IN THE NEWS

Channel 13’s Dave Calabro visited in December and shot two of his “good news” segments at the museum – one in the Tea Room and one by the 92 County Tree Celebration Crossing was highlighted in roundups in the Indianapolis Star, Columbus Dispatch, Southwest Ohio Parent, Indianapolis Recorder and WRTV (Channel 6). The Recorder also wrote a roundup story about where to see a Black Santa. And then there was this – a family who recorded their visit to the museum –and this travelvlog.

The new ornaments for the 92 County Tree earned some attention from the Seymour Tribune – a feature on our own Brian Johnson and the ornament he made for Jackson County – and the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Visit Indiana also gave us a great blog post. And Christmas at the Vincennes State Historic Sites received a writeup in the local paper, the Sun-Commercial

The day before New Year’s Eve, Stephanie Kazmierzak was invited to Fox 59 to promote Family New Year’s Eve. Prior to that, Family New Year’s Eve was featured in roundups in the Indianapolis Star, The Daily Journal (Johnson County), the Indianapolis Recorder and Indy’s Child WTHR (Channel 13) also was on hand for the balloon drop, and WANE-TV in Fort Wayne also aired the story.

Bethany Thomas was interviewed by WISH-TV, and we earned attention in roundup stories by WRTV (Channel 6), WTHR (Channel 13), WXIN (Channel 59) and the Indianapolis Star, about having a free day on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Columbus Republic ran this story on the Dudley exhibit

The announcement of the $2.5 million Lilly Endowment Inc grant for Angel Mounds generated stories in the IBJ, Inside Indiana Business, the Philanthropy News and Around Indy, and in Evansville from the Evansville Courier Press, 14 News and WEVV.

Keith Woods’ Covid quilt, which was featured in the museum’s Collecting Indiana exhibit, was named one of the top stories in the Kokomo Tribune, and ISMHS’s Lincoln collection earned a mention in this Fort Wayne Journal Gazette story

Finally, in case you missed it, take a look at Visit Indy’s video of Celebration Crossing and read blogger Rebekah Barton’s account of visiting the museum for the first time in 25 years.

How long have you worked at the museum?

Six glorious months.

What’s your title and how do you explain your job to someone outside ISMHS?

My official title is executive assistant. I coordinate the executive office in the areas of board, governance, scheduling, correspondence, editing and more. My goal is to ensure that everything we do is done with a spirit of excellence.

Tell me about your family.

I married the funniest man I ever met, Robert Penny. We’ve been married almost 24 years and have been a couple about 30. He’s my lobster. We have one child – a fiery 15-year-old redhead named Jaedyn. We have three pups – two maltipoos named Buhbee (aka Stabby Legs) and Arlo (aka Squishy) and Max the long-haired chihuahua (aka Mr. Sassy Pants).

When is your birthday?

May 24. Birthday celebrations last at least a week! I’m a Gemini.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

We love the American road trip. The destination is simply the journey! In March we are trekking from Colorado to Arizona and back. Come see me in April, and I’ll tell you all about it or send me a Facebook invite and follow along in real time.