BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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Temporary library branch opens on the West Side
By John Martin
Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library has opened a temporary West Side location while its Red Bank branch is razed and rebuilt.
EVPL Red Bank Express at 4905 University Drive is open Monday-Saturday. It includes a portion of Red Bank’s collection of books and other materials, plus public computer access, printing and copying, a drive-thru materials return, and pick-up for items requested from other EVPL locations.
Funded from a $12 million bond issuance, the new Red Bank site “will be a substantially larger, more modern library, designed to meet the growing and changing demands of the western portion of Vanderburgh County,” says EVPL CEO-Director Scott Kinney.
Although the Express location doesn’t have meeting or study spaces, EVPL officials say those will be abundant in the permanent branch under construction. Opened in 1991, Red Bank was renovated in 2006 and flagged for an overhaul in the library system’s 2021 Master Facilities Plan. The new location will nearly triple to about 20,000 square feet and have capacity for nearly 80,000 items. EVPL is working with MKM architecture + design, which also designed the renovated McCollough Library.
NEW HIRES/PROMOTIONS
Maxwell Tucker joined Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., in February as Digital Operations Manager, coordinating digital sales and content operations. The Reitz Memorial High School graduate earned a Bachelor of Science in 2020 and a Master of Business Administration in 2022, both from Butler University in Indianapolis, where he resides.
Jonathan Aldridge is the University of Southern Indiana’s new director of athletic marketing and fan engagement, leading branding initiatives, marketing communications, community activities, and game experiences. He was USI’s assistant men’s basketball coach since 2020. Marna Hostetler has been promoted from services director to dean of USI’s David L. Rice Library. Hostetler joined USI in 2012. Barry Cox owner of The Cox Group in Mount Vernon, Indiana, was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Mike Braun, filling the remainder of a four-year term held by former Toyota Indiana president Tim Hollander. Mads Kaiser is USI’s new men’s soccer coach. He comes from Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, where his teams went 22-16-11 over three seasons.
Monique Dozier has been appointed assistant vice president for development at the University of Evansville. The Harrison High School graduate most recently was vice chancellor for university advancement and foundation president at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. UE also named Joe Atkinson the director of Evansville NewsLab, a UE ChangeLab focused on civic journalism and community engagement. Atkinson left a UE faculty position in January 2024 to serve as Mayor Stephanie Terry’s communications director.
The Vanderburgh Humane Society promoted Lauren Stuckey to clinic manager. The alumna of Gibson Southern High School and Purdue University joined the VHS clinic team in 2020 and succeeded departing Clinic Manager Austyn Stock in February. Stuckey will oversee the clinic’s 6,000-7,000 surgeries annually.
The Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science promoted Kaman Hillenburg to curatorial affairs and collections manager. She has been with the museum since 2010. Tarrah Kopka, who has been with the museum since 2011, was promoted to visitor experience manager. Savanah Summerfield was promoted to curatorial assistant; she started with the museum in 2023.
The Evansville Fire Department promoted Dalton Gray to lieutenant on Engine 14. Gray joined the department in 2020, serving at Station 1. He is also a member of the EFD’s hazmat and rope teams.
Jack Barnes joined Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance as an agent in its Evansville office at 1010 W. Buena Vista Road. Barnes graduated from F.J. Reitz High School and Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana.
Sycamore Land Trust has named Alex Sienkiewicz executive director. Sienkiewicz was previously district ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, managing the Yellowstone Ranger District of the Custer-Gallatin National Forest in Montana. The nonprofit he now leads is dedicated to preserving southern Indiana’s national landscape through land conservation, habitat restoration, and environmental education.
Departures
Blake Shockley has left his role as Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden’s marketing manager to take a job with the San Antonio Zoo. He had been in a full-time role at Mesker for four years after having a part-time role while attending Central High School.
Mike Labitzke, Evansville’s city engineer, has left after working 16 years in Evansville city government to take a position in Bloomington, Indiana. He was retained as city engineer when Mayor Stephanie Terry took office in January 2024; before that, Labitzke was director of the Water & Sewer Utility’s Program Management Office.
Seyed Mehdi Shokouhzadeh retired as executive director of the Evansville Metropolitan Planning Organization on March 31 after more than 45 years with EMPO. He helped expand Metropolitan Evansville Transportation System service to include Sundays and offer METS Micro, led a collaboration with the Indiana Department of Transportation to implement $150 million in improvements to the Lloyd Expressway corridor, and developed the regional pavement management system that brought $65 million in state investment.
AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS
Andy Martin, managing director of SVN The Martin Group, has been inducted into the 2025 Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame by REjournals, recognizing his leadership, performance, and impact across the industry.
The office of Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers donated more than $57,000 to five community organizations. After a defendant in a recent fraud case was ordered to pay restitution, the prosecutor’s office chose Vanderburgh Humane Society, Holly’s House, Little Lambs, Parenting Time Center, and Youth Resources of Southwestern Indiana to split the funds.
Indiana Members Credit Union was named by Newsweek as one of America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions. Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group recognizes the most trusted institutions nationwide based on financial data, customer feedback, press coverage, and app and social media reviews.
Bridgitte Danhauer received the 2025-26 University of Southern Indiana Alumni Service Award, which is determined by the USI Alumni Council. A 2008 alumna with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and professional services, Danhauer is director of client services at Pettinga Financial Advisors and has served on the Romain College of Business Accounting Circle since 2018, acting as chair from 2022-24. She volunteers as a guest speaker for many USI student organizations. Eight students from USI’s art and design departments also won awards at the 2026 American Advertising Awards, showcasing professional and student art entries in the Tri-State area.
The University of Evansville’s FORWARD capital campaign surpassed its $125 million goal with a total of $130,470,925. UE officials believe FORWARD represents the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in southwestern Indiana history. More than 15,000 alumni, friends, corporations, and foundations supported more than 500 initiatives throughout the campaign, expanding access to education through scholarships, strengthening experiential learning opportunities, supporting inspirational faculty, and advancing transformative capital projects. UE also announced that Barbara J. Kolb Price, a 1966 alumna, bequeathed $2 million to establish an endowed faculty chair in the Robert and Judy Decker Wargel Department of Chemistry. The resource will support retaining distinguished faculty, encourage innovation in the classroom, and elevate student success and achievement within the department. An estate gift of over $1 million to UE from the late Patrick L. Roberts and the late Christine (Sowinski) Roberts will support scholarship opportunities reflecting the couple’s lifelong commitment to service, integrity, and the transformative power of education. Christine graduated from UE in 1973.
UE’s High School Changemaker Challenge committed more than $1 million in scholarships since its inception, and three winners were announced following the recent 10th annual event. First place (a full-tuition UE scholarship) went to Noma Ohonba and Chaz Burkett of Signature School for their HelpingHands platform to make volunteering more convenient; the second place award (a $27,000 UE scholarship) was won by Lucy Howe of Reitz Memorial High School and Elodie Thomason of Signature School for Team Promise, proposing a co-ed or all-girls flag football league in the Evansville Promise Neighborhood; and the third place team (a $25,000 scholarship) was Jaini Haria and Adria Saha of Signature School, whose VeraWell for Women app provides a secure way for victims of domestic abuse to reach licensed health and mental-health professionals through private chat or video. UE expanded its ChangeLab program to the high school level for the first time, marking a milestone in youth-led innovation and community change. Howe is the first high school student ever to earn class credit for a changemaking project prior to graduation through UE’s ChangeLab program.
Ivy Tech Community College Evansville will offer a new Certified Clinical Medical Assistant Program in its Frank L. Hilton M.D. School of Health Sciences beginning in summer 2026. A new partnership with Deaconess Health System will provide space in its Midtown campus for classes and work-based learning opportunities. Ivy Tech also announced it has received a $192,105 Empowering Employment Grant from the United Way of Southwestern Indiana. The funding will be used as part of Ivy Tech’s work-based learning program, which provides workforce training and professional certifications in specific areas of study.
Recent donations by the D-Patrick family of automotive dealerships include D-Patrick Ford Lincoln’s $2,500 gifts to Evansville Senior City Golf and Vanderburgh County CASA, a $1,500 check from D-Patrick Honda Helping Kids to Borrowed Hearts and Sleep In Heavenly Peace, D-Patrick Motoplex’s $1,000 donation to Carver Community Organization, and $1,000 from D-Patrick Boonville Ford to Boonville Bands.
GROWTH/DEVELOPMENT
The Evansville Promise Neighborhood welcomed its first cohort of new program partners: Ascension St. Vincent Evansville, Carver Community Organization, City of Evansville and Mayor Stephanie Terry’s office, Community Action Program Evansville, J.D. Sheth Foundation, Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville, Old National Bank, Southern Indiana Mentoring Academy, Welborn Baptist Foundation, and YWCA Evansville. EPN now is a network of 33 organizations.
The University of Southern Indiana and Amcor launched a partnership to spark student-led packaging innovation. The semester-long project for spring 2026 unites students and faculty with Amcor professionals to co-create practical packaging concepts that address real industry needs. The project, coordinated through USI’s Center for Applied Research, has seven student participants supported by four faculty mentors as well as industry experts from Amcor.
ORX Tolling Body, newly formed to set policy and rates for electronic tolling on the Interstate 69 Ohio River Crossing, had its first meeting on March 3. The initial rates are expected to range from $3.14 for a passenger vehicle with a prepaid account and transponder to $18.62 for a large vehicle without an account or transponder. The rates mirror those anticipated to be in place for tolled bridges in Louisville in 2032.
GROWTH/DEVELOPMENT
The District, a 254-unit apartment complex on South Second Avenue in Princeton, Indiana, opened its second phase during a ribbon-cutting attended by Gov. Mike Braun and Mayor Greg Wright. The second phase added 110 apartments to the existing total of 144. The District received $2.5 million from Indiana’s READI 1.0 program and $2.975 million from READI 2.0.
