Muncie Magazine November 2022

PREMIERISSUE

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT™ True Crew Windows and Doors WITH CLASS Geoffrey Mearns Is Leading Ball State Into the Future

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REAL-TIME ANALYTICS

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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT™

True Crew Windows and Doors

DESIRE TO SERVE

Elizabeth Rowray Steps Into Dual Leadership Role

PATHWAY TO SUCCESS

Ivy Tech Muncie Engages in Community Partnerships to Help Students Thrive

IN BUSINESS

The Innovation Connector Provides a Multitude of Business Services

EMBRACING MOMENTUM

Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour Is All About Building Community

FULLY IMMERSED

Tom Leaird of Leaird’s Underwater Service Knows Scuba Diving

and

WITH CLASS

Geoffrey Mearns Is Leading Ball State Into the Future

KEY CONTRIBUTORS

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CHRISTY HEITGER-EWING / AMY PAYNE / BALL STATE UNIVERSITY / KYLEE WHITE MELISSA GIBSON / RENEE LARR / TED BAKER

Amy

Karisa Wright knows windows and doors.  She owned a window and door business for 20 years in Connecticut, and after a brief hiatus and a move to Muncie, chose to open her new business, True Crew Windows and Doors, this year.

TRUE CREW WINDOWS AND DOORS

True Crew

“I’ve been doing this since I was 24 years old,” Wright says. “I love homes, architecture and design. I love to make a house a nicer place. I like seeing how fixing this part of the home can really improve the property and I like to see it done right.”  Wright began by researching window and

door companies, looking for distributors that hold the same values and standards as she does.

“I called a lot of window distributors across the country and asked them which of their windows they prefer to sell the most, and

Karisa Wright and the True Crew team.

why,” Wright says. “Based on that, there were a few things I didn’t want to represent. For example, some companies weren’t addressing issues I knew existed in windows. I only wanted to represent companies that had thought through these things, and those issues would not be happening to my customers.”

Pricing was also a major issue for Wright.

“Many were incredibly overpriced and not being completely honest,” Wright says. “They’ll start at $5,000 per window, but if you buy it tonight, you can get it for $3,000 per window, and if you buy all of them at one time, you can get it down to $2,000 per window. How do you go from $5,000 to $2,000? We always start with the manufacturer retail price and we’ll work from there. That way, you know the quality of what you’re receiving.”

Another misconception involves lifetime warranties.

“The manufacturer will give you a lifetime warranty, but in the fine print you’ll find that just means they send you a part to the window,” Wright says. “That’s it. It doesn’t include installing the part. I wanted the companies I work with to be trusted, and someone I can work with for the next 10 to 15 years. If you have a part shipped to you and you bought your windows from me, I’ll come and install it for you. You’re not going to be calling around, trying to find someone who represents this particular brand.”

Ultimately, Wright feels she’s simply in the business of helping people.

“When you work with the purpose of helping others, you want what’s best for them,” Wright says. “They trust you and it’s important to me that we have this connection. We have people who leave hugging us, and that matters to me. I feel like it’s important to help someone get through a big project. People are often taken advantage of, and hopefully I can make a connection and make this process a little better.”

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PATHWAY TO SUCCESS

IVY TECH MUNCIE ENGAGES IN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO HELP STUDENTS THRIVE

Writer / Melissa Gibson Photography Provided

Ivy Tech’s Muncie campus has been a mainstay for more than 50 years, and Chancellor Jeffrey Scott has been directing its success since 2017.

Scott first came to Ivy Tech as an adjunct faculty member in 2001. He served as the criminal justice program chair for the East Central Region (Anderson, Marion and Muncie) in 2004, and dean of public affairs and social services, education, computing and informatics, and business.

He was subsequently appointed vice chancellor of academic affairs.

He led a $43 million capital project to help transform the Muncie campus, and under his leadership Ivy Tech brought nearly 2,500 students and staff into

Chancellor Jeffrey Scott has been directing Ivy Tech's Muncie campus since 2017.

Ivy Tech currently offers more than 70 programs focusing on a variety of careers from accounting to aviation, dental hygiene and culinary arts. Many degrees are offered online and costs are kept to a minimum.

Through the past two years, tuition costs have been frozen. Textbook fees are included in the tuition, and based on the number of credits taken, students can receive fixed rates and discounts.

However, what matters most to Scott

are the relationships formed with students, staff and the community as a whole.

“As a campus, we focus on serving our local community needs,” he says. “We want to be highly engaged and flexible, and we work with employer and educational partners, neighborhood associations and faithbased associations. We want to be an anchor in the community for not only today, but for the future.”

Working with employer partners allows Ivy Tech to assess needs in today’s business market, and provide

downtown Muncie.

the training necessary to succeed in highpaying, highly valued job opportunities.

If an employer needs students trained in a specific type of equipment or a specific skill set, the college will look at a curriculum and design it to meet current objectives.

When a new company is looking to relocate to Muncie, Ivy Tech is one of the first to reach out and meet with them, and talk about degree options and what kind of training will best serve their needsempowering both the employer and the future employee.

“Our school of manufacturing has grown by 30% in the last two years, and we’re seeing a lot of nurses and physical therapy techs graduating,” Scott says. “The sonography program was launched a few years ago based on our local health care partners’ needs.”

They also partner with the local high school, graduating nearly 200 students last year who finished their associate degree while still earning their high school diploma.

For Scott, the most important aspect in the role of chancellor is watching the students finish a two-year degree, and go on to a high-wage position in a highdemand field.

“Being able to walk our campus and see the students who hang out - I know them by name and I know their story,” Scott says. “I see those moments when their eyes light up, or at their graduation when they walk across that stage, instead of handing them a diploma, you get a great big hug.

Knowing that you’re making a difference is very satisfying. We can see the impact we’re having in people’s lives. I tell my staff when I welcome students on the first day of class, I know that here they are loved, safe, cared for and valued.”

For more information, visit ivytech.edu.

Overhead Door Co. of Muncie™

Mayor Dan Ridenour continues to move Muncie forward.

EMBRACING MOMENTUM

Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour Is All About Building Community

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Amy Payne

It’s in some people’s nature to walk into a room and pick apart what’s wrong with what they see. That is not, however, who Mayor Dan Ridenour is.

“I’m a glass-is-half-full type of person,” he says. “When you look at Muncie, there are so many good things here.”

For starters, Muncie has a major university, a total of 32 parks, and a river that runs through the city and across downtown.

“Everything you need is here or within 10 minutes of here,” Ridenour says.

Muncie has the Cardinal Greenway, the longest rail trail in the state, which runs 62 miles and is connected to several neighborhoods. The city is also home to Prairie Creek Reservoir Park, which Ridenour believes is the second-largest city park in the country, behind New York City’s Central Park.

“It’s a real gem for us as it has campsites, fishing, horseback riding, a beach, and all kinds of trails for ATVs, walking and hiking,” Ridenour says.

It’s part of what makes Muncie a prized destination for triathlons, including the Ironman event, which took place this month. Ridenour participated in the Muncie Ironman as part of a relay. He undertook the running leg. Craig Wright, his controller, did the bicycle portion, and Dustin Clark, who runs Prairie Creek Reservoir, did the swimming section.

Ridenour, who has worked in banking for most of his adult life, was a member of the Muncie City Council when he decided to run for mayor.

“My main plan was to increase transparency,” Ridenour says. He started a monthly event called “Dream with Dan,” for which he invited the public to hear him speak about different topics before taking questions. When he became mayor in January of 2020, “Dream with Dan” evolved to include different department heads who share some aspect of how they help the city. For instance, he has invited the police chief, animal control officer and city engineer to join him.

“It’s an opportunity for the public to get to know who runs the various departments, and what they do,” Ridenour says.

One challenge Ridenour faced when he first stepped into his role as mayor involved financial issues. While no funds were missing, a lot of funds were placed in areas that didn’t make sense.

“There were 18 different accounts that were negative $3.3 million, and we sorted all that out,” Ridenour says. “We have a better system in place now.”

Another increase in transparency involved making sure that all of the council documents are available online to the public on the same day that they are made available to the council members. With the help of City Clerk Belinda Munson, Ridenour’s administration was also able to get all of the ordinances and city codes online.

“In the past it wasn’t always easy to understand what was on the council agenda, let alone have a copy of the ordinance or resolution,” Ridenour says. “Having those accessible helps increase the public’s trust in what we’re doing as a city.”

Ridenour, who has served on countless boards through the years including the United Way, Cardinal Greenways and Rotary Club, supports several nonprofit organizations. One of them is Home Savers of Delaware County, which does home repairs for seniors who can’t, for instance, replace a furnace, build a ramp or fix a roof.

“I’m not a great construction worker but I try to help,” Ridenour says. “At my age, my main focus is on making a lasting impact for our community.”

FUN FACTS ABOUT MAYOR DAN

• He spent three years with IndyCar teams. “I was on a pit crew,” he says. “I was involved in a couple different teams including Robby McGehee, the 1999 Rookie of the Year at the Indy 500. I was also on the Kelley Racing team, which had Mark Dismore, Scott Sharp and Al Unser Jr. My job was primarily to make sure the sponsors were happy.”

• He’s written three books, all about credit. His last book, “Financial Folly: Why Seven Smart Financial Decisions Will Lower Your Credit Score,” is available on Amazon. “I’m not a fan of the credit-score system,” he says. “I don’t feel it’s a true representation of people’s worth and yet the credit score determines so many things.”

• He’s a sports fanatic, and a 41-year Indiana Pacers season ticket holder. He fondly recalls “all the Reggie Miller years, and all those in and around Reggie!”

This explains why he rappelled off of Ball State’s seven-story architecture building in August. It was a fundraiser for Family Alliance, which helps single-parent households.

When Ridenour became mayor, he had two primary focuses to improve the city. One was upgrading the parks. To date, splash pads at two neighborhood parks have been added, with two more splash pads under construction. In addition, they have nine other parks that have been upgraded.

His other major focus was housing. “I wanted affordable housing, middle-income housing and upper-end housing,” Ridenour says. “As a community, we have to have all three to excel.”

The City of Muncie tore down dilapidated homes, and in September construction began on 70 single-family units of affordable workforce housing, putting those lots back into play. The plan is to not only generate tax revenue for the school system, but also improve neighborhoods that at one time had poorly maintained homes. In addition, a new

60-unit apartment community is going up on the southeast side. Plus, a new subdivision is being built on the northwest side of town where an old elementary school once stood. It will provide middle-income housing.

“We have a new 55-unit apartment building that opened downtown along the river, and we found that between 65 and 70% of people who moved into those apartments were already working in Muncie and had previously commuted,” Ridenour says.

Between Ball State, IU Health and the industrial park just south of city limits, Muncie has lots of great jobs to offer, and more manufacturers and retailers are on the way. New housing will make it possible for workers to live in the city instead of commuting.

“A lot of new jobs and other developments are coming through our area,” Ridenour says. “There’s a lot of momentum and we’re working to make sure that momentum continues.”

WITH CLASS

GEOFFREY MEARNS IS LEADING BALL STATE INTO THE FUTURE

Story & Photography Provided by Ball State University

Having just kicked off his sixth academic year as the president at Ball State University, Geoffrey S. Mearns is proud of what the university has accomplished both on the Muncie campus and in the greater community. Yet he remains focused on the challenges that remain ahead.

Mearns, hired in 2017 as the 17th president in Ball State’s history, has instilled a valuesbased, ambitious leadership style. The results are promising - the university’s innovative academic programs continue to grow, its vibrant, beautiful campus continues to expand, and its positive influence has helped lead a struggling city school district back to academic and financial stability.

Those endeavors have been fulfilling, and they have also allowed Mearns to appreciate, as he puts it, “that five years is not much time at all.”

“With each passing day, I have begun to feel a greater sense of urgency,” Mearns says. “This sense of urgency - my sense of urgency - is heightened because I believe that we have an opportunity to do something special, something very special, here at Ball State University.”

When Mearns began as Ball State’s president in May of 2017, the university community sought consistent, results-oriented leadership and vision. A solid foundation was already in place. Ball State’s four-year graduation rate had improved more than any other public university in Indiana,

and the institution was being nationally recognized for its groundbreaking approach to immersive learning and its sustainable energy practices.

To continue to build upon that impact, Mearns knew Ball State needed a strategic plan with a small set of priorities heading into the university’s second century.

That plan, “Destination 2040: Our Flight Path,” was built with the input of faculty, staff, students, alumni, community partners and many of the university’s generous benefactors. It articulates five long-term goals for 2040 and a set of strategic imperatives to be executed by 2024.

“This plan is enabling us to prepare our students for fulfilling careers and inspire

them to lead meaningful lives, while strengthening our community, providing economic and social benefits to our region and state, and offering leadership by example across our country and around the world,” Mearns says.

The goals set forth in the plan involve undergraduate excellence and innovation, graduate education and lifetime learning, community engagement and impact, scholarship and societal impact, and institutional and inclusive excellence.

Since putting “Destination 2040: Our Flight Path” into action, Ball State has made notable progress in several areas, including:

• Ball State has embarked on a historic partnership with Muncie Community Schools (MCS) to transform the district into a national model for innovative, holistic education. Since the beginning of the partnership in July

of 2018, MCS has seen a four-year trend of stabilized enrollment, the district’s budget is operating in the green, and teachers have received the largest pay raises in MCS history.

• Ball State’s Board of Trustees approved a long-term, phased revitalization plan for the Village, a business district immediately adjacent to campus. The plan includes a new performance arts center for university and community events - a catalyst of approximately $100 million in private investment for the district. Plans call for a best-in-class, multigenerational district driven by arts and culture, entertainment, and innovation, with new options in dining, retail, service, hospitality, living and gathering.

• The institution has adopted a universitywide plan to infuse inclusive excellence into every step it takes, defining inclusiveness as a commitment to respect and embrace equity, inclusion and diversity in people, ideas and

opinions. In 2021 the university officially opened its brand-new Multicultural Center, located in the heart of campus, with amenities designed to assist and support all students and to promote inclusive excellence.

In addition to those endeavors and many more, Ball State has conferred more than 15,600 degrees and credentials since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. That number is “a testament to the persistence and tenacity of our students, and to the dedication of our faculty and staff,” Mearns says.

“No matter the obstacle, we can quantify our impact, we can see the transformative progress we have made, and we can feel what makes our university so distinctive - a culture which makes us all so proud,” Mearns continues.

“That’s why I continue to feel great pride and gratitude to serve as the president of Ball State.”

ELIZABETH ROWRAY STEPS INTO DUAL LEADERSHIP ROLE

Delaware County native Elizabeth Rowray was recently appointed chief economic development officer, president and CEO of the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance. Rowray began the dual role on April 1.

“I’m a sixth-generation Delaware County native,” Rowray says. “I attended Burris Laboratory School and Ball State. Currently I live in Yorktown with my family. My husband and I have a huge passion for the community and a desire to serve.”

That desire to serve led Rowray to placement on the Yorktown school board for a four-year term. She also serves as an Indiana House of Representatives member for District 35. She assumed office in November of 2020 after defeating incumbent democrat Melanie Wright.

A search committee was formed in 2021 to find the next leader of the Chamber of Commerce. The committee included board members from both the Chamber of Commerce and the Delaware Advancement Corporation.

“In the past I served as vice president of the Chamber and I served in that capacity for nearly five years,” Rowray says. “I also have experience working in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., so I have a really well-rounded background in economic development. I think that background was why the committee sought me out for this dual role.”

Rowray is the first female to serve in the position. She says when she was growing up, women were just starting to break the glass ceiling. She says she’s happy to be selected as the first female in the role, but is more humbled by the fact that the committee saw her qualities as a human being.

Rowray says the organization is in a rebuilding phase and wants to get back to basics. She wants to reach out to members to see their challenges in this post-pandemic world.

“I’d like to find more ways we can assist our members, and take a good, hard look on how we can refresh things,” Rowray says. “I would also love to see us ramp up educational opportunities. Delaware County is the cream of the crop when it comes to Hoosier hospitality. I feel like it’s my goal as the new leader here to ensure outsiders look at the area as a destination where you want to live.”

Rowray says Delaware County has much to offer its residents. She says it’s a great place for new businesses. Rowray and her husband deliberately chose to move back to the area, and she says it’s a great place to

raise a family.

“I’m so incredibly blessed with the opportunities I have had in my career,” Rowray says. “I have learned so much throughout my various roles, but my favorite role is wife and mom.”

In addition to serving on the Yorktown school board, Rowray was an active volunteer in the Muncie Rotary Club and the United Way. She’s also worked on fundraising efforts for the Muncie Children’s Museum and IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Elizabeth Rowray is a sixth-generation Delaware County native and a Ball State alum.

IN BUSINESS THE INNOVATION CONNECTOR PROVIDES A MULTITUDE OF BUSINESS SERVICES

Writer / Ted Baker Photography Provided

Starting or growing a business is a very daunting endeavor, especially if you are trying to accomplish this by yourself. Most entrepreneurs do not possess all the skills needed to launch and operate a business venture. While understanding the business’s products or services it provides to the marketplace is one aspect, understanding how to bring them to market or how to complete the necessary accounting tasks could be an entirely different story. This is where

the Innovation Connector, Inc. comes alongside entrepreneurs and business owners by providing a wide variety of business services to make their journeys more successful.

Services include startup management, marketing assistance, financial statement reviews and planning, human resource

development, strategic planning, and help with navigating the forms and documents needed for stakeholders, including banks, state and local government, as well as the Internal Revenue Service. While these services are innovative and helpful, what the Innovation Connector does best is, well, connect. This includes connections with resources beyond the Innovation Connector’s scope of work. Businesses truly do not have to do it alone.

Starting with its first client in 2004, the Innovation Connector is currently in its third facility since it began, located in a State of Indiana Certified Technology Park on West White River Boulevard, near both downtown Muncie and Ball State University. This facility is home to more than 25 businesses and organizations, and carries a definite technology flavor. Since its beginning, the Innovation Connector, along with the rest of the world, has seen a transformation of the meaning of technology businesses, now encompassing nearly every business. In addition to serving the clients that lease offices in their facility, the Innovation Connector serves more than

400 small businesses in the greater Muncie area.

Now in his 13th year as the CEO and executive director, Ted Baker brings the energy and knowledge needed for the Innovation Connector to be east-central Indiana’s only full-service entrepreneurial support organization. His vision remains to provide entrepreneurs, startups and existing businesses with the resources and training needed for growth and success.

As a former owner of several businesses, Baker often directly works with business clients who come for services. While the Innovation Connector’s staff of three is small, they are mighty. Lori Albert serves as financial director, and oversees the financial details of the Innovation Connector and more than 10 other businesses. She often assists business clients who have financial or accounting questions, and also oversees much of the center’s daily operations. Their newest employee, Natalie Smith, is the program and events coordinator. As with Baker and Albert, Smith wears many hats and assists clients with many of their needs while in the facility.

In November, the Innovation Connector will host 20 events and workshops in one week, celebrating Entrepreneur Showcase Week in its facility. Showcase Week will have something for any entrepreneur or business owner, including training sessions, panel discussions, networking, and even a giant tailgate celebration to celebrate all things entrepreneurial. A complete listing of events and registration information can be found at showcaseweek.com, or by calling 765-2854900.

If you have never visited the Innovation Connector, please stop by to see the many resources and services they provide to the Muncie community.

FULLY IMMERSED

TOM LEAIRD OF LEAIRD’S UNDERWATER SERVICE KNOWS SCUBA DIVING

Writer / Kylee White Photography Provided

Tom Leaird, owner of Leaird’s Underwater Service, has had his fair share of experience in the scuba industry. Having started in 1961, Leaird has been diving for more than 60 years.

“It goes back to the early TV show ‘Sea Hunt,’” he says. “I was an avid fan.”

In 1969 the YMCA scuba program came to Muncie and Leaird decided to join. “It had a couple pictures of guys jumping in the water, and I had immediately signed up, thinking that was a really exciting thing to get into,” he says.

Leaird has been diving since he was around 22. Since then, he has been involved with scuba in several different ways.

“When I was initially a diver, the local instructor in 1969 retired and the aquatic director of the YMCA asked if I would be interested in becoming a director of the institute,” Leaird says. “That’s what I did.”

In 1969 and 1970 Leaird became an instructor for the local scuba program, and was asked to head over to Indianapolis and assist with running the institute for new scuba directors. Later he was asked to serve as the commissioner of the YMCA’s scuba program for Midwest states in the 1970s. In the 1980s he was asked to resign from that position in order to serve on the national advisory committee.

“In 2008 I had received a call saying that the plans were to sunset the program in support of the scuba program for the YMCA,” he says. “They had asked if I wanted to do anything about that and I just couldn’t see that program going away. I brought the program from Chicago to Muncie and got it going. We created Scuba Educators International and continued the program that way.”

Ever since taking over the program, Leaird and the business have grown. Leaird’s Underwater Service offers training and classes for those wanting to get certified in scuba diving. Leaird is the director of education and standards for Scuba Educators International (SEI). They have been able to station instructors in 32 states and in 29 different countries including Milan, Italy, and Seoul, South Korea.

“It was tough initially because we weren’t well-known in the scuba industry,” Leaird says. He ended up purchasing

Tom Leaird, owner of Leaird’s Underwater Service

Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC), which is another institution for scuba education. In doing this, Leaird has made it easier for SEI’s name to be recognized. “I purchased PDIC international, which has helped a lot,” he says. “Today, when we certify a scuba student, the card they get has both logos - Scuba Educators and PDIC international.”

Students who want to start the basic training for scuba diving have to dedicate around 28 to 32 hours of their time to a sevencourse class, in which they will do basic scuba exercises and get comfortable with scuba equipment. Along with holding classes at the local store, Leaird’s Underwater Service works alongside a few different companies.

“We have entry-level scuba going with YMCA, but we also teach scuba programs at Ball State University, where it’s possible to get a scuba minor,” Leaird says. “That can apply to fisheries and public safety, and aquatics and so forth. Out of those classes, we end up with scuba interns that help out at the store.”

Leaird’s company is starting scuba classes with places such as Yorktown High School, Pendleton Heights High School, the YMCA in New Castle and the Cole Center Family YMCA in Kendallville, as well as hosting a program for nine summer sessions at Camp Crosley.

To learn more about Leaird’s Underwater Service, you can visit their website at leaird-scuba.com, or call 765-288-8144. Visit their shop at 1623 West Jackson Street in Muncie.