HEDC joins experts at annual conference

HEDC staffers gathered with contemporaries and colleagues from across the state recently to learn from experts embedded in fields imperative to developing economies.

The Indiana Economic Development Association 2024 Annual Conference was in Indianapolis December 12 and 13. On the agenda were a variety of topics extremely beneficial for economic developers, including plenty of insight from site selectors.

Site selectors work with companies to help them find locations to establish operations. The Hancock Economic Development Council regularly works with site selectors representing companies considering Hancock County. Their knowledge is incredibly valuable as HEDC works to present Hancock County as an excellent place to do business.

Other presentations addressed workforce projections and approaches to talent. Workforce is often one of the first subjects companies inquire about when considering a location.

Hancock County has a labor shed of 2 million within an hour’s drive. Learn more about its workforce here.

The conference also offered strategies for attracting and supporting energy-intensive projects, and energy infrastructure challenges in industrial real estate. Like workforce, energy is regularly top of mind for businesses considering a new area. Learn more about utilities and other infrastructure in Hancock County here.

Economic development cannot happen without collaboration among business and government leaders. Those who work and lead in Hancock County are preparing for two significant changes as new administrations get ready to take office in the state and nationally, making the conference's 2025 legislative preview particularly beneficial. Further government insights were gained during the conference's panel featuring the mayors of Lebanon and Vincennes.

Learn more about government incentives for businesses in Hancock County here, and see how government, businesses, and nonprofits make up the HEDC's diverse membership here.

Pictured above at right: Gerry Dick of Inside INdiana Business, right, leads a panel discussion with Vincennes Mayor Joe Yochum, left, and Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry.