Curran Miller Auction / Realty, Inc. has been Evansville’s leading auction company for nearly 80 years. The firm was founded in 1936 by Curran Miller. A graduate of Reppert Auction School, Curran did not have the funds to pay tuition and instead wrote a letter to Fred Reppert, the founder of the school, asking him if he could pay the tuition fees back by working for Reppert after graduation. Reppert agreed and after Curran Miller repaid the debt he returned to Evansville. Though educated and financially free, he still faced tremendous odds by starting Curran Miller Auction during the Great Depression. Curran’s dedication to structuring honest and fair transactions for buyers while obtaining the highest sales prices for sellers allowed his business to succeed and flourish.  As his business grew, so did his experience, expertise, and reputation until Curran Miller Auction / Realty became known as the premier auction company in the area.  Respected by his peers, he was elected President of the Indiana Auctioneers Association.  In addition, Curran Miller was the first individual inducted into the Indiana Auctioneers Hall of Fame.

Eventually, Curran turned over control of the business to his son, Hugh Miller, who attended auction school at the age of 14.  Throughout his career, Hugh has worked tirelessly to advance the auction profession.  Hugh, who is one of the founders, considers the creation of Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI) as one of his greatest achievements. Regarded as the most prestigious designation for an auctioneer, the CAI award requires one week of schooling for three consecutive years at Indiana University in Bloomington. Hugh has also served as President of both the Indiana Auctioneers Association and the National Auctioneers Association and is a Hall of Fame inductee of both organizations. Hugh has continued to develop the business and adapt to the changing landscape of auctions in an online world. In order to spend less time in the office and more time traveling with his wife, Hugh Miller is developing a plan to transition the company to the next generation: his daughter’s Wendy Miller and Stephanie Miller-McKinney.

Wendy Miller, who attended auctioneer school five years ago, has since taken on a much larger role in the company, recently becoming the firm’s principle real estate broker. Born into the business, she learned the basics of the auctioneer chant by reciting tongue twisters (A big black bug bit a big black bear) during long car rides on family vacations. After graduating from the University of Evansville, Wendy moved to California, where she and her father founded CM Benefit Auctions, a division of Curran Miller that specializes in fund-raising auctions. During her time on the west coast, the firm had the pleasure of working with clients like the UCLA Athletic Department and the Los Angeles Opera.  The benefit auctions quickly became a passion of Wendy’s and she has traveled the country coordinating events since 1995.  Stephanie Miller-McKinney is both Secretary and Treasurer of the organization and coordinates the back office logistics.

The advent of the internet has revolutionized many industries and the auction industry has certainly been affected.  The new technology hurt many auction companies but Curran Miller Auction / Realty quickly adapted to the changing marketplace. In 2011, they joined the MarkNet Alliance, a national membership based network of auction companies. MarkNet consists of over 63 highly successful auction companies in 26 states & South Africa.   This affiliation provides many benefits for the companies under the MarkNet umbrella. MarkNet hosts websites for each company and provides the powerful online bidding platform, which combines each member’s buyer base into one large pool.  Currently, there are over 130,000 registered bidders in the system.

Wendy believes the popularity of online bidding, thanks to eBay, has changed the way the general public views the auction process in general.  “It seems as though the public’s perception of the auction industry has really shifted in the past few years,” said Wendy. “For many years, auctions, especially when they involved real estate, had a negative connotation.  If a home was offered at auction, people thought there was a problem, either with the property or the owner.  Through education & outreach, professionals in our industry have worked hard to combat that stigma and I am seeing positive results from their efforts.  Sellers have begun looking at auctions first instead of as a last resort and potential buyers don’t automatically assume the worst.”

Wendy and her sister, Stephanie, are optimistic about the future of Curran Miller Auction / Realty as the company transitions to the third generation.  In the past year alone, Wendy received two Indiana Auctioneers Association marketing awards and oversaw one of the largest, most challenging personal property auctions in the company’s history.   “The Whittington Estate contained an incredible collection of items spanning four centuries from around the world.  In that auction, we sold everything from two 18^th century Samurai armors to a 9’ long polar bear rug to fine French antiques.  It took 5 months to prepare for the auction, but it was truly an amazing, once in a lifetime experience.”

Both women are extremely passionate about their work and are proud of the company’s rich history and the Miller legacy.  Over the course of eight decades and three generations, the family’s dedication to innovation and excellence has established Curran Miller Auction / Realty, Inc. as a premier home owned, home grown business.

By Roy M. Arnold MD

As the population ages, the number of persons living with dementia is increasing. This column will discuss the most common causes of dementia, how they are manifested and how they may be delayed or prevented. First, what is dementia? Dementia is the acquired and persistent manifestation of brain function affecting recent memory, decision-making, and expressive speech sufficient to impair daily functioning. It may initially express itself as misplacing things, forgetting conversations or repeating questions. Speech may be impaired by not being able to find the right words for an action or object. Decision-making impairment may be manifested by forgetting to pay bills or disorganization.

The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease which is characterized by accumulation of amyloid plaques and a tangling of nerve fibers in the brain. It accounts for 60-80% of all dementia and is the fifth most common cause of death in the US. The second most common cause of dementia is Vascular Dementia which accounts for 10-20% of cases. It is caused by recurrent tiny vascular occlusions throughout the brain causing mini-strokes. When the damage becomes widespread, dementia can result. The remaining 10-20% of cases are caused by a variety of conditions such as Lewy body disease, frontotemporal dementia, alcoholism, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease and normal pressure hydrocephalus. Rarely infections or nutritional deficiencies may cause dementia. Fewer than 2% of cases of dementia are due to a correctable cause such as infection, normal pressure hydrocephalus, nutritional deficiency or depression.

Dementia is rare prior to age 50, occurs in about 2% of those aged 60-69, but increases to 20-25% in those aged 80-89. The sex distribution is equal in males and females, however in absolute numbers more women are afflicted because women tend to live longer.

Dementia is usually diagnosed by clinical examination and by history. Special testing such as neuropsychologic testing or brain imaging is often performed. Unfortunately, treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia is limited. Only 2 categories of drugs have been studied in treating Alzheimer’s dementia. First are cholinesterase inhibitors such as Aricept, Exelon and Razadyne. Multiple studies have shown that these drugs can delay the progression of mild cognitive impairment 12-24 months. In the long run however they do not have an effect on overall cognitive decline, disability or death. The second class is NMDA inhibitors of which only one, Namenda is approved in the US. This drug works through a different neural pathway and can improve short term memory function, and decision-making temporarily. It’s effects are not long-lasting and are similar to the cholinesterase inhibitors. Neither of these categories of drugs have been thoroughly studied in other types of dementia, although they are commonly used off-label for those disorders. Several studies have shown promising results using anti-oxidants such as Vitamin E and beta-carotene. More studies need to be done before any firm conclusions can be drawn about the efficacy or lack thereof.

How can persons lessen their chances of developing dementia? First and foremost, the healthier one is entering the seventh decade of life (60+) the less likely one is to develop dementia. Physical conditioning through exercise has a protective effect against dementia that lasts as long as the physical conditioning continues. Being at or near Ideal Body Weight also has a protective effect.

Intellectual activities and cognitive training can stimulate brain function and delay the onset or progression of dementia. Reading educational books, magazines or online publications, brain games, learning a new skill like another language, a new pastime like knitting, cooking or gardening can improve cognitive function later in life.

Social activities like volunteer work, civic or social clubs, or even political activities can lessen cognitive decline.

Healthy diet is important in maintaining overall health, as well as building cognitive functioning. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, high in protein and with limited amounts of animal fat and alcohol can delay the progression from normal intellectual functioning to cognitive impairment. This effect may be related to the higher antioxidant content of such a diet.

In summary, get fit, stay fit, eat healthy, interact socially, and stimulate your intellect. Even if mild cognitive impairment already exists, these steps have been shown to substantially delay progression. Those of you with loved ones who are experiencing early signs of cognitive impairment, should encourage them to engage in some of these activities after consulting with their healthcare providers.

The Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) has a wealth of information on their website and a local chapter. They can be found on the web at www.alz.org/kyin

Tuesday, March 11 – 7:00PM

VICTORY THEATRE

TICKETS ON SALE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5 AT 10AM

Evansville, IN – Lightwire Theater, known for their signature brand of dazzling visuals, poignant storytelling and music designed to evoke imagery, will launch “LIGHTWIRE: THE SHOW” at Victory Theatre Tuesday, March 11 at 7PM. Since their appearance as semi-finalists on “America’s Got Talent” in 2012, Lightwire Theater has been entertaining audiences all over the world with their unique combination of dance, puppetry and technology. Lightwire Theater most recently performed at Ferrari World’s “Race as Fast as Light” in Abu Dhabi, as finalists for My TF1’s “The Best Le Meilleur Artiste” in Paris and recently returned home to New Orleans to

premiere “LIGHTWIRE: A VERY ELECTRIC CHRISTMAS.”

Lightwire Theater is a must-see theatrical experience for the entire family! Tickets to see “LIGHTWIRE: THE SHOW” go on sale Thursday, February 5 at 10AM.

Victory Theatre is managed by VenuWorks of Evansville, LLC. For more information about the Victory Theatre, visit:

www.victorytheatre.com www.facebook.com/VictoryTheatre www.twitter.com/Victory_Theatre

TICKETS ARE $15.00-$30.00

FAMILY FOUR PACKS AVAILABLE AT $40.00

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE FORD CENTER TICKET OFFICE, TICKETMASTER.COM, BY PHONE AT 800-745-3000, OR VICTORY THEATRE BOX OFFICE ON DAY OF SHOW.

The Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation will meet in executive session at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, February 10, 2014, in the John H. Schroeder Conference Centre at the EVSC Administration Building, 951 Walnut, IN 47713, Evansville, IN. The session will be conducted according to Senate Enrolled Act 313, Section 1, I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1, as amended. The purpose of the meeting is for discussion of collective bargaining, (2)(A);  initiation of litigation or litigation that is either pending or has been threatened specifically in writing, (2)(B); purchase or lease of property, (2)(D); and job performance evaluation of individual employees, (9).

The regular meeting of the School Board will follow at 5:30 p.m. in the EVSC Board Room, same address.