Huntingburg Chamber of Commerce

APRIL 2003

1�� Foundation Scholarship Committee Meeting at 6:30 pm at OTH

3�� WITZ Radio Program at 7:00 am

5�� St. Joseph Hospital Health Fair at Southridge High School

9�� Chamber Executive Committee Meeting at Noon am at OTH

10�� Huntingburg Foundation Board Meeting at 7:00 am at OTH

10�� Huntingburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner at 6:00 pm at OTH

15�� Foundation Executive Committee Meeting Noon at OTH

15�� Huntingburg Park Board Meeting at 5:45 pm at City Hall

16�� Foundation Finance Committee 3:30 pm at OTH

22�� Foundation Marketing Committee Meeting Noon at OTH

23�� Chamber Tourism Committee Meeting at 7:30 am OTH

24�� Huntingburg Foundation Grant Award Reception 5:30-6:30 pm at OTH

25�� Hoosier ICEA Academy at Indianapolis

25-27 1^st Annual Garden Gate Festival

26�� Family Festival at Dubois County Park

Warren Evans Receives

2003 Golden Leaf Award

Warren Evans has been chosen by the Huntingburg Chamber of Commerce as the 2003 recipient of the Golden Leaf Award, presented annually to a citizen of Huntingburg that has exhibited a deep commitment to this community.

Warren �Bing� Evans born in South Dakota, found himself as a young man in Europe during World War II as a member of Colonel Darby�s elite 1^stBattalion Rangers.�� Warren was one of the first Americans to receive a battlefield commission as an officer in the European theater of the war.

Warren fought in campaigns across Africa, Sicily, and Italy.� Captured in 1944, he spent 15 months as a prisoner of war in a German camp.� He has received both the Silver and Bronze Stars.

Warren tells of his experiences as a Captain in the Rangers in the recently released book �Heroes Cry Too.�� In the Acknowledgement authors Marcia Moen and Margo Heinen state that they first met Warren when he was elected in 1999 as the next President of the Ranger�s Battalion Association, �It is easy to understand why he was chosen to lead this group.� He exudes charisma and has an innate ability to lead. Obviously his leadership skills during WWII are still apparent today.�

It is those continued leadership skills that the Chamber honors as the 2003 Golden Leaf Award recipient.�

Warren had won a scholarship to South Dakota State University, but finished college on the GI Bill following his release from military service in 1945.� He and a friend opened the first bowling alley in Brookings South Dakato, but an opportunity from the Ralston Purina Company presented itself and Warren, his wife Francis and three sons, Bruce, Brad and Mark, found themselves moving about for the next 15 years.� The Evans eventually found their way to Huntingburg, Indiana where Warren became Comptroller for Olinger Construction Company.�

Although he retired at 65, Warren continued to keep the books for several local companies.� Warren has served on several boards and commissions for the city of Huntingburg and continues to serve as a member of the Redevelopment Committee.� He is an active member of the Optimists Club and a member of the Huntingburg Methodist Church.� Warren has also received the honor of Thirty-Third Degree Mason.

Warren also remains active in the sport of bowling as a member of Integra Bank�s Monday night bowling team.� He recently bowled a 268.� When asked what he did differently to bowl a 268, he stated, �I didn�t do anything any differently than I�ve done it the last 70 years.��

For those 70 years, Warren has served his family, country, church, and community as a hero.

Mark Keillor Speaks At Chamber Breakfast

Mark Keillor of Strategic Development Group (SDG) of Bloomington spoke at the Huntingburg Chamber of Commerce Breakfast on March 18.� Mark�s topic was Economic Development.

Mark emphasized the importance of having an Economic Development Commission that has both private and public support.� Today Economic Development is not just recruiting new businesses to the area but also assisting the business already existing in the region with the tools necessary to allow them to grow and expand into different fields if necessary.

Recent developments have made local elected officials seriously consider the possibility of a local economic development organization or LEDO as they are often called.� The Mayors of Jasper and Huntingburg along with the Town Board Presidents of Holland and Ferdinand have met to discuss possibilities and hope to have a commission formed by late summer.

Businesses need to provide input on the formation of the commission to optimize its development and its effectiveness when formed.�� While it is unlikely that a major corporation will be attracted to the area within the next 24 months, the immediate benefit of this commission is that it has provided an opportunity for all of our elected officials to develop economic development as a county-wide effort.

Garden Gate Festival

The Huntingburg Chamber will sponsor a new event April 25�27, to allow local retailers to feature home and gardening supplies.� While the downtown merchants will participate this event is for all Chamber members throughout the city and surrounding area.� Call Christine to find out more about cooperative advertising at (812) 683-5699.

Old Colony Insurance

�Bringing the Best Together�

Mark these dates on your calendar for Old Colony Insurance Seminars:

April 23 � HRA�s

May 21- 401K Cafeteria Plans

June 25 � Self-Funding & Plan Designs

July 30 � Self-Funding & Reinsurance

April and May sessions will be at the Old Town Hall with June and July sessions at St. Joseph Hospital.

Increased IRA Contributions

2002 marked the first time in 20 years that individuals could contribute an increased amount to their Roth and traditional IRAs.� The limit was raised from $2,000 to $3,000 in 2002 and will increase to $5,000 by 2008.� After that the amount will be annually adjusted for inflation.� You have until April 15^th to maximize your IRA contribution for 2002.

If you have already maximized your IRA contributions for the year, you may wish to consider purchasing annuities or a life insurance retirement plan. With alternative tax-saving decisions to make, you may wish to contact one of the local accountants or professional financial advisors in the area to maximize your benefits.

Golf Outing to be June 5

The Huntingburg Chamber of Commerce will hold its Annual Golf Outing on June 5, 2003.�

This is a change from previous years due to reseeding of the Huntingburg Country Club greens.� The greens are expected to be ready in mid to late May, but the Chamber elected to move its annual golf outing back a couple of weeks to be sure that the greens were in good condition and to miss the end of May rush with graduation and Memorial Day.� Get your team ready for this FUN networking opportunity.

Tax Season Tid Bits

Have you hugged your accountant lately?� As we near the deadline of tax season, consider the following:

� The IRS hires an additional 12,000 employees to answer phone inquiries from confused taxpayers during tax filing season.

� It takes 136,000 taxpayer paid employees to administer our tax laws.

� The income tax laws and regulations contain 5,557,000 words, seven times the length of the bible.

� The IRS easiest form the 1040EZ comes with 31 pages of fine print instructions.

� Each year the IRS Sends out 1 billion 1099 forms to track taxpayers� interest and dividend income.

� There are 569 tax forms available on the IRS website.

� The Federal tax laws and regulations are 17,000 pages long.

� Just one paragraph of the Internal Revenue Code takes 250 pages to explain.

� Major sections of the tax code were amended 878 times.

� Tax law has been changed a total of 5,400 times since the 1986 Tax Reform Act.

� Since 1981, there have been 11,410 changes in the subsections of the tax code.

� If you query an internet search engine for the phrase �tax shelter,� you�ll come up with about 400,000 internet sites.

� 6,400,000 taxpayers visited IRS customer service centers seeking answer to their tax questions.� Those who made phone calls to IRS hotlines numbered 99,000,000.

� In 1903, the IRS had 400 employees and collected $230 million in taxes, mainly from liquor, beer and margarine.� In 1995, the IRS had 115,000 employees and collected some $1.2 trillion, mainly from income and employment taxes.

Easter Eggs

Ever wondered how to cook those Easter eggs.� It seems simple enough, but why is it that sometimes you can�t get the shell off or the yellow yolk looks a little green?� Well according the American Egg Board, here is how to hard-boil that incredible edible egg:

Place eggs in single layer in saucepan.� Add enough tap water to come at least 1 inch above eggs.� Cover and quickly bring just to boiling.� Turn off heat. If necessary, remove pan from burner to prevent further boiling.� Let eggs stand, covered, in the hot water about 15 minutes for large eggs (12 minutes for medium, 18 for extra large).� Immediately run cold water over eggs or place them in ice water until completely cooled.

To remove shell, crackle it by tapping gently all over.� Roll egg between hands to loosen shell, then peel, starting at large end.� Hold egg under running cold water or dip in bowl of water to help ease off shell.

What to do with the extra eggs, why not pickle them?� Arrange 8 eggs in a 1-quart jar with a tight fitting lid. In medium saucepan, stir together 1 � cups white vinegar, � cup water, 1 16 oz. Can frozen orange juice concentrate, 1 cinnamon stick, broken, and 8 crushed cloves.� Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and gently simmer for five minutes.� Pour mixture over eggs, cover tightly and let cool for one hour.� Store in refrigerator for hours or weeks.� Eat within one week after reopening jar.

Networking

One of the main reasons for Chamber membership is the opportunity to network with fellow chamber members.� For April that opportunity will be the Annual Dinner.� In June the Chamber will host its Annual Golf Classic and in August the Chamber will initiate a outing to kick off the membership drive.� Join us at these events.

Imitation is the

Best Form of Flattery

Several of you may have seen the flyers from Martin County�s Antique and Appraisal Show to act as a fundraiser for an adult literacy program.� Persons from Martin County had attended our January Show and were impressed.� Huntingburg Chamber provided them with guidance to develop their own show.� Paoli has also requested assistance and the Chamber has enthusiastically provided them with information as well.

The Huntingburg Chamber believes that developing these partnerships only strengthens the opportunity to draw visitors to southern Indiana and that increases potential tourism dollars for Huntingburg and Dubois County.� Christine has also spoken to Washington, Tell City, Troy and Cannelton business owners on promotional events conducted by the Huntingburg Merchants and Chamber.� By working together we build upon the attractions in the region.� Small rural communities must look at tourism as a regional effort if they are to compete with urban areas.

Small Mom and Pop retail establishments do not compete so much with each other as they do with large retail outlets.� People expect variety when they enter a �Big Box Store.�� If we are to draw people to southern Indiana for the number one tourism activity, shopping, we need to provide variety and a number of stores to choose from.

The Huntingburg Chamber of Commerce is proud of what a few dedicated shopkeepers were able to accomplish in acting as a catalyst to rejuvenate the downtown area and the commitment of current shopkeepers to expand on those efforts and continue to make Huntingburg a great place to spend an afternoon shopping.� Add Holiday World, the Sisters of St. Benedict, and the Baseball Hall of Fame and we are a tourism destination.

2002-2003 Chamber Board of Directors

President

John Wirthwein

Styline/OFS

Vice President

Bill Land

City of Huntingburg

Secretary/Treasurer

Ken Schnaus

Integra Bank

Bob Brown

Brown Antiques

Christine Buening

Touch of Class Outlet Store

Jeff Huls

Dubois County Title Company

Travis McQueen

Dubois County Airport Authority

Gene Thewes

German American Bank

Cindy Wilmes

Dubois County Probation

Staff

Christine Prior

Executive Director

Sharon Welp

Administrative Assistant

Three new board members

�will take office at the April Annual Dinner, please join us

for that evening.