Valpo Chamber’s Rex Richards is an architect focused on growing communities

Mr. Richards has led several chambers of commerce and economic development corporations in three states for more than 30 years. He was instrumental in establishing the LaPorte Convention and Visitors Bureau, bringing the Ameristar casino to East Chicago, and bringing the Pratt His Industries paper mill to Valparaiso.

“This will be the second largest manufacturing plant to come to Porter County since Bethlehem Steel opened in Portage,” he said.

He also helped bring a $2 billion General Motors factory and federal courthouse to Kansas City, Kansas, and a Ritz-Carlton hotel and Boar’s Head headquarters to Sarasota, Florida.

“This is a big brand. We were able to convince them to move their headquarters out of New York City. Sarasota is on the Gulf Coast and was a great place for meetings and conventions. We were able to recruit a lot of companies. ” he said. “Most people don’t know that there are two Kansas Cities in Kansas and Missouri. They are separated by a state line with only a city road between them. Kansas, Kansas The City is part of a metro area roughly the size of Indianapolis, and the Chiefs and Royals baseball teams I was able to work closely with when Robert Dole was Senate Majority Leader It’s a big chamber, and now there’s a major car racetrack there, and I was in the early stages of recruiting.”

In recognition of his long and distinguished career, Richards was inducted into the Times Business and Industry Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2024.

Richards has led the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce since 2006 and helped the chamber earn Indiana Chamber of Commerce honors. He also earned similar all-state honors from the Sarasota Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Richards, an Anderson native, attended Indiana University and first encountered the Chamber of Commerce while interning for a congressman in Washington, D.C. Realizing it was something he wanted to do, he contacted the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and asked them to put him on their mailing list. Employment opportunities at the Chamber of Commerce.

One was opened in Jasper, where he ran a conference room right out of college, and then he ran conference rooms of all sizes.

“I was attracted to the idea of ​​bringing jobs to the community,” he says. “It lifts the economic status of the whole community and gives people a sense of accomplishment. It will help you improve.”

Richards ended up running chambers of commerce in Logansport, Michigan City, Kansas City, East Chicago, Sarasota, and finally Valparaiso.

“The Sarasota Chamber of Commerce was really big,” he said. “I had a staff of 40 people.”

During his career, he found himself returning to northwest Indiana frequently.

“I’ve really come to think of Northwest Indiana as home,” he said. “During my time in Valparaiso, Michigan City and East Chicago, I got to know so many community and business leaders throughout the area.”

The content of the work varied depending on the location. He was instrumental in attracting business to Michigan City and promoting it as a destination, and was the founding director of the Bureau of Tourism, which now attracts tourists and conventions to the casino. He later tried unsuccessfully to attract quality hotels to Lake Michigan before the arrival of the Blue Chip Casino and helped launch the Michigan City Underwater Boat Show. He has been attracting many visitors for 20 years.

In East Chicago, he served as a political lobbyist for LTV and Inland Steel Works, often appearing in the state Legislature. He left Kansas City and returned to Indiana because he had always wanted to work for the East Chicago Chamber of Commerce and represent a major steel mill.

“When I was there, it was a hotbed of politics. It was the political center of northwest Indiana,” he said. “It was more of a government position, helping the steel mills get tax breaks. BP was in the city, as were Union Tank Cars and other railroad manufacturing companies. They were big corporations and big taxpayers, and that gave me a lot of exposure to this policy. ”

He often assists existing businesses with various issues.

“There were a lot of lumber and office manufacturing companies in Jasper, and when I was just starting out, I quickly ran into issues and problems in my first job with the Chamber of Commerce,” he said. “Logansport had a number of locally-owned, growing, mid-sized manufacturing companies. I had the opportunity to work with them on issues that they needed to address in the Legislature. At the time, this was a great community. There were a lot of manufacturing jobs that paid really high wages.”

He has seen the industry change over time.

“Communities with a lot of manufacturing tend to be very strong communities,” he said. “But what’s changing is that while there’s still investment in equipment and machinery, there aren’t as many employees. Steel mills here once employed 35,000 people. Steel mills in northwest Indiana. 100,000 people worked there. Over time, technology changed and with investments in technology and equipment, the need for employment was no longer as large as it used to be working in other sectors of the business world. That’s why it’s important.”

Valparaiso has helped hire companies such as Journeyman Distillery and the Grand Gardner Boutique Hotel, formerly the Boys & Girls Club.

“Valpo is one of the top cities that people are drawn to when moving to Northwest Indiana,” he says. “Business owners want to be involved in the community, and they want to make the community better. We get great community involvement from business leaders who want to be involved in the community.”

“Paradise Valley” has many assets.

“We have a great school system. A four-star school system, rated 16th best out of 290 schools in the state,” he said. “Valparaiso has a huge airport that serves corporate aircraft, making it very attractive to the business community. It has a 7,000-foot runway, which is as long as Midway or a major airport. Another asset is… It’s the diversity of the neighborhoods. We have several airports, we have really nice subdivisions that are attracting people, and we have good elementary schools spread out in different areas.”

He has worked to promote the city, including publishing the award-winning Valparaiso magazine four times a year. He also strives to bring his business community together with his popular networking events such as AM Valpo, Network @ Noon, and Business Afterhours.

“I’ve worked in conference rooms long enough to know what types of events business leaders want to attend,” he said. “I’ve been not only a builder of the organization, but I’ve worked to grow the economy as a whole, to make sure it’s strong, that people pay well, and that it’s an economic destination for people to move to.”

Richards said Valparaiso has grown significantly over the past 18 years, largely because Mayor John Costas secured additional liquor licenses to attract restaurants downtown.

“We are a city with great places to eat,” he said. “It helped revitalize and build downtown and make people want to live here.”

The healthcare industry is also booming as more providers target the market and the quality of life has improved. The influx of population has further accelerated retail and commercial development.

Richards is happy to play the role.

“My father was a contractor building industrial buildings in Anderson, Indiana. He always told my brother and I to build something, contribute to our community, and build America,” he said. Told. “Building America and building community has been on my mind all my life.”

Richards estimates he has helped bring hundreds of businesses to every community he has served over the decades.

“I’ve been trying to help local people employ more people and help existing businesses grow and prosper,” he said. “If there’s been a philosophy throughout my career, it’s been to treat everyone the way you want to be treated. That applies to business people who help communities grow. You can’t handle development within a cookie.”To have a successful meeting and achieve what you want, you must earn the respect and trust of businessmen. ”