Wabash County, IN – On Tuesday, June 18, the Indiana Office of Community
and Rural Affairs (OCRA) announced that Wabash County was one of four finalists for the 2024
Stellar Pathways program.
"The Stellar Pathways program empowers communities to invest in transformative
improvements, and these four regions have displayed the vision required of a Stellar project,”
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in a
press release from OCRA. “All four of these teams have not only understood, but embraced
the challenge of collaboration which is an important foundation for improving quality of life
for Hoosiers in their communities.”
Wabash County and its three co-finalists were selected from 19 regions across the State of
Indiana who submitted a letter of intent for the program.
The Stellar Pathways program, a reimagined version of the Stellar Communities program that
the City of Wabash participated in starting in 2014, encourages countywide collaboration and
provides resources and funding for projects that promote countywide quality of life
enhancements.
The letter of intent, submitted to OCRA on behalf of Wabash County, outlined that the
regional initiative was signed and supported by all incorporated communities in Wabash
County involving the City of Wabash, North Manchester, Roann, LaFontaine and Lagro.
"We are excited to continue to bring our partners together to enhance the quality of life in
Wabash County through this transformative initiative,” Tenille Zartman, president and CEO of
Grow Wabash County, said. “Being a Stellar Pathways finalist will further our strong existing
collaboration and commitment to progress and innovation."
The opportunities afforded to Wabash County as a finalist, as well as a potential Stellar
Designee, will allow for the county to continue its forward progress to complete many of the
projects and priorities outlined in the Imagine One 85 countywide strategic plan. The
cooperation already in place countywide as part of Imagine One 85 made the Stellar Pathways
collaborative requirement an easy one to fulfill.
“Opportunities like Stellar are exactly why you go through planning processes such as Imagine
One 85,” Alex Downard, director of Imagine One 85, said. “Without the leadership of our
communities, support organizations, and the private sector, opportunities such as this are not
possible. The Stellar Strategic Investment Plan will allow us to advance projects and programs,
founded through the work of Imagine One 85, and prepare a compelling case for why Wabash
County should be awarded the Stellar Pathways Designation and receive the resources that
accompany it to implement large scale initiatives moving our community forward.”
As a finalist, Wabash County will receive $50,000 to prepare a Strategic Investment Plan that
will outline the county’s goals if named a Stellar Designee. The process will include feedback
sessions with members of the OCRA team on the objectives outlined in the letter of intent,
workshops, and ongoing consultation with OCRA to fine tune their proposals before
submission on November 1, 2024.
The two Stellar Designees, which will be named in January 2025, will be allowed to apply for
funding allocations from various state departments and agencies including: OCRA; Indiana
Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA); Indiana State Department of
Agriculture (ISDA); Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC); Indiana Department
of Transportation (INDOT); Indiana Department of Health (IDOH); and Indiana Department of
Natural Resources (IDNR).
More information about the Stellar Pathways program can be found online at
www.in.gov/ocra/stellar .
