I'm a relentless optimist. It's a beautiful way to live life to always see the beauty in everything. I can see the potential in it. Something like a Main Street or the smaller it is, it feels like the more impact it has in people's everyday life. Our town motto has always been small town, big amenities. I'm like, we need to change it to like small town, big tenderloin.
By 2035, over the next 10 years, Edinburg is going to be this. Yeah. From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between, this is Get In, the show focused on the Hooser State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. Today's episode is powered by the Kelly Evening MBA program as we talk to Hoosiers like you across the state. We're inspired by the professionals shaping Indiana's business landscape.
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edu/kelly eveningmbba. Now, let's get into today's episode. My guest today is Sarah Beth Drybred and she is the economic development director for the town of Edinburg, Indiana. She previously worked as a communications manager at Upland Brewing. She helped branding, marketing, all sorts of fun stuff before eight years ago, switching over and working for the town of Edinburg. She also serves in leadership roles across multiple local organizations including Edinburg Main Street and the United Way of Johnson County.
It reflects her deep commitment to the community and and everything going on down on the southside in Edinburg. I'm really excited to dive into a little bit of this historic community and we're going to talk about that as we kind of lead in talk about the work that's being done. Uh I mean every single day, you know, talk about working there for the last eight years, but being a pillar of the community, I'm really excited to learn more. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much. I'm really happy to be here.
Oh, we are uh we're pumped up to have you. And uh this is a Miranda intro. So I have to give one and I have to immediately sh give credit where credit is due. She is a a diehard Edinburgian. Eden Edinburgian. Yeah, we had Edinburgian.
Oh, that is that really? Yeah. Yeah, that's what Yeah. Edenburgian. Um home of the Lancer. Die Hard Lancer.
Let's go. Die Hard Lancer. Um, so I' I'd love to learn a little bit about the history of Edinburg because I would say, and this is no offense to anything, I would say that most people when they think about Edinburgh, they think about the outlet mall. I was going to say, right, like that's going to take a word right out of your mouth. That is the thing. But there's a lot of history, specifically in some hardwood history in Edinburg.
So, take me back to kind of like the founding of Edinburg and what you know about the history of I mean, I believe it's sometime in the 1800s. Yes. So actually when I first came on to this role and and I'm a native from Edinburg born and raised there um but when I came into the community development role uh one of the first things I did was look at some of the milestones that are coming up and this was in 2018. I was like oh you know 2022 is our bicesentennial we got to get rolling on planning. It's four years away. Yeah Edinburg 182 1822 we were founded we were the earliest settlement in Johnson County.
Wow. Okay. Yeah. So, you know, we did four years of extens extensive research um my partner and colleague Angie uh Thompson and I and she was a a vital vital part of the planning of this wonderful year-long event that we had. I just want to put that in perspective. Indianapolis as a city was founded in 1821.
Right. The state of Indiana was founded in 1816. Yes. So you're talking within 6 years of the founding of the state, one year after the city of Indianapolis, Edinburg was founded on the map. That is old. Bicentennial.
Okay. Wow. Yeah. So Alexander Thompson uh was one of the the founding uh members of this and it's it's incredible to look back at what these pioneers truly did to build the communities that we live in today. It just gives so much more of an appreciation um for the hardships and the vision that they had and really just the planning of a of a community. And yes, so Hardwood is uh we were the veneer capital of the world in the 1970s and 80s.
And so those industries are still going strong. We have Danzer veneer and we have Amos Hill veneer and McBth hardwood. Um and so those industries are are still our major employers in the area. Um, but we had the Thompson Mill that was built on the Blue River and they, you know, we had homies and and all these different places and, uh, it really did Edinburgh became a destination and they had the inner urban station that came through then and it's just it's such a rich history and we have a really rich equestrian history as well. So, I mean, spoiler alert, my my hidden gem will be Johnson County Park because of who's your horse park, but it is there there was a really rich equestrian where they would have races, you know, at the fairgrounds that were kind of where Timbergate, just off of where Timbergate golf course is today. And we have newspaper clippings talking about, you know, leaders from Illinois and Ohio that would come to these races in Edinburg.
So, it's just a really interesting place with a lot of history. If we were to look at a population chart of the town of Edinburg, how has it ebbed and flowed over the years? there had been steady growth and really the the late 1960s is when it boomed as far as population. That's when we had the highest number of students enrolled in the school system. Um and it's really it's tapered off just in the last few years, but the the growth has had been pretty consistent for a while. Um but it's one of those places too where you know people grow up there and they really don't leave.
It's it's a great place to raise a family. Um and there's not been a lot of housing development uh in the last you know few years and so the the growth has just been pretty stable. Yeah. Okay. So that that brings us to a good point of talking about where it is today. Right.
So obviously you know I went in toward downtown and it seems like there is a lot of effort going into that main street the downtown area. Go back you know a couple decades ago. What had happened to the downtown? what had happened to the town of Edinburg and where did take us to the point where this revitalization started. Yeah. So, when I was growing up there in the the 80s and '9s, you know, downtown still had the pharmacy.
It still had the hardware stores and the barber shops and the antique stores and the clothing and jewelry and you know two banks were downtown and you know restaurants with you know white linen tablecloths like nice destination places and you know over time those people pass away things happen and 2008 really and I I actually I was telling you about um some of the other interviews that I've been listening to that you've done and and how inspiring they've been and also just you see the the trends that happened and I think it was Duke Holmes was talking about you know 2006 to 2012 and for downtown Edinburgh that was a really difficult time so um it just kind of became a ghost town during a lot of that there were a couple of anchor stores you know we've got our not just popcorn and we had a t- room step back in time um and both of the ladies that own that you know have passed away and the downtown just became cheap real estate state and landlords purchased those buildings that didn't have plans for them and they also neglected them.
So, we've had a lot of absentee landlords, uh just a lot of misuse of buildings and this downtown was built in the 1870s. So, these buildings are in desperate need of maintenance and repair and that's extremely expensive. So for one example, we have a downtown building that currently Cork Liquors is in. And when they were looking for a site in Edinburg, you know, we were looking at different areas and and they found this downtown building that, you know, just it was kind of like lipstick on a pig. It was like on the outside, okay, it looks great. Then they started to get in and they ended up having to put $250,000 just to make it inhabitable.
So that's rewiring, plumbing, the roof had been leaking and the water was getting in between the bricks and the drywall, so things were corroding, things were molding. And so just to inhabit this building safely, was a quarter of a million dollars. And so for a downtown like Edinburgh, a small community, when you're trying to attract these mom and pop shops that really are what creates destination and identity, you know, these local bakeries and they don't have a quarter of a million dollars to put into these buildings. And that's like I mean, if you think the average bakery after you like pay all your expenses and stuff, you like are barely making a profit. You're like, "Oh, yeah. That's just the next 50 years of income for us."
Oh, absolutely. Oh, good golly. So, so we've got a real estate problem and that that is really the priority of Main Street right now. That is an interesting piece because it is historical. You know, you talk about 1822 like stuff starts to get laid out and founded like Yeah, these buildings have been around for a long time. So, there is I wonder if there's like an Indiana Landmarks type tie into what you guys have.
We work with them a lot. We work with Alex and and Mark and Indiana Landmarks a lot. Um, and you know what's the the issue is these are for the most part all privately owned buildings that you know the town doesn't really have any control over except if there's code enforcement that can be done. And so if these landlords don't want to move on these properties, it's really hard to find ways to get them to. So that's one reason why in, you know, the the main street was developed is for us to have a group and a concerted effort to communicate with these landlords and try to help them with these spaces. Okay.
Wait, I want to I want to dive into that first. I want to talk about the historical population. So you talk by the first census on Wikipedia, grant, that's my facts. Yeah. 1860, 1100 people. Yeah.
By you know, 1900. So 40 years later, 24,40 people. So just under doubled. Then by you know 1950 it was 3,283. 1960 3,664. And this is where the top of it is.
Uh in 1970 there was 5,79 people. Mhm. And then 1980 you go down to 4,800 4500 4,500 4,400 and 4400 in 2020. Um, so you see that like you know in the 1970s as the veneer capital of the world where industry is ripping population grows somewhere in that time I'm sure industry changes things like that you know these buildings uh and then you you run into that same time period around you know the late 2000s. Yeah. And you have to figure out what to do with your main street.
Mhm. So, a big thing is uh is it uh what is the organization behind all of the main streets? It's like Orca or something. Yes. So, it's OKCRA. It's the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
And so, that's under the uh state lieutenant governor's office. Yes. So, okra, Office of Community and Rural Affairs. Community and Rural Affairs. they kind of helped bring I don't know if it was started or like bring this program to Indiana, but it it's all about Main Street. If you've ever seen this is an interesting piece because it's not like a CVB.
It's not a visitors bureau. Not like so sometimes you'll see like there might be Edinberg probably not cuz it's a smaller town but there might be like a visit Edinberg account and a Main Street Edinberg account and then there's like the official town of Edinburgh like you which is wild to me that somehow they all can't just like figure out how to make those all work and and just be Edinberg. But like I digress. But a lot of places whether it be you know Southbend or Bloomington or wherever you'll see Visit which is uh usually a community visitors bureau uh which is CVB. You'll see a Main Street org which is more focused on like local residents and and revitalization of downtown Main Street. Yes.
And really downtown focus. So while a visitors bureau or a county visitors bureau is focused on the county or on the entire community like Bloomington like visit Bloomington, the main streets are really focused on that downtown destination. And so Okra oversees the Indiana Main Street organization and actually the city of Madison was the pilot program for that in 1984 85 I believe. Oh wow. This is old. It's an old program.
Wow. I kind of thought it was relatively new. No, it is. Yeah. Yeah. And so they which I mean look at Madison.
I'm going down on uh I'll be down there and I mean it is like a I mean they're constantly awarded near the top of the country when it comes to small town main streets. Oh, definitely. I mean and they've had 40 plus years now to really perfect it and and there's a there's a process. So even Edinburg main street right now we are not an accredited Indiana Main Street. That's what we're working towards. And then we want to be a nationally accredited.
There's like levels. Oh, there's levels. And there's so many acronyms because right now we're in ODAN, which is OKR's downtown affiliate network. So, this is the the phase one. We just got our certification in March for this. And Indiana has 125 main streets and out of that only 16 are nationally accredited main streets.
Oh, do they have that list? They do. Okay. Wait, I got to get this. So yes, here are the levels. Okay, so this is the Indiana Main Street program levels.
So first off, you have the downtown affiliate network. So it's like you're basically on your way to maybe then there's an Indiana accredited Main Street, which is the IMS that is level two. And then there's nationally accredited Main Streets. Wow. Wait, this is fun. I want to look at what Main Streets are in what level.
Yeah. And it's every every population like every community. It doesn't matter the size. So, Hope, Indiana has a main street and then you've got Shelbyville and and places like that that also have Coridan, you know, have have main streets. Wow. As of today, we have 70 downtown affiliates.
We have six aspiring accredited affiliates. We have uh 17 accredited Indiana accredited and 20 nationally accredited. There's some really good ones in there. there and they are the ones to follow on social media. So, if you're if you're looking if your community is looking to start a Main Street organization, look at what some of these uh heavy hitters are doing because it's it's incredible work for their downtowns. Oh, okay.
Yeah. Yeah. So, I'm looking I can like basically pick like I can like see where they are in the state like places like Angola, Kendallville, Auburn, that's a great one. Columbia City. Okay, so Northeast Indiana good representation. Cordon is nationally accredited.
Downtown Franklin, yes. Uh, Brookville, that's kind of a surprising one. Yeah. Uh, Greensburg. They do a good job. Trying to remember if Wab Bash is a national or if they're is the Indiana downtown Wash.
Okay. Nationally accredited. Wow. Okay. So if you were looking for the gold standard of main and like what goes into that like you know what are the qualifications it takes to jump up a level of main street organization. Yeah, there there's a lot.
Um, and and we have been focused on, you know, really laying the groundwork to get there. And actually, the the first call I made when we were just like, okay, let's start an actual Main Street organization because, you know, there's you can you can get a group of people together passionate about your downtown that, you know, want to work on beautifification, but until you really go through the fourpoint approach, which is a triedand-trude. So that's where you've got economic vitality, promotion, design, and organization. And each of those approaches um really are pillars of the main street. And they they have their own way to get things done. And so we, you know, made a call to to our friends in Franklin and uh a couple of folks from their discover downtown Franklin and Franklin Heritage Incorporated joined our board and are acting as adviserss for us.
And it's tremendously helpful to have people that have been there for, you know, one of them two decades that that has seen and laid the groundwork for Discover Downtown Franklin. Um, so to get to the nationally accredited, it is it's a lot. It's a lot of work. There's a lot of data um, you know, constant uh, you know, audits of your downtown and proof of of what you're doing and how it's working and you know, getting those return on investment uh, records and and data for your downtown. So there's there's a lot that goes into it. I mean this is intense.
Yeah. The application took us several months just for ODAN. Like so I'm looking at the to go to Indiana accredited. There's like there's a whole rubric. Yes. Baseline requirements.
So you have to create an active, you know, nonprofit, a board of directors of uh stakeholders, community members dedicated to leading the district's main street program. uh detailed work plans aligned with the selected transformation strategy like why can't they ever just write this stuff in like plain English like you know a dedicated budget so you have to raise money uh demonstrated support from municipality okay so you have to also so get a budget work with the city and you probably have to get um other sorts of funding with like local businesses yeah absolutely this is a whole a whole thing that's Wild. That's level one. What about the nationally accredited? I have to look at this. They literally have self assessment tools on the website here and they just uh Indiana Okra just announced the uh strategic plan basically for Indiana Main Streets moving forward that I got the email yesterday from the Lieutenant Governor's office.
So, that's available online right now. And you can kind of see um what their plans are and and how they're going to help and and promote the Main Street program moving forward. Wow. Okay. So, if you want to be a nationally accredited Main Street, you have to have again a board of directors. If you have over 5,000 people, you have to have a full-time employee.
That's for the director. If you're under 5,000, you have to employ a 20our minimum per week program director. Um, again, another strate like the transformation strategy. I'd love to sit in the room where you're talking about transformation strategy of a place. Yes. Cuz it's very interesting.
It's like I think a lot of people think in small town if you slap in a coffee shop or a brewery all of a sudden all your problems are fixed. And the the idea of transforming a community and and I think that sometimes that can be um offensive like people are kind of like oh what do you mean transforming? And it's like well over years like take working out. You could have been a collegiate athlete and if you spend two decades sitting on your butt, you're not going to look as ripped as you might have looked in college. And so you have to go through maybe this transformation process of getting back in the gym and you know getting your weights on and your running on and all that jazz. And um that doesn't mean that you your internal character or drive to compete or whatever is any different.
like you still have the character that makes you special, but like you know you might need to round out the edges a little bit. It's improvement. It's improvement and it's really trying to be the best and most authentic version of yourself. So when I you know when I think about the downtown that I grew up in and look at the downtown now, it's I want to have pride in my community and there was a lot of pride. I mean every storefront was full and now we have over 50% that are vacant storefronts. And so when we talk about that transformation, it's really how do we activate and rejuvenate this downtown to provide it's all about quality of place.
It's it's trying to not only attract people from the outside to come in and also, you know, see what we're all about and explore our community and get them, you know, from the outlet mall uh to downtown to support our merchants. But it's it's also about just the quality of life for the residents. I mean having a nice clean and energized place to visit whether it's a coffee shop or the library or you know what restaurant whatever that is. How long have you been uh like in leadership on the main street or so we just formed in 2025. Okay. So when you think about Main Street 50% vacant like where does the first meeting of you know when this whole org starts in 2025 what is the vision that you're casting?
You go in there and everyone's talking and you're like, "Okay, by 2035, over the next 10 years, Edinburg is going to be this." Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we've literally taken a building audit of downtown and we've looked at our downtown as kind of like a a blank puzzle and said, "Okay, if we could build the perfect downtown with the business mix," and that's what the the Okra, the Indiana Main Street, I mean, they they give you tools to help do this. What's the perfect what's the perfect mixture? Uh, it's service and retail and making sure that none of your main floor spaces, your main level are apartments or residential.
So, those should be revenue producing retail or service. Second floor, go for it. Residents, you need people living downtown. You need people to to patron those places, but your main floor should be retail. And yeah, what do you think the makeup of a good main street is? You talk about retail, you talk about service, what, you know, Edinburgh town of, you know, over a little over 4,000 people.
If you were building the perfect Main Street and you could just wave the magic wand, what would you put it? Let's say let's say there were 10 buildings, right? If we were I mean, how many are there? There's there's a little bit more than Yeah, there's almost 40 kind of depending on what the district that you're using. Yeah. And we'll extrapolate this out.
So, if we say one out of 10 should be this, then imagine that'd be four out of 10. But 10 buildings. Yeah. what make up you talk about service if so first thing is first the apartments any sort of residential living upstairs you know look at all big you know main streets and things like that like yeah you don't look at I mean new construction multif family units they're putting the padded shoes on the bottom floor and they're putting the people up top so in a small town like Edinberg if we had 10 spots what would the makeup be when you talk about in the main street what are you guys vision casting and what do you want to see in those spots Yeah, one of the the big things that we have learned and actually okra right before so 2019 right before you know what happened uh they started this pilot program called pier and and I applied and Edinburgh won and this was I mean it really thought at the time like this is going to be and and it was and it still is because those are connections that we still have but they paired us with two communities to be our mentors for the year and we were paired with W Bash in Rushville.
And so we spent an entire year touring those communities, having their leaders and mayors come to Edinburg and do an assessment of our downtown and of our community. And through that, we were able to really and and we were starting to look at the Main Street uh program at that time, too, because both of them had gone through it. I mean, one's nationally credited. I'm going to say and if you thought of like the evolution there, it would be like where you are today to then like a Rushville to then like a Wash. Okay. Cuz the cheat code though uh and this is all love to Wabash, but they have a huge community foundation endowment.
Oh my gosh. Yeah. Like not everyone had so like you know it's tough to just be like oh yeah by the way we have you know x amount of millions of dollars that gets invested into our community. Right. Right. So like and Edinburgh had I mean Edinburgh is still benefiting from that philanthropy.
So we had the Amos family and the Conover Foundation. Uh the Conover Foundation is still active and still helps with our facade grants actually for downtown, but that's who built our swimming pool in the 70s. So, and so there are amenities like that. Even Timbergate Golf Course is is part of that. Um and so we we had those philanthropies, but yeah, a place like Waw Bash, I mean, it's just you go and it's it's incredible. It is absolutely incredible.
So, uh you get to pair up with Rushfield and you get to pair up with Waw Bash for a year. when you brought them in and when you went and visited, what were you seeing? Like what were the big findings and what were they giving you? What was the feedback that you were getting about Edinburgh? Yeah. So, to kind of bring it back to the what is that perfect mix look like?
And both of those communities, it was their downtown theater that was the catalyst for all the other development really because that's what brings the masses. I mean, you look at the art craft theater that seats 800 and some people. So, if you're bringing in 800 and some people every weekend for a movie, they need places to eat, go have a drink, shop, things to do beforehand. And so, the same with W Bash and their Eagle Theater and Rushville um with the Princess Theater. I mean, that's where their town hall is now. It's part of that building.
It's an incredible facility. And so that was really the impetus to for for development of the rest of their main street. And you need you need night life. So I mean the the films, the live entertainment, that all happens there. Um you need things that are are for kids. So I mean downtown Edinburgh, we have an incredible ice cream shop now.
It's called Sweet Treats and it's owned by one of our local Hispanic families that also owns the Mexican restaurant down the street. They are they have heavily invested in our downtown. And you know, they're open into the evening, which is great. And it's wonderful to drive through and in the evening see the lights on and see families in there enjoying some some ice cream. Okay. So, here's what I would say, too.
If you were, you know, you had 10 spaces. One of them should be Yeah, I like the idea, but a theater that's not just a screen, but you could also like get people to like you could host your gala or you could like uh there's a stage like that kind of like are you talking that kind? Oh, absolutely. In downtown Edinburgh, we have the Pixie Theater and it was originally built as an opera house in the early 1900s. Of course, it was of course and like, you know, across the street, I mean, it's so parks and wreck. Like, I've always been called the Leslie Opa Town and there's so many things that are just Yeah.
Right on right on queue with that. And across the street, you know, was the gazebo where you hitched your horses and it was just, you know, perfect. Um, and so the Pixie Theater, unlike these other theaters like the Artcraft, um, or the thermome Theater in Columbus, the Pixie, because it was built as an opera house, um, and then it was later the Masonic Lodge, it has this gorgeous ballroom upstairs. So, we had for our bsentennial, we did, um, a reader theater event. So me and and four other folks dressed in pilgrim clothes and basically read the state address from 1876 um kind of the state of of Edinburg during the the country's 100th anniversary and then we went upstairs and had the Columbusville harmonic playing and had hard truth there sir and did a catered dinner and just celebrated the history of Edinburgh during our bsentennial and it's just it's an incredible space to be able to to utilize um And you know, movies were were shown there in the 50s and 60s and live entertainment.
I mean, I can remember as a kid going to plays at the Pixie and it's been under private ownership since uh 2008 and and we've worked with that landlord to to do things there. But re now it really needs a dedicated nonprofit group to help revitalize and and restore that because it doesn't have an elevator in it. So accessibility is extremely difficult if you're trying to cater. I mean, we luckily the fire department was next door and we just had them carry all the food. Nice. There we go.
And that's small town coming together right there. Small town. Yep. Okay. So So we're going to use one of the buildings. We have 10 10 spaces.
We're going to use one on theater. A main stay for nightife, gathering people, community space. I love that. Then what makeup again from what you've learned from Main Street, what makeup then becomes the nightife, the bars, the restaurants, the ice cream shops of that next, you know, we have nine spots left, right? Right. Yeah.
Yeah. You need you need a nice restaurant. You need a good restaurant. You also need a coffee shop. I mean, coffee shops are where meetings that's where business happens now. And I mean, I think about every every meeting that I hold around the county.
I'm going to Maine and Madison in Franklin or Coffee House 5 or I'm going to Graham's Bakery in Barthami County. It's always at a coffee shop. Um, W Bash, it's Murdoch's there. I mean, that's their, you know, that's their place. That's their hang. Exactly.
Yeah. Yeah. I feel like you need Okay. So, if I was again doing the main street vibe, I would pick like one coffee shop and one like breakfast diner like for this for the days that you don't want to like meet and greet and all the stuff, you're you're getting coffee at one place, you're doing breakfast, and then Yeah. You're probably like the next four are like restaurant concepts. Yeah.
Or you need salon, you know, you need salons, you need barber shops. I was going to say what are the services that are also great main street services? Yeah. It's those it's the services like, you know, insurance, tax prep, legal prep. Um that's actually something that we're working on right now. So, outside of salons and barber shops, you know, any tax service or insurance or real estate, um, you know, real estate's changed because a lot of people are doing that from home now and aren't necessarily needing as much brick and mortar, but there there is still a need for for those brickandmortar spaces, but any type of financial service outside of a bank, our community is having to go outside healthcare, they're having to really go outside of the community for those services.
And so you need I mean I'm actually working I just had a a phone call with the Indiana uh Bar Association about how do we get more lawyers into rural communities because they go to the city and then that's where everyone is is having to go. But you know for communities like us it's we really need those services in town. Wow. Okay. So you'd say probably what like 30 or 40% service and 60% of like retail type stuff. Wow.
Uh who around the state have you seen that has a phenomenal downtown? Like obviously we talk about Rushville, we talk about Wash, but like and we talk about Madison. Outside of those three, is there a spot that you're just like man that main street is perfect? Yeah. I mean Franklin has just been killing it there. there.
It's incredible. It's big of you to say the local the local Johnson County like right down the street. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, there it's it's phenomenal what they're doing.
Um, you know, Shelbyville is also really really coming along and Barkersville. I mean, I it it's so funny. You know, growing up again, Barkersville was just it was agriculture and that that's that's what it was known for and that was it. And it was also known for the flea market. And it's like just, you know, a few weeks ago, my husband and I went for dinner and I paid $22 for a crab cake and I was like, "Look at Burggersville." Like going from flea market to crab cakes.
Yeah. Like 22 bucks. You could have bought like an entire booth at a flea market. Now you're paying 22 bucks for a crab. Good for them. Good for them.
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Yes. something like a main street or or like a local maybe even like all the way up to like a mayor or town council like those are the people that can really impact your day like absolutely if the governor says something you know like it does impact but it's it's not maybe necessarily like you know your sidewalks or your school system or whatever it is that's like local organizers that just don't take no for an answer and figure out how to get stuff done. Yeah. So, how do you start to enact anything? Get momentum rolling in Edinburg. What have been like the steps thus far and what's coming down the pipeline?
Yeah, so much of it is education. Just educating community leaders and the residents on why preservation is important, why main streets are important, and having a a destination downtown is vital for uh the community and not just for growth. You know, bigger isn't always better, but it's about quality of life for the residents that we do have. So, if we don't want to we don't want to continue to see a decline in population, we have to provide a safe and attractive place that people want to live and to work and to play. I mean, that's the that's the motto now, you know, where do you want to live, work, and play and and create a community that um that fosters that. And we're even seeing that.
I mean, we do have growth now at Timbergate Golf Course. So, there's a housing addition. We've got about 150 homes that are being built out there over the next few years. And I think this year alone, 40 are are being built. And we have this entire new population of people that are kind of on the outskirts of town that we're trying to attract them into town and and right now there's not a lot to bring them in, but they're using the cart pass as walking trails because they want trails. And you know, I was thinking about your uh interview with uh Muny's mayor and he was like trails, splash pads, quality of life, parks, like that's where we invested because that's what people care about.
You know, people don't move to a community and and wonder if their water's going to be clean or their, you know, toilets are going to flush or their lights are going to turn on or the police are going to show up if they call. Like that's what you expect. But you move to a community because of the restaurants and the entertainment and the park systems and that that's what brings people in. Yeah. It's like same thing like when you're picking out a place you're going to live, whether it be an apartment or a house, you're like, you know, do you like the the rafters aren't falling in and like there's drywall up like that's table stakes. But like what what really swings you is like the outdoor patio and the bar and the kitchen and the you know the recessed lighting and all that stuff.
like the fancy stuff. Even though it's like when you think about what's most important, it's like four walls in a roof that aren't going to fall in, but what really is the sales pitch is like those granite countertops, right? Like that's what a walking trail is. It's the granite countertop of a city or a town. Yeah, absolutely. Look at that.
Yeah. Y um pull that right together. Yeah. Come on. Um wow. Okay.
So, when you think about the next steps forward for Edinburg, you're at 50% Main Street occupancy. I'm sure there's a requirement in like, you know, moving up in Main Street. Yeah. of occupancy of downtown or things like that. Yeah. What needs to happen and and what needs to who needs to come to the table to help take Edinburgh to the next level?
Yeah. Well, we are very fortunate. So, another another fun fact about Edinburgh is we are in three counties. So, my my zinger is always too much fun for just one county. So, we're we're in three. So, we're Shelby, Barthamu, and Johnson County.
and we have a great relationship with partners in all. How does that even work? Like what who's in charge? Well, it's kind of orphaned us for a while, I would say, but now it's it really is where the majority of our residents and business is Johnson County. That is where the majority of Edinburgh is. Uh Timbergate and some residential is Shelby County.
most of our industrial park area, so kind of towards the out in the outlet mall area is is Barthami County. Um, and so we we have to play well with with all of those. Like if you wanted the county to come alongside, would it just depend on where it was located? Where it was located. Yeah. Yeah.
So, which is so like when Okay. How old is the outlet mall? Uh, the late 80s. Okay. So, let's say like late '8s comes around and Edinburgh is like the, you know, uh, in the front running. Does like Bartholomew County compete against show?
It's like, "Hey, do we want it here or do we want it there?" And like that was probably like another aspect of complexity. Yeah, absolutely. It it was really interesting. So my my dad was on the town board during that time that the outlet mall was being built and my grandmother was the clerk treasurer. And so I have like I have the documents of you know the land like the signing of the the land for this property and this project and like having their signatures on it and it's such a a momento for me.
Um but it is yeah I mean I I remember you I was just a kid but I remember when that all was taking place and it was like I mean people thought like there's no way this is going to work like an outlet mall in the middle of nowhere. I mean, because that was all, you know, agriculture. That was all farmland that was there. And it was kind of like, you know, again, it's not it's not right next to a downtown of Columbus or Edinburgh. It's just, you know, off of 65. It's off of the interstate and off of 31.
And now, I mean, it's it's incredible. They have to do languages like announcements and I think over 60 languages because the mall is just I mean, it's an incredible asset. Yeah. Absolutely. And it's like how do you get people to not think that that's all the Edinburgh is, right? You know, how do you get them to also come visit downtown?
Yeah, exactly. And I mean, one of the first partners that we reached out to was the hotel developers down there of like join our main street board and and he did and and sees the value of like, you know, when when people are going to the outlet mall and they're staying at the hotels, they also, you know, they they want to explore communities. They want to see, you know, Edinburgh, what what more is there? And so to get them to come to downtown to, you know, patron our restaurants, our diners, and and those types of things, I mean, it's a it's a huge asset to have. Get some not just popcorn. That's right.
It is not just popcorn, but it is popcorn. Yes. It's delicious popcorn. It is. Oh, we got the buffalo the buffalo popcorn. Buffalo cheddar.
Yes. Oh, I'm going to try to get her to change the name to Bison cuz I mean with the Hooers. Come on. Uh the the instead of buffalo cheddar, bison cheddar. There you go. Um buy some bison.
There you go. Um spectacular. Okay. So, what do you envision is coming down the pipeline for Edinburgh? You know, as the And what are you guys working towards? Like if you had the think about the next few years, is it trails?
Is it attracting new bars, restaurants? Are you talking to hotel developers? Are you talking to, you know, bar and restaurant tours? What do you guys need? Yeah. So, one of the big projects that we're working on right now is a downtown plaza.
So, we had kind of at the cornerstone of our downtown, there was a doctor's office that had been there for years. Uh, and they moved and so there's this halfacre of land that is right across from the library. It's the entrance to downtown. And we really don't have any place for entertainment. And so, this is something that and and I mean, you're seeing it across the state, but definitely in in Johnson County. I mean, Bgersville, Franklin, Trafalgger are all getting amphitheaters.
Um, and so this is something that we knew we needed a a permanent amphitheater where all of our festivals and and more events can start to take place. So, there's also a a consultant. It's a a destination development corporation that the county tourism brought in a couple years ago and they kind of secret shopped every community in Johnson County and then gave a presentation and it was just a roast of all of our communities of like what we should be doing better. But it's good to get that outside view of like here's my first impression of these communities. And so, you know, he's roasting Greenwood and and Franklin still, you know, and uh but then he got to Edinburgh and he was like, "This has the most potential in the county." By far the most potential in the county.
Yeah. Why Why did he say that? Just because we've got the the bones are there. So, you know, at that time especially, you know, all of our downtown buildings were still intact. And so, kind of the uh the the jargon that is used is like we had no missing teeth in our downtown. And so really downtown Edinburgh was like the pre-outlet mall outlet mall.
So, you know, we've got these two blocks of just shops, like outlet mall style, you know, retail shops. And and it's just it's got that small town that like Mayberry, you know, feel to it like a Hallmark movie. Um, but we're in this great location, you know, where Yeah. There's our library. That's the library. And yeah, that's where the plaza is going to be.
Right on the other side of the this area. Uh, nope. on the other side right across the Oh, okay. So, this is Yeah, the main the main drag. Yep. That building is is now gone.
So, Oh, so this is like already confirmed. Yes. Downtown Amphitheater. Yes. Just off of literally on Main Street. On Main Street.
Yeah. That's incredible. I will say go on Google Maps, everyone out there listening, and just like run the two say like the three blocks from uh where that amphitheater is, which would be Oh, boy. Don't ask me. Cardinal directions is that that's west. West from the west side of downtown.
You run it through uh wait, is that like a giant E in the middle of the road? That's fire. Okay. Sweet. You can see it from the sky and run it. There is a lot of potential all the way to the train tracks.
Oh, I mean even past the train tracks. Uh yeah, that's what our district is is basically Pleasant Street to the railroad tracks for our main street. Yeah. You know the thing that would would have made it maybe more interesting or cooler if somehow you could have incorporated the giant thing into your amphitheater. You know what I'm like the is that a a grain? No.
A um Oh, the grainery. Is it called a grainery or what do they like? It's I mean that's our skyline. Yeah. Yeah. It's huge.
Yes. Well, I will say we are I mean this plaza is going to be a really an identical or an identity for our community. So when the Blue River Dam was taken out in uh the end of 2024 and we salvaged all of the stone from the dam. So it's sitting at our street department right now. We are going to use that stone as seating at the plaza and just be able to I mean it'll be an aesthetic. It'd also be like a hardcape for safety.
Um, but it's, you know, that that's been in the water since 1884 and now it's going to be part of our plaza. Wow. Okay. What's the size of the amphitheater? It's uh, so the whole area is about half an acre. Um, and so we're looking at a an amphitheater, a stage that's probably about 40 by by 30.
That's amazing. Yeah. Is that the giant greenery? Like what's the story there? Again, one of those properties that is owned by a private landlord and there's not much we can do. What do they do with it?
Nothing. It just sits there. It just sits there. I call it Kitty City cuz there's a lot of cats that Kitty City. That's like And do the is there like a plan for it or anything? No.
Just like I own this thing. Yep. I mean, you could do so much cool stuff with that. Yes. And so that's where our main Is it a is it a local resident? Somewhat.
Somewhat. That's interesting. I feel like that is a place that uh wherever leaders are just getting the stakeholders and the like the the property owners on board with whatever because that is the thing if you own the property you can you know do whatever you want with it. I think that there's potential to do something interesting. Absolutely. Oh, and and you know, my I am a I'm a relentless optimist, so I can and that's why our main street is also full of these people and that's why I gravitate towards these leaders and in other communities and and pull them in because it is uh it's a beautiful way to see the world where, you know, I can walk into that greenery or or, you know, the the theater or a dilapidated building or, you know, a parking lot that has just been trashed.
mashed and I can see the potential in it and that is it's a beautiful way to live life to always see the beauty and everything and see the potential but it's also it's frustrating because a lot of times it's out of your control and you really have to get a lot of buy in from others to to want to change it and that's that's that's the hard part fortunate but also unfortunate part is when everyone has to say no one ever agrees right like I'm sure it's like oh well we want to put a theater in it's like well why not put a park, right? And it's like, well, we want to put a splash pad. Well, why not? Or something. And it's like, come on. What do we What are we hear parking all the time?
And it's like, parking for what? Like, we need we need the destination first. And, you know, and it's and you think about even places that you travel. I mean, I'm I'm also learning so much just about how to communicate by I don't know if you follow Revitalize or die. He has become the disciple of main street organizations now. vitalize or die.
Or die. Yes. I mean, it's true. If you're not growing, you're dying. Die. Yes.
And so he he's out of Pennsylvania now. Um but I I think he maybe grew up or had lived in Ohio and and now he's kind of touring the country and and helping communities get started with revitalization efforts. His name's J uh Jeff Seagler. He wrote a book called Your City is Sick. You know, one of the things that he recently talked about was uh, you know, people are always talking about how parking is a problem and it doesn't matter what the community size is. You know, Edinburg or Seymour or whatever.
People, you know, seem to think that parking's a problem. And he says, you know, why do you visit? Where, you know, where do you go on vacation? You're usually going someplace where you're like, let's go where this is all walkable. We don't have to drive around. Like, we're we're spending thousands of dollars to vacation in places where we don't drive.
and we could be creating that in our own homes as well. So, that's something that it it's not about, you know, parking is not a problem if you, you know, it's your attractions are the are the problem. Yeah, that's super interesting to think about. Yeah. And it's like, I mean, look at downtown Nashville. Yeah.
There's no parking. There's no parking. And thousands of people in the fall are they figure it out. Yeah. Not priority one. Um maybe again like maybe for if you think in like the small term of convenience for like getting to like your current stuff today.
Yeah. But when you think about expanding and bringing cooler things in. Yeah. It's like how do you increase your foot? I mean look at uh maybe like you get to the point where you need a bargain garage but I would say like I would say and it pains me to say it but like probably like the coolest downtown area is going to say it Midtown Carmel, right? Like I know and it is so walkable.
You park one place, you don't but you don't mind walking a couple blocks or you know a half mile or whatever because there's like there's something new to see and like learn about along your journey there. And it's all perception too because I think that is part of it. I mean you you hit the nail on the head with convenience. People think in a small town or a downtown they should just be able to park in front of the store, go in, you know what, but it's like think about when you go to Bies. Think how far you're walking from the guests, you know, from just getting your guests or parking at like you're walking a ton or even I mean you could I I remember the mayor of Seymour uh hearing him talk about how people were complaining about parking in downtown Seymour and they did an overlay of like the Walmart and how far like if you parked in the first spot at Walmart like how far you still had to walk to get in and then if you were going to get milk or bread and it was like you're walking 10 times further farther in Walmart just to get you know this than you are if you're coming downtown.
So it's like this is just a perception issue. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of it is a like a communication or a marketing thing like if you just like make people see and people just like to complain regardless. They do. Um amazing.
Okay. So vision casting 10 years from now when we when we go visit Edinburgh in 2036. What is that community going to look like? Oh gosh. There's going to be summer concerts going on at the amphitheater. The library is going to be using that for magic shows.
There's going to be a splash pad there. Our farmers market is there. The theater is going to have, you know, movies and live entertainment and uh, you know, be a place for rentals for events. I mean, I can see our prom being at the the theater now instead of going outside of town for that. And then downtown is going to be walkable. It's going to be accessible.
Well, there's going to be something for every age to be able to do there. Um, you know, our community center right now, we really focus on our 55 plus community. So, we've got uh Uker 3 days a week and we actually started at 2 and they were like, can we come in on Fridays, too? So, you know, we do yoga out of there. Um, all kinds of stuff for our seniors. Uh, and we want them to have that community and have that that social time, but then we want our students, you know, I I want, you know, future Lancers to be coming down the street and having a pride in their community and saying like, "Look where I'm from.
This is beautiful." So, yeah. Bars, restaurants, ice cream. Like, it's just it's going to be great. We're getting there. If you could wave your magic wand and bring one thing from another community to Edinburg tomorrow, what would it I would pick up Maine and Madison coffee shop in Franklin and drop that in the middle of town.
It's it's it's just one and it's I mean yeah I'm I'm probably there uh a couple of times a week for meetings and that's whenever anyone in the county says like hey you know can we meet up I'm like main. Yeah, it's just they do uh they do the service is great, the products are great and they have restored a historic building in the you know center of their downtown that is just gorgeous now and so it's yeah it's a it's great amenity. Do you see a lot of economic vehicles coming online? And have you had to spend a lot of time learning about whether it be like historic facade renovation or, you know, ready grants or like whatever it might be that do you see that there's a lot of economic support to reinvest in these historic buildings and to renovate uh rural main streets? Yes. So, I actually just finished the Ready 2.
0 0 grant uh for the Pixie Theater uh for the the arts and culture side of that and uh the Ready uh 2. 0 um not on the arts and culture, but that's uh we've earmarked uh money for the plaza for that as well, basically to resurface that area. Um we have an incredible partnership with the Johnson County Community Foundation and we also have great support and partnership with the Johnson County Festival Country Indiana and then Visit Columbus in in Barthamu County. This is one of the nice parts where it is to be in three counties. Got all these buckets to be into a little bit. We'll make sure that stays in that section and that stays in that corner.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So, we've just got these incredible partnerships that we're able to to leverage and uh and so they they've really been I mean, Festival Country gave us $100,000 to go towards the stage for the amphitheater. So, we've Yeah. $100,000.
And it's just And it was selling them a vision. it was, you know, had we had a schematic design and it was here's what we want to do. We know this is going to be a return on investment for our community. Um, and especially for us being located where we are. I mean, Edinburg and Johnson County in general, you know, we're at that Louisville, Indie, Cincinnati triangle, and there's just there's there's so many people that are are coming into the area for for work and, you know, you see the growth in in Bgersville and in Trafalgar and and Franklin now. And it's, you know, we we don't want to get left behind.
I don't want our community to to get left behind. I I want it to um if we're going to grow, it needs to be intentionally, but I I just want us to be the best version of ourselves. I love it. This has been an incredible deep dive into Edinburg and all the great stuff happening out there. I have to ask, yeah, what are your thoughts on the tenderloin? I'm I'm pro tenderloin.
I mean, this is the thing. Some people like to comment and say like, "Oh, it's not that good. It's like it doesn't taste that good. It's thin." Blah blah. I don't care what it is.
If you make your thing the biggest, the biggest anything, like you have to go. I constantly tell people, go to Edinburgh, go to the diner, get that thing. It is the size of a school lunch. Absolutely. And I like it. It takes me back.
I was just thinking about like being known for something like being known again for Indie I say like some people like don't like the whole speed city. Some people don't like the whole like leaning into the five and it's like lean into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 100%. It is what the city of Indianapolis is most globally known for, I would say. Yes. Oh, I I was in New Zealand.
Um that was my college graduation treat to myself and people were asking about the Indy500 in New Zealand cuz Yeah. I would say, you know, I'm from Indiana. Oh, Indy500. That's what they knew. So, absolutely. So you talk about like I would say for Edinburg the two things that I think about the most would be the outlets and it would be the tenderline.
Tenderloin for sure. And I feel like the tenderloin like once every two months some new creator goes down and like does a video maybe even more. Oh yeah. I mean those the Facebook posts are just I mean and it shows up on the Midwest versus everybody memes. Like I can always tell like yep there's our pink walls. Like that's at the diner and it's a and it's cheap.
It's like 10 bucks. Oh yeah. Yeah. And you get like three meals out of it. I mean, our our town motto has always been small town, big amenities, you know, because we have the aquatic center. We've got, you know, a state-of-the-art um, you know, for our our little league, our our uh softball fields at Park and Wreck.
And I'm like, we need to change it to like small town big tenderloins. They need to put that on a t-shirt. That would be a great small town's big tenderloins. Wow. Wait, that might be a good shirt. We'll have to do that one.
All right. I love it. Well, we've come towards the end of the show where we get to talk all things Indiana. Mhm. So, this question is brought to you by our friends at JC Hart. They're a leader in creating enjoyable living experiences at apartment communities all across Indiana and beyond.
Check them out at homejart. com. My question for you, why do you call Indiana home? My roots are here. Deep, deep roots in this community. I was sharing beforehand, you know, I I live in a house that my great great uncle built in the 1920s and um I just I I love the community that I'm in and I truly feel like I was raised by the community.
So, you know, growing up in a small town, your teachers are your neighbors and community leaders are always there. And I just I felt like there was always more than just my parents that were were looking out for me and those are the people that I get to serve today. Uh, and so Indiana will always be home. Edinburg will always be home. If you could attract any new business to Edinburg, what would it be? Madison.
There we go. Yeah. Come on, Amy and Stephanie. Just do it. Amy, Stephanie, come on. Make it happen.
Let's go. What is your favorite local spot in Edinburgh? And that might be hard for you to pick. That is Can you pick a your favorite child? Or if there was a spot where you're like, "Everyone, you know, when you come to town, you need to make sure you check out Yeah. Yeah.
X, Y, or Z. Yeah. I mean, I have to I have to give credit where credit is due. I Not just Popcorn started in the late 80s. It actually started at the Outlet Mall and then moved to downtown Edinburg. That seems like a a interesting business.
Yes. Exactly. But I mean she was I and again it was one of those small town like this was a a woman that um when our families lived in Nineveh like our families were had houses next to each other and I so I I knew Carol Buck um my entire life that that started this and when she started it it was before you know the just pop in or opportunity or any of these popcorn shops really really got going and she was sending I know in the '9s 400 lb of popped popcorn a month to Hawaii. I mean, it that's incredible. 400 and some, you know, flavors that they were doing. And I when I went to IU Bloomington, I was a journalism major and we had to do a like photojournalism story and I came home and I did it on not just popcorn and I like did it to the like a peanuts like Charlie Brown song and it was just like, you know, Yeah.
Exactly. showing all these different flavors. And so, I mean, I I love what Not just Popcorn has done for the community. Every single year during the National FFA Conference that's in downtown Indie, we have over 800 FFA students come to downtown Edinburgh to tour not just popcorn and to learn about it. So, it's it's incredible. Incredible.
I love it. All right, we've come to the end of the show where we ask uh the same three questions. What is your favorite Indiana memory? One of my favorite memories, I mean, you know, I'm a I'm an 80s, '90s kid, so like I mean, Indiana Beach, you know, all of those like, yeah, th those were great memories growing up, but there was the Heartnut Festival in um Johnson County Park and like near Camp Adterbury. And I will just never forget as a kid going and like that's where I saw my first like real teepee and they had all these different craft vendors and it was just like I don't know I I love the outdoors and so just like being at the park and and seeing all these you know handmade items and it was just it was a really really cool experience. That's one of my favorite.
Yeah, that it's hard to pick a I mean, there's a lot of good stuff going on in the state. So, I mean, I totally agree. When I think of my favorite Indiana memory, h it's it is so hard to narrow it to one. Are your first like your first time going to the to the Indy500 that was I mean I I still cry every time I go to the Indy500, the flyover. It's it's just like America. But that the first time in the Indy500 as well.
Okay. So for me it was the first year I was the first person in the Indy500. Like I was first in line to get into turn three. And that whole day there was a rain delay and people just like didn't care. It didn't matter if it was raining. Like we were just like vibing in in turn three of the 500 like party all day.
It doesn't matter what the weather is. Come on. It was great. All right. This is going to this is going to alleyoop you into your next one. What is a hidden gem in Indiana?
Johnson County Park. Okay. What? Tell me about the park. Okay. So, it's it's hundreds of acres.
There is a wonderful fish and wildlife. I mean, the fishing is incredible there. There's trails. They always have just great programs and uh they they're doing like a vintage camper thing now where it's awesome. Like, people are bringing in and decorating these vintage campers. Um but it's where Who's Your Horse Park is?
Yeah. What is this thing? Oh my gosh. Who's Your horse Horse Park is incredible. Um and there was actually a Pan Games there in the the 1980s. Um, but even this October I got a call.
It was like I never know dayto day what who's going to call, what they're going to be calling about. And last year I got a call from someone that said, "Hey, I'm with the um Heritage Foundation and basically this is a nonprofit that works to um get wild horses in like adopted and but they do all these fundraisers and they're coming to Who's Your Horse Park to do these horse shows and it's coming in October and it's like this is going to be awesome." I mean that is why they're like yeah we're going to host this show to get wild. There are still wild horses. That's crazy to me. Well, that's not who they're going to be showing.
I think it's that these people that have, you know, trained horses, but they're going to be doing different, you know, just That reminds me of what I just saw. Talk about this. Uh do you know, have you heard of Trader Point Church? Oh, yeah. I saw this on Instagram. Uh they just brought in this like traveling min or traveling preacher that breaks a horse while giving a sermon.
Oh my god. Like what? Like talk about like uh I don't know what kind of insurance you have to have for that career. I don't even want to know. But like and every sermon is slightly different because of like the experience. Like sometimes they will be easier or harder.
I'm like that would have been a wild experience. I don't even know where you get that idea. But that's good for them, right? Uh I love it. All right, we've come to our final question. This is where we source new guest opportunities and learn about people doing amazing things.
Who's a Hooser we need to keep on our radar? someone who's doing big things. Gosh, there's so many. I'm I'm really privileged to I I mean, I I told you all the different boards I serve on, which is way too many, but there's just too much to care about uh in the world and in the state and locally and in our county and in our towns and cities. Um, and so I think even Johnson County has around 117 nonprofits and so there's there's just so many great people out there doing good things for the state. I know you've already had um the CEO from Girls Inc.
of greater Indiana or uh Greater Indianapolis on, but Sonia Wear Magcguire from Girls Inc. of Johnson County is just doing amazing things with this program and it has grown and we are finally back to like precoid numbers of youth that are being able to be reached. So, she's just someone that I mean I hope she stays with Girls Inc. forever. But I with her leadership and her her skills, I can just Yeah, I can see her going on and and doing even greater things for the the young girls of the state. Amazing.
I love that. Well, I will say I'm thoroughly impressed when I think about what makes small towns great. It isn't just a coffee shop or an ice cream joint or a, you know, main street dive bar that rocks. Like those all factor into it. What really makes it great is the people. The people.
And it is so clear and apparent to me that you have a just a ferocious love for the town of Edinburg. And I think that that is truthfully what's going to guide the next decade. You know, the work that you're doing and the passion that you have for your place. That's infectious. Like people from all around will hear this episode. We'll see you out in public.
We'll see you at the amphitheater this summer and just say like, "Wow, what if I stepped up and loved my town just 1% more?" Yeah. Just about just 1% more. Each day you come in, you love your place 1% more. Good things are going to happen. Oh, absolutely.
Like people want to be, you know, they want to whether bring in new coffee shops, new restaurants, lawyers, whatever it might be, services, the whole nine yards. If everyone, you don't have to spend any money. You just love your town. Talk about it with 1% more affection. Good things are going to happen. Oh, good things are going to happen.
Yeah. We just did a spring cleanup, our our main street group, and brought in some volunteers on Saturday. It was just an hour. Just an hour of your time. Come downtown, walk the district. Here's some trash bags and gloves.
And we did it in the rain. And it was I could really tell a difference. It was one of those like I was driving through town the next day and I was like, I can really tell that this looks better. Like that's it's incredible. And it was like one hour free. One hour.
Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Well, keep up all the great work. If people want to learn more about you, if they want to learn more about Edinburgh, where can they do that? Yeah.
Um definitely follow uh Edinberg Main Street on social media. Just Edinberg Main Street. Follow us there. Um our email, our contact information. And then yeah, I'm the economic development director for the town. So you can always find me at town hall or walking around and talking to businesses.
And if you are a especially a small community, I mean I'm from a small love a small community. They are just the the heart and soul of of this state. And so you know if you're interested in learning more about how you can get a main street, you know, our our group would love to to help as well. We want to we want to pass on the love like we've been getting from our our local communities like Franklin and Wbash and and Rushville. So, we're we're happy to help here, too. Shout out.
Let's go. I'll be up in Waw Bash later this summer, too. So, I'm excited to see what all the see what all the buzz is about. Amazing. Well, hey, great to chat with you. Keep up the good work, and we will talk to you soon.
Thank you. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations at Sweetwater. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at everything we're doing across the state, make sure you follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok, Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being a part of what makes the Hooer State great. We'll see you next time here on Get
