The August/September 2023 issue of Evansville Business includes one of our most popular special advertising sections, Leading Women in Business. It is a terrific opportunity for businesses of all sizes to feature the talented women who own and work for many of the area’s finest companies. Having worked directly with so many tremendous women, it pleases me to recognize their many contributions.
It also makes me pause to think of the women of Tucker Publishing Group over the years. When we founded the company in 1999, we didn’t specifically set out to have an overwhelming majority of female employees — around 95 percent. They have come to us in so many ways: through internships or external searches, or by showing up at the office or a chance meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Jenny Roe, that is you.) Our still-great friend Prudence “All That and a Bag of Chips” Hoesli said, “What about me?” when we asked her who she might know for an account executive position. She subsequently worked alongside us for seven years.
Our senior advertising account executives, Jennifer Rhoades and Jessica Hoffman, are identical twins and were written about (I must have been short of ideas) in my April/May publisher’s letter, “The Frequent Visitors.” See them on page 61 of August/September 2023 issue issue, too. They might look friendly and nice, but … OK, they are. Mostly. Sometimes.
We all get the opportunity to work together and learn the nuances of each other’s lives. We are a small company, and I would not trade the friendships we’ve made, both past and present. I was just reminded of that last week when I returned from a trip and discovered our office-wide music streaming service on the R.E.M. channel. “Laura, I know you were here last,” I said, regarding who set the channel. “How did you know?” was the reply of longtime creative director Laura Mathis— even though we both knew damn well that the other knew. And those types of relationships make coming to work every day fun for me. I even can work alongside my wife and have now done so for 24 years. (What an opportunity for her!) Please take a moment to stop and appreciate the leading women in your life.
I sure am sorry that my friend (and yours, if you knew her) Jan Howell passed away. Jan was the longtime owner of Emge’s Deli and a terrific person who I always was glad to see. (She would have said otherwise about me.) Jan was involved in everything under the sun and a true community champion. I can easily still see her in Emge’s holding up a spoon in the kitchen, saying, “Tucker, come try this.” I know I and others will miss her.
Editing this issue, I saw an In the News brief about Linda White receiving an honorary degree in engineering from Terre Haute, Indiana’s Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Linda serves as a trustee and was presented the award during the school’s spring 2023 commencement. This prompted me to think back to the 1990s when I met Linda in my prior career in surgical sales. Linda is the former longtime president and CEO of Deaconess Health System. She “retired” in 2017, only to come back and take the reins at Deaconess Henderson Hospital and quickly execute significant improvements in 2020 after the Deaconess and Methodist Health affiliation was announced. Linda recently was named the Rotary Club of Evansville’s 2022 Civic Award winner. Add that and her recognition by Rose-Hulman to her status as a Junior Achievement of Southwestern Indiana Business Hall of Fame laureate, among other honors.
Linda is one of the most influential leaders our city has known. An overused descriptor is “servant leader,” but she is the true definition – and someone who gets things done.
As always, I look forward to hearing from most of you.
Todd A. Tucker, President
