ODON — The White River Military Coordination Alliance provided Naval Support Activity Crane as well as fellow Alliance members and stakeholders with the fourth annual State of the Community address at WestGate Academy Feb. 17.
Alliance Chair Brianne Jerrels along with representatives from Daviess, Greene, Lawrence, Martin and Sullivan, delivered the State of the Community briefing. This comes as a response to the “State of the Installation” address NSA Crane presented to the Alliance membership communities in November 2022.
“The only way the base can continue to succeed and thrive is through your support and partnership,” said CDR James Smith, Commanding Officer NSA Crane. “Great work has been accomplished in our communities from workforce development to talent attraction, and I look forward to further exploring those initiatives and communicating them to our workforce.”
Input for the presentation is provided by the five counties and nine incorporated towns that formed the Alliance in 2017. The briefing creates a forum for the communities to share accomplishments and initiatives in mutual interest areas between them and NSA Crane such as housing development, infrastructure resiliency and future planning. This year, the address focused on how communities and NSA Crane can increase collaboration to improve major initiatives in the following areas:
- Opportunities to build long-term relationships: Incorporating more Team Crane representation into organizations, commissions and boards can help ensure that NSA Crane and the communities are working together and communicating effectively. The efforts of the Alliance have laid a foundation for strong partnerships between NSA Crane and community leaders.
- Community Achievements and Initiatives: The Alliance prepared information that covered childcare, housing, infrastructure, and workforce development as well as aspects that influence the quality of life in the communities that can assist Crane leadership when recruiting new employees.
- Engagement in community events: Communities encouraged Team Crane to participate in local events, celebrations, festivals and programs. Community members can get to know NSA Crane better through its increased presence at events that are a point of pride and connection for the cities, towns and counties. It was also noted communities would like to explore opportunities to venture behind the gate for focused base tours and interactions with Team Crane leadership.
- Resiliency planning and assistance with future base design: A key component of NSA Crane’s State of the Installation address included the upcoming future base design planning. Communities provided various ways they can become more involved in the future planning, what resiliency initiatives they are implementing in both energy and infrastructure, and how NSA Crane can continue to be communicative and involved in community planning for alignment and collaboration as we continue to grow the region together.
“This State of the Community Address provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with our neighbors at NSA Crane and allows for open discussions surrounding areas of mutual interest and potential impact,” said Jerrels. “We are again grateful for this opportunity to continue to grow partnerships and support the development of our region.”
The next quarterly Alliance meeting will be held May 19, 2023.