Business

By: Mike Rhodes— Muncie, IN—The Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) 2019 State Leadership Conference was held at the Horizon Convention Center March 7-9 in downtown Muncie. As students arrived, an assortment of little white shuttle buses from school systems around the state could be seen in the parking lot behind the Horizon Convention Center. Each bus was emblazoned with the school corporation name. Some of the school system buses in the parking lot included: Northwest Allen County Schools, Southern…

By: Schnee Garrett— Fort Wayne, IN– Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) plans an approximate $84 million investment to upgrade the electric transmission network serving customers in Delaware County in eastern Indiana. The Southern Muncie Area Improvements Project involves: Upgrading about 3 miles of 34.5-kilovolt (kV) power line to 69-kV standards Expanding several localsubstations Building the new Fuson Substation in the commercial park north of West Fuson Road The improvements ensure electric reliability for I&M customers and support economic development. The company plans…

By: The Muncie-Delaware County, Indiana Economic Development Alliance— Muncie, IN— Accutech Systems, a leading software company for the trust and investment industry, has announced plans to invest more than $5.5 million to purchase and redevelop a 40,000 SF building in downtown Muncie. Accutech currently employs 53 people locally and 25 additional remote workers. By 2023, the company intends to grow to at least 100 local employees. “We were quickly outgrowing our current space and looked hard at multiple different options for…

By: Chrissy Stefani— Muncie, Indiana – Ball State Federal Credit Union, a full service financial institution with a main office, student center branch, and ATM locations to serve members in Muncie and Yorktown, provided a free pizza party for the Ball State University Campus Police Department.  In the spirit of service, the lunch is a small way to say thank you to them for their hard work and dedication to our community. The credit union brought a variety of Greek’s specialty…

By: Mike Rhodes— Muncie, IN—Jake Sewell has always enjoyed listening to long-form audio podcasts. He likes them so much, he decided to create one of his own. So, in January of 2019, he released his first episode of  “The Jake Sewell Podcast.” In creating his podcast, Sewell had a few goals he wanted to achieve. “I wanted to help out the community,” he said. “I wanted to spotlight individuals, or business owners, or others who may have overcome significant life challenges—…

By: Brenda Brumfield, Director, Community & Government Relations, Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce— Muncie, IN— The Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce honored fifteen of its members for their longevity in, and impact on, the Muncie –Delaware County community at the Chamber Champions Award Luncheon at the Horizon Convention Center on March 20.  Among those included, were six who were celebrating over 100 years of continuous existence. They were: Glad Tidings Church Muncie Community Schools Old National Bank The Knapp Supply…

By: The Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance— Yorktown, IN— The town of Yorktown, Indiana and the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance have announced the certification of a 72.55-acre property by the Verisite Certification Program as a prime opportunity for industrial development. The McKibben site is located East of S. Marsh Ave. (S. Co. Rd. 600 W.) and South of CSX Transportation Incorporated railroad approximately 0.5 miles south of S.R. 32 (Smith St.). Yorktown, Indiana has emerged onto the development scene…

By: Chad Mertz— Muncie, IN – First Merchants Bank has promoted Carrie Valek to senior vice president and director of consumer banking. In this role she will be responsible for the leadership, performance and strategic direction of the consumer bank. She most previously served as director of retail sales. Valek’s areas of concentration include talent management, strategic sales management, executive leadership and financial management. She has been effectively shaping First Merchants Consumer Banking direction and results for many years.  She has…