Chamber dinner successful
Jan. 27—BATESVILLE — Batesville celebrated a Night Full of Stars at this year's Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Thursday evening at The Hall-Knights of Columbus in Batesville.
Four awards were given out and hundreds of supporters and area business-people attended the celebration.
Knights of Columbus staff catered the event and Snikkers and Peanuts provided desserts. Cotton candy was placed on each table from Party Time of Batesville.
To begin the awards ceremony, Dana Cassidy presented the Educator of the Year award to Cindy Weisenbach. Cassidy said Weisenbach has been a face of the third grade at Batesville Community School Corporation for the last 29 years. She was instrumental in the development of a community garden at Batesville Community Garden.
Weisenbach expressed the importance of having teachers who were instrumental in her own life. Her first teacher inspiration was Mrs. Hartman, her second grade teacher at Napoleon Elementary.
"What makes her stand out in my mind... was how she made me feel," Weisenbach said. "It used to be cool to have a big comb hanging out of your pocket, but coming from a family of seven I never had the privilege of owning my own, personal comb... And one morning I came into school, sitting on my desk was a brand new comb, just for me, and I looked confusingly at her and I can still see her face smiling at me and she gave me a wink. I knew from that moment on, I wanted to be a teacher just like her."
Next, Anne Amhrein presented the Organization of the Year award to Kim Porter on behalf of the Batesville Memorial Public Library. Amhrein described the library as a treasure in the local community and Porter and her team as shining jewels.
"When I interviewed for this job and they [the library board] asked me if there was anything I'd like to ask them," Porter said in her acceptance speech. "I asked them where they'd like to see their library in the future. Mark Sanger spoke up right away and said they'd like to be the best library in the state of Indiana... That's the calling that was placed on me and their staff and that is what we are striving for."
The library has a staff of 13 plus five high school pages and Porter said they're extremely proud of the amount of work they complete with that small team.
The Distinguished Service Award was presented by Amy Streator to Marie Dausch. Streator called Dausch the epitome of an unsung hero.
"When I received my invitation to this event and then I read who the recipient was of the Distinguished Service Award, I was ecstatic," Streator said.
Dausch thanked the Chamber, her friends and family and mostly the people of Batesville for embracing and being a part of the lives of those she serves through her position. Dausch works as the Executive Director of New Horizons Rehabilitation, Inc., a non-profit agency serving individuals in Southeastern Indiana with developmental and intellectual disabilities since 1968.
"They, like us, just need support now and then," Dausch said. "We sometimes get passed that level of support but sometimes they need it their entire lives. And that's what we do: we work hard and tirelessly to help them to achieve and reach their dreams."
Annette Hunger presented the final award of the night to the Freudenfest Committee for the Volunteer Organization of the Year Award. The Freudenfest Committee likely had the largest group of attendees and they recited poems, asked the entire assemblage to perform the funky chicken dance and sang an ode to Oldenburg during their acceptance.
Freudenfest Committee Chairman Eric Heppner accepted on behalf of the group. Freudenfest means "festival of fun" and Heppner said that is always their goal.
"It's not just Freudenfest, it's all things Oldenburg," Heppner said. "I was drawn to these people and this group because their hearts are in the right place."
Contact Josie Clark at josie.clark@greensburgdailynews.com or 812-651-0873.
