A symbol of community support

Jim Cummings

June 01, 2006 09:12 am

— At first, the pairing seemed so inexplicable. It was as if Greensburg and Japan were coupled only through the random toss of two darts at a globe.
However, as each day passes and the realization sinks in Honda could soon be part of the community, that bond grows ever stronger.
More than 300 local red-clad citizens poured onto the courthouse lawn and braved 90-plus degree temperatures Wednesday to show the Japanese auto maker just how important its presence would be in Greensburg. Men, women and children endured a countless reshuffling of their position until they finally got it right. A live Honda logo, spelled out on the grass, said a lot more about the community than words could ever do.
“If a picture really does tell a thousand words, we said a lot today,” said Jennifer Sturges, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. “The neatest thing was, David Fry and I stood on the lawn just before 5:30 and watched all of the red shirts trickle toward us from all four corners. It was something to see.”
Sturges and Fry are part of the Economic Development Corporation’s Honda Community Support Task Force which put together the event. The size of the crowd overwhelmed Fry.
“We knew we’d need around 200 people to make the logo and, with it being as hot as it was, we were a bit afraid of falling short,” he said. “We just called people and asked them to play a part. Without question, their response was “Of course.’ We wanted to show Honda we have a welcoming community and I think this was a powerful sign of that. We realize this won’t make or break Honda’s decision whether to come here or not, we just wanted to get the message out that the people of Decatur County want it to happen.”
The message was carried live by helicopters flying overhead and news crews from all over the state and possibly beyond. If Honda didn’t know how important this project was before Wednesday, they will soon.
“This will be the centerpiece of the package we send to Honda,” Sturges said. “Going into today we had more than 200 letters of support dropped off and more came in all afternoon. We are showing Honda how well we come together as a community.”
Fry agreed the community aspect of luring Honda is important.
“What happened here today, while probably the first of its exact kind, is typical of this community,” he said. “We are fortunate to live here and we hope Honda feels they would be too.”
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