Dubois County Chamber honors Wehr, Verkamp, UDA at annual awards
Ferdinand — The Dubois County Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 Luncheon at the Ferdinand Community Center recognized two individuals and a long-time Ferdinand business with its annual awards.
Jordan Wehr was named Young Professional of the Year. Indiana Furniture President/CEO Max Verkamp was named Businessperson of the Year. Universal Design Associates was named Business of the Year.
The Chamber selected the three from a list of nine nominated individuals and businesses.
“Every individual and business recognized today has made a lasting impact on Dubois County,” said Madison Kerst, board member of the Dubois County Chamber.
Young Professional of the Year
Wehr is executive director of the Dubois County Humane Society. She has worked with the shelter for almost 15 years. She started as a volunteer, served as board president and became executive director in 2025.
Before that, she spent 15 years in healthcare as an occupational therapist. She also owns The Dough Ball, a pet treat business. She co-owns JW Properties and Wehr Performance Accessories with her husband, Jesse.
Wehr said the award caught her off guard.
“You put in a lot of work and heart and soul into everything, but sometimes you don’t always really recognize that it is recognized in the community,” she said. “It’s kind of an affirmation to know that we are on the right path as an organization.”
Regarding her work with the humane society. She said the shelter does more than many people realize. That includes community education and “diversion,” which means finding homes for animals before they ever enter the shelter.
“Our ultimate goal would be to just at some point serve as a community resource and not a shelter reaction environment,” she said.
The other finalists for young professional were Josseline Carr, a bilingual real estate professional, and Alli Tempel, assistant dean of academic and student services at Vincennes University Jasper.
Businessperson of the Year
Verkamp has led Indiana Furniture as CEO and president since 2016. Before joining it, Verkamp spent 24 years at MasterBrand Cabinets. Under his leadership, the 121-year-old company has posted record sales while investing in automation and technology.
He credited his team for the success and recognition.
“It’s not just one person that is the reason for success in the company. It’s the people you put around you that work with you to make a company successful,” Verkamp said. “If it wasn’t all of us working together, Indiana Furniture would be this successful.”
Verkamp said his father, Gib Verkamp, who led Aristocraft and MasterBrand, taught him that surrounding yourself with good people is critical to success.
“That investment in our people and our businesses pays off and makes us stronger communities,” Verkamp said.
Verkamp also volunteers and serves as the president of the Jasper Partnership Commission and of Grow Dubois County. He also serves on several other boards, including Hub19 and Friends of the Arts.
The other finalists for Business Person of the Year were Kimberly Menke, owner of Ella & Ivy in downtown Huntingburg, and Brad Coomer, superintendent of the Huntingburg Wastewater Department.
Business of the Year
Universal Design Associates was founded in 1966. It grew from a small engineering and design firm into a full-service architecture and engineering firm. Its work includes architecture; civil, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering; interior design; and construction management.
The other finalists were Superior Ag, a farmer-owned cooperative based in Huntingburg, and Wabash Valley Foods, a family-owned egg products company founded in 1964.
Mike Uebelhor of Uebelhor Oil, Uebelhor Logistics and Uebelhor Developments was the event’s keynote speaker. He told the story of the family business his father, Walter, started in 1933.
Born and raised in Huntingburg, Uebelhor graduated from Huntingburg High School in 1966 and earned a business degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1970. After working at First National Bank, he joined his father, Walter, and brother, Steve, at Uebelhor Oil in 1977.
Just a year later, after a nearly catastrophic fire, he helped diversify the family business into three corporations: Uebelhor Oil, Uebelhor Development, and Uebelhor Transportation.
But Mike’s impact on our community goes beyond business.
Over the years, he has served in leadership roles with the Huntingburg Development Commission, Huntingburg Foundation, Dubois County Park Board, Memorial Hospital, and the Dubois County Bombers.
He continues to serve as Treasurer of Dubois County Right to Life and the Trotter House Pregnancy Center, and he is a founding member and President of the Dubois County Leukemia Association.
Drawing on his business and volunteer experience and his faith, Uebelhor urged the crowd to give time and talent, not just money.
“Our company has over the years they’ve kind of developed this philosophy, and it’s really nothing unique or original. It’s from the Bible,” he told the crowd before paraphrasing Luke 12:48, which says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
In closing, Uebelhor challenged everyone in the room to invest more than money and knowledge in the community to make it successful, to put their passions into action.
During the event, Chamber Executive Director Angie Sanchez-Hostetter went over the group’s work this year.
The Chamber gives a scholarship each year to one graduating senior from every high school in Dubois County who plans to study business. It also runs a quarterly grant program for locally owned businesses with 50 or fewer employees. This year the Chamber added a $500 grant for local nonprofits. Applications for the fourth-quarter grant are open on the Chamber’s website through Dec. 10.
Sanchez-Hostetter also announced a new member benefit through a partnership with the Indiana Chamber. It’s access to ChamberCare, a health plan built for small businesses in Indiana. The plan covers prescriptions, dental, vision, telemedicine and teletherapy.
She closed by asking business leaders to think about joining the Chamber’s board of directors.
“You don’t have to have all the answers,” she said. “We’re looking for people who are willing to show up, share their perspective, and help us continue building a stronger business community here in Dubois County.”
