THE HISTORY CENTER WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBERS

During its annual meeting, the Board of Directors of the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society approved nine new members to be added to its roster. Board President Matt Elliott says, “The Historical Society has grown tremendously in the past few years to turn The History Center into a professional museum that can preserve the history of this area for future generations to study. These new board members are all leaders in our community and we welcome the vision and enterprise that they provide so we can grow even more.”
These are the new board members, all of whom will serve three year terms:

 

•Larry Adelman grew up in Richmond, Indiana but graduated from Snider High School in Fort Wayne. He is a 1973 graduate of Indiana University at Bloomington, majoring in history and political science. He was owner and president of Admetco, Inc., a scrap metal recycling company from 1977 to 2004 when it was acquired by OmniSource where he continues to provide consulting services.

•Scott M. Bushnell is a writer, specializing in the history of business and commerce. His book on the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Hard News, Heartfelt Opinions, will be published later this summer by Indiana University Press. He was co-author of Roanoke: Renaissance of a Hoosier Village published in 2003. Bushnell began his career as a reporter and editor in his hometown of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and served as Connecticut state editor for The Associated Press. He later worked in corporate communications for The Travelers Cos. and Lincoln National Corporation. He and his wife, Barbara, live in rural northeast Indiana.

•Dena Lyst Davis is a specialist in management development and coaching. A former Director of Employment and Organizational Development for IPFW, she is a consultant for such clients as General Motor, IBM, Ford Motor Company, Proctor and Gamble and Kroger. A graduate of South Side High School with a degree in Business Administration from Indiana Tech, she has lived in Atlanta, Georgia and Grosse Pointe, Michigan before returning to Fort Wayne about 6 years ago.

•Glenda Ervins is a Regional Student Coordinator for the Twenty-first Century Scholars Program in the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at IPFW. In that role she provides guidance and advice to students about academic curriculum and college prep classes. She has extensive experience in human resources for such companies as Lincoln Financial and Staffmark. A Fort Wayne native, she earned her college degree at IPFW and is certified in Professional Human Resources and as a Cultural Diversity Facilitator.

•Alan Grinsfelder is founder of Grinsfelder Associates Architects, where he has been responsible for overseeing many Fort Wayne projects including the Foellinger Outdoor Theater, Headwaters Park, the collaborative Hanna/Creighton project that houses the Allen County Public Library, Head Start and Urban League facilities; and the neighborhood renewal East State Village project. He is a trustee at Achduth Versholom and has served on numerous other boards in the community. He and his wife Maureen have been married 48 years.

•Larry Melton of Klaehn, Fahl, & Melton Funeral Homes, has been a funeral director for forty years, more than thirty of which have been spent in Fort Wayne. He has actively participated in many programs at Trinity Episcopal Church as well as many other boards in our community. He is passionate about his 3 “G’s”: genealogy, gardening and grandchildren.

•Max Montesino, Associate Professor, the Division of Organizational Leadership and Supervision at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in the areas of human resource development, cross-cultural organizational behavior, and applied leadership. A graduate of Western Michigan University with an Ed.D. concentration in human resource development, he worked for several years as a management development consultant in Latin America.

•Marilyn Moran-Townsend is co-founder and CEO of CVC Communications, a Fort Wayne-based company since 1981 that find the stories to convince, compel and create profits for the world’s leading businesses. She has also been recognized as “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Inc. Magazine and Ernst & Young and, in 2001, was named Indiana Business Leader of the Year. She has served as chairperson for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Allen County and many other civic groups which helped her earn the distinguished Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 2004.

•Marsha Roehling serves as Relationship Manager in the Business Banking Group at Chase working with customers whose annual revenue ranges from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000. A Fort Wayne native and graduate of Central Catholic High School, she began her professional career at People’s Trust Bank and, as she says, “37 years and seven bank mergers later” she’s still there.

In addition to these nine individuals, Jennifer Balliet-Milholland, a Marketing Manager for Lincoln Financial Group, was named to the board in March. A Fort Wayne native, she earned degrees from The University of Saint Francis in English and Fine Art, studied abroad at Oxford University, and received an A.M. from The University of Chicago, where she studied medieval literature and culture.

 

There were two recent appointments from the community to The History Center board:

 

•Matt Mertes was appointed to our board by Fort Wayne Community Schools. A graduate of Snider High School, he earned his bachelor degree in Political Science from Indiana University and a Master’s degree in education from Indiana Wesleyan University. For the past 14 years, he has taught government and economics at Elmhurst High School. His son Jeffrey just completed 2nd grade at St. Joe Elementary School.

•Brian Schaper was recently appointed to our board of directors by the Allen County Commissioners. He is also president of Metro Real Estate.