93rd
Annual Meeting and Luncheon
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Meridian Hills Country Club,
Indianapolis, Indiana
More than seventy members and guests of the Society of Indiana Pioneers
met on Saturday, November 8, at Meridian Hills Country
Club in Indianapolis for the Society's 93rd Annual Meeting.
Members greeted one another and inspected the interesting
array of items that Chairman Marcia Krieg and her hard-working
committee had gathered for sale at the Society’s
first silent auction.
In his State of the Society report, President Tom Ewbank commended Dr.
Mary Alice Hines for her work as Marketing Committee Chair and highlighted
the work of Mary Jane Meeker in revitalizing the Speakers Bureau. Registrar
Mary Ellen Simpers presented her final report concluding thirteen years
of service to the Society.
Nominating Committee Chair Lisa Liles put forward a slate of candidates
for positions on the Board of Governors for terms expiring in 2011 which
were unanimously accepted by the membership:
- Maxine Fosta Brown, Corydon
- Catherine Walker Carvey, Indianapolis
- Robert William Dora, Noblesville
- J. Nelson Price*, Indianapolis
- Richard O. Ristine, Jr.*, Indianapolis
- Judson Richard Scott, Carmel
- Mary Ellen Simpers, Crawfordsville
*Elected to serve a second term.

Newly Elected Board Members - Class of 2011. (left
to right)
Dick Ristine, Maxine Brown, Nelson Price,
Mary Ellen Simpers, Bob Dora.
Not
pictured - Catherine Carvey and Jud Scott.
The newly constituted Board of Governors then convened for a brief meeting
and accepted the slate of officers for one year terms:
- Thomas P. Ewbank, President
- Kenneth L. Beasley, Vice President/President-elect
- Robert H. Everitt, Secretary
- Bruce W. Oakley, Treasurer
- Marcia A. Krieg, Registrar
- Joan R. Everitt, Yearbook Editor

Newly Elected Executive Committee for 2009. (left
to right)
Bob Everitt, Secretary;
Joan Everitt, Yearbook
Editor; Tom Ewbank, President;
Ken Beasley, Vice
Pres./President Elect; Marcia Krieg, Registrar;
Bruce
Oakley, Treasurer
Following a brief recess to make final bids on items in the Silent Auction,
members enjoyed a delightful luncheon prepared and served by the Meridian
Hills staff. Vice President Ken Beasley offered a tribute to the members
whose deaths were reported during the past year and Honorary Member
Evie Rhodehamel led the traditional Roll Call where members’ ancestors
were identified by the time period during which they settled in the
state of Indiana. Special note was made of the Dora family whose qualifying
ancestor lived in Indiana prior to 1725, at least a century prior to
the arrival of many of the other proven pioneer ancestors.
Education Chairman and member of the Board of Governors Jim Fadely introduced
Mark Furnish, doctoral candidate at Purdue University, and winner of
the 2008 Society of Indiana Pioneers Fellowship to promote the study
of Indiana history of the pioneer period. Mark spoke of his research
on Michael Garber, a newspaper editor in Madison in the mid 19th century
and an early proponent of the Republican Party of the Lincoln era. Mark
expressed his appreciation for the monetary award and related how it
had helped him expand his research.
Following a slide presentation of the 2008 Pilgrimages to Lafayette
and South Bend/Lake Maxinkuckee by Nelson Price, Marcia Krieg announced
the final results of the Silent Auction which netted more than $1,000.
Following tradition, the meeting was adjourned with the singing of “Back
Home Again in Indiana”.
- Submitted by Robert H. Everitt |