“There's never been a time like this in Northwest Indiana” was belted out across the room during the Northwest Indiana Forum's luncheon Feb. 6.
The song was the backdrop of a video displaying all the reasons the Region is a great place to live, work and do business, the theme of the day. The video was produced by WeCreate based in Valparaiso.
The luncheon at the Hard Rock Casino in Gary started with an introduction by Gilbert Rynberk, Wintrust's Northwest Indiana market president.
“It's never been a more fun time to jump on the bandwagon,” he said of the transformational change leading economic growth in the Region.
Michael Schneider, group senior vice president at Wintrust, also announced three new branches coming to Northwest. The first will be part of the Tolleston Opportunity Campus‘ YMCA lobby in Gary.
Board Chair Helen Pennington conducted the board's 2026 election and welcomed seven new board members, including Aco Aikosky of Ivy Tech, Christine Livingston of Indiana Dunes Tourism, Randy Palmateer of the NWI Building & Construction Trades, Mitch Gaffigan of Purdue Federal Credit Union, Kenneth Coleman of Stevens Engineers and Constructors, Aaron McDermott of Latitude Commercial and Lyndie Walton-Littell of Continental Electric Co.
She also said the Forum hosted 30 events, welcomed 20 new members and visited other states 11 times to tout the benefits of doing business in Northwest Indiana.
Forum President and CEO Heather Ennis reinforced the pillars of Ignite the Region, especially the new one, arts and culture. She said it is too important to “shove into the other pillars.”
“We keep planning. We keep driving because we know that inches matter,” Ennis said about the success of the Ignite initiative, which first took shape in 2018. Since then, she said it has been evolving as a “living document,” a mindset for advancing the Region's economic vitality.
She also addressed the current political climate.
“There is so much more that unites us than divides us,” she said.
She then sat down with U.S. Sen. Todd Young, who started off talking about his optimism for the next generation.
He also talked about the possibility of ship building in Northwest Indiana and building the quantum corridor to Indianapolis and beyond.
“We have to make sure we have world-class research institutions,” he said.
He also said “principled compromises” are need for the greater good when it comes to meeting the energy needs of the future.
When Ennis asked about his opinion of Northwest Indiana's future, Young said, “You don't hesitate to ask for things,” which he said was a good thing when trying to figure out what legislation to pursue.
“Indiana is a humble state,” but that also can be detrimental when trying to attract world-class companies and technology, Young said.
Then he lightened the mood by saying that there's “a little Region swagger that occurs. I like it.” He said the attitude is good for the state and a key to the success in Northwest Indiana. Ennis replied, “We just got permission to have more swagger.” The crowd chuckled.
Young closed up by saying, “I get to represent the state I love.”
