See You in Terre Haute Community Plan Continues Work, Health and Wellness Gains New Co-Chair
Terre Haute, Ind. – The See You in Terre Haute Community Plan continues its work and growth – just three months after marking one year since the plan was unveiled.
Over the past few months, despite the ongoing fight against COVID-19 in West Central Indiana, plan organizers and committee members have made great strides and even added new partners to the group.
Valley Professionals Community Health Centers CEO, Terry “TJ” Warren was elevated to lead the Health and Wellness Pillar, along with Caroline Mallory, the Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Indiana State University.
Warren replaces Regional Hospital’s CEO Nathan Vooys. Vooys announced in October he would be taking a new position within the HCA Healthcare network.
“Replacing Mr. Vooys is not going to be an easy task, but I’m very honored to be working alongside such exceptional leaders in our community,” Warren says. “Over the past year, I have witnessed such passion and commitment for the success of this community.”
Chamber of Commerce Director of Community Engagement Marla Flowers says Warren has already proven to be an asset to the Health and Wellness committee and was pleased that he agreed to co-chair the group.
“We are certainly sad to see Nathan go, he was a wonderful asset to not only the Community Plan, but the West Central Indiana community in general,” Flowers says. “I’ve already had the pleasure of working with TJ and he brings new energy and ideas to the Health and Wellness group. We’re lucky to have TJ on board and look forward to continuing the work of that committee.”
The See You in Terre Haute Community Plan was originally announced on August 19, 2019. In just a year’s time, the plan and its organizers have made exponential growth, including the hiring of Flowers to lead the progress along with co-chairs, Mayor Duke Bennett and Union Health CEO Steve Holman.
The See You in Terre Haute Community Plan consists of six pillars; Economic Development, Quality of Life, Talent Attraction, Health & Wellness and Infrastructure. In addition, there are two supporting task forces, Community Development and Resource Development. Each pillar is represented by two co-chairs made up of community and business leaders.
Flowers acknowledged that under Economic Development, the merger of Launch Terre Haute and the Chamber was completed in June 2020. The combined organizations will develop a stronger business hub and resources to advance the West Central Indiana business community and economy.
Just a month later in July 2020, the Talent Attraction pillar co-chairs recorded success as West Central Indiana was awarded the 21st Century Talent Designation by the Office of Career Connections and Talent, with support from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and technical assistance from CivicLab. The initiative was created to encourage local governments, businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, and economic and workforce development partners to create and implement plans to increase educational attainment, raise household income and grow the population in a region.
In way of Tourism, plans are underway for beautification projects at the I-70 exchanges. And within Quality of Life, a new comprehensive “Community Asset Guide” is being created and locally designed. The guide would highlight strengths and attractions for those looking to relocate to the area.
The Quality of Life Task Force also just notified a proposal for a “Reimagined Riverfront Development” within and around Fairbanks Park was chosen as one of the senior projects at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
In addition, each pillar has created a public dashboard that will provide constant updates on the progress of each action item and key metrics that are being tracked. For more information on the community plan, visit terrehautechamber.com/seeyouinterrehaute.
