Kentland Community Supporter: Brian Garhammer

I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago and went to college at Southern Illinois University. Currently, I live in Miami, Florida, and work as an airline pilot for Spirit Airlines. I recently purchased a building on North Fourth Street in Kentland and turned it into a charging station for electric vehicles. My brother lives in town, and I’ve always thought it was such a great area. The town sits at the crossroads of not only the United States, but of Chicago and Indianapolis. It’s also about 30 miles from Lafayette, the home of Purdue University along US 41 and 24, and it provides a modern pathway for people that want to take the road that’s a little less traveled. I’m an Airstream owner, and we have stopped in Kentland several times on our way to shows in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

When my brother told me about the available building on 4th Street, I jumped on the chance to be a part of the Kentland community. Everyone seems to be very nice, and I wanted to contribute to the success of the area. The closest charging station to Kentland is 30 to 40 miles away. Since the street has potential to be a high traffic area, I thought that the building would be perfect for an electric charging station. More and more people are purchasing electric cars and bikes; I wanted to make Kentland a destination, and not just a place to drive by. When people stop to re-energize their vehicles, it’s going to bring business to the restaurants, shops, and other businesses in the area.

The very first gas pump was produced in Indiana when there were less than 4,000 vehicles in the whole state. I believe there’s no reason why Kentland can’t be the center point of innovation for electric vehicles, as Indiana was for gas vehicles.

In my opinion, Kentland is the quintessential bucolic Midwestern town. People are active in their town and in local government; Residents take care of their surroundings and donate their expertise, time, and money to make it a beautiful place to live. How is Kentland different from other small Indiana towns? It’s the people, and what they’re doing with their community.