By CARLA KNAPP
Pharos-Tribune associate editor
As a person who likes to see things getting done, Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation President Skip Kuker developed an instant friendship the first time he met Ed Morrison.
Kuker has seen Morrison deliver several presentations on what he calls “strategic doing,” and Kuker felt it was a message he wanted the Cass County’s officials to hear.
“I’m of a mindset of doing, so I like the way he speaks about strategic doing,” Kuker said after Morrison’s presentation at Friday’s LEDF Board meeting. “I like the way he talks about measuring, to find something and try to measure it. That’s what we’ve been doing for years.”
Morrison is a part of the Purdue Center for Regional Development and Indiana WIRED, and works within a 14 county region in central and northern Indiana. He has helped organize marketing efforts for other communities that helped them compete in the global economy.
His focus is on the shift in the global marketplace to a network-based economy and said that was one of the biggest changes between what he called the old and new economic models.
During his presentation, Morrison used the example of the car industry to illustrate the shifting models. He pointed out that the manufacturers on the old model — Chrysler, Ford and GM — are struggling while those that have made the step to the new model — Toyota, Honda and Subaru — are thriving.
He also spoke about the recent success of Internet communities like MySpace and Facebook, which focus on personal networking, and said cities can use the same model to grow their networks.
“At Indiana WIRED, we’re experimenting and building new networks,” Morrison said. “Smart communities are going to start working on networks. ... The regions that have thicker networks are going to grow faster.”
Without a major metro region nearby, Morrison said Cass County will faces some challenges as it tries to position itself for growth. However, he also pointed to several key assets in the area.
“The most critical economic development asset is brain power,” said Morrison, pointing to the opportunities offered by Ivy Tech Community College as well as the Century Career Center at Logansport High School. “Opportunities move toward brain power and regions are going to prosper that build that world class brain power.”
He also indicated that infrastructure, like the Hoosier Heartland Corridor, is important. However, he continually pointed to the significance of networking and building relationships not only within the community but especially in other states and countries.
Morrison added that, for areas where economic growth has been stagnant, it is important to change the community’s story to focus on the potential for the future instead of the problems of the past. That branding, he said, helps to begin a buzz around an area that can stimulate economic growth.
“What’s the story of Logansport, of Cass County, of northern Indiana?” he said. “If you can’t tell that story pretty consistently, businesses are going to go right on.”
Kuker, who in his role with LEDF has studied at the community’s assets, said he feels Cass County has some positive aspects that it can market and he would like to see community members redouble efforts to help foster growth.
“It’s all going to be on the volunteers — who wants to believe in this and who wants to do the doing,” he said. “I think we need to get our brain power together and put together a strategic plan. I think we have so many groups doing like-minded things, why not get them all together, make some decisions, say ‘This is what we want to do,’ and do it.”
Carla Knapp can be contacted at (574) 732-5150 or via e-mail at carla.knapp@pharostribune.com
