By Laura Forbes - bio | email | Twitter
Posted by Sarah Harlan - email
EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - Battling brain drain was the goal of city leaders as they gathered Tuesday for the next city summit to discuss how to attract and keep young people in the area.
Attendees have seen firsthand how tough it can be to keep young people, both from a business standpoint and a personal one.
"My husband and I have five children between us, none of them will live in Evansville," Patty Avery, member of Place for Young Professionals, said.
Avery hopes a group called Next Generation Consulting can come up with a plan to change that.
"Next Gen Consulting has worked all over the country in cities like Nashville and Columbus, but they've also worked in cities our size," Avery said.
City leaders said the recession has made it easier to attract and keep young people because there are fewer options, but as the economy improves, they said that will likely change.
"People are going to have more options, more places to work, more cities to choose from and it makes this effort even more important that we get in front of that," Vectren VP of Human Resources Ellis Redd said.
"We don't want them to kind of, check Evansville off on my list of places I lived on the way to the top," Avery said.
Avery said Evansville does a good job of attracting businesses, but that alone won't cut it.
"Many young people say they choose the city first, then look for a job," Avery said.
She said the plan will likely call for more of the attractions already in the works like greenways, arts and entertainment.
It may also play up what Evansville already offers like the low cost of living and low crime rate, hoping more young professionals will find reason to plant roots in the area.
Leaders said there will likely be several phases of the plan before they begin putting the recommendations into practice.
The summit is sponsored by local businesses.
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