Lt. Gov. Ellspermann part of surprise award at Huntingburg Annual Chamber Luncheon

A torn meniscus and an invitation from Lt. Government Sue Ellspermann ensured two honored guests attended the Huntingburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Luncheon on Friday.

Alan and Connie Nass were chosen to receive the chamber’s annual Golden Leaf Award during the luncheon.

Connie had originally planned on taking a tour of southern Indiana with her sisters on Friday but the torn meniscus cancelled those plans freeing her up for the invite from the Lt. Governor.

Luckily, or unluckily, the two events made them available for the outgoing president of the Chamber Board, Vicki Lewis, to present them with the award.

[quote style=”boxed”]“As the mighty oak tree relies on each leaf to serve the interest and development of the whole tree, this award is presented in recognition and appreciation of services to the interests and development of the City of Huntingburg,” is inscribed on the award.[/quote]

Alan and Connie decided to return to Huntingburg after he graduated from Georgia Tech. “We decided to make Huntingburg our home and to contribute to its success and growth,” he explained.

He came home and became the fourth generation to operate the Nass & Son Funeral Home.

Ealier this year, Alan was inducted in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the basketball court as a Happy Hunter as well as his career with Georgia Tech and continued involvement in Indiana basketball all of his life.

Connie returned and served on the Huntingburg Common Council for eight years before becoming mayor in 1988. She served as mayor two terms and then served two terms as state auditor.

Alan and Connie were both very surprised at the award but even a torn meniscus couldn’t deter Connie from accompanying Alan up to the podium to accept it.

Afterwards Connie stated it was a special honor to receive an award like this from her hometown. “Sometimes people in your hometown are the least likely to recognize anything you might do,” she explained. “So this is a particularly meaningful award for me.”

“We came back after I graduated in 65’ dedicated to improve and upkeep those things that our generation should be responsible for,” Alan said. “Receiving this award is very humbling, very flattering.”

This June will be Connie and Alan’s 52nd wedding anniversary. Alan even crowned Connie basketball queen in high school.[hr]

At the luncheon, Nick Stevens, Executive Director for the Chamber of Commerce, announced a record membership in 2012. “We had 153 members, including 16 new members,” Stevens told the crowd of nearly 200 in attendance. “That membership encompasses over 7500 employees.”

Stevens also announced Southwest School’s Assistant Superintendent Chad Schenck as the new president of the chamber board and Trish Neukam as vice-president.[hr]

The Lt. Governor was the keynote speaker for the event and she described whirlwind of activity she has been involved with at the statehouse since taking office in January.

She spoke about her roles overseeing five state agencies. In addition to the Office of Tourism, Office of Community and Rural Affairs, Office of Energy Development, Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, and Department of Agriculture, Lt. Gov. Ellspermann will be head of the newly formed Indiana Office of Defense Development.

The Indiana Office of Defense Development (IODD) was created through an executive order by Governor Mike Pence on his first day in office to provide a focused effort on growing the defense sector business in Indiana and creating jobs for Hoosiers.

The goals of the office are to preserve and protect our current military assets and installations like Crane Naval Warfare Center and Camp Atterbury; to promote and strengthen the defense industries in Indiana; attract defense related industries through local, state, and regional economic development organizations; and to promote the use and commercialization of defense and federal intellectual property to create new products, companies and jobs.

Ellspermann explained that job creation is her and Governor Pences top goal. “The overarching metric we are using is whether we will have more jobs in Indiana in 2016 than ever before,” she said. “We are about 150,000 jobs below that.”

She explained that the state was currently in the pole position to be able to do that.

“We see many, many, many good things from the state,” she concluded her address, “and we look forward to taking it from good to great.”