Southern Indiana Business Report
PAOLI – Orange County welcomes three new residents through its population attraction partnership with Choose Southern Indiana. This is the third mover to make Orange County their home through this program.
Pieter Gleixner and his family, Estela and Santiago Mogrovejo, decided to make the move from Chicago to Orange County because of the beautiful scenery, welcoming atmosphere and drastic change in pace of life the area offered them.
“We like the wide spaces and great outdoor recreational activities,” said Estela. “The program offers the opportunity to enrich existing areas with new people and the experiences they bring while also offering newcomers to experience a slower pace of life and break the mold of living in a big city.”
Orange County Economic Development Partnership partnered with Radius Indiana to participate in the Choose Southern Indiana program. The population and talent attraction initiative offers a $5,000 relocation incentive to qualified out-of-state individuals or families who relocate to a participating county in the Radius region. Such incentive programs are being used by numerous states and communities throughout the country to attract talent.
Though not the first attraction program in Indiana, the Radius program is the first rural regional approach.
“I am so excited to welcome Pieter and his family to Orange County,” said Skylar Whiteman, OCEDP executive director. “The Choose Southern Indiana program works – it shows people outside of Indiana what our area has to offer and brings in new people with different backgrounds and experiences that add not only to our workforce, but to the quality of place of Orange County.”
Choose Southern Indiana currently offers four programs to recruit new residents. The relocation incentive is available to remote workers and individuals who are hired by participating businesses in the Radius region, including those in the defense industry and CDL drivers. All accepted individuals in the program must commit to living in southern Indiana for a minimum of two years.
Talent attraction and workforce development are now two of the most important aspects of economic development. Talent attraction focuses on recruitment from the talent pipeline outside of a given community, while workforce development aims to further an individual’s ability to grow their skills and develop the tools they need for business success in their community. Choose Southern Indiana focuses on the attraction of talent from outside the state of Indiana, in order to avoid depleting talent in other Indiana communities. To learn more and apply to the relocation incentive program, visit www.choosesouthernindiana.com.
About OCEDP
The Orange County Economic Development Partnership is committed to recruiting new business to the county, as well as promoting the retention and expansion of existing industry. OCEDP is organized as a 501(c)3 organization, funded by both public and private organizations that reflect the diverse assets of Orange County.