Local project making noise around world (09/18/07)

Bruce Hosier must have felt as if he were dreaming.

After all, he'd only touched down on U.S. soil the night before and was still in the throes of serious jet lag from traveling back from Japan.

And then there was the scene in front of him: Something like a thousand people gathered together in the grains receiving building at POET Biorefining's new Portland ethanol plant.

It would have been understandable if he'd felt the need to pinch himself.

Few moments in his years as mayor of the city of Portland could top it.

But maybe one did.

As Mayor Hosier told the crowd at Friday's grand opening festivities, he'd had the remarkable pleasure of hearing positive buzz about Portland and POET thousands of miles away while being part of an international trade mission with Gov. Mitch Daniels.

That's right. This ethanol plant and this community are making waves in the wider world.

As Hosier put it, "To think that this project was being talked about on the international stage - in Tokyo - is a testament to POET."

Throughout Friday's event, a similar sentiment was echoed time and time again. If we heard the words "first-class outfit" or "first-class company" once, we heard them a dozen times.

We also heard, from visitors from outside the community, words of admiration and a bit of envy, not only about landing POET but about having local leaders who work well together to make good things happen.

There's a sense that Jay County is especially fortunate to have hooked up with a corporation with this degree of professionalism and vision.

It looks like the beginning of a great partnership, a first-class company working with a first-class community. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]