Business Spotlight
Signature, Please
Hope Jordan’s mobile notary service makes signing documents a breeze
by Maggie Valenti
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hope Jordan noticed a gap: the lack of an easy way to get documents certified. After a 20-year career in the health care sector, she started Greater Evansville Mobile Notary, a bi-state service that allows people to get their important documents notarized from any location.
“I just thought about what would happen if this [mass business closings] were to happen again, and what could I do that would be needed by people despite there being a pandemic,” she says.
Certain documents cannot be signed remotely, and sometimes the onus is on customers to locate a notary public to verify their signatures. Online databases can aid the search — the National Notary Association recommends FindaNotary.com — and several Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library branches, as well as the UPS store on East Indiana Street, offer limited in-person services. In contrast, Jordan provides an essential service to people with mobility or transportation challenges.
The bulk of her business is derived from documents related to real estate closings, powers of attorney, trusts, living wills, advanced health care directives, and estate planning. As a notary public, verifying signatories’ identities and witnessing them penning their sig- natures are her top priorities. She has established relationships with Deaconess Health System social workers and Solarbron senior living facility, but says she can meet anyone, anywhere they would like.
“I’m always glad that I could help someone with their need…They are so appreciative and just so grateful,” she says.
New Hires/Promotions
Nathan D. Charnes has been elected Vice President of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. The 2001 University of Evansville graduate, who played NCAA Division I golf while attending UE, is general manager and director of golf for WingHaven Country Club in O’Fallon, Missouri.
Timothy M. Burke Jr. has joined Old National Bancorp as president and chief operating officer, taking the role of Mark Sander, who earlier this year announced his retirement. Burke will oversee Old National’s Commercial, Community and Wealth segments, and Credit and Marketing teams. He and his family will reside in Evansville, and he will maintain offices in Evansville and Chicago. Burke has been in banking for nearly 30 years and most recently served as Executive Vice President of the Central Region and Field Enablement for the Commercial Bank for a large Midwestern super-regional bank, where he was responsible for the full range of commercial banking in 12 markets, including those in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.
Hafer has made three hires, all of whom are University of Southern Indiana alumni. The architec-tural firm hired Jasper, Indiana, native and electrical engineering graduate Benjamin Hochgesang as an electrical engineer. Former Hafer intern Cedric Schleiss also joined the company as an electrical engineer, while Jillian Sorensen, an Evansville native, will use her public relations and advertising background as a marketing assistant.
The Evansville Fire Department promoted Mike Kane to deputy chief of EMS, Matt Agan to lieutenant, Eric Jamison to battalion chief, and Chad Beckham to captain.
Jagoe Homes has promoted former vice president of operations, Brad Jagoe, to chief executive officer. During his time with the company, Jagoe has led advancements in operational efficiency, construction quality, and customer experience while introducing new home technology platforms and strengthening the company’s builder warranty and EnergySmart initiatives. Jagoe also expanded the company’s presence in the Kentucky and Indiana markets. As CEO, Brad Jagoe intends to enhance the homebuyer experience, expand digital innovation, and reinforce energy-efficient, move-in-ready homebuilding.
Intelity Wealth, a financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, announced the promotion of Nathan Taylor to Financial Advisor at its Evansville office. Taylor joined Intelity Wealth in March 2024 after working previously at Kaiser Aluminum, RJ Corman Railroad, PFL Logistics, and CSX.
University of Southern Indiana named Jenn Horn the director of its Honors Program and Themed Learning Communities. She had been the interim director of those programs since May 2024 and began working at USI in 2012 as an instructor in English and liberal arts. USI also named Abeer Mustafa its vice president for Student Affairs. She comes from the University of Tennessee Southern in Pulaski, where she was senior advisor to the chancellor. Governor Mike Braun appointed Michael Solliday as a student trustee for a two-year term, succeeding Fouad Hamami. The Switz City, Indiana, native is a computer science major with a minor in computer information systems and will serve through June 30, 2027. Mike Mikulski has been named interim director of Technical Services and Information Technology and will provide strategic leadership and oversee operations and service management for the service desk and Tier One support for USI technology and at the USI IT Help Desk, plus manage technical operations.
Kara Yates has been named the executive director of Talent EVV, a talent attraction and economic development initiative under the umbrella of the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education and teaching and Master of Science in educational administration, both from Indiana’s Oakland City University. Yates also recently was accepted to Cohort 12 of the Business Leads Fellowship Program, a six-month U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to develop business leaders to be education and workforce champions in their community.
William “Bill” Johnson has replaced Bob Jones, former CEO of Old National Bank, as the chairman of the University of Evansville Board of Trustees following the completion of Jones’ four-year term. A UE alumnus, Johnson currently serves as a professor of leadership and practice at Lipscomb University’s College of Leadership and Public Service in Nashville, Tennessee, and previously was the president and CEO of Farm Credit Mid-America.
University of Evansville extended the contract of Director of Athletics Kenneth “Ziggy” Siegfried through 2030. Siegfried came to UE in spring 2022. UE also has appointed Yolanda Obaze, associate professor of supply chain management, to be associate dean of the Schroeder Family School of Business Administration, and Jared Fulcher, associate professor of mechanical engineering, as associate dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science. UE also welcomed a new head softball coach, Bailey Dillender, who
held the same job at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, since 2017, leading the team to appearances inthe NAIA World Series the past three seasons. She previously was an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville as well as at her alma mater, Campbellsville University in Kentucky. She was one of the top players in Campbellsville history, earning Mid-South Conference 1st Team All-Conference accolades in each of her four years and also serving as team captain.
First Bank has hired Denise Utley as a mortgage specialist. The Mater Dei High School and University of Evansville graduate has 25 years of experience in the banking sector and serves as a Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley board member and Board Development Committee member.
The Reitz Home Board of Trustees has appointed Joseph Lutz as the Reitz Home Museum’s executive director, succeeding Natalie Singer, who filled the role starting June 2024 and has since joined Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation as director of sponsorships and giving. Lutz was the museum’s curator since being hired in June 2024 and previously was a part of the Peace Corps in Moldova, where he was the community and organizational development advisor and provided technical assistance to the Jewish History Museum of Moldova.
Orthopaedic Associates has added Dr. Anson Chu to its team as a fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon. A Plano, Texas, native, Chu earned a bachelor of arts in biology from the University of Texas, then attended Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, Illinois, for medical training before his residency at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in Columbus as chief resident. He completed his fellowship at Coordinated Health-Lehigh Valley Orthopedics in Pennsylvania.
Mayor Stephanie Terry has appointed Kyle Fields, co-founder and managing partner of Bridge Alternatives, to the Evansville-Vanderburgh Airport Authority District board of directors. The Evansville native fills the vacancy left by Pete Paradossi and joins board president Rev. Adrian Brooks and members Paul Green, Kimberly Redding, and Paul Saunders.
Departures
Albion Fellows Bacon Center announced the departure of Executive Director Gina Gist, who had held the position since 2022, and the appointment of Julia Kathary as interim chief executive officer. Kathary has been with the agency for a decade, most recently as chief advancement officer. She also served as interim executive director in 2021.
Awards/Recognitions
Zach Mathis, direc-tor of marketing for Azzip Pizza, has been named to Network Media Group’s Top 35 Movers & Shakers: Marketing list, citing his work launching Azzip Pizza’s first rewards program in 2024, as well as his growth of the chain’s Pizza of the Month Club by 4 percent year over year. Mathis started at the Evansville-based franchise in 2014.
University of Southern Indiana’s appeal to shorten the school’s transition period to NCAA Division I athletics was approved June 23 by the NCAA’s Division I board of direc- tors. The NCAA’s decision shaves the final year off a four-year reclassification process and makes all USI athletic programs eligible to qualify for and compete in Division I championships. USI, which joined the Ohio Valley Conference in the 2022-23 season and began competing in Division I athletics that academic year, is the Hoosier State’s 11th Division I athletic program.
Lana Burton was the honoree at YWCA Evansville’s 2025 Tribute to Achievement dinner. Burton spent 40 years as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation’s Benjamin Bosse High School district.
Architecture firm Hafer was ranked 27th on Modern Healthcare’s list of Top Architecture Firms for total construction cost of health care projects completed in 2024.
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce named Matthew 25 AIDS Service third on its Annual Best Places to Work in Kentucky list in the small-sized company category, which includes companies with 15 to 149 employees. One hundred companies were recognized at this year’s annual awards.
Deaconess Health System’s Emergency Medical Services is one of 34 medical service agencies recognized through the Voluntary EMS Pediatric Recognition Program for 2024, awarded by the Kentucky EMS for Children Advisory Committee on May 21 as part of EMS
for Children Day. The statewide initiative encourages EMS providers to adopt paediatric emergency readiness best practices, including specialized training, equipment availability, and quality improvement to pediatric care. This is the third consecutive recognition for Deaconess EMS by the KYEMSC Advisory Committee.
University of Southern Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College Evansville received the inaugural Collegiate Purple Star of Indiana, awarded by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs. The award recognizes postsecondary institutions providing sup- port to students with U.S. military affiliations, including veterans and active duty service members, as well as their families. CPSI is awarded across three achievement tiers based on 37 standards across eight categories such as core institutional policies, financial and student support services, and career/community engagement. USI’s award is in the Tier 2 level of institutions; Ivy Tech’s award is in Tier 3.
Indiana Members Credit Union’s charitable arm, Indiana Members Foundation, hosted a charity golf scramble to benefit Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Foundation at the Evansville Country Club with 100 golfers. The event has raised more than $140,000 since 2021.
The Old National Bank Foundation donated $15,000 to Community One, Inc., to support the nonprofit’s work to transform neglected properties into safe homes.
The Deaconess Henderson Hospital Advisory Board, through the Deaconess Henderson Hospital Community Program Fund, presented $70,000 in grants on June 18. Organizations receiving funding included Audubon Kids Zone, Daniel Pitino Shelter, Father Bradley Shelter for Women & Children, Henderson Christian Community Outreach, Recovery Resource Club of Henderson, St. Anthony’s Hospice, and The Gathering Place.
USI graduate Eli Berger, a former engineering student, was selected as a fellow of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. This program recognizes and supports students pursuing full-time research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in STEM fields, providing three years of support over the five-year fellowship period. Berger will attend the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) to complete his graduate research. USI Professor of English Amy Montz received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to conduct research during the 2025-26 academic year in Manchester, England, United Kingdom, with a focus on nineteenth-century author Elizabeth Gaskell. During her six-month residency, Montz will affiliate with the University of Manchester, home of John Rylands Library, which houses the Elizabeth Gaskell Collection. Montz’s research will dive into Gaskell’s novels, short stories, letters, papers, Victorian textiles, fashions, and ephemera, emphasizing her perspective on gender, class, and nationalism and she will write “Two Lived Lives: An Autobiographical Survey of Elizabeth Gaskell and Her Works.”
The D-Patrick family of auto dealerships announced another round of charitable donations. D-Patrick Honda donated $1,500 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Indiana and the Evansville Junior Football League. D-Patrick Motoplex donated $1,000 to the Evansville Wartime Museum. D-Patrick Nissan donated $1,000 to Young & Established. D-Patrick Boonville-Ford gave $1,000 each to Impact Ministries, Southern Indiana Resource Solutions, and Warrick County CASA. D-Patrick Ford/ Lincoln donated $2,500 each to Colon Screening for Life and Evansville Christian School. D-Patrick Nissan awarded $1,000 to the Highland Baseball Challenger League.
United Way of Southwestern Indiana has donated $1.1 million to six non-profits. Evansville Christian Life Center was awarded $250,000; Dream Center Evansville was given $246,000; Community One, Inc., received $224,300; Habitat for Humanity of Evansville was awarded $192,749; Catholic Charities’ Neighbor to Neighbor Program received $94,000; and Hospitality & Outreach for Latin Americans (HOLA) was given $90,000.
The Henderson Chamber of Commerce awarded its 2025 Educator of the Year Awards. Jeremy Shultz of South Middle School was named Rookie of the Year; Courtney Welte of Bend Gate Elementary School earned Veteran of the Year; Jo Preston of A.B. Chandler was named Volunteer of the year; Mallory Bumb of Thelma B. Johnson Early Learning Center was honored as Education Supporter of the Year; and Laura Winstead of Henderson Community College was named Post-Secondary Educator of the Year.
USI’s Solar Splash team took home several honors at the World Championship of Collegiate Solar Boating competition in June in Springfield, Ohio. The seven-member team of engineering students earned first place in the sprint and slalom events and second place overall. Students designed and built a solar-powered craft from scratch using resources from across campus.
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation supported Ivy Tech Community College Evansville’s Ivy+ Career Link’s Adult Basic Education and English Language Learners programs with a $7,200 award to fund High School Equivalency testing for up to an additional 50 students. Ivy Tech Evansville was one of 14 Indiana institutions awarded a grant for 2025.
Diamond Valley Federal Credit Union has awarded $10,000 in college scholarships to local high school students through its 2025 Diamond Valley Scholarship. Scholarships were awarded to Chace Harmes of Signature School; Chase Griese of Mater Dei High School; Danika Dix of Central High School; Dawson Price of F.J. Reitz High School; David Walling of F.J. Reitz High School; Jaley Hamilton of Mount Vernon High School; Jessica Sisson of North High School; Jenna Smith of Castle High School; Ka’Liyah Naylor of Benjamin Bosse High School; and Olivia Deken of New Tech High School.
Growth/Development
The University of Evansville and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation broke ground on the Innovation Center for Science and Health at the former Welborn Clinic in Downtown Evansville on June 9. The facility will expand opportunities
for local high school and college students in science, healthcare, and medical fields. The private university also received $33,000 in grants from the Efroymson Family Fund. The funds will support the Efroymson Emerging Contemporary Artist Lecture Series ($9,000), a marketing intern ($2,000), a Bridge Year Fellowship ($10,000), a permanent collections
intern ($2,000), and the acquisition and exhibition of urban street art ($10,000). Lily Endowment, Inc., also awarded a $500,000 grant — part of Indiana Youth Programs on Campus Round II — to UE to expand its youth programming, including the Jr. TASL (Think. Act. Serve. Live.) Scholars Program, a year-round program that provides academic support, leadership development, and encourages parent engagement while serving as a pipeline to the UE TASL scholarship program for undergraduate students. This additional funding also will allow UE to further improve its STEM offerings, expand its arts curriculum, and provide more experiential learning through the We Grow Aces! vertical container farm, as well as parent and child workshops and leadership nights. UE also has rejoined the New American College and Universities network, a consortium that fosters collaboration, innovation, and student success among small, mission-oriented institutions. The university also received an estate gift of $100,000 from James and Marianna Vogel, establishing the James and Marianna Vogel Endowed Scholarship, providing financial assistance to undergraduates with demonstrated need.
YMCA of Southwestern Indiana is a recipient of the Paul Purcell “Kids Win!” Annual Baird Education grant. The $50,000 grant will support science, technology, engineering, and math programming at the CenterPoint YMCA on Evansville’s South Side.
Evansville Day School has received a $20,000 grant from the Efroymson Family Fund, which will be used to add new cameras and video equipment, a school-wide public address system, and a student creative suite subscription.
Orthopaedic Associates and Deaconess Health System broke ground on the new OA Surgery Hospital on July 16. The two-story facility on Deaconess’ Gateway Campus. will include five dedicated advanced operat- ing rooms, pre- and post-operative recovery areas tailored to orthopedic patients, and a pre-surgery optimization clinic. In a separate development, OA also launched an Advanced Foot & Ankle Fellowship Program on Aug. 1, with the goal of positioning Evansville as a regional hub for advanced orthopaedic training.
The Newburgh Town Council voted on July 9 to reject the proposed fire contract presented by the Ohio Township Trustee. The Town of Newburgh and Newburgh Volunteer Fire Department have provided fire protection to the unincorporated parts of Ohio Township since 2008. Newburgh officials say the change stems from the number of runs, which increased over the years from 50 runs to 648 in 2024, despite the affected Ohio Township residents not being charged more. The decision does not affect fire, EMS, or emergency service coverage or the unincorporated areas of Ohio Township, which will be serviced by the area’s combination of paid staff and volunteers. Mutual aid agreements between the Newburgh and Ohio Township fire departments remain in place and fully active.
Regional News
Ground was broken June 3 for the Bloomington Convention Center. The 100,000-square-foot center in the Southern Indiana city includes more than 70,000 square feet of meeting and event space and is intended to host conventions, conferences, trade shows, concerts, meetings, sporting events, and more. Completion is expected in 2027.
