Faulkner Strategies of Granger has been awarded a Reed Award by Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine for political professionals in the category of “Republican State Legislative Candidate.” Faulkner Strategies is the best political mail vendor in the Midwest and is a growing Indiana company with a talented staff. IBRG has hired Faulkner Strategies on several races in the last few elections to handle direct mail for our endorsed candidates in competitive races and is a company we have an excellent relationship with.

The mailing that earned Faulkner Strategies this award was for Rep. Dan Leonard’s primary election. This is a race where IBRG was heavily involved and Chase Downham, Indiana Chamber’s manager of political affairs, spent considerable time on the ground running Rep. Leonard’s competitive primary race. Rep. Leonard was a terrific candidate who has done great work for the people he represents and the mail program designed by Faulkner Strategies was effective in telling this story. It played a major role in helping Rep. Leonard win re-election.

Congratulations to Chris, Angela, Jared and the great staff at Faulkner Strategies for this well-deserved award and thank you for being an Indiana Chamber member.

Click here to see the award-winning mail piece.

You’ve undoubtedly seen their ads. You’ve heard the name. But what you didn’t know about Red Gold, the Elwood-based tomato product producer, may surprise you. So here are some fun facts about Red Gold, a company we’re proud to say is part of the Indiana Chamber member family:

• The company has over 1,100 employees, who work at facilities in four small Indiana towns – Orestes, Geneva, Alexandria and Elwood.
• Red Gold began in 1942 when Grover Hutcherson and his daughter, Fran, rebuilt a Midwest cannery to provide fresh-tasting canned food products for the war effort. (The company remains a family-owned business.)
• In Chicago, New York and 36 other major U.S. markets, Red Gold sells more canned tomato products than any other manufacturer.
• Nearly one-third of all canned tomato products purchased in the U.S. are made by Red Gold.
• Three out of every four consumers of retailer brand tomato juice drink Red Gold produced tomato juice.
• The company attracts creative minds to develop some of the industry’s most advanced tomato growing and processing technology – although the Midwestern climate helps quite a bit, too.
• Red Gold is the nation’s largest provider of retail private label tomato products (with ketchup leading the way).
• Personal testimony: Their ketchup is really freaking good.

And just think, Super Bowl Sunday is only two days away. Salsa, anyone?

The words that are uttered in State of the State addresses do not always become reality, but it was hard to ignore the "call for a longer school year" this week from Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.

School reform measures are popular in discussion, although many don’t receive the implementation they deserve. Charter schools, vouchers, scholarship tax credits and performance pay for teachers do, at least, get to the table in the talks. But what about spending more time at task? Hardly, if ever mentioned.

Indiana (and most of the rest of the country’s) school day was set up at about the same time as our state’s local government structure. The 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. school day — allowing students to work on the farm both before and after classes, as well as during the summer months — was fine when agriculture was king. Today, science and math are among the keys to a productive future and young people from other countries are eating our proverbial school lunch when it comes to those subjects.

The 180 days that Indiana students are required to attend school is among the lowest in the country and pales in comparison to many around the world. A longer school day? Maybe. A traditional school year that doesn’t end in late May or early June? Why not? It’s at least time to explore the ideas.

For more on Strickland’s education plans in Ohio, the Cleveland Plain Dealer offers a summary.