County 11: White

In this job, I meet and have conversations with a lot of people I’ve never met before. One of the things I ask most often in these situations is, “Are you a native of this area?”

I ask that for several reasons. Sometimes I find a person is from a part of the state I used to represent in the Senate. Sometimes I find a relatively new Hoosier. And it always breaks the ice. But in White County last week, I heard an answer that brought a smile to my face.

One of the leaders in White County’s Hometown Competitiveness program responded to the question by saying she was born and raised in Monticello, but she left after high school. It wasn’t until several years later she decided to return to her hometown.

That’s the type of story that keeps me interested in developing even our most rural cities and towns, and it’s the type of story that makes the Hometown Competitiveness program a success. HTC is about the spirit of continuous improvement for a community. It doesn’t involve a lot of grant dollars to construct buildings or roads like many of our programs do, but it builds leaders and an atmosphere of progress in a community. (Read about another HTC success in Ferdinand, Indiana below).

White County HTC has one of the most successful leadership trainings in the state, helping adults to be strong, civically engaged contributors in the community. They also have programs I’ve never heard of before, like a Youth Chamber, training up the next generation of leaders.

Keeping your hometown competitive in a global economy is very, very difficult. The fact is, not every child will want to stay near where they grew up. But those who do want to stay should never be forced away for lack of opportunity. We’re happy to have partners in White County living that out every day.

County 10: Dubois



If you blink, you may miss the tiny town of Ferdinand – population 2,157. However, this Dubois County town has been on my radar for years. Local leaders were one of the first Indiana communities to sign-up to be part of a state pilot program, the Indiana Hometown Competitiveness program.



Officials from Ferdinand's Hometown

Competitiveness program give the

Lt. Governor a tour of the new YMCA.

Local residences have created a

community area by building the

new library, YMCA and park in the

same area.



I sat down with the leaders of Ferdinand’s Hometown Competitiveness program in the new library to get an update. Keith Fritz, a talented craftsman whose fine furniture pieces are featured in showrooms across the United States, was one of the first to tell me how the program has changed his business.



Keith started his business in D.C. but realized, with the steep cost of doing business in Washington, he could do better back home in Indiana. He told me how the local bank gave him special financing and how others helped him set up shop in Ferdinand – assistance that is not found in a large city like D.C. he said.  At 34-years-old Keith is receiving national recognition for his furniture and is employing the local community.

The Hometown Competitiveness program gives rural communities a comprehensive framework for economic and community development. Ferdinand is focused on not only entrepreneurship but leadership, charitable assets, tourism, youth engagement and population growth – areas of growth the local leadership decided to focus on. Thanks to the dedication of the local leaders, I expect even more growth in Ferdinand in the years to come.  

There are more than a dozen communities who are taking part in the Hometown Competitiveness program. To find out more visit, http://www.in.gov/ocra/2351.htm.



County 9: Hancock

While in Greenfield, I found myself surrounded by pigs and the family of farmers that cares for them. As Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture this is not an unusual day for me. In fact, I enjoyed rolling up my sleeves, getting my hands a little dirty, and experiencing Indiana agriculture with the Hill family. 

Lt. Governor Skillman tours one
of the hog barns at the Hill
Family Farm in Greenfield with
one of the Hill children.

Marc and Heather Hill were named Pork Producers of the Year in 2010. These outstanding pork producers are also currently going through our Certified Livestock Producer Program. More than 50 Indiana farmers have completed this voluntary program, and have demonstrated their commitment to the industry’s best practices (environmental practices, animal well-being, food safety, biosecurity, emergency planning and being a good neighbor).

The Hill family is also teaching the fifth generation all that they know about farming. Their three young children are already excited about agriculture (they couldn’t get their youngest little girl away from the pigs). And their son couldn’t wait to show me their new climate-controlled barn. Here is a video of him explaining to me how the water system works.

Read more about the Certified Livestock Producer Program here, http://www.in.gov/isda/2441.htm.

County 8: Allen

On both the state and national levels, we’ve had debates on how to best create jobs and opportunities. I firmly believe that the government does not create jobs, nor can it create demand where none exists.

But we found when we visited Huntertown, just north of Fort Wayne, that when the demand exists, a little tax incentive can help turn that demand into reality. I visited Cameron Crossing, a new neighborhood by Fort Wayne’s Keller Development, in early September. Finishing touches were being put on the residential units, which ranged from one- to four-bedrooms. A waiting list for these units developed even before the company began advertising available units.

On the first day in-person applications were accepted, Keller staff expected the crowd to be so large that they asked the utility companies to send representatives to sign up new residents while they waited.

To build these units, Keller took advantage of Section 42 Rental Housing Tax Credits. This program, administered by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, simply provides a federal tax incentive to build affordable housing units.

It’s a program that has provided excellent housing opportunities across Indiana. And when the project is in the hands of a good developer like Keller, they are housing opportunities that last. One of their employees said a similar development in Fort Wayne several years ago met some community resistance because of the stigma of “affordable housing”. But decades later, that development and many others are as peaceful and as beautiful as ever.

Cameron Crossing is a good example of the positive projects that can be built when the government simply incentivizes private investment.