Well, that was me this past August, shopping for last-minute details for my September wedding, when I spotted some Christmas décor. Little did I know that in the blink of an eye, the holiday season would be upon us. While Hobby Lobby may push the holiday décor a little ahead of schedule (in my opinion), I can’t fault them for trying to spark a little early holiday magic.

A Different Kind of Magic

Experiencing Christmas as an adult is undeniably different than experiencing it as a child. But that doesn’t mean there’s no magic to see or experience; it just looks a little different.

Today, the magic looks like folks coming together and providing gifts so all children can have an enjoyable holiday. It looks like communities hosting holiday events that bring people together, year after year. It’s local businesses stepping up and supporting nonprofits so they can make an even bigger impact during one of the most important seasons of the year.

While the end of the year is quickly approaching, there’s still a handful of family-friendly events you can attend! Even better, most of these events are free or have a low cost.

• DEC 18: 3-5 PM | Holiday Survival Grab & Go at Family Resource Center of Wayne County
• DEC 18-21: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at Richmond Civic Theatre *cost
• DEC 20: 9 AM-12 PM | Richmond Farmers Market Holiday Market at Starr-Gennett
• DEC 20: 10-11 AM | Legacy in the Pines at Cope Environmental Center *cost
• DEC 20: 1-6 PM | Christmas Box Giveaway at Townsend Community Center
• DEC 20: 3-7 PM | Santa at Two Sisters Bookstore in the Depot District

Where Community Shines Brightest

Wayne County is fortunate to have some incredible people and businesses that make our communities so special, especially during the holidays. From doing something as simple as eating at a local restaurant or shopping at a local boutique to making a generous donation to your favorite nonprofit, when we come together and do good, incredible things happen.

The Depot Festival of Trees is a perfect example of supporting local nonprofits during the holiday season. Local nonprofits decorate and display one-of-a-kind Christmas trees that are auctioned off to attendees. Proceeds from each tree directly support the nonprofit. This incredible event made quite the impact this year, raising over $45,000 for local nonprofits!

Let’s not forget the work that goes on behind the scenes to make the holiday season magical for all of Wayne County. Community volunteers who help organize parades, residents who go all out with their Christmas lights, town employees and volunteers who decorate downtowns with festive displays, and so much more that’s easy to overlook. Without this work, there’s no doubt the holiday season wouldn’t feel the same.

Cambridge City exemplifies volunteers making the holiday season magical. The Cambridge City Volunteer Fire Department transforms Creitz Park into a festive Christmas light display, open every Friday and Saturday from 6-9 PM through Christmas. Between Christmas and New Year’s, the light display will take place every evening. Admission is free, with donations welcomed to support the department’s equipment and building needs throughout the year.

Carrying the Spirit Forward

Next time you get to experience some of the Christmas magic in Wayne County, take a moment to say thank you. Whether that looks like dropping off some homemade cookies or writing a simple note of appreciation, acknowledging those who make the season special goes a long way.

As we celebrate this time of year, we’re also carrying its momentum forward. The spirit of generosity, connection, and community pride that defines Christmas in Wayne County doesn’t just end in December.

We’re excited to build on it in 2026 as new initiatives come to life, and we’re grateful to be part of a community where the magic lasts far beyond the holidays. 

The post The Magic of Christmas in Wayne County appeared first on Forward Wayne County.

If you experience the winter blues in February, we have an excellent cure for you next year – participate in the Chamber Career Fair!  This event is bustling with energy and the perfect pick-me-up!

The 2023 event took place on February 22 and 23 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds and is meant to give students a taste of the vast range of careers available in Wayne County.  It is truly an exploration with hands-on activities from start to finish.  Nearly every high school junior and senior in the county was able to participate, as this event showcased a broad range of careers from those requiring a high school diploma to those requiring graduate degrees and everything in between. 

The biproducts of the event are the opportunity to retain talent in our community, encourage students to find a career centered around their passion and skillset (or potential skillset), and to identify the necessary training for each career.  If this training is available in Richmond, even better. 

First Impressions

Eastern Indiana Works kicked off the experience with a “First Impressions” session, helping attendees think about how they present themselves through body language, promptness and more. Mixing in some light-hearted humor helped get the conversation flowing. 

The juniors then took a short assessment called “True Colors”.  It helped identify what personality type, represented by one of four colors, most closely matched their own.  Then community leaders talked through how that personality type could help students find careers where they would have a likelihood to succeed. These colors were represented in the next step by employers hiring people with their skillset and temperament.

Seniors had the opportunity to sit in small groups with employers working in sectors matching their interests. Seventeen sectors were available:

• Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
• Architecture & Construction
• Arts, AV, Technology & Communications
• Business Management, Administration & Finance
• Cosmetology
• Engineering
• Education & Training
• Government & Public Administration
• Health Careers
• Hospitality & Tourism
• Human Services & Non-Profit Organizations
• Information Technology
• Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
• Manufacturing
• Marketing, Sales & Services
• Radio & TV
• Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Career Fair Floor

The real magic happened when attendees walked into the First Bank Kuhlman Center and saw 47 businesses set up with activities.  Eyes widened, and smiles emerged.  Brewer Broadcasting was there with their microphones and games letting people take turns winning prizes through an on-air experience.  Neighborhood Health Clinic allowed participants to try their hand at phlebotomy on a practice arm, Synergy Home Care had a young professional sharing first-hand how they provide care to the elderly.  Eastern Indiana Works had a virtual reality corner where students were able to do tasks in various career fields. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

It Takes a Village

This event is no easy task.  It took 56 volunteers committing their time to this effort.  However, the payoff has enormous potential.  Forward Wayne County’s Employability Coalition that includes committee members from the Chamber, Economic Development Corporation, educational institutions, and employers have been working to develop a skilled workforce.  There is no better place to start than with those who have not yet entered a career. 

Why should students choose Wayne County as their permanent home? Because it is the best place to live, work, play and learn!

The next employability event from the Chamber will be their 2023 Hiring Fair on Thursday, April 13th. High school students will have an opportunity to visit the tables before the event opens to the public from 2:00 – 4:30 pm.

The post 2023 Chamber Career Fair appeared first on Forward Wayne County.

• One, that we are strong and capable.
• Two, we need to make some improvements.
• Last, that despite obstacles, good work still happened.

More importantly, it showed us that good work is coming in 2021. We are excited about what we can accomplish as a county.

Forward Wayne County, a county-wide effort to align community resources, provides backbone support in a collective impact style. This model has led us to

Our 2020 accomplishments:

• Champion Causes and Coalitions- We are working with threes strong groups: Employability, Early Childhood, and Neighborhood & Main Street Development.

• Grants- Through Coalitions and Forward Wayne County, we raised more than $275,000 to do work in the county.

• Early Childhood Success Coalition: Starr and Vaile Schools in Richmond were awarded Paths 2 Quality Level 3 designation. This doubles the On My Way to Pre-K classes in Wayne County.

• Partner- Next Level Jobs Rapid Recovery. We promoted and presented to employers, schools, and community partners on short-term credentials and certifications from Governor Holcomb’s office.
  • This supports the work of the Employability Coalition’s goal to increase educational attainment rates of our residents.

• Supporting our Affiliate Groups – First, we promoted events and programs via our newsletter and social media. Second, we advised groups on strategies for 2021. Last, we assisted with program review and writing letters of support.

• Invitations to be a part of conversations and projects:
  • Strategic Planning—Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County
  • Community Relations—Earlham College’s EPIC Grand Challenge
  • Regional Collaborations—21^st Talent Network partner
  • Network facilitation—Connect internal partners; connect outside resources with Wayne County Partners; and connect regional and statewide partners on potential projects in the county.

What We’ve Learned:

• Residents love where they live. Are there concerns? Yes. But they are hopeful. That’s a good thing.
  • How do we tackle those concerns and create real change?

• The county is ready for change and we need to bring together groups and get them on board to tackle large projects. Our Steering committee is working on this big project idea.

• Coalitions work- individually, organizations do good work. Collectively, they are doing great work.

• People like that Forward Wayne County is focused on county-wide efforts and not just devoting all of its energy to Richmond.

• People want to see our progress. Which is why we are redesigning our web site and the impact page. So our progress can be easily seen and understood.

What’s coming next year:

• Employability Coalition– We are looking at a Career Awareness campaign for in-demand Jobs in Wayne County. We’ll start with some short-term credentialing efforts to increase our educational attainment numbers.

• The Western Wayne Schools Childcare Center will open. This is a partnership between the Early Childhood Coalition, Western Wayne Schools, YMCA, Sugar Creek Foods, and the Wayne County Foundation.

• NICE! Programming- This will be neighborhood development work on how to create a group, work together, and keep it going. There are project grants attached to this programming.

• Main Street/Downtown Coalition- Working on metrics and projects. How do the towns work together to improve our downtowns?
  • What projects can be done to create attraction to our main streets around the county?

• Freedom Seeker’s to Future Framers- This is a project with the local NAACP chapter to look at the history of our black community in the county. It will also look at how we continue conversations and future work.

• Guest Blog Writers- We’ve partnered with key community stakeholders and groups in Wayne County to speak on some of our eight focus areas. Be sure to visit our web site.

• A Forward Wayne County web site redesign. Specifically, the impact page. By doing this redesign, visitors will be able to easily understand our successes as well as see a list of our current projects.

• The Forward Wayne County Steering Committee will guide a big project for the county. There are many focus areas: broadband, housing, safety, childcare, education, etc.
  • What project can we address that will move our county in a positive direction?

How you can be a part of our work:

• Get involved with a local organization. They need your support to keep their work moving forward.

• Respond to Coalitions and provide the feedback they seek.

• Give us your ideas. We don’t assume to have all the answers. We’d love to hear from you.

• Sign up for our monthly newsletter off of our web site.

• Visit our website often. We write two monthly blogs.

• Follow our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @forwardINwayne.

We wish you the best for 2021. Happy holidays and have a safe and Happy New Year!

The post Good Things Are Coming appeared first on Forward Wayne County.