Features Editor

A large group of Goshen residents gathered at the high school cafeteria Thursday night to learn more about their recent partnership with the Pike County Chamber of Commerce and how it might benefit their community.

Marsha Gaylard, chamber president,

told the group that she is excited about the possibilities available to all Pike County in the next few years.

Gaylard said

governmental and community leaders are working together to form an economic development entity which will be separate from the chamber. The economic development entity will concentrate solely on economic development and the chamber will concentrate on community development and tourism.

"Economic development and the chamber go hand-in-hand," she said. "They support each other."

Gaylard cited several factors that make Pike County a prime target for economic development.

"Pike County has a phenomenal fiber optic infrastructure and that is unusual for a small county and that is to our advantage," she said.

The wage rates for workers in the aviation industry are about $4 an hour less than in other locations and that makes Pike County a prime area for those industries that are heavy into aviation, Gaylard said.

"KW Plastics, the largest recycler of plastics in the world, also makes Pike County a target for suppliers," she said.

The countywide chamber was organized in 1980 and economic development has been under the umbrella of the chamber, but with the recent growth and the potential for future growth, Gaylard said a separate entity is in the best interest of the entire county.

She encouraged the group to feed and encourage new ideas in their community and to make sure they put their best foot forward by keeping their community clean and attractive in the event opportunity comes knocking.

"You never know when there might be a visitor in your community," she said.