When it comes to helping a community grow, the future choices of its young workforce and their families makes a big difference.
At Wednesday’s CEO Luncheon, sponsored by the Clarke County Development Corporation, over 35 professionals, including Paul Dunnwald from Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service and 9 local business interns, gathered at Lakeside Casino to hear some of the benefits Clarke County and Osceola have to offer.
Altec brought five fresh-faced interns in mechanical design, engineering and manufacturing. Osceola Foods had three operations interns, and Iowa Steel had a manufacturing design intern in attendance. All were introduced and welcomed by the community CEOs and executives during the hour-long event.
CCDC’s Executive Director, Bill Trickey, along with City Administrator, Ty Wheeler, and Rob Taylor, Owner of Honey Hill Event Center gave a series of presentations to the group covering the history of Clarke County and Osceola as well as its deep commitment to manufacturing and their drive for future growth and development.
“We love welcoming interns into our community,” said Bill Trickey. “It’s an opportunity to show them how Osceola is a great place to live and work. With roughly 4700 non–farm jobs, plenty of entertainment options and nearly all the amenities you’d find in a big city you can set roots here without all the big–city headaches.”
In a presentation by City Administrator, Ty Wheeler, many of Osceola’s recent improvements and future goals were discussed as laid out in the Osceola 2022 Comprehensive Plan. The city’s Safe Routes and park trails projects, the bustling parks and recreation programs, and the solid employment opportunities in Osceola were all highlighted. With an impressive school system, available and affordable new housing options, and a high quality of life, Wheeler made a compelling case for the interns to consider calling Osceola home.
As one example of the bright future Osceola has, Honey Hill’s Rob Taylor presented his vision for a new distillery located right off Interstate 35 on the edge of town. With the painstaking research and work he and his team have put into the facility, Osceola will host one of Iowa’s only destination distilleries, similar to the Jim Beam and Four Roses distilleries in Kentucky and others found across the nation.
“The distillery business in Kentucky is approximately a $3 Billion a year industry,” said Taylor. “We think, with Osceola’s prime location to interstate commerce and the metro, we can take our distillery, an Osceola company, to that level and even go global.”
CCDC and the City of Osceola welcome these interns and are proud to showcase all the benefits of life in Clarke County. Be sure to say hello if you see these students around town!
To learn more about the ongoing improvements and advantages of living in Osceola, contact Ty Wheeler, Osceola City Administrator at 641-342-2377 or Bill Trickey, Executive Director of Clarke County Development Corporation, by calling 641-342-2944.
