Meridian Hills Country Club
Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Submitted by Robert H. Everitt
Nearly 90 members and guests of the Society of Indiana Pioneers met on Saturday, November 2, at Meridian Hills Country Club in Indianapolis for the 2013 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 sixth annual silent auction.
Minutes of the 2012 Annual Meeting were approved as distributed, and the Treasurer’s report distributed by Treasurer Bruce Oakley was received for audit.
Immediate Past Co-Presidents Carolyn Rose and Stanley Evans gave a very positive report on the Pioneer Founders project and noted the distribution of the booklet containing the compilation of the 2013 nominations and recognized eight of the persons submitting nominations in 2013 who were present at the meeting: Henry B. Blackwell, Paul A. Carr, Terri Gorney, Eric Allan Koch, Marcia Krieg, Allen Moore, Judith Schroff, and Patricia Summan. Some nominations for the 2014 Booklet have already been received.
The membership elected the following members to the Board of Governors for three-year terms expiring in 2016:
- Jeffrey K. Baldwin*, Danville
- Helen J. Dickinson*, Indianapolis
- Terri L. Gorney*, Ft. Wayne
- Edward L. Hultgren, Jr.*, Carmel
- Andrea D. Neal, Indianapolis
- Julie H. Newhouse, Rushville
- Evaline H. Rhodehamel*, Indianapolis
*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
President Miller then delivered a summary report of activities undertaken by the Board in 2013: completion of a comprehensive ad campaign in local newspapers throughout the state with addition of QR to better utilize electronic media, planning continues on a popular history repository to be hosted by the Society, beginning of distribution of quarterly newsletters on line, Society of Indiana Pioneers informational DVD completed and plans for broader distribution are being discussed, officers and other volunteers participated in a number of history and genealogical conferences throughout the state.
Following lunch, Joe Frost, Executive Director of the Indiana National Road Association, provided a most interesting presentation on “The National Road and its Role in Indiana Expansion”. Many of our pioneer ancestors traveled the National Road in the early part of the 19th century.
A PowerPoint presentation by Pilgrimage Chair Nelson Price highlighted the spring visit to the architectural treasures in Columbus (Bartholomew County) fall pilgrimage featuring visits to the Limberlost Cabin of author Gene Stratton Porter and interesting visits to an Amish homestead and school and to witness the community spirit of descendants of the early Swiss settlers in Berne, Indiana.
Louise DeMore announced the Silent Auction’s final results, which netted nearly $1,500.
Following tradition, the meeting was adjourned by the singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana,” led by President Michael Miller and his family.
