Nappanee, the small city in southern Elkhart County, has been growing over the past few years. There’s been a lot of new industrial development, much of it related to the RV and trailer industries. There’s a new wellfield to serve new housing. Longtime businesses are expanding.
To reflect all that growth, the city has even tweaked the chamber’s Amish-inspired tourism marketing slogan, “Embrace the Pace,” to read, “Embrace the Place.”
Jeff Kitson has juggled both part-time jobs for almost 15 years and says he has no hard feelings about the change the city has initiated. He says growth and change are inevitable and good, and he’s confident Nappanee can maintain its small town flavor and character as it grows.
“You still can get on to the sidestreets, you can walk, you can bike, you can slow down,” Kitson said. “Here, even though we have growth in our industrial – which is a different ‘Embrace the Pace,’ they’re going as fast as they can to get the product out – our tourism and retail is, come down here, you can walk it, it’s a slower pace.”
The city has hired Mark Collins, who formerly worked at the Elkhart County Economic Development Corp., as its new economic development executive director. The chamber, which operates on dues that member businesses pay, hasn’t yet decided when it will replace Kitson, who wants to enjoy a little time with family before making his next career move.
