by Kevin Smith
In an effort to target prospective business investors, the Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation is planning to update a video profiling the community.
Plans to shoot the video were outlined at Friday’s board meeting, where members also approved the foundation’s budget for 2009. In what is an otherwise flat budget, the only significant increase in funds was $4,400 for marketing, specifically to shoot and produce a new video.
LEDF president Skip Kuker said the video had not been updated since he began working with the foundation in 2004. With the increasing importance of the Internet to promote a community, Kuker said he believes a video that could be viewed online is a powerful tool to show the strengths of a community in a competitive market.
“When companies Google Logansport to find out more, eventually they will come across the video and see what our community has to offer,” Kuker said. “All of this will be available on YouTube. Since the old video was shot, Logansport has gone through some changes. There have been exciting developments on the east side and with the arteries of the town. We want to get all of that on camera.”
The importance LEDF places on marketing is reflected in a 504 percent increase in marketing funds in the five budgets approved since 2003.
Kuker said he hopes filming of the video could start in the spring, and he confirmed that deals were already in place with Northern Indiana Public Service Co. and Duke Energy to get aerial shots of Logansport to include in the film.
He says he also hopes the video will show people the work the foundation does to promote the community.
“We would like key community leaders to be involved and maybe take small parts in the video,” he said. “Also we could have snippets of board meetings to show people that don’t really know what we do what we’re all about.”
In other business at the meeting, Kuker expressed his desire for more members of the board to contribute ideas to the foundation in e-mails sent before they attend the monthly meeting.
“If you send out two to three things to consider in the future when we assemble in January, we’ll have more ideas, and the meeting will be a more productive time,” Kuker said.
Board member Jim Bauer praised the idea as a way of increasing dialogue.
“The whole community needs to be a team, and we need to continue to be a team and work together,” he said.
Kevin Smith can be contacted at (574) 732-5148 or via e-mail at kevin.smith@pharostribune.com
