Talk of the Town - Whitley County

(Talk of the Town photo by Kevin Nicodemus) Three local residents active in government, business and community activities have been selected as recipients of Upstate Indiana business journal's 2008 Future 40 Awards. From left are recipients Jim Banks, Eddie Beagles and Jennifer Zartman Romano. 

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The Upstate Indiana business journal is proud to announce the selection of the 2008 Future 40 honorees -- including four people with Whitley County ties. Presented annually, the Future 40 Awards are awarded each year to the region's most dynamic leaders in the areas of business, medicine, government & community organizations.

After reviewing over 170 nominations this year, 40 individuals from Northeast Indiana were selected as Future 40 award recipients by their peers. These 40 individuals have demonstrated their ability to impact the region in various ways from community service projects to work-related ventures, seeking to make Northeast Indiana a great place to live, work and play.

Whitley County is fortunate to have three local business people under the age of 40 recognized this year, including Eddie P. Beagles, Jr., of DeMoney Grimes Countryside Park Funeral Home, Jim Banks of The Wabash Group and Jennifer Zartman Romano of Talk of the Town. All three are members of Young Adults in Action (YAIA) and the Columbia City Chamber of Commerce.

O. Karl Behrens of BND Commercial is a Whitley County native and was also named as an award recipient.

While local residents have been nominated for the award in the past, this is the first year that any Whitley County residents have been named recipients of the prestigious awards.

In its fifth year, the Future 40 is an established program and event of Upstate Indiana, a partner publication of Fort Wayne Woman magazine, and is a regionally proclaimed event that seeks to recognize the best and brightest of those individuals under the age of 40 that embody the will and demonstrate commitment to family, community and work. This nomination-driven program has seen a variety of individuals, a mix of entrepreneurs, business professionals and non-profit leaders determined to make a difference in our Northeast Indiana communities.

An awards ceremony recognizing each of the Future 40 nominees will be held the evening of April 18, 2008 at the new multi-million dollar Sweetwater Sound facility on US 30 in Fort Wayne. Tickets to the awards ceremony are $45 and seating is limited. To purchase tickets, contact Linda Cottrell at (260) 969-0019 x 103 or linda@printpubhub.com.

Other 2008 Future 40 Honorees include Alisa J. Pearson of Barrett & McNagny, LLP, Alison Delicati of Indiana Tech, Andrew Welch of IPFW, Brian Loney of Sweetwater Sound, Buff Dormeier of Wachovia Securities Inc., Carrie Stuckey of Priority Mortgage, Chris Stewart of International Sales & Marketing, Craig D. Crook of TQM Network, Debra Moser of Fifth Third Bank, Derek J. Dyer of Dyer Health and Wellness, Emily Bermes of Solstice Coaching & Consulting, Gran Roberts of ACD Museum, Heather Schoegler of CB Richard Ellis Sturges, James Kelley II of Kelley Automotive, Jamie L. Garwood of the United Way of Allen County, John Meyer of Monarch Capital, Kelly Hagerman of the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Kelly Metzger, Mark A. Rosemond of Rosemark Flooring, Mark Bloom of Beckman Lawson LLP, Mark D. Scudder of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Matt Hibske of INdigital Telecom, Matt Kelly of One Lucky Guitar, Matthew D. Fortney of ICON International, Michael GeRue of Parkview Hospital, Nancy Steigmeyer of Time Services, Robert Patrick of 1st Source Bank, Ronald W. Hostetler of Wells Fargo, Scott Federoff of Federoff Law Firm LLP, Shannon McNett Silcox of the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, Shellie Goetz of Baker & Daniels LLP, Susan Trent of Rothberg Logan & Warsco, Tina DeMeritt of Tower Bank, Tina M. Bell of Miller Murphy LLP, Todd J. Stewart of One Resource Group Inc., and Wendy Martin-Glick of Aetna.