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Hospitality / Tourism

The original proposal to the Lilly Endowment Inc. from Heritage Fund, the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, EcO15 (Economic Opportunities 2015) recommended the following:

• Consortium needed to be created to identify the employment trends in the hospitality/tourism sector within Region 9 and develop a work plan. This plan will be used to build the necessary infrastructure aligning the educational system with the industry.
• Possible needs would include development of programs for middle school through post secondary education.

Measurements & Outcomes:

• Pathway created and programs in place to move people along the pathway

The understanding and evaluating of the hospitality/tourism industry as it impacts Region 9:

• The volunteer leadership core advisory committee, including Jim Helms, Peggy Dickson, Lynn Lucas, and Jeff Schroer, has successfully convened a number of meetings, expanding the Advisory Committee to include multiple stakeholders in the hospitality/tourism industry. The consortium has been created.

Meetings Held

Future Meetings

EcO15 Hospitality/Tourism Coordinator Update

The EcO15 Hospitality/Tourism Coordinator, Jeanne Robinson, has met with each EcO15 County Coordinator and visited each county’s Visitor Center. During interviews information was gained concerning community leaders, hospitality/tourism stakeholders, tourism destinations, festival information, attractions and other attributes unique to each county.

Collaborative discussions with Doctor Steve Franz concerning Emerging Latino Issues and the EcO15 initiative, has led to a mutual agreement in approaching the hospitality/tourism industry employers.

Discussions and meetings with Amy Vaughn, Indiana Department of Tourism, and John Livengood, President, Indiana Hotel are ongoing.

The discussion on current education programs; what education programs are needed; and career pathway development and implementation strategies will continue.