03/25/2026
Article from East Allen Courier Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Written by: Stan Gerig
STATE OF THE COMMUNITY DINNER
The Grabill Chamber of Commerce hosted the State of the Community Dinner Tuesday evening, March 18, at Katie’s Kountry Korner. Thanks to Elmer and Katie Lengacher for hosting and the fabulous meal.
It was an inspiring evening connecting communities, businesses and non-profit organizations. There were several representatives that gave highlights, updates and goals for the new year.
Jim Gerig, Chamber president, started off the evening with a report and list of events that are planned for this year in Grabill.
April 4: Easter Egg Hunt
June 20: Pets on Main
July 10: Amish Special Needs Auction
Sept. 10-12: Grabill Country Fair
Sept. 26: Road Apple Cruise-In
Nov. 27: Town Christmas Tree Lighting
Dec. 5: Breakfast with Santa
Dec. 19: Santa comes to town.
Mayor of Fort Wayne, Sharon Tucker, was present and spoke about the importance of communities communicating and working together. Northeast Indiana benefits from communities that support and work together. Mayor Tucker’s team has put an emphasis on family focused tourism in Fort Wayne; the balance of a progressive and growing city while still maintaining a positive impact in Northeast Indiana.
County commissioners, Ron Turpin and Rich Beck, were also in attendance. They reported that there were 3.8 billion dollars of value in new building permits in 2025. Over the next 10 years, projections have Allen County to growing to over 500,000 in population. There’s a focus on growing all of Allen County and not just sections of it. In 2027, there will also be 4 fire districts to help cover the needs of Allen County’s growing communities.
Brandon Seifert from the Secretary of State’s office was also in attendance. With him were special guests, John Dockrey and Angie Hibner of What’sUp24/7. They were there to introduce the “In My Community Initiative”, designed to introduce local leaders, elected officials, and community stakeholders to a digital toolbox aimed at enhancing your community's online presence. A way to effectively showcase your community's assets—whether it's local businesses, job opportunities, housing, or recreational activities—using innovative digital tools that can attract new residents, businesses, and investors.
Grabill town council member, Claude Shrock, shared on the street projects that were completed in 2025. One major project that was completed was the lining of the sewer pipes to eliminate leaks that have formed over the years. The walking trail connecting the existing Leo-Grabill trail through Grabill to the north park was also completed and used by so many in our community. Grabill has received a Community Crossing Grant that will be used to add sidewalks, where there were none before.
Margaret Shrock, representing the Grabill Historical Society, gave a report. During the Grabill Country Fair, the Historical Society saw a high number of people touring their museum. Margaret also shared about the quilting club that meets every Monday evening from 6-9 in the building across from Town Hall. Every piece that is made is donated to a charity of some sort. Quilts and blankets have been donated to Ukraine, homeless persons, fire victims and children. They also donated quilts to be auctioned at the Mennonite Relief Sale in Goshen. Their quilts combined, raised $14,555.00 at last year’s sale. They are always looking for help and would love to see the younger generation pitch in and be a part of the Historical Society’s team.
Leo Town Council was represented by Tyler Witmer. The victory of 2025 was the Leo bridge repair and that it took less time to complete than originally projected. He thanked the city of Fort Wayne for their help in lowering the river levels for the project. Looking to 2026, they will be updating zoning codes, which haven’t been done since the mid 1990s. The town is working with American Legion to create Hometown Hero Banners. A highlight for the community is always the fireworks. This year’s date is June 27. They are also hosting an Easter Egg Hunt at Riverside Gardens on March 28 at 1:00 pm.
Ben Masten with NE Allen Fire District shared about the consolidation with the county. One of the main reasons is to improve efficiency for simultaneous runs for the smaller departments. Simultaneous runs in these departments create problems with response times. Ideally, they hope the consolidation will help meet the goal of an eight minute or less response to any emergency. There is also a concern about recovery times for equipment. Equipment that has returned from a run takes over an hour to have ready to go for the next run. A new fire marshal was hired. If you haven’t met him, you probably will if you own a business or have a commercial building. The only goal is to make our community safer. 50 Community Trauma kits or “Stop the Bleed” kits have been distributed in our community. They are a great resource in case of an emergency. Ben shared an emergency from our community that required a tourniquet. The hospital’s ER was thrilled that someone had this kit and used it properly.
Grabill Food Bank’s Nayda Miller shared her thankfulness for the community and their generosity. She says the need is great in this community for food security. With the loss and changes to SNAP benefits last year, the need grew even more. The support and generosity were so great that they needed more space temporarily. The Grabill Country Fair graciously opened the Fudergong to them for a short time. Christmas saw them adopt over 100 kids and 40 families for meals. As of now, 50 families have been adopted for Easter meals and 60 kids for Easter baskets. The Meijer Give campaign will begin again soon. Please consider giving and having your gift matched. Our community is thankful for Nayda and her outstanding team of volunteers.
Rich Coulter from the Grabill Country Fair shared that the Fair is September 10-12 this year. GCF has completed 52 years, only cancelling twice. The GCF graciously donated to Cornerstone Workshop with some of the funds raised from the fair. GCF is always looking for volunteers and donations. Please consider helping to keep this staple event in our community going.
Gateway Woods executive director, Jeff Waibel, shared a little about their ministry. Gateway Woods has 80 employees and offers eight different Human Services programs. One of those is drug/alcohol treatment for teens. They have anywhere from 20-30 teens in that program at any given time. The also have a foster care program where they work with over 30 foster homes. They are also a licensed adoption agency. Gateway Farms is part of the ministry and exists to provide vocational training to our teenage residents so they can develop their God-given talents through the growing of quality produce for the purpose of connecting to our community. Gateway Woods will be celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. A celebration and open house will be held in October. Last year they saw the addition of their new building along Grabill Road. Jeff would love to give tours to those that are interested. The highlight every year is the annual fundraising auction that is the first Saturday in August. If you’ve never been to the auction, he invites you to come and enjoy the day at Gateway Woods.
Christian Community Healthcare, Inc. exists to offer the truth, love and compassion of Jesus to those in need in our community through the provision of primary and urgent health care by qualified, licensed medical professionals. Austin Bradtmueller is their executive director and shared about their ministry. CCHC just celebrated 30 years of operation. In 2025, 1800 patients were seen between their 2 locations. Of that, 1500 were seen in Grabill. Patients from 23 counties and 4 states were seen. The Grabill location has been the model for other locations and clinics in our area. In 2025, 250 Bibles were also distributed, and 22 persons gave their life to Jesus and were connected with local churches. The Grabill clinic has hopes of expanding their services in the future to include imaging services, ultrasounds, cardiology, mental health and dental services.
Grabill Park Board president, Joyce Fanning, shared that 2025 saw the paving of the south park. The park board is also planning some new signage for the wetlands and will be adding some new planters this year.
Representatives from New Allen Alliance were there to share a little about the organization. Starting in 1991, New Allen Alliance was formed to create a unified voice for the communities in East Allen County to foster a coordinated effort in community and economic development, resulting in new investment, job creation, and improved quality of life. 7 communities make up the New Allen Alliance. They are Grabill, Harlan, Hoagland, Leo-Cedarville, Monroeville, New Haven, and Woodburn. This year’s meetings will be spread out among these communities. It will allow the host community to spotlight their community. Leo-Cedarville will host on May 12.
Mark Dobson, from SCORE, was there to share about a mentoring program that he volunteers with. SCORE is funded by the SBA and exists to mentor and coach small business owners and entrepreneurs. There are currently 10,000 volunteer mentors nationwide. Mark is with the Fort Wayne chapter. He shared that 1,000 new businesses started up in Indiana last year with the help of SCORE mentors. The Fort Wayne chapter is the leading chapter in the region. The Grabill Chamber wanted to connect Mark with local businesses that may need help with business assistance, strategic planning services, business plans and mentoring.
To end the evening, Kevin Roth of the Chamber board shared that a mural is going to be painted on the grain elevator down at the lumberyard. Timothy Parsley, Program Director for Studio Art at the University of Saint Francis, will be doing it. Timothy also did the sculpture that is in downtown Grabill and painted the lion mural in Leo-Cedarville. He will begin this spring and is planning to have it completed before the start of the Grabill Country Fair in September. The Chamber is seeking donations from individuals and businesses in the area to cover the cost of this project.
Chamber president, Jim Gerig, closed out the evening by thanking each for attending and helping our communities grow together.
