Morgan County Unites For More Jobs

January 25, 2012

News Release

MOORESVILLE, IND – The Morgan County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) announced today that it has formed a Blue Ribbon Committee to explore how the county can best capitalize on its mid-America location, highway system, available acreage and other assets.

Simultaneously, MCEDC President George Watkins announced that the corporation also has contracted with the School of Business at the University of Indianapolis to conduct a study and work with the Blue Ribbon Committee to analyze and develop specific recommendations for county officials. The study is expected to take up to four months.

All members of the Blue Ribbon Committee live or work in Morgan County. Dan Moore, President & CEO of Martinsville-based Home Bank, and Lynn Gordon, President & CEO of Mooresville-based Citizens Bank, will be co-chairs of the Committee. Other members include:

· Jared Stark, Executive Director, Franciscan St. Francis Hospital – Mooresville;

· Hector A. Flores, President of H. A. Flores & Associates, Inc., based in Martinsville;

· Signe Nicholson, former facilities planner for Eli Lilly and Company;

· Craig A. Fenneman, Owner and CEO of Southern Bells Inc.;

· Melanie DePoy, Development Director for the Mooresville-based Jackson Center for Conductive Education;

· Eric Bowlen, Principal at Martinsville East Middle School and Martinsville City Councilman;

· Douglas L. Molin, Director of the Asia Pacific division of The MITRE Corporation.

“We are pleased to have these respected community-minded individuals working together to help ensure a better Morgan County,” said Watkins. “We believe our county has important assets that will be vital in realizing Morgan County’s full potential. The partnership with the University of Indianapolis should provide us with a much needed assessment. Their study is expected to assist us in identifying our assets and how best to leverage them for a prosperous future for generations to come.”

MCEDC executive director Joy McCarthy Sessing said the university study will help identify what types of services and industries the county can attract based on such strengths as its proximity to Indianapolis International Airport, a new extension of Interstate 69, the convergence of interstate highways and railways in nearby Marion County, and a labor force ready for new employment.

Regarding the University of Indianapolis’ involvement, Dean Sheela Yadav of the business school said, “Aside from the education we provide on campus, UIndy takes seriously its role as a resource for the broader community. Our faculty bring a wealth of real-world business experience to this project, and we're proud to assist in elevating the profile of Morgan County and all of our neighbors in central Indiana.”

The university’s work will include an objective inventory of the county’s assets, a review of growth options for the county, the results of interviews with assorted regional development firms, detailed labor force demographics, and a comparison of shovel-ready development sites and property taxes in the county compared to other communities in the region. The study’s findings will be made available when completed.

Following is more detailed information on members of the Blue Ribbon Committee -- all of whom live or work in Morgan County.

Dan Moore, President and CEO, has been with Martinsville’s Home Bank since 1978. Additionally, he is Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis. He is a graduate of Indiana State University and holds a Master of Science in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University. He serves the community as Immediate Past President for the MCEDC and is Past Chairman of the Barbara Jordan YMCA. On a national level, Moore is Director of the Confessing Movement of the United Methodist Church and serves on the Mutual Institutions Board of the Independent Community Bankers of America.

Lynn Gordon moved to Mooresville in 2001 to become President and CEO of Citizens Bank. Gordon is a career banker and served as President of two community banks in Eastern Indiana prior to joining Citizens Bank. He is a graduate of Indiana University, the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Rutgers University, and the Earlham Institute for Executive Growth. As a 40-year Indiana banker, Gordon previously served two different terms on the Indiana Bankers Association Board of Directors. He currently serves as the Morgan County representative on the Indianapolis Airport Authority Board, the Morgan County Economic Development Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee for Healthier Morgan County.

Jared Stark has been Executive Director, Franciscan St. Francis Hospital - Mooresville since July 2008. Stark previously served as St. Francis' Resource Manager from December 2000 to April 2003. He most recently worked as Vice President of Professional Services for Riverview Hospital in Noblesville. Stark received his bachelor’s degree from Wabash College and his MBA degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. He is a Certified Health Care Executive and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a member of several professional and civic organizations.

Hector Flores is President of H. A. Flores & Associates, Inc., a training and development organization, and Vice President of Flores Services, LLC, a staffing and administrative services firm. He earned a B.A. degree from New Mexico Highlands University in business and sociology and received a Master of Science in management through Indiana Wesleyan University. He has served on the Morgan County Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Morgan County Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity. Flores is a past member of the Human Resource Association of Central Indiana, the American Society for Training and Development and the Indiana Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Signe Nicholson has a professional career that includes facilities and land use planning for Eli Lilly & Company and the City of Cincinnati as well as strategic and financial planning for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, where she served as CFO/COO for ten years. She holds a bachelor's degree in Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Nicholson has served on a variety of local boards, including the Mooresville Plan Commission, the School Board of Mooresville Christian Academy and the Community Foundation of Morgan County.

Craig Fenneman is Owner/CEO of Southern Bells, Inc. -- Taco Bell and KFC restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. Additionally, he is a Partner with Fenneman and Brown Partnership. Among his many honors is the 2007 Ernst & Young Indiana Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He has a BA degree in economics from Butler University and attended the Indiana University School of Law. Fenneman’s community

involvement includes Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Butler University; Boy Scouts of America National Foundation Board, National Marketing Committee; President, YMCA Camp Carson, Board of Directors; and the Morgan County Park and Recreation Board.

Melanie DePoy is currently Development Director for the Jackson Center for Conductive Education, a school for children with cerebral palsy and other motor disorders that serves children from throughout Indiana. Previously, DePoy worked more than 20 years in the aviation industry, mostly with the Indianapolis Airport Authority in public affairs. In addition, she was a founding partner with Aerofinity, an aviation planning firm. She is a graduate of Indiana University. She serves on the Morgan County Plan Commission and the League of Miracles Board.

Eric Bowlen is Principal at Martinsville East Middle School and a Councilman for the City of Martinsville. His municipal board memberships include Martinsville Board of Public Works and Safety and John R. Wooden Committee Co-Chairman. His bachelor’s degree is from Indiana University, with a master’s degree from Oakland City University. Bowlen’s community memberships include Lil’ Arties basketball, Co-Chairman of the Martinsville High School Hall of Fame Committee, Indiana Association of School Principals Board of Directors, Rediscover Martinsville and Church of Christ.

Doug Molin has 35 years of combined experience in all facets of air traffic control, ranging from air traffic controller to airspace/facility manager to FAA executive. In 2009, he joined the MITRE Corporation, which is a not-for-profit organization chartered as a national resource to apply expertise in systems engineering, information technology, operational concepts, and enterprise modernization. Molin is Director for the Asia Pacific Region and supports the FAA work program with Safety Assessments and Operational Enhancements. He also provides council on strategy development related to delay mitigation, airspace redesign, and operational enhancement development. Molin was awarded the prestigious Dave Hurley award for his leadership in the architecture and deployment of U.S. East Coast Airspace redesign.

Source: Morgan County Economic Development Corporation