The Indiana Academy 2009 Inductees

Click for full resolution |
KEITH E.
BUSSE
Born: April
19, 1943
Fort Wayne,
Indiana
Resides: Fort Wayne,
Indiana |
|
Keith
Busse is the founder, former president and CEO,
and current chairman and CEO of Steel Dynamics,
Inc. After twenty-one years as vice president
and general manager for Nucor Corporation, he
founded Steel Dynamics in 1993 in Butler,
Indiana, setting an international record by
building the plant in fourteen months with only
$280 million. The start-up business surpassed
any previous steelmaking effort anywhere in the
world. In 2002, his Columbia City, Indiana, mill
began operation and became the nation’s most
profitable structural steel mill in operating
income per ton. His re-start of a Pittsboro,
Indiana, mill in 2004 produced outstanding
profits in only four months.
Following
several other acquisitions, in 2007 Keith
purchased for $1.1 million Omnisource
Corporation, one of the nation’s largest
processors of metallic scrap. With the
Omnisource addition, the company has the
capacity to generate $6-$8 billion in net sales
and is listed in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and NASDAQ
100 indexes. In 2008, SDI was named "Most
Admired Company" by
Fortune
magazine.
Keith has
earned multiple prestigious awards from the
national iron and steel industries, including
"Steel Man of the Year" and "Steel Maker of the
Year," as well as the highest civilian award
given by the Indiana Governor — the Sagamore of
the Wabash. In 1997, he was listed in
Business
Week as one of the country’s "Top 10"
entrepreneurs and, in 2002, received the "Man of
the Year Free Enterprise Award" from the
National Association of Builders and
Contractors. He was a national finalist in Ernst
& Young’s "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" in
1997 and "Young Entrepreneur of the Year in
Manufacturing" in 2003.
Establishing a new national fundraising record
for the Leukemia Society of America, he was
named the organization’s "Man of the Year" in
1992. His extensive charitable work also
includes chairing the National Kidney Foundation
Cadillac Open and serving on the boards of
Junior Achievement and the Community Foundation,
both of Fort Wayne, and the boards of the
Northeast Indiana Corporate Council and Regional
Economic Development.
He is a
member of the boards of trustees of the
University of Saint Francis and Trine University
and of the athletic board of directors at IPFW
and serves as director for Tower Financial
Corporation and Tower Bank. He is a past
chairman of the American Iron and Steel
Institute and the Steel Manufacturers
Association.
Keith
holds two bachelor’s degrees, one from Saint
Francis College in business finance and the
other from International Business College in
accounting; an MBA from Indiana University,
where he earned the
Wall Street
Journal Award for Academic Excellence; and
three honorary doctorate degrees, one in
engineering from Purdue University and two in
business ― one from the University of Saint
Francis and the other from Trine University.
The father
of five, as well as a proud grandfather, Keith
lists among his hobbies athletics, sports cars,
and firearms. |
|
|

Click for full resolution |
LOUIS E.
GERIG
Born:
December 24, 1945
Anderson,
Indiana
Resides: Indianapolis,
Indiana |
Lou Gerig is
president of Sease, Gerig & Associates, located
in Indianapolis. He and his partners Dr. Gene E.
Sease and David Sease purchased the firm,
formerly called Howard S. Wilcox, Inc., on
January 1, 1987.
He previously was vice
president of public and governmental relations
for Merchants National Bank & Trust Co. of
Indianapolis, now National City Bank Indiana,
from 1982 to 1987.
In 1981
and 1982, he was a member of President Reagan’s
administration, serving as an assistant to White
House Press Secretary James Brady, where he was
in charge of all non-Washington press not
covering the White House on a regular basis. He
also served as a special assistant to the
Commissioner of Customs.
Lou went
to Washington in 1978 as press secretary for
U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) and
served in that position for more than three
years.
He also
served as director of public relations at the
University of Indianapolis from 1972 to 1978,
before joining Lugar’s staff.
He was a
teacher in the North White School System from
1968 to 1972. His first teaching job was at
Reynolds, where he taught sixth, seventh, and
eighth grade history and coached all sports. He
was a reporter for the
Monticello Herald
Journal from 1970 to 1972.
Lou is the
former chairman of the Indianapolis Public
Transportation Corp. He also was chairman of the
local, national, and regional media coverage of
the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis. He
has served on the board of trustees of Christian
Theological Center and the Wishard Foundation
Board. He is a past member of the board of
directors of the Indiana Chapter of the Leukemia
Society of America, Inc. and has served as a
member of the Local Organizing Committee of the
Big Ten Men and Women’s Tournaments.
Lou is a
graduate of Anderson University and was named
the university’s "Outstanding Alumnus" in 1981.
He is the chairman of the Anderson University
Board of Trustees, having just completed his
fifteenth year with the last eight as chairman.
He is a member of the Indianapolis Press Club.
He serves on the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis
Board of Directors and was previous chairman of
the Benjamin Harrison YMCA. He was named "Man of
the Year" at the Benjamin Harrison YMCA.
Lou and
his wife Beverly are the parents of two
children, Nataly Lane and J. Tyler, and
grandparents of Grace, Davis, and Sam. He is an
avid runner, having run several mini marathons
and one marathon at the age of 57, and enjoys
reading. |
|
|

Click
here for full resolution |
F. JOSEPH
LOUGHREY
Born:
October 27, 1949
Holyoke,
Massachusetts
Resides:
Columbus, Indiana |
|
Until his
retirement on April 1, 2009, Joe Loughrey was
with Cummins Inc., the world’s largest
independent diesel engine manufacturer, based in
Columbus, Indiana, for over thirty-five years.
In 2008, he was named vice chairman of Cummins
Inc.; he served as president and chief operating
officer from May 2005 through July 2008; and as
a member of its board of directors since 2005
and the board of The Cummins Foundation since
1992.
Joe also
served as chief technical officer and as group
president ― industrial for the engine business
from 1996 to 1999. He was named president of the
engine business in 1999, a position he held
until May 2005.
During
Joe’s career, Cummins grew into a Fortune 250
company that serves customers in more than 160
countries through a network of 5,000 distributor
and dealer locations. Cummins’ 40,000 employees
generated more than $14.3 billion in sales in
2008. Almost 60 percent of those sales were made
outside the United States. The company also
produced almost 900,000 diesel engines, with
about half of those manufactured outside the
United States.
Along with
his responsibilities at Cummins, Joe, a 1971
graduate of the University of Notre Dame, is
recognized as a leading proponent of advanced
manufacturing, both in Indiana and nationally.
He serves on the board of trustees (chairman
2005-2007) of The Manufacturing Institute, the
educational arm of the National Association of
Manufacturers, as well as chairman of Conexus
Indiana, an organization dedicated to promoting
advanced manufacturing and logistics in Indiana.
He also
serves on the boards of Sauer-Danfoss, Inc.;
Hillenbrand, Inc.; the Lumina Foundation for
Education; AB SKF; and the Community Education
Coalition in Columbus. He is vice chairman (and
next chair) of the Advisory Council to the
College of Arts & Letters at the University of
Notre Dame and chairman of the Energy Systems
Network.
His honors
include being named to the Irish America
Business 100; Distinguished Alumni Honoree for
Massachusetts Boys’ State 60th Anniversary;
AIESEC Lifetime Achievement Award; Volunteer of
the Year – Association of Retarded Citizens; and
in 2007, he received the Achievement Award for
Business from the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in
the United States and the Dick Johnson
Leadership Award from the March of Dimes. He was
named Indiana Global Business Person of 2007 and
named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Mitch
Daniels in 2008. He also received the Ellis
Island Medal of Honor in 2008. In 2009, he was
given the John F. Kennedy National Award by the
St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke,
Massachusetts, and the William R. Laws Human
Rights Award by the Human Rights Commission of
Columbus, Indiana.
Joe and his wife Deborah
are in the process of moving from Columbus to
downtown Indianapolis. Their son, Blair, is
about to begin his second year of residency in
ophthalmology at the Indiana University Medical
School. Joe’s most enjoyable hobby is sea
kayaking. |
|

Click
here for full resolution |
JOHN C.
SCHROEDER
Born: July
21, 1947
Evansville, Indiana
Resides: Evansville,
Indiana |
|
John
Schroeder is president and CEO of Wabash
Plastics, Inc. and Crescent Plastics, Inc. Both
companies are family-owned and located in
Evansville. John’s father and grandfather
founded Crescent Plastics in 1949.
Crescent
Plastics produces custom profile extrusions for
the appliance and greeting card industries,
along with other products. Wabash Plastics is a
custom injection molder, serving the appliance,
automotive, and HVAC industries.
John
serves on the boards of these companies, as well
as a third family-owned company, Cresline
Plastic Pipe Co., Inc., also founded by John’s
father.
John
graduated from Wabash College in 1969 with a
degree in economics and earned his MBA from
Indiana University in 1971.
Since
receiving his MBA, he has worked with the family
companies, first in sales and marketing and then
becoming president in 1990.
John
joined the University of Evansville Board of
Trustees in 1990. During his time on the UE
board, he served as chairman of the Student
Affairs Committee and Harlaxton Committee. He
was chairman of the board from 2005-2008.
In 1992,
John was elected to the board of trustees of
Wabash College. During his time on the Wabash
board, he has served on a number of the board
committees. He has always been active with
Wabash College admissions in the recruitment of
young men to Wabash.
In
addition to his work with Wabash College and the
University of Evansville, John serves on several
volunteer boards in the Evansville area. These
include the Evansville Regional Business
Committee, the Signature School Foundation
Board, the Evansville Rehabilitation Center
Board, Keep Evansville Beautiful, and the
Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
Superintendent’s Business Council.
He
currently serves on the board of Anchor
Industries in Evansville and the Louisville
Branch of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Board.
John and
his wife Diane (Butler ’71) have three children
and one grandchild. His son Scott is a third
generation graduate of Wabash College. |
|
|

Click here for full resolution |
RALPH D.
TRINE
Born:
November 21, 1941
Albion,
Michigan
Resides: Angola, Indiana |
|
Ralph
Trine serves as chairman and CEO of Vestil
Manufacturing Corporation of Angola, Indiana.
Founded by Ralph’s father, Vestil Manufacturing
moved from Albion, Michigan, to Angola in 1982.
The company, which initially offered two
products for the automotive industry, now offers
more than 5,000 different items in the area of
dock, drum, and material handling equipment, as
well as ergonomic solutions.
Over 300
employees and 500,000 square feet of warehouse
and manufacturing space combine for the
engineering and production of new products.
Innovation has propelled the company from sales
of $300,000 in 1966 to $75 million in 2008.
Vestil now has manufacturing relationships with
two affiliates in Mexico and has doubled sales
through a Canadian partner. Construction of a
60,000 square-foot addition to the company’s
Angola facilities created 104 new jobs. The $8.2
million expansion is the second in three years
in northeast Indiana. Also in progress is the addition of 200,000 square
feet to a Guangzhou, China operation.
Six years
ago, Vestil added an all-terrain, powered
wheelchair to its product offerings and now also
manufactures pediatric equipment for handicapped
children. The company has signed a contract with
the Italian company ORMESA, the largest
manufacturer of equipment for handicapped
children in Europe, to become its exclusive
United States agent. These developments
emphasize Ralph’s business philosophy, "You get
stagnant quickly if you don’t evolve."
Ralph is
an ardent supporter of Trine University, where
he has served on the board of directors since
1990 and been recognized with the university’s
most prestigous award, The Pillar of Success.
Four years ago, the University hired an
educational marketing firm from Minneapolis to
help enhance its reputation as a premier,
private institution. The firm strongly suggested
changing the name of the university because of
the ambiguity of its name at that time,
Tri-State. In 2008, the Trine family became the
university’s largest single contributor and the
TSU Board decided that any name change should
include the name "Trine" in recognition of the
family’s past and present support. On August 1,
2008, Tri-State University officially became
Trine University.
The Trine
family also made possible for the university the
Trine Welcome Center in Forman Hall; the railway
theme in Centennial Station, a gourmet café; and
the Trine Villas, allowing TSU to offer modern
student housing.
Land Ralph
donated to the State of Indiana has become known
as the Trine State Recreation Area, and funding
for the YMCA has resulted in the Trine Aquatic
Center. His crowning donation to the community
and state is the family’s gift to Pokagon State
Park of the Oakhill Conference and Retreat
Center, 203 acres of woods, lakes, rustic cabins
and buildings. The land includes rare natural
resources like the blue flag iris and mature oak
trees at its site north of Angola. Other family
gifts include the Trine University Performing
Arts Building and a new building for the Steuben
County Community Foundation.
Ralph
earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical
engineering at Tri-State College and his MBA, as
well as a second BSME, at Michigan State
University. He also holds an honorary doctorate
of engineering from Trine University.
Ralph and
his wife Sheri have two children and seven
grandchildren. Ralph is a nature and animal
lover and has been on the Steuben County Humane
Shelter Board for fifteen years. |
|
|
|

Click here for full resolution |
ANDREW
"ANDY" STEFFEN
August 2,
1924 ― April 4, 2008
Indianapolis, Indiana |
|
Andrew
"Andy" Steffen was an attorney with the
Indianapolis law firm of McHale, Cook and Welch
(now Bingham McHale) from 1988 until his
retirement in 2003. Prior to that, he was a
senior vice president at Ameritech’s corporate
headquarters in Chicago, where he assisted in
the formation of Ameritech pursuant to the
requirements of the court-ordered break-up of
the Bell System. While at Ameritech corporate,
he served on the boards of directors of
Wisconsin Bell and the Ameritech Foundation.
On
returning to Indianapolis and the practice of
law in 1988, Mr. Steffen became active with the
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, serving many
years on its board of directors and executive
committee and later on its foundation board.
Recently he was elected a life member of the
orchestra’s board of trustees. During his life,
Mr. Steffen established an endowment that will
continue to provide funds for an annual concert
series by the orchestra.
He
attended St. Joan of Arc Grade School and
Cathedral High School and later received both
undergraduate and law degrees from the
University of Notre Dame. While there, he was a
contributor to various university literary
publications and was editor-in-chief of the
Notre Dame Law Review. After graduation, he
worked for the U.S. Department of Justice in
Indianapolis, first as a law clerk to Chief
Judge William E. Steckler and next as assistant
to United States Attorney (later Governor)
Matthew E. Welsh. Later he joined the law
department of Indiana Bell, where he held
various legal and management positions,
including that of vice president.
During
these years he was active in a number of
community organizations, serving on the boards
of Concord Center Association (and as its
president) and of Indianapolis Settlements, Inc.
He was one of the founders and incorporators in
1957 of the Junior Achievement program in
Indianapolis and served ten years as a member
and officer of its founding board. Over the
years, he was active in and supportive of the
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra as previously
mentioned, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, the
Indianapolis Children’s Choir, the Eiteljorg
Museum, and the Indianapolis Zoological Society
and White River Gardens.
In June of
2005, Mr. Steffen established a major new
endowed scholarship fund at Marian College,
which will continue to provide full annual
tuition grants to a number of financially
disadvantaged students. These scholarships are
designated Cardinal Joseph E. Ritter
Scholarships in memory of the late Cardinal, who
was a long-time friend of the Steffen family.
Mr.
Steffen was honored as a Sagamore of the Wabash
by three sitting Indiana Governors ― Matthew
Welsh, Evan Bayh, and Joseph Kernan. In May
2006, at Marian College commencement ceremonies,
he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree of
humanities.
For many
years he owned and raced thoroughbred horses. He
was one of three breeder-owners of Wolf Prince,
a colt that competed in the English Derby at
Epsom Downs in 1993. He was a member of the
Keeneland Club (Lexington, Kentucky), the
Thoroughbred Club of America, and the National
Museum of Racing at Saratoga Springs, New York.
He served
in the U.S. Army Infantry in World War II and
was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Heroic
Achievement in France in 1944.
Mr.
Steffen is survived by two sisters, both of
Indianapolis, as well as ten nieces and nephews. |
Return to the Academy page.
Updated 06/1/2009.
|