WABASH — Grow Wabash County announced that the “Growth Starts Here” capital campaign has reached its campaign goal of raising $1 million.

The campaign was announced by campaign chair, Parker Beauchamp, during Grow Wabash County’s Annual Dinner Celebration in October and it was met with support and excitement from the community, said a news release from Grow Wabash County.

Over the past several months, Grow Wabash County has been hard at work connecting with its investors and community leaders to raise $1 million for bold programs and initiatives to promote its five main pillars: entrepreneurship; workforce development & talent attraction; business development; livability; and investor services.

“We’ve reached our $1 million goal quicker than any of us could have imagined,” Keith Gillenwater, president and CEO of Grow Wabash County, said. “We are thrilled that commitments continue to roll in and we’re excited that the community has bought into the big picture initiatives and projects that Grow Wabash County is spear-heading.”

Grow Wabash County has been working to advance these initiatives even before the campaign was announced.

“From our very first pledge to the campaign, we put the money towards advancing one of the key initiatives in our campaign, a comprehensive population loss study,” Gillenwater said. “From there, we’ve been working to implement the recommendations of the study which align closely.”

Some of the other new projects Wabash County can look for in the coming months include: specialized skill training programs, increased support for the variety of entrepreneurial services offered through Grow Wabash County and the remediation of brownfield sites around the county.

“Wabash County is the ultimate Rural American success story,” Beauchamp said. “The organizations and individuals who supported this campaign continue to answer the call time and time again to be the premier example of what a real community can be.”

The “Growth Starts Here” campaign received support from over 40 different investors who are committed to Grow Wabash County’s plans make an impact on Wabash County.