The reason they’ll someday be able to is the result of a lot of work by a lot of individuals and organizations, said Jerry Ott, economic development director for Martin County.

“It’s been five years of hard work, and belief, and discussions, and introductions, and synergies, and of lots of people persevering,” Ott said. “And the best part is it’s a tri-county tech park. We have to compete with a lot, and separately we don’t stand a chance, but jointly we can capitalize on the assets of the region.”

Nobody who turned out for the sunny ceremony close to the spot where all three counties join believed any differently either, except maybe those who knew the process had taken considerably longer than five years.

“There was a group that started in the mid-90s called CREDO — Crane Economic Development Organization,” said Ron Arnold, who served as master of ceremonies for the groundbreaking and who serves as the economic development director for Daviess County. “They knew then they wanted some kind of development close to the base.”

Some of those who made up that group were on hand to hear EG&G Vice President Vaughn Mahaffey validate their vision as his company prepares to move into a new 25,000 square foot building divided between offices, shop space and storage.

But it’s what comes after that has everybody fired up.

“I think this is going to end up being more than anybody ever realized,” Arnold said. “And with this many people coming together for a project to capitalize on the base facilities, and with what the base has to offer, there’s no end to what can be done here.”

Besides EG&G, Science Applications International Corporation, another defense contractor, has also committed to lease space in the first building.

Then, the Crane Federal Credit Union pledged to buy land in the tech park to build a new branch.

“It’s a big day for rural southern Indiana,” Skillman said.