Mike Braun graduated from Jasper High School in 1972. He lettered in three sports (football, basketball and track), served as Senior Class President and received the Outstanding Senior Boy Award.
After high school, he went to Wabash College earning an economics degree, graduated summa cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also served as President of the Student Body.
In 1976, Mike entered the Harvard Business School and earned an M.B.A. in 1978. In May of that year he moved back to Jasper accepting a position with Aristokraft. In 1979, he co-founded Crystal Farms, Inc. which has expanded over the years to become one of the largest turkey operations in the tri-state.
In May of 1981, he began his entrepreneurial career accepting a position with Meyer Body Company, eventually becoming sole owner and converting it into a distribution concern. Meyer Distributing now has nearly 800 employees with 65 locations in thirty- eight states. He is also owner of Meyer Logistics, a sister company that services all Meyer customers plus third party warehouse and transportation needs. Meyer Distributing has received numerous industry awards from various manufacturers as well as the coveted SEMA 2010 & 2015 “Distributor of the Year†award. He was awarded the Dubois County “Entrepreneur of the Year†in 2014.
Mike spends most of his spare time engaged in forestry related activities. He took the Purdue short course years ago and actively manages several tracts of timberland. This includes tree planting, timber stand improvement along with hunting and fishing on these properties. He and a co-owner were awarded the Charles Deam and Pioneer Forestry awards for woodland management.
Mike is a board member of Conexus Indiana Logistics Council (Southwest) and the Mid- State Corridor Development Corporation. He is a member of the Nature Conservancy, Indiana Woodland Owners Association and Quail & Upland Game Alliance. He has coached many youth sports in the past and served on the Jasper School Board from 2004 to 2014. He was recognized as an outstanding alumnus in 2008.
In November of 2014, he was elected as an Indiana State Representative serving District 63. He serves on Ways & Means, Roads & Transportation and Government Reduction Committees. He was a co-author of the House Transportation Bill in 2016 and 2017 and House Sponsor of SB128 concerning regional infrastructure projects in 2017.
Mike and Maureen Braun have been married for forty years and have four grown children, Jason, Jeff, Ashley and Kristen. Jason, Jeff and Kristen work with him at Meyer Distributing. Mike and Maureen are members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
