The City-County Observer is excited to announce that Ben Shoulders is our “Outstanding Community Services Award” winners for 2019.

 Three years ago Democrat Benjamin Shoulders ran for the Vanderburgh County Commissioner and was elected by a comfortable margin.

Since his election, he has been extremely effective in promoting good public policy and has seemly been a voice of reason and compromise. Mr. Shoulders has demonstrated that he can face difficult governmental challenges with an open mind.

Commissioner Shoulders is extremely outgoing and is from a well respected and prominent political family of this area.

He is a Commercial Lender III at Banterra Bank and has been in banking 16 years.

Ben received his college degree from Indiana University (Bloomington) – Bachelor of Arts ’02 CJUS (College of Arts and Sciences). He was graduated from Harrison High School–Magna Cum Laude (College Prep).

He received his certification from Indiana Bankers Association – Bank Management Series in 2010 and the Indiana Bankers Association – Commercial Lending School (2011 Graduate).

Ben is married to former Shannon Perrette of Evansville for 11 years and they have three (3) children.  Emma who is 9 years old and 6 years old twins Parker and Sadie and they reside in Evansville.

Some of Ben’s favorite things he enjoys doing are coaching youth basketball and taking his family to a local restaurant and eating fish tacos and drinking slushies.

His Community involvement Is Very Impressive. Listed Below Are Some Of Them

Vanderburgh County Commissioner – District One (Elected – Nov 2016; took office – Jan 1, 2017)

GAGE (Growth Alliance of Greater Evansville) – Board Member (2018 – present)

Commission on Homelessness – Board Member (2017 – 2018)

Past Community Corrections – Board Member (2017)

Old Courthouse – Board Member (2017 – present)

Domestic and Sexual Violence Commission – Board Member (2017 – present)

IU College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Board (2014 – present)

Boys and Girls Club of Evansville – Board President (2018 – present); Vice President (2016 – 2017)

EVSC Foundation Board of Directors – Vice President (2013 – 2018)

Darrell Ragland Foundation Board of Directors – Board Development Chair (2014 – 2018)

United Way – Keel Club (2014 – 2018); Southern Indiana Campaign Cabinet Member (2016)

Past “EVSC Hall of Fame” – Co-Chairman (2012, 2014, 2016)

IU Alumni Association of Greater Evansville – Past President / Board member 

Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Commissioners – Board Treasurer (2014 – 2015)

Past member of the Habitat for Humanity of Evansville – Development Committee 

Current Leadership Evansville Board of Directors (2011-14; 2018 – present)

Harrison High School /Warrior Athletic Booster Club – Past President (2010 – 2013)

Harrison High School Athletic Hall of Fame – Founder and Past Chairman

WNIN Channel 9 Auctioneer (2011 – 2015, 2017, 2018; ”Red Blue Hoops” radio show co-founder and past co-host 2014-16)

Past member of the Evansville African American Museum Gala – Auction Committee 

 Below Are A List Of Mr. Shoulders Current And Past Awards and Honors:

Top Producer/President’s Award – First Federal Savings Bank (2010 and 2011)

Community Service Award – Fifth Third Bank (January 2013)

Most “Starz” Volunteer Hours in Evansville Market – Old National Bank (2014, 2015)

Selected as a Top Performer for Old National Bank (2015) 

Chamber of Commerce Drive – “Big Dawg Award” (most memberships sold)

Past Recipient of the President’s Award for Community Service – Boys and Girls Club 

Selected as  a “Top 20 Under 40” – Evansville Business Journal/Evansville Courier and Press in September 2011

Selected as “Top 20 Under 40” – News 4U Magazine (2015) 

Involved in 100 Men Who Cook — Chef -Evansville (2012- present)

Past Vanderburgh Medical Alliance Annual Style Show – Master of Ceremonies

This year’s awards luncheon will be held at Tropicana-Evansville Walnut rooms A and B. The registration begin at 11:30 am, the event officially starts at 12 noon on October 25, 2019. Reservations for this event maybe obtain by calling 812-774-8011. Deadline for registration is October 15, 2019. Last years event was a sellout.

We hope that today’s “READERS FORUM” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way?

Todays“Readers Poll” question is; If the election was held today for the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor who would you vote for?

If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us City-CountyObserver@live.com

The Levi Allen Pension Update Rally was held to go over current actions and future plans for their pension fund. Currently, the United Mine Workers of America’s Pension Fund program is suffering from a drastic loss due to the great recession. They say that small communities are just as dependent on miner’s pension check as the miners themselves, and if this fails, towns like Evansville will certainly take a hit. The UMWA has described their current situation, as a crisis. They also continue to worry that their pension fund could be nonsolvent in about four years.

Senator Joe Donnelly spoke at today’s event along with Levi Allen. The Senator says ‘These miners worked their whole lives to keep our country moving forward to keep our economy growing and we made a promise that we make sure these pensions were set and so my job is to make sure that promise is kept.” The UMWA stresses that if their pension fund fails, other unions like The Teamsters and The Bakery Union will follow in their footsteps.

The committee will continue to hear suggestions until September 18th and are required by statute to make a recommendation by the end of November.

In regard to the closing of Harrison College, below is a statement of support from Ivy Tech Community College Evansville Campus for its students:

Officials at Ivy Tech Evansville said the college is ready to help Harrison College students, if possible. There are several programs at Harrison College that may align with programs offered at Ivy Tech.

Ivy Tech also is offering more courses that begin October 15. To learn more about these programs, or other classes that are available, students are advised to come to Express Enrollment Day on September 19, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the main campus at 3501 N. First Avenue, Evansville. To RSVP for the event, go to IvyTech.Edu/EEDay. Students can also see classes that are offered beginning Oct. 15, by going to the Evansville tab on that page.

Boots, blankets, sweatshirts and many personal hygiene items were given out to help those who may be sleeping outside in the cold winter months. All items were donated and the goal is to make sure these veterans are taken care of and not forgotten.

Evansville VA Homeless Case Manager Dave Swenson says, “A lot more of our vets wind up homeless than anybody else statistically speaking and you know they’ve done their service to our country most of these guys. It’s nice to be able to give them a little hand up, come out here and support them and show them we care about them even though they may be a forgotten segment of society. We still know who they are, we care about them, we wish them well, and we want to try and give them a hand up.”

The ‘Stand Down for Homeless Veterans’ event isn’t just here in the Tri-State.

Groups across the country held similar events over the past week.