Meridian Hills Country Club
Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Submitted by Robert H. Everitt
Nearly 100 members and guests of the Society of Indiana Pioneers, the largest number in recent memory, met on Saturday, November 3, at Meridian Hills Country Club in Indianapolis for the 2012 Annual Meeting. Members greeted one another and inspected the interesting array of items that Chairman Louise DeMore and her hard-working committee had gathered for sale at the Society’s fifth annual silent auction. Throughout the day, videographer David Streit was filming members and activities for possible inclusion in the promotional DVD being produced by the Society.
Carolyn Rose opened the meeting with a recap of the 2½ years over which she and Stanley Evans had served as Co-Presidents after having been elevated to the position abruptly following the untimely death of their predecessor, Dr. Kenneth Beasley. At the conclusion of her report, those present acknowledged their service with an appreciative round of applause.
The following committee chairs were called to report:
- DVD – Martha Sue Batt
- Pioneer Founders – Bob Dora
- Holliday Centennial Prize – Jeff Baldwin (delivered by Bob Everitt in Jeff’s absence)
The membership elected the following members to the Board of Governors for three-year terms expiring in 2015:
- Jinsie Scott Bingham*, Greencastle
- Charles F. Bragg, Fishers
- J. David Cook, Indianapolis
- T. Daniel McCain, Delphi
- Arthur Andrew Olson III, Marco Island, FL
- J. Nelson Price, Indianapolis
- William A. Rhodehamel, Brownsburg
*Elected to serve a second successive term.
The Board elected the following as officers of the Society for one-year terms:
- President – Michael H. Miller
- Vice President/President-elect – Dr. James P. Fadely
- Secretary – Robert H. Everitt
- Treasurer – Bruce W. Oakley
- Registrar – Marcia Ahrens Krieg
- Yearbook Editor – Joan Rothrock Everitt
Awards Chairman Dr. James Fadely introduced Erik Peterson, a master’s degree candidate at IUPUI, who is the winner of the 2012 Society of Indiana Pioneers Fellowship. Erik’s thesis was entitled Music in Pioneer Central Indiana, and with his remarks, he and two other musicians offered examples of the type of music and instruments the early pioneers might have employed. He expressed appreciation for the Society’s fellowship and explained how it helped him expand his research.
After a PowerPoint presentation of the highly successful 2012 Pilgrimages to the Gene Stratton Porter home and Ft. Wayne in the spring and Tippecanoe County and Delphi in the fall by Pilgrimage Chair Nelson Price, Louise DeMore announced the final results of the Silent Auction which netted nearly $1,200.
Following tradition, the meeting was adjourned by the singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana” led by Roberta Graham, a member of the Board of Governors, followed by an Irish blessing offered by Co-President Carolyn Rose.
