COMMENTARY: South Bend region could use a little more pride and swagger

Sometimes, the candid, spur-of-the-moment conversations enhance the visitor’s impression. On other occasions ... well, let’s just say the encounters make local officials cringe.

“I had a prospect in town once, and as we were out at a local restaurant he asked the waitress about things to do in town,” recalled Jeff Rea, president and CEO of the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce. “She responded, ‘This place sucks. There’s nothing to do here.’ ”

A short time later, at a local drugstore, the prospect asked a clerk the same question.

“The clerk responded, ‘This place sucks. There’s nothing to do here,’ ” Rea said. “This particular prospect heard six times from people in the community about how much the community sucks and that there’s nothing to do here.”

If the South Bend region has a tough time luring businesses to town, a sometimes pervasive sense of defeatism doesn’t help. Where’s our swagger? You don’t have to look far to find a native or longtime resident ready to put down South Bend. The dynamic played out again earlier this year, when a Harvard University study pegged South Bend as the nation’s third most unhappy city. In light of that news, many people who commented online or on social media actually backed the conclusion rather than defending the region.

The naysayers argue that they have good reason to be less-than-cheery: a Rust Belt region still struggling to provide a steady menu of good-paying jobs, pockets of high crime, and a lack of dynamic amenities. On the other side of the argument, the region’s defenders say too many people overlook everything Michiana has to offer: some exciting new startups, family friendly neighborhoods, a healthy dose of cultural activities and proximity to Lake Michigan. 

A local businessman who has noticed the negativity says one way to flip the script may be an old-fashioned revival meeting.