The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1463869
RANDY Harris County Council for District 1 Paid for by Randy Harris for Council, Denise Harris Treasurer VOTE FOR Community-Minded Experience! ELECTION DAY IS MAY 3 Your Vote Makes a Difference! You are invited to a CITY-WIDE BIBLE STUDY Open to men and women, all ages Thursday, April 21 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. at Randy's Americana Café Dennis Randall, Teacher and Minister First Chris an Church For addi onal informa on call: 812-354-6775 or 941-730-6324 APRIL 7 • 8 • 9 Open ursday & Friday 9-6 • Saturday 9-3 H H H S p r i n g H H H Tent Sale Tent Sale Tent Sale Tent Sale 906 N. 7th St., Vincennes • grundmanshoe.com 812-882-4770 • 800-726-4770 SHOES • SINCE 1929 Spring is here! Check out our new shoe styles! Buchta Tech Center a gem for Pike County By Sherri Sebella You can't miss the bright blue Elmer Buchta Technolo- gy Center Building if you live in Pike County, but not every- one knows all the benefits the Buchta Center has to offer the community, and that is some- thing Bridget Butcher, who is the new Program Coordinator for the Buchta Center is focus- ing on changing. The mission of the Buch- ta Center is to enable region- al talent to foster ideas to de- velop start-up concepts and launch new businesses. In oth- er words, the Buchta Center is for people who have an idea for a business or already have a business, that they want to market and create. The Buch- ta Center offers office space, computers, mentorship, end- less networking possibilities, conference rooms, printers, tools, equipment to build prod- ucts, and more. "We opened in a pandemic," Ashley Willis, Director for the Pike County Economic Devel- opment, said. "We were lucky there weren't more issues with construction. We locked in our costs for construction so we were very lucky. If that had happened six months lat- er, it would have had a big im- pact. We're excited to have Bridge (Butcher) join us. I was overseeing the Buchta Center and serving as a Di- rector for Pike County Eco- nomic Development, but that was unsustainable." "If you have a business and you have an idea, we connect them to mentors of different skill sets such as design, ar- chitects, engineers, graph- ic design, and patents to help them, along with advertising, marketing, taxes, and funding options," Willis said. "We do not do the paperwork, but we do point them in the right di- rection." As the Buchta Center re- cently celebrated it's first year at the location on State Road 61 in Petersburg, endless events and teaching opportu- nities have taken place. "We have five office spaces that are filled," Willis said. "Each of- fice has a one year lease. I was excited to see them fill so fast. We hope to expand our office space down the road. We al- so just got equipment on the makers space and haven't had time to market it yet, due to training, but look forward to utilizing that soon. Scott Wil- lis, who is a retired engineer and Bridget (Butcher) will go through training for the mak- ers section of the building." Another option for the com- munity is for businesses that have large meetings or need a classroom, to rent out space for large group settings. "We've held quite a few open houses also," Willis said. "It's been a great community space for networking." Butcher's goal is to have recurring events at the Buch- ta Center in the near future, with plans taking place now for a professional head shot photography session and net- working to take place in May, before local seniors gradu- ate from high school. "We have a big need for network- ing opportunities in Pike County," Butcher said. "We want to highlight workforce training to customize train- ing to attract new businesses to the area. With coal being phased out, transition train- ing and skill sets for those in that situation are important. Over 60 percent of jobs are exported out of Pike Coun- ty. We want to attract people to Pike County with new in- dustries. No where in our his- tory have we had something like this. Seniors will proba- bly go to college and not come back, but we have to change that. There's something so much more rewarding watch- ing something grow, then go- ing somewhere where those things are already developed." Memberships are avail- able to those who would like to take advantage of the ma- ny benefits the Buchta Cen- ter has to offer on a regular basis, or there are other op- tions such as a day pass avail- able. Student discounts are al- so available. For more infor- mation, visit the website at buchtatechcenter.com. Butch- er can be reached at 812-380 - 7070 or by email at bridget@ buchtatech.com. Bridget Butcher is the Program Coordinator at the Elmer Buchta Tech- nology Center. Butch- er has experience to the EBTC from The Panthe- on Theatre, a co-work- ing space and busi- ness incubator in Vin- cennes where she was the Space Manager. She has a passion and en- ergy for supporting en- trepreneurs, communi- ty engagement and eco- nomic development. The entrance of Elmer Buchta Technology Center welcomes visitors to experience new opportunities. EASTER BUNNY VISITS EARLY IN SPURGEON Several kids are hot on the trail of the Grand Prize golden egg. Trevor Biggs won the golden egg prize for 1-5 age group. Syler Gross hunted long and hard before finding the Grand Prize Golden Egg. Nevaeh Cannon won the golden egg prize for ages 6 and up. Fire Dept Volunteer Amanda Dunlap gives the group instruc- tions before the big hunt. A-6 Wednesday, April 6, 2022 The Press-Dispatch