Jane Ellis
”I realized that where I grew up was authentic, and people know each other here, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. ” —Jane Ellis
and her
BROWN COUNTY
photo by Ryan Stacy
~by Ryan Stacy
A
s a favorite destination for visitors from all over, Brown County thrives on making thousands of people feel welcome each year. You won’t get far around here without seeing the smiles of our merchants and artists at work, hearing friendly conversations on our streets, or feeling the sense of connection our local outdoor beauty impresses upon us. But for Jane Ellis, Executive Director of the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau, welcoming people isn’t just a job—it’s part of who she is. Not that she ever set out to someday head her community’s publicfacing tourism office. Jane grew up on thirteen acres of forest and farmland on Greasy Creek Road, with Nashville just a quick bike ride away. “It was the best of both worlds. I was a typical Brown County kid. I didn’t know about
26 Our Brown County • July/August 2020
strip malls and department stores,” she says. “I thought everybody’s downtown was like Nashville’s.” As captivating as Brown County was for her, like many youngsters Jane eventually had dreams of a change of scenery. A few months of living in Los Angeles after high school definitely fit the bill, but Jane says it just wasn’t for her. “It was eyeopening, and I started looking at things a little differently,” she recalls. “I realized that where I grew up was authentic, and people know each other here, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Jane returned to Indiana, but it was still a decade before she came all the way back to Brown County, by then divorced and with two small daughters. “I realized I needed my family,” she says, “so I moved back. Then I started waiting tables, thinking about what else I would do to support myself.” One day at work, a little magazine called Our Brown County caught her eye, where Jane learned about the Brown County Visitors Center that had opened on North Van Buren Street during her time away.
