Evansville Business June/July 2024

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“If these fraud mitigation tools were not in place and our checking account happened to be compromised, the effort it would take to re-establish another checking account with all the various vendors and customers would be quite the task. The tools allow us to focus on our work.”

Troy Schreiber and Tammy Evans, Owners Third Generation Family-Owned Business

PUBLISHER

Todd A. Tucker

EDITORIAL

Kristen K. Tucker Editor

Jodi Keen Managing Editor

John Martin Senior Writer

Maggie Valenti Staff Writer

Nick Shelton Editorial Intern

DESIGN

Laura Mathis Creative Director

Maliah White Graphic Designer

Hadley Mitchell

Digital Marketing Coordinator

Adin Parks Photography Fellow

ADVERTISING

Jessica Hoffman Senior Account Executive

Jennifer Rhoades Senior Account Executive

Logen Sitzman Sales and Marketing Coordinator

CIRCULATION

Gregg Martin Distribution and Circulation Manager

CONTRIBUTORS

Catherine Anderson, Gordan Engelhardt, Zach Evans, Katie Henrichs, Michelle Mastro, Zach Straw

TUCKER PUBLISHING GROUP

Todd A. Tucker President

Kristen K. Tucker Vice President

A Publication of Tucker Publishing Group

Tucker Publishing Group 25 N.W. Riverside Drive, Ste. 200 Evansville, IN 47708 812-426-2115 evansvillebusiness.com

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IN THE NEWS

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Copyright © 2024 Tucker Publishing Group. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from Tucker Publishing Group.

Drake’s

Rapp Granary

Engelbrecht Carousel

Deaconess Aquatic Center

ATTRACTIONS

Major, transformative projects are planned for the Tri-State over the next several years. Among the updates are construction on the Interstate 69 Ohio River bridge, breaking ground on the long-empty block on Main Street, and a consultant’s long-term vision for the riverfront in Downtown Evansville, Newburgh, and Mount Vernon, Indiana.

and organizations

Experience It Yourself

As I told my staff upon returning from a recent visit to Pat Coslett’s Simplicity Furniture, “You won’t believe it until you experience it yourself.” When owner Pat Coslett says “it’s not about the furniture,” he isn’t kidding. In its own way, walking into the store can’t be too far from seeing Dead & Company at The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada — a total mind-bending trip. Need a plate of barbecue? A can of SKI? A MoonPie, or a slice of chess pie? He has ‘em all. There always is a dog sitting nearby, and customers often are treated to tunes plucked on an acoustic guitar by Pat’s employee and musician Chuck Grady.

As for Pat himself? I’m not even going to try to explain. No one can. Every time I stop by his store, I literally am never surprised at anything. Plus, Pat obviously gives a damn about his customers and employees, and it shows. In fact, he sells so much furniture that he recently added a second shop next door. And don’t forget to ask who the next stand-up comic will be on the Simplicity stage. How many furniture stores feature comedy nights? Pat truly is an Evansville treasure.

By the way, if you need a “Pat Coslett for President” yard sign, he’s got that, too. Of course Pat is running for president.

Speaking of community treasures, I was quite pleased to see Bob and Becky Zimmermann honored for the five decades they’ve dedicated to WNIN’s annual auction. Mayor Stephanie Terry proclaimed April 11 as

Robert and Rebecca Zimmermann WNIN Lifetime Auctioneers Day. Anyone who knows the Zimmermanns would agree that their 51 years of service is truly outstanding. People of such caliber truly are the backbone of a strong community. Well deserved, Bob and Becky.

It is with sadness that I write of the passing of Jerry Butts, a longtime Evansville Living and Evansville Business freelance photographer, in Colorado last month. I will always remember Jerry for his love of golf, a “cat that ate the canary” sly grin, and as someone who loved a good party. Oh, and a fine photographer.

I continue to be impressed by all the good things occurring at the University of Southern Indiana. That doesn’t happen by accident, and the university has assembled a terrific leadership team. With Dr. Ron Rochon at the helm, it has been enjoyable to watch the university continue to move forward at breakneck pace. I was sad to learn that Dr. Rochon is leaving in July to serve as president of California State University, Fullerton. Smart, friendly, and approachable are great traits for a university president to have. Cal State Fullerton must think so, too. Congratulations, Dr. Rochon, even though our region hates to lose you. As always, I look forward to hearing from most of you.

Todd A. Tucker, President

Ron Rochon

Jerry Butts

The one and, thankfully, the only Pat Coslett

Becky and Bob Zimmermann with Mayor Stephanie Terry

Todd Tucker

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PEDAL ON

I love the article about Gilles Bicycle Shop (“Winning the Race,” April/May 2024).

Shortly after moving to Evansville in late 1970, I stopped at the original store on Columbia Street and bought a bike from Simon Gilles. He was a gruff but nice elderly gentleman. Over the next 13 years, I bought four bikes and had numerous repairs done there. Bill and his late wife Shirley became friends. … So, this story was a hit with me. Thanks for doing it.

James Riddle, Highlands, North Carolina

DREAM JOB

Thank you … for highlighting our work at JD Sheth and my life (“Work Hard, Dream Big,” April/May 2024)! … I’m living my dream (job)!

Jaimie Sheth via Facebook

BE MY GUIDE

Tourcy LLC is featured in Evansville Business: Meet six professionals following their dreams (“Work Hard, Dream Big,” April/May 2024).

Tracy Wilson via Facebook

OUT OF THE FIRE

1. EMAIL

Send your notes to letters@evansvilleliving.com.

Letters to the Editor may be sent to Letters, Evansville

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Visit us at evansvilleliving.com, click on “Contact Us” at the top of the page, and fill out the form with your feedback.

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Tad Dickel, Ph.D. Certificate, Family Business Advising (FFI)

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Post House Pivot

First floor space now is marketed as apartments

BY NICK SHELTON

The Post House in Downtown Evansville was intended to feature several elements of urban residential life under one roof — but circumstances necessitated a pivot.

Opened in 2020 by Indianapolis-based property management company Barrett and Stokely, Post House modified Evansville’s Downtown housing market with the introduction of a pair of luxury-style apartment facilities. The buildings — bordered by Vine, Sycamore, Northwest Second, and Northwest Third streets — included ground-floor space for retail shops, restaurants, and more, all within arm’s reach of the complex’s residents.

“The Post House has so many amenities and features that I believe are the first of their

kind in the Evansville market,” Lauren Kane, Barrett and Stokely’s regional manager, said in the October/November 2020 issue of Evansville Business. Three years later, those spaces mostly remained empty. Last year, Post House expanded its residential capacity by converting the vacant space on both buildings’ first floors into 10 additional apartments while maintaining several amenities on the ground floor, including a coworking space and pet grooming station.

new apartments all have been pre-leased for August, according to Adam Trinkel, executive director of the Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District.

Post House’s residential units continue to fill up fast. At press time, the company’s website listed all 144 of its original apartments as occupied until July, when three apartments would become available. The

“This continues to demonstrate the demand and need for housing Downtown,” Trinkel said. “We are pleased to welcome more residents to Downtown Evansville.”

‘More Than the Robot’

New Tech’s ThunderBots succeed at ‘coopertition’

BY MAGGIE VALENTI

Robots may look like fun, but for New Tech Institute High School students, they facilitate leadership, responsibility, and community engagement.

Since 2018, around 70 students have participated in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Club at New Tech, 3013 N. First Ave. While learning to program and build robots, the ThunderBots – a moniker nodding to the thousands of P-47 Thunderbolt airplanes built by Evansville laborers during World War II – handle fundraising, grant applications, marketing, and hotel reservations when traveling for competitions.

“The team is more than the robot,” says volunteer coach Michael Balich, who works for Dings’ Motion USA. Balich is stepping away after coaching for the last two years.

The 2023-24 team of 22 students met twice weekly during the school year to work on competition and outreach materials. There are off-season events, but the road to the national robotics championship starts when FIRST announces a theme each January. The ThunderBots then design and build a compatible robot within six weeks.

“They know more than I do,” Balich says.

During competitions, teams of three earn points by directing their robots to

collect and place objects in a specific spot. They’re also evaluated based on FIRST’s values: discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and fun. Teams express these values through gracious professionalism, which encourages fierce competition and respect, and “coopertition,” where they help each other by lending materials and knowledge.

After the ThunderBots won the 2023 FIRST Indiana State Championship in Anderson, Indiana, students competed at the world championship in Houston, Texas, with a robot named after New Tech’s custodian, Betty.

“I like seeing how nice and friendly everyone is, plus meeting new people,” says Jaala Crowe, a freshman involved with marketing.

Teams also earn points for judges’ awards in creativity, technology, design, and sportsmanship. Aluminum Falcon, this year’s robot, secured the state-level creativity award.

The ThunderBots also help educate students at Tekoppel, Harper, and Hebron elementary schools, Joshua Academy, Lodge Community School, Perry Heights

Middle School, and the CenterPoint Energy YMCA. The team’s robots also appear at New Tech’s STEM Fest, ShrinersFest, WNIN’s Kids Fest, and University of Evansville men’s basketball games.

New Tech’s robotics team – which won a Celebration of Leadership award this year from Leadership Everyone – is hardly the area’s only. North High School, Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana, and Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, Indiana, also boast FIRST clubs.

“We want to see everyone thrive together,” says Maguire Mosby, a junior and programming leader.

Students are the brains behind New Tech Institute High School’s FIRST Robotics Club. They receive support from their coach, Michael Balich, and New Tech Principal Christopher Gibson, who often travels with them to competitions, as well as parents and community members who lend their expertise. The team – named the ThunderBots – earned a first-place finish at the 2023 FIRST Indiana State Championship.

New Tech’s 2023-24 FIRST Robotics Club

Landon Fehrenbacher and Aluminum Falcon

ThunderBots with their 2024 Celebration of Leadership “Leader in Technology” Award

Electrifying Anniversary

IBEW Local 16 marks a 125-year milestone

BY CATHERINE ANDERSON

In 1882, a dedicated power station was built, bringing light to Wall Street and the New York Times newspaper.

Nine years later, an announcement was sent out by Henry Miller, a Missouri lineman and union organizer: The time was ripe for a national union to ensure safety, skills, and standards for the entire scope of electrical trades. Evansville’s Harry Fischer answered the call. He represented one of 10 cities at the First Convention of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Saint Louis, Missouri.

The national union Miller helped found has swelled to 820,000 members. IBEW Local 16, based in Evansville, celebrates 125 years in 2024. Ryan McRoberts, business manager of Evansville’s IBEW Local 16, looks forward to the organization’s anniversary festivities planned for Sept. 14 at Bally’s Evansville, with the hope of seeing active and retired Local 16 members.

“We’ll be inviting other labor leaders in the area, local elected officials, and everybody we’ve been partners with over the years,” McRoberts says. “Our contractors are direct partners in this … it will be a big celebration.”

IBEW Local 16’s headquarters at 9001 N. Kentucky Ave. serves 14 counties as an epicenter for electrical contracting. Additionally, it cosponsors the Apprenticeship and Journeyman Training program on Lynch Road and helps facilitate electrical work for the annual Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights, Easterseals Rehabilitation Center’s largest fundraiser for more than 30 years. Local 16’s community involvement also includes scholarship programs and the Turkey Testicle Festival, a catchingly named yearly fundraiser for the organization’s benevolent fund.

Challenging the Narrative

An Evansville resident’s article rebuttal lands in the Washington Post’s pages

BY NICK SHELTON, WITH JODI KEEN AND JOHN MARTIN

Evansville was profiled — in a highly unflattering way — in a 2022 Washington Post article about former segregationist George Wallace’s 1972 run for president.

The piece linked Wallace’s inflamed rhetoric to President Donald Trump’s brand of conservatism. Post writer Peter Jamison profiled Evansville and two other cities where Wallace campaigned 50 years earlier, and he described the River City as still struggling with deep-seated racial strife.

Elaine Mittleman, a prior Washington, D.C., metro area resident and longtime Post reader, felt appalled by the publication’s depiction of her hometown.

“It was shockingly unfair and incorrect,” Mittleman says. “As an attorney and as a citizen, I thought it was very important that something be done.”

Mittleman sent the Post a line-byline rebuttal of Jamison’s article. After months of repeatedly contacting the Post, she submitted a two-paragraph letter to the editor written in the context of Stephanie Terry’s historic November 2023 mayoral election victory. To her surprise, the letter was published in January.

“I’d still like the original story to be corrected, but I was thrilled to have a letter to the editor (published),” Mittleman says. “It was very important to me.”

A bronze bust of Evansville’s Harry Fischer

Elaine Mittleman

Historic photo of Evansville’s IBEW Local 16 in 1909

Something Big

Mesker Park Zoo is getting ready for a new resident

BY ZACH EVANS

Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden’s oldest building will be upgraded this summer, but the public won’t notice those changes much except for one 5,000-pound feature — a new Indian rhinoceros.

Zoo-goers can see the attraction’s newest horned resident in the late fall or early winter this year after its future indoor home is renovated. Deig Brothers was awarded the contract to provide $700,000 worth of upgrades to the Kley Memorial Building.

Mesker Park Zoo Director Erik Beck says Indian rhinos are solitary animals and can grow up to 2.5 tons and 12 feet long.

“But their personality is almost like a puppy dog,” Beck says. “They’re really personable, usually pretty tractable, and friendly.”

Kley also is home to nocturnal animals and the zoo’s prized Komodo dragon, whose exhibits will be unaffected by the work in the rhino holding area.

“We’ve made investments to the building on purpose. We think it’s worth saving.”

— Erik Beck, Executive Director of Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden

The Kley Memorial Building once housed the zoo’s most iconic residents: Donna the Hippo and Bunny the Elephant. Before she died in 2012, Donna was the oldest living captive hippo in the world and lived in the Kley building for 56 years. In 1999, Bunny left the zoo for an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee, where she died in 2009.

Most recently, Mechi and Rupert were a pair of Indian rhinos at Kley. Mechi died in 2021, and Rupert was shipped out to breed in California in 2023.

Now that the space is freed up, zoo officials decided it was a good time to upgrade the facilities for its future resident. Maintenance on the nearly 70-year-old building is constant, Beck says. The holding roof was replaced last year, and the nocturnal area was upgraded in 2021.

“We’ve made investments to the building on purpose. We think it’s worth saving,” Beck says.

The Kley building is named after Charles F. Kley, who left a $350,000 trust for the zoo when he died in 1948. The building was opened to the public on June 17, 1956. The building wasn’t the only thing named after Kley; Donna’s male hippo mate, Hippy Kley, who died in 1985, also shares his name. Donna and Hippy Kley had eight calves.

Erik Beck

Rupert

Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden hasn’t featured a rhinoceros since Rupert, an Indian rhino, was moved to California in 2023. With $700,000 worth of upgrades on the way at Kley Memorial Building, zoo officials anticipate welcoming a new Indian rhinoceros to its attractions.

Bridge Building

Traylor Bros. pursues construction of a new Baltimore span

BY JOHN MARTIN, WITH JODI KEEN

River communities across the country took notice on March 26 when a malfunctioning cargo ship, the Dali, struck a support column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River below. Six construction workers were killed.

Traylor Bros. Inc. of Evansville is pursuing construction of a new bridge as part of the same partnership that will eventually build the new Interstate 69 bridge connecting Evansville and Henderson, Kentucky.

“It is likely that they will want to build a higher bridge that accommodates the largest ships in the world,” says Chris Traylor, co-president of Traylor Bros., a 78-year-old civil construction company specializing in bridges and marine infrastructure. Traylor Bros. has built more than 135 bridges in multiple U.S. states — two nearby are the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in Saint Louis, Missouri, and the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Maryland transportation officials anticipate awarding a contract to rebuild the bridge in July.

Over the last several years, older bridges across the country have been modified “to improve their ability to handle larger ships, including with respect to impacts,” Traylor says. He cites the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Saint Petersburg, Florida, as an example: Reinforced concrete barriers were placed around that bridge’s piers as added protection.

By comparison, the former Key Bridge – a continuous steel truss span that opened in 1977 and was 185 feet high – had no such barriers on its piers. The Dali, bound for Sri Lanka, struck the bridge carrying 4,700 metal shipping containers.

When empty, the vessel weighs 95,000 tons.

Traylor says other steps may be taken to protect bridges. “Engineers have also raised entire bridges to allow larger ships to pass under them,” he says, such as the Bayonne Bridge in the New York City area.

The Evansville region, of course, has relied heavily for decades on the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Twin Bridges over the Ohio River. The northbound span opened on the Fourth of July in 1932; the southbound bridge dates to December 1965.

Once the new I-69 crossing is in use, current plans call for the southbound U.S. 41 span to close and the northbound bridge to remain open with two-way traffic. That’s now projected to occur in 2031, although Kentucky and Indiana officials want to expedite construction of the I-69 bridge.

The recently collapsed Key Bridge regularly saw large cargo ships traveling in and out of the Port of Baltimore. Traylor says those types of vessels don’t pass under the U.S. 41 bridges serving Evansville and Henderson, although “it is hard to compare one bridge to another with regard to vessel impact risks or consequences.”

“Each bridge is unique for its location and intended purpose,” he says.

Evansville-based Traylor Bros. is bidding to construct the replacement for Baltimore, Maryland’s Francis Scott Key Bridge – seen here May 9 – which collapsed March 26 when a support column was struck by a massive cargo ship. The civil construction company has vast experience, having built more than 135 bridges in multiple states.

Chris Traylor

Holiday Housing

Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari employs a new solution for staffing shortages

BY MICHELLE MASTRO

In summer 2023, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari Park opened onsite housing for 136 seasonal employees.

“As we continue to grow, our employee needs grow as well,” explains President and CEO Matt Eckert. “The housing facility has really helped us build our seasonal workforce.”

The theme park participates in the J-1 Visa Program, through which international students can work seasonally in the U.S. Onsite housing helped offset staffing shortages almost immediately.

“By the middle of June last season, we didn’t need to hire anyone else,” Eckert says. “I’ve been here for 25 years, and that has never happened before,” he adds.

The facility is designed for college dormitory-style living, with four people in two sets of bunks per room. Each room has a small refrigerator, but the main floor has a large kitchen complete with four

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

stoves and large refrigerators. There are also several lounges.

Its first year, 13 different countries were represented at the housing facility, including Thailand, Columbia, Jamaica, Mongolia, and Turkey. The facility’s 136 residents make up a fraction of Holiday World’s 2,000-plus seasonal workers. While primarily used for international students, the housing does support some domestic students living beyond a 50-mile radius of the park. Holiday World also offers a transportation program to bus teenage and young adult employees from surrounding cities, including Evansville.

Future building space for more housing is available, but there are no immediate plans to expand, Eckert says.

“The housing we have now has easily surpassed my expectations,” he says. “We had very high hopes for the impact it would have.”

Decades of Dedication

Bob and Becky Zimmermann help call the shots at WNIN’s annual auction

BY NICK SHELTON

When WNIN was forced off the air in 1972, community efforts quickly fueled the Southwest Indiana public television’s station revival. Chief among those was a spring auction that has developed into an annual fundraising staple since 1974.

Two names have become synonymous with the event: Bob and Becky Zimmermann.

Now entering its 50th year, WNIN’s auction has been faithfully served by the Zimmermanns since its conception.

Bob recalls that he and Becky weren’t always the faces of the Channel 9 auction, noting that when he started volunteering, his job was simply to unbox items and prepare them for the auction.

“I started from the bottom and worked my way up,” Bob says.

The husband-and-wife duo quickly earned new positions as auctioneers, titles that now are forever linked with the Zimmermanns.

This spring, Mayor Stephanie Terry proclaimed April 11 as Robert & Rebecca Zimmermann WNIN Lifetime Auctioneers Day for their unwavering commitment to support the broadcasting outlet over the past five decades.

Surprisingly, Bob says they never had any experience auctioneering before their time at WNIN. The Evansville residents viewed their participation as “just a little something” they could do to support a station they appreciate.

“I really do love it,” Bob says. “I have gotten a lot more out of it than I’ve put in; I can assure you of that.”

WNIN.ORG

Tim Black with Becky and Bob Zimmermann HOUSING

Which Park Will Your Pup Prefer?

Here’s the skinny on local dogs parks, both open and envisioned

BY JOHN MARTIN AND JODI KEEN, WITH MAGGIE VALENTI

Dog Park

Location

Open since

Managed by

Burdette Park Dog Park

5301 Nurrenbern Road

Under construction

Vanderburgh County

Vanderburgh County

Open to the public Free

Still under development

About 0.23 acres

$75,000 from memberships, grants, and private donations

Central Bark

2251 N. First Ave.

Winter 2008

Evansville Dog Owners Group

City of Evansville; rented to Evansville Dog Owners Group

Members only

$30/year, pro-rated

Vaccines on file, signed waiver and release, city-issued off-leash dog permit

Two acres

Privately funded, with donations from Evansville Kennel Club and City of Evansville

Historic Corner Private Dog Park

1219 Parrett St.

Summer 2023

Cheryl Musgrave

Cheryl Musgrave

Kay C’s Barkville at Woodmere

3320 Lincoln Ave.

Construction not yet started Friends of Woodmere

City of Evansville; leased to Friends of Woodmere for $1/year

Private, but open for rentals

$4/hour or $2/30 minutes using SniffSpot app

Available on app

Members only

$12/month or $120/year

Vaccines on file

Pippero Pup Park

2700 Park Boulevard, Newburgh, IN

October 2022

Warrick Parks Foundation

Warrick County

Earthborn Holistic Pet Nutrition Dog Park

324 N.W. Third St

May 2024

Downtown

Evansville Economic Improvement District

Evansville Water & Sewer Utility; leased to Downtown Evansville for at least five years

Open to the public

Free

Must be licensed, fully vaccinated, and wearing rabies tag

0.14 acres

Privately funded

Three acres

$750,000+ in private donations and a $45,000 state grant

Two acres

Nearly $100,000 in private donations, grants, and naming rights purchased by Pippero Products

Open to the public

Free

Self-enforced but see Downtown Evansville’s website for more info

.25 acres

$10,000 from Downtown Evansville, $50,000 in total

Earthborn Holistic Pet Nutrition Dog Park

Pippero Pup Park

Kay C’s Barkville at Woodmere (construction not yet started)

Steely Stein

University of Southern Indiana head women’s basketball coach Rick Stein has written a 25-year success story

BY GORDON ENGELHARDT

Rick Stein seemingly bleeds University of Southern Indiana red, white, and blue. At least that’s the impression of those around him.

“They’ll probably bury him under the (Screaming Eagles) arena,” jokes Randa Gatling, Stein’s long-time USI women’s basketball assistant.

He put an exclamation mark on his 25th season as head coach in March, guiding the Eagles to Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament championships in their second year in NCAA Division I. This winter, Stein will return four starters from a team that finished 25-7 overall and 17-1 in the OVC.

“You handle success like you handle failure, with a chip on your shoulder,” Stein says.

Burning with intensity, Stein can remember a stat from years ago that leaves Gatling’s mouth agape. But leadership is his primary attribute, she says.

“Players trust him, and his knowledge of x’s and o’s, numbers, and history (is staggering),” Gatling says. “You wonder, how did he remember that? He’s very prepared for any and everything.”

USI athletics director Jon Mark Hall agrees that Stein is a numbers cruncher.

“He gets the maximum use out of his scholarship budget and operating budget,” Hall says. “He’s super efficient.”

“Players trust him, and his knowledge of x’s and o’s, numbers, and history (is staggering). You wonder, how did he remember that? He’s very prepared for any and everything.”

— Randa Gatling, USI women’s basketball assistant coach

Stein has posted a career head coaching record of 448–261, all at USI. He was named the 2024 OVC Coach of the Year and was a three-time Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year when USI was in Division II.

In the second year of a four-year reclassification, the Eagles were ineligible for the NCAA tournament. They accepted a bid to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament and defeated the University of Illinois Chicago before losing to Wisconsin, both at home. (The WNIT is governed separately from the NCAA-sanctioned men’s NIT.)

USI won the OVC tournament title after not even qualifying in its first season of Division I.

“Mainly it was because we definitely had a chip on our shoulder,” says Addy Blackwell, who started all 32 games at guard. “The fact that the conference tournament was in our backyard, at the Ford Center in Evansville, and we didn’t qualify, was a slap in the face. That was definitely a motivator.”

Hall says Stein has the respect of his colleagues in the entire athletic department.

PHOTO

Rick Stein

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“A lot of young coaches look to him for advice and guidance,” Hall says. “Like most coaches, he’s had his ups and downs, but he sticks to his (formula). He does everything at a high level with character and intelligence.”

Stein’s recipe for success is blending players who put winning first and surrounding himself with a great coaching staff.

“Going into Division I, we thought we could compete right away,” he says.

TAKING A CHANCE

Regarded as a hard-working, “lunchpail” athlete, Stein began his college career playing for Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, helping lift the Cobras to a second-place finish in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II tournament as a freshman in 1988 and a fourth-place finish as a sophomore in ‘89. He transferred to USI and

In his quartercentury leading the

including

is

than a livelihood. For 190 years,

been the steady hand guiding farmers through seasons of growth and challenge, ensuring their dreams and land thrive for generations.

University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball team, Rick Stein has experienced much,

the program’s ascent to NCAA Division I status. The Screaming Eagles captured the Ohio Valley Conference title in their second Division I season and advanced to the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

was a two-year starting forward for coach Lionel Sinn. In Stein’s junior year, the Eagles advanced to the 1990 NCAA Division II South Central Regional, and as a senior, they stunned Wisconsin on the Badgers’ home court in Madison.

Stein expected to be at USI for two years, get his degree in business, and return to his hometown of Crete, Illinois, a small suburb 35 miles south of Chicago and six miles from the Indiana border. Sixteen credits shy of his degree, he asked then-USI women’s coach Chancellor Dugan if she needed any help while he finished his schoolwork.

“The whole thing started when Kari (Johnson, who became Stein’s wife) was a student worker in the athletic office, and she came up to me one day and asked, ‘Are you looking for another assistant?’” Dugan said.

“I told her to tell him to come see me,” says Dugan, who will enter her 13th season as the women’s head basketball coach at Louisville, Kentucky’s Bellarmine University. “The next day, we really hit it off. We just had a good, dynamic connection. We’re both people persons.”

Dugan recalls a story about Stein learning to deal with women’s athletes early in his coaching career.

“One of our kids (Gail Bridgewater) jammed her finger in practice when the ball hit her kind of funny,” Dugan says. “She started crying. Me and (assistant) Kelly Boyd looked at each other, as if to say, ‘whatever.’ But Rick was frantic. He said, ‘Coach, you’ve got to get over here and see if she’s OK.’ He didn’t realize a girl’s first reaction (to pain) is to cry.”

It marked quite a contrast to Stein’s nickname, “Dirty Rick,” describing his

The 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and a three-time Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Rick Stein has posted a 448-261 career record as USI’s women’s basketball coach.

blue-collar, aggressive style during his playing days, Dugan says. As far as coaching, Dugan says Stein was mature beyond his years.

“We ran his junior college coach’s offense and the pressure defense (thenUSI men’s coach) Bruce Pearl learned from Tom Davis at Iowa,” Dugan says. They combined forces for eight years, forging a 159-73 record, before Dugan became the head coach at Division I Florida Atlantic. First and foremost, Dugan is a master motivator, Stein says.

“She had a great feeling for how to push players, get them to work to get better,” Stein says. “She loved pressure defense. She still does, and so do I. I learned so much from her so fast, and I ran with it. I was so excited to be a part of it. I have so many good memories.”

Anyone affiliated with USI women’s basketball from that era will never forget the Eagles playing in the 1997 NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Grand Forks, North Dakota, a town slammed with eight blizzards and a record 98 inches of snow that winter. When the Elite Eight was held that March, snowbanks were still piled so high it was almost surreal, reminiscent of the Coen brothers’ movie “Fargo.” Seemingly everywhere you looked, all you saw was white. The wind was constantly whistling at 25 to 30 mph.

USI advanced to the national championship game, losing to the University of North Dakota on its home court. Incensed by the perceived unfairness of it all, Dugan let loose in the postgame press conference, saying “somebody’s got to be like Bobby Knight.” (In most instances, NCAA championship games are held at a neutral site.)

As Dugan’s successor as USI head coach, Stein guided the Eagles to a 2001 Division II Elite Eight appearance in Rochester, Minnesota, losing to No. 1-ranked Columbus State in the first round of the tournament.

Like Stein, Gatling expected to play for the Eagles and then leave town. Gatling and roommate Adrienne Seitz discussed where they might go, perhaps Cincinnati or Indianapolis. A Central High School graduate, Gatling gained her degree in social work. She was working at the Evansville YMCA and Premiere Video and pondering her next move. Instead, Gatling got a lifechanging phone call from Stein, asking if she would be interested in serving as his assistant.

“I think Rick and I formed a good partnership over trust and reliability. We decided a long time ago that this partnership is based on a friendship. And we both take good care of our friends and family.”

— Randa Gatling, USI women’s basketball assistant coach

“I was thinking, ‘What? Really?’ I had no coaching experience,” Gatling says.

But Stein sold her on the idea, and they’ve worked together ever since.

“I think Rick and I formed a good partnership over trust and reliability,” Gatling says. “We decided a long time ago that this partnership is based on a friendship. And we both take good care of our friends and family.”

“I like to speak my mind passionately, and he’s found a way to put up with me and keep me around for 25 years! But I think he respects that about me,” she adds. “I’m not just a ‘yes’ person.”

SON ALEX CARVES HIS OWN LEGACY

Stein is proud that his son, Alex, and daughter, Mallorie, both decided to attend USI on their own, without any prodding from him.

Mallorie, who played on the USI women’s soccer team, is an occupational therapist for Deaconess Health System; she works primarily for its branch in Henderson, Kentucky.

Alex helped spark F.J. Reitz High School boys’ basketball to a Class 4A state runner-up finish in 2015, then elected to stay on the West Side and play for the Eagles. He became USI’s career scoring leader with 2,219 points and lifted the Eagles to the Division II national semifinals in 2019 at the Ford Center. He began his pro career with the Canton Charge of the NBA G League, which currently is stretched all the way to Poland.

“To be considered one of the best (in USI history) is an honor,” said Alex, a 6-foot-3 guard who plays for Spojnia Stargard in the Polish Basketball League.

When Alex and Mallorie were growing up, Stein offered his advice, but only when asked.

Back row: Dan Dennison, Chris Sanders, Kelly Dearmond, and John Newcomer

Front row: Jeff Johnson, Jeff Kniese, and Michael Carter

“My dad was never hard on me when it came to basketball growing up,” Alex says. “I think the only time he would be upset is if he thought I wasn’t playing hard. Other than that, he really only gave constructive criticism if I asked for it.

He appreciates that in light of the fact that so many sports parents are overbearing.

“It’s been so much fun watching my dad’s teams have success over the years,” Alex says. “This year was particularly special, even though I had to watch from afar.”

When asked what the future holds, coach Stein says, “I’m only 55 years old.”

In other words, he plans to continue coaching for a long time to come.

“He hates to lose more than he loves to win!” Gatling says.

Expecting to move back to suburban Chicago all those years ago after a brief stint in Southern Indiana, Stein is glad he became embedded in the West Side.

“You go to where the going’s good, and that’s here,” he says. “The people at the university and in the community are a major factor. I gained happiness here, and their support for the program has been amazing.”

E-REP Leads the Evansville Region with IMPACT work.

QUALITY OF PLACE

E-REP advocates to improve and expand infrastructure, housing and amenities.

TALENT ATTRACTION & RETENTION

E-REP provides resources for regional employers to attract the workforce they need.

BUSINESS GROWTH & RETENTION

E-REP offers effective, on-the-ground support and data-driven guidance on targeted growth opportunities.

REGIONAL PLANNING

E-REP is advancing transformational projects through READI.

Work in Progress

From Downtown Evansville to Warrick County, major developments are coming to the region

BY JOHN MARTIN

outhwest Indiana is on the precipice of visible change.

In May, the region was shown design concepts that dramatically alter 50 miles of Ohio River shoreline, bringing enhancements to Downtown Evansville as well as Newburgh and Mount Vernon, Indiana. Progress is being made, too, on the long-discussed Interstate 69 bridge connection. Residents also will finally soon see construction activities on the Downtown site of the former Old National Bank tower, as well as at the University of Evansville and in western Warrick County, where an indoor sports complex is expected to open in 2025.

Here’s a look at what’s in store for the Evansville area, both short-term and long-term.

The Riverfront

Full implementation could take many years, even decades. But Southwestern Indiana officials say the Ohio River shoreline in Downtown Evansville, and extending east to Newburgh and west to Mount Vernon, is in for a transformation.

Aware of what’s been accomplished on riverfronts in other communities — officials hear constant praise for what Owensboro, Kentucky’s Smothers Park offers — the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership, in partnership with the Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District, hired worldwide design firm Sasaki to author a vision for a 50-mile stretch spanning the three communities.

During a public process last year, Sasaki heard from thousands of residents about their dreams for the riverfront. The consultant listened to that feedback and on May 21 unveiled bold new concepts in the Ohio River Vision and Strategic Plan that would bring dramatic change to the riverfront’s look and feel.

“The Sasaki team and their partners have listened to the input of our region, and they’ve come back with a ‘wow’ plan,” says Lloyd Winnecke, CEO of the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership.

Let’s start in Evansville. Sasaki’s designs create Great Bend Park, a space centered on the Four Freedoms Monument, which would move north to a spot between Main Street and the river. The public space around the monument is at multiple levels, with a performance stage and grassy and paved grounds — all circled by a multi-modal trail connecting riverfront amenities.

Great Bend Park includes waterfront food and beverage business opportunities, plus sports courts near the existing Sunset Skatepark. West of Great Bend Park,

the multi-modal trail forms a canopy path above the river, with an amphitheater and “floodable” green space beneath it.

Want to experience the river up close? You can, at the bottom of grand stairs and terraces, where Sasaki’s design suggests a “play beach” as well as access to kayaks and jet skis.

The changes would have significant impacts on Riverside Drive. Now a fourlane road with a median, Riverside is seen as being a two-lane, tree-lined boulevard, with parallel parking available between Court and Walnut streets.

The vision for Downtown Evansville’s riverfront is a long-term proposition, with several new features part of the designs produced by architectural firm Sasaki. Plans for Great Bend Park, at a site between Main Street and the Ohio River, include the relocated Four Freedoms Monument, a stage, event space, restaurant spaces, sports facilities, and more. A multi-modal trail in the design connects the different amenities and features an elevated canopy path.

Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry, in a prepared statement, says the vision authored by Sasaki “re-establishes the riverfront as a central part of Evansville’s identity and offers us a chance to activate that space by investing in and improving how we use it.”

Changes seen for Mount Vernon, meanwhile, include improved pedestrian access connecting the riverfront with Downtown streets and businesses. In Newburgh, riverfront concepts from Sasaki include redeveloping “underutilized” sites along Water Street and enhancements to Water, Jennings, and State streets that will “support investments made in private property to complete the downtown experience.”

Winnecke says Sasaki’s design concepts would allow area residents to experience Ohio River settings in multiple ways: alone or with a group, quietly or festively.

The road to this new-look Ohio River shoreline will not be linear, officials say. Unlike a building project with a well-defined construction schedule, the revamped riverfront could take several years to fully materialize.

“One of the beauties of this is, it’s not like, here’s the plan and you have to do it in this order,” Winnecke says. “There’s not necessarily going to be a specific sequence laid out. It will be determined by individual communities and how funding sources become available.”

In total, Winnecke says, “it’ll be a 20- to 25-year plan,” adding that the Ohio River vision “is transformative in thought. It will push us to think bigger, dream bigger, and to think this region deserves greater activity on a riverfront from Mount Vernon to Newburgh.”

Terry, in her prepared remarks, says, “Sasaki has pitched this as a 20-year vision for the riverfront, so that is the best estimate as far as a timeline for full completion. But the question of when people can start to expect to see these changes come to fruition … that part’s a little more complicated.”

Funding from the state’s READI program, which supports economic development in Hoosier communities, is in place to “identify and create schematic designs for the first phases” of the riverfront development, Terry says. “Those schematic designs are needed as we seek funding to begin work on implementing those first phases … we’ll be looking at identifying and acquiring a combination of federal, state, local, and private funds to move forward with making parts of the vision a reality.”

Sasaki has designed riverfront projects ranging from 10 World Trade, a 17-story, glass-encased research and development building in Boston, Massachusetts, to an accessible paths master plan for the University of California campus in Berkeley, California. E-REP officials say the firm was selected to steer Southwestern Indiana’s riverfront project because of its track record in design and connections to funding sources. Here, Sasaki and E-REP officials unveiled the riverfront design May 21 at Old National Bank.

The Vault

It’s taken far longer than anyone anticipated, but multiple local officials say construction activities are about to begin on the vacant Main Street block where the 18-story Old National Bank office tower was imploded in November 2021.

Known as The Vault, the mixed-use project will take up three-fourths of the block bordered by Main, Fourth, Fifth, and Sycamore streets. The design calls for 165 rental apartments, with commercial space on the ground level, and underground parking.

earning from 80 percent to 120 percent of the area’s median income could live, says Josh Armstrong, E-REP chief economic development officer.

Median household income in the Evansville area stood at about $49,000 in 2022, and Armstrong says The Vault will have some units “that would be affordable for those types of households.”

“At this point, two things that I think are noticeably absent from our Downtown are a grocery store and a pharmacy.”

— Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry

The developer is CRG Residential, based in Carmel, Indiana, which was the general contractor for the Post House, also in Downtown Evansville. CRG also is in the process of constructing Promenade Flats, an apartment complex off North Burkhardt Road on Evansville’s East Side.

Apartments in The Vault are considered “attainable housing,” where people

Construction of The Vault is to finish in 2026. Evansville taxpayers are helping the project with bonded financing approved in 2023 by the City Council — it will build the underground garage. Armstrong says the developer and “several” local investors, whom he declined to identify, also are involved.

Terry, when asked what types of business she would like to see on the building’s ground floor, says in prepared remarks: “At this point, two things that I think are noticeably absent from our Downtown are a grocery store and a pharmacy. I think

PHOTO

Josh Brooks and Anna Cawrse of Sasaki and Josh Armstrong of the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership

having those locations, whether as part of this project or elsewhere Downtown, would be a welcome addition and add convenience for all of those who live in the area – including the new residents of The Vault.”

The one-fourth of the block not taken up by the building is envisioned as a small, city-owned park. CenterPoint Energy announced a donation to that endeavor in May 2021.

A mixed-use development project is coming to the empty Main Street block where the Old National Bank tower was imploded in 2021. At four stories tall, The Vault is to feature apartment housing, underground parking, and commercial spaces on the ground level. The site is being developed by Carmel, Indiana-based CRG Residential, which served as the general contractor for the nearby Post House apartment complex that opened in summer 2020.

AERIAL PHOTO BY ZACH STRAW. THE VAULT RENDERING PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF EVANSVILLE

The future site of The Vault at Fifth and Main streets

The Vault

University of Evansville

UE has a major capital project near completion: Lincoln Commons, a four-story residence hall for 123 upperclassmen at Lincoln and Weinbach avenues.

The one-, two-, and four-bedroom apartment-style housing – complete with a full kitchen and laundry services in each unit – is set to open for the fall semester in August, with around 3,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground level. UE officials are speaking with potential restaurateurs about the property, President Christopher Pietruszkiewicz says. Parking for 96 vehicles was developed in 2023 in an adjacent lot across Lincoln Avenue.

A capital wish list item for UE is a health and wellness center at Walnut and Weinbach avenues. The start of construction depends on financing, Pietruszkiewicz says, and the university expects to learn this summer if a grant will be approved.

On May 20, UE announced another major capital project: the Freeland Clubhouse, made possible by a $3 million donation from 2015 graduates Kyle and Ashley Freeland. Kyle, a former Aces baseball player, now pitches for the Colorado Rockies, and his wife played soccer at UE.

Upperclassmen returning to the University of Evansville for the 2024 fall semester will be the first residents of Lincoln Commons, which is nearly complete at Lincoln and Weinbach avenues. Lincoln Commons’ first-floor restaurant will be open to the public. In May, UE announced the construction of a clubhouse for the Aces baseball squad, thanks to a donation from former UE

Warrick County sports complex

In August 2022, it was announced that an indoor sports complex off Epworth Road and Interstate 69 in Warrick County would receive $5 million in grants from the state’s READI program, which supports large capital projects in Hoosier communities.

It was said at the time that the complex would include an indoor track and the ability to host volleyball, archery, basketball, wrestling, and pickleball, as well as turf sports activities.

The project hit some roadblocks but is expected to break ground later this year, with a one-year construction timeline, says Steve Roelle, executive director of Success Warrick County.

The track initially included no longer is part of the complex. Costs and practical considerations led to that piece being removed, says Brandon McClish, executive director of the Evansville Regional Sports Commission.

Indoor track and field, McClish says, is a “niche” market and quality indoor facilities already exist at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis and in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Within our region, we have exceptional facilities that are being utilized and being upgraded for track and field,” McClish says.

But McClish says the complex coming to Warrick County’s western edge will have the opportunity to host several types of sports and nonsports activities. Half its playing surface may be converted to 70,000-80,000 square feet of open space for events such as conventions and trade shows.

A private entity, EDGE Sports Global, will construct and operate the complex using private financing as well as the state’s READI dollars and tax increment financing approved by the Warrick County Redevelopment Commission. The company has 12 sports facilities in its portfolio and several others in development.

pitcher Kyle Freeland and his wife, Ashley. LINCOLN

Steve Roelle Brandon McClish

Lincoln Commons

UE Athletics Director Kenneth “Ziggy” Siegfried, baseball head coach Wes Carroll, Kyle Freeland, and UE President Christopher Pietruszkiewicz

Interstate 69 bridge

The top transportation priority of bi-state officials for decades, the Interstate 69 bridge project connecting Evansville and Henderson, Kentucky, shows movement.

During her first State of the City address April 9, Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry announced the I-69 Ohio River Crossing will take another step forward late this summer, when the Indiana Department of Transportation breaks ground on Section 3.

This portion covers the approach on the Indiana side, beginning with a new interchange at Veterans Memorial Parkway east of Eagle Slough Natural Area and ending at the Kentucky State

line just north of the Ohio River. Completion of this part of the project is slated for 2026, with construction of the bridge itself currently scheduled to wrap up in 2031.

“But we are working with other stakeholders to look for federal grant opportunities that would accelerate that timeline,” Terry said during her speech.

Contractor Ragle Inc. and consultant Stantec began construction on Section 1 – a sixmile-plus stretch forming interchanges with KY 351, U.S. 41, and U.S. 60 – in summer 2022, with completion projected for 2025. Section 2 covers the building of the four-lane bridge beginning in 2027.

Ohio River Vision and Strategic Plan orvsp.engage.sasaki.com

Success Warrick County successwarrickcounty.com

Lincoln Commons at the University of Evansville evansville.edu/residencelife/ campushousing/ lincoln-commons.cfm

I-69 Ohio River Crossing i69ohiorivercrossing.com

On the EDGE of Change

A major Boonville project begets many questions

n Nov. 3, 2023 – four days before winning re-election – Boonville, Indiana, Mayor Charlie Wyatt announced plans for a new $74 million development for the town of around 6,680 residents, with construction starting in the third quarter of this year and finishing in 2026.

In addition to a 140-room hotel, the development plan has an events center, training facilities for police and firefighters, stores and restaurants, housing for veterans, miniature golf, indoor karting, an arcade, an amphitheater, and more.

Wyatt did not disclose how it would be funded. Since November, further details have been difficult to come by, and the mayor has declined to answer follow-up questions from Evansville Business or provide updates.

A May 9 post on the EDGE’s Facebook page stated the location is on 271 acres on Boonville’s west side off Indiana 62, near Walmart. On May 21, another post announced the golf portion of the development would be a greens-only experience operated by a company called Hazards Entertainment.

On April 2, the Boonville City Council approved a resolution creating the Boonville-EDGE Economic Development Area, a mechanism the city would use to build $25 million worth of road and utility infrastructure needed to advance the project.

Information remains scant even to organizations whose mission is to recruit outside investment for Southwestern Indiana.

Officials with the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership – the chief economic development agency for Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, and Posey counties – offered little when asked by Evansville Business about EDGE of the Lakes.

“We’re following it,” E-REP CEO Lloyd Winnecke says.

“We’re following it,” echoes Josh Armstrong, E-REP chief economic development officer. “I love big dreams, and I think that it’s a really big, bold vision for Boonville.”

Steve Roelle, executive director of Success Warrick County, an economic development organization that is part of the county’s government, says he also has few details to offer about the EDGE of the Lakes project.

Construction of Section 1 of the I-69 Ohio River Crossing

“There is a lot of excitement and curiosity about this project around Boonville, Warrick County, and beyond,” Roelle told Evansville Business in an emailed statement. “I don’t have any details outside of what has been announced publicly by the City of Boonville or the group working on this project.”

Interview requests submitted to the project’s Facebook page were refused by Jerry Bridges, who is with Heavenly Hands Property Services in Jupiter, Florida. Heavenly Hands is one of the companies Wyatt initially named as being part of the EDGE development.

“We are currently not offering time for interviews, but will be in the quite near future,” Bridges said in a Facebook message to an Evansville Business writer.

a 96-unit apartment complex in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Hazards Entertainment, the project’s golf partner, is a registered corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

In the May 9 Facebook post, EDGE of the Lakes organizers touted the involvement of one Southwest Indiana firm — Traylor Building, which is a part of Evansville-based Traylor Construction Group — as construction managers.

“We don’t have all the details, it’s preliminary at this point. But we are always excited to build in this area. Our business is to build projects.”

Other entities Wyatt identified in early November as being involved are Renco-USA, also of Jupiter; Desimone Consulting Engineering of Miami, Florida; Boyatt Design of Blue Ridge, Georgia; The Center for Institutional Finance of Daytona Beach, Florida; and NASG Solutions of St. Paul, Minnesota.

— Pete Giannini, Director of Business Development with Traylor Building

None of those firms appear to have any prior ties to Southwest Indiana. Wyatt has declined to explain how the connections were made.

Heavenly Hands Property Services describes itself on its website as a “faithbased collaboration of like-minded construction professionals” that works in local communities.

Renco-USA, meanwhile, is a selfdescribed “trailblazer in revolutionizing the construction industry” by using “mineral composite fiber reinforced” materials, as opposed to wood, concrete, and steel. Interlocked units are bonded together to build up to four stories. Its website cites one successful project –

The post quotes Pete Giannini, Director of Business Development with Traylor Building, as saying the company “(looks) forward to the opportunity to grow and develop Boonville and Southwest Indiana.”

Giannini tells Evansville Business that officials with the Boonville project reached out to Traylor Building about becoming involved as a contractor.

“We don’t have all the details, it’s preliminary at this point,” Giannini says. “But we are always excited to build in this area. Our business is to build projects.”

Some Southwest Indiana officials were invited to a meeting about the development April 18 at Boonville’s Funxion Events, and photos of the gathering circulated on social media. But those involved in the project took no questions from the audience, Evansville Business was told by individuals who were present.

One person who was photographed making remarks at the gathering is Teresa Shanks. In the early 2000s, Shanks led a failed effort to build an aquarium, IMAX theater, and children’s museum in Evansville.

That project received extensive media attention but was plagued by questions about its financing and credibility, many of which were raised in a July/August 2003 Evansville Living article. Shanks — then known as Teresa Thuerbach — told

the magazine that entities whom she declined to name had pledged $4 million to the Evansville project. That funding and the identity of its donors never surfaced.

Shanks and her organization also publicized a lengthy list of affiliations in the aquarium proposal. But some of the entities that Shanks claimed were involved in the project told Evansville Living in 2003 they knew little about it and were surprised to be named as affiliates.

The extent of Shanks’ participation in the EDGE of the Lakes project is not clear. Efforts to reach her were not successful, and Evansville Business received a letter from a Florida attorney in response to its inquiries about Shanks’ involvement. (Read the full letter at evansville living.com.)

“At the end of the day, this will be an open book,” writes the attorney, Michael Ryan.

Several area state lawmakers were photographed attending the April 18 informational gathering. Sen. Vaneta Becker, a Republican whose district includes Boonville, says general concepts for the EDGE development were shown at the gathering, but “they didn’t get into a lot of details” about how it would be paid for.

“If they can get it done, it would be exciting for Boonville, the county, and the region,” Becker said in late May, but “I just don’t know about the funding.”

Becker then suggested Evansville Business direct questions about the development to the same person who introduced it back on Nov. 3 – Boonville Mayor Charlie Wyatt.

Edge of the Lake lodge rendering

Letter from Ryan Law Group

River City Pride was founded in 2019 by local members of the LGBTQIA+ community to serve the Evansville region through leadership development, educational programs, and community events which achieve inclusivity, equality, strong community connections, and awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues.

Mission:

1. Unite, educate, and serve the LGBTQIA+ community.

2. Celebrate and advocate LGBTQIA+ history while providing a safe space for networking and outreach.

Vision:

Create a safe haven that fiercely supports and advocates equality and equity in the community.

Ready to get involved?

We hold our Board of Directors meetings every first and third Tuesday of the month. These meetings are used for discussion, event planning, and to review the progress of the organization’s work so we can continue to move forward. We offer time at the end of every board meeting for members of our community to bring questions and issues important to them to our attention, and for community organizations to connect with our board for collaboration and support opportunities. Interested in attending? Privately message us through our website or by email so we may provide additional details.

UPCOMING EVENTS

RAINBOW FORMAL

May 18, 2024 • 4:35 PM University of Evansville, Eykamp Hall

PRIDE FESTIVAL & PARADE

June 1, 2024 • 12 PM Main Street, Downtown Evansville

PRIDE NIGHT AT THE OTTERS

June 2024 Bosse Field

WAG-N-DRAG PET ADOPTION EVENT

June 2024 Vanderburgh Humane Society (VHS) 400 Millner Industrial Drive, Evansville, IN

PRIDE WIFFLEBALL TOURNAMENT

June 2024 Haynie’s Corner Arts District, Corner of 2nd and Adams

LOCAL BUSINESS GIVEBACK DAY/NIGHT (AZZIP)

June 2024 Azzip Pizza

PRIDE TRUNK-OR-TREAT

October 2024 Location TBD

LOCAL BUSINESS GIVEBACK DAY/NIGHT (HACIENDA)

October 2024 Hacienda

QUEER MONTHLY MEETUP

Every second Wednesday of the month • 6 PM Haynie’s Corner Brewing Co. 56 Adams Ave., Evansville, IN

RAINBOW ELVES GIFT SHOPPING DAY

November 2024

INCLUSION, DIVERSITY & EQUITY BECOMING A

CATALYST FOR CHANGE

“Through

our ID&E strategy, we empower employees, suppliers, and strategic partners to contribute and participate in an inclusive culture — one that is truly Beautifully Different.”

Lori Sutton, Chief Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity Officer at American Water

American Water firmly believes that embracing and celebrating our employees’ individuality is critical to a productive and creative workplace. We have made a lot of progress in fulfilling our Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) strategy, and we continue to update our strategy to maintain this positive trend.

In 2024, we are taking a formalized approach to truly becoming Beautifully Different with the launch of Catalyst for Change. Catalyst for Change aims to solidify a more inclusive and equitable culture where all individuals can bring their whole selves to work to serve the diverse communities in which we operate. The components of Catalyst for Change center on demonstrating Commitment, Consistency, Clarity, Courage, and Conviction for ID&E at American Water:

• Commitment: Our ID&E vision strives for an inclusive, equitable, respectful organization where our employees positively impact and reflect the communities we serve.

• Consistency: Being consistent leads to sustainability. Modeling inclusive behaviors that align with our values as an organization.

• Clarity: Allows employees to visualize their role in supporting our ID&E vision. Clarity drives commitment and support.

• Courage: Allows employees to learn about each other and discover different perspectives. Courage allows people to feel seen, heard, and valued.

• Conviction: We all play a vital role in actively supporting our ID&E strategy. Through conviction, employees can make a significant positive impact.

FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY

44% Diversity across our workforce.

48% Percent of diverse promotions and transfers within the company.

20

Awards received for our ID&E work.

We have amazing stories to share from multiple perspectives and backgrounds thanks to a long line of skilled, knowledgeable and caring employees. Follow our journey at DiversityatAW.com. Scan the QR code for more information, including:

• Our Values

• Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Report

• 2022 EEO-1 Employment Data

Many businesses and educational institutions in the Tri-State champion diversity and inclusion through their hiring, missions, and activities. Check out how some of these organizations are taking the lead with their outreach to and involvement with the many populations that make up our

It’s a Wonder ful Day to Teach Inclusion!

The Easterseals HOP-N-ING program is a fun and interactive way for children to develop an understanding about disabilities. Kids learn that accepting, appreciating, and including friends of all abilities can make their world a happier, friendlier, more interesting place! This FREE curriculum is designed for preschool and elementary students. Digital resources, including animated videos and discussion guides, offer flexibility for busy teachers. HOP-N-ING also gives students the opportunity to fundraise for the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center by hopping for pledges! Proceeds stay local to provide inclusive early education and essential therapy services that empower kids and adults to achieve their goals in our community. Scan the QR code to learn more about the HOP-N-ING program!

Elements of Success

How has American Water developed a strong Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion strategy?

Strong DE&I strategy is driven by a fully committed senior leadership team dedicated to a sustainable strategic approach. Our strategic framework focuses on three pillars: culture, people, and community. When we build the right culture, we can attract and retain the right people to serve the communities in which we operate. Through our DE&I strategy, we amplify unique backgrounds and demonstrate how employees’ voices matter. By helping our employees be advocates and allies, we recognize and celebrate how we’re all beautifully different.

How do you foster and promote a cultural perspective within American Water?

Leadership plays a key role in promoting and cultivating a diverse culture, and having diversity across our organization makes us a great company. We’re strong because we have different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds while regularly reflecting on our values and culture. Most importantly, we embrace and expect one another to respect and value those differences.

How does American Water’s DE&I approach encourage employees to bring their authentic selves to work?

True DE&I is achieved in an environment where employees can be themselves at a company whose employees reflect the diverse communities we serve.

The next step is shifting to genuinely embedding equity into everything we do. This begins with continued education and accountability of our leaders. In 2024, all leaders will complete Inclusive Leadership training by learning how to be Catalysts for Change through inclusive behaviors. By eliminating barriers that prevent access to opportunities, we create deeper employee connections that promote personal growth, allowing our employees to reach their full potential.

Why is DE&I so important to American Water?

We believe that DE&I are vital elements to our success and critical for the emotional safety of our employees. Because of this, we have decided to

Opportunities to Prosper

lead with “inclusion” in our naming convention. We’re more successful when our workforce reflects the communities that we serve. We’ve come a long way, and there is more work to do.

uamwater.com

FOR 70 YEARS, THE ARC OF EVANSVILLE HAS ADVOCATED for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to have the same life opportunities as others in the community. Our goal is for each person served to have a meaningful day every day and to encourage them to live as independently as possible as an active, contributing community member. Our services enrich the lives of those served by enabling them to participate in work, volunteerism, and community engagement.

The Arc of Evansville promotes and supports Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) for people with disabilities. CIE creates inclusive workplaces where individuals with disabilities work alongside their non-disabled peers, fostering an environment where diversity is embraced and everyone can

contribute equally. Moreover, CIE endeavors to break down barriers that prevent the full participation of individuals with disabilities. Inclusive workplaces are found to be better equipped to attract and retain talent, resulting in reduced turnover costs for businesses.

Employing people with disabilities can open a new world of greater selfreliance, fulfillment, and inclusion. The Arc of Evansville provides the needed support to assist people with disabilities in finding and maintaining CIE opportunities in the community. To learn more about how your business can create a more diverse and inclusive workforce, please contact Rod Summers, Manager of Business Development, at rodney.summers@arcofevansville.org or (812) 204-3716.

u arcofevansville.org

Lori Sutton

Inclusion Through Hop-N-Ing

How do the concepts of diversity and inclusion fit into the Easterseals mission?

We believe that each person deserves quality care provided with expertise, compassion, and respect. Our essential core services — physical, occupational, and speech-language therapies, audiology, and psychology — are offered regardless of financial means. Easterseals also works to change the way our community defines and views disability. We envision a community where all individuals have equal opportunity to achieve their dreams.

What is the Easterseals Hop-N-Ing?

Hop-N-Ing is a FREE digital curriculum for Tri-State area preschool, pre-K, and elementary school students. It’s a fun, engaging, and age-appropriate way for children to develop an understanding of disabilities.

How does Hop-N-Ing meet the needs of young children?

Hop-N-Ing introduces kids to friendly, animated characters, each one depicting a child who has a disability. These characters share their stories in short videos to teach children that including friends of all abilities makes the world a better place for everyone!

How does Hop-N-Ing meet the needs of teachers?

Easterseals Hop-N-Ing offers flexibility, so teachers can introduce a different character each day or utilize multiple stories as time allows. Links to teaching aids, suggested books, and discussion guides make it easy to customize!

We’re grateful to this year’s sponsors: Tools 4 Teaching, Liberty Federal Credit Union, Ascension St. Vincent, and West Side Nut Club. As a bonus, participating teachers receive a discount from the lead sponsor, Tools 4 Teaching!

Why is it called Hop-N-Ing?

Each student has the opportunity to support Easterseals by hopping during a set time period. While hopping, they’re raising funds to provide essential therapy sessions! Each child receives a sponsor envelope to collect pledges from friends and relatives. Pledges can be flat donations or a specific amount per hop. Proceeds underwrite services that empower local individuals to reach their goals!

How can a teacher or principal learn more or sign up for Easterseals Hop-N-Ing?

Contact Sara McKeehan, Easterseals Coordinator of Events and Community Relations, at 812-437-2609 or SMcKeehan@evansvillerehab.com. Scan the QR code in our ad to visit the Easterseals Hop-N-Ing web page!

u easterseals.com

Putting Passion To Practice

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA (USI), our strength comes from the diversity of our students, faculty, administrators, staff, and alumni. USI is dedicated to equity by being a diversity and inclusion champion that exemplifies an unyielding commitment to a positive, enriching campus experience for all.

Members of the Class of 2024 included 1,500-plus graduates who join more than 52,000 current USI alumni across Indiana, the U.S., and the world. The USI Center for International Programs recently recognized Noor Alameer, a 2024 Diagnostic Medical Sonography graduate from Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, with USI’s Outstanding International Graduate Award.

She is celebrated by her peers and leaders at the university as a shining example of what it means to call USI home, excelling while studying internationally. Active participation by students like Noor and USI’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion create an environment focused on the representation, involvement, and empowerment of all communities across campus.

Noor’s Story:

I recommend USI because it is a welcoming place with nice people who are willing to help. At first, I was studying biomedical engineering in Saudi Arabia, and I found myself not really interested in it as a major. I discussed this with my husband, and he encouraged me to go to USI. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health services administration from USI in 2016. I was selected to receive a full scholarship from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education to study abroad, and I decided to pursue something I truly love. I always wanted to work in a hospital setting helping patients, and I discovered that ultrasound technology fascinated me. I am passionate about working with advanced technology that is rapidly evolving. I plan to go home and apply for the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties license by taking the ultrasound exam, then searching for a job as a cardiac or general sonographer. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me throughout this incredible journey. I cannot count how many things make USI just the most pleasant university you could ever imagine. It’s truly a unique place!

u usi.edu

Message from Anastasia Matthews

“At Berry, we are a growing team. We believe that every employee brings a unique perspective and set of experiences to the table, enriching our work environment and driving innovation. We are committed to continuing to build a culture of inclusion where our workforce feels a sense of belonging and empowered to grow, thrive and equally contribute to the success of our Company. “

Anastasia Matthews Vice President | Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion/Corporate HR

Scan to learn more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion u

Noor Alameer

Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation

WE WELCOME TONI HAMILTON into her new role on the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. executive leadership team as the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. In a career spanning over 20 years, Toni’s dedication to our schools has been evident in her previous roles as principal, master teacher, mentor teacher, and classroom teacher. She also brings to the position the added perspective of a proud mother of two EVSC graduates. We believe these experiences, along with her commitment to student success, will lead to positive outcomes.

With 40 schools throughout Evansville and Vanderburgh County, we are committed to serving the unique characteristics of each school community to allow all students, families, and teachers to be fully supported. As the Chief DEI Officer, she will play a key role in ensuring this support is embedded throughout all levels of the entire district.

The EVSC is fortunate to have passionate individuals like Toni Hamilton who believe every student in our community can thrive and develop the skills and knowledge necessary for a successful future.

951 Walnut St., Evansville, IN (812) 435-8453 evscschools.com

Toni Hamilton

AstraZeneca

4601

AT ASTRAZENECA, WE ARE MOTIVATED by pushing the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines to patients around the world. In short, our work has true value. We recognize our people are our greatest assets, and we know what is possible with talented and diverse teams who believe in what science can do.

We believe in building a workforce that reflects the communities we work in. By encouraging a rich diversity, we make space for fresh perspectives and new ideas. Different backgrounds allow us to see things from all angles and deliver the best for our patients. As a company that is often recognized for our commitment to diversity, we not only practice what we preach; we excel because of it.

We intentionally put inclusion before diversity. That’s because we are first focused on creating a culture of inclusion and belonging, which will enable us to attract and retain a rich and diverse workforce. We understand that our patients come from all backgrounds and cultures, all ages and genders. Our priority is reflecting the diversity of our patients and communities in order to ensure we are delivering the best care to our patients.

We are proud of our employees and what each of them brings to the table! We are at our best and most creative when we draw on our different views, experiences, and strengths. This is our competitive advantage, and this is what makes AstraZeneca a great place to work.

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Mary Schmelz Sales Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton

Damon Brown Site Supervisor, Deaconess Sports Park

The 23rd Annual Best of Evansville poll is your chance to tell us the latest and greatest the city has to offer in dining, shopping, entertainment, local business, community personalities, and more. So, what people and places stand out to you? Best of Evansville winners will be announced in the September/October 2024 issue of Evansville Living!

VOTING RUNS JUNE 1–30

BUSINESS LIFE

UNIVERSITY OF EVANSVILLE ALUMNI

AWARDS April 13, University of Evansville Ridgway University Center Eykamp Hall Linda White and Christopher Pietruszkiewicz

April 19, Deaconess

ASSOCIATION

GIRL SCOUTS OF SOUTHWEST INDIANA WOMEN OF DISTINCTION LUNCHEON

Ortho Neuro Hospital

Julie Hoon, Elizabeth Christmas, Tijuanna Tolliver, Shannon Frazer, and Lisa Vaughan

RIBBON CUTTING AT SIXTH AND ZERO

April 22, 425 Main St. Jamie Wiggins, Mary Allen, Lisa Schriefer, and Kris Evans

LADIES AUXILARY AT RIVER CITY EAGLES CHECK PRESENTATION TO HOLLY’S HOUSE

April 18, Holly’s House Susie Gough and Sally Payne

PHOTO PROVIDED BY HOLLY’S HOUSE

CELEBRATION OF LEADERSHIP AWARDS March 19, Old National Events Plaza 1. Court Kull and Bobbie Jarrett 2. Larry Samples 3. Aaron Huff and Leah Curry 4. Amanda Coburn and Kendall Paul

FOSTER CARE IN THE U.S.’ IATT HOUSE RIBBON CUTTING May 1, 23 E. Columbia St. Jennie Illingworth, Kathleen Pettijohn, Ryan Crowe, Mandy Fee, Josh Fee, Freddy Crowe, Daveion Greer, Jessica Angelique, Mayor Stephanie Terry, Sivencia Shira, Nakia Goodwin, and Jodi Keen

May 9,

and

JD SHETH FOUNDATION’S YOUTH COMMUNITY CHANGER GRANT AWARDED May 7, JD Sheth Foundation Jaimie Sheth and Mesa Compton

EVANSVILLE AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM ANNUAL MEETING April 29, Evansville African American Museum Talmadge Vick and Anne McKim

BEDFORD COLLAB LISTEN AND LEARN

Evansville African American Museum John Parker

DeAndre Wilson

HYDRATION STATION RIBBON CUTTING May 13, Evansville Water & Sewer Utility Michael Heiger, Alexis Frederick, Ben Ziliak, Don Shanks, Elspeth Urbina, Jack Deig, Vic Kelson, and Mayor Stephanie Terry

GRANTED HOUSE OF HOPE GROUNDBREAKING April 26, Oak Hill Road 1. Amanda Jorgensen, Roy Jorgensen, and Jeff Purdue 2. Catie Taylor and Dana Gubler

IN THE NEWS E

NEW HIRES/PROMOTIONS

Erica Schmidt is the new executive director of the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville. Schmidt most recently was an adjunct professor at the University of Southern Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College Evansville where she taught various communications and media courses. She has worked for more than two decades in resource development, strategic planning, hospitality management, customer relations, communications, and marketing.

basis following the retirement of Steve Bequette. Preston had served as Assistant Director of Public Safety since 2018, and he retired from the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office after 26 years of service. USI also has appointed Andrea Gentry as vice president for development. She was the university’s director of development for the last seven years.

named Director of

The Henderson, Kentucky, Chamber of Commerce has announced the selection of Clay Gillham as its new president. The Henderson native, who previously spent more than two years as Downtown Events & Communications Coordinator for the Chamber, replaces Lindsay Locasto, who was named Evansville’s deputy mayor.

B BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Best Face Forward

Dual-enrolled student wins Ivy Tech’s Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition BY

MAGGIE VALENTI

Sophia Hape is proof that the seeds of entrepreneurship can sprout early.

The F.J. Reitz High School senior, who is dually enrolled at Ivy Tech Community College Evansville, won the college’s Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition on May 2. This is the second year of the contest, which brings together top entrepreneurship students at the Garatoni School

of Entrepreneurship & Innovation to present their business pitches to investors and community members.

Hape pitched a beauty and skincare company called Sophia’s Salon and Skincare, which would specialize in in-person esthetic skincare and personalized subscription boxes. A panel of local judges awarded her $3,000 as the top prize, which she plans to use toward tuition for esthetician school.

“Sophia’s Salon and Skincare” was joined by 19 other business concepts presented during the Entrepreneurship Expo taking place around the pitch competition. Hape won an additional $500 at the expo for Best Booth Design as determined by attendees of the expo.

Evansville Philharmonic Music Director Roger Kalia has taken on another role, as artistic director-designate for the Terre Haute, Indiana, Symphony Orchestra for the 2024-25 season. Kalia has helmed the Evansville Philharmonic’s music programs since the 2020-21 season. Kalia also serves as music director for the Orchestra Santa Monica in California and Symphony New Hampshire in Nashua, New Hampshire.

The Evansville Regional Economic Partnership has promoted Patrick Hickey to economic development director. He has served as E-REP’s economic development program manager since January 2023. The organization also has hired Christy Powell as its community development director. Powell most recently worked as the town administrative manager for the Town of Newburgh, Indiana, and previously worked for the City of Boonville, Indiana, and the Warrick County Area Plan Commission.

Two recent hires have joined Ivy Tech Community College Evansville. Arieona Garrett, a sports management graduate from the University of Southern Indiana, is the new facilities assistant for Ivy Tech. Matthew Cosby, an accounting graduate from USI, has joined Ivy Tech as an accounting clerk.

Old National Bank has hired Daniel Quinn as a senior wealth advisor for Southwestern Indiana. As part of 1834, a division of Old National Bank, Quinn will focus on high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational families, business owners, and current and retired physicians and executives.

Chase Coslett, Daniela Vidal, Tonya Kirby, Sophia Hape, and Chris Johnson at Ivy Tech’s Entrepreneurship Expo on May 2

Sam Preston has been

Public Safety at the University of Southern Indiana, after holding the role on an interim

ERICA SCHMIDT

ANDREA GENTRY

CLAY GILLHAM

PATRICK HICKEY

CHRISTY POWELL

ARIEONA GARRETT

MATTHEW COSBY

DANIEL QUINN

SAM PRESTON

The University of Evansville has announced the appointment of Amanda L. Krause as the new dean of the William L. Ridgway College of Arts and Sciences. Most recently, Krause has been employed as the director of international programs and an associate professor of political science at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana; a Master of Arts in political science from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Krause is slated to begin her new role at UE in mid-July.

PASSINGS

Robert E. Griffin, the longtime CEO and chairman of Evansville sporting goods manufacturer Escalade, Inc., passed away March 22 in Saint George, Utah, at age 89. The East Saint Louis, Illinois, native helped launch Escalade, Inc. in 1973 and served in several leadership capacities through 2015.

AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS

Habitat for Humanity of Evansville has celebrated its 40th anniversary by dedicating its 598th house on April 4. In 2023, the local chapter was ranked 16th in the nation in new home construction out of 1,031 affiliates.

Evansville startup Anu, formerly called Gropod, has won this year’s HungerTech Innovation Challenge by designing an aeroponic smart garden appliance. Anu earned $25,000 at the TechPoint Mira Awards gala April 26 in Indianapolis.

Students in USI’s radio television program continue to earn top marks from the Broadcast Education Association. According to BEA’s rankings of more than 300 schools

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IN THE NEWS

internationally, in 2024 USI’s radio television program moved up four spots to fourth in the nation in winning audio programs. This elevation has placed the program as one of the top 25 overall winning programs in the country.

The Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science’s board of trustees has awarded Stephanie M. Engelbrecht with honorary lifetime trustee status. The Evansville philanthropist has been involved with the museum for 20 years, including five years with the Museum Guild and working with the museum’s governance, finance, development, art, and executive committees. Engelbrecht is a past president of the museum’s board and has chaired the advisory council of past presidents.

Some Evansville companies were recognized by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce on its list of best places to work for 2024. The annual statewide survey evaluates participating organizations for the highest levels of employee satisfaction and engagement in the workplace. Among small companies, Brackett Heating-Air-Plumbing Inc. and ECS Solutions made the list, while Lochmueller Group landed on the large companies list. Large companies receiving honorable mention status included Warehouse Services Inc. of Evansville and Mount Vernon, Indiana.

Deaconess Midtown, Gateway, and Henderson (Kentucky) hospitals, as well as Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center in Jasper, , all have earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog. Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries, and infections as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.

The University of Evansville's Presidential Medal of Honor was presented on April 24 to 4-star Lt. Gen. (Ret.) John Conaway, a 1956 UE alumnus, by UE President Christopher Pietruszkiewicz at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia.

STEPHANIE M. ENGELBRECHT

LT. GEN. (RET.) JOHN CONAWAY AND CHRISTOPHER PIETRUSZKIEWICZ

We are the Champions

Boys & Girls Club of Evansville earns a national

honor

BY MAGGIE VALENTI

The Boys & Girls Club of Evansville’s history of helping TriState youths dates to the late 1950s, and its recent efforts are being lauded.

In April, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America honored the Evansville chapter with its Champion for Youth Award, recognizing its advocacy for Hoosier youths. This honor is awarded only to the top 10 percent of Boys & Girls Clubs in the nation. The Evansville club earned commendations for its efforts, with the state, toward mentoring, workforce development and readiness programs, and academic success for the approxi mately 2,000 youths it serves.

“We are raising our voices every single day, to ensure top issues and solutions impacting young people are prioritized in our community, our state, and at the national level,” Executive Director Ron Ryan said in a press release.

A member of the Evansville club also recently received recognition. Mike Mitchell, a lifetime board mem ber, was inducted into the Boys & Girls Club of Indiana’s Area Council Hall of Fame on April 11, one of seven Hall of Fame inductees this year.

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Amiyah W., Ralil C., Zayvion S., and Jakobe C. work together on a project May 9 during Statewide Day of Service at the Boys & Girls Club of Evansville

Conaway’s miliary career from 1956 to 1993 began with his commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from UE and led to his service as the 22nd chief of the National Guard Bureau, as well as vice chief and director of the Air National Guard.

Shelby Clark , a spring 2024 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern Indiana, has received the USI President’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed to an undergraduate student. Clark was a two-term editor of The Shield, USI’s student newspaper, as well as publicity chair of the Asian Student Union and a Welcome Week Team Leader. She assisted with New Student Convocation and was on the 2024 Homecoming Court.

Evansville Fire Department Capt. Ed Gunn has been named the Green River Kiwanis’ 2023 Firefighter of the Year. Gunn, a 31-year veteran of the department, received a wall plaque, $100 check from On The Spot Utility Resources LLC, a Firefighter of the Year ring from Local 357, and more on March 20 at the Kiwanis club’s weekly meeting. Gunn is the 42nd recipient of the Kiwanis club’s annual award. Other 2023 nominees were Michael Wilson, Tyler Pipes, Patrick Moore, Matthew Mastison, and Jesse Marx, who was profiled in the April/May 2024 Evansville Business cover story about dream jobs.

The D-Patrick family of automotive dealerships has made several recent donations. D-Patrick Ford/Lincoln has presented $2,500 checks each to Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden and the Evansville Rescue Mission. D-Patrick Boonville Ford has donated $1,000 each to the Warrick Parks Foundation and Warrick Literacy & Educational Connections/Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. D-Patrick Honda has gifted Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Indiana and Granted $1,500 each through its “Honda Helping Kids” program. With a $500 donation, D-Patrick Motoplex has sponsored the 2024 Buffalo Trace Council Pinewood Derby.

The University of Evansville has named four teachers as this year’s outstanding educator winners on April 10 during its 33rd annual ceremony. West Terrace School fourthgrade classroom teacher Lindsey Stine earned outstanding elementary teacher of the year. Helfrich Park STEM Academy sixth-grade

English/Language Arts instructor Lindsey O'Brian was named outstanding middle school teacher of the year. Sally Sternberg,

the AVID elective teacher and site coordinator at William Henry Harrison High School, was honored as outstanding high school teacher of the year. The award for outstanding building principal of the year went to Angie Oliver, principal of Glenwood Leadership Academy.

Boston IVF’s center at The Women’s Hospital in Newburgh, Indiana, is among the company’s five facilities named to Newsweek’s 2024 list America’s Best Fertility Clinics. The magazine’s report ranks the top 125 fertility clinics in the country by polling more than 3,000 reproductive endocrinologists, infertility specialists, obstetricians, and gynecologists, and reviewing performance indicator metrics for assisted reproductive technology.

National nonprofit Petco Love has awarded a $35,000 grant investment to the Vanderburgh Humane Society to assist with its adoption, spay/neuter, humane education, clinic, and other services. Founded in 1957, VHS completed its 100,000th spay/ neuter surgery in December 2022.

SHELBY CLARK

LINDSEY STINE

LINDSEY O’BRIAN

ANGIE OLIVER

Evansville’s Buffalo Trace Council of the Boy Scouts of America has received a $20,000 grant from the Gibson County Community Foundation to launch its Leadership Development Initiative in Scouting to address the cycle of poverty in neighboring Gibson County. The funds are part of the Lilly Endowment’s Gift VII Community Leadership Initiative.

Perry Heights Middle School Principal Kaycie Soderling was named Middle School Principal of the Year for the Evansville area by the Indiana Association of School Principals.

GROWTH/DEVELOPMENT

Toyota Indiana announced it is adding a three-row, battery electric SUV to its production line. The company plans 340 new hires at its Princeton plant as part of the $1.4 billion investment, and the first vehicles are to be produced in 2026. The new hires will grow Toyota Indiana’s workforce to about 8,000.

Commonwealth Pain & Spine announced a development partnership with Woodward Development & Construction to open the first of many state-of-the-art, convenient, and patient-centered ambulatory surgical centers. The first ASC will be at 6016 E. Columbia St., adjacent to the existing Commonwealth Pain & Spine Evansville East office on Kimber Lane. The nearly 10,000-square-foot building will contain two surgical suites, and the project is expected to open in early 2025 for surgical services and procedures.

Ascension St. Vincent Evansville announced it has acquired Midwest Neurological P.C., which consists of three physicians specializing in neurology — Drs. Carla Brandt, Francis Kadiyamkuttyil, and Faris Fadheel. Ascension St. Vincent is renovating its Medical Office Building East, 801 S. Mary’s Drive, to accommodate the three physicians’ practices.

Matrix Design Group broke ground in April for the company’s new headquarters at 3299 Tower Drive in Newburgh, Indiana. The company, which produces safety and productivity technologies in the industry and mining segments, plans to open the headquarters by January and add more than 100 employees over the next five years.

Evansville-based Berry Global and Glatfelter Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina, entered into an agreement under which

Berry will spin off and merge its Global Nonwovens and Films business with Glatfelter. The companies say the transaction will create a leading, publicly traded company in the special materials industry, and it was expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.

Energy Systems Group of Newburgh, Indiana, merged with PacificWest Energy Solutions, a California energy services provider. Energy Systems Group says the merger will expand the company’s footprint to the western United States.

The Posey County Fair Association and major sponsor CountryMark announced plans to construct an expo pavilion at the county fairgrounds. The CountryMark Expo Pavilion will be used year-round for events, shows, and expositions of all kinds, and it will replace facilities constructed between 1960 and 1970. Plans for the new pavilion will be unveiled during the 2024 Posey County Fair.

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EVANSVILLE’S BUFFALO TRACE COUNCIL OF THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA

Philip Smith

EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science in Radio/TV Broadcasting, the University of Southern Indiana

RESUME: 21st Century Community Learning Centers site coordinator, Evans Middle School; student support advisor, Academy for Innovative Studies High School, Diamond Avenue; patrol officer, special projects coordinator, assistant chief of police, Evansville Police Department; Chief of Police, Evansville Police Department (January 2024-present)

HOMETOWN: Clarksville, Tennessee

FAMILY: Wife Jackie; children Jasmyn, 14, and Bryson, 13

Law enforcement was not Philip Smith’s endgame, but rather something he fell into. With his new role as chief of the Evansville Police Department, he plans to continue the department’s mission to protect and serve while exploring new ideas for outreach and retention.

“Not only are we going to continue doing what we’ve been doing, but we’re always looking for ways to improve,” Smith says.

YOU WORKED FOR THE EVANSVILLE VANDERBURGH SCHOOL CORPORATION BEFORE YOU WENT INTO LAW ENFORCEMENT. WHAT MADE YOU SHIFT CAREERS?

The grant I was working under [at EVSC] … was not going to be renewed. I was working at the alternative high school [in] college readiness. I met some police officers who worked off-duty there, and one of them convinced me to do a ride-along … He said, “Man, maybe you should apply for the police department.” I applied, and it went from “maybe this will work out” to “I need this to work out” when it was finally realized that I wouldn’t be brought back. The ride-along is really what got me over the hump.

DID YOU HAVE ANY MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BEING CHIEF?

It’s like riding shotgun and you see everything out of the windshield in the driver’s seat … but you don’t really know how the car handles until you get behind the wheel. That’s what being chief is like. You’re the decision-maker on whether

you go left or right here. I was fortunate enough to work under one of the great chiefs [Billy Bolin], and I learned a lot from him.

VIOLENT CRIME IS A LOCAL CONCERN. WHAT STEPS WILL YOU TAKE TO ADDRESS THAT?

You have to have people that are dedicated… and want to keep people safe. You have to use technology to help you … good, oldfashioned investigation … partnerships, like The National Crime Gun Intelligence Center Initiative [and] the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office and sheriff’s office. Those partnerships help link crimes, criminals, and scenes together with evidence. You have to be active in your patrol, look at trends, see where the problems are, and go there.

The amount of heroin and fentanyl that’s attacking our community … has replaced some of the violent crime that subsided. We’re dealing with stuff … from overseas or across border lines … especially when you talk about crystal meth. So you have to have a functioning

collaboration like the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force. … Assistant Chief Nathan Hassler was the former sergeant of the narcotics unit … I lean on his guidance a lot.

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR DEPARTMENT’S LEGACY TO BE?

We have probably one of the most professional agencies in the land. We are transparent. We’re going to remain transparent. We can always look for ways to get better. So, the one thing that I want us to focus on is, on a day-to-day basis, how we treat each other when we interact. Not to say that we ever treat each other badly, but if you focus on treating the man or woman next to you like you want the people in your life to be treated that you love most, you will enjoy coming to this work. You’d be about ready to run through a wall for everybody here. And that’s what I want to leave as a legacy. I want people to say, “Well, he was the chief who united every last one of us together.”