The unmistakable enthusiasm of Tuesday’s kickoff was captured in media coverage spanning Elkhart County’s largest newspapers, The Elkhart Truth and Goshen News, to the smaller Nappanee Advance-News and The Paper. The area’s four television stations and public radio station WVPE were also in the media contingent in the Crystal Ballroom of the Lerner Theatre.
Here’s a roundup of how the event was covered:
- “(I)t became evident area residents are ready to actively help shape the future of the communities they call home,” The Elkhart Truth’s Ben Quiggle wrote in a story that also captured a warm reception from Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese. “I love the flexibility, the fact that there is no predetermined path and the receptive attitude they have toward ideas,” the newly inaugurated mayor told the newspaper.
- “If we want to make Elkhart County the best place in Indiana to raise a family, start a business, and grow up, then we have to work together,” Vibrant Communities co-chair Gina Leichty said in John Kline’s story in The Goshen News.
- “(Elkhart) County is used to taking care of bigger projects like fixing potholes and other road work, but they’re trying to focus on the little things now for the betterment of the county,” said WNDU reporter Shaun Gallagher in introducing his report.
- “Today is just the first step as Elkhart County takes a big step in planning for its future,” said Fox 28 reporter Eric Crouch in a piece that included an interview with keynote speaker Peter Kageyama.
- ABC57’s Andreina Centlivre highlighted the 593 attendees as “a lot to voluntarily show up to spend their Tuesday night … talking with neighbors about ways to make their county better.”
- The Elkhart Truth and Goshen News also wrote of Vibrant Communities on their editorial pages, with The Truth lauding the effort and calling for the process to be open to all in an editorial that ran two days before the kickoff. Following the event, the News called attention to the need for county residents to become more emotionally invested in their hometowns.
The kickoff was exciting, but the real work continues in Community Conversations meetings that start the week of Feb. 22. We are inviting anyone who is interested in sharing their stories and vision for the future to attend one of the meetings, whether you attended the kickoff or not.
