Stellar Finalist Seeking Public Feedback

The Stellar Communities program began in 2011.

Nearly 100 officials from the private, nonprofit and government sectors throughout Marshall County are meeting Thursday to work on boosting the region’s Stellar Communities application. The leaders are looking to gather input on potential regional projects that would benefit from funding through the Stellar designation.

The "Marshall County Crossroads" is one of six finalists vying for the designation, which is being awarded on a regional basis for the first time in the Stellar program’s history. The group consists of leaders from Marshall County and the towns of Argos, Bremen, Bourbon, Culver, LaPaz and Plymouth, as well as Elkhart and St. Joseph counties.

"This will be an informative planning session," said Kevin Overmyer, president of the Marshall County Commissioners and co-chair of the Marshall County Crossroads Stellar Initiative steering committee. "But what we’re really doing on Thursday is encouraging new ideas and community feedback that will help tailor our application. Citizen input and feedback is critical to our process, so we’re excited about this opportunity on Thursday."

The Marshall County Economic Development Corp. says the group will spend the next two months working to develop, promote, and communicate its Stellar proposal before the Stellar team arrives in the fall for site visits. The Stellar Communities designees will be announced later this fall or in early winter.