About

Gibson Southern Interns Create Find it in Haubstadt- A Totally Local Directory

The Overton Network’s 2014 Gibson Southern Interns Trenton Harker and John Kissel

Haubstadt, Indiana – Gibson Southern High School Seniors Trenton Harker and John Kissel are proud of the fruits of their labors after nine weeks on the job with Jeremy Overton in Haubstadt.

Beth Schmitt spent a considerable amount of time contacting everyone on the old Haubstadt Chamber of Commerce directory last fall and early spring of 2014.  Other projects and commitments sent the directory to the back burner for Overton.

“They each approached me to talk about an internship at my Ameriprise Financial Office in Haubstadt, but registration and confidentiality make that a difficult situation.  I saw an opportunity, though, to teach them about web design, sales and marketing while providing a great service to the local community and economy.”
The hardest part of the internship for Overton has been keeping the pair busy.  “They are both really fast learners and they work fast.  I think they’ve picked up a lot from working on the project, even though some days they have to be patient with me while I try to get back ahead of them.”

Right now, Overton says, “They’re both eager to start marketing the site to the community and local merchants.  Releasing this press release is actually their first step in that process.”

Overton says the Haubstadt Sommerfest, INC. used to print a directory every few years and it was very popular.  Bob Will, who passed away last year, was instrumental in assembling that directory.  “There were a few problems with printing the directory.  For starters, it was an expensive project to fund annually.  Combine that with the fact that as soon as it was printed, various listings were already out of date, and it just didn’t make sense for us to continue it. “

Harker and Kissel say the site is especially valuable.

“If you use a search engine for a particular service, take HVAC for instance, you may find that companies in surrounding communities, including Evansville, show up first because they’ve either paid for advertising or developed their search engine optimization to allow them to show up.  With finditinhaubstadt.com, everyone who wants to can find and support local merchants and service providers,” Said Harker.

Kissel added, “For someone new moving into the community, there’s no centralized place to learn about things like who is in charge of youth sports or rental of local venues run by not-for-profits.   None of the major players in search, Google, Yahoo or Bing are able to provide that sort of local information.  We can provide value by providing that web asset for those entities who don’t currently have one.”

The site also includes links to important local resources:

• A consolidated news feed that allows readers to view Facebook status updates from various local sources like the South Gibson Star Times, The Gibson Southern Athletic Department and Haubstadt Community School.
• The ability to view and search Community Listings, like schools, churches, sports leagues and government services all on one page.
• A link to Gibson County’s GIS service.  The current site that contains the satellite maps of the county, beacon.schneidercorp.com is a hard for local residents to find.

“We provide residents with a simple way to get through to the site,” said Harker.

The site is live right now.  Kissel and Harker have spent the last 9 weeks developing it, and just started approaching local merchants last week to verify that their information is correct and to introduce the site.

Heads of organizations and merchants will have the ability to claim their listings so they can keep their information current.  The site also allows merchants to upgrade to premium listing packages that include additional photos, owner profiles, links to social media accounts and more.  There’s even an add-on that allows users to post Events like yard sales and fundraisers.  Information regarding fees for all these services is included on the site.

Kissel and Harker are optimistic about the project.  They’re hoping to generate enough revenue by the end of the semester to develop an app that will make the information even more accessible.

“Right now, it’s about getting the word out and getting users active on the site, claiming listings, advertising and leaving reviews,” said Kissel.

If you are interested in learning more about the site, you can visit https://finditinhaubstadt.com or contact via email:  inquiries@finditinhaubstadt.com.