July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Reflecting on a 20-year record (5/13/05)
Editorial
Has it really been 20 years?
That thought kept coming to mind this week as Jay County Development Corporation celebrated its 20th anniversary with its 19th annual industry appreciation dinner.
Has it really been 20 years?
Back in 1985, as JCDC’s first president Sam Shoemaker could tell you, there were plenty of folks who believed that a countywide organization addressing economic development simply wouldn’t work.
There were too many old wounds, too many parochial outlooks, too many turf battles to make it happen.
Fortunately, Shoemaker and the rest of JCDC’s founders believed otherwise.
They believed that the most efficient and most effective way to promote economic development was for Jay County to behave like a single community, sharing resources and sharing information.
The old model, with some towns acting independently and others not acting at all, simply wasn’t working.
And say what you will, there’s no arguing with the fact that JCDC has worked.
The record is impressive, though it’s often taken for granted.
Within that 20 year span, companies like FCC (Indiana), Alphabet Inc., Fort Recovery Industries, Mosey Manufacturing, Moser Engineering, Tyson Mexican Original, Qualtech Tool, Accelerated Curing, and SDP Manufacturing have made Jay County their home. Companies like Saint-Gobain Container have made dramatic new investments in existing plants.
Industrial parks have been developed and filled. Spec buildings have been constructed and occupied.
To be sure, there have also been industrial casualties in those 20 years. Indiana Glass Co. is a shadow of its former self. The Jay Garment Company and Standard Brush and Broom are gone forever.
But part of that is the dynamic of American capitalism. It’s not a static system; it’s constantly changing and evolving.
If change is to be positive, however, there has to be leadership and there has to be a coordinated effort to move in the right direction. That’s the role JCDC has played for the past 20 years, and that’s the role which is going to continue to be its challenge in the decades ahead. — J.R.
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That thought kept coming to mind this week as Jay County Development Corporation celebrated its 20th anniversary with its 19th annual industry appreciation dinner.
Has it really been 20 years?
Back in 1985, as JCDC’s first president Sam Shoemaker could tell you, there were plenty of folks who believed that a countywide organization addressing economic development simply wouldn’t work.
There were too many old wounds, too many parochial outlooks, too many turf battles to make it happen.
Fortunately, Shoemaker and the rest of JCDC’s founders believed otherwise.
They believed that the most efficient and most effective way to promote economic development was for Jay County to behave like a single community, sharing resources and sharing information.
The old model, with some towns acting independently and others not acting at all, simply wasn’t working.
And say what you will, there’s no arguing with the fact that JCDC has worked.
The record is impressive, though it’s often taken for granted.
Within that 20 year span, companies like FCC (Indiana), Alphabet Inc., Fort Recovery Industries, Mosey Manufacturing, Moser Engineering, Tyson Mexican Original, Qualtech Tool, Accelerated Curing, and SDP Manufacturing have made Jay County their home. Companies like Saint-Gobain Container have made dramatic new investments in existing plants.
Industrial parks have been developed and filled. Spec buildings have been constructed and occupied.
To be sure, there have also been industrial casualties in those 20 years. Indiana Glass Co. is a shadow of its former self. The Jay Garment Company and Standard Brush and Broom are gone forever.
But part of that is the dynamic of American capitalism. It’s not a static system; it’s constantly changing and evolving.
If change is to be positive, however, there has to be leadership and there has to be a coordinated effort to move in the right direction. That’s the role JCDC has played for the past 20 years, and that’s the role which is going to continue to be its challenge in the decades ahead. — J.R.
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