Orange- Kristal Painter, the executive director for the Orange County Economic Development Partnership (OCEDP), is committed to enhancing the quality of life and retaining her County’s established industries, while encouraging further opportunities.
Before becoming an economic developer, Painter held a career in the tourism industry, which made coming to Orange County a natural fit (the County is noted for its numerous hospitality attractions, including the historic French Lick and West Baden Resort hotels). Originally from Indianapolis, Painter has spent the past sixteen years in Southern Indiana, two years in her role as executive director for OCEDP. “Always something new in the economic development world,” Painter said, who feels that the job is especially rewarding because “you see and know the difference you are making.” Painter recently completed courses from Oklahoma University Economic Development Institute to expand her knowledge of best practices in the changing field of economic development.
A years-long shortage of workforce to meet business needs led local leaders to take steps to address the problem. One part of their strategy has been to provide more housing to attract more population (and thus more potential workers) to move into the community. OCEDP and local large employer French Lick Resort have worked closely with the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA) to construct affordable housing in Orange County. The fruits of the collaboration are the construction of the first new housing subdivision started in the community in nearly 60 years.
With a rich history, Orange County is home to unique and enticing legacies such as the French Lick Springs hotel – the culinary inspiration for tomato juice, and the influence of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus – which winter-quartered out of the West Baden area. The circus’s lasting impact lives on in the preservation of many historical artifacts and buildings within Orange County.
OCEDP is partnering with Radius Indiana to promote an economic gardening program to increase the region’s small business operations by improving marketing intelligence and online presence for local Stage 2 companies selected to enter the program. This partnership will help those locally-based firms grow their business. A similar effort to invest in local capacity-building is the county leadership program run by Painter, which allows community members to become educated about, involved with, and invested in addressing community issues.
The OCEDP has also partnered with Radius Indiana and Choose Southern Indiana to offer a $5,000 incentive for qualified applicants to move to Orange County. The population attraction program is a pilot that will hopefully deliver evidence of its ability to help increase the number of people residing in the county.
From ribbon cuttings to farmer’s markets, opportunities are present in Orange County. Orange County is focused on the continued success and community impact that has lasted for decades with solid support for future endeavors.