The New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corp. (EDC) isn’t just about “chasing smoke stacks” any more.
EDC President Corey Murphy told the Henry County Council this month, “I want to talk about tourism.”
Murphy said the EDC is taking on marketing and promotion for Henry County tourist attractions. The effort will include a marketing and rebranding tourism process that could be complete by 2022.
“It’s not just about visitors. The things visitors like are also the things residents like,” Murphy said.
When The Courier-Times reached out to former local residents to research local “brain drain,” several pointed out attractions and events where they are now that you can’t typically find around these parts.
Recreational activities
David Ratliff rose through the U.S. Army ranks to retire as Chief Warrant Officer after he graduated from Shenandoah High School in 1968. His final Army assignment was in Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, so that is where the Ratliff family put down their roots.
There, his family had easy access to Charleston, a children’s museum, Myrtle Beach and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“Pre-COVID, parents would be hard pressed not to find an activity for their kiddos,” Morgan Hoggard said about her Virginia community, “from the children’s discovery museum to open pastures at wineries where kids can run to kid-friendly fruit orchards.”
Hoggard and her husband also loved going to UVA athletic events, before the pandemic started.
Megan Williams called her new home in rural Jasper, Texas, “an outdoorsman paradise.”
“We fish, hunt, ride 4-wheelers and walk nature trails and camp at the state park by our house,” she said.
James Wright II, New Castle Chrysler High School Class of 2000, is raising two children in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he is the business development manager for a nationwide home health company.
The area allows the Wrights to fly drones, go hiking and take scenic drives. Wright said another reason for not living in New Castle is the lack of activities.
“Tourism is big in Chattanooga, so there’s no shortage of outdoor or indoor places to visit and explore,” he said.
Wright still comes back to New Castle every year or so to spend time with his family that still lives here.
Where the heart is
While many have moved away over the years, Henry County is still where folks come to see their families.
“Henry County (especially New Castle) will always hold a special place in my heart,” Hoggard said. “My family remains there and there are some things a small town can offer that can’t be found anywhere else.”
Even if they don’t stay, homegrown visitors still like to stop by local favorites like Weenee World, the original Jack’s Donuts and Pizza King when they are in town.
For some local grads, though, this spot in East Central Indiana was their launching point to somewhere else.
“I needed to get a clean slate to begin living for myself and finding out what I need and what I want for myself,” said McKinley Duvall. “New Castle will always be my home. I, however, was not meant to live there forever.”
Ratliff has returned to Indiana several times over the years to visit friends and family. As his family moved away from the Middletown farm, Ratliff had few personal connections here in Henry County. Nowadays, his only Hoosier relative is a brother-in-law in Albany, Indiana.
Shenandoah grad Kiel Sexton now calls Portland, Oregon home.
“Even if I did come back, I would be hard pressed to find the income I would like to make in this county,” Sexton said. “Besides that, I had a very nice childhood here and I do miss my aging family.”
Turning visitors into residentsAs Murphy noted, highlighting interesting parts of Henry County to attract visitors might be the sort of thing that attracts new residents.
The EDC will work with the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) to promote local tourism. The program will be funded through the Henry County Tourism Commission’s innkeepers tax.
“Ultimately, that ends up back here in the county in the tourism and promotion fund,” Murphy told the Henry County Council at their December meeting.
People coming to visit East Central Indiana are looking for things like trails and breweries and wineries, outdoor recreation and gathering spaces. Golf course, lakes, unique shops and cozy bed-and-breakfasts.
These are things Henry County already has. A renewed focus on marketing and promotion will help our local spots stand out to visitors and residents alike.
“COVID has put a damper on that and a challenge on that, but we’ll come back eventually. It will get better,” Murphy said.
Murphy said his team first realized this opportunity while working on the Stellar Communities program in 2019.
The EDC is starting a brand development process to help Henry County understand what its “brand” is, to answer “Who are we?”
“That will inform the logo, but more importantly, it will inform the content,” he said.
The “content” in this case will be new tourist attractions, businesses and other local venues.
Murphy estimates it will take two years to build the brand by working with local stakeholders.
“Probably the biggest lift, yet the most important, is to build relationships and trust among the tourism attractions,” Murphy said. “And where possible, getting them working together and cross-promoting one another.”
He used the Hoosier Gym as an example. Thousands of people visit it (when COVID isn’t a concern), so those are thousands of potential visitors for places like the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame or restaurants like Primo.
“How can we target them to come to other things and do things while they’re here?” Murphy said. “We’re excited to move forward.”