CHURUBUSCO, Ind. – Eagle Plaza, which houses Dollar General Store, Bursey and Associates and Do It Best Eagle Lumber & Hardware got a new sign this week.
The plaza is located on U.S. 33 just south of Churubusco.
Rumor has it that at least one more new business will be joining Eagle Plaza in the near future.
FastTrac® is a practical, hands-on business development program designed to help entrepreneur’s fine tune the skills needed to create, manage, and grow a successful business. FastTrac® participants don’t just learn about business, they live it! They work on their own business ideas or ventures throughout the program – moving their ventures to reality or new levels of growth.
What: FastTrac® New Ventures
When: 3:00-6:00PM on Thursdays
Beginning January 21, 2010
(eleven weeks)
Where: Whitley County EDC
220 W Van Buren Street, Suite 102
Columbia City, IN
Participants in a FastTrac® program learn to operate their businesses effectively through a certified Kauffman Foundation business planning program using sources of information, and to make decisions based on trust and competence. In this learning -focused environment, participants will:
* Fine tune skills to create and/ or grow a successful business
* Learn from experienced entrepreneur facilitators, business coaches, guest speakers and peers
* Transfer knowledge in a peer-to-peer environment
* Expand their network of community resources
* Work ON their business, not IN it
* Receive continual feedback from experienced entrepreneurs
* Learn a business development and planning process they can use as a tool for the ongoing development of their business
For more information or to register for the New Ventures program, please contact Sharon Sallot, Program Manager, Go Whitley Accelerating Innovation, at (260) 244-3176 or ssallot@whitleybiz.com.
Steel Tank and Fabricating located at 365 S. James St. Columbia City, hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for their newly expanded facility.
Steel Tank and Fabricating Corporation was established in 1952 by the Kennedy family of Indianapolis. William E Kennedy Jr. appointed Ray Gassaway to run the daily operations of STAFCO from its inception in 1952 for nearly 30 years.
The Columbia City building has seen many expansions in the last decades, most notably in 1966 when they doubled their size from 3200 to 7200 sq ft, in 1978 they tripled the size of their offices and in 1986 they added a 1250 sq ft paint building. The current expansion doubles the size of the production space from 7200 to 14,400 square feet.
STAFCO currently serves many industries including the agricultural, chemical, asphalt and petroleum industry. Tanks for these industries include above ground, underground, vertical and horizontal tanks fabricated from carbon and stainless steel.
Fehring has an 11.3 (out of a possible 12) grade point average. He received a perfect score of 5 on his AP chemistry exam and a 4 on his AP U.S. history exam. Fehring is involved in Campus Life, where CL director, Jon Pelz, praised Fehring’s leadership and mentoring abilities. Fehring also participates in cross country and track and serves in leadership roles on both teams.
“James understands the value placed in his education and works hard every day to maintain his grades,” said CHS principal Austin Couch. “While doing this, he has also been able to dedicated himself outside of the classroom. He has never jeopardized his integrity or his convictions. He is an exemplary young man who has a bright future ahead of him.”
According to her principal at Churubusco Elementary School, Nicole Singer, Katie always does her personal best, is a good student and demonstrates good citizenship skills.
Katie is in kindergarten and also is involved in T-ball. She is the daughter of John and Megan Krider.
Jestine Brigette Heck, a student at Churubusco High School, was chosen for the Spotlight on Success and recognized at Monday night’s school board meeting. Also recognized was Ben Moore, who was named Teacher of the Month.
Jestine “Jessie” Heck
Jesse Heck
Heck is in the Information Technology Academy at Anthis Career Center. She is also presently enrolled in the entrepreneurship program and next year will complete a graphic design course. She was recently selected by Anthis Career Center officials as the Student of the Month.
Due to her outstanding work and positive attitude, she has been asked to volunteer for a summer program hosted by her Anthis teacher. She has been featured in the Anthis center’s publication, Visions, where she was recognized for her outstanding abilities and success.
Ben Moore
Moore is the media specialist – the modern day librarian – at Churubusco High School. According to CHS Principal Austin Couch, Moore was chosen because he is always willing to step outside the media center to help out in any way possible.
Couch said he often sees Moore directing students during evacuation drills, monitoring the hallways and assisting staff in a variety of ways.
“Ben is a valuable resource who is always there at the last minute with his dependable, good nature and a sense of ‘what can I do to help’ (attitude) regardless of the circumstances or the inconvenience to himself,” Couch said.
Moore is an innovative thinker and is able to share his experience and knowledge with staff. That, in turn, makes learning interesting and relevant for CHS students, Couch said.
One teacher summed it up, “Every time I ask him a question, he not only answers it, but has supplementary materials, computer links and helpful suggestions. His efforts to make the media center accessible and relevant have made a difference to my students.”
Ellison Technologies along with Capital Equipment Sales, hosted a “Spotlight on Success” event at C&A Tool Thursday March 18th.
Prior to the tour, Dick Conrow who started the business in his garage in 1969 had this to say about his facility and the products they produce. “We wanted to create something more than a square box. We have grown from a tool and die maker to a company who can supply many special products.”
Also on display, was a Star CNC machine, presented by Capital Equipment Sales.
Terra Meyer, a student at Churubusco Elementary School, was honored in the CES Spotlight on Success at a recent Smith-Green School Board meeting.
According to her teachers and principal, Terra is a good student who always does her personal best and demonstrates good citizenship skills. In her spare time, she likes to participate in gymnastics.
Terra was present at the March 16 meeting along with her parents, Terry and Julie Mayer, and led the audience and the school board in the Pledge of Allegiance.
I realize it’s never going to be the same as it was back when I opened in 2005. And truthfully, for the rest of 2008 I struggled to catch up: physically, mentally and business-wise.
So, how do I go about it? How do I build back up from here?
Hindsight. That’s what.
I have to start back with lessons learned.
Lesson #1
Marketing is not just having an office, a website and a cool logo. Nor is it a one-time event that will bring you a great R.O.I. It needs to be an ongoing campaign from day to day and month to month. Consistency is the key here.
Lesson #2
A business life has so many peaks and valleys, you’ll never be prepared for them all. But, with experience, you can anticipate the lows and capitalize on the highs, so you’ll have a much better chance at being successful. From my experience, Autumn is a bad time of year and I still have plenty of time to prepare. Also from my experience, I know that Summer is pretty good so I need to capitalize on those moments.
Lesson #3
It seems like such a cliché to use this phrase, but life is too short. Live in the now and know that no matter what comes, if you are breathing, you my friend are one of the richest human beings on the planet. Between my accident and other personal life occurrences I was on the verge of losing everything I own and I came to realization that “the man” can come and take every single thing I own, but “they” cannot take my life.
So now I take these three lessons and I live life to the fullest. I dream big and go after it. I under-promise and I over-deliver for each of my clients.
All of 2008 is history, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t have time to implement my plan from the start of 2009 and carry it through to 2010.
———
In closing, I’d like to use a quote from a book I read at the end of last year, titled, Tuesdays With Morrie:
When you learn how to die, you learn how to live.
The book surrounds the last days of a professor who taught the author during his college years. I truly believe that if you can apply your life experiences to business in a positive manner, your success can be greater than you ever expected.
I’d also like to mention that this series started on the exact date and time I received my near crippling injury. It’s one year past and I hope this series can help someone out there learn a few things about business and how nearly everything can affect it.
Nationwide Insurance uses the slogan, “Life comes at you fast,” and they’re right, it does.
At the beginning of 2008, I was still trying to recoup from the horrible Fall and Winter months of 2007. After going through the exercise of planning out the year once again, I told myself 2008 was going to be my most successful one yet.
The idea(s) were there. The marketing plan sketched out. The creative juices flowing. I was ready to cold-call and kiss clients, lick stamps for postcards mailings, even send out white papers. Yadda yadda yadda. You know the drill.
Then came the unexpected. Ah yes, those delightful little ventures into Mylanta® Land that we all know we should plan for, yet rarely do.
As a “hobby,” I help people survive the unexpected. Well, I do my best anyway. You see, I’ve been a volunteer firefighter for the Churubusco fire department for almost 20 years. So, by owning my design business in my small community, I felt I could provide a valuable design and printing service and help my neighbors. Just some of the fine services offered here at Gonink World Headquarters.
The beginning of the year was busy for both my business and the fire department. Then on February 12th, we had two house fires in less than six hours.
I rushed away from work around 4:30 to assist a nearby department on a large house fire. Tired, I returned home around 10:00 p.m. The second call came while I was finishing up with a reheated dinner.
This house fire went from arrival to extinguishing “hot spots” in about ten minutes. No sweat. Well, okay … a little sweat. It was a wee bit hot in there. Then, while standing in the kitchen conversing with one of the captains, I heard a “crack.” The next thing I knew (or didn’t, as the case may be), I was out cold. I hate when that happens.
During a trip to the emergency room, the diagnosis was a broken neck with a rouge disc pressing against my spinal cord. Lovely.
My sister works in this very ER. She’s even talked about people in my very same situation … people who don’t walk out of the hospital on their own when faced with the injury I had sustained.
First up for me? Emergency surgery to replace the disc and get the vertebrae fused together to try and prevent any further damage to my spinal cord. That sounded good. “Further damage,” sounded kind of bad.
What followed, you ask? Partially closing my business to begin a grueling set of physical therapy appointments preformed by someone who appeared to be a student of the Marquis DeSade. For over 30 days I wasn’t allowed to work or run my business at all and for the next 45 days I could only work part-time.
Obviously, the business struggled. But, by early April, I was given the green light to go back to work full-time. None the less I was still required to attend physical therapy three times each week.
At this point in my life I had tasted the sweet ambrosia of local and international success. I had endured the feast and famine phases of business. And, I learned more about how to survive than I ever imagined possible.
What was (or still is) your biggest challenge in your business life?
So what’s next?: Starting over. Succeeding professionally and personally. That’s what.
Successful businesses usually start off the new year with fresh ideas. Putting pen to paper, they come up with plans to make that year better than the last. I was no different.
In my first year I went through the experience of slow times. I felt the panic of no money coming in. I also suffered through sparse, grueling and uncreative projects, just to keep the cash flowing. The reality of the design biz is that not every gig is a glamour project. You do what have to to keep food on the table.
As it’s said, “Plan your work and work your plan,” Taking all this into account, I spent time coming up with my plan and began the implementation shortly after the start of the year.
Then one day, it happened.
Backing up … I share an office with Jim Horne of Parker Insurance. His office assistants would drop by and chat a bit while bringing my mail. Every time they did, I would complain that bringing my bills was not a part of their job and that I wished they would stop. Of course, I was joking. Thankfully they all have a good sense of humor!
So one fine day his assistant brings me a stack of mail along with a quite large manila envelope … an envelope that says “Summit Creative Awards.” If I remember correctly, it was stamped with something to the effect of “Winner!”
My heart started pounding. Doubts started bouncing. Doubts that I had actually been awarded for my design skills. “This can’t be”. But it was. It so was true. I had won an international design award that receives thousands of entries annually and I was going to be recognized for this! Hallelujah!
For at least a week, I jumped around having a giddy, wonderful time sending out newsletters and press releases to every single media outlet I could find. I was confident that this award would start an avalanche of work. I mean, who wouldn’t want to work with such a creative and outstanding firm such as mine? A bit naive maybe? Ha! You’d better believe it.
Once again, I fell into the stinking thinking trap of believing that because I had an office (or as my good friend, Neil, might say “hung out my shingle”), I was guaranteed loads of work.
Ok, the summer was good, I made money, purchased equipment and projects were there. But as the year went on, I ran into the same problem in early Autumn. Seems I have seasonal issue on my hands.
Business came to a near standstill … again. My phone stopped ringing … again. Panic set in … again. I started buying Mylanta® by the case… again. And this time it turned out worse than before. But wait! There’s more!
Even though I was now at the end of the year and I’m hitting what is turning out to be my slow time, another great achievement was headed my way. Gonink was nominated for, and won, “Business of the Year” by the Churubusco Chamber of Commerce.
So, in less than 12 months I had garnered an international award for our design and a local business award for Gonink. You’d think things couldn’t be brighter, right? That it was going to be nothing but success for me here on out, right?
Wrong. In the words of Dickens, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” As any seasoned business owner will tell you, life & business can and do come crumbling down. Just because things look good doesn’t necessarily mean it will stay that way.
In February of 2008 it did just that. Literally.
Have you expected greater things from a business achievement and it never came to be? Leave your comments below so that others may learn from those of us who have ‘been there, done that’.
Up next: Tragedy hits. Closing the doors for good a real possibility.
In Part One, I was happily living the creative dream life with a full time business of my own. Being my own boss, I could and did make my own hours. Work came to me so no more chomping at the bit waiting for the phone to ring. I didn’t have to market every day, because, by golly, I had work coming in! I’m figuring this is a piece of cake. I felt like I was on the top of the world with the perfect business … a dream business … all mine.
After launching, I joined the local chamber. Soon, I found myself accepting my nomination to the Board of Directors. Shortly there after, I started developing the chamber Website. I was flying high and business could not have been better.
That all started to change in late September when my workload started drying up. By early October, my front door no longer resembled a revolving door. It was more like a steel gate locking people out. Or so, I thought.
Calling for help, I found myself leaning on business associates and those aforementioned pros. Pros who knew how to work the system and keep gigs coming in.
Thinking that my business was going to collapse in just a few short months of opening full-time, I truly began to panic. I doubted my abilities and my business experience (which was nil to none, by the way). Losing confidence in my abilities, I even thought that maybe people just didn’t like me (crazy, yes?).
Slowly, towards the end of October business started to pick back up. In November we launched the Churubusco Chamber’s website at www.churubuscochamber.org.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I felt that it was just one of those down times every business experiences and that we were going to be just fine. But, I also knew that not getting “out there” was something I needed to avoid. The trick, it seemed, was crafting a plan and then actually implementing it.
Around this time, I entered my business’ logo into an internationally recognized design competition called The Summit Creative Awards. I shelled out the money for the entry fee and then took my time getting around sending in the entry. So much so, the organization started emailing me asking where my entry was. In a stellar moment of blatant self doubt, I thought, “Oh yeah, that thing. The thing I won’t win because I’m not a super designer. The thing I won’t win because I’m just a dinky little store front copy shop that gets a few gigs here and there.” I finally built up the courage, printed the logo on some high quality photo paper and sent it in.
That logo entry and my business networking was going to start a tidal wave of good things for me at the beginning and end of 2007.
Have you had some of these same business experiences? We’d love to hear from those who have been through these peaks and valleys.
Up next: What it’s like to win awards and feel successful. Then yet again, have business fall flat.
Two Churubusco Elementary School students were honored for their positive and caring attitudes at a recent meeting of the Smith-Green Community Schools Board of School Trustees.
Jonathan Shepler and McKenzie Hart were present at the meeting with their families to accept the certificates of achievement from board members.
Jonathan, the son of Mark and Jodi Shepler, is a second grade student who is a true success, according to his principal, Nicole Singer.
“He demonstrates perseverance every day,” Singer said, “and always has a smile on his face in spite of the many challenges he overcomes on a daily basis.”
Jonathan suffers from muscular dystrophy and has participated in fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and for the MD Camp at Camp Potawatomi. Jonathan loves hockey, especially the Fort Wayne Komets, his mother said.
McKenzie, a third grader, is the daughter of Jeremy and Deena Hart.
“McKenzie is helpful, polite and a good student,” Singer said.
McKenzie in on the A/B Honor Roll and involved in gymnastics.
Every business goes through its ups and downs. The graphic design business is no different. The best way to survive down times and live life to the fullest is to plan ahead. But, even the best laid plans can get disrupted by unforeseen events. That’s where contingency planning comes into play. They can save your business
So, in the immortal words of Glinda, the Good Witch, “It’s always best to start at the beginning.”
In the Spring of 2005, a good friend bought a substantial piece of property which included a large building. The plan was to develop the area into a small shopping complex. You know the type; offices, fast food, etc. For whatever reason one particular project fell through.
He then came to me to see if I would move my graphic design business to his building. My “business” at that time was a haphazard attempt at becoming a full time freelancer, working from home. It’s the way most of us start out.
Any creative reading this knows the dream of making your own hours, watching the tv while designing this or that, sitting at home amongst all of your amenities and living the “good” life. Some of you might also know that it’s not that easy. A few others might know this kind of “loosy goosy” approach to business is one reason some clients perceive us as unprofessional. It’s also pretty much a sure-fire route to reading the want ads.
After loads of soul searching, I decided to give it a whirl on a part time basis. As luck would have it, I was sitting pretty. My full time job allowed me to work partial daytime hours. So, in late November 2005, I officially opened Gonink: Web Design & Print and prepared for an onslaught of work. With a waiting list of work in hand, even before my doors opened, I had lofty hopes of this being a success.
After eight months of almost 18 hour days, seven days a week, I knew something had to give. My body was taking a physical and mental beating from the lack of sleep and increased stress. So, yet again, I was faced with another tough decision – either close down the business, or quit my full time job and go full time with Gonink.
To make this daring leap into the business world, I had to dig even deeper to believe in myself and my business. I planned everything out for both general business and marketing. I made sure I had enough money to cover me. I worked out contingency plans if things didn’t go they way I thought. Finally, on June 6, 2006, I made the switch. Later on I joked about how I picked an opening date of 666. But, thankfully, the next 18 months proved that number wrong.
Lessons learned:
Before you make the leap, be sure you have enough money to cover your business and personal expenses for at least three months. Six is better. A year’s worth is great.
If you’re in business currently, can you give some other tips to those who might be considering the entrepreneurial path? Leave your comments below!
Up next: What it’s like to feel successful and win awards. As well as the gut wrenching anxiety of a business slowdown.
If you graduated high school before the turn of the century it’s highly unlikely that you’re using Facebook or any other social media sites such as MySpace, Friendster, Xanga, hi5 or Bebo for socializing. You’re more than likely going to be interested in having lunch with a friend, talking on the phone or forwarding a humorous email now and then.
So how does Facebook play into the fabric of our current world and more importantly for this article, the business world?
Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 while he was a student at Harvard University. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students and then slowly expanded to include other colleges in the Ivy League and Stanford. It then expanded to any university student, then high school and finally anyone over the age of 13 with a valid email account. It now has approximately 150 million active users worldwide.
The first step in becoming a Facebook user is to create an account by submitting information such as your name, birthday and email address. They then send you an email with a link inside that asks you to confirm the request. Once you do you’re now officially on Facebook and ready to create your profile. And by the way, all of this is completely free!
When filling out your profile one important thing to remember is do not publish anything you wish to keep private such as home phone numbers or home address.
You want to put as much business contact information out there as you can. Add your website link if you have one. Display your business phone number(s) and at the very least the city where your business resides.
The next big step is finding people you know and making contact. It’s easy to search for friends via their name, city, schools you attended and even by graduation dates. As you start to make contact with current and past friends an interesting cycle starts to take place.
If you click on the “Add as friend” link on someone’s profile and they confirm your request, you can then view their profile and who they’re connected to. And more often than not they will be associated with someone you know and that person might be connected to someone else you know. It really begins to add validity to the Six degrees of separation theory.
So now you’re a member, you have created a profile and you’re connected to a friend or two. Now it’s time to use this powerful online tool to create a buzz about your business.
Here are some things I suggest you do for starters:
Not only do you now have a powerful online connection tool by being a Facebook user, you can take things even further.
You can “become a fan” of certain business organizations and their “page”. You can join groups who have like-minded interests such as yours. And yes, you can even advertise on Facebook specifically tailored to your target audience and your ideal client.
So are you on Facebook? If so, we’d love to hear how you use it and ask you to become a fan of BuscoVoice.com today!
The Churubusco Chamber of Commerce named four new members to its board of directors at their regular monthly business luncheon Thursday, Dec. 11.
Named to the board were Karan Hill of K & K Video and 2nd Best; Karen Simpson of Fort Financial Credit Union; Lee Prescott of National City Bank and Greg Veercamp of Farmers and Merchants Bank.
Other Churubusco Chamber of Commerce directors include Chris Tomlinson of Gonink Design & Print and Buscovoice.com, Jim Horne of Parker Insurance and Bonar Insurance, John Black of Mahle Clevite, Inc., Mark Coonrod of Star Insurance, John Schmidt of Schmidt Financial, Viv Sade of S & R Publishing and Buscovoice.com, Lenny Shaw of Eel River Golf Course, Greg Childs of Sheets and Childs Funeral Home and Beth Brown of the Churubusco Community Child Care Center.
The luncheon was held at National City Bank with President Jim Horne presiding. Meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at noon at various locations in Churubusco.
For more information on joining the Chamber or attending a luncheon, call the Chamber’s executive secretary, Dee Dee McCoy at 693-9810 or visit www.churubuscochamber.org
Perry’s Country Store has moved from the Turtle Town Plaza just north of Churubusco to a site on the north side of town, near the Gun and Conservation Club, on U.S. 33. It was the former site of Orizon Real Estate.
Perry’s specializes in silk screening and embroidery and custom shirts, as well as tack, feed and pet supplies and pet food.
Scott and Teresa Perry own the store which is managed and operated by their children, Deanna and Bryan.
The store is located at 3530N. U.S. 33 and open six days a week.
Call the store at 693-0084 for more information.
Over the years, Michelle and Bob Tartaglia have come to know the community they live and work in. They know the people. And, they know the needs of the people. And they know, especially in tough times, people are always looking for a bargain.
As a result, they established a successful business over a decade ago – the Bargain House on Main Street - where they sell
Now, they have opened the Bargain Basement – which features quality used furniture at bargain prices. The Bargain Basement is located downstairs from the Bargain House with a separate outside entrance at 120 North Main Street.
“We thought there was a real need for this type of business,” Michelle Tartaglia said. “With the economy and all, it just seemed like a good idea.”
And the Tartaglias were right.
By the end of their first official day of business, much of the Bargain Basement stock was marked “sold.”
Both stores are open Monday-Friday from 9-6 and Saturday from 9-4, and major credit cards are accepted.
Call the Bargain House and Bargain Basement at 693-2129 for more information.
Story and photos by Viv Sade
After reading the title of this article, you’re probably asking yourself “Why would the website manager of this site say such a thing?” I say that because it’s true, a website isn’t the end all solution to marketing and selling your business.
Probably 5 or 10 years ago a website was a luxury or novelty item to have, but in today’s market it’s almost a must. Reports suggest that more and more people are placing a value on a business based on the fact that a.) they have a website and b.) it provides them with the information they seek.
To keep it as simple as possible, think of building a website like you were building a house. Is it better to buy a low-cost template based site and run the risk of looking like anyone else who buys the same template? Similar to those housing additions that sprout up in a field and if you look down the street every other one looks nearly identical?
Or is it better to build your website (house) from the ground up and have it exactly the way you want from the start? Will you have the budget to build a custom made site and can the designer deliver all of your expectations within that budget and quite possibly your time line?
Your website needs to have a good color scheme that matches your company identity, it needs to have an easy-to-follow and consistent navigation system, it needs to have a purpose such as selling, entertaining or informing and most importantly have good quality content.
One part of that content would be the images and graphics that make up the structure of your site. If it contains boring images or none at all, will they even take the time to look further or will they move on to the next competitor? You really need to view the aesthetics of your site much in the same way you would view a sales person. If a guy leaps out at you from behind a dumpster in a dark alley and wants to sell you a Rolex, would you buy from him or the well dressed sales person in a classy retail environment?
Right about now you might be questioning why you need all of this, because you just read an article on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and know that 90% of all Internet users find the information they’re looking for via search engines such as Google or Yahoo. The article might instruct you to get some good keywords, get a title that is very descriptive, submit it to the top search engines and maybe ask for a link or two to your site. It is possible to increase your traffic with these tactics to a certain degree, but it can take weeks or even months to truly see these results. And even if you do see traffic increases are they also turning into more sales or inquiries?
As you can see a website is more than just a place where your business name and logo resides, it is a fully functional marketing tool that offers greater potential to sell your business than any other medium in history. But you will need to work at it and not just let it sit there, because just having it isn’t everything.
Jim Horne, owner of Parker Insurance, recently announced that he has purchased Bonar Insurance agency from David Bonar, who has retired.
Horne is owner and manager of the plaza south of Churubusco at 3985 N. U.S. 33 which houses not only Horne’s insurance agency, but several other individual businesses, including Subway, Gonink Design & Print and Hit the Floor Dance Studio.
Horne has moved the Bonar office from its old home at 203 Main Street to his southside agency, and that move included Dee Dee McCoy, who was the office manager at Bonar Insurance.
Horne is a familiar face around Churubusco, having served as a Smith Twp. volunteer firefighter for 32 years.
He was a member of the Churubusco Town Council for five years from 1988-1993 and worked as superintendent of the town’s wastewater treatment plant for nine years during that same time. During Horne’s tenure, the wastewater treatment plant was recognized by the state for quality control and excellence in operation.
Horne also formed his own company, Horne And Associates Fire and Rescue, Inc., where he sold fire/rescue equipment for 13 years. After that he worked for the Allstate Insurance regional office in Dearborn, Mich. There, Horne was in charge of property inspections for northeast Indiana and part of southern Michigan.
Horne was forced to look for a new career when he was diagnosed with severe heart problems. He has had two pacemakers installed in his chest and two heart ablation surgeries.
Since his most recent surgery just a few weeks ago – to install a new pacemaker – Horne said he feels a lot better.
“I feel really great and my heart doesn’t seem to race or skip or get out of whack like it used to,” he said.
In August 1998 Horne graduated from Indiana Wesleyan with a degree in business. In 1999, Horne bought Parker Insurance from Marilyn Parker, who was retiring.
“It started as a smart remark,” Horne said. “Marilyn – who was good friends with my mom - said she would like to sell the business and retire. I jumped in and said, ‘I’ll buy it!’”
He operated Parker Insurance out of the old site at the corner of Tulley and Main streets, until June 2005 when he moved the business to its present site.
Other than the office move, Horne said Bonar Insurance will remain unchanged for the time being.
Horne and his wife, Mary Jo, are longtime Churubusco residents and have two grown children and two grandchildren.
Horne has been very active in the Churubusco Chamber of Commerce and is currently serving as president. He is a member of the Churubusco Rotary and has served as an officer in the past. He was supposed to be vice president of the Rotary this year, but health reasons forced him to step down.
This year Horne was the Churubusco coordinator for the United Way of Whitley County, where he serves on the board of directors.
His agency handles insurance “of every kind,” he said, and is open Monday-Friday, 8-5. Horne said he will meet with clients by appointment on weekends and nights and the agency has a 24-7 claim service.
In photo, from left, the office staff of Parker and Bonar Insurance, Kharissa Herendeen, Jacinda Winebrenner and Dee Dee McCoy.
Photos by Chris Tomlinson and Viv Sade
Story by Viv Sade
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