INSIDE
Community Calendar ��������� A17
Festivals New briefs �����A12 ������������������������� A10 June 23, 2017
INfortwayne.com
CTN all fired up
CURRENT INVESTMENTS
Organization burns mortgage ahead of schedule By Megan Knowles mknowles@kpcmedia.com
Members of the Community Transportation Network family were fired up May 31 as the young organization was able to ceremonially burn its mortgage as celebration of paying it off — 6.5 years ahead of schedule. The organization was founded in 2000 as a way to meet the transportation needs of various nonprofits, Executive Director Becky Weimerskirch said. CTN provides medical transportation for seniors and those with disabilities, transportation for Turnstone, shuttles for conventions in partnership with Visit Fort Wayne and transportation to help low-income families access programs, as well as transportation services for Headstart and for nonprofit field trips. In 2013 a feasibility study was done, which showed issues with CTN’s previous space. “We had outgrown our 20,000-squarefoot-space,” Weimerskirch said. “We knew it was expensive and we knew we needed to expand.” With support from some of its founding organizations, CTN was able to purchase its current home at 5601 Industrial Road for $1 million. “That was the turning point for this young organization to have a sustainable future,” Weimerskirch said. Since moving in, the organization has grown to include more than 22 vehicles making more than 50,000 trips annually and serving more than 3,800 people, board President Jeremy Hostetler said.
PHOTO BY MEGAN KNOWLES
Community Transportation Network Executive Director Becky Weimerskirch burns the organization’s mortgage on its building on May 31. CTN was able to pay off the mortgage in 3½ years.
“I don’t think I drive anywhere today … without seeing a bus or van from CTN,” he said. Despite its growth, paying down its mortgage aggressively was important for the organization, Weimerskirch said. “In the long run, [it was about] making the building work for us and not having to work for the building, to turn every penny that we could into direct operations, into more trips actually happening,” she said. Allen County Commissioner F. Nelson Peters commended the organization on its milestone. “With CTN, things continue to get better and better,” he said. “We’ve got a product that is so much better than when you started out.”
PHOTO BY BRIDGETT HERNANDEZ
The new canal boat, Sweet Breeze, carries passengers past the site slated for riverfront development near the Wells Street Bridge. See story on Page 2.
Three Rivers Distilling unveils expansion Tasting area, outdoor area slated to open in August Three Rivers Distilling Company is expanding, thanks in part to the help of the Indiana Legislature. On June 13, co-owner Aaron Pence and co-founder Stephen Blevins unveiled the company’s tasting room and bar area, which they hope to have open in August. The area will be complete with an indoor and outdoor bar, a tasting
area, a private lounge for personal events and outdoor games, Pence said. Food offerings and a covered outdoor dining area will also be available. The expansion is expected to cost about $500,000, Pence said, while Blevins told the gathered audience it would almost double Three Rivers Distilling’s workforce. “We can share our passion and craft with the public,” Blevins
said. “This will give the public access to our entire process.” Both Pence and Blevins were excited to add the offering to the distillery they founded in 2016 on the southeastern part of Fort Wayne. “We hope this will be a cool new venue in a portion of Fort Wayne that doesn’t have a lot to offer right now,” Pence said. Though construction is moving along at the See DISTILLING, Page A15
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mknowles@kpcmedia.com
3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808
By Megan Knowles
Come Experience Fort Wayne’s New Chicago Style Chop House