projects to Northeast Indiana.
“I greatly appreciate the efforts of your team to produce this event. I most appreciate meeting you and your various partners throughout the region. The conversations we had were very good,” Gaines said.
We look forward to rigorous follow-up and continued interaction with these experienced site consultant specialists, and to use the great experience they had in Northeast Indiana to turn them into advocates for us when they work for a company looking for their next expansion or relocation project.
“I had an amazing time,” Hunt said. “I really enjoyed the opportunities you all provided for us to make connections with people and learn about the communities.”
