Below is an article from the Lebanon Reporter by Leeann Doerflein:
The Boone County Economic Development Corporation (Boone EDC) is one of 13 recipients of Duke Energy economic development grants.
Boone EDC and other economic development organizations in areas served by Duke were awarded the grants as part of the company’s 2018 Marketing Partnership Program.
Erin Schneider, director of economic development for Duke Energy Indiana, said the grant is aimed to help Duke-served communities grow.
“The Marketing Partnership Program is designed to help our Duke Energy-served communities implement strategic marketing plans that can showcase the community’s assets and support continued economic development growth and prosperity,” Schneider said in a statement. “Working together as a team, we improve the chances of success for our communities.”
The Duke release details that the organizations received the grants through a competitive application process and were selected based on their regional economic development activity, innovative approach and the overall benefits and sustainability of the initiative.
Boone EDC Executive Director Molly Whitehead said the $5,000 grant will be used to market the county to the types of development residents requested in a recent quality of life survey. The grant, coupled with additional funding from Boone EDC, is hoped to attract new restaurants and entertainment.
The campaign will showcase what is already great about Boone County and how the targeted businesses would fit in, said Boone EDC Marketing and Communications Director Kim Heffner. The effort will include mailers, advertisements in trade publications and visits to companies that are being courted.
The marketing campaign will be similar to the campaign used to attract a microbrewery to the community several years ago. In that effort, marketing materials were developed and sent to certain companies and distributed during events, Whitehead said. That campaign helped attract Lafayette-based People’s Brewing Company to open its downtown Lebanon location.
Since the grant is from Duke Energy, Whitehead said the marketing campaign will be focused on attracting the businesses to Duke-served areas in Zionsville, Whitestown and parts of western Boone County.
Those communities are among the 820,000 customers served in a 23,000-square-mile service area sprinkled around the state. Duke Energy provides about 6,800 megawatts of owned electric capacity to Hoosier customers.