THE PAPER
March 7, 2012
Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Lynn Huber prepares for retirement by Danielle Swan DSmith@thepaperofwabash.com
AFTER 29 YEARS IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY, Lynn Huber, American Family Insurance, will be retiring on April 30. He plans to spend time traveling following his retirement. His business will be turned over to Tim and Mellanie Geerling. (photo provided)
Community leaders, Ivy Tech officials meet to discuss possibility of new Wabash campus by Danielle Swan DSmith@thepaperofwabash.com
On March 5, leaders of Ivy Tech Community College met with a group of community members to discuss options regarding the possibility of a new facility for the Wabash Ivy Tech campus. The meeting, hosted by Richard Ford, was attended by Stephen Allen, executive director of Wabash Marketplace; Dave Dorais, Dorais Chevy, Buick, GMC; Bill Konyha, president and CEO of Economic Development Group of Wabash County; Marsh Davis, president of Indiana Landmarks; Mayor Robert Vanlandingham; and several others. The primary purpose for the meeting was to apprise the Ivy Tech officials of the option of locating the new campus in Historic Downtown Wabash. Parker Beauchamp, president
of Wabash Marketplace, worked to dispel any concerns the officials may have. “There is almost 30 to 40 percent more passers-by in the Downtown area as there are on U.S. 24,” he said. “We have found spaces Downtown that could potentially hold 800 to 1,200 vehicles.” He also mentioned that he felt public support of a Downtown project would be greater than that of a project on U.S. 24, which translates into financial support. Some of the main issues with the current location at 277 N. Thorne St., Wabash, are parking and a need for a new testing center. In addition to solving these issues, a new location would provide expanded opportunities for classes and programming. “A lot of our current students are traveling to other regions for classes that they
can’t get at Wabash,” said Pam Guthrie, dean of the Wabash campus. “I’m really concerned about our students because I think with gas prices going up, it’s going to become even more difficult for them to finish up their degrees.” More than likely, a new campus would also result in growth of Wabash Ivy Tech’s enrollment. One Ivy Tech official referenced the new Logansport facility, whose enrollment jumped from 600 to 1,400 after their new facility was completed. They also discussed the fact that some fouryear universities are willing to come into the local campuses and allow students to complete an entire four-year degree just minutes from their homes. “Our numbers in Wabash are lower than state levels in (continued on page 6)
Index Classifieds ....................28-31
Weekly Reports ............12-15
D&E ..............................10-11
Communty News ......16,21,22
After 29 years in the insurance business and 15 years with American Family Insurance, Lynn Huber’s last day before retirement will be April 30. Huber’s insurance career began in August 1981. “I was kind of in between jobs at that time and I saw Bob Elrod, Farm Bureau manager, out at the fair,” Huber recalls. “He walked up to me and asked if I’d be interested in selling insurance, I never thought it would last this long.” During his career, Huber has worked for Farm Bureau, Nationwide, Wabash Insurance and finally, American Family. “We’ve had a lot of success with American Family. We have been JD Powers Award winners for five straight years,” he said. In addition to the JD Powers Award, Huber’s agency has received numerous other awards for being number one in the state in various areas. While working in the insurance industry, Huber has experienced a continuously changing business landscape. “Computers really didn’t start coming into the insurance industry until ’91, ’92 and ’93,” Huber said. “At one of the agencies I worked with, we had a Tandy 1000. The watch I’m wearing today has more memory than that old Tandy 1000. We would get all of our updates and manuals on these floppy disks and we just had boxes and boxes of those things. “When I first started with Farm Bureau, everything had to be mailed in –
claims, auto applications, property policies – they all had to be mailed to Indianapolis. Unfortunately, there were always some surprises. Someone would tell you they had no accidents or speeding tickets so you write the policy, you send it in and you find out two weeks later that it’s been rejected.” During these changes, Huber says American Family has strived to maintain a high level of customer service, which Huber’s agency has excelled at. In fact, Huber considers his personal contact with clients to be one of the main highlights of his career. “We have a lot of nice, nice people insured here and it really goes beyond knowing what cars they have or if they have homeowners’ insurance or life insurance,” he said. “We have found that, over the years, somebody will sit down and before long you’re talking about their kids or their grandkids. It’s just getting to know the people and becoming familiar with them and being on a firstname basis with them. It’s not like calling an 800 number.” Another highlight for Huber has been several company trips that he qualified for as a result of his hard work. “We have gone every place from Hawaii to Florida to Arizona and it’s all just for doing your job. You get rewarded for doing your job,” he said. During retirement, Huber and his wife, Karen, a retired teacher, plan to continue this traveling. “We’re going to take off for awhile
In Memoriam Ronald Arnett, 48 Richard Butzin, 72 Terry Carpenter, 59 Bernice Cox, 85 Diane Fisher, 53
Robert Heitz, 83 Betty Hoover, 92 William Hostetler, 82 Harold Hutchison, 71 Ian Jones, 55
and leave the cell phone at home. When you’re strapped down to an agency, it’s like any other business. It’s just an enormous amount of responsibility and we’ve gotten away for a week or so on company trips, but that’s going to change real shortly. My standing orders will be: if it’s not broken, bleeding or on fire, don’t call us,” he joked. On April 30, Huber will hand over the reigns to Tim and Mellanie Geerling, and while he looks forward to being relieved of the responsibility of the agency, he will still be in the picture. “My wife and I are going to come back as part-time CSRs with Tim. We’re going to stick around with Tim for a year or two and continue just keeping our hands in the business. It’s tough to walk away from it, but I’m looking forward to a little less stress and strain,” he said. Huber feels that the agency will continue to do well in the hands of the Geerlings. “Melanie has been with me now going on seven years and Tim will have my experience and my wife’s to back him up. They are very good, talented people,” he said. “It’s been a good run, it’s been a successful run, and I’m glad we’re in a situation where we can pass this on to Tim. “I think Bobby Knight is the one that said ‘Go out a winner’, and I feel that, after all these years, it’s been a good career and it’s time to give it over to the younger legs and the younger people.
Vol. 34, No. 51 Marjorie Marsh, 88 Carl Metzger, 92 Diana Staten, 54 Marion Wilson, 72 Sarah Zook, 93
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326