It was Oct. 12 and Charles Buki, lead consultant for the Erie Refocused comprehensive plan, had just finished speaking to an evening session at the Jefferson Educational Society.

A man waited patiently at the edge of the stage with a comment and a question.

“This is a great plan,” he said, “but where do you start?”

The question was posed by Timothy G. NeCastro, CEO of Erie Insurance, a Fortune 500 company that ranks among the region’s great homegrown success stories.