In July 2017, five people gathered at the Innovation Center in downtown Richmond to have some breakfast and talk about social media. By the end of 2019, monthly meetings of the same group were routinely drawing 50-70 participants, including marketing professionals, small business owners, representatives of non-profits, bloggers – anyone who deals with or cares […]

Brightside writer Louise Ronald was embedded with Northeastern High School students for 2019’s Manufacturing Day tours at SugarCreek Brandworthy Food Solutions in Cambridge City and Ahaus Tool and Engineering, Inc. in Richmond. Eric Partin’s first glimpse of Ahaus Tool & Engineering was on a Manufacturing Day tour when he was ­­­­taking a machine tool class […]

Transportation has been key to the development of Wayne County, Indiana. The National Road – the first federal highway to the West – cut through the county, bringing travelers, settlers, and entrepreneurs providing services for them. Railroads made (and continue to make) it possible for local manufacturers to ship goods throughout the country. Thanks to […]

Nearly 20 years ago, Richmond, Indiana, embarked on a venture unusual for a town of its size. Richmond Power & Light, a city-owned utility, had an electric grid serving roughly 40,000 citizens in their homes and work places. From the early 1980s, RP&L had been installing fiber optic cable to connect its substations. So forward-thinking […]

Eric Nicholson has fallen in love with Wayne County’s architecture, its culture and its affordability. And its opportunity. “I’m getting experience here that I probably could not have gotten somewhere else,” said the 24-year-old Nicholson, who is executive director of Richmond Neighborhood Restoration Inc., a local nonprofit that acquires and rehabilitates historic buildings for resale […]

In anticipation of their soon-to-be-launched CDL+Plus program, Ron Oler, Site Director at Ivy Tech Community College – Connersville job shadowed a DOT Foods/Transportation Truck Driver Trainer during a typical early morning shift. The following is an account of his experience.  I had the opportunity to ride along with a DOT Foods/Transportation Driver Trainer for a […]

Just over a year ago, a new building opened in rural Wayne County near Centerville. A most unusual building. A building constructed with materials that meet rigorous environmental standards. A building that produces all the water and energy it uses and contributes nothing to the county landfill. A building with aspirations. Staff members at the […]

Wayne County Weekends is a simple idea that promises a big payoff. It’s the brainchild of the Buy Local Committee of the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce. Last year, the group was looking for “some ways to reinvigorate the Buy Local program,” said committee chair and chamber board member Sam Purcell, co-owner of Ply […]

When Dudley Fetzer joined the Richmond Lions Club in 2010, the group was in the middle of making a tough decision. For years, the club’s biggest fundraiser had been an annual home improvement show, but expenses were rising, and attendance was falling. Not only did the event require a great deal of time and work […]

Caleb Smith envies Earlham College students. It hasn’t been long since he was one himself. Smith graduated from the Richmond liberal arts institution in the spring of 2017. During his last year, he helped develop a Playground With a Purpose – a special playground for children with sensory processing issues – for Richmond Parks & […]