Kokomo Magazine January 2023

PUBLISHER

KIM SENKUS kim@townepost.com 317.501.1743

FOUNDER/CEO

TOM BRITT tom@townepost.com 317.496.3599

PRESIDENT

JEANNE BRITT jeanne@townepost.com 317.810.0011

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

ERIN TURK

JOSH BROWN

CREATIVE DIRECTORS

TONI EADS VAL AUSTIN

COPY EDITORS

JON SHOULDERS NATALIE PLATT

SUBSCRIPTIONS

TOWNE POST NETWORK, INC. 8800 North Street, Suite 117 Fishers, IN 46038 Phone/Text: 317-810-0011

FOR FRANCHISE INFORMATION, VISIT franchising.townepost.com

Medicare questions.

Get local help with your Medicare questions.

I’m Matthew Roswog, a licensed sales agent in Indiana. When it comes to Medicare, it’s important to consider all of your options. What works well for your neighbor may not be the best fit for you. I know the ins and outs of Medicare, and I’m ready to answer your questions and help you find a plan that fits your needs.

Get local help with your Medicare questions.

I’m Matthew Roswog, a licensed sales agent in Indiana. When it comes to Medicare, it’s important to consider all of your options. What works well for your neighbor may not be the best fit for you. I know the ins and outs of Medicare, and I’m ready to answer your questions and help you find a plan that fits your needs.

I’m Matthew Roswog, a licensed sales agent in Indiana. When it comes to Medicare, it’s important to consider all of your options. What works well for your neighbor may not be the best fit for you. I know the ins and outs of Medicare, and I’m ready to answer your questions and help you find a plan that fits your needs.

It’s time to take advantage.

Matthew Roswog

It’s time to take advantage.

Licensed Sales Agent

Matthew Roswog

Matthew Roswog

Licensed Sales Agent

765-431-9193, TTY 711 roswog@sbcglobal.net www.MyUHCagent.com/matthew.roswog

Licensed Sales Agent 765-431-9193, TTY 711 roswog@sbcglobal.net www.MyUHCagent.com/matthew.roswog

765-431-9193, TTY 711 roswog@sbcglobal.net www.MyUHCagent.com/matthew.roswog

Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare. ©2022 United HealthCare Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare. ©2022 United HealthCare Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Y0066_23SPRJ55189_C SPRJ55189

Y0066_23SPRJ55189_C

Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare. ©2022 United HealthCare Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Y0066_23SPRJ55189_C

It’s time to take advantage.

Celebrate

Celebrate

Celebrate NEW BEGINNINGS

Celebrate NEW BEGINNINGS

Whether you are looking to purchase or refinance a home this year, now is the time. Ruoff Mortgage helps people discover, finance and move into their homes with confidence. Contact me today to get started. We know the way home. We’ll walk there with you.

Whether you are looking to purchase or refinance a home this year, now is the time. Ruoff Mortgage helps people discover, finance and move into their homes with confidence. Contact me today to get started. We know the way home. We’ll walk there with you.

Whether you are looking to purchase or refinance a home this year, now is the time. Ruoff Mortgage helps people discover, finance and move into their homes with confidence. Contact me today to get started. We know the way home. We’ll walk there with you.

Whether you are looking to purchase or refinance a home this year, now is the time. Ruoff Mortgage helps people discover, finance and move into their homes with confidence. Contact me today to get started. We know the way home. We’ll walk there with you.

In case you missed it, read our story here.

Dirk Webster

Dirk Webster VP, Branch Manager | NMLS: 562084 765.271.1918 dirk.webster@ruoff.com Apply online at dirkwebster.com

VP, Branch Manager | NMLS: 562084 765.271.1918 dirk.webster@ruoff.com Apply online at dirkwebster.com

Dirk Webster

Ruoff Mortgage Company, Inc. is an Indiana corporation. For complete licensing information visit: http://www. nmlsconsumeraccess.org/EntityDetails.aspx/COMPANY/141868. This is not an for extension of credit or a commitment to lend. All loans must satisfy company underwriting guidelines. Information and pricing are subject to change at any time and without notice. Equal Housing Lender. NMLS #141868. 12092022

VP, Branch Manager | NMLS: 562084 765.271.1918 dirk.webster@ruoff.com Apply online at dirkwebster.com

Dirk Webster VP, Branch Manager | NMLS: 562084 765.271.1918 dirk.webster@ruoff.com Apply online at dirkwebster.com

Ruoff Mortgage Company, Inc. is an Indiana corporation. For complete licensing information visit: http://www. nmlsconsumeraccess.org/EntityDetails.aspx/COMPANY/141868. This is not an offer for extension of credit or a commitment to lend. All loans must satisfy company underwriting guidelines. Information and pricing are subject to change at any time and without notice. Equal Housing Lender. NMLS #141868. 12092022

Writer / Natalie Platt Photography Provided

Skinology, the popular Kokomo skincare clinic, has expanded its practice and moved into a new location. After originally opening in the fall of 2017 with only one aesthetician, Owner Heather Hunt needed more employees - and space - in the

beginning of 2022.

“I’ve been in practice for 20 years,” Hunt says. “Prior to moving to Kokomo in 2010, I practiced at a plastic surgeon’s office. After moving to Kokomo, I worked at a business that helped me build relationships locally.”

Now located at 1721 West Lincoln Road,

Skinology has three aestheticians and offers noninvasive and minimally invasive procedures including Botox, dermal fillers, facials, chemical peels, dermaplaning, microneedling, microdermabrasion and LED light therapy. Skinology is also able to address skin irregularities like sunspots, skin tags and small capillaries.

Faith Lytle, Heather Hunt and Destini West

Other popular services include lash extensions, lash lifts and lash tints.

Skinology also offers brow lamination and waxing.

“As the business grows, we will continue to add new services,” Hunt says. “Our most popular services right now are Botox, dermaplaning and lash extensions. At Skinology we strive to provide the very best service possible and go beyond what service you may receive elsewhere.”

Providing top-tier service to clients is rooted in Hunt’s passion for the industry.

“My love for beauty and people came at an early age,” she says. “I received my first facial in my teens and later worked for a cosmetic company. I found myself focused on skin care, which led me to learning as much as I could about skin anatomy, physiology and chemistry.”

Skinology also carries skin-care products.

“Over the years I’ve studied many product lines,” Hunt says. “The Rhonda Allison brand has been

tried-and-true

product because of the consistency the brand delivers. Other top picks for clients that we carry include TOV Medical, Hale & Hush, Herbal Skin Solutions, NovaLash and Babe Lash. I love skin-care products and helping individuals obtain optimal skin health and beauty.”

Hunt encourages turning a trip to Skinology into a party. “We offer Botox parties in the office for eight or more people at a discounted rate,” she says. “We’re also creating a structure for inhome parties where we will come to you. I’ve done this in the past and it’s so fun for us and the client.”

Hunt has worked in both spa and plasticsurgeon settings, and thrives on providing a relaxing atmosphere at Skinology, while offering treatments with the medical knowledge she has obtained throughout the last 20 years.

Most importantly, Hunt loves seeing her clients smile. “For us at Skinology, it’s about putting a smile on our patient’s face and achieving their desired results, while giving the best service possible,” she says. “I’m having a blast, and absolutely love creating a space where clients can forget the cares of the day and relax.”

Skinology is located at 1721 West Lincoln Road in Kokomo. You can make an appointment by calling 765-791-8288, and for more info, visit Skinology LLC on Facebook.

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided

Keely Hoopingarner started playing soccer when she was 6 years old, first in a recreational league, and then club soccer starting in fourth grade.

“Club soccer is how I learned to play the game, but in high school and college the sport gave me more of a community,” says Hoopingarner, who played at and graduated from Noblesville High School. For the last four years she has played at Indiana University Kokomo (IUK).

“In college especially, I had to learn to be there for other people more,” says Hoopingarner, who plays center forward. “It wasn’t just about soccer at that point. It’s the relationships you build with the players.”

Those relationships have grown strong

GOAL ORIENTED

KEELY HOOPINGARNER HAS KICKED HER GAME INTO HIGH GEAR AT IU KOKOMO

because throughout the past four years, she has practiced with her team for two hours every day.

“We start at 6 a.m. when everyone is grumpy, so that’s fun,” she says with a chuckle. “But seriously, it taught me how to be on time to things. My coach was super strict on that, so now I’m 15 to 30 minutes early to everything.”

As an IUK soccer standout, Hoopingarner is ranked seventh in the nation in scoring, having crushed records at IUK. She’s scored 25 goals this season alone and completed hat tricks (scored three goals in one game) during the last two conference championship games of the season. She was awarded River States Conference Player of the Week twice during the season. In November she was awarded the River States Conference Player of the Year, AllConference, as well as Offensive Player of

the Year for the conference. Hoopingarner ended the season as the top goal scorer in the conference. She was also nominated twice throughout the season for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Player of the Week honors.

Originally, Hoopingarner was committed to a college in Tennessee. A month prior to the school year, however, personal family issues made that transition unrealistic. One day her mom suggested she check out IUK. She emailed the coach that night and he expressed interest.

“Although this wasn’t my initial plan, I’m so glad I did it,” Hoopingarner says. There was, however, a wrinkle. Her freshman year was the inaugural year of IUK’s soccer team. Arriving as a freshman to a brand-new program added an element of stress as the team was starting from nothing.

“Usually when you come into a program, you have upperclassmen to look up to,” she says. “They have a culture that’s already been built and there’s a chemistry coming in. We started off as a team with no chemistry. No one knew one another, not even the coaches. We had to make that culture.”

And they did. Some of Hoopingarner’s teammates stayed all four years while others left. Along the way they had to make sure players were in line with what was expected, to establish the program they wanted. Not only did they achieve this, but they also became conference champions.

Hoopingarner says soccer has helped her learn how to find balance in her life. It

has also given her a sense of community, showed her how to show up for other people, and motivated her to work hard for teammates. She says that’s precisely why the team was so successful this year. They competed at nationals in November of 2022, where they played the third-ranked team in the NAIA. Though IUK lost, it was a good opportunity to see the level they could reach.

“We’re a four-year-old team playing a team

ranked third who has all this experience and all these coaches,” Hoopingarner says. “I was proud of what we did.”

Although Hoopingarner is a senior, she and her teammates are granted an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.

While Hoopingarner, a environmental science major, may pursue coaching soccer at some point down the line, first she wants to attend graduate school. Since her Tennessee college plans never panned out, next year she hopes to travel out of state for grad school.

“My mom, sister and I go to North Carolina every summer and rent a cabin in the woods,” she says. “I’d love to live in the mountains somewhere. I’ve played soccer in the Vegas area, but I’ve not seen any of the parks there. I want to visit the national parks.”

In her free time, Hoopingarner enjoys painting, drawing and coloring. She also loves taking care of plants and preparing meals. She’s drawn to recipes that she refers to as “convenient cooking.”

“I want to know what’s the most convenient thing I can make,” she says. “Right now I’m really into sandwiches and salads - practical things. You need that in college.”

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NICK BYRD Nick Byrd Talks Medicare Ins and Outs

SAM BECKOM The New General Manager of the Kokomo BobKats ANNMARIE’S

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Writer / Julie Yates Photographer / John Bolinger

Dr. Ashburn’s Pepper Emporium, located at 3702 South La Fountain Boulevard, sells an astonishing number of hot sauces but don’t be fooled by the logo- not everything is a tomato based hot sauce or mouth numbingly spicy. Also offered are jams, jellies, mustards, snack foods, mixes, seasonings and more. Most have a connection to peppers, but not all. To make the cut, items must be a bit out of the ordinary, not available within 30 miles and often have a story behind them.

Fred Schorm’s path to becoming the proprietor of Dr. Ashburn’s Pepper

Emporium began when he was a child and continued into adulthood. As an adolescent he enjoyed munching on hot peppers. The habit continued while he served as an electronic cryptologist in the Air Force and graduated from Purdue University. In recent years he has coached both boys and girls high school swim teams and is currently working at Chrysler Corporation.

“I grew up thinking I’d either farm or own a hot sauce business,” Schorm says. “Later I thought one or the other would be a great after retirement job. I was fascinated when I watched a PBS documentary, “Grown in the Desert”. It showed how peppers are grown and processed. The meat comes off and it is ground into powder. The seeds are sold

for planting and the juice is used for sauces. Then when I was in Florida, I saw a hot sauce business.”

Schorm’s plans to retail hot pepper related goods were spurred on by his mother, Maggie Caldwell, who passed on in April of 2020. When she fell ill, she gave the advice to enjoy life in the present and not wait to go after experiences or try new things. She was able to witness the beginnings of the business.

“The last three months of my mom’s life were during COVID-19. The blessing in that was that everyone was at home and our family could spend time with her. I had inventory shipped to her house and she

Fred Schorm, Owner

sampled some of the products,” Schorm says.

These days, Dr. Ashburn’s Pepper Emporium is settling into its second location which it moved into in early June. Schorm’s sister, Sabrina Schorm, runs another Dr. Ashburn’s Pepper Emporium on the square in Greensburg, Indiana. The inventory is constantly changing as products sell out and new ones take their place. Schorm discovers items to carry through his travels and by talking to customers.

“I have five different types of customers. Some don’t care about the taste; they just want hot. For others, it must taste good and be hot. There are hot sauce bottle collectors and people who are looking for novelty gifts. Sometimes they are searching for a certain brand. For every 10 referrals, customers get $10 off a purchase,” Schorm says.

When asked what his favorite item was, Schorm declined to give an answer saying it was hard to pick just one out. However, he did mention some he especially enjoyed selling. Schorm’s picks ranged from sweet to

savory and included products with a sense of humor plus the spirit of giving back.

The General’s Hot Sauces come in a grenade shaped containers and the store sells several varieties. They also produce a maple syrup called Mayhem Hot. Schorm discovered the line when a customer asked him if he had heard of the company which donates a percentage of profits to charities benefitting military families.

The shop recently added products from Cherry Republic, a catalog and online retailer with brick-and-mortar stores in Michigan. Schorm forged a partnership to sell the company’s spicier offerings. He particularly likes the cherry hot sauce, cherry salsa, hot trail mix and sausage.

Sweet stuff is sold as well. For the kids, he stocks cotton candy with a hint of a kick. Jellies and jams are popular. Varieties include hot pepper bacon and blueberry bourbon pepper.

In the future, Schorm hopes that Dr. Ashburn’s Pepper Emporium will sponsor

charity events. Possibilities are chili cookoffs or golf outings. Ideas include tasting challenges between local town officials.

Schorm and his wife, Amy, often go live on the store’s Facebook page. They share new product debuts and ideas for using them. Amy, who has hosted live events for several years as a Mary Kay representative, laughs because she is now being recognized around town as ‘the pepper lady.’ The Schorm’s also post to promote other Kokomo businesses and events.

“There is no other place like this in Central Indiana. We are so glad we have a place like this. It is great to talk to the customers. We like to find out how they heard about us, and we like to get ideas from them,” Schorm says.

Dr. Ashburn’s Pepper Emporium is located at 3702 South LaFountain Boulevard in Kokomo.

You can reach them at 765-432-3527, by emailing dr.ashburns@gmail.com or by visiting drashburns.com.

Aaron Carter

Christine McVie

Gallagher

John Clayton

Anne Heche

Dan Reeves

Ivana Trump

Leslie Jordan

Barbara Chilcott

Estelle Harris

Jerry Lee Lewis

Loretta Lynn

Angela Landsbury

Coolio

Gilbert Goddfried

Josephine Melville

David Birney

James Caan

Lindsey Pearlman

Bob Saget

Fred Ward

John Aniston

Louie Anderson

Kirstie Alley

Madeline Albright

Olivia Newton John

Philip Baker Hall Ray

KARISSA AND KANE KASALA AND LUCY

LUNA MACIE

MAGGIE