Owens settling into role as Hope town manager

When Frank Owens accepted the role of Hope’s new town manager earlier this summer he hit the ground running and he hasn’t stopped. 

Owens brings what he describes as 30 years of varied experience to the position. 

Shortly after graduating from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in political science in May 1990, Owens entered the banking arena in finance.  

After more than a decade of experience in accounting and supervisory roles with companies like Conseco, General Motors and Honda, Owens earned his MBA from Ashford University in September 2009. For the several years he worked in local municipalities, including with Governor Daniels and his team as director of registrations for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and with Mayor Kevin Smith in Anderson as the director of municipal development.

When he stumbled upon Hope’s online posting seeking a new town manager, Owens said the description sounded similar to what his responsibilities were at the time as he was then the town manager in Ingalls, Ind., which is located in Green Township in Madison County.

Without hesitation he applied, he says, and it was his first trip to Hope that assured him he had made the right decision.

The 53-year-old Anderson native says when he drove into Hope he was literally awestruck by the town’s charm and ambiance. 

“I loved driving around and seeing the park and town square,” he says. “That all really resonated with me, I was excited.”

The divorced father of two says since accepting the position he’s concentrated his efforts on not only building relationships in the Hope area, but putting forth a proactive agenda for growing the community. 

If there is one thing that stands out about Hope it is the willingness of its people to pitch in and help with whatever is going on, he says. 

“What I’ve been amazed with about Hope is the friendliness of the people and how welcoming they’ve been,” he says.

Among Owens’ main priorities as town manger is proactively promoting economic development in the community. Chief among those efforts is landing federal dollars that will soon be allocated to Indiana, he says. 

 “The funds will be given out to different regions that are competing for the money,” he explains. “I am hoping to join Columbus, Edinburgh and possibly Brown County, Nashville specifically, that are hoping to be sort of in a roundtable to get some of these economic development funds. I would love to have some of those dollars come to Hope so we can see what we can attract.”

When it comes to long-term planning, Owens says economic development and housing top the list. In all actuality, the two are part and parcel, he says.

Recently, while searching for a home in the Hope area, Owens discovered there aren’t many houses available for purchase. The ones that do become available are sold and off the market within a matter of days at best. 

“That tells me we have a housing shortage,” he says. “You have to have amenities no matter what size of community you are. So if you build the houses and have the amenities, you will attract the families, which in turn helps the economic development.”

Owens recently began discussions with the Hope Town Council about the possibility of building a skateboarding park, as well as introducing walking trails and installing electronic vehicle charging stations, in an effort to help attract more visitors to the area. 

“I feel those are quality of life things people would like to see,” Owens says.  

Owens acknowledges that moving Hope more into the public arena is going to involve a stronger media and online presence and to help usher things in that direction Hope is going Hollywood. Well, sort of.

“We are doing a commercial spot that is going to be produced in Hope and will be on all major social media, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter,” Owens says. 

At the helm of the creative process is BH x Creative, an Emmy Award-winning video production company based out of Indianapolis.

“I got them on board at a very nice deal for Hope,” Owens says. “I am excited because I think it will project the image I want a lot of people to see and that’s the people and community itself and what a nice community it is.”

Filming for the material to be included in the 30-second spot began during Hope’s Old Fashioned Independence Day celebration and will wrap up with footage from Hope’s upcoming Heritage Days Festival in September, Owens says.  

Main Street of Hope’s Executive Director Matt Lee says he is excited to work with Owens to help bring more traffic and events to Hope. As both men are new to their roles, they bring equal parts excitement and vision to the community.

“I want to work with Frank a lot,” Lee says. “I think having a good relationship with him kind of seemed like what he would like to see from Main Street.

And that is a big one for me, because I don’t want to jump in and step on anyone’s toes.”

Since the start of summer the pair have had several meetings and conversations about existing events and the introduction of new ones, such as offering a first-ever Breakfast with Santa event hosted at WILLow LeaVes of Hope on the Saturday morning of Thanksgiving weekend. As many of the existing Main Street events are piggybacked on other happenings, Lee says he and Owens’ focus will pivot to the introduction of new standalone events that build interest and appreciation for Hope among visitors from outside the area.

The primary focus is to get the word out, Lee says.

“He and I have some ideas of marketing Hope,” Lee says. “Even though people around here know Hope well doesn’t mean those who come from outside of Indiana who come to Columbus or Franklin know where Hope is and what it is all about.” 

Despite his intense schedule and fervent focus on the future, Owens does take time to breathe every now and again, which allows him the opportunity to focus on other things for a little while.

With one daughter in nursing school and the other one set to graduate high school in a few years, Owens admits that he takes advantage of what free time he gets to spend it with his family. 

“I like to take little weekend getaways, walk places and visit historical places,” Owens says. “I love history.”

And it is that love for times gone by that fuels Owens’ passion to not only preserve Hope’s history, but honor it.

“I am in love with the Yellow Trail Museum and the history of this community,” he says. “That is important. You should never want to lose your history, but at the same time you can make progress and marry the two with modern technology and modern things.”

Owens sees opportunities in Hope that, if brought to fruition, have the potential to be a tremendous boon. 

There are ways to incorporate and honor one’s history without destroying it, he adds.

One example Owens offers is the potential to possibly refurbish the town’s old fire station. Rather than demolish it or allow it to sit vacant, why not repurpose it into a restaurant or brew pub, he says. Not only would the existing structure offer historical value, but it would have new life breathed into it making it an attractive destination for more memories to be made. 

“That way, those visiting can say, ‘Hey, I remember this building being X, Y, and Z, but now it is being reused and still has that feel,’” Owens says. “I think they will appreciate it. I don’t think it will be that hard of a sell if everyone understands what we are trying to do.” 

Owens says he appreciates having the chance to “dive in and start learning the nuances” of the area and having the help of the community makes the transition all the easier, he says. 

“We’ve got a lot of neat things we can do,” Owens says. “I think there are so many possibilities in this community. It makes my job easier to know there are people you can use as references to learn more about the community. I feel blessed.”   





Currently, he is working to establish Hope’s participation in seeking federal dollars to promote that development.