Evansville Living September/October 2025 by Evansville Living Magazine

Behind the Curtain

The arts scene bursts to life this fall, with packed calendars of theater, dance, music, and visual art. Find Broadway-inspired productions, Shakespeare, regional art fairs, and new exhibitions — a rich lineup of culture and creativity and something for every taste.

Best of the City

Votes are in, and 48 winners have been named for this year’s Best of Evansville awards. From shopping to dining, recreation to family experiences — plus a few shoutouts from Evansville Living editors — these standouts make the city shine.

One Level, Big Style

Kim Coslett and Dennis Walls wanted a home with tall ceilings, an open concept, and plenty of entertaining space — all on one floor. Their North Side custom build checks all their boxes and, with Coslett’s interior design experience, offers a vibrant living space.

the

ON THE COVER Lauren and Emma Comer take in Wild Summer Lights at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden. Readers named

97-year-old West Side destination this year’s Best Family Attraction, and its newest display — one mile of glowing Chinese lanterns — is drawing crowds. Read more about this year’s winners on page 38. Photo by Zach Straw

10 In Every Issue

From the Editor: Not the Worst … Conservation, creativity, and more things we learned about the zoo while producing this issue … Conversations with readers … Meet this issue’s contributors Where in the world is Evansville Living? … Olympic medalist swimmer Lilly King embraces retirement

21 The Bend

Roger Orth takes cycling competitions to a new level … Memories of Hotel Vendome and the Grein building still burn bright … Christine Peck’s Volkswagen buses reflect her longtime automotive passion … A new training facility helps sheriff’s K9s get fit for the field … Three new book releases to check out … Imagination fuels Joey Luzar’s artwork … A painting provides clues to Fort Branch’s pioneer origins … Rising jockey Brooke Bays belongs in the saddle … Plus, set your schedule with our events calendar

55 Dwell

Sutherland’s architecture and community bring Southern living to the Midwest … McCutchanville Garden Club celebrates 75 years … Luxury meets lakeside living at this Newburgh home on the market … Salvage Candy switches hands but keeps its quirky inventory … Plus, don’t miss the Home of the Issue

67 Savor

Casey’s Dugout gives every slice of pizza a home-run flavor … Road trip and sip at three Southwestern Indiana wineries

Jessica Nuffer slings drinks and more as Bokeh Lounge’s co-partner … A lifelong love of cuisine inspired Ryan Bodine’s fish-andchips food truck … Indulge in Kurdish and Turkish cooking at Marida Mediterranean Restaurant … Wrap it up with our directory of area restaurants, eateries, bars, and caterers

200 Final Detail

Philip R. Hooper on how travel changes your perspective globally and at home

Coming Soon

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Make each present special for those on your shopping list with local products and services

DOCTOR PROFILES AND EXCELLENCE IN NURSING

Discover the top medical professionals in the Tri-State who make quality health care their highest priority

26 | Number 6

Editor & Publisher

Kristen K. Tucker

President, Tucker Publishing Group, Inc.

Todd A. Tucker

Editorial

Jodi Keen Managing Editor

John Martin

Senior Writer

Maggie Valenti Staff Writer

Design

Laura Mathis

Creative Director

Chanda Ramsey Art Director

Sarah Morgason

Senior Graphic Designer

Advertising

Jessica Hoffman

Senior Account Executive

Jennifer Rhoades

Senior Account Executive

Logen Sitzman Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Circulation

Gregg Martin Distribution and Circulation Manager

Contributors

Kelley Coures

Brodie Curtsinger

Greg Eans

Philip R. Hooper

Charles Kiesel

Mark Mathis

Mitzi S. Morris

Audra Straw

Zach Straw

Timothy Weir

Alli Wuertz

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions are $18 for one year; $24 for two years; or $30 for three years. To start a new subscription, renew an existing subscription, or to change your address, visit elb.magserv.com; call 812-641-5919 or 818-286-3122 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday; or send an email to elbcs@magserv.com.

THINGS WE LEARNED

Not the Worst IT’S A ZOO OUT THERE

While traveling this summer with his wife, Monika, longtime magazine friend and contributing writer Art “The Dude” Woodward picked up several city publications. He stopped by our offices last month to visit and deliver a package, including one of his finds: the July 2025 issue of Boston magazine — the Best of Boston issue. His timing couldn’t have been better. We were deep into work on the 2025 Best of Evansville issue, and reviewing peer publications always sparks inspiration.

Boston’s feature package — wrapped around the 50th anniversary of the movie “Jaws” — differs from Evansville Living’s in that Editor’s Picks comprise the majority of the feature (and we don’t have sharks in the Ohio River … maybe). Boston’s editors possess the voice of authority in selecting the “best” and note they “spent the last year circling Boston like sharks on the hunt … for your annual guide to everything worth your time and money in the city and beyond right now.”

For 24 years, Evansville Living has polled readers on the best places to eat, drink, shop, and play. At the same time, our team discusses possible Best of Evansville editors’ picks. We select up to 10 honorees in categories we create to shine a light on things, organizations, or people we think are deserving but would not likely fit a typical readers’ poll category.

Brainstorming this year on editors’ picks, we came up with a few categories that were a tad snarky. Talking it through, we realized that choosing things that were annoyances would appropriately go in a “Worst of Evansville”-type story. Some city magazine colleagues counter their “Best of” competitions with an ancillary story on the “worst.” In fact, we noted after we received Art’s package of magazines, Boston closes its issue on a page called “On the Other Hand …” with a roundup of the “Worst of Boston.”

It’s not in our mission to focus on the worst of Evansville — though if we did, traffic woes would top the list. With the city in the midst of a $10 million-plus plan to improve and pave streets, the massive Lloyd4U Project to overhaul the east/west corridor, the full-block construction Downtown on The Vault at Fourth and Main streets, and the sinkhole that formed on Riverside Drive in late February, driving in Evansville has been challenging. Certainly no one would have disagreed if traffic challenges had made a “Worst of Evansville” list.

This summer’s weather also would be an entry. I’ve felt a bit cheated by summer 2025. First, June was extraordinarily rainy; then came the heat. As of Aug. 25, Evansville had recorded forty nine 90 degree-plus days. As this issue went to press, the heat dome stalled above us and a huge swath across the U.S. finally broke, and we were treated to nearly fall-like temperatures.

But you won’t read about any of that in this issue. We’ve stayed with the original playbook to recognize truly the best, direct from Evansville Living readers. Our list isn’t created by influencers or an arbitrary social media account. It is tabulated from the choices of folks with skin in the game — people who live, work, and play here in the River City. I hope you enjoy this issue.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you!

Kristen K. Tucker Editor & Publisher

Evansville Living staffers recently were reacquainted with Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden on the opening night of Wild Summer Lights, a glowy display of Chinese lanterns (page 38).

We were reminded that the zoo is a bit of a workout — hydrate, wear comfortable shoes, and leave proud of your steps count. Additions such as the Kinney Family Penguins of Patagonia exhibit in 2021 and Budgie Walkabout in 2019 have brought newness to a property that’s three years away from its centennial.

It’s a place that cares deeply about conservation and animals. That is evidenced by the longstanding care of Friday, a female Bactrian camel who sadly was euthanized in August, nearly a year after receiving a lifesaving plasma transfusion that zoo veterinarian Sam Bradley described to Evansville Business

The 45-acre zoo includes spots to admire nature’s beauty, such as the Southwestern Indiana Master Gardener Association’s Family Garden. Lake Victoria is the zoo’s centerpiece and is open for paddleboat rides. And in February, 9,603 guests dodged winter’s chill inside the 75-degree Amazonia’s four-week Orchid Escape annual exhibit.

Mesker is taxpayer-owned; according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, 26 percent of its accredited member institutions meet that definition. It needs substantial private support to thrive — some comes from 7,700 current members, and adults can volunteer their time as docents for guests.

— John Martin

kristenktucker letters@evansvilleliving.com

PHOTO

Evansville Living staff

“I appreciated your magazine taking a chance on this story. The article filled me with immense joy that words can’t describe. This recognition is a perfect way to celebrate my 15th anniversary as an employee with the museum this September. Collections management work seldom gets recognized, and it is my pleasure to lift the curtain and show our behind-thescenes work with your readers.

Kaman Hillenburg, collections manager at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science

Summer’s Funner in Southern Indiana

July/August 2025

On the cover! Always love an opportunity to team up with creatives at Evansville Living magazine.

Corey and Casey Wilkinson, owners of Wilkinson Brothers graphic design firm

‘Learn as You Go’

July/August 2025

A huge thank you for sharing our story. We are so blessed to have so many dear friends and family that we get to share this adventurous ride with. Never a dull moment down on the farm!

Nikki Davis, Evansville

Into the Woods

July/August 2025

Great job by both Staff Writer Maggie Valenti and Photography Fellow Brodie Curtsinger. Thank you for making it such an easy and pleasant process.

Susan Tromley, Evansville

Most Beautiful Homes

May/June 2025

On behalf of John and myself, I’d like to thank you and the staff of Evansville Living. The article on homes in Evansville, which included our new place, was a delight to see. We’ve had so many compliments from readers having seen your article. I appreciate the kindness and professionalism of all involved. Also, congratulations to you and the staff on twenty-five years of serving Evansville. Cindy Fehrenbacher, Evansville

Measuring Up

May/June 2025

That’s a great article! Evansville Living really did a nice job with the pictures to go with it. … Wow!

Peggy Head, Evansville

Mark Mathis

“Brooke Bays’ long journey to become a full-time thoroughbred jockey has been anything but smooth. But she has the perseverance and drive to make it.”

Mark Mathis is a longtime sports reporter and editor at the Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro, Kentucky, where he lives with wife Laura, the creative director of Evansville Living. Find his interview with rising jockey Brooke Bays on page 28.

Mitzi S. Morris

“I’m a sucker for good wine and great scenery.”

Besides vino, Perry County, Indiana, native and fellow Owensboro resident Mitzi S. Morris enjoys hiking, reading, and listening to podcasts. The former Channel 14 WFIE producerturned-freelance writer takes readers on a Southwestern Indiana winery tour on page 70.

Philip R. Hooper

“Travel reminds us that our hometowns thrive when we open ourselves to the wider world.”

Evansville real estate agent Philip R. Hooper blends storytelling and uncommon insight with passions for public policy, culture, and connection. He reflects on transformative visits to Singapore and Bali, Thailand, on page 200.

MARK

PHILIP R. HOOPER PHOTO BY JORDAN BARCLAY

Feeling Proud

Jesse Ramsey of Evansville, son of Art Director Chanda Ramsey, and the 2025 issue of Evansville Living City View joined the Pride Parade in Helsinki, Finland, in June while Ramsey was visiting his bestie and former Indiana University roommate in the Finnish capital.

Sister Cities

Newburgh residents Steven Wu, his wife Julie Lim, and their son Duncan Wu, stopped by Evansville’s sister city, Osnabrück, Germany, and brought with them the January/February 2025

Bop to the Top

Jim and Sabine Wathen ventured from their Evans ville home to Savannah, Georgia, in July to watch their eldest granddaughter, Hazel Pleiss, compete in the Platinum National Dance Competition. Beside Hazel is her sister, Charley, holding the May/June 2025 issue.

Honeymoon on the High Seas

University of Evansville Theatre Department Chair Sharla Cowden and Centenary College of Louisiana Professor Emeritus of Theatre Don Hooper celebrated their marriage with the March/April 2025 issue on a honeymoon voyage on the Queen Mary 2 in May and a two-week tour of London, England, and Paris, France.

Evansville’s Ellen Hegeman and other area residents joined a group tour in June along the coasts of Ireland that took in sites in Dublin, Belfast, Galway, and more cities. Kilkenny Castle is the majestic background in this photo that includes the May/ June 2025 issue — and several folks sporting Evansville-branded shirts with an Irish twist.

The Journey West

Evansville’s Yvonne and James McCullough spent their 25th wedding anniversary in the Pacific Northwest. While on Whidbey Island in Washington before taking a cruise to Alaska, the McCulloughs — including their children Lydia and Luke — took a photo at Saratoga Woods with the May/June 2025 issue.

Towering Moment

On a June trip to England, Stephen and Debbra Dunning Brouillette of Evansville popped by the Tower of London and snapped a photo with a Beefeater and the May/June 2024 issue.

Life Beyond The Pool

Olympic swimmer Lilly King embraces newfound freedom in retirement

By John Martin, with Jodi Keen

Lilly King isn’t swimming a lot these days. After years in the spotlight and with her time in constant demand, the six-time Olympic medalist retired after her last race Aug. 3 at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

She’s doing weekend swim clinics, some public speaking, and planning an autumn wedding to former swimmer James Wells. Beyond that, she’s enjoying a luxury that world-class athletes don’t often receive: an opportunity to take it easy.

“That’s kind of the beauty in this,” King, 28, tells Evansville Living. “I’m going to be bored for a while. Lots of people figure out what they want to do when they’re 18-23. Now, I’m going to figure out what I like to do. … I’ve been very fortunate making a living swimming, so I’m good for a bit.

I’ll live in Bloomington for the next year. My fiancé is applying for an astrophysics fellowship program, so wherever he’s accepted, that’s where we’ll go next.”

She’s taking it easy but not loafing around. “I’m walking my dogs and going for casual runs. I’ve got about two months until our wedding, so I need to stay in shape,” she laughs. “But finding the new normal, that’s been the theme.”

As far as swimming’s concerned, King says she accomplished all she wanted, although she misses her Indiana University coaches, as well as staff and teammates at USA Swimming. “What I’ll miss the least is my body hurting all the time,” she says.

Read a full Q&A with Lilly King at evansvilleliving.com.

Lilly King is enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle in Bloomington, Indiana, where the Evansville native and fiancé James Wells are planning their wedding and tending to their dogs. They are pictured in mid-August enjoying a

TO END ALZHEIMER’S – SOUTHWEST INDIANA

Don Woehler of Evansville was 64 when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease after a difficult journey. His symptoms were misdiagnosed at first, and finding no specialized care locally, he had to travel to Indianapolis and Bloomington to receive treatment.

Now, after a year of lecanemab infusions — a new Alzheimer’s treatment — his memory is holding

steady. And, he and his family have become fierce warriors in the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

They’re grand champions for the walk. They’ve raised almost $14,000 using Don’s story to spread awareness and encourage everyone in their community to join them.

“I want to beat this. I’m not giving up. I want to be that first survivor,” Don said.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR BRAIN HEALTH

September 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day, a global effort to raise awareness, challenge the stigma of the disease, and promote brain health. Here’s what you can do:

ADOPT HEALTHY HABITS

Reduce your risk by exercising, not smoking, challenging your mind, and controlling your blood pressure and diet. It’s estimated that up to 40 percent of dementia cases could be delayed or reduced with healthy lifestyle choices.

LEARN THE WARNING SIGNS EARLY

Besides memory loss, other symptoms can signal cognitive decline, like altered judgment, mood swings, and challenges in decision-making, planning, and executing projects. If you notice changes, see a doctor.

BE PROACTIVE IN ADDRESSING MEMORY AND THINKING PROBLEMS

With the development of anti-amyloid drug therapies, a new era of hope has emerged for Alzheimer’s disease treatment and care. These treatments, while not a cure, can slow down the progression of the disease, making it more important than ever to prioritize early detection, diagnosis, and intervention.

4 . GET

INVOLVED

Volunteer, donate, or join the Walk to End Alzheimer’s –Southwest Indiana. Visit act.alz.org/Evansville to learn more.

The Bend

POINT OF VIEW

GRIT, GEAR, AND GLORY

Roger Orth had enjoyed riding bicycles since his youth and went full throttle into racing in 2018. Competitive in all he does, Orth — who ran track and cross country at Boonville High School — has completed gravel bike racing’s marquee challenge, Unbound Gravel XL, five times. The chief administrative officer at Welborn Baptist Foundation explains what drives him and the lessons he shares with others. 

PHOTO BY BRODIE CURTSINGER

Roger Orth rides a Lauf Seigla gravel bike, and he is a brand ambassador for INFINIT Nutrition and for Pactimo, a clothing company.

350 Miles, Zero Quitting

Roger Orth battles rough terrain to claim a coveted prize

You mentioned that Unbound’s XL distance is 350 miles in rural Kansas. How do you stay motivated for the long haul?

There’s lots of time with no one to talk to along the way, but one thing that’s really cool is how the people of Emporia and those surrounding towns do not leave you by yourself. There are people out all night cheering. Imagine from Evansville, if you would make a 350-mile loop, how much ground you’d cover. The people of that area, they embrace the event … they’re out on ATVs, handing out water. And Fireball. And beer. [Laughs].

What are the keys to completing such a long distance?

Describe completing a race entirely on gravel and rough terrain. Sometimes it’s on gravel, sometimes it’s on dirt. You’re literally some of the time on a two-wheel path going through herds of cattle. In the 2023 race, we had a lot of rain, a lot of mud. You’re out there covering so much distance that one area might be dry and other areas totally wet. This year, I finished in 25 hours and 5 minutes … and I ended up crashing at mile four of 350. I went down pretty hard: scraped up knees, scraped up elbow, hit my shoulder. It hurt. … It’s like, OK, I’ve hurt my shoulder again. [He broke his collarbone in the 2022 Unbound Gravel XL.] I’m gonna get back on the bike and figure out if I can do it or not. I’ve only got 346 more miles to go. I got it done. … I ended up separating the shoulder, a grade-three separation. The ligaments are torn. … I’m never going to claim to be a smart guy. Just determined and competitive.

There’s another guy that does really crazy stuff, lots of distance. I’ve ridden with him at races before. And he says, the race doesn’t begin until 200 miles. Because at 200 miles, most people, their body is going to be trash. That’s when they’re going to go, “I quit. I can’t do it anymore.” That’s the wall that you’ve

THE IRON SKILLET

By John Martin

got to bust through. That’s probably not going to be your only wall [laughs], but it’s one you’ve got to get past. I tell people it really is a mental exercise to get to the finish line. As far as physical training, it’s just a lot of time on the saddle leading up to the race. It’s at the end of May, and typically by then I have about 7,000 miles in.

You’re 55. What do you recommend about fitness to others your age?

The important thing is movement. I know a lot of people will be intimidated by what I do. It’s just getting out and doing whatever you do. You don’t need to ride the kind of miles that I ride, as long as you ride, walk, run, play pickleball … it is just movement. And weightlifting is important especially at our age.

What’s the community of gravel cyclists like?

This year I started a Telegram group … we’ll chat and share information because, ultimately, I want everybody on the (starting) line to finish. While we’re all competitive, it’s really a camaraderie. [Roger’s wife, Katie, intervenes here: “Roger has people from all over the U.S. and from other countries who follow him and ask questions. They want to pick his brain … he’ll always say, one, you have to get time in the saddle — get on and ride. And then the other thing is, you’ve got to believe you can do it. Anyone who wants to join can come share ideas and ask questions. It’s a no-judgment zone.”] unboundgravel.com

The Orths both are involved in Unbound Gravel (which used to be called Dirty Kanza): Cyclists score race spots through a lottery, but Katie’s volunteer hours at Unbound enable Roger to earn a guaranteed entry. Many cyclists have finished Unbound’s 100- and 200-mile routes. Rog er’s latest finish on May 31 was his fifth at 350 miles and earned him the inaugural membership into Unbound’s Cast Iron Club — and the first Iron Skillet award, which was introduced in April. Its engraving says, in part, “This isn’t just a trophy, it’s a badge of honor, forged in dust, darkness … and built to last.” “We’re not going to cook with it,” Roger says with a laugh. “We’re going to hang it. We haven’t figured out where yet.”

Katie and Roger Orth

POINT OF VIEW

Roger in the Little Mud 2025 XL in Emporia, Kansas

VINTAGE EVANSVILLE

ARCHITECTURAL GEMS LOST TO TIME

Grein building, Hotel Vendome once crowned a Downtown block

By Kelley Coures

Evansville’s oldest areas, mainly Downtown, are made up of blocks that have undergone a century or more of change. Buildings rise, fall, and rise again. The block now occupied by the Fifth Third Bank tower is one of those with an interesting past.

On the corner is Comfort by the CrossEyed Cricket (formerly Farmers Daughter), which began as the Washington House hotel in the 1850s. Zuki (formerly People’s Bank and Morris Plan) was built in 1949 to replace an earlier bank. Its parking lot was the location of the Carlton Theater, an art deco movie house from 1937. Other commercial buildings, like the Chicago-style Bitterman building now housing Parlor Doughnuts and its cousin next door, round out the Main Street side.

The Sycamore Street side has a sadder history. At the corner of Second and Sycamore stood the immense Businessmen’s Association Building, known later as the Grein building. Its silver cupola gleamed in the midday sun. Constructed of brownstone and red granite, the front entrance was a huge stone. Designed in 1888 by the Reid Brothers architects — known for their work on Evansville’s Willard Library and Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California — the mammoth six-story structure housed many oil companies and attorneys’ offices. Sold in 1938 to Ann Grein, it then took on that name.

Next door on Second was the Victoria Hotel, a 19th century hostelry noted for hosting many entertainment personalities appearing at the New Grand Opera House (later Grand Theater). The Grand opened in 1889 and was designed by J.B. McElfatrick and Son, the premier theater architectural firm in its day. It featured more than 1,700 seats and had a massive domed ceiling with an incredible chandelier, as well as two balcony levels for patrons. Later the Grand became a nationally known house on the vaudeville circuit, rivaling opera houses in larger cities. Converted to a movie palace in the silent era, then moving to sound pictures after 1929, the Grand was

famously mourned in a July 1962 “obituary” written by the late Jeanne Suhrheinrich, the Evansville Courier movie critic who grieved its loss like an old friend.

At the corner on Third and Sycamore stood the majestic Hotel Vendome, at one time a nine-story luxury hotel. Built in 1890 as a five-story structure, in 1906 it was purchased by Frederick Scholz and doubled in size. In 1927, four more floors were added to the Sycamore side, making that half nine stories, one of the tallest in the city at the time. The ballrooms hosted high school

NATIONAL MERIT

The Grand became nationally known on the vaudeville circuit.

The Hotel Vendome became a nationally known hotel for business travelers.

BUILDING OBIT

The Grand was famously mourned in a July 1962 “obituary” written by the late Jeanne Suhrheinrich, the Evansville Courier movie critic who grieved its loss like an old friend.

proms and weddings, and the dining room saw many corporate dinners and political meetings. It also was a nationally known hotel for business travelers.

For several decades after 1909, a rooftop pavilion overlooked the city where bands played and guests danced under the stars. On this block, in the former Weingarten’s furrier store, sits the headquarters of the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, which also offers a rooftop deck. Although the music offered is vastly different than the soft strains of the old swing bands, one can still imagine the romance of dancing on the Vendome roof.

GRAND DAMES OF DOWNTOWN

The brownstone and red granite Grein office building (shown circa 1915) towered over Second and Sycamore streets, while the luxurious, nine-story Hotel Vendome (circa 1972) was a posh setting at Third and Sycamore for weddings, fancy corporate events, and school dances. Both were razed in the 1970s.

The massive presence of these buildings can only exist now in dim memories. (I vaguely remember as a child visiting a dentist in the Grein.) The entire half block was cleared in the early 1970s, and it took 10 more years before another Downtown construction boom resulted in the Fifth Third (formerly Citizens) Bank building and its massive garage. With the 2021 demolition of the former Old National Bank tower a short walk away, it now is the tallest building Downtown.

GREIN BUILDING

HOTEL VENDOME

START YOUR ENGINES

Classic Cruising

Christine Peck’s Volkswagen love spans decades and models

Christine Peck’s love of Volkswagens blossomed early in her life and never left.

When she was a freshman in high school, she cruised to swim meets in a 1972 blue VW bus owned by her teammate’s parents. That same friend scored a VW Beetle once she was able to drive. Christine wanted one too, “but my dad thought they were unsafe because their engines were in the back,” she says. “I decided I would get one when I was older.”

She followed through, buying a standard yellow Beetle in 1998 and selling it five years later when Volkswagen released the New Beetle Convertible. After Christine’s first husband, James “Kevin” Grider, died in 2009, she joined River City Clowns, began playing a character called “Daisy,” and decorated the newer tan convertible for clown events.

Selling the convertible in 2012 and marrying Michael Peck in 2016, Christine yearned for her own vintage VW bus. “I looked for probably five years off and on,” Christine says. She hit the jackpot at USAcustombus.com, discovering a yellow, 1973 Samba manufactured in Brazil. She and Michael traveled to Pompano Beach, Florida, in September 2023, made the buy —asked what she paid, Christine answers,

“Enough,” — and had it shipped via trailer to their Mount Vernon, Indiana, home.

The 23-window bus isn’t the easiest vehicle to drive: It has manual transmission and lacks air conditioning and power steering. The white leather interior seats eight in a L-shaped layout, and there’s a TV. Christine adds retro accoutrements such as a ‘70s-themed quilt and a yellow shag rug. She held a Facebook contest to name the bus and chose “Sunbeam.”

Christine doesn’t take Sunbeam long distances — “you drive it on a beautiful day around town,” she says. “It fulfilled a childhood dream of mine to get it, and it always makes people smile. We get lots of waves and thumbs-up.”

“I have caught people sitting in it,” she says, adding that she does not mind when

By John Martin

they do, and she’s happy to chat up curious onlookers. “So many people either had one, or their parents owned one and they have memories. Younger generations get a kick out of the vintage vehicle,” too, including, Christine says, her five grandchildren.

She explains that the biggest challenge was finding a repair location, but she shouts out Full Throttle Automotive in Evansville for its good work.

“They do all vehicles, but they do take a lot of classic cars,” she says.

Christine’s fourth Volkswagen is different from the Samba, to say the least. Her 2025 ID.Buzz is fully electric, “with lots of bells and whistles and safety features,” she says. Although yellow is her favorite color, the 2025 model (named “Moonbeam” in a Facebook contest) has more of a green hue. As for what’s next, “I’m thinking about getting another 1973 beetle convertible,” she says. “But I want it to be yellow.”

Christine is “semi-retired” as the owner of The Image Inks Co., while Michael is retired from CountryMark. Christine says her husband would be the first to say the Volkswagen automobiles are all hers and that she controls the couple’s garage. Michael “drives a truck, and he parks in the street,” Christine says.

Michael and Christine Peck with Christine’s 2025 ID.Buzz and 1973 Samba Volkswagens

GOOD GIVING

BARKING FOR GOOD

Community support creates the sheriff’s office’s new K9 training facility

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office’s K9 unit has something new to bark about. Unveiled Aug. 16, the one-plus acre Joe Sells K9 Training Facility is a dedicated spot for handlers to train their working dogs in agility, searching, and technique. Although the sheriff’s office’s training grounds have been on Kansas Road for at least two decades, K9 handlers worked with their animals at either a rugged field there or the FOP Camp on Happe Road.

“We want to remember how good it feels to honor Joe and what he would have wanted.”

Now, VCSO’s six K9 teams can do agility training, runaway apprehension drills, and search techniques in a well-lit field next to the agency’s full training grounds. “These guys can do nighttime stuff where they couldn’t previously. It’s well maintained, the ground is flat, (and) the handlers don’t have to worry about turning an ankle or something when they’re working with the dogs,” VCSO Deputy Brad Fein says.

Fourteen months were spent filling holes, pouring concrete for hiding boxes, and installing donated light poles and wiring so the space is

By Jodi Keen

safe and secure. Construction collaborators included Capital Electric Inc., Bill Egli Concrete Construction, Irving Materials Inc., and Boy Scout Troop 350, while funding came from individual donors.

Deputies thank the team at Oliver’s Heroes — particularly late founder Joe Sells — for getting the ball rolling on their new K9 training space. Sells, who owned Rounders Too Pizza from 2015 until his death in 2024, was “a great guy who’d try to help anybody,” Fein says. After befriending the police officers and deputies who stopped in for a bite, Sells created Oliver’s Heroes, a nonprofit funding food, veterinary bills, and therapy for retired police K9s, who usually become their handler’s expense once they are off their agency’s payroll.

Sells and his board of directors noticed the lack of proper K9 training grounds for VCSO deputies and received a green light from the sheriff to coordinate plans for a dedicated space. Fein, who serves as board president of Oliver’s Heroes, says Sells was able to see the K9 training facility construction in progress before his death. With the completed project named for Sells and including a memorial plaque, “We want to remember how good it feels to honor Joe and what he would have wanted,” Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson says.

Read more about Oliver’s Heroes at evansvilleliving.com.

vanderburghsheriff.org oliversheroes.org

Fractured Country Song Titles, by Garret Mathews

2025 SELF-PUBLISHED

“I’m drinking and thinking about not thinking.” — page 20

Chuckle at 83 pages of phrases that are not country song titles but would easily meet the stereotype. Garret Mathews, a retired Courier & Press columnist, teams with illustrator Tim Eterno on this book and aims to tickle your funny bone. SHELF LIFE

The Indiana Series, by Matthew Graham

2025 GALILEO PRESS

“In the town where I live women once built P-47s in the same factories where men now build washing machines. I guess you could say it’s a town of some irony.” — page 17

The former Indiana Poet Laureate and an English professor emeritus at the University of Southern Indiana, Matthew Graham shares 15 poems about Hoosier State lore, drawing inspiration from the likes of storied journalist Ernie Pyle and movie star James Dean.

The Light Within, by Chelsi Moore

2025 SELF-PUBLISHED

“Your journey, your light, your power – all of it comes from within. Don’t give your power away to others. Embrace who you are, and be proud of that.” — page 18

A real estate agent with @properties, Chelsi Moore uses personal experiences to share how brilliance and potential can be discovered at even our darkest times.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BALLISTIC BUDDIES. BOOK COVER PHOTOS

Noah Robinson, Vanderburgh County Sheriff

Sgt. Robert Schmitt and K9 Honcho, Deputy Hunter Blackford and K9 Hugo, Deputy Neal Luecke and K9 Dozer, Deputy Brandon Rolley and K9 Kratos, and Deputy Daniel Sander and K9 Dexter

From Eye to Easel

Joey Luzar paints what she sees while revealing a new perspective

By Maggie Valenti

When Joey Luzar traveled with family through the United Kingdom this spring, she was always taking photos, capturing inspiration for her acrylic paintings.

The Iowa native and Newburgh, Indiana, resident began painting after she retired as a pricing and feasibility manager at global media measurement and analytics company Comscore, Inc., in 2021. Her painting began to move forward quickly in early 2022 after she was gifted acrylic paints and canvas from her neighbor, Eleanor.

“I just sat down and I began learning,” she explains. “Once I started, I had to paint every day.”

It’s a schedule she still attempts to keep. She started by showing her art at First Fridays, Funk in the City, and Myriad Brewing Co. Eventually, she submitted pieces to exhibits, including donations to Easterseals Rehabilitation Center’s “Inspiration Through Art” display. “Canning,” an acrylic on canvas depicting a woman canning in the kitchen, was included in a 2025 Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana exhibit, “From Scratch,” put on by Urban Seeds. “The beautiful thing here is that it was from an old black and white picture of my grandmother carving a turkey in a farm kitchen that I was able to adapt … which was a first for me,” Luzar says.

 “Old Paint” depicts a multicolored horse standing out in a background of similarly bright colors: blue, yellow, and ruddish red. Luzar donated the painting in honor of Barry Schenk, who served as an Easterseals Child Ambassador in 1971 and passed away in March 2023.

Her work “Bewildered Barn Owl” — depicting an owl standing on a rock, decorated in feathers and floral painting, among a field under a cloudy sunset — earned honorable mention in a 2024 Wesselman Woods art exhibition. Using dark shades of green and ruddish red among brighter blues, oranges, tans, yellows, and pinks, she makes objects pop, even though they follow a similar color pattern. “It honored me even more that Wesselman Woods accepted my donation and that they continue to display it,” Luzar says.

Despite sourcing ideas from everyday scenery, machinery, people, and animals, Luzar describes her style as abstract and whimsical. She incorporates several techniques, including tinting her canvas before painting, drawing her subjects with chalk, charcoal, or paint beforehand, or painting with multiple layers. Her work comes out with bold strokes and vivid colors in a storage shed-turned-studio off her home patio. Although she creates whatever image comes to mind, her work is open to interpretation.

“I paint my interpretation — the way I see it artistically — and generally leave it to others to interpret the way they see it, but if they ask, I share the painting’s story,” she says. “I come from a world of numbers and statistics; now I get to be my emotional self.”

Right now, she is working on a series of acrylic portraits of women for an anticipated show in 2026. “I want to elevate women,” she says.

Luzar credits the artist community — including fellow painters Lesley Nelson, Lori Rivera, and Cynthia Watson — for guiding her self-taught endeavor. “I am not a joiner, but artists here are supporting each other … everybody is so kind in helping you on your journey,” she says. Her advice to emerging painters: “Learn the rules … all the other elements that make a good painting, so … you have a foundation to create what you really want to create,” she says.

Find Luzar’s work online at joeyluzar.com, on Instagram @luzarjoey, and at Inman’s Picture Framing on Lincoln Avenue.

Emotive Virtuoso: Evoking Emotion Through Color, Movement, and Style Sept. 29, 2025-Jan. 9, 2026, Gallery 101, 101 N. Water St., Henderson, Kentucky

ART TALK

PIONEER STRONGHOLD

Artifacts shed light on Fort Branch’s origin By

What did Fort Branch, Indiana, look like during pioneer days? A painting by the late Sue Freudenberg provides some clues.

Founded in 1811, the Gibson County fort — although never attacked — stood ready to defend the surrounding settlement. If ever under siege, a safe water supply was available via a nearby spring. Those waters fed a branch of a creek that formed the name Fort Branch.

Charles Kiesel

A marker erected in 1927 on the Strain family farm along U.S. 41 offers historic context. An elaborate ceremony took place at the dedication of the stone monument, which contained a metal box housing a time capsule. The engravings on the plaque detail the approximate location of the stockade 2,300 feet west of the marker — an early billboard on stone. Using the marker and engraving, Freudenberg in 1974 created a painting depicting the experience of pioneers during the early days of what was to become present-day Fort Branch, which was founded in 1852.

That original stone marker is preserved at the entrance to Little York Village in Fort Branch. Freudenberg’s 10-by-3.5-foot painting is on display at the Fort Branch-Johnson Township Library.

What if the community had built a replica of the fort of 1811 and nearby settlements? Would the recreation of the entire scene, including log cabin homes and the spring-adjacent fortification, have created a nice tourist attraction? Some residents have suggested that the town missed an opportunity.

HOOSIER FACT

PIONEER LIFE Sue Freudenberg’s painting captures an early 1800s scene in the Gibson County settlements around the fort.

PHOTO

The Bend

By Mark Mathis

When Brooke Bays was a child, she loved horses — everything about them.

“She was horse crazy as a little girl,” says Doug Bays, Brooke’s father. He recalls that her bedroom was full of stuffed horses, and “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” a 2002 animated Western film, often was on repeat.

“When she was about to turn five, I got her some riding lessons with Kelle (Grimm), on English saddle, that turned into every day, every morning,” Doug says. That first horse — Rhianna Santana, though she went by Anna — was a 5-gated American Saddlebred.

“It’s very difficult for women to break into that industry. She’s had more success doing it herself.”

Kelle Grimm

Then, Brooke wanted to add hunterjumper to her riding repertoire. Then, it was barrel racing. One day, she called her father and said, just for the fun of it, she was going to go over to Henderson, Kentucky, to be a hot walker for John Hancock, a longtime trainer and horseman at Ellis

Park Racing & Gaming and throughout Kentucky, who had an important role in helping Brooke begin her journey to becoming a thoroughbred racing jockey.

“Two days later, she was getting work as an exercise rider,” says Doug, who is agency president at AssuredPartners’ Evansville and Owensboro offices. “I knew it wasn’t going to stop there. That turned into the next journey.”

The childhood riding enthusiast turned 28 in late July and has raced professionally since 2022. Those early lessons with Grimm at River Wind Stables in Newburgh, Indiana, set the stage for a full career. “I worked with her for a long time

(with) American Saddlebred show horses,” Brooke says. “I did some jumping, barrel racing, then I fell in love with race horses and haven’t looked back.”

“She was just a natural. She would sleep in the barn if there was a way to build a room out there,” says Grimm, who is retired from training. “She was 16-17 when she ran barrels. She enjoyed the jumping. She’s the danger girl, lives for a challenge.” Right after completing an online high school diploma program in 2015, “she got in thoroughbreds, (and) she did it four or five months before she told me,” Grimm says.

More than a mentor, “Kelle is kind of like a mother to her,” Doug says. “Kelle took Brooke under her wing. She has really done a lot for Brooke.”

“We kind of bonded,” Grimm adds. “God put us together. I needed her and she needed me.”

Back to that hot walker job, in which someone hand-leads horses around to cool them down after a race or exercise. “I had just turned 20. I started working for John Hancock at Ellis Park,” Brooke says. “They helped me get my first hot walker and exercise rider license. I did that on and off for three years. Sometimes I’d do some freelance (work). John Hancock is big into two year olds every year.”

Next came work for D. Wayne Lukas, an all-time great trainer with multiple Triple Crown race wins, who passed away June 28. “I spent 12 months working at the Lukas barn, at Ellis Park, Churchill, in Arkansas at Oaklawn (Park in Hot Springs), back to Louisville,” Brooke says. Lukas’ operation had horses from California to Kentucky and beyond. Sebastian “Bas” Nicholl was a veteran assistant trainer for Lukas who worked a lot with Brooke as she was learning more about thoroughbred race riding. “I spent most of the time with Sebastian when I was with Lukas’ barn,” Brooke says. “I wouldn’t put my heels down riding, and Bas taught me that. He was a key for me in the Lukas organization.” She also worked for Michael Maker Racing Stable at Ellis Park and did freelance work for the company during her time riding last winter at Turfway Park Racing & Gaming in Florence, Kentucky.

had been in a riding accident at a Henderson County off-track facility where she would go to exercise and ride horses. The fall broke her pelvis; she was in ICU for three days. Although she didn’t need any surgeries, the recovery took months.

“She refused to use a wheelchair to leave the hospital,” Doug says. “She worked so hard on rehab. Eight weeks to the day of the accident, she got back on a horse. She’s stubborn, but you can’t be scared, you can’t be hesitant. She was going to prove them wrong if somebody said no. She wanted to be the one who overcame. But she really wasn’t right physically for 10-11 months.”

Brooke knew she rushed back too soon. “I came back after three months and started riding, but it took 12 months to get to feel like myself again,” she says. “Mentally and physically, I thought I was ready, but I was in denial. I just rode more horses until my legs felt strong again. I hung around the jockeys room and wanted to keep around the horses.”

Her first victory was in May 2023 aboard Mikie O’Prado in a maiden claiming race with a $17,000 purse at Horseshoe Indianapolis Racecourse. She had her first full year in 2024 riding May through October at Presque Isle Downs before ending the season at Tampa Bay Downs. Presque Isle Downs is in Erie, Pennsylvania, and that’s where Brooke will be until October, when she might head back to Turfway Park in northern Kentucky. Doug says Brooke also may return to Tampa Bay Downs. That said, she calls Evansville her home base.

She is a little more than halfway to the 45 wins needed to earn her full-time jockey license. This year, she’d made 100 starts by mid-August, and she hit the board (winplace-show) in 37 percent of those races.

Brooke has had to work hard to find horses to ride in races daily. She had three probationary races at Kentucky racetracks Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and again at Churchill in 2022 — that is part of the path to becoming a full-time jockey. Brooke is

going into her eighth year in the business and has gotten work as an apprentice jockey pretty consistently in 2024 and 2025.

“It’s very difficult for women to break into that industry. She has been determined,” Grimm says. “Most jockeys have agents to get them mounts. She’s had more success doing it herself than having somebody help her do it. I’m super proud of her. It’s not an easy world that she’s in.”

That was amplified on Dec. 21, 2022, when Doug got a call telling him Brooke

Six of her seven wins as of press time came at Presque Isle Downs, with the other at Woodbine Racetrack in Ontario, Canada. Her earnings are climbing, too: She banked $369,715 in 2024. Through Aug. 27, she had raked in $225,898.

Brooke has been showing up to learn the game of riding thoroughbred race horses for quite a few years now, and she’s determined to get to that finish line.

“I just want to do better than last year,” Brooke says. “Consistency is the key. The track opens at 6:30 in the morning, (so) I do gallops and morning works. I ride races in the afternoons. If you don’t show up, you’re probably not going to do all that well.”

ON THE TRACK Brooke Bays is working her way up to becoming a jockey — a long way from her days riding at River Wind Stables in Newburgh — and already has had some success. She has won more than $225,000 in prize money in her 105 races this year, including riding the filly Anhinga to victory by six furlongs at Presque Isle Downs on June 4.

The Bend

Scene

Wild Summer Lights

▪ THROUGH OCT. 5

THURSDAY-SUNDAY EVENINGS

A traveling Chinese lantern display takes a stroll through the zoo to a different level — prepare to be blown away by the stunning lights celebrating art, nature, and culture. Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, 1545 Mesker Park Drive, meskerparkzoo.com

Art of Recycling

▪ SEPT. 15-NOV. 14

Check out this juried exhibition with eye-popping creativity. An opening reception is 5-6:30 p.m. Sept. 18. Preston Arts Center, 2660 S. Green St., Henderson, Kentucky, ohiovalley.art/events

Trails at Twilight: Night Hike

▪ SEPT. 18

If you wonder what forest life is like after dark, this guided hike through the inner-city nature preserve is for you.

Wesselman Woods, 551 N. Boeke Road, wesselmanwoods.org

Water for People Presents Monsters of Yacht

▪ SEPT. 18

Proceeds of this yacht rock concert benefit Water for People, an international organization devoted to providing safe drinking water and sanitation services.

Victory Theatre, 600 Main St., victorytheatre.com

British Car Day on the River

▪ SEPT. 20

Cast your ballot in the popular vote awards among Austin Healeys, Jaguars, Mini Coopers, and more at this benefit event by S.I.R. BRIT car club.

Old Lock & Dam Park, 525 E. Hwy. 662, Newburgh, Indiana, sirbrit.com

Block Party

▪ SEPT. 20

The fourth-annual event offers tours of the United Methodist Youth Home, plus food trucks Cheese Queen and Rock-A-Burger and bounce houses.

United Methodist Youth Home Campus, 2521 Burkhardt Road, umyh.org

Kids Fest

▪ SEPT. 20

This free day is packed with educational activities, live enter tainment, inflatables, and special appearances from PBS KIDS characters. Each child can take home a free book.

WNIN Studios, Two Main St., wnin.org

The Longest Table

▪ SEPT. 21

WWE Monday Night

RAW

▪ SEPT. 22

Pro wrestling’s long-running flagship show returns with World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Women’s World Champion Naomi, and many more.

Party in Paradise

▪ SEPT. 27

Billed as “the year’s biggest and best party,” the 21-and-over event features live music, food trucks, and adult beverages. Only 3,000 tickets will be sold.

Friedman Park, 2700 Park Blvd., Newburgh, Indiana, warrickparksfoundation.org

River City Wiffle Ball Classic

▪ SEPT. 27

Forty-eight teams of five players take part in double-elimination tournaments for nonprofit Aurora. Bosse Field, 23 Don Mattingly Way, rivercitywiffleball.org

Tribute to the Yock

▪ SEPT. 28

Reflect on the zany legacy of late Channel 14 WFIE forecaster Marcia Yockey with a panel of her former colleagues.

Preservation Hall, 200 State St., Newburgh, Indiana, newburghmuseum.com

Warbird Weekend

▪ SEPT. 27-28

Welcome the B-25 Mitchell Bomber “Champaign Gal” for tours and rides, which are sold through the Champaign Aviation Museum’s website.

Evansville Wartime Museum, 7503 Petersburg Road,

The free community dinner seeks to raise awareness about food insecurity. Registration is required. C.K. Newsome Community Center, 100 E. Walnut St., feedevansville.com

“Don’t wander off the path, unless you want to be zombie food,” organizers warn. No-scare guided tours and full-scare experiences are available.

Newburgh Civitan Club, 5466 Vann Road, Newburgh, Indiana, zombiefarm.net

The museum turns 19 with an after-school bash of family-friendly activities and the reopening of the Quack Factory.

Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville, 22 S.E. Fifth Street, cmoekids.org

Water for People Presents Monsters of Yacht

Warbird Weekend

First Friday

▪ OCT. 3

Food trucks, vendors, music, and fun collide at Haynie’s Corner for the last fest of 2025.

Haynie’s Corner Arts District, Second Street and Adams Avenue, hayniescorner.com

Spooky Wine Walk

▪ OCT. 3

Costumes are encouraged for this fall evening of wine, shopping, live entertainment, and dining. 300-500 blocks of Main Street, downtownevansville.com

Play for Kate Memorial Softball Tournament

▪ OCT. 3-5

Take the field for Play for Kate, a nonprofit advocating for ATV safety in memory of Kate Bruggenschmidt, an 11-year-old who died in a 2015 ATV accident.

Deaconess Sports Park, 4300 Heckel Road, playforkate.com

Henderson Haunts

▪ OCT. 3-NOV. 1

Get your fright on at this immersive haunted experience in the so-called “Tranquil Meadows Health Facility.” Will you make it out?

Henderson Haunts, 2480 U.S. 41, Unit 180, Henderson, Kentucky, hendersonhaunts.com

Evansville Half Marathon

▪ OCT. 4

Join or cheer on hundreds of runners who journey 13.1 miles in the annual race put on by the YMCA of Southwestern Indiana. Court Street, evansvillehalfmarathon.org

Zombie Prom

▪ OCT. 4

photo ops, spooky surprises, and a dance floor to die for.

Evansville National Guard Armory, 3300 E. Division St., raptorcon.ticket spice.com/evansville-zombie-prom

Urban Hikes

▪ OCT. 4, 18, AND 25

Wear comfortable shoes and explore the community at these guided walks along the North Woods, Burdette Park-USI, and North Green River Road trails. walkbikeevv.org/activities

Great Pumpkin Metric

▪ OCT. 5

Riders choose from three routes at 15, 32, or 66 miles by bike across some of Vanderburgh and Posey counties’ most scenic routes. evansvillebicycleclub.org

Lincolnshire

Front Porch Fest

▪ OCT. 5

Bring lawn chairs and enjoy the ninth annual edition of free music performances and food trucks into a historic neighborhood. Vann Park, Bayard Park Drive and South Dexter Avenue, facebook.com/ lincolnshireporchfest

West Side Nut Club Fall Festival

▪ OCT. 6-11

The century-old tradition returns with 130-plus food booths, carnival rides, talent competitions, a parade, and a half-pot drawing that eclipsed $2 million in 2024. West Franklin Street, nutclubfallfestival.com

Napoleon Dynamite LIVE!

▪ OCT. 11

Catch a screening of the 2004 comedy film and enjoy a conversation with stars Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez,

Perfect Arc Cornhole Tournament

▪ OCT. 11

Hone your beanbag tossing accuracy at this third-annual fundraiser for The Arc of Evansville.

C.K. Newsome Community Center, 100 E. Walnut St., arcofevansville.org

Sacred Airs and Majestic Pipes

▪ OCT. 12

Players from the Evansville Philharmonic will join the cathedral’s newly installed pipe organ for a special evening of music.

St. Benedict Cathedral, 1328 Lincoln Ave., evansvillephilharmonic.org

Boo at the Zoo

▪ OCT. 17-19 AND OCT. 24-25

Bring the kids for a fun night of spooky decor, trick or treating, live entertainment, and a magic show.

Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, 1545 Mesker Park Drive, meskerparkzoo.com

Halloween Illuminations

▪ OCT. 17-19 AND OCT. 24-26

Historic Newburgh, Inc., kicks off fall festivities at this dazzling light display. Gene Aurand Trailhead, Newburgh, Indiana, historicnewburgh.org

Twilight Dinner

▪ OCT. 18

Partake in a farm-to-table dinner provided by catering pros plus students from the EVSC Culinary Arts Department.

Seton Harvest, 9400 New Harmony Road, setonharvest.org

Dog Day Downtown

▪ OCT. 18

Bring your pups for a day of bark-worthy fun, including an agility course, foam party, bone bar, pup cup station, nail trimmings, and more. Main Street between Second and Sixth Streets, downtownevansville.com

Evansville Holistic Expo

▪ OCT. 18

Explore and learn from holistic health professionals, practitioners, and resources in the Evansville area. Washington Square Mall, 5001 Washington Ave., evansvilleholisticexpo.com

Champions Night

▪ OCT. 25

The Evansville Thunderbolts, 202425 SPHL victors, return to the ice — and will parade their Presidents Cup high — at this season-opening game against the Quad City Storm. Ford Center, One S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., evansvillethunderbolts.com

Howl-O-Ween Puptacular

▪ OCT. 26

The third annual Halloween event features local vendors, adoptables from local rescues, and food trucks. Canine Aquatic Center, 6215 E. Florida St. Ste. B, facebook.com/canineaquaticcenter

Spooky Wine Walk

West Side Nut Club Fall Festival

Twilight Dinner

Mike Super 2.OH! - October 18, 2025 Sam Bush - November 8, 2025 A

Uptown - March 13, 2026

Calpulli Mexican

- April 24, 2026

The Shawnee National Forest offers hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing, and some of the best fishing around. You won’t want to miss the Garden of the Gods — rock formations more than 300 million years old — sculpted patiently over time by wind and rain. Follow the popular Observation Trail at Garden of the Gods where breathtaking views can be found.

Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour offers a three-hour adventure through the trees with eight zip lines and two suspension bridges.

Breathtaking natural beauty and great opportunities for outdoor recreation, a trip to Giant City State Park near Makanda is sure to delight. Check out the 82-foot, 100,000-gallon water tower with a 50-foot observation deck that provides memorable

panoramic views. Visit Giant City Stables to arrange a guided horseback trek or a pony ride for the kids.

An old railway converted into the bike path, The Tunnel Hill State Trail is a 48-mile trail winding through farmland, thick woods, lush wetlands, and a tunnel for which it was named.

Enjoy the rolling southern Illinois countryside where you can sip your way along and discover truly surprising and authentic wine culture on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail.

Bed and breakfasts dot the region and are great launching pads for wine tasting, hiking, or biking enthusiasts. Cabins in the area offer a secluded getaway, some that are pet friendly and some with hot tubs.

Fine and Performing Arts

All the best the new season has to offer

By Timothy G. Weir

The curtain is rising on an exciting fall season, and this preview will help get you to your seats. Let’s look at all the exciting events waiting in the wings.

THEATER

The University of Evansville’s fall Shanklin Theatre season gets off to a rocking start with Tony Award-winning “Jagged Little Pill.” The Alanis Morissette jukebox musical inspired by her 1995 album of the same name brings each song to bear on the story. Directing is Wes Grantom, a 2003 UE grad and himself a Tony winner for his producing work on 2024’s Fleetwood Mac-inspired musical, “Stereophonic.” Shows are Oct. 17-18 and 23-26. UE’s Rogue and Peasant Aces’ touring production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy “MacBeth” presents on-campus performances Nov. 8-9. “Native Gardens,” a Karen Zacarías tale of culture-clashing neighbors sharing adjoining backyards, runs Nov. 20-23 in May Studio Theatre.

The University of Southern Indiana presents two fall productions: “The Grown-Ups” by Simon Henriques and Skylar Fox on Oct. 2-5 at Eicher Barn on the USI campus, and “Xanadu” featuring music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, Nov. 20-23 at the USI Performance Center.

Tenor Demetrious Sampson Jr. performing in 2024 with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus

PHOTO

Evansville Civic Theatre celebrates its 100th anniversary season with a return to its historic home at the corner of Fulton and Columbia. “Our Town” Thornton Wilder’s beloved drama of community, life, and death in fictional Grover’s Corner starts things off on the Main Stage on Sept. 19-21 and 26-28. “Perfect Arrangement” by Topher Payne follows Nov. 7-9 and 14-16. Its two closeted U.S. State Department employees try to maintain their cover and relationship during the 1950s Lavender Scare. Then, Samantha Hurley’s “I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire” directed by Sydney Judd relaunches the Civic Theatre’s edgy Underground series Dec. 11-14

STAGETwo Productions presents “The Fall of the House of Usher” Sept. 19-21, then leads us in the Time Warp Dance with its annual reprise of Richard O’Brien’s cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” Oct. 24-25 and Nov. 1. Neil Simon’s Ukrainian comic tale “Fools” follows Nov. 14-16.

Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation thespians take their turn in the spotlight this semester with “12 Angry Jurors” at F.J. Reitz High School Nov. 12-16, Central High School’s “The Play That Goes Wrong” Nov. 13-16, Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods” at North High School Dec 4-7, and Benjamin Bosse High School’s “A Night of Glamour at Gatsby’s” dinner theater Dec. 4-6.

The Henderson Area Arts Alliance presents “A Slightly Wicked Holiday Show” on Dec.

DANCE

Fairy tales and ballet go hand-in-hand. The World Ballet Company’s cast of 40 dancers enchants with Sergei Prokofiev’s magical “Cinderella” on Old National Events Plaza’s Aiken Theatre stage Oct. 10. The region also will be treated to two productions of a holiday favorite. “Nutcracker” performances presented by Ballet Indiana, featuring the organization’s symphony orchestra, are set for Dec. 13-14 at the Victory Theatre. Meanwhile, the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra joins the Children’s Center for Dance Education for the latter’s own “Nutcracker” shows Dec. 12-13 at the Old National Events Plaza. Also Dec. 13 is a 35-minute, sensory-friendly performance free for the public.

In regional dance, Ailey II, the acclaimed contemporary dance troupe rooted in African American traditions, takes the stage Oct. 3 for an energizing performance at Jasper, Indiana’s Thyen-Clark Cultural Center

ART EXHIBITIONS

The Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science shares several exciting devel opments this fall. It unveils a sculpture gallery in October to display several long-unseen works, plus its outdoor Sculpture Garden installs a new sculpture by Gino Miles, whose “Stargazer” greets museum visitors at the entrance. Katie Waters, USI professor emerita of art, presents “Time/ Manner/Place,” her solo exhibition of recent works, in the Begley Art Gallery starting Oct. 11. “Printmaking: Past & Present” explores prints from Albrecht Dürer and Käthe Kollwitz to contemporary artists taken from the museum’s permanent collections and USI. The works are on display Aug. 10-Nov. 10.

Children’s Center for Dance Education performers present the “Nutcracker” ballet in 2023

Henderson Area Arts Alliance

Narcissa

both in USI’s McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries. The UE art faculty receives its annual exhibition Sept. 2-Oct. 18 at the Melvin Peterson Gallery, while Indianapolis painter and 1964 UE graduate Jerry Points — the fall Efroymson artist-in-residence — exhibits his work Oct. 27-Dec. 6. Dynamic local artists Lori Rivera and Lesley Nelson explore Surrealism in “Beyond the Ordinary” Aug. 25-Oct. 5.

USI’s New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art celebrates its 50th anniversary with “Look Both Ways,” a 50-artist exhibition Sept. 6-Nov. 9, and a free public event at the Atheneum Visitor Center on Nov. 8. Back in Evansville, the Arts Council of Southwest Indiana’s audience-favorite “Spooky Show” of Halloween-themed art returns Oct. 3-31 with a costume-party reception Oct. 25. Boo!

Three other regional exhibitions celebrate the exceptional. Jasper Arts presents its 32nd Annual Juried Art Exhibition now until Nov. 23 at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center. The Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts exhibition, “Regionalism: Images of the Midwest,” celebrates the heartland now through Oct. 19. And the New Harmony Gallery/Hoosier Salon presents “Flowing Visions: A Watercolor Exhibit” Sept. 20-Nov. 9, with a reception Oct.11.

KATIE WATERS, University of Southern Indiana professor emerita of art, presents “Time/Manner/Place,” her solo exhibition of recent works, starting Oct. 11 in the Begley Art Gallery of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science.

Gino Miles sculpture Sisters

GINO MILES SCULPTURE PROVIDED BY THE EVANSVILLE MUSEUM OF ARTS, HISTORY & SCIENCE. PASTEL DRAWING PHOTOS BY KATIE WATERS.

Morning Light

We’ll Always Have Paris III Security

ART FAIRS

Cooling weather brings a flurry of outdoor art festivals, starting with New Harmony, Indiana’s annual Kunstfest celebration Sept. 20-21, featuring over 200 vendors show casing art, crafts, gifts, and more. Funk comes to Evansville Sept. 27, as Funk in the City brings 70 regional artists and makers to Haynie’s Corner Arts District. Food vendors and live music into the evening help you make a day of it. Then, Haynie’s Corner welcomes everyone back Oct. 3 for the year’s final First Friday, a festive block party, with artist and vendor booths, food trucks,

YART, the yard sale for art, has been sharing affordable local art for years. Its Fall 2025 edition at Angel Mounds State Historic Site on Oct. 11 offers paintings, prints, sculpture, ceramics, and more from more than 30 local artists. Everything is priced at $60 or less.

Oct. 18-19 introduces Arts in Murphy Park, New Harmony’s first outdoor art fair in three years, featuring Midwest paint ers, printmakers, ceramicists, jewelers, sculptors, and more. Food, entertainment, and activities for children add spice to the event, which organizer Tony Treadway plans to make annual. Across the Ohio River, Henderson, Kentucky’s Art Hop the Ohio Valley Art League features artists in galleries and shops throughout Down town on Nov. 7.

Kunstfest

University of Evansville’s Music Conservatory

OF THE CITY

By the staff of Evansville Living

FROM TOP-SHELF dining options, cherished annual events, top shopping spots, and the people who inspire us, we asked, “Who’s the best?” and you delivered. The 2025 Best of Evansville includes 46 categories and 48 winners encompassing the city’s favorites in food, service, shopping, people, and entertainment, plus eight nods from Evansville Living editors. Congratulations for making our city exceptional!

BEST FAMILY ATTRACTION

Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden

It’s easy for families to spend an entire day exploring the exhibits at the 97-year-old zoo and botanic garden. Where else can kids stand eye-to-eye with a friendly giraffe, pet a slithery snake, bask in the humid beauty of unfurled orchids, feed fish to penguins, or create a makeshift seat for a new avian friend on the Budgie Walkabout? The zoo’s newest attraction, Wild Summer Lights, runs through early October and dials up the wonderment by creating a dreamy, one-mile maze of lights. meskerparkzoo.com

Emma and Lauren Comer at Wild Summer Lights

PLACE WITH THE BEST COCKTAILS

Mo’s House

Bartenders at Moriah Hobgood’s namesake bar know what they’re doing when crafting drinks. One favorite is Smoke on the Water, featuring Banhez mezcal, Libelula tequila, lime, Watermelon Real, and a Tajin-coated rim. Mo’s is known for its passion for old fashioned, mocktails, and fun, island-inspired mixed drinks during its annual Tiki Week. An evening at Mo’s (sit on the deck if it’s nice outside!) with a glass in your hand, surrounded by friends or locking eyes with a special someone, is time well spent. mos-house.com

BEST PLACE TO BUY JEWELRY

Brinker’s Jewelers

Brinker’s Jewelers has once again been named a top destination for jewelry by readers — a distinction the family-owned business has proudly earned for more than a decade. Since 1972, Brinker’s has built its reputation on its stunning selection of engagement rings, luxury watches, and estate jewelry. Every purchase comes wrapped in the store’s iconic green box — a signature touch that signals timeless quality. With master jewelers and certified watchmakers onsite, Brinker’s also provides expert in-house repairs, custom designs, and trusted customer service. brinkersjewelers.com

BEST LOCAL NONPROFIT

Vanderburgh Humane Society

Founded in 1957, the Vanderburgh Humane Society always is on the side of animal welfare. It operates a spay and neuter clinic and has provided 110,000-plus surgeries since 2007. Want to add some love to your home? Check out the dozens of dogs, cats, and other animals onsite (and also Downtown at the River Kitty Cat Cafe) waiting for adoption. The agency has been classified annually since 2020 as a no-kill shelter by Best Friends Animal Society, meaning it reaches a 90 percent or higher live release rate. vhslifesaver.org

 EDITOR’S PICK

BEST LEGACY Tess Grimm

We miss her so much! With a heart as gracious as her signature smile, Tess Grimm, who passed away June 4, 2025, at her daughter Jennifer Parker’s home, leaves behind a legacy stitched in faith, service, and style. Before planting roots in Evansville, Tess began her career soaring the skies as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines — an early chapter that reflected her adventurous spirit and polished poise. From her New York City beginnings to her role as an Evansville icon, she lived a life of purpose — raising a loving family, stewarding the Reitz Home Museum for 22 years, and championing countless civic causes. Whether hosting a perfectly appointed dinner party, delivering meals to neighbors well into her 80s, or attending Pilates classes in recent years, Tess embodied elegance, generosity, and gratitude. Tess didn’t just make Evansville better — she made it beautiful.

“Mister” at the Vanderburgh Humane Sociey

BEST HOME DECOR STORE

Gehlhausen Boutique, Gifts & Home Decor

This 80-year-old East Side shop is a beloved destination for refreshing both home and wardrobe with a touch of charm. From seasonal florals and cozy pillows to elegant furniture and signature candles, every item is chosen to help shoppers create warm, inviting spaces — and shopping for it feels like a treasure hunt. Customers consistently praise the boutique’s “gorgeous” inventory, “beautiful selection,” and the friendly, knowledgeable staff who make each visit special.

gehlhausenboutique.com

 EDITOR’S PICK

BEST REASON TO TOOT A HORN Marching Bands Advance to State Finals

Six regional high school marching bands carried Southwestern Indiana to greatness at the 2024 Indiana State School Music Association finals at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. The Castle Marching Knights placed third in Class A, while in Class B, the North Green Brigade tied for second and F.J. Reitz’s Mighty Marching Panthers earned ninth. The Mater Dei Marching Wildcats rounded out Class D’s top 10. In Class C action, the Princeton Community Marching Tigers took sixth place, with Boonville’s Band of Gold following at ninth. With marching band season in full swing, we can’t wait to hear the sweet sounds of success this fall. issma.net

BEST ASIAN RESTAURANT

Ma T 888 China

Bistro and Yen Ching Restaurant (tie)

Evansville Living readers have named these longtime East Side restaurants their favorite places for Asian cuisine. At Ma T 888 China Bistro, tuck into handmade dumplings, fusion pho, and custom dim sum served by the bistro’s friendly waitstaff in an elegant, white-tablecloth setting. Yen Ching, opened by Charlie Chang and T.J. Yu more than three decades ago, is a popular destination for its family-sized dinners, fried wontons, Szechuan chicken, General Tso’s shrimp, Peking duck, and Moo Shu pork, plus service on Christmas Day. mat888chinabistro.com yenchingevansville.com

BEST BRUNCH

BEST VINTAGE/ THRIFT STORE

Goodwill Industries

Hoping to score a steal on new-to-you housewares or apparel? Readers recommend visiting Evansville Goodwill Industries’ three thrift stores. The East Side thrift shop had a robust customer base before it upgraded in August 2024 to a 14,000-square-foot space in the former Sears at Washington Square Mall. Pro tip: Don’t sleep on the West Side location, where Evansville Living staff have found that racks are less picked over and even more hidden gems await. evvgoodwill.org

The Hornet’s Nest Steakhouse

Brunch at The Hornet’s Nest is more than a meal. The former saloon and dance hall keeps crowds coming back for crispy fried chicken, buffalo chicken wings and biscuits, and indulgent brioche French toast. Pair your meal with a fish bowl Bloody Mary topped with a loaded skewer, a pitcher of mimosas, or Kahlua and coffee. Whether you’re diving into the meat lovers’ skillet or savoring a chorizo omelet topped with creamy queso, The Hornet’s Nest delivers comfort food with neighborly charm every time. hornetsnestrestaurant.com

North Green Brigade

PLACE WITH THE BEST STEAK House of Como

A beloved Evansville institution since 1960, House of Como serves up legendary steaks alongside a flavorful Lebanese menu. Founded by the late George Hage and his wife Martha, the restaurant is known for its year-round twinkling Christmas lights, retro signage, and a warm, nostalgic atmosphere. The menu pairs perfectly grilled T-bones and juicy filets with traditional Lebanese dishes like kibi, yebra malfoof, hummus, and shawarma. With its supper club feel and one-of-a-kind setting, House of Como delivers a dining experience unlike anywhere else in the city. facebook.com/houseofcomo

 EDITOR’S PICK

BEST OUTDOOR DINING

Smitty’s Italian Steakhouse

Looking for variety and a view? Bring a big appetite when you head to this West Franklin Street restaurant. The name indicates a Mediterranean experience, but the menu also includes steaks, seafood, burgers, and sandwiches in addition to Italian fare like spaghetti, marsala, and veal, chicken, and grouper parmigiana. The West Side staple — housed inside a former furniture store since 2010 — tempts diners with the option to enjoy dinner on the string light-laden outdoor patio.

smittysevansville.com

BEST SEASONAL COMEBACK Oaklyn Branch Library Meadow

The prairie meadow atop Oaklyn Branch Library caught our attention this summer. Nestled into a hillside, the 17,240-square-foot flat roof is blooming with native flowers and prairie grass. Retired Oaklyn Branch manager Pam Locker was the meadow’s primary caretaker from 2004 to 2021, including the years after her retirement in 2013. “My favorite memories of the meadow include being in that wonderful native plant space, watching new plants come into bloom from spring to fall, learning so much about native versus invasive plants. I love seeing how beautiful it looked in June of 2025,” Locker says. Becca Scott, director of communications at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, notes that as part of renovations at EVPL Oaklyn, new features will be added to the meadow roof and other outdoor spaces that will allow our community to enjoy these areas in new ways. evpl.org

BEST LOCAL BAND OR MUSICIAN Monte Skelton

Multi-instrumentalist Monte Skelton keeps a busy schedule entertaining, usually with his saxophone and DJ set, at many venues and events. You’re bound to hear something you like, ranging from jazz and pop, to R&B, funk, and more. You can also add his album catalog to your playlist, which includes 2024’s “A Re-Introduction.” Winner of multiple Best of Evansville awards, Skelton also teaches at Evansville Music Academy. “Music hits my soul, and it’s how I’ve gotten through my life,” he says. “ I just love making people smile and making people happy.” monteskelton.com

House of Como

Meadow on top of the Oaklyn Branch Library

BEST LATIN AMERICAN RESTAURANT La Campirana

The Mexican eatery has come a long way since Abraham Brown and Ezequiel Campos opened the first location in Washington Square Mall in 2015. Coming off a 2024 Best of Evansville win, the food here is prepared fresh from family recipes for house-made salsas, sopes, tacos, gorditas, burritos, quesadillas, and more. Readers keep digging in, leading to a bigger location on North Burkhardt Road and a second spot in 2024 inside Main Street Food & Beverage. la-campirana.com

BEST FOOD TRUCK Pizza Revolution

Where else can you find woodfired, oven-made pizza made in a 1986 Leyland Olympian double-decker bus? Handmade Neapolitan pies are cooked in the bus’ stone oven and molded into signature menu options like the Margherita, Buzz Kill’a, Fig-n-Pig, Fun Guy, and Quattro Formagio. This mobile pizzeria often is at owners Aaron and Stephanie Peckenpaugh’s other venture, Farm 57, and regional festivals and farmers markets. facebook.com/ thepizzarevolution

BEST LOCAL TV PERSONALITY

Jeff Lyons

Marcia Yockey he’s not, but Jeff Lyons, who joined Channel 14 WFIE in 1988, has carved out his own reputation for accurate forecasts and smooth delivery. WFIE’s chief meteorologist’s even demeanor calms audiences when severe weather threatens. Lyons also has a humorous side — who can forget when he gave forecasts from home during the COVID-19 pandemic with his late cat, Betty? Or his viral “Jackwagon!” moment with a passerby during a live broadcast from the 2022 West Side Nut Club Fall Festival? We think Yockey would be proud. 14news.com

BEST LOCAL ARTS ORGANIZATION

Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana

Often known simply as the Arts Council, it’s been a hub of creative energy and a champion of artists and performers from a 10-county area for 55 years. In addition to hosting art exhibitions, which drew 1,057 adult and 345 young artists in 2024, the Arts Council also opens its doors for community events. Tunes with a view can be had at its seasonal rooftop concert series, whose stage welcomed 60 performers and 18 bands last year. Don’t miss this season’s final concert on Sept. 20 featuring Dekar Justus, Theo Akai, and Nina Snoogans. artswin.org

BEST ANNUAL FESTIVAL West Side Nut Club Fall Festival

From its origin in 1921, the West Side Nut Club’s Fall Festival has brought residents and visitors alike together for fellowship, entertainment, carnival rides, and so much food along four blocks of West Franklin Street. Festival aficionados all have their favorites, from pronto pups and chicken and dumplings to more adventurous choices. (Meatwads, anyone?) Food and parking spot sales benefit 130-plus community organizations, and the 2019 addition of a half-pot raffle cranked the giving up a notch — ticket sales hit $2 million in 2024. nutclubfallfestival.com

Hannah Evelyn performs at a rooftop concert at the Arts Council of Southern Indiana

Sanaa Jackson, MaKayla White, and Mariam Kenu

BEST LOCAL COFFEE SHOP

Honey Moon Coffee Co.

Now nearly a decade old, Honey Moon Coffee Co.’s four shops offer comfortable settings to conduct business, chat with a friend or a date, and enjoy sips that readers have named the Best of Evansville now for the fourth consecutive year. Rotating seasonal drinks are always worth checking out, but you can’t go wrong with the signature Honey Moon Latte (espresso, honey, and lavender), paired with a Hong Kong-style bubble waffle, acai bowl, or avocado toast. honeymooncoffeeco.com

 EDITOR’S PICK

BEST VOICE OF STRENGTH

Holly Dunn Pendleton

The only known survivor of Ángel Maturino Reséndiz, the so-called Railroad Serial Killer, Holly Dunn Pendleton’s resilience continues to inspire and empower others, 28 years after she was brutally attacked and her boyfriend murdered in Lexington, Kentucky. Choosing to transform her trauma into positive action, Pendleton in 2008 co-founded Holly’s House — a nonprofit assisting victims of intimate crimes — with retired Evansville Police Department Detective Brian Turpin. “He’s the one who thought of it,” Pendleton says. “I was just brought on board for my name, but it became more than that. … I was looking for an organization to support at that exact time.” Pendleton’s voice grew with the 2017 memoir “Sole Survivor” and expanded with speaking engagements and TV appearances, including “The FBI Files’ ‘Tracks of a Killer’” in 2002, CBS News’ “48 Hours” in 2010, and “People Magazine Investigates: Surviving a Serial Killer” in May 2025. Her advocacy for victims’ rights isn’t just about a desire to help others: “It has become something for me that is part of my own healing,” she says. hollyshouse.org

BEST CLOTHING BOUTIQUE Schön Boutique

Coming off a 2024 win for Best Women’s Boutique, Schön Boutique doesn’t stop at offering shoppers a fresh frock, a new pair of shoes, and earrings to match. Its goal is to make friends who keep coming back and add to the boutique’s vibrant fan base. The Victorian’s bright yellow exterior only elevates the charm of a shop named after the German word for “beautiful.” Owner Kelley Borman has put the shine in Schön Boutique since opening it in 2014. facebook.com/Schonboutique1

BEST PARK Wesselman Park and Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve (tie)

It’s been a time of exciting transition for city-owned Wesselman Park and nonprofit Wesselman Woods, which are separate but often work hand-in-glove. The park in 2024 dedicated a fully accessible children’s playground, 16-court pickleball complex, and picnic and shelter facilities and trails. The nature preserve became stewards of the former Wesselman Par 3 golf course in 2023 and plans to reforest those 23 acres, and it just celebrated the first anniversary of the accessible Arwood Family Treehouse. evansvillegov.org • wesselmanwoods.org

HOLLY DUNN PENDELTON PHOTO BY GREG EANS. HONEY MOON PHOTO BY HADLEY MITCHELL. SCHÖN BOUTIQUE PROVIDED BY SOURCE. WESSELMAN PARK PHOTO BY LAURA MATHIS

New playground at Wesselman Park

BEST PLACE FOR SPA TREATMENTS

Ahh Spa

To be pampered is a luxury, and readers report that this spa makes you feel like a new person. Whether seeking dewy skin produced by a body polish, migraine therapy via new head spa services, a fresh feel compliments of a waxing session, or a romantic couples massage, you’ll be treated to an experience so relaxing, you may sleep through the entire session because the team wants you to feel ahh-mazing. ahhspaevansville.com

BEST FLORIST

Zeidler’s Flowers

With more than a century of service, Zeidler’s Flowers’ skilled designers and commitment to fresh, personalized service continue to please clients across Evansville and beyond. Customer reviews consistently praise Zeidler’s attention to detail, timely deliveries, and compassionate customer care. Zeidler’s takes customer comments to heart: Its website says, “Every review, whether it’s a high-five or a gentle nudge toward something we can improve…roots us in our community and ensures that we’re not just arranging petals and stems, but we’re also nurturing relationships and crafting memories.” zeidlers.com

 EDITOR’S PICK

BEST REASON TO RAISE A GLASS DORA

The Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area has started strong since its July debut. Customers can buy an alcoholic drink at 20-plus Downtown establishments and carry it outside, as long as it’s in the special DORA cup and stays within the district’s boundaries. As of early August, guests had bought more than 18,000 DORA cups, according to the Downtown Evansville Improvement District. Cheers! downtownevansville.com

BEST ANNUAL FITNESS EVENT Evansville Half Marathon

First held in 2002, the city’s signature race is going strong, bringing hundreds of runners and walkers from across the region to Downtown on a Saturday morning each autumn. No matter where you finish, completing the challenge is a praiseworthy feat. Smiles are plentiful on the riverfront as competitors wrap up their 13.1-mile journey through Garvin Park, the Haynie’s Corner Arts District, multiple historic neighborhoods, and the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage. The event benefits programming for the YMCA of Southwestern Indiana, and Team 13 — the Y’s half-marathon training program — has helped several thousands of people train and make friends along the way. This year, around 350 runners and walkers signed up for Team 13.

evansvillehalfmarathon.org

BEST PLACE TO GET FIT BFit

They don’t call it Bob’s Gym anymore, but BFit’s as committed as ever to helping you meet your fitness goals. A homegrown success story, the business today boasts three locations in Evansville and one in Newburgh, with about 20,000 total members. Work out on your own, join a class, swim laps at the North Side and Newburgh sites, and take advantage of 24-hour access on certain days of the week at all locations.

b.fit

Jim Dezember, Jill Dezember, Julie Dietz, and Mike Dietz

Massage therapist Bobbie Flint with client Emily Adams

BEST PLACE TO WATCH SPORTS Bosse Field

Bosse Field has been versatile since the downbeat: On Opening Day in June 1915, the new stadium was christened with a baseball game followed by a wrestling match. The 2024 football season featured a Throwback Game between rivals Reitz Memorial and Castle. The century-plus-old stadium commands national respect as the country’s third-oldest ballpark in continuous use. Thanks to 30 years of Otters Frontier League baseball, Bosse Field earns its crown as Evansville’s sports center. evansvilleotters.com/history

BEST PLACE TO SATISFY A SWEET TOOTH

Stephen Libs Finer Chocolates

In the mood for a treat? There’s no shortage of flavors or fillings at this legacy chocolatier. The late Stephen Libs carried on his father Robert’s craft by offering old-fashioned turtles, melt-in-your-mouth cremes, and novelties like chocolate-covered potato chips. Boxed chocolates, licorice, taffy, mints, and more round out a Candyland-like menu. No matter what season you get a craving, there’s a Libs chocolate to cure it. stephenlibschocolates.com

BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT

Little Italy

Since opening his North Park restaurant in 2013, chef Carlos Jawabrah has curated a menu selection inspired by classic Italian cuisine. From pizza and signature pasta dishes like lasagna and baked ziti — many featuring house-made tomato sauce — to tortellini alla pesto and fettuccini alfredo, diners don’t walk away hungry. Mix in more Mediterranean flavor with calamari, chicken kebab, crab cakes, marsala, and eggplant parmesan. Polish off your meal with a slice of creamy tiramisu or a cannoli. Salute! littleitalyevansvillein.com

 EDITOR’S PICK

BEST WAY TO STICK A LANDING

Breasha Pruitt

Faced with the challenge of taking on nine new gymnasts and training them for the 2024 state finals, Breasha Pruitt didn’t think twice. “I knew those girls needed help,” she told Evansville Living in January. Her guidance at Breasha Pruitt Elite Gymnastics so impressed parents that one nominated her for a national sportsmanship award named for the late Saint Louis Cardinal Stan Musial. Taking the stage in November alongside eight other honorees — including former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. and broadcaster Bob Costas — the nation learned what young Evansville-area gymnasts already knew: That’s just Breasha. bpelitegymnastics.com

BEST PLACE TO TAKE YOUR DOGS Kay C’s Barkville at Woodmere

BEST LOCAL GIFT SHOP Rare Bird Gifts & Goods

Best of Evansville voters have saluted this boutique four times since 2021 for being a one-stop shop for jewelry, leather goods, candles, cards, wind chimes, soaps, socks, cast-bronze sculptures, roasted coffee, and Evansville-branded merchandise. Owners Cary and Michael Gray and their daughter, Olivia Wright, connect hundreds of small makers from around the world with local customers. “We have to like an item first, but then it has to be unique and speak to people, something beyond the typical,” Michael told Evansville Living in 2023. rarebirdgifts.com

BEST BARBECUE

Mission BBQ

Sure it’s a national chain, but Mission BBQ’s food and commitment to honoring military service and public safety professionals draws raves from Evansville Living readers. The restaurant’s East Side location opened in 2016 — it was reportedly the first Mission BBQ in the Midwest — and it serves up generous portions of brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken, turkey, or sausage (and also a multimeat sampler plate). The baby back ribs fall right off the bone, seven choices of sides are made from scratch, and diners can pick from more than a half-dozen sauces. (Why choose — try them all!) mission-bbq.com

BEST RADIO STATION WIKY-104.1 FM

WIKY has delighted audiences since 1948 with some of the region’s best-known radio personalities, including National Association of Broadcasters’ Marconi Radio winners Dennis Jon Bailey and Diane Douglas on the WIKY Morning Show. (Listen at 8:40 a.m. Fridays for Evansville Living’s top tips for each weekend!) Listeners love tuning in for the daily contests, like the Culture Quiz and 5 in 10 Game. Owned by Midwest Communications since 2014, WIKY remains a source of daily smiles for Southwestern Indiana and Western Kentucky listeners. wiky.com

BEST PIZZA Turoni’s Pizzery & Brewery

No stranger to winning this Best of Evansville category, Turoni’s thin-crust pies continue to hit the spot. Many readers likely know Turoni’s signature items by heart — the House Special packs a combination of meat and vegetable toppings, while Vinny’s Pepper Planet delivers plenty of zing, and The Renaissance offers a curious mix including spinach, spiced chicken sausage, and pineapple. Or, of course, you can build your pizza your own way. In a city that loves its una-style pizza and has plenty of appealing choices, Turoni’s — founded by the late Jerry Turner in 1963 — still fills our hearts and bellies. turonis.com

Divided into sections for large and small breeds, Kay C’s Barkville covers three acres near the State Hospital grounds. The public can visit the members-only park during monthly access opportunities and see what all the bark is about: “It is a hidden gem in Evansville for the avid dog lover,” member Lisa Reising told Evansville Living after the park opened in November. kaycsbarkville.com

Katherine and Lisa Reising with Henri and Hazel

 EDITOR’S PICK

PRETTIEST BUILDING YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE SEEN Hindu Temple

The Tri-State Hindu Temple on Newburgh’s Vann Road was the vision of a group of residents who previously worshipped at people’s homes and other temporary locations while dreaming of having their own temple. A hall was opened in 2006, but the traditional Indian temple took longer. The cream-colored structure with gold accents and elements of the Dravidian and Nagara styles opened in 2022. Members will celebrate Diwali, also called Deepavali (the festival of lights) for 5-6 days in October. tristatehindutemple.org

BEST CHRISTMASTIME EVENT Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights

BEST HAIR SALON Shannon Aleksandr’s Salon

With a salutation like “Confidence looks gorgeous on you,” it’s no wonder customers seeking the best hair care have flocked to Shannon Woolsey’s salon for 19 years. Skilled in cuts, coloring, and more, clients are in good hands. The salon even offers a Tribe Member Matchmaking Quiz to connect customers with the perfect stylist to meet their needs. “We want our guests … to have the best,” salon director and shareholder Chad Butler told Evansville Business in 2022. shannonaleksandrssalon.com

Founded in 1994 by local restaurateur Andy Guagenti, the winter event began as a modest display of 26 scenes and has blossomed into a holiday spectacular with 80-plus lighted exhibits. Volunteers install and power the show annually, fueled by thousands of meals provided by Ritzy’s since its inception. Set within historic Garvin Park, this beloved seasonal tradition benefits the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center and transforms the park from Thanksgiving evening to New Year’s Day. ritzysfantasyoflights.com

BEST DOUGHNUTS Donut Bank

Grabbing a Donut Bank pastry is the perfect way to catch up with friends, discuss business, or simply get a head start on the day. Fans have known this since 1967, when Harold and Shirley Kempf opened the inaugural shop on First Avenue. The mix used to create that patch of sweet pastries has remained the same, with their sons Chris, Joe, and Ben at the helm. Since expanding to 11 locations, its iced long johns, cremeand jelly-filled Bismarks, bite-size cake balls, French cruellers, and glazed doughnuts, plus muffins, fruit fritters, cookies, and fresh coffee have filled bellies on both sides of the Ohio River. donutbank.com

BEST PLACE TO PLAY PICKLEBALL Wesselman Park

The city’s 16-court pickleball complex at Wesselman Park has become a favorite spot for players of all ages and skill levels since opening in 2024. The lighted complex has restrooms, water, and bleacher seating, and while the hard surface roasts in the heat of summer, it’s a pleasant, breezy place to play in the spring and fall. There’s plenty of open play hours and opportunities to reserve courts at set times, and don’t miss the tournaments hosted there, too.

wesselmanpickleball.com

 EDITOR’S PICK

BEST UPGRADE

USI’s Transition to NCAA Division I Athletics

As soon as their intent to move up to Division I sports was announced in 2022, University of Southern Indiana athletes wasted no time proving they were ready to level up. But a four-year block on NCAA championship play comes standard with reclassification. “We knew this going in … but we hope that the NCAA will look at this because playing for championships is the ultimate experience,” Director of Athletics Jon Mark Hall told Evansville Living when USI appealed the process in 2024. One year later, the NCAA approved the move, and USI became a full-fledged member of Division I sports a year early. Welcome to the big stage? The Screaming Eagles were already there. usiscreamingeagles.com

BEST MURAL Self.e Alley

Exploring Downtown is a colorful experience between Main and Sycamore streets. Artwork has spread since Self.e Alley’s 2019 debut, featuring a modern spin on a vintage “Welcome to Evansville” postcard designed in part by Abby Elpers, marketing director of the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership. “It’s become more than a photo op — it’s a backdrop for milestones, memories, and a way to share our love for this community,” she says. Since then, E-REP and Michael Smith of Newburgh’s Orange Moon Art Studio have added more photo-ready backgrounds, including neon graffiti, polka dots, and a tribute to rural Indiana, “where all your hopes and dreams come true.”

facebook.com/Self.eAlley

BEST SEAFOOD Red Lobster

When it comes to seafood, readers say they fill up at the national chain famous for its Cheddar Bay Biscuits, pastas, seafood boils, and surf and turf. In May, the chain announced plans to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a strategy that would close more restaurants. So far, at Evansville’s 53-year-old location, it’s business as usual. If it gets the ax, locally owned spots like The Tin Fish are ready to reel in your broken heart. redlobster.com

WRITE-IN CATEGORY: BEST CATERER

Doug Rennie

Doug Rennie is no stranger to the Best of Evansville list: He’s been named Best Caterer or Best Chef four times. (His muffin-shaped chocolate chip cookies available at Just Rennie’s Café & Cookie Co. snagged top honors in 2011, too.) Still, Rennie’s Italian- and French-inspired catered meals — from hot or cold hors d’oeuvres and desserts to pecan-encrusted pork tenderloin, tilapia Florentine, and prime rib — and elegant Tuscan wine room venue have driven the business into its 22nd year and nabbed Rennie another award for his display case. justrennies.com

Marla and Doug Rennie

USI men’s basketball head coach Stan Gouard coaches Damoni Harrison

USI PHOTO BY ELIZABETH COURTNEY RANDOLPH/USI.

SOUTHERN BREEZE

When Evansville Living debuted its first Idea Home in 2003, Sutherland was still a subdivision in progress. More than two decades later, the Southern-influenced neighborhood developed by John and Susan Pickens has expanded to 58 homes filled with a variety of coastal architectural elements and courtyards that carve a private oasis inside the city. 

CURB APPEAL

Dora Feagley in the courtyard garden at her Sutherland home. Feagley lives in Evansville Living’s inaugural Idea Home.

Off the Coast

Sutherland creates an oasis inspired by beachside cities of the South

By Maggie Valenti

John Pickens has developed many neighborhoods over his 43-year career in real estate — including Lincolnwood Drive in Evansville, and Willow Brook off Pollack Avenue and the homes along Blackberry Lane, both in Newburgh — but Sutherland on the East Side is where he found home.

“The design of this neighborhood encourages community, and it’s worked out that way,” says the longtime real estate agent and developer.

Trips to Southern communities encouraged him and his late wife, interior designer Susan, to bring coastal architecture to Evansville in the early 2000s. Pickens took inspiration from the South Carolina neighborhoods of I’On in Mount Pleasant and Habersham in Beaufort County near Hilton Head Island, plus the Sugartree gated community in southwestern Nashville, Tennessee. He also enjoyed the side courtyards he saw in Charleston, South Carolina, and the New Urbanism of houses in pedestrian-friendly Seaside, Florida. While several local neighborhoods are defined by their residential architecture — the National Register of Historic Places notes Tudor residences throughout Lincolnshire and the mid-century modern, ranch-style homes in Hebron-Meadows — the plantation-style designs Pickens dreamed up stood in contrast to anything else available locally.

“We thought we’d give Evansville a little something different,” Pickens says. “This neighborhood is the only one like it here.”

He bought the land for Sutherland, a development off Covert Avenue east of Green River Road, in 1999 and started building in the early 2000s. Southern-style living was something Pickens knew would sell in Evansville; the Pickenses insisted each home have its own design so no two residences are alike. Hints of Southern charm are found in the Colonial-tinged columns, tall windows that flood open spaces with light, space-enhancing tray ceilings, and inviting courtyards. Privacy is afforded to the entire neighborhood via a brick wall around it, but inside, Pickens prioritized connection with front-facing porches.

Strolling Sutherland’s streets could fool some into smelling sea salt in the air and feeling an ocean breeze.

“I think people like that everything is different,” says Pickens, who has lived in 10 of the development’s 58 houses. “They like a walking neighborhood, a sense of community where people know each other, and we do things together. They want to be part of a group.”

Pickens’ own Sutherland residences have included Evansville Living’s inaugural Idea Home, now owned by Dora and Brian Feagley, who are seven-year Sutherland residents. The Feagleys have not changed much aside from some paint colors and the addition of a pool, while Brian did his own landscaping with plants frequent in Southern gardens, including hydrangeas, crape myrtles, and boxwood. The couple liked Sutherland so much, they encouraged Brian’s parents to relocate there.

“We love the uniqueness of it. It’s its own little community, and we all kind of look out for each other,” Dora says. “(It’s) a little slice of heaven in Evansville.”

CURB APPEAL

 In 2003, Evansville Living partnered with John Pickens and his late wife Susan for the inaugural Idea Home. Since starting the neighborhood, he has lived in 10 different Sutherland homes. Today, the community continues to be a walkable enclave where people get to know and lookout for their neighbors.

Evansville Living’s first Idea Home, photographed in August 2025.

LUXE LAKE LIVING

Relaxed Bellevue home doesn’t sacrifice style

By Jodi Keen

Homebuyers can marry a serene everyday life with top ame nities in this CAC Custom Homes build in Newburgh. The open floor plan includes an eat-in kitchen and dining room near the poolside outdoor patio, offering “room for a family,” listing agent Christie Martin says.

The design results in a relaxed Craftsman with high-end, modern ele ments like European oak floors, Kemp custom cabinetry, tray ceilings, wood beams, and a two-story foyer.

Tucked into the quiet Bellevue neighborhood at Bell and Telephone roads, the lot backs up to a manmade lake and includes a kayak launch. “The backyard, pool, and lake are just amazing,” Martin says. “It’s close to the hos pital and shopping, but it feels more country-ish driving out to it. It’s the best of both worlds.”

T2159 Sable Way, Newburgh

Year Built: 2017

Vital Stats: four bedrooms, four full and one half bathrooms, 3,825 square feet

Listing Price: $945,000

Listing Agent: Christie Martin, ERA First Advantage Realty, Inc.

ree-filled rolling hills in northern Vanderburgh County provided the groundwork for the McCutchanville Garden Club. Since 1950, members have charged themselves with maintaining the unincorporated community’s green spaces — “things you wouldn’t notice unless they look nice,” says president Martha Schriver.

The club is more than digging in the dirt for Margaret Miller, who moved to the North Side in 1976 and joined the club the following year to find a sense of community. “It was a place to connect with friends,” Miller says. “The projects we do have been so worthwhile. We had a dogwood sale (in the 1980s), and many of those trees are in the neighborhoods as a result.”

Members have installed daffodils at the corner of Hillsdale and Browning

roads and contributed to tree planting and adding a Little Free Library at the park on Petersburg Road. The club organizes trash pickups and hosts monthly luncheons with speakers. September’s meeting celebrates the 50-member club’s anniversary. “It’s a thank you for all the work our members do. It’s remarkable that the club still exists,” Miller says.

Funding comes from donations and an annual auction that primarily features members’ baked goods. The club also sends letters asking the community for feedback on future projects. “I marvel at how the club has evolved from a rather formal group to the enthusiastic volunteer organization it is today,” Schriver says. “I love Evansville because it feels like you can put your arms around a project and make it happen.” mccutchanvillejournal.com

McCutchanville Garden Club President Martha Schriver and Margaret Miller in front of the spruced up landscaping around the flagpole in McCutchanville Coimmunity Park.

PHOTO

ALLI WUERTZ

“I’ve got the equipment and interest to deal with items at Salvage Candy … and we came up with a deal,” says Neuffer, whose upbringing in New Harmony, Indiana, drove his interest in historic properties.

“It worked out perfectly for both of us,” T.J. says. Although she’ll miss customers, “Lucas is the perfect person to take over,” Tammy says.

Two months before Neuffer bought the salvage store, he purchased an 8-by-5-foot mirror original to the Ragon Mansion, connected to the Charles Kellogg Mansion that was occupied by Italian restaurant Sauced before it was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day 2024 and demolished in April. Salvage Candy has displayed Sauced’s elegant chandelier, wood mantels, and signature red front doors. What other Evansville relics are on display? The original Roca Bar sign from South Kentucky Avenue and light-up bingo boards from the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

“It’s cool just to see and have it,” Neuffer says.

What’s Old is New

Ownership change keeps Salvage Candy quirky

By Maggie Valenti

“You’ll know it when you see it” is the right attitude to have when shopping at Salvage Candy.

T.J. and Tammy Trem opened the shop at 3500 S. Weinbach Ave. in 2015 as a space for Tammy to sell her mosaic artwork and salvage furniture. T.J. brought in car parts and metal works, and the store became a home for anything that could find a new purpose.

“I had the idea for a long time from watching home improvement shows,” Tammy says. “I’m amazed at

the things that have stood the test of time, how they were made.”

“We started from scratch just to see how it would go, and it just kept going,” T.J. adds. “Anything salvageable, we tried to give it new life.”

Like other historic renovators, Lucas Neuffer has worked with the Trems, using the store to source items for his business Evansville Historic Homes. When the Trems realized it was time to step back, Neuffer bought Salvage Candy on July 31.

Some of the inventory that excites Neuffer includes unique trim work and a visibly uncomfortable 1900s dentist chair. As he describes it, stocking items that bring a “wow” factor will be key to keeping customers coming back to Salvage Candy. His vision is to steer more toward providing architectural elements, with less of a focus on metalworks and cars. He plans to manage the store alongside his business partner of four years, Brooke Stevenson, who will handle day-to-day operations.

“We’re going to focus more on home decor, unique pieces, and historic furniture. We’ll also use stuff we find from our own renovations we do.” Nueffer says. “We want older antiques and architectural items you cannot find in a retail store.”

Neuffer also finds the appeal in being a part of something that directly connects to his current business.

“It puts me in a very unique position for the Evansville market. I am the only person and business in Evansville that not only works on historic buildings, but also now has a location and source to buy and sell materials for historic buildings as well,” he says.

Find some cool items on Instagram @salvage_candy or @salvagecandy on Facebook.

Lucas Neuffer with his business partner Brooke Stevenson

 Lucas Neuffer purchased Salvage Candy from T.J. and Tammy Trem in July 2025. His plans are to focus on home decor and oneof-a-kind architectural pieces not found in retail stores, including the old red doors of the former Italian restaurant Sauced.

Creating Harmony in Outdoor Spaces

No Compromises

Interior designer Kim Coslett and her husband Dennis Walls downsize without sacrificing to build their ideal home, inside and out.

BY MAGGIE VALENTI • PHOTOS BY ZACH STRAW

ONE FLOOR LIVING It’s been more than two years since Dennis Walls and Kim Coslett moved into their custom-built home. The space is designed for hosting guests and family, with the kitchen, dining room, and living room flowing together as distinct areas in the same space. It’s perfect for when people mingle and gather, and at any point, the party can move outside to the couple’s backyard living space.

When Kim Colsett and Dennis Walls thought to downsize out of their McCutchanville home, they still wanted many of the amenities found in larger residences. They envisioned tall ceilings and open concept, one-floor living, but “when you downsize, you don’t see a lot of that,” Walls says.

Instead of sacrificing on those amenities and want ing to create an inviting indoor and outdoor living space for themselves and visitors to enjoy, they bought the undeveloped property next door in late 2021. “We wanted a little less to take care of and the opportunity to build something for ourselves,” Walls says.

Walls and Coslett went to Dubord Homes, Inc., with blueprints of their desired layout, and Dubord got to work, lining up builders and subcontractors to build the couple’s dream home. Construction took around a year and a half; meanwhile, the couple sold their former home next door and lived in an apartment as COVID-19 delays pushed back the initial completion

TAKE A DIP The view from the Walls’ and Coslett’s backyard pool is serene, a wall of trees that gives the space a sense of seclusion, along with the beautiful decor. When the party moves outside, Walls and Coslett have prepared an eye-catching space with both plants and artistic elements that truly bring the pool area to life.

date. By April 2023, they were ready to move into their new 3,200-square-foot abode. In line with their wishes for one-floor living, the only stairs are a few up to the front door and down to the in-ground pool.

Three sets of eight-foot double doors serve as entrances to the home, where Coslett’s interior design expertise is on full display. Vibrant artwork displayed throughout serves as a focal point — apparent from the eight paintings in the front hall alone. “My design experience helped pull it all together. We love colorful art,” Coslett says.

“We wanted a little less to take care of and the opportunity to build something for ourselves.”

– DENNIS WALLS

Since she has her own store to stock — Stella’s Finishing Touches in Newburgh — she had no problem finding eye-popping decor to fill the three-bed, three-and-a-half-bath house. The couple brought very little from their former home; almost everything was sourced from furniture markets in Atlanta, Georgia, and High Point, North Carolina. Strolling from room to room, there always is something to discover: a black sculpture of a woman’s head adorned with butterflies, a dark bronze hand holding a cigar, and small golden leaves accenting the stem of a lamp. It’s playful and unexpected.

The kitchen, with cabinets by Amish builders, incorporates black and gold light fixtures and appliances that pop against a white finish and faux wood floor. A grey-white brick backsplash draws out the stovetop, while a white island serves as a casual gathering place.

The black kitchen table is a study of contrasts. Two pale hands with palms fac ing upward stand beside two bronze-col ored bird statues, which appear to be pecking at a white floral arrangement in the center. A simple but large golden chande lier brightens the area, hanging from a tray ceiling with crown molding topped by thin black panels.

RELAX IN

When Walls and Coslett thought about how to bring their space together, one of their main focuses was on hosting. In the living room, comfort and style flow together with a couple of couches and chairs adorned with colorful pillows and an accent rug, which brings the room together in front of a TV and fireplace

STYLE

• Interior or Exterior Painting

• Cleaning (one time, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly)

• Carpet Cleaning

• Area Rug Cleaning

• Upholstery Cleaning

• Tile & Grout Cleaning

Evansville (812) 402-3060 | Henderson (270) 860-3060 | dirtfinders.net

The adjacent living room again incorporates diverging elements. White couches and chairs are accented by pink, black, white, and multicolored pillows. The television is mounted above a black fireplace between black cabinets displaying colorful sculptures, pots, plants, and artwork. Black and gold light fixtures embellish a chandelier hanging from individual square ceiling trays.

Altogether, the dining room, kitchen, and living room appear as distinct living areas in the same space, each with a view of the outdoors through three more sets of double doors — of five total — at the back of the house

“We could all be in the kitchen, living room, and dining room, and everyone would still be together,” Coslett says, and because of the large double doors, “even when you’re inside, you feel like you’re outside.”

The home not only pops with color inside. Coslett and Walls also put much thought into the 900-square-foot backyard surrounding the pool, and it’s now their favorite part of the residence. Colorful art and a mix of green, white, blue, and pink plants adorn the outdoor space. Walls and Coslett spend much time in a covered, L-shape living space with three fans, plenty of seating with two gray chairs and a couch, a coffee table,

ALL ABOUT THE ART Wall art is on display throughout Walls’ and Coslett’s custom-built home, and you can find it in almost every room, and even when stepping outside.

“I do it [interior design] for others every day, so it was not too difficult for me, and I know what I like.”

– KIM COSLETT

outdoor eating spot, where another plant sits in a pot dotted with lemons, and a side table. “We sit outside in storms but don’t get wet,” Coslett says, adding that they wanted to “create an inside-outside feeling to the house.”

Only a few steps are required to get down to the pool to relax on the lounge chairs and take in the view of the wall of trees outlining the property. At the pool house, the couple incorporated outdoor dining with a TV, fireplace, two refrigerators, sink, and grill, plus a bathroom inside. “We wanted to have a pool and pool house,” Walls says. “We spend a lot of time outside.”

“It’s as we hoped it would be,” says Coslett, adding that the couple may add an outdoor fireplace in the future.

As an interior designer with 50 years of experience, Coslett says planning the interior design of her own space came naturally.

“I do it for others every day, so it was not too difficult for me, and I know what I like,” she says.

After intensive effort during the design and construction processes, Coslett and Walls have the house they envisioned and compliment the Dubord team for being responsive to minor changes throughout.

“Neither of us had ever built a home. We were surprised by how many decisions there were. When it’s done, it’s really the house you made,” Walls says. He advises homeowners with an eye on a future custom build, “You should go into it with a good perspective on what you want. It’s going to take a while, so just have some perspective. … As you go along, you’re going to want additions.”

Savor

SCORING A HIT

If you didn’t know much about Don Mattingly before dining at Casey’s Dugout, you will before you leave, including how he likes his pizza. The retired New York Yankees first baseman looms large at the cozy East Side pizza joint, but the business model is all about community. Learn how owner Casey Keown hit a home run with his first food venture. 

LOCAL FLAVOR

From First Base to First Bites

Sports and stardust take center stage at neighborhood pizzeria Casey’s Dugout

By John Martin, with Jodi Keen

It’s easy to decode the inspiration behind Casey’s Dugout. The boutique restaurant is a shrine to sports, particularly baseball, and acts as a tribute to owner Casey Keown’s East Side upbringing. Headlining the decor is retired New York Yankee Don Mattingly. Photos and memorabilia cover the walls, and dozens of his baseball cards are packed under glass table tops. Sport action figures dangle from the ceiling. Some of the more valuable artifacts displayed are Mattingly’s 1985 contract with the Yankees (Keown has refused offers for it), plus bags Mattingly carried on team road trips.

Keown is a lifelong Mattingly fan — both are Reitz Memorial High School grads — and much of the restaurant’s memorabilia collection is his own. When Keown left the landscaping industry in 2024 — he sold his nine-year-old business, Grass Kickers, to Colonial Classics — he pursued his dream of running a pizza place near his old stomping grounds. Inspiration came from spots he frequented, including The Slice, Steve’s Una Pizza, and Turoni’s Forget-Me-Not Inn.

Keown wanted Mattingly to be a focal point of his own establishment. Longtime residents might find Casey’s Dugout reminiscent of Mattingly’s 23, an East Side restaurant that had a nine-year run before closing in 1996.

“We reached out to him early on, wanted to name a pizza after him,” Keown says of Mattingly. “He was on board, and so was Lori [Don’s wife]. He comes in when he’s in town. He eats, and he blends right in. Nobody’s wearing him out for autographs.”

Mattingly’s favorite pizza, The Hitman, is one of Casey’s Dugout’s bigger sellers and is topped with mushrooms, sausage, and extra cheese. Two other specialties are dear to Keown’s heart: His son Graham is the namesake of the “Graham” Slam loaded with sausage, pepperoni, beef, ham, bacon, onion, green pepper, black olives, mushrooms, and pepperoncini. Harper’s Hot Honey Hawaiian, a sweet nod at his daughter, blends ham, pineapple, and brown sugar, with a hot honey drizzle. Actually, there’s a second Mattingly-inspired pie: The Donnie MEATball offers house-made meatballs, ricotta, green pepper, onion, and mozzarella. Mary’s Little Lamb and the MARGO-Rita are other popular choices.

Fully aware of Evansville’s reputation as a capital of thin-crust pizza, Keown sought his own niche. His crust is a thicker, hand-tossed style, and The Dugout doesn’t skimp on toppings. Every pizza is stacked, and pies like the aforementioned “Graham” Slam weigh a whopping 4-5 pounds. “We pile on the toppings unlike anybody in town,” Keown says. “We have trucks that come twice a week to deliver fresh goods. More times than not, people are eating with a fork.”

The menu doesn’t stop at pizza. Wings and fireball appetizers (baked dough with hot honey sauce, bacon, and jalapeños, if you like) bring serious heat and bookend meals with Tiger Balls, a gooey cinnamon sugar concoction named for Memorial’s mascot. Sandwiches include a hot ham and cheese, stromboli, and the roast beef — get it with au jus

Pepperoni and Graham Slam pizzas

— which sold out for 16 straight weeks. A hobbyist poet, Keown shared this ode to The Dugout’s roast beef delicacy on social media:

Five ounces thick, it’s stacked just right, Still steaming warm, still holding tight. Fresh baked bread, no shortcut roll, This sandwich hits you deep down in your soul …

Pizza maker? Poet? Lawncare expert? Keown is a lot of things, and Casey’s Dugout reflects his dynamic energy to a T. On April 1, he joked on social media about adding rooftop dining. He’s known to wear a pinstripe suit — a la the “Hitman” — or coveralls emblazoned with patches of SKI soda, Grippo’s potato chips, and beer brands. When Hooters suddenly closed its Lincoln Avenue location in June, Keown snagged the wings chain’s owl-and-blazeorange sign for his shop. Taken individually, it all seems odd. But Keown thrives off the unexpected. “His talent shows in his marketing. He has a charismatic way

about him,” says Kyle Fields, a Casey’s Dugout investor and lifelong friend of Keown’s. “It’s been well received; his sales show that. The community has backed him, especially on the East Side.”

It was Fields who brought Lance Armstrong — a client of Fields’ firm, Bridge Alternatives — for dinner at The Dugout during a November visit to Evansville. “I thought it would be cool for Casey and [wife] Bissy … just the memory that created. And I knew the food was going to be good, and (Armstrong) wouldn’t be bothered, ” Fields says, recalling that the retired pro cyclist ordered slices of The Hitman and a pepperoni pie with jalapeño. “Lance has traveled the world and tried a lot of pizza — he’s not going to keep eating it if he doesn’t like it. He had 3-4 slices, so that was our test,” Fields laughs. “Casey was proud.”

Mattingly memorabilia shares the spotlight with the blue Memorial and purple University of Evansville basketball jerseys donned by Keown’s older brother, Clint, who died in an automobile accident in September 2024. Keown says he’s heard

people call Casey’s Dugout “a Memorial bar,” but the shop supports all area schools and causes, including, appropriately, Evansville-based Mattingly Charities.

“Everything we do here at Casey’s Dugout is for the kids in the community and the surrounding area,” he says. “(It’s) a place where parents can come and relax, and kids can be kids and create memories with friends and family that we hope will last a lifetime.”

Operating in a former optometrist’s office, Casey’s Dugout packs in customers in a tight, cozy space. As a neighborhood place, “you get as many people walking here as driving here,” Keown says.

The feel is intimate, and while Keown likes it that way, his eyes are on the future. He’s scoped out vacant properties in Evansville and surrounding communities. The Casey’s Dugout home base isn’t going anywhere, but “to be widely successful, you need more than one (location),” Keown says. “Now that we are established,” he says, “people are looking at us.”

caseysdugout.com

Roast Beef Sandwich

PHOTO OF CASEY’S DUGOUT BUILDING BY CHANDA RAMSEY.

PHOTOS BY BRODIE CURTSINGER

WORTH THE DRIVE

Find Your Grapes

Wine, dine, and have a good time at these Southwestern Indiana wineries

By Mitzi S. Morris

Indiana boasts more than 100 wineries. Luckily, Evansville-area residents don’t have to travel far to taste a new libation and take in the scenery. Several Hoosier wineries within a 90-minute drive from the River City offer sips of award-winning varietals, plus events, overnight accommodations, and more.

Patoka Lake Winery

Distance from Evansville: 80 miles

The Dubois County winery is part of a recreational powerhouse in the Birdseye area that consists of a brewery, distillery, hotel, saloon, and marina. Co-owner Heather Setser says the winery mainly uses Walker’s Wine Juice in Forestville, New York, to make its varietals. For dry reds, the vintners buy grapes from Lodi, California, and partner with Turtle Run Winery in Corydon, Indiana, to process the fruit.

“We are well known for our wine slushies. People come from all over to taste and buy them. They are so much fun because you can mix and match flavors,” Setser says. “During Halloween and Christmas, we have featured flavors and themes. We have done the Sanderson Sisters, Beetlejuice, Harry Potter, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Patoka Lake Winery also offers lodging and event space. Past awards include silver medals for Lake Indulgence Gewurztraminer and Blackberry as well as bronze medals for Lake Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Strawberry, and Captain’s Chardonnay at the 2019 INDY International Wine Competition.

Winzerwald Winery

Distance from Evansville: 70 miles

This German-inspired estate in the Hoosier National Forest grows Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, Traminette, Marechal Foch, and Ives grapes. Popular varietals include Riesling and Gewürztraminer, as well as fruit and spiced wines.

The winery features a restaurant, Sips and Samples events that pair wine with food, and live music in the summer and fall. When the holiday season

approaches, select wines are available for purchase in Christmas tree-shaped bottles made in Germany. Try its Blaufränkisch Reserve, which won a gold medal at the 2024 Indiana State Fair, or Baked Apple Glühwein, which took home Best Dessert Wine in 2023.

“We have also been honored and chosen as a featured farmer at the Indiana State Fair this year,” co-owner Donna Adams says. “It’s based on recommendations from other farmers who have been honored previously and from people in the state ag industry.”

Distance from Evansville: 60 miles

It’s hard to beat the view from Blue Heron Vineyards and Winery, which sits atop a bluff above the Ohio River in Cannelton. Visitors can catch their breath while sampling wine primarily made with Indiana-grown grapes, including two acres of Chambourcin on the property, as well as cherries and blueberries from Michigan.

Co-owner Lynn Dauby says the winery offers a sangria mix from New Albany that’s popular with patrons,

Blue Heron Vineyards and Winery

WINE A WHILE Patoka Lake Winery visitors sample its white varietals. At Winzerwald Winery, Donna and Dan Adams harvest grapes including Vidal Blanc, Traminette, and Ives. Glasses of Blue Heron Winery’s Chambourcin wine can be enjoyed overlooking the Ohio River.

Patoka Lake Winery

Winzerwald Winery

Blue Heron Winery

along with varietals such as Twin Towers Red, On Deck White, and On Deck Red made from Catawba grapes.

“(Catawba is) a fruity, grapey grape. But we try to keep it not super sweet so that it has a balance. Actually, a lot of our wines, we try to work with a balance. So the Catawba has a balance of sweet and then tartness on the finish,” Dauby says.

Blue Heron Winery hosts small events like birthday parties and bridal showers as well as concert series such as Music on the Patio and Wine Over Water with food trucks in summer and fall. Guests can reserve on-site lodging in the Above & Beyond and Cru-View cottages. The Celtic Cross carved in stone on the nearby hillside is also a point of interest.

In the Vicinity

Monkey Hollow Winery in the Spencer County community of Saint Meinrad has about seven acres of grapes with 10 varieties of French, American, and French Hybrid producing Vidal Blanc, Traminette, and Niagara, plus fruit and seasonal selections. The venue hosts summer and fall concert series and also features a distillery.

Another Spencer County site, Pepper’s Ridge Winery in Rockport, buys most of its fruit locally; Lakeview Orchard in Rockport, for example, supplies the peaches for its Lakeview Peach flavor. The winery specializes in fruit wines like berry blend Bird Dog Blues and grape-berry medley Knob Hill Quencher. Guests can enjoy the country setting and listen to live music on weekends in summer and fall. The venue also hosts private parties and celebrations.

One to Watch

Hymn and Herd Winery in Rockport is not yet open to the public, but you may have spotted its varietals at area wine festivals. The winery partners with local growers to make its popular sweet fruit wines. In 2025, Mammaw’s Mix, a berry blend, won Premier Fruit Wine at the Texas International Wine Competition, and Homestead, a blackberry and blueberry mix, won Gold at the Great American International Wine Competition. The winery, which was incorporated in 2018, expects to open its tasting room inside an old church on the family homestead this year.

PASSIONATE POURS

Bokeh Lounge’s Jessica Nuffer still loves life behind the bar

By John Martin

Jessica Nuffer is more than the smiling face bringing your drink. In fact, she’s been a co-partner at Bokeh Lounge for the last five of her seven years at the Haynie’s Corner Arts District restaurant and bar. That’s after nearly a decade as general manager and bar manager at the former Lamasco Bar & Grill.

Now nearly 60, Nuffer made her bartending debut at the Silver Bell in the Saint Wendel area, where she worked part-time as a single mother. “I realized I could make more bartending than I could at my factory job,” she recalls. Her early career took her through well-known establishments that have since closed, such as Duck Inn, Funky’s, Harpole’s Main Street Exit, and Village Saloon.

Although she’s now an owner and manager, Nuffer still enjoys mixing a perfect cocktail, chatting up customers, and having a front-row seat to the music scene, which she considers a well-kept secret.

“To be successful in anything, you have to have a passion for it,” Nuffer says. “You have to absolutely adore what you do, you know? I love it all, and every opportunity I’ve had and

“To be successful in anything, you have to have a passion for it. You have to absolutely adore what you do, you know?”

Jessica Nuffer, co-partner, Bokeh Lounge

everybody I’ve worked for, I’ve learned something. And I still feel like I get to learn every day. There’s such a science between how a product is distilled to how you create a cocktail with it. I’m kind of geeky like that.”

Nuffer is behind the bar at Bokeh a couple of times a week; other days, she books bands, trains staff, and manages inventory orders, plus works catering jobs. More than anything, she loves to simply throw open her doors. “It’s like, come on in, everybody,” she says. “Let’s just have a great time.”

bokehvibes.com

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

Tastes of the Mediterranean

Marida owners delight in exposing diners to their native cuisine

By John Martin

Marida Mediterranean Restaurant’s opening in September 2024 was highly anticipated — the well-known spot with majestic views would become home to a style of food underrepresented in the Evansville area.

Turkish owners Serhat Turan, Mehmet Alkan, and Erdal Eredemir saw opportunity in the former home of The Landing and Edgewater Grille on Water Street in Newburgh, Indiana. Their portfolio includes Edessa Restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, which landed on the New York Times’ “The Restaurant List,” a compilation of editors’ 50 favorite places in the U.S. for 2024. Drawn to Newburgh’s Ohio River overlook by a friend, they decided it was time to grow their business footprint.

“The view was one of the reasons,” says Alkan, who’s also a chef. “The second thing was, there was no concept like this here, and we said we can bring it to the community.”

“Marida” is a Roman-era name of Mardin in southeast Turkey, a city blending cultures and religions, as well as cuisine reflecting such diversity. Newburgh’s Marida brings this to life in Southwestern Indiana. The menu is full of marinated beef, chicken, and lamb kebabs, which, if you like, can come on a vertical skewer hanging above your plate. (Snap a photo before you eat, as Evansville Living did on a recent visit). Can’t pick which type you want? Turan recommends a sampler kebab plate. “You can just test all of them,” he says.

Alkan says Kurdish and Turkish styles of cooking are more about flavor than heat. Beyond the savory kebabs, which often come with rice and cole slaw, Marida delivers lentil and chicken orzo soups, plus numerous hot and cold appetizers true to the owners’ home region.

As with the kebabs, a colorful, mixed appetizer plate is available. Dip your bread into native concoctions such as shakshuka (featuring eggplant and zucchini squash), haydari (a strained yogurt mix with walnut, garlic, and fresh dill), baba ghanoush (also an eggplant dip), and hummus.

Try hot appetizers, too. Think gozleme, which is a flatbread stuffed with spinach and cheese, and shrimp saganaki. A falafel plate of seasoned, fried patties made of chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, and onions is an attractive vegetarian option.

Marida’s menu is larger than its sister properties in the Music City, and Alkan says that’s because owners wanted to offer enough choices to get Evansville-area diners coming in, including those unsure about the Kurdish and Turkish fare.

Besides kebabs and other TurkishKurdish-style dishes, Marida offers something for everyone at your table — steaks, salads, seafood, even a burger. Alkan recommends the seafood boil, which packs lobster tails, shrimp, clams, and mussels. “The taste is perfect,” he says. Desserts

include baklava and Dubai chocolate. Sip from an extensive wine and spirits list, including Kavaklıdere Çankaya (white) and Yakut (red) wines from Turkey, cocktails like a strawberry-flavored Turkish delight martini and a lychee mocktail, and more than 80 kinds of whiskeys and bourbons, gins, tequilas, and vodkas.

There’s more: On Aug. 8, Marida unveiled a Friday-Sunday brunch menu, with some choices familiar to local diners and others less so. There are two omelets on the menu, plus Kurdish shakshuka, poached egg in a spicy tomato and bell pepper sauce, and Mediterranean menemen, scrambled eggs with sauteed tomatoes, bell peppers, parsley, and feta.

No matter what type of meal you’re looking for, the view at Marida is hard to

DINING SCENE

“There was no concept like this here, and we said we can bring it to the community.”

Mehmet Alkan, owner and chef

FABULOUS FLAVORS Cultural flair extends across Marida Mediterranean Restaurant’s offerings. Diners can savor entrees like the Mix Grill Kebab plate and pair them with a drinks list of more than 80 kinds of whiskeys and bourbons, gins, tequilas, and vodkas. No matter what menu items are selected, the location on the Ohio River treats diners to some of the region’s best views.

beat, including from three tiers of outdoor seating overlooking the river. But those who recall the building’s prior restaurants won’t recognize the interior; Marida owners remodeled and created an upscale atmosphere with water features and a relaxing vibe. Alkan says Marida sees many date night couples, but plenty of families with children are coming in as well.

Turan and Alkan are natives of Turkey and have both maintained their ties to Nashville — Turan serves in the U.S. Army Reserve’s Military Police Brigade based there. But both say they

have enjoyed getting Marida off the ground and continue to receive positive comments from diners.

Turan recalls one piece of feedback very well — a business executive who’s lived in the Evansville area for 20 years loves the Kurdish and Mediterranean cuisine at Marida, and before it opened, “he had to keep going to Chicago and Nashville to eat something like it.”

Alkan is a mechanical engineer, but he switched career paths to food several years ago because he loves cooking and sharing his native cuisine. “The whole community here, and not just the international community, honestly are very happy with us, and most of the time they come they say we support you because you brought something different,” he says. “You can have a burger everywhere, you can have a pizza everywhere, but you can’t have a kebab.”

Alkan says Marida has a goal of continuous improvement. “We work with customers and take their advice, because they are the ones who are going to eat the food,” he says. “We focus on that and on the service as well.”

maridarestaurant.com

Serhat Turan and Mehmet Alkan

Mix Grill Kebab plate

Spread the News

Ryan Bodine’s culinary experience boosts city food scene

By John Martin

Ryan Bodine has worked in restaurants since before he could drive. Now 47, he’s taken his well-honed skills on the road.

He built his career in kitchens and management at chain restaurants as well as locally owned favorites like Sportsman’s Grille & Billiards, the now-closed Rí Rá Irish Pub, and Honey Moon Coffee Co. His own venture, a food truck called Bodine’s Newsstand, is making waves with its flaky, fried fish and hand-cut “chips,” pub burgers, and po’boy sandwiches. The truck’s launch on Halloween 2023 signaled what was to come: “We had a line down the block,” Bodine recalls.

The name is a nod to a historic, nowclosed sandwich shop in Bodine’s native Sullivan, Indiana. “We’d been going to the Newsstand since I was a baby,” he says. “That was the introduction. And I worked there all through high school.” His Irish-influenced cuisine is a love letter to his ancestral homeland and “how good the food was at the ‘chippers’” during his travels to the Emerald Isle, he says.

Aside from a brief — and hated, he says — stint in retail, Bodine has stayed in the culinary scene for years. Bodine’s Newsstand stops regularly at Mo’s House in the Haynie’s Corner Arts District because owner Moriah Hobgood once worked with Bodine at Rí Rá. Introductions to the folks running Industry Bar and Barker Brewhouse led to regular gigs there, too.

He’s twice collaborated with Patsy Hartigan’s Irish Pub, owned by another former Rí Rá coworker, Joshua Petrowski. Bodine first supplied fish and chips in July 2024 when the team at Patsy’s ran low on supplies — and needed some rest — at the end of its busy grand opening weekend, and again the following St. Patrick’s Day. Before that, Bodine worked for Honey Moon owners Zac and Jessica Parsons, helping shape logistics and processes for nearly a year before deciding, with the Parsons’ blessing, to focus on his food truck.

“Ryan doesn’t seem to know the definition of the word ‘impossible’ — in the best ways,” Zac Parsons says. “He was

always willing to roll up his sleeves and try anything that might make a process, a customer experience, or a menu item better. Honestly, I think just getting some insight into our mom-and-pop organization might have given him that confidence to make the biggest vocational jump of all: to go from employee to entrepreneur.”

Bodine’s Newsstand’s blue truck is a repurposed circus trailer that used to peddle popcorn, pretzels, and cotton candy. His and wife Deena’s children — Brynn, 19, Liam, 16, Collin, 12, and Rowan, 9 — are heavily involved. “I could not have done this without my wife,” Bodine says. “Her blossoming career enabled me to step back from the grind of the corporate restaurant world and focus on following my passion rather than chasing a paycheck.”

Meanwhile, Bodine’s business keeps flourishing. In winter 2025, Arcademie owner Carl Arnheiter tapped Bodine to craft a bistro-inspired menu of a French dip Philly, loaded frites, frites poutine, and more. In August, the Newsstand signed a lease for a Downtown storefront serving mostly the same menu at Main Street Food & Beverage. “It’s difficult with the trailer to do DoorDash and deliveries,” Bodine says. “This is kind of our expansion and our winter location. We are very excited to bring this to life.”

bodinesnewsstand.com

PHOTO OF RYAN BODINE AND DEENA BODINE BY GREG EANS.

PHOTO OF RYAN BODINE AND COLLIN BODINE BY BRODIE CURTSINGER

A FAMILY BUSINESS Ryan Bodine says his four children “earn their tips” while working in his fish and chips food truck, Bodine’s Newsstand. His wife, Deena, a full-time social worker, is not heavily involved in the truck’s operation, but “she likes my cooking,” he adds.

LOCAL FOODIE

NINE PINES RETREATS, CADIZ

Dine

Cavanaugh’s on the River

Located on the second floor of Bally’s Riverfront Event Center, this premier dining experience specializes in steak and seafood on its three-course menu, which includes prime rib, pork chop, blackened neptune, verlasso salmon, and king crab legs. Live entertainment Wednesday-Sunday at Cavanaugh’s Piano Bar. Reservations recommended. 421 N.W. Riverside Drive (inside Bally’s Evansville)

Upscale Dining

Belly of the Wolf

This newer scratch restaurant inside Schymik’s Kitchen offers a wine-driven menu of smoked salmon, Iberico pork loin, shareplate ribeyes, steak frites, Curacao creme brulee, and more. 1112 Parrett St.

Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano

Monthly chef specials and homemade dishes fill out the lunch and dinner menus. Try bacon-wrapped dates, seafood scampi, french onion soup, braised short rib or butternut squash ravioli, eggplant parmesan, dijon salmon, and grilled mahi mahi. 6401 E. Lloyd Expressway Ste. 3

i Cap & Cork

Find a menu heavy on steak and seafood, with several handheld choices, a lengthy cocktail menu, and a cigar and bourbon bar. 104 N. Water St., Henderson, KY

The Collective

Entrees like seafood stuffed mushrooms, barbecue pork sliders, crispy skin salmon, chicken cordon bleu, and porterhouse steak are complemented by curated wines, original cocktails, and a whiskey selection. 21+. 230 Main St. (above COMFORT by the Cross-Eyed Cricket)

and steak and grits to apricot salmon, plus cocktails and wine enjoyed from the restaurant, bar, and Garden Room overlooking the kitchen. 1430 W. Franklin St.

Cork ’N Cleaver

With its menu etched on literal cleavers, this longstanding restaurant is known for steaks, seafood, burgers, and sandwiches, an extensive salad bar (complete with anchovies), and mud pie for dessert. 650 S. Hebron Ave.

Cosmos Bistro

This French-inspired menu, concise with a broad variety of options, offers a la carte dishes that change seasonally.

101 S.E. First St.

Entwined Wine & Cocktail Bar

The wine and cocktail bar has an intimate setting and offers a rotating selection of small plates including charcuterie and cheese plates, salads, flatbreads, and desserts

303 Main St.

i Farmer and Frenchman Winery

French and Italian cuisines live in harmony on this menu offering seasonal small bites, focaccia, vol au vent, braised beef pasta, beet and burrata salad, beef bourguignon, and roasted butternut squash. An extensive wine menu is available. 12522 U.S. 41 S., Robards, KY

i Haub Steakhouse

Housed in a 125-year-old former grain warehouse, find hand-cut meats, including trimmed steaks and fresh seafood, alongside desserts and signature cocktails.

101 E. Haub St., Haubstadt

NANDO Wood-Fired Steak & Seafood

A new menu of steaks and seafood, including oysters, sea bass, halibut, wagyu,

ribeye, and burgers plus duck breast, gnocchi a la rosa, and french onion soup. 415 Main St.

Casual

Bar Louie

The Midwest gastrobar chain offers bar bites like fried pickles and bone-in wings before entrees including Monterey chicken, citrus grilled salmon, beer-battered fish and chips, shrimp and grits, flatbreads, and craft burgers and scratch-built sandwiches. Catering available. 7700 Eagle Crest Blvd.

Bonefish Grill

A local favorite for seafood, find hand-cut and wood-grilled specialties like Chilean sea bass, parmesan-crusted rainbow trout, and bourbon-glazed salmon. For those who prefer land-based meats, try chicken, pork, steak, or linguine dishes. 6401 E. Lloyd Expressway

BRU Burger Bar

(Best Restaurant for a Burger)

Inside the city’s historic former Greyhound bus terminal, dine on endless takes on the burger — dress it up with bourbon sauce, Provencal cheese, double bacon, chipotle barbecue sauce, a Mexicali spice mix, and mushrooms and Swiss cheese. A wide range of sandwiches, milkshakes, and signature cocktails also are served. 222 Sycamore St.

Bubba’s 33

This family restaurant/sports bar fusion was started by Kent “Bubba” Taylor, the founder of Texas Roadhouse, in 2013, and came to Evansville in 2022. Enjoy dishes like the Bacon Burger and Meaty Meat pizza, plus garlic knots, pastas, salads, and sandwiches.

1 N. Burkhardt Road

i Carriage Inn

Housed in what originally was a 19th-century livery renting horses and carriages, this

Southern family-style restaurant serves hand-breaded fried chicken, chicken livers and gizzards, grilled salmon, and catfish filets, plus sandwiches and burgers. 103 E. Gibson St., Haubstadt

Catfish Willy’s Seafood & Comfort Cuisine

This eclectic menu includes a Grippos cheeseburger, meatloaf, coconut shrimp, crab stuffed whitefish, fried frog legs, a seafood ramen boil, loaded gator fries, freshshucked loaded or raw oysters, deep fried crab cakes, and a create-your-own seafood steampot, all served with the help of robots. 5720 E. Virginia St.

Chef Lo on the Go

Find a range of classic smashburgers — including pineapple bacon, surf and turf, and brunch variations — plus a shrimp po’boy, fajita tacos, ribeye cheesesteak sandwich, and a variety of loaded fries. 900 Main St. (inside Main Street Food & Beverage)

COMFORT by the Cross-Eyed Cricket (Best Spot for Brunch)

Dine in a historic former hotel on one of the city’s most varied menus. Country entrees include meatloaf, roast beef, and chicken and dumplings, or select from loaded salads, thick sandwiches, fish and fowl dishes, and steaks. Belgian waffles, skillets, omelets, and more breakfast items are served all day. 230 Main St.

Cross-Eyed Cricket Family Restaurant

The precursor to COMFORT set the table for homestyle cooking available all day. Breakfast

specials include bread pudding French toast, deep fried fruit-covered funnel cake, and garlic butter ribeye steak ‘n eggs. For lunch or dinner, try the Cricket Melt — two beef patties with lettuce, tomato, sauteed onions, and bacon on Texas toast. 2101 W. Lloyd Expressway

Drake’s

The Lexington, Kentucky-based chain specializes in burgers, steaks, sushi, and a good time. The bar has 20 craft beers on tap to wash down a variety of sushi rolls and burgers, plus chicken asada tacos, fried fish, salads, chili, smashburgers, steak, and sandwiches. 1222 Hirschland Road

The Frontier Restaurant and Bar Feast on chicken wings, a “porterhouse” pork chop, and roasted prime rib, plus seafood, pasta, burgers, and sandwiches at the former cinder block saloon. 12945 IN-57

G.D. Ritzy’s

Exuding a diner feel with a 1950s playlist, on the menu are chili, “the world’s best” peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and the wellknown shoe string fries alongside burgers, hotdogs, salads, and soft-serve ice cream. Three locations in Evansville

i Hometown Roots

Explore cuisine with Southern roots by way of pork cakes, a classic Kentucky Hot Brown, Mississippi Cajun catfish, and sweet sorghum banana pudding served in a mason jar. Catering available. 136 Second St., Henderson, KY

HT’s Ice Cream & Grill

Inside the former 2nd Street Treats, this relaxed eatery specializes in smashburgers and ice cream and offers sandwiches, milkshakes and malts, banana splits, sundaes, and more. 221 Second St. Ste. A, Henderson, KY

The Hornet’s Nest Steakhouse (Best Brunch)

Formerly a tavern, hotel, and dance hall, now the restaurant offers everything from a hot brown and beef Manhattan to Cajun chicken tortellini, French dip and Philly sandwiches, lollipop pork chop, pecan bourbon chicken, and more in a relaxed setting. From the bar, enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine, beer, bourbon, and whiskey. 11845 Petersburg Road

Jacobs Pub

This new venture incorporates many original DiLegge’s Restaurant dishes. Start with a fungi ripieni granchio or insalata DiLegge, then dig into Gina’s fried chicken, DiLegge’s baked ziti, a chicken parmesan grinder, German bologna sandwich, double Chicago hot dog, bistecca e gamberetti, clams and linguine, scampi, or build-your-own pasta. 607 N. Main St.

Journey Fish & Chicken

Food with a Chicago flare, try Windy City twists on honey barbecue wings, chicken tenders, catfish steak, and Italian beef. 825 S. Green River Road

Juicy Seafood

Specials include boiled black and green mussels, squid, crayfish, and snow crab, plus New England clam chowder, hush-

puppies, raw or steamed oysters, king crab legs, seafood fried rice, and pasta on the Cajun-inspired menu. 865 N. Green River Road

i The Korner Inn

The northern Warrick County bar is open from breakfast to dinner, including nightly specials on fried chicken, catfish fiddlers, and smoked pork chops. 15 W. Main St., Elberfeld

i The Log Inn

The Elpers family’s definition of homestyle cooking includes fried chicken legs and wings, rolls, ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes, homemade coleslaw, corn, green beans, and freshly baked pies and cakes. Erected in 1825 as a stagecoach stop and trading post, this resting point is recognized as the oldest restaurant in Indiana. 12491 S. 200 E., Haubstadt

Major Munch

Order from a menu of savory burgers and patty melts, catfish sandwich, Philly cheesesteaks, po’boys, three types of crispy chicken sandwiches, and tenderloins.

101 N.W. First St.

Mister B’s

Choose from fare like battered mushrooms, nacho baskets, seasoned and loaded waffle fries, loaded potato soup, reubens, strombolis, buffalo mac and cheese, baked ziti, and specialty pizzas. After your meal, stop at Club 18, an indoor golf simulator club next door to the Evansville location. 1340 Hirschland Road; 2611 U.S. 41, Henderson, KY

The New Old Mill

Family-style dinners have been made from scratch here since 1936. In a dining room sporting Old World decor, share plates of breaded cauliflower, shrimp egg rolls, Texas-cut prime rib, baby back ribs, shrimp Maui, filet of sole almandine, baked scrod, chicken ala Kiev, lasagna, weiner schnitzel, and Old Mill tenderloin and fish filet sandwiches. 5031 New Harmony Road

Pangea Kitchen

This East Side restaurant combines Thai and Italian dishes to create its eclectic menu of Neapolitan and Detroit-style pizzas, housemade pasta, pad ke moa, kao soi, pad ka poa and rice, torta milanesa, and a rotating taco special. Gelato and Italian pastries are available for dessert.

111 S. Green River Road

Pip’s Pub

Did the silvery diner exterior catch your eye as you exited Interstate 64? Weary travelers and local diners alike stop by for classic and creative twists on pub cuisine, including catfish bites, fried pickles, Bavarian pretzel sticks, and the mac and smash attack burger, Philly cheesesteak, pork tenderloin sandwich, and a citrus chicken rice bowl.

19501 Elpers Road

Prime Time Bar & Grill

The prime rib is a house specialty, but there’s plenty more here: burgers, rice bowls, and crunchy potato chips to snack on while waiting for an order. Choose from about 45 bourbons and 25 beers on tap.

8177 Bell Oaks Drive, Newburgh; 12301 U.S. 41 N.

NOW OPEN

Bullseyes Sports Bar, 664 E. Illinois St., opened in the former Sidetrack Bar location and offers dart tournaments alongside nightly dinner plates like pulled pork and sloppy joe sandwiches, beef hot dogs, and more. Diners at Señor Burrito Mex/Grill, 606 N. Main St., can order everything from cheesecake and cheese dip to Chicken on the Beach and the Señor Burrito with grilled chicken, steak, chorizo, shrimp, onions, and bell peppers with cheese sauce. NANDO Wood-Fired Steak & Seafood, 415 Main St., opened in the former Arazu on Main and includes steaks and seafood, including oysters, sea bass, and halibut, plus wagyu, ribeye, burgers, duck breast, gnocchi a la rosa, French onion soup, and more on its menu. That Place is serving pita pizzas, pickle pockets, paninis, burgers, biscuits and gravy, and more at 2630 U.S. 41, Ste. B in Henderson, Kentucky.

NIBBLES

The Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area launched Downtown July 4, with branded cups available for purchase of to-go drinks from participating businesses within the district’s boundaries. Restaurateurs Jeremiah Galey and Derek Ungethiem are the new co-owners of Ray Leo’s at Lamasco, 1331 W. Franklin St., after Charles Mereday sold the former Lamasco’s Bar & Grill. Domo Japanese Hibachi Grill, Sushi and Ramen, 215 N. Green River Road, has a new menu that includes ika sansai, tantanmen ramen, and niku udon. Arcademie, 22 N.W. Sixth St., has opened the weekend sober Altar Bar on its second floor. Patsy Hartigan’s Irish Pub, 203 Main St., has started a weekend Irish breakfast with two eggs, house beans, grilled tomato, sauteed mushrooms, banger, rasher, black and white pudding, and a hash brown. Lic’s Deli & Ice Cream has been sold to Jodi Ashby after being owned for 63 years by Don Smith and his wife Jane, along with his children Jamia Brown and Kara Combs.

DEARLY DEPARTED

Backyard Bar & Grill, in the former J’s Sportsbar & Grill location at 1602 Vann Ave., has shuttered. Big Ass Slice Co. inside Main Street Food & Beverage, 900 Main St., has closed.

FRESH TAKES

NANDO Wood-Fired Steak & Seafood

Savor

Rockin Chicken Indi

Sample a variety of marinated meats like grilled chicken, jumbo wings, skirt steak, pulled pork, and rack rib, plus street and soft tacos and burritos with housemade sauces and sides. 2519 N. First Ave.

The Rooster’s Den Passed-down family recipes are the backbone of this menu, which offers biscuits and gravy, a loaded haystack, Rowdy Rooster, French toast, pancakes, breaded pork tenderloin, Hawaiian chicken salad, and chicken strip basket. A soup and salad bar is available at lunch. 38988 Haley Drive, Newburgh

Samuel’s

You’ll know this Downtown eatery by its red exterior. Inside, and on the outside patio, diners enjoy smashburgers, truffle fries, and cocktails. 21+. 113 S.E. Fourth St.

The Rooftop

Whether inside or with a view on the elevated outdoor patio, dine on an expansive menu with breakfast choices as well as a Rooftop smashburger, Richie’s Fried Chicken, build-your-own-pizza, buffalo chicken mac, chicken on the beach, and a brisket mac and cheese taco.

112 N.W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The Tin Fish

Fill up on calamari, crab cakes, mahi-mahi, swordfish, trout, and filets like orange roughy, catfish, tilapia, and walleye are offered alongside New England clam chowder, tacos, burritos, and sandwiches. The two-story, pink salt-walled seafood eatery includes an 18-seat bar. 707 State St., Newburgh

Cafés

10-8 Café Bar & Grill

The menu inside the North Side shooting range and entertainment center winks at

the law enforcement life, offering live rounds (pizza), burglers (burgers), new recruits (kids’ menu), mutual aid (sides), and sandwiches like the dayshifter BLT and the billy club. 4209 U.S. 41 N. (inside Lawman Tactical Guntry Club)

Kite & Key Café

Breakfast and lunch options include omelets, breakfast burritos, eggs benedict, French toast, crepes, avocado toast, skillets, sandwiches, burgers, wraps, quesadillas, soups, and salads. Try the cinnamon roll bread pudding, and stop in the coffee bar. 2301 W. Franklin St.

i Sidewalk Café

This local favorite lunch spot features sandwiches like grilled pimento cheese and hot ham and cheese, and daily specials, plus soups, salads, and desserts. Catering available. 228 Second St., Henderson, KY

Sunrise Café Family Restaurant

Select from several spins on pancakes, waffles, French toast, and omelettes, plus hearty lunches like catfish, chicken strips, and chopped sirloin. 8401 N. Kentucky Ave.; 2121 N. Green River Road, Ste. 8

That Place

This spot is all about homemade food, including pita pizzas, pickle pockets, paninis, burgers, and biscuits and gravy. 2630 U.S. 41, Ste. B Henderson, KY

Diners

The Diner by Mele’s

Offering a wide mix of American and Mexican cuisine, order the funnel cake, chicken and waffles, tilapia mango, enchiladas, tacos, taquitos, fajitas, chicken on the beach, Mexican chicken, or cheesecake chimichanga. 550 N. Green River Road

Frankie’s Restaurant

Discover both Mexican and Midwestern comfort food, including chilaquiles, churro waffles, tres leches pancakes, cajeta French toast, fried catfish, and Wisconsin cheese curds and fried pickles. The bar serves cocktails, wines, and beer plus weekly drink specials. 6840 Logan Drive

Merry Go Round Restaurant

Open since June 1946, the menu at this octagon-shaped building includes a choice of steak, smoked porch chop, grilled pork tenderloin, pork cutlet, and chicken plus eggs as well as omelets. Sandwiches make up a huge chunk of the menu, plus salads, seafood, steaks, pasta, soups, and chili. 2101 N. Fares Ave.

Nellie’s

Popular breakfast items include chicken and waffles, French toast, chicken fajita burrito, breakfast skillets, and omelets. For dinner, try the liver and onions, ribeye sandwich, pot roast, shrimp creole or tacos, and smothered pork chops. A North Side sister restaurant offering bar seating joined the family in 2024. 6600 N. First Ave.; 8566 Ruffian Lane, Newburgh

Walk-ups and Drive-ins

Big Top Drive-In

Since 1948, this is the spot for old-fashioned burgers, crinkle-cut fries, and soft serve ice cream and shakes. Also find tenderloin, Grippos chicken, and rib sandwiches, soup and grilled cheese, frozen hot chocolate, sundaes, Twinkle Kote cones, and more. 1213 W. Maryland St.

Burger Bank

The yellow, red, and white building is easy to spot. If you’re not into the sliced-thin patties served on fluffy buns with classic toppings, order the tenderloins, melts, Philly cheese steaks, burgers, soups, sandwiches, shakes, floats, and softserve ice cream. 1617 S. Weinbach Ave.

i The Dariette

This old-school burger joint offers lunch and dinner for a sit-down, drive-up, or drive-thru meal. Order tater kegs to start, then choose from cheeseburgers, pork tenderloin, Nashville hot chicken, fish, chili dogs, and buffalo chicken strips. For dessert, try extreme milkshakes and sundaes. 711 Atkinson St., Henderson, KY

JD Caribbean Restaurant

This South Side eatery is known for Caribbean and Haitian fare such as fried goat, jute leaves, chayote, goat stew, plantains, and fried fish. 1010 S. Kentucky Ave.

i Taylor’s Grill on Wheels

Memphis-style smoked meats are the top attraction alongside brisket, rib tips, smoked loin chops, pulled pork, smoked or barbecue pulled chicken breast, mac and cheese, baked beans, nachos, potato salad, and baked potatoes. Catering available. 130 N. Water St. Henderson, KY

Zesto Drive-In

The family-owned sites continue the 1950s tradition of pounded-thin burgers, crinkle fries, and soft-serve ice cream. The West Side menu expands with bacon, egg and cheeses, biscuits and sausage gravy, breakfast tacos, and sandwiches like breaded tenderloin and cheeseburgers. 102 W. Franklin St.; 920 E. Riverside Drive

Pizzerias

Archie & Clyde’s Restaurant & Bar

Grab a drink and appetizer before a meal of homemade chili, gyros, pulled pork barbecue sandwich, breaded or grilled tenderloin sandwich, and a variety of pizzas. 8309 Bell Oaks Drive, Newburgh

Azzip Pizza

It’s “pizza” backward, but the mixand-match style of pie is anything but. Personal-sized pizzas (8 or 11 inches) are prepared to order. Specialties include the West Sider (barbecue pork, Grippos, and Ski extract), the Italian Stallion, and Potato Head, as well as the seasonal March Crabness. Three locations in Evansville and one in Newburgh

Casey’s Dugout

The baseball-inspired restaurant serves cleverly monikered pies like The “Graham” Slam, Field of Greens, and “The Hitman” and Donnie MEATball, both named after Evansville native and former New York Yankees star Don Mattingly. Come for the pies, stay for the swath of sports memorabilia decorating every available surface. 2900 Lincoln Ave.

Dontae’s Highland Pizza Parlor

Sink your teeth into hoagie-style sandwiches and specialties pizzas. For pies, try the Cow & Pig, Funky Chicken, or King Fajita, or The Farva, Hines’ own spin on Evansville’s favorite strombolis. 6669 Kratzville Road

Kipplee’s

Thin-crust pizzas, sandwiches, and strombolis have been the top draw at this East Side establishment for more than 30 years. 2350 E. Division St.

Lombardi’s New York Pizza and Wings

New York City-style pizza carves its way into the Midwest with a variety of flavors and toppings, sold by the slice or whole. A meaty variety is the New Porker. 3311 N. Green River Road

Lyle’s Sportszone Pizza & Pub

Part restaurant, part dive bar, you’ll find pizza, strombolis — including Lyle’s original loaded stromboli — burgers, and sandwiches, plus live entertainment. 1404 E. Morgan Ave.

Pangea Pizzeria

Offerings include Neo-Neapolitan pizza plus breadsticks, wings, cookies, and house made gelato and sorbet. Diners also can order from the menu of neighboring restaurant 2nd Language. 401 N.W. Second St., Ste. A

ROCKIN CHICKEN INDI

Pizza King

The local version of this Hoosier chain has a variety of appetizers and thin-crust pizzas, but it’s best known for its strombolis. The original boasts sausage and onion, or order a strom with a twist, like Texas barbecue and ham and cheese. Two locations in Evansville and one in Newburgh

Roca Bar and Pizza

Serving pizza since 1953, Roca Bar lays claim to being “Evansville’s Original Pizza.” Try specialty pies like Round the World, bacon cheeseburger, quesadilla, Mega Meat, and Roca Fredo, or order flatbreads, sandwiches, and pasta. 4600 Washington Ave.

Rounders Pizza and Rounders Too Specialty pizzas include the Nameless Special, a pie with the tomato sauce on top, and the Bavarian, served with mustard, plus strombolis and sandwiches. 510 W. Mill Road; 12731 N. Green River Road

The Slice

Steps away from the University of Evansville campus, this neighborhood gathering place sells pies by the slice in popular choices such as the potato, ranch, and spinach.

2011 Lincoln Ave.

Spankey’s Una Café

The brand expanded in 2023 with this eatery in Haynie’s Corner Arts District. Find unastyle pizza alongside cheese bread, bread sticks, wings, pretzel bites, salads, strombolis, sandwiches, desserts, and more.

15 Jefferson Ave.

Spankey’s Una Pizza

This restaurant’s first iteration grew from its una-style origins and into a popular sitdown restaurant on the West Side offering specialty pizzas — on that trademark cracker-thin crust — and build-your-own pies, plus sandwiches and specialty salads. Try the Strom Pizza or the Westsider, two options with a nod to Evansvillians’ appetites. 440 W. Lloyd Expressway

The Sportsden Bar & Grill

Dress up una-style pizzas with an array of toppings or order the Grand Slam and other specialty pies. Brat burgers, ribeye, German fried bologna, strombolis, and other sandwiches round out the menu.

701 N. Weinbach Ave., Ste. 110

Steve’s Una Pizza

Have a classic una-style experience at this 50–plus-year-old walk-up favorite. Choose from thin-crust pies, wings, strombolis, and sandwiches. 1005 S. St. James Blvd.

Turoni’s Pizzery and Brewery (Best Pizza)

Famed for its cracker-thin crusts since 1963, this restaurant also launched Evansville’s first microbrewery in 1996. Pizza, strombolis, and sandwiches, paired with a frosty pint of Honey Blonde Ale, await. Two locations in Evansville and one in Newburgh

Twisted Tomato Pizza Co.

Serving pizza on made-from-scratch pizza dough, pizza dippers, popper toast, pepperonicinis, oven-baked sandwiches including chicken alfredo carbonara and sloppy joe, and a variety of pastas. 2333 St. George Road

SPOTLIGHT

A Bicentennial to Remember

The Log Inn celebrates two centuries of food, fellowship, and history

Recognized as Indiana’s oldest restaurant, The Log Inn pairs its storied 200-year history — including a visit from future President Abraham Lincoln in 1844 and serving as a stop on the Underground Railroad — with its famous fried chicken and family-style dinners.

“I grew up here,” says Rita Elpers, who continues to bake homemade pies each day. Her family has owned the Haubstadt restaurant since 1947, but “we don’t look 200,” she says.

Rita runs the restaurant with her daughters, Trish Elpers and Kathy Holzmeyer. The

Barbecue

Bad Randy’s Hot Chicken & BBQ Lounge

Test your spice tolerance with eight different levels of heat for fried chicken, plus crab linguine, baby back ribs, steak frites, hog fries, smoked chicken wings, tacos, and more. 1418 W. Franklin St.

i ChefWhat BBQ & More

Fresh lunch specials are made to order daily, including burritos, pulled pork sandwich and quesadilla, smoked mac and cheese, and a smoked bologna and cheese sandwich. Catering available. 422 Seventh St., Henderson, KY

Hickory Pit Stop

This local staple since 1957 cooks its meats over a hickory wood fire. Dinners include half-chicken, pork, mutton, ham, and baby back ribs with potato salad, baked beans, slaw, and fries. From the grill, try a fried bologna sandwich or double cheeseburger. Buffet-style catering available. 1521 N. Main St.

i Homer’s Barbecue

Gibson County Chamber of Commerce gave The Log Inn an anniversary on June 6, during which Rep. Mark Messmer presented the Elperses with a framed Congressional Record acknowledging the restaurant’s anniversary. Sen. Todd Young also sent a framed letter commemorating the milestone.

“It was really good what we did and what the chamber did for us,” Kathy says of the event. “It’s been quite busy since that event.”

— Maggie Valenti theloginn.net

Find trademarks like smoked wings, brisket, and St. Louis-style ribs as well as specialties like chicken lollipops, briskitos, and barbecue nachos, and cheddar jalapeño sausage. Catering available. 128 Second St., Henderson, KY

Lone Star Bar-B-Q and Soul Food

Texas-style slow-cooked meats share a menu with burgers, salads, sandwiches, catfish, frito pie, and more. Catering available. 2403 Washington Ave.

Mission BBQ

(Best Barbecue)

Readers named this national chain their favorite barbecue joint in the 2017, 2022, and 2023 Best of Evansville awards for its barbecue meats — and for deploying its armored catering vehicle to feed first responders during emergencies. Large Pick-Up Packs and catering available. 1530 N. Green River Road

i Thomason’s Barbecue

Since the 1960s, the family-owned business has used hickory wood to smoke barbecue pork, mutton, ribs, chicken, ham, beef, chicken, baby back ribs, and turkey. Classic sides include potato salad, slaw, and barbecue beans. Catering available. 701 Atkinson St., Henderson, KY

Asian

2nd Language

Take your taste buds on a global adventure via Japanese karaage, Asian Buffalo Bao Bun, lumpia Shanghai, chimichurri steak, Korean cucumber salad, donburi rice bowls, and at least nine choices of ramen. 401 N.W. Second St.

Big Bang Mongolian Grill

Bowls piled high with custom combinations of vegetable, meat, and noodle stir fry are the signature here. 2013 N. Green River Road

Savor

Canton Inn

The North Park Shopping Center is home to this well-known spot offering Cantoneseand American-style appetizers, soups, poultry, beef, pork, seafood dishes, and daily lunch and dinner buffets. 947 North Park Drive

Chopstick House Restaurant

The longtime eatery in Village Commons serves Cantonese meals, including specialties such as Treasure Duck, a boneless delicacy steamed for hours in spicy sauce and topped with vegetables. 5412 E. Indiana St.

Crazy Buffet

Find fresh Chinese fare like seafood, sushi, and nigiri for a dine-in experience or order from the to-go buffet. 701 N. Burkhardt Road

Domo Japanese Hibachi Grill, Sushi, and Ramen

Get ready to roll with a lengthy list of sushi choices, plus Japanese dishes, ramen, bento boxes and more. 215 N. Green River Road

Fuji Yama

For 20 years, this North Side sushi and hibachi spot has served soups, salads, noodles, rice, sushi, hand rolls, chicken, beef, and shrimp dishes. 915 North Park Drive

Gangnam Korean

Named for the Gangnam District in Seoul, South Korea, select from rice dishes like bibimbap and dupbap, noodle options such as Korean Ramyun, and entrees including chicken and beef bulgogi, all served as K-Pop music plays in the background. 518 Main St.

Jaya’s Authentic Foods

Authentic Korean cuisine and sushi from the namesake chef have delighted diners since 1980. Select from several rolls, soups, and traditional entrees like kimchi bok um, jaeyuk dupbop, and pul ko kee. 119 S.E. Fourth St.

Jumak

Order from traditional Korean dishes such as bibimbap, yachae twigim, and bulgogi. 5720 E. Virginia St.

Kanpai

This East Side eatery has a long list of sushi choices — such as the Zig Zag, filled with cucumber and avocado and, topped with soft shell crab, scallion, and spicy mayonnaise — lunch bento boxes, and more. 4593 Washington Ave.

Ma.T.888 China Bistro (Best Asian Restaurant - tie)

Pick from high-quality modern Cantonese and Chinese fusion cuisine choices, including house specialties such as lemongrass fish, Peking duck, and chicken lettuce wraps. 5636 Vogel Road

Noodle House

This family-owned spot has made fans with its Wok fried rice, lo mein, mei fun, ramen, pho, and more. Bao buns are made in-house. 8922 High Pointe Drive, Newburgh

Osaka Japanese Hibachi and Sushi

Hibachi-style and Indonesian cuisine is the main attraction, plus a sushi bar, poke bowls, hot plates, bento boxes, and Japanese curry. 5435 Pearl Drive; 4222 Bell Road, Ste. 7, Newburgh

Poke River

This Hawaiian fusion restaurant serves up poke and sushi in dishes like bowls, burritos, and salads. 6240 E. Virginia St.

Roppongi Japanese Steak & Sushi

Follow up one of the lively hibachi shows with entrees like the Roppongi special, featuring lobster tail, shrimp, scallops, and New York strip. 7221 E. Indiana St.

Sakura

Find Japanese cuisine such as sashimi, fried rice, tempura, as well as Chinese dishes. Sushi choices include a trio of specialty rolls: the Rainbow, Volcano, and Mango Tuna. 4833 Highway 261, Newburgh

Szechwan Restaurant

The extensive Sichuan menu offers Szechuan dumplings, Kung Pao Chicken, Ma Po Tofu, and crispy Peking Duck. 669 N. Green River Road (in Eastland Place)

Thai Bistro and Bar

Spice up your life with the bistro’s authentic Thai cuisine including Pad Thai, curry, papaya salad, crab rangoons, satay, and more. 5416 E. Indiana St.

Vietnamese Cuisine

This staple of Southeastern Asian cuisine offers ribeye noodle soup, a chargrilled pork sandwich, grape leaf-wrapped meats, hot pots, rice noodle dishes, and more. 4602 Vogel Road

Yang’s Shabu Shabu

The Japanese style of quickly cooking thin-sliced meat in a simmering broth is applied to lo mein, chow udon, chow mei, and more. Complete your meal with one of a dozen bubble tea flavors. 4700 Vogel Road

Yen Ching (Best Asian Restaurant - tie)

A longtime East Side favorite, this establishment is known for Mandarin, Szechwan, and Peking cuisine, served among classic Asian decor sporting red and gold touches reminiscent of Old Beijing’s summer palace. Catering available. 406 S. Green River Road

Zuki Japanese Hibachi Grill & Sushi Lounge

Both locations offer a high-end hibachi grill, gourmet sushi, and Japanese dishes in an upscale setting. 1448 N. Green River Road; 222 Main St.

German

Gerst Haus

This West Side staple nods to the surrounding neighborhood’s heritage with authentic dishes from schnitzels to stroganoff, as well as several American favorites, served in a Bavarian beer hallstyle environment. As Evansville Living readers have noted, Gerst also offers some of the city’s best draft beer choices. 2100 W. Franklin St.

Indian

Bites of India

Select Indian and Indo-Chinese entrees such as garlic naan, butter chicken, galouti kebab, tawa fish, okra masala, goat rezala, goat sukka, andhra fish fry, malabar fish curry, and a variety of briyanis and traditional soups. 1434 Tutor Lane

Taj Mahal

Order buffet style or from a menu of tandoori chicken, paneer tikka, panjabi curry, kadai paneer, and more. 900 Tutor Lane

Yak & Yeti

Himalayan and Indian family recipes converge in tandoori lamb chops, momo dumplings, and several kinds of curry — choose from 10 spice levels. 815 S. Green River Road

Irish

Patsy Hartigan’s Irish Pub

Taste cuisine of the Emerald Isle, including fish and chips, Reuben sandwiches, bangers and mash, and shepherd’s pie, plus a weekend Irish breakfast. Chase them with a pint of Guinness or a new house brew. 203 Main St.

Italian/Mediterranean

Angelo’s

The lunch crowd stands in line for pizza by the slice. A full complement of Italian starters, entrees, and desserts (including silk pie) is offered. 305 Main St.

Café Arazu

A worldly mix of meals awaits, such as gyros, Tuscan grilled beef sala, Moroccan red lentil soup, and hummus and falafel platters. 17 W. Jennings St., Newburgh

House of Como (Place with the Best Steak)

The South Side staple offers a menu of Arabian dishes like shish kabobs, yebra malfoof, seneya betiajia, and kibi seneya, plus seafood, steaks, and Italian specialties. Reservations required. Payment is in cash or check. 2700 S. Kentucky Ave.

Kabob Xpress

A go-to spot for a quick meal with a Middle Eastern flare, select from stuffed grape leaves, shawarma, falafel, fresh salads, sandwiches, gyro plates, and many kabob plate options. 3305 N. Green River Road

Lily’s Mediterranean Express

Choose from salads, falafel, bruschetta, hummus, rice bowls, wings, sandwiches, wraps, beef kabob, chicken dinger, and pizzas. 4120 N. First Ave.

Little Italy (Best Italian Restuarant)

Mix Italian and Mediterranean with fried zucchini, parmesan fried green tomato, minestrone soup, cream of potato soup, spinach ravioli, rigatoni carbonara, chicken kebab, shrimp bisque, pizzas, and Italian cream lemon cake. 4430 N. First Ave.

Manna Mediterranean Grill

Specialties include stuffed grape leaves, gyros, kebabs, beef and lamp gyros, chicken shawarma and creamy garlic sauce, baba gannoug, tabbouleh salad, harissa, and baklava. 2913 Lincoln Ave.

Marida Mediterranean Restaurant

Enjoy Turkish and Kurdish cuisine like kebabs, gyro wraps, kuzu pirzola, alinazik, sac tava, and haydari, plus steak, seafood, pasta, and vegetarian specialties, plus brunch. 1 E. Water St., Newburgh

Milano’s Italian Cuisine

File through the line for the lunch salad bar, to-go pasta, and slices of pizza, or sit for a meal of lasagna bolognese, spinach cannelloni, chicken pizzaiola, scampi alla lino, and veal di milano. 500 Main St.

Fuji Yama

PHOTO BY ZACH STRAW

Shah’s Halal Food

This national chain restaurant serves Mediterranean-influenced platters over rice with a choice of meat, a variety of salads, chicken sandwiches, gyros, and sides like pita and pakora chips, plus baklava for dessert. 222 S. Red Bank Road, Unit L

Smitty’s Italian Steakhouse

(Best Outdoor Dining)

Filling choices abound, from New York strip, bone-in filet, and porterhouse steaks to pasta like baked lasagna, manicotti, and fettucini alfredo, and seafood such as garlic shrimp, whitefish piccata, and pan fried grouper. Seasonal patio dining available. 2109 W. Franklin St.

Latin American

i Burrito Express Mexican Grill

Drive through, pick up, or eat in at this Mexican-inspired restaurant serving quesabirria tacos, asada fries, burrito chicken, street tacos, pollo playa, burrito steak, and more. 2539 U.S. 41 N. Ste. A, Henderson, KY

Casa Fiesta Mexican Restaurant

Traditional Mexican entrees, family specials, and more are served among a menu of shrimp on the beach, huevos rancheros, burrito Evansville, quesadilla Indiana, fajita on the beach, huevos con chorizo, flautas Mexicanas, and nachos al pastor. For those who come hungry (or don’t mind sharing), try the two-foot Monster Burrito. 1003 E. Diamond Ave.

Chuy’s Tex-Mex

Looking for “big as yo’ face” burritos? Find them here, alongside tacos, tortilla soup, enchiladas, and entrees like green chile relleno and fried chicken, chuychanga, chicken flautas, and more. 7301 E. Indiana St.

El Charro Mexican Restaurant

Mariachi band performances occasionally punctuate the dining experience at this West Side eatery, where the menu includes chicken on the beach, fiesta California, papa grande loaded baked potatoes, and Pollo Indiana, a top seller sporting chicken breast and chorizo doused in cheese sauce. 720 N. Sonntag Ave.

i El Sabor de la Abuela

Recipes from grandma’s kitchen to the menu include mojarra frita, coctel de camaron, soups and stews, taco salad, chicken fajitas, carne asada, chimichangas, chicken on the beach, fajita Texans, and street tacos. 108 Second St., Henderson, KY

Fiesta Acapulco

One of many Mexican specialties here is the Burritos Acapulco – chicken and beef burritos topped with cheese sauce, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo. 8480 High Pointe Drive, Newburgh

Gollita Peruvian Cuisine

Feast on minestrone, tamales, papa a la huancaína, arroz con pollo, and more — all featuring sauces and marinades made in-house. 4313 E. Morgan Ave.

Hacienda

This Tex-Mex chain is known for its wet burrito, fajitas like garlic mushroom, chicken,

cheeses on a flaky crust — and it’s a big hit.

“Customers love our taco pie and appreciate that we have the single serve and family size options,” says owner Jenny Lamble, who launched it in 2020 to add savory menu items.

steak, or shrimp, plus chimichangas, Mexican pizza, chicken strip dinner, quesabirria, and ranch dressing, which some diners buy by the tub to take home. Four Evansville locations

Helados Ice Cream, Snacks and Antojitos

Order Latin American-fused papas, conchas, tortas, ceviche, tostadas, elotes, ramen, and more, plus an extensive dessert menu featuring loaded milkshakes, crepes, banana splits, flan, ice cream dishes, iced drinks, and Mexican shaved ice. 779 S. Green River Road

La Campirana (Best Latin American Restaurant)

Freshness and authenticity are hallmarks of “La Camp,” which serves Mexican and

This taco pie was easily baked in Evansville Living’s office. Topped with a dash of sour cream or paired with a side salad, it made an enticing meal. “They are certainly a fan favorite,” Lamble says. Shoppers run to Be Happy on Wednesdays for its chicken pot pies, too.

Fiesta Taco Pies are available Fridays until sellout at all of Be Happy Pie Co.’s locations, which now include a franchise in Paducah, Kentucky. A second shop is coming in Kansas City, Missouri. — Jodi Keen behappypiecompany.com

Latin American staples like tacos, gorditas, quesadillas, burritos, sopes orden, ensalada Mexicana, tortas, birrias, carnitas, flautas, enchiladas, alambres, and more. 724 N. Burkhardt Road; 900 Main St. (inside Main Street Food & Beverage)

La Mexicana Restaurant

The family-owned establishment offers chori-pollo, jalapeño chicken, molacajette a la mexicana, burrito gagante, carne asada, fillet tilapia lemon pepper, enchiladas paisano, and pollo vallarta plus street tacos tostadas, and tortas, plus aguas frescas. 920 Main St.

La Plaza

This food truck also has a sit-in restaurant that serves street tacos, tortas, quesadillas,

mulitas, burritos, street corn (on a stick or in a cup), birria, and more. 420 S. Green River Road

Los Bravos

Traditional Mexican dishes and drinks are served, including quesadilla Bravo with grilled shrimp and chorizo, Baja tacos with cod or shrimp, and chipotle pasta. Three Evansville locations

Mikey’s Caribbean Restaurant

Enjoy island dishes like Haitian spaghetti, lalo with spinach, fried turkey, and oxtail, plus traditional Caribbean soft drinks. 900 Main St. (inside Main Street Food & Beverage)

HOT DISH

PHOTO BY BRODIE CURTSINGER

Savor

Noche Cantina & Cocina

Authentic Mexican flavors permeate this menu of fried truffle yuka fries, grilled elote salad, deep-fried tres leches, tacos, and more. Dine on the second-level patio on nice days. 2215 W. Franklin St.

Playa Azul Mariscos Estilo Sinaloa

Sinaloan-style (from the Mexican state Sinaloa) seafood such as camarones a la diabla, filete ranchero, mojarrra frita, and camarones ranchero mix with specialty cocktails, karaoke, and live music. 270 N. Green River Road

Sazon y Fuego

This high-end menu is inspired by cuisine from Central and South Americas, with dishes cooked on a charcoal grill. Select from pollo con mole, ropa vieja, picanha, and more, plus craft cocktails. 8666 Ruffian Lane, Newburgh

Señor Burrito Mex/Grill

Operating out of a small building, formerly Waylon’s Diner on Main, diners can order everything from cheesecake and cheese dip to Chicken on the Beach and the Señor Burrito with grilled chicken, steak, chorizo, shrimp, onions, and bell peppers with cheese sauce. 606 N. Main St.

i Tacoholics

Mexican food lovers can discover a filling mix of fajitas, chimichangas, and plenty of tacos. 122 First St., Henderson, KY

Taqueria y Pupuseria Miranda

This spot specializes in authentic Salvadorian pupusas and street tacos with a variety of fillings, Plus, create-your-own burritos and quesadillas. 2008 Washington Ave.

Sports Bars

Bally Bet Sportsbook & Bar

Dig into smash burgers, fish and chips, Asian glazed shrimp, braised short ribs, and a wide selection of beer and cocktails. Catch sports action on several big screens and an LED video wall, and bet on games at the Sportsbook’s counter and kiosks. 421 N.W. Riverside Drive (inside Bally’s Evansville)

Birdies

Feast on smash burgers, pizzas, catfish, tacos, nachos, sandwiches, and more from The Rooftop next door while playing simulated golf, dodgeball, basketball, hockey, and more sports or throwing an axe down the lane. 120 N.W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Bullseyes Sports Bar

Inside the former Sidetrack Bar location, find dart tournaments alongside a diverse beer selection and nightly dinner plates like pulled pork and sloppy joe sandwiches, beef hot dogs, and more. 664 E. Illinois St.

Franklin Street Tavern

Pub grub like basco sticks, pretzels, nachos, bratwurst, popcorn, 14-inch pizzas, and more are available while you relax on the patio or catch a game on the TVs indoors. 2126 Franklin St.

Marina Pointe and Nightclub

This seasonal hotspot along the Ohio River is open May-October and is defined by live music and its open air bar and grill. Try beer battered onion rings, fried shrimp, crispy marina chicken wings, pointe burger, fried fish sandwich, wagyu dog, and smoked chicken salad. 1801 Waterworks Road

Mojo’s BoneYard Sports Bar & Grille Bar food including chicken wings doused with housemade sauces, square steam burgers, thin-crust pizzas, the Sloppy Mo sandwich, Philly cheesesteak, chili, salads, and strombolis, plus drinks and a robust live music schedule await. Only those aged 21 and over are allowed. 4920 Bellemeade Ave.

Neighbors

Build-your-own smashburgers are a main attraction here, as well as barbecue pork nachos, fried okra, brussel sprouts, pizza burger, breakfast burger, peanut butter bacon burger, chicken parmesan sandwich, fish sandwich, bratwurst sandwich, German fried bologna, and the smashburger wrap. 4222 Bell Road, Ste. 1, Newburgh

Newburgh Tavern

Munch on nachos, chip bags, 10-inch pizzas, a wagyu hot dog, quesadillas, chicken strips and nuggets, and more while enjoying karaoke, music, and sports viewing. 707 State St. Ste. E, Newburgh

O’Brian’s Sports Bar & Grill

Come for billiards, darts, and 22 big TVs, and stay for the Irish brews, full bar, and menu of potato skins, and bacon barbecue cheddar burger, breaded tenderloin sandwich, and more. 1801 N. Green River Road

Prime Sports

Feel at home with billiard tables, lots of TVs, and drinks. Culinary offerings come via a greaseless kitchen offering smoked wings, pretzel bites, pizza bombs, pigs in a blanket, strombolis, pizza, salad, cactus chili, chicken

parmesan sandwich, toasted hot dog, baked penne with beef, and a variety of pizzas.4944 Old State Route 261, Newburgh

i Rookies

This family-owned business serves a sportsthemed menu. “Pre-game” with Fred’s fried green tomatoes and chicken buffalo eggrolls and greens like the Arabian salad before the “main event” steaks and “knockouts” like honey glazed pork chop, chicken stir fry, tortellini diablo, and chicken teriyaki. 117 S. Second St., Henderson, KY

Tiki on Main

American and Mexican fare are popular at this dive bar after Ford Center events. Pick from pork rinds, blackened shrimp, fried pickle chips, patty melts, rock’n shrimp tacos, street tacos, hot dogs, and sandwiches like hot dogs, battered swai sandwich, and grilled cheese and chili. Also find steak kabobs, tiki nachos, stuffed burritos, pollo playa, and a fajita plate. 524 Main St.

Tavern and Pub Food

Bokeh Lounge

Stuffed with as much food as live entertainment, the Haynie’s Corner Arts District restaurant offers Bokeh Nachos, churros, the Bokeh Burger, pepper jack cheese balls, pot stickers served hot honey, a candied bacon burger, tacos, fish and chips, personal pizzas, and Sunday brunch, as well as signature cocktails. 1007 Parrett St.

Bud’s Rockin’ Country Bar and Grill

This lively West Side country music hotspot and restaurant honors the Bud’s Harley Davidson dealership that used to be under roof and specializes in four-cheese macaroni, Saint Louis-style ribs, country fried steak, jerk chicken bowl, barbecue sundae, and cedarroasted atlantic salmon. 2124 W. Franklin St.

Crickets

Curb your hunger with wings by the pound, “mile-high” taco fries, Cricket’s roll ups, breaded cauliflower, breaded corn nuggets, chili, thin-crust pizza, sandwiches, and oven-baked hoagies. 518 W. Main St., Newburgh

Darmstadt Inn

This small municipality in northern Vanderburgh County is known for serving sandwiches, plate lunches, steaks, fried chicken, seafood, and more in a cozy setting. 13130 Darmstadt Road

Deerhead Sidewalk Cafe & Bar

Ostensibly the first place in Evansville to offer “double-decker pizza,” menu offerings include boneless wings, strombolis, Texas red chili, vegetable beef soup, and sandwiches like souvlakia, Polish sausage, and a black bean veggie burger. Enjoy your meal indoors or on the patios. 222 E. Columbia St.

Highland Inn

With daily specials and a big menu, this North Side spot has something for all appetites. Entrees include fried chicken, beef brisket, grilled pork steaks, and fried catfish filets. 6620 N. First Ave.

The Hilltop Inn

Fried pork brains, big ol’ tenderloins, and fried bologna are among the sandwich choices at this historic dining room on the West Side with a rustic facade and seasonal outdoor seating. Patrons also love the salad bar and seafood entrees. 1100 Harmony Way

Horstketter’s Tavern

This traditional tavern has seven decades of history under its belt. Enjoy wings, sandwiches, and food-themed nights like the annual Meatball Challenge. 5809 Stringtown Road

Noche Cantina & Cocina

Savor

K.C.’S Time Out Lounge & Grill

The long-established spot in Washington Square Mall has a robust live entertainment calendar, billiards, and a bar menu of salads, sandwiches, and pizza. 1121 Washington Square

Knob Hill Tavern

Best-known for its fried catfish fiddler (proudly displayed on its neon sign), The Knob offers other fish dishes plus fried chicken and an array of sandwiches. There’s plenty of history between these walls: The Knob has been around since 1943. 1016 Highway 662 W., Newburgh

Leroy’s Tavern

Feast on pizza, sandwiches, and Free Soup Saturdays during colder months of the year, plus karaoke and theme-night activities. 2659 Mount Vernon Ave.

i Metzger’s Tavern

This Henderson tradition opened in 1869, with today’s version offering traditional tavern pretzel bites with beer cheese, deep fried mushrooms and pickles, soups (try the bean soup or chili), and sandwiches like shaved steak, fried bologna, spicy pork sausage, and pimento cheese. Also open for breakfast. 1000 Powell St., Henderson, KY

i Nisbet Inn

Established in 1912, Nisbet Inn holds Indiana’s second-oldest liquor license. Visit for the sandwiches, soups, desserts, and barbecue, as well as the “World’s Coldest Beer.” 6701 Nisbet Station Road, Haubstadt

Peephole Bar & Grill

This neighborhood-style bar in the heart of Downtown has plenty of local devotees. It’s known for its cheeseburgers, onion rings, fries, and the splitter (a fried hot dog). Don’t miss Beck’s chili, named for the late Harold Beck — proprietor of the former East Side tavern Harold’s Bar. 201 Main St.

Sportsman’s Grille & Billiards

This spot on the busy West Franklin corridor features bar food choices to go with a relaxed atmosphere of billiards, sports on TV, and good times. Try the 16-ounce porterhouse, available on weekends, or the two-fisted bacon burger. 2315 W. Franklin St.

St. Joe Inn

Historic charm and modern comfort await at this tavern, whose history stretches back to 1836. Pick from soups, salads, sandwiches, plate lunch specials, fiddlers, steaks, and fried chicken dinners. 9515 Saint Wendel Road

St. Phillip’s Inn

Enjoy karaoke and tavern-style offerings out of an 1890s-era building. Choose from plate lunch specials, nightly specials, or a simple ham and cheese sandwich plus burgers, pizza, strombolis, fiddlers, and fried chicken. 11200 Upper Mount Vernon Road

Stockwell Inn

Stockwell Inn offers plate lunches, homemade soup, salads, sandwiches, steak, pork chops, and brain sandwiches. Check out the homestyle daily specials and themed menus for holidays like Fat Tuesday. 4001 E. Eichel Ave.

Zaps Tavern

Home of what is claimed as the original tavern burger, you’ll find a menu laden with catfish, fried chicken, sweet corn nuggets, build-your-own pizza, strombolis, zing shrimp wrap, breakfast burger, patty melt, and a half-pound burger. 3725 St. Philip Road

Delis

Chicken Salad Chick

There’s more than just chicken salad here. Also find salad, soups, and sweet treats made from scratch with fresh ingredients. 1414 Hirschland Road

The Deli at Bally’s Evansville Grab-and-go menus of breakfast items and coffee, sandwiches, soups, pizza, and burgers, plus a late-night menu until 2:30 a.m. on weekends. 421 N.W. Riverside Drive (inside Bally’s Evansville)

The Deli at Old National Bank Downtown workers — including Evansville Living employees — line up to grab fried fish, homemade soups, paninis, and daily specials. One Main St. (inside Old National Bank headquarters)

Fly By Faith Café

Stop in this eatery on Ascension St. Vincent’s East Side campus for breakfast items like biscuits and gravy, egg casseroles, smoothies, and lattes, or dine on a California wrap, chicken-loaded baked potato, or smoked pulled pork for lunch. 801 St. Mary’s Drive

The Granola Jar Café & Bakery

What started with a breakfast menu has grown to include sandwiches and deli-style salads, including house-made balsamic chicken salad. Basil pesto tortellini, jalapeño macaroni, curried bulgur, broccoli slaw, soups, and desserts round out the menu. Catering available. 1022 E. Mount Pleasant Road

Just Rennie’s Cafe & Cookie Co. (Best Caterer)

Try breakfast food, salads, soups, entrees, and fresh-baked desserts until 2 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. 701 N. Main St.

Old Tyme Deli & Meat Shop

Daily hot plate lunches like lasagna, beef and noodles, and spaghetti are available on weekdays. 307 N. First Ave.

Coffee, Tea, and Drinks

Dove & Twig Cafe

Operating out of Bethel Church, find coffee and sweet treats like apple bread, biscottis, Danishes, muffins, cookies, pies, and more. 4400 Lincoln Ave.

Honey Moon Coffee Co. (Best Local Coffee Shop)

Metzger’s Tavern

Run by Marla and Doug Rennie, who started in the catering business with a Tuscan-inspired event space. They quickly expanded to a storefront offering fresh deli salads, sandwiches, pasta, coffee, and baked goods, including their beloved mound-of-dough cookies. 100 S.E. Fourth St.

North Main Annex Gourmet Catering & Deli

Chef Narda Feather operates this catering business and deli that changes its menu items daily based on the freshest ingredients.

The original shop near the University of Evansville campus has expanded into four locations plus a roastery. Offerings include its signature latte with honey and lavender, Hong Kong-style bubble waffles, fruit smoothies, and breakfast sandwiches. Three locations in Evansville and one in Newburgh

Mission Grounds Coffee

The Evansville Rescue Mission runs this coffeehouse next to its thrift store offering signature espresso-based drinks, teas, and bakery items. 1107 Washington Square

Mr. Bubble Tea

Sip on bubble milk teas in strawberry, matcha green tea, chocolate, pineapple and taro (fruity) flavors. Also on the menu also are yogurts, smoothies, shaved ice, and fruit teas. 503 N. Green River Road

Penny Lane Coffeehouse

A Riverside Historic District staple for more than 20 years with a McCutchanville location opened in 2024, specialty lattes include Instant Karma, White Rabbit, Voodoo Child, Raspberry Beret, Tiny Dancer, White Wedding, and Purple Haze. There are also teas, smoothies, and sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. 600 S.E. Second St.; 601 E. Boonville New Harmony Road

River City Coffee and Goods

Shop for local, handmade gifts and Evansville-inspired items while drinking brews, espressos, teas, or a hot chocolate. Specialties include a Fruity Pebbles Latte, Horchata Latte, and, in a nod to the Evansville are code, the 812 Latte. There also are seasonal muffins, cookies, blondies, and ham and cheese scones. 223 Main St.

River Kitty Cat Café

Play with adoptable cats and kittens while you enjoy espresso-based coffee drinks, specialty teas, and wine. This outreach of the Vanderburgh Humane Society also features desserts from Julie’s Just Desserts. 226 Main St.

i Roast Coffee Bar

Find craft espresso drinks and bagels from Frothy Monkey. Summer sips include Kentucky Summer, Strawberry Shortcake Matcha, and the Anna Banana. 136 Second St., Suite 100, Henderson, KY

Scooter’s Coffee

The national drive-thru chain has expanded to three locations in the Evansville area. Coffee flavors include Caramelicious, Candy Bar, Mocha, and Turtle. Also try iced teas, smoothies, and breakfast items. 535 E. Diamond Ave.; 1940 N. Green River Road; 1101 E. Fourth St., Mount Vernon

Ice Cream

Lic’s Deli & Ice Cream

Try a scoop of the brand’s old-fashioned milkshakes, floats, chocolate-covered Choco Cremes, sundaes, dessert pies, and soft-serve ice cream in 20+ flavors. Deli items also are available. Four locations in Evansville and one in Newburgh

Milk & Sugar Scoop Shoppe

Take a bite of edible cookie dough, add a scoop of custom-flavored ice cream on a warm Belgian waffle, or sip on a gourmet soda. 2027 W. Franklin St.

Rivertown Ice Cream and Grill

To its fans, its annual opening in March signals the arrival of warmer weather. Choose from dipped cones, banana splits, sundaes, shakes, malts, ice cream nachos, and food from the grill, including cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot and corn dogs, tenderloins, tenders, and more through October. 521 State St., Newburgh

Bakeries

Be Happy Pie Company

These made-from-scratch sweet pies come in 26 flavors, including the signature “Be Happy” cherry. Add to your order with scones, cookies, brownies, muffins, and cheesecakes. Food truck available. 2818 Mount Vernon Ave., Ste. B; 6635 E. Virginia St., Ste. C

Bea Sweet Treats

The mother-daughter venture has drawn fans with its custom cakes, breakfast cinnamon rolls, cookies, cupcakes, and more. 4111 Merchant Drive, Newburgh

Cleo’s Bakery & Brown Bag Lunches

This homestyle bakery is a favorite stop when strolling in Downtown Newburgh. Family recipes are offered alongside soups and sandwiches. Catering available. 9 W. Jennings St., Newburgh

Cookies by Design

Find fresh-baked cookies and cupcakes for a variety of occasions, all handmade and delivered from this locally owned and operated shop. 419 Metro Ave.

Donut Bank (Best Doughnuts)

Sip fresh coffee while selecting from racks of doughnuts and other baked goods at this longtime business owned by the Kempf family. 11 locations in Evansville, Newburgh, and Henderson, KY

Panaderia San Miguel

Try not to be slack-jawed surveying Mexican and El Salvadorian puff pastries like orejas, conchas, panaderos, banderillas, cerillos, cornos, and empanadas. Breakfast and lunch menus also are offered. 2004 Washington Ave.

Parlor Doughnuts

Layered doughnuts in an array of flavors are the specialty at this Evansville-based bakery with locations across the nation. 204 Main St., 301 N. Green River Road

Piece of Cake

Snag your stomach’s attention with whiffs of specialty cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and even dog treats. This bakery is known for its array of frosting options. 210 Main St.

Breweries and Craft Cocktails

Arcademie

Choose from craft cocktails, regional beer, and rotating food options at this Downtown spot boasting a mini-arcade stocked with vintage games. Sober bar on second floor. 22 N.W. Sixth St.

Barker Brewhouse

Human and canine visitors are welcome at this West Side watering hole with an extensive selection of beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages. 96 N. Barker Ave.

Damsel Brew Pub

This family-friendly microbrewery offers cleverly named craft beers and cocktails with a menu of scotch eggs, chili, vegetable spring rolls, tacos, a peanut butter burger, sweet onion teriyaki wrap, beer cheese steak, and po’boys. 209 N. Wabash Avenue of Flags

Haven’s Bar

Regional craft beer, wine, domestics, scratch cocktails, and spirits, plus a small food menu await along with trivia, karaoke, and sports viewing. 300 W. Jennings St., Newburgh

Haynie’s Corner Brewing Co.

Sip from a long list of craft beers, including nonalcoholic varieties, at this popular gathering spot with quirky charm in the trendy Haynie’s Corner Arts District. Visit with friends and whip out a favorite board game. 56 Adams Ave.

i Henderson Brewing Company

Henderson’s first craft brewery, founded by five local entrepreneurs, concocts and serves IPAs, porters, farmhouse ales, and more. 737 Second St., Henderson, KY

Hush on Main

Can you keep a secret? This 1920s speakeasy offers a tucked-away venue for live piano music plus custom and high-end cocktails alongside an upscale dinner menu. 323 Main St., Ste. F

Industry Bar

New on the Downtown scene is this dogfriendly bar with cocktails and rotating draft beers, plus billiards and bar games. Enjoy cocktails alfresco on the patio. 101 S.E. First St.

Mo’s House

(Place with the Best Cocktails)

A chic lounge at Haynie’s Corner Arts District, this is a favorite place for Evansville Living readers to unwind with friends or someone special. Sample the craft cocktails while listening to the musicians who frequently book sets. On a pleasant night, the deck here is a great place to be. 1114 Parrett St.

Myriad Brewing Company

Tip your glass to house-brewed and guest beers, as well as wine and spirits. Food trucks visit regularly, or you can also have a delicacy delivered. Come for Tuesday trivia and other special events. 8245 High Pointe Drive, Newburgh

Myriad Brewing Company

PHOTO BY JAMIE ELLIOTT

6 BEDS | 6 BATHS 6,796 SQFT.

This 6,700+ sqft custom home in the Bellevue subdivision blends luxury, comfort, and thoughtful design. The main floor features a lavish primary suite, while a second upstairs suite offers added privacy.

A kitchen with a 10-foot island, walk-in pantry, and quartz countertops anchors the home, complemented by a second kitchen in the walkout basement. Highlights include a 10-foot marble fireplace, Brazilian wood floors, travertine tile, custom closets, and a readyto-install home theater.

Outdoor living shines with a spacious deck, oversized patio, and landscaped yard.

A 4-car side-load garage with EV charging completes this exceptional property. 8671 Angel Drive

BUSHRA KHAN 812-205-5178

3 BEDS | 2.5 BATHS 2,400 SQFT.

This charming two-story PUD (Planned Unit Development) in a golf course community blends comfort and leisure. The brick exterior and covered front entry set a welcoming tone. Inside, a light-filled dining room opens to a living room with a gas fireplace and deck access, flowing into a kitchen with bar seating, ample cabinetry, and modern appliances. The main level includes a master suite

»

Shopping for and owning a vehicle can be exciting — and a little daunting. Let these area experts guide you on your journey to the auto of your dreams.

Discover the thrill of D-Patrick Audi’s high-performance models

Reinvented Elegance and Innovation: The 2025 Audi A5, Q5 & Q6 e‑tron Grand Debut

Audi’s 2025 lineup raises the bar for luxury, performance, and electrification. From the sleek reinvented A5 to the dynamic Q5 and visionary all‑electric Q6 e‑tron, Audi offers something for every lifestyle — without compromising style or substance.

All‑New 2025 Audi A5

Starting at $49,700, the A5 ushers in a bold new vision of sedan sophistication. Its design forward exterior is paired with a next generation interior that highlights both space and technological ambition. While Audi highlights the seamless blend of power and elegance, official specs on performance remain forthcoming — but expect hallmark A5 agility elevated by modern luxury.

All‑New 2025 Audi Q5

The beloved Q5 receives a full redesign in its 2025 iteration, starting at $52,200. Audi emphasizes sculpted proportions, cutting edge lighting, and a forward-thinking cabin. This iteration is touted as striking the perfect balance between

everyday versatility and dynamic performance — upholding its status as Audi’s bestselling SUV while embracing contemporary refinement.

All‑New 2025 Audi Q6 e‑tron

Representing Audi’s next chapter in electric SUVs, the Q6 e‑tron is a premium mid‑size all‑electric vehicle that redefines ambition. With a starting MSRP of $63,800, this EV delivers an EPA‑estimated range of 321 miles (on RWD models with the Ultra package). Performance is compelling — with up to 456 HP and a 0–60 mph sprint in 4.9 seconds with launch control. Audi’s next‑generation AR head‑up display and an all‑new EV platform reflect their commitment to cutting edge mobility.

Moreover, the Q6 e‑tron supports rapid charging — from 10 to 80 percent in about 21–22 minutes at a public DC fast charger, and provides a generous 60 cubic feet of cargo capacity with rear seats folded. The SQ6 variant intensifies the offering with 509 HP, a blistering 0–60 mph in 4.1 seconds, and up to 275 miles of electric range.

Whether you’re drawn to the athletic refinement of the A5, the

versatile poise of the Q5, or the visionary performance of the Q6 e‑tron, Audi’s 2025 lineup caters to modern drivers who seek elegance, innovation, and sustainability.

The A5 stands as a testament to refined design and intuitive luxury; the Q5 continues its reign as a highly adaptable, family‑friendly SUV; while the Q6 e-tron moves the marque boldly into a cleaner, electrified future — all while delivering performance, range, and cutting‑edge tech.

These models offer residents of Evansville an elevated driving experience — whether commuting along the Ohio River, heading out for a weekend escape, or embracing the era of electric performance.

Audi’s newest trio invites you to experience not just a vehicle, but a lifestyle redefined.

D PATRICK AUDI

200 N. Green River Road 812-473-6590

D-Patrick Lincoln touts an ‘exceptional’ buying experience

The 2025 model year brings two distinct expressions of Lincoln luxury to shoppers who want first-class calm, whether they’re heading across town or across the Midwest. The full size Navigator debuts bold technology and serene indulgence for families who like to spread out, while the compact Corsair wraps big vehicle comfort and smarts in an easy-to-park package.

Lincoln’s flagship SUV leans into spectacle with a new 48 inch panoramic display that stretches across the dash. It’s the centerpiece of the Lincoln Digital Experience, which streamlines navigation, media, and vehicle settings — and pairs naturally with available Lincoln BlueCruise for hands free driving on many controlled access highways. Wireless charging comes standard up front, with second row charging available on Black Label models. Beneath the hood, a 440 horsepower 3.5 liter twin turbocharged V6 (510 lb-ft of torque) and a 10-speed automatic provide effortless thrust, while Lincoln Drive Modes and Adaptive Suspension smooth out patched pavement. With a standard 8,700 pound towing capacity, the Navigator also moonlights as a capable weekend hauler.

Inside, the Navigator is a rolling sanctuary: genuine wood trim, hand stitched leather, and the immersive Rejuvenate mode blend massage, visuals, sound, and even digital scent to melt away road weariness. Safety tech is equally comprehensive. Lincoln Co Pilot360™ 2.1 includes Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Centering, Blind Spot Detection, and Automatic Emergency Braking; enhanced BlueCruise adds Lane Change Assist and In Lane Repositioning. Outside, refined styling

standard Lincoln Split Gate for flexible cargo and seating solutions, plus available appearance packages and up to 24 inch wheels.

If the Navigator is the grand tourer, the 2025 Corsair is the artful city specialist — now wearing a fresh face with a redesigned grille and full width signature lighting. Inside, the new Lincoln Digital Experience (powered by Google) anchors a crisp 13.2 inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ for easy, cord free days. BlueCruise is available here, too, bringing hands free convenience to Lincoln’s most popular compact SUV.

Corsair buyers can choose a refined 250-horsepower gasoline engine or the Grand Touring plug in hybrid with 266 horsepower for added efficiency without sacrificing smoothness. A quiet, composed ride underscores the brand’s “whisper”

row, and the panoramic Vista Roof® elevate daily drives. Safety remains front and center with Lincoln Co Pilot360™ features like Blind Spot Information System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre Collision Assist, an available 360 degree camera, and Adaptive Pixel LED headlamps that intelligently place light where it’s needed most.

Whether you crave the Navigator’s commanding presence and spa like calm or the Corsair’s right-sized elegance and tech forward ease, Lincoln’s 2025 SUVs deliver modern luxury that feels personal, intuitive, and refreshingly unhurried.

Kate Faupel Ford rolls out 2026 models

When did Kate Faupel Ford open? An opportunity came in 2023 to buy the Ford store in Henderson, and Kate Faupel Grealish couldn’t pass it up. Kate Faupel Ford opened in December 2023, and Kate now is an owner and operator of both Kate Faupel Ford and Henderson Chevrolet GMC.

What are some of Kate Faupel Ford’s newest vehicles on the lot? Ford released a new body style of the Expedition in 2025. They have a new look and feature a split tailgate which makes it convenient for loading and unloading cargo in the trunk.

What are recent customers saying?

“When we pulled up to the lot, someone was immediately available to help us find the car we were looking for but not too pushy. Our questions were answered showing that they knew the vehicles. They were able to help

work within our budget to make this purchase happen. We are very happy with our purchase and would definitely return if we were to need another vehicle.”

– Cathy A.

“Kate Faupel Ford of Henderson, Kentucky, was smooth and easy to work with in my vehicle purchase. We flew in from Utah, and they picked us up from the airport. Elizabeth and her family, as well as Jacob, my salesman, were all so kind. I would definitely work with them again even though I’m 1,200 miles away. Pricing was fantastic. Thanks, Kate Faupel, for everything.”

– Skye W.

“Great to have a locally owned and operated Ford dealer back in Henderson. Everyone in the service department was courteous, helpful and seemed very happy to do what they do. I’ll be back.”

– Gary H.

What are customers saying about their buying experience with the dealerships?

We pride ourselves on an easy buying experience at both stores. We offer pick-up and delivery services and can have customers digitally sign documents from their home or workplace. A new service we are offering is mobile service. We have a van that is a “service department on wheels” and we can come to you! We have performed recalls and quick services for customers who didn’t have to interrupt their day by coming to the dealership.

2530 HWY. 41, Henderson, KY 270-827-3566 katefaupelford.com

KATE FAUPEL FORD

Henderson Chevrolet GMC brings exciting new features

What are some of Henderson Chevrolet GMC’s newest vehicles on the lot?

Chevrolet has the newly redesigned Trax, which has a starting price under $25,000. The Trax is a small SUV with a fresh look, and it is our fastest selling model this summer. Chevrolet and GMC just redesigned the Traverse and Acadia models, which are third row SUVs without the full size SUV price tag.

What are the new features on the latest model releases?

The latest and greatest feature enhancements are all focused on technology and safety. Chevy, GMC, and Ford all have hands-free driving features, several different camera views, lane departure alerts, rear media screens, and infotainment systems that make your time in the car productive and enjoyable.

What is the best way to schedule a Test Drive of a vehicle at Henderson Chevrolet GMC?

Call 270 826 7600 for Chevy. We also have chat tools on our websites.

What are recent customers saying? Very good experience all around! Everyone we interacted with was friendly, professional and helpful. We found a nice car we are satisfied with in our price range. Car was in great shape with no work needed. Everything seemed brand new. We got a nice extended warranty, and they even topped off our fuel before we left without us even having to ask.

– Randall S.

Henderson Chevrolet is the only place we will buy a vehicle. Service is great, and they really care about their customers. Thumbs up for them.

– Vicki B.

Meyer is growing to better serve you

What started in 1937 as a local equipment shop has grown into a leader in truck upfitting, accessories, service, and repair — all while keeping our roots firmly planted in the communities we call home.

Today, Meyer Truck Equipment is a true one stop powerhouse offering truck bodies and equipment, vehicle accessories, service and repair, and vehicle graphics — all under one roof.

Customers count on Meyer because we carry the industry’s top brands, install with precision,

toolboxes, lighting, and liftgates, Meyer equips trucks to handle any job. When it comes to keeping them running, our Evansville service team delivers reliable maintenance and repair you can trust.

We also help local businesses stand out with custom graphics, from single decals to full fleet branding — another way Meyer makes sure your vehicles work as hard as you do.

Through decades of growth, one thing hasn’t changed: Meyer’s dedication to quality and community. At Meyer, you’re not just another job ticket. You’re part of the community we live and work in, and we take pride in building relationships that last as

working with a company that knows the value of hard work, value of tough equipment, and, above all, value of their people. Stop by Meyer Truck Equipment in Evansville and see why we’ve been the truck experts for 90 years.

From upfits and accessories to service, repair, and graphics, Meyer powers your vehicle and your business under one roof

TODD KUPER, GREG KUPER, AND ANDY PETER

REAL MUSIC VARIETY

Antenna TV

• Over the air 20.1 WTSN

• Astound Channel 105

• Spectrum Channel 186

FOR THE LATEST STATION LINEUP SCAN THE QR CODE

• Over the Air 15.1 WYYW

• Astound Channel 107

• Spectrum Channel 358

FOR THE LATEST STATION LINEUP SCAN THE QR CODE Telemundo

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

It’s not the place that makes a community — it’s the people. Creators, entertainers, restaurateurs, business owners, service providers, industry leaders, educators, nonprofits, government officials, and more all contribute to Evansville’s success.

It is our pleasure to introduce you to these community members — the Faces of Evansville »

2025 OFFACES EVANSVILLE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRODIE CURTSINGER

GREG EANS

AUDRA STRAW

ZACH STRAW

ALLI WUERTZ

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

EVANSVILLE

MAYOR STEPHANIE TERRY

Halfway through her second year as Evansville’s 35th mayor, Stephanie Terry is focused on building a stronger foundation for Evansville residents. Working alongside residents, businesses, and community partners, Mayor Terry is moving Evansville forward by revitalizing neighborhoods, by increasing investments in public safety and affordable housing, and by boosting funding for park revitalization and land development. Her vision is simple: an Evansville where opportunity is shared, neighborhoods are strong, and everyone knows that “E is for Everyone.”

“The face of our business is our amazing team!”—Charlie McMahon

For 54 years, family-owned McMahon Exterminating has been a trusted name in pest control. Their reliable customer service offers customized plans that consider individual needs and budgets. McMahon understands that creating a culture of caring for their employees will radiate out into every job they do and beyond. With a focus on culture within the organization, McMahon celebrates team milestones, while also participating in community giveback events, and sponsoring multiple local nonprofit organizations.

u McMahon Staff: Luke McMahon, Charlie McMahon, Kevin Brown, Mike Lousignont, Joe Laffoon, Alanna Grunert, Mike Parkman, Ramsey Adkins, Alex Harvey, Sam Brown, Lonnie Harter, Grant Causey, Jesse Blessinger, Jake Wynn, Trace Ferguson, Noah Donner, Brock Bugg, Trevor Ferguson, Jeff Luttrull, Jerrod Hope, Trevor Moore, Jamie Hoover, Blaine Newton, Alex Lytle, Noah Smith, Raven, Shelby Buono, Jessica Hurley, Lorin Chambers, Jordan Brown, Starla Lee, and Jill Brown Not Pictured: Pat Hope, Brian Ranes, and Neal Johnson

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

RETAIL BANKING

LIBERTY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Increasingly, Evansville families trust Liberty Federal Credit Union for their banking needs. Established by local educators nearly 90 years ago, the credit union has grown considerably in size and stature over the past decade. Since launching its free, highinterest Vertical Checking account in 2015, the credit union has more than doubled in size to 250,000-plus members.

According to Chief Operating Officer Stacey Shourd, Liberty’s recent growth and success are reflective of its overall commitment to providing value. “When it comes to banking, there is no shortage of options. At Liberty, our strategy is to simply give more to our members than they can find elsewhere,” Shourd offered. “Whether it’s helping them earn more with a better rate or save time with a better digital banking experience, our goal is to be their best option for every banking need.”

If industry praise is any indication, Liberty’s efforts have proven successful. Over the past three years alone, Liberty FCU has been named America’s Best Credit Union for Checking by Investopedia and National Credit Union of the Year by the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions. In June, Forbes named Liberty Federal Credit Union among its Bestin-State Credit Unions.

In Evansville, Shourd, along with Senior Vice President of Branch Administration Kelly Waterman and Regional Vice President of Retail Banking MacKensey Mayer, oversees a team of branch managers that includes Shemeka Falls (Northfield Office), Portia Khan (West Evansville Office), Annie Luebbehusen (Main Office), Damien Odom (Downtown Office), Mary Ann Pugh (Burkhardt Office), and Dylan Stockwell (Northbrook Office).

u Dylan Stockwell, Annie Luebbehusen, Shemeka Falls, Stacey Shourd, MacKensey Mayer, Kelly Waterman, Portia Khan, Damien Odom, and Mary Ann Pugh

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

EVANSVILLE HEARING AID CENTER

Welcome to the next generation of hearing clinics. With more than 60 years of experience, we are the oldest, most trusted hearing aid center in the Tri-State. Family-owned and -operated, Evansville Hearing Aid Center is a medically focused practice committed to leading the industry and providing the highest quality hearing healthcare services. We strive to exceed our patients’ expectations by providing hearing solutions at competitive prices and offering excellent customer service. We provide personalized attention along with the diagnostics, education, customized products, and rehabilitation necessary to make sure your hearing health care needs are met both short- and long-term.

GUIDED GROUP TRAVEL

Guiding Every Journey with Expertise and Extraordinary

Care

Great travel experiences begin with travel professionals who genuinely take the time to understand what you’re looking for.

Tourcy stands out for our personal approach to guided group travel and exceptional customer service. We take time to understand each traveler’s preferences — matching them with the right destination, travel style, and pace. From your first inquiry to the moment you return home, every detail is thoughtfully handled.

Travelers today are seeking meaningful experiences, smaller groups, and hassle-free planning. This is exactly what Tourcy does best. We specialize in seamless, guided group tours that allow travelers to focus on enjoying the journey — not managing logistics.

With Tourcy, it’s more than just a trip — it’s stress-free travel, unforgettable experiences, and meaningful connections!

u Rachel Will, Traveler Care Specialist; and Tracy Wilson, Owner of Tourcy

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

DIAMONDS

BRINKER'S JEWELERS

Since 1972, Brinker’s Jewelers has serviced customers all over the world with quality jewelry, luxury watches, and personalized service. With more than 400 years of combined fine jewelry knowledge, our professional team consists of graduate gemologists from the Gemological Institute of America, certified watchmakers, master jewelers, jewelry repair specialists, appraisal experts, and jewelry buyers. We hold ourselves to the highest standards when it comes to integrity, value, and beauty. Meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of our customers is what drives us every day.

u Front row: Christina Brown, Kristy Belt, Eric Brinker, Emily Hoover, Alexis Snow, Abby Stone, Stacey Glisson, Danny Garrett, and Ede Stanley. Middle Row: Savannah Clem, Brandon Sittig, Cameron Belt, Kimberly Rose, Kamerin Mercer, Tish McDaniel, Melody Scearce, Leda Ruppel, Ashley Cosby, Jeannie Johnson, Brittney Carter, Mike Hardaway, and Brandon Strange. Back Row: Kevin Murdock, Clayton Bean, Cru McDaniel, Alena Kiefer, Dean Brinker, Kyle Brinker, Dirk Brinker, Scott Ellison, Ethan Bollivar, Kelli Carter, Colleen Meuth, Trey Brinker, Lance Embrey, and Shawn McClure. Not pictured: Ben Stahl, Dean Powell, Haley Clowdus, Jerry Golday, Rodrick Meeks, Tim Hoehn, Eliana Pancake, and Madhuri Thota

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

Since 1946, H.G. McCullough Designers has been a family owned and managed company dedicated to custom residential design. Their design team works with clients from conceptual layout and space planning to structural engineering and finish details required for sound construction and client satisfaction while working closely with the contractors. No job is too large or small, nor is location an obstacle. Their portfolios feature new and remodeled homes in the Tri-State and beyond. Over the years, their exceptional designs have been featured in the Robb Report, Architectural Digest, Midwest Living, Southern Living, and Habitat for Humanity.

In 2012, Home Design Group was created from its parent company H.G. McCullough Designers. HDG’s goal is to provide a basic set of plans based on the client’s personal preferences, budget, and lifestyle while working closely with the contractor. Their design team has over 30 years of combined experience designing homes, helping each client achieve their dream home. Their projects include small houses to large estates, and everything in between. They offer project consultation and planning, and 3D renderings for both new homes and remodel projects. Over the years, their designs include many award-winning SIBA Parade Homes.

u Gregg Kissel, Anthony Wilson, and Houston Medcalf

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

Gill Wedding Orthodontics is dedicated to creating confident smiles and meaningful connections with every patient. Drs. James Gill and Logan Wedding find the most rewarding part of their work in watching patients’ self-esteem grow throughout treatment. They are passionate about delivering the best care possible by staying current with the latest advancements through continuing education, study clubs, and professional conferences. Their approach to patient care centers around clear, consistent communication and creating a welcoming, family-like atmosphere. Every visit is designed to be a positive experience, and each patient is treated with compassion and respect. Inspired by the opportunity to work with individuals of all ages, the doctors feel fortunate to be in a profession where they can make a lasting impact — one smile at a time.

u Front Row: Julie Fest, Mallory Riley, Sydney Payne, Cindy Mallory, and Angie Shultzabarger. Middle Row: Marie Summers, Chantel Arnett, Monica Liba, Johnna Louthan, Jamie Ballis, and Jennifer Wininger. Back Row: Dr. Logan Wedding, Mikayla Jolly, Amanda Moore, Ann Cunningham, Lizzie Nunn, and Dr. James Gill

CABINETS & COUNTERS COUNTERTOPS

As the most experienced stone fabricator in the Evansville region, family-owned Cabinets & Counters has built a reputation for craftsmanship and customer care. Serving the Tri-State, the company specializes in the templating, fabrication, and installation of granite, quartz, marble, quartzite, and porcelain for countertops, fireplaces, and other custom stone applications. The company’s personalized, hands-on approach ensures every customer receives guidance from material selection through installation. Each piece is meticulously finished and polished by hand, and their skilled crew prioritizes clean, efficient installation. With a growing trend toward full wall splashes, Cabinets & Counters remains ahead of the curve in style and quality. For homeowners seeking both beauty and function, Cabinets & Counters delivers timeless stone solutions with the care only a local business can offer.

u Ashley Kinsey and Katie Rich

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

REAL ESTATE LEADERSHIP

F.C. TUCKER EMGE

We’re a proud, local company focused on building a brighter future for our community. As a family-owned business, our top priority is supporting our agents every step of the way as they build meaningful careers. With the right tools, strong training, and constant support, our agents are equipped to help clients find their dream homes.

At F.C. Tucker Emge, it’s about more than just buying and selling homes — it’s about building lasting relationships. Our agents grow through meaningful connections, time with family, and giving back to the neighborhoods they serve.

Step into F.C. Tucker Emge and discover a place where real estate is about people, purpose, and progress. If you’re interested in a career in real estate, Let’s Talk!

u Gretchen Ballard, Grant Waldroup, Stephanie Morris, Bryan Speer, Ken Haynie, Gretchen Muchnick, John Briscoe, Kyle Bernhardt, Anita Waldroup, M. Michelle Hudson, Sally Sigler, Robin Montgomery, Ken Newcomb, and Janet Greenwell. Not pictured: Steve Lukemeyer and Jason Eddy

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

GERMAN AMERICAN BANK PRIVATE BANKING

Vicki Simmons and Sherri Alley are passionate about helping clients align their current wealth with their future goals. Serving clients with complex financial needs and higher balances, they deliver an exclusive and uniquely personal banking experience. As dedicated private client relationship managers, Vicki and Sherri serve as trusted single points of contact, working closely with German American Bank’s wealth management and banking experts. Together, they craft customized financial solutions that support each client’s needs.

Discover the difference of premium service, exclusive benefits, and integrated financial guidance with the German American Bank Private Client Group — serving the greater Evansville area under the expert leadership of Sherri and Vicki. Let their experience and commitment help put your financial goals into focus.

u Vicki Simmons and Sherri Alley, Vice Presidents of Private Banking

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

EXPLORE EVANSVILLE

Explore Evansville leads the charge in showcasing the Evansville region as a vibrant place to travel, connect, and explore. As the area’s official destination marketing organization, the team blends creativity, strategy, and a deep love for the community to attract visitors, events, and conventions year-round.

From managing major tourism assets like Deaconess Sports Park to partnering with local leaders on hospitality-focused improvements, Explore Evansville plays a key role in shaping how the world experiences our corner of the state. In 2024 alone, tourism brought in $42 million in economic impact — a new high for the region.

With a dedicated team and board of directors, Explore Evansville continues to support tourism-driven progress that fuels local development, strengthens the hospitality industry, and makes Evansville a place people are proud to visit — and call home.

u Tom White, Chuck Lewis, Aaron King, L’Oreal Mitchell, Maddie Lemon, Kathy Glaser, Kate Reibel, Jen Kerns, Dawson Sinclair, Collin Dame, and Tim Fulton

PAINTING THE FACE OF

TURPEN’S PAINTING

Turpen’s Painting has quietly carved out a leadership position in the Tri-State area by redefining what a painting project should feel like. From first contact to final brushstroke, the team prioritizes crystal-clear communication, responsive service, and meticulous color consultations that remove guesswork. Clients describe a hands-on approach that stays with them from beginning to end, ensuring schedules, budgets, and expectations stay aligned. Under Chad Turpen’s leadership, Turpen’s has built a culture of excellence that blends craftsmanship with genuine care for people and spaces. Beyond business, Chad loves giving back, selecting a volunteer project each year. This year’s focus will be their biggest yet, the Granted House of Hope, where interior and exterior painting will brighten rooms and hearts alike, reinforcing Turpen’s commitment to community. A trusted partner for transformation.

u Chad and Sam Turpen

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

PELLA WINDOWS & DOORS OF EVANSVILLE

u Jeremy Bethel, Sam Mills, Cherie Simpson, Nick Wood, and Ray Butler

When a customer visits The Rug Merchant for the first time, the initial reaction usually is one of surprise. With thousands of rugs in all shapes, sizes, colors, materials, and styles, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the selection. But The Rug Merchant president Terry Lewis has dedicated more than two-thirds of his life to selling and learning about rugs, especially Oriental rugs. Now, three generations of specialists work with customers to take the guesswork out of selecting the perfect piece for your space. There’s no need to pay big city prices to find high style and quality. Instead, shop with The Rug Merchant — your local rug store that stands on its selection, service, and integrity.

u Terry Lewis, Emily Brown, and Lynne Lewis

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

SOUTHERN BUSINESS MACHINES, INC.

Why should you choose to do business with SBM, Inc.?

Over the last 36 years, Southern Business Machines, Inc. has established itself as a strong leader in the mailing/shipping/ document distribution industry. As a local, family-owned and -operated company, making a difference means building relationships and providing great customer service from the start. It’s going far beyond the transactional sale by getting to know the people we are working with and building trust. “Many of our customers have seen our children grow up over the last 13 years and ask about them when we have a meeting,” General Manager and Co-Senior Vice President Dawn Stevens says. “We enjoy catching up with our customers because they are just as important as the business being done,” CoSenior Vice President Vernon Stevens II says. “This was, and still is, the backbone of our company.”

u Vincent Altmeyer, Dawn Stevens, Vernon Stevens II, and Chad Mayes

THE FACE OF

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

WOODWARD COMMERCIAL REALTY, INC.

For more than 37 years, Woodward Commercial Realty, Inc., has set the standard in Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky’s real estate market. A full-service firm, Woodward delivers expertise in commercial and residential real estate, business brokerage, build to suit/lease projects, and commercial development. Its expertise includes industrial facilities, medical complexes, general office, retail centers, multi-family housing, land development, and investment opportunities. Woodward’s success is built on three principles: quality service, uncompromising integrity, and long-term commitment. True to its motto — “If we don’t have what you need, we’ll build it for you” — Woodward creates tailored solutions that stand the test of time.

u Front Row: Greg Folz, Scott Harris, Audrie Burkett, Zach Martin, Donna Taylor, and Susi Racine. Back Row: Sally Fedolfi, Matt Heseman, Evan Beck, Christy Vondersaar, Nate Nord, Chris Jackson, Susan Bohrnstedt, and Brian Myrick. Not Pictured: Cory Mills

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

CENTER FOR PEDIATRIC THERAPY

Since 2005, the Center for Pediatric Therapy (CPT) has provided quality services to children and their families. The Center for Pediatric Therapy specializes in a number of areas, including occupational, physical, speech, nutrition, social work, and developmental therapy for patients from birth to 18 years old. Therapists value each child’s success to ensure they get the care and help they need. While doing so, CPT instills confidence, self worth, and a strong foundation for productivity for the future into every child. CPT continues to stand out with its mission and growth mindset, which is why CPT is The Face of Pediatrics.

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

EVANSVILLE VANDERBURGH SCHOOL CORPORATION

Bringing Learning to Life

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation is proud to partner with families, staff, and our community to create meaningful learning opportunities for all students.

We take great pride in providing students with rigorous course options and a wide variety of innovative programs to meet their learning interests. Students can participate in highly successful athletics and honors fine arts performing groups, along with a full range of extracurriculars to unlock their potential and enhance their school experience. Guided by caring, highly trained educators and a shared belief in the power of public education, EVSC students are prepared to succeed in college, career, and life.

Join a district where collaboration drives achievement, because at the EVSC, we are bringing learning to life.

THE FACE OF

ENTOMOLOGY EDUCATION

SWAT PEST CONTROL

Brandon Runyon is more than a pest expert — he’s a board-certified entomologist with a passion for education and science communication. With degrees from Purdue University and the University of Nebraska, he specializes in urban entomology and leads educational outreach for Swat Pest. Founded in 1999 by his parents, Stacey and Tim Runyon, Swat Pest serves the Tri-State with locations in Evansville and Owensboro, Kentucky. The company offers residential and commercial pest control, mosquito services, insulation, exclusion work, and eco-friendly solutions. Brandon shares his expertise in classrooms, public health groups, and even online platforms like YouTube and Spotify. Embracing innovation, Swat Pest uses cutting-edge technology to minimize environmental impact and develop biological control methods — proving that effective pest control and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand.

u Brandon Runyon

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

SHANNON ALEKSANDR'S SALON

Founded in 2006 with just four team members, Shannon Aleksandr’s Salon has grown into a premier destination for expert hair, skin, and nail care. Proudly recognized as a Redken Black Elite Salon and a Kérastase Top 100 Salon, it reflects a commitment to innovation, education, and elevated guest experiences.

With a family-first, team-driven philosophy, the salon offers personalized services — from precision cuts and custom color to full spa days — all tailored to your style and budget. A recent renovation adds a chic, modern feel, creating a stylish yet welcoming environment.

After nearly two decades of success, the salon remains a trusted name in the community, known for exceeding expectations and delivering a luxurious yet approachable experience for every guest.

u Carrie Caver, Shannon Woolsey, Chad Butler, and Logan Eastham

2025 OFFACES EVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

INDEPENDENT EDUCATION

EVANSVILLE DAY SCHOOL

An Education That Inspires. A Community That Feels Like Home.

At Evansville Day School, we believe learning should spark curiosity, build confidence, and develop adaptable thinkers. We empower students to take risks, ask big questions, and turn ideas into action. As Evansville’s only independent school, we provide a student-centered education from Junior Pre-K through Grade 12, designed to develop critical thinkers, problemsolvers, and resilient leaders

What Sets Day School Apart?

For over 75 years, EDS has helped students grow into confident, independent thinkers who are ready to take on the world. Here’s why families choose us:

• An Independent Approach – We create an education that prioritizes students over standardized tests.

• Future-Focused Learning – We don’t just prepare students for college; we prepare them for life with leadership training, global awareness, and entrepreneurial thinking

• 100% College Acceptance Rate — Our graduates not only attend top universities, they thrive there.

• A Culture of Belonging – In our tight-knit, welcoming community, students are seen, valued, and inspired to reach their full potential.

u Kelly McCandless, Director of Primary School; Sarah Jacobson, Head of School; Holly Ziemer, Assistant Head of School; and Phillip Call, Director of Upper School

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

HEAVY EQUIPMENT RENTALS AND SALES

BOYD CAT

For nearly 80 years, the Evansville community has trusted Boyd CAT for their heavy equipment needs. We proudly serve a wide range of industries, including construction, agriculture, mining, paving, landscaping, quarry and aggregate, and industrial.

Located on a 20-acre site on Lynch Road, our facility is home to 87 skilled team members. As an authorized Cat® dealer, we provide equipment sales, rentals, power systems, and expert service. In addition to Cat® equipment, we offer a diverse product line that includes aerial lifts, generators, light towers, and small tools.

Our state-of-the-art location features 19 service bays, a dedicated track and paint shop, and an electric power service team. We operate 20 service trucks along with a preventive maintenance truck and a rapid-response track truck to ensure fast, reliable jobsite support. Our parts department offers delivery routes, drop boxes, and overnight shipping for quick turnaround.

u Front Row: Robert Cano, Service Manager; Jimmy Young, Maintenance Tech; Arnold Winstead, Branch Manager; Ed Tegethoff, Parts Manager; Addie Davis, Parts Coordinator; and Scott Ashby, Rental Manager.

Back Row: Adam Gamache, Earthmoving Field Tech; Brad Weisheit, Sales Manager; JD Smith, Product Support Rep; Logan Kloeck, Construction Sales Rep; Nathan Schnur, Rental Preventative Maintenance Tech; and Eric Short, Earthmoving Shop Tech.

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

OUTDOOR LIVING

COLONIAL CLASSICS LANDSCAPES AND NURSERY

With more than 60 years of full-service landscaping and garden experience, Colonial Classics has the largest and most diverse garden center in the area. It’s our attention to detail and personalized customer service that sets us apart from other lawn and garden retailers and service providers. All of our landscaping designers, horticulturists, Master Gardeners, and nurserymen and nurserywomen are highly trained and experienced in what they do. The members of our team understand that when they know more about your needs, they can meet and exceed your expectations within your budget. We are honored to have worked with thousands of homeowners and businesses over the years to help enhance our wonderful community and look forward to continuing the tradition.

2025 OFFACES EVANSVILLE

FIRST BANK BUSINESS BANKING

First Bank is proud to be the face of business banking in the Evansville area. For us, business banking starts with relationships — getting to know the people behind the companies that keep our community moving forward. We bring local decision-making paired with innovative solutions and the personalized guidance businesses need to grow and thrive. Every conversation and every connection are built around helping business owners succeed today and plan for tomorrow. From financing opportunities to treasury services, our team delivers expertise with a personal touch that makes a lasting difference. At First Bank, business banking means partnership, progress, and a shared commitment to building a stronger Evansville, one business at a time.

Connect with us at myfirst.bank/business

u Front Row: Lucas Underwood, Denise Utley, Heather Dickerson, Mark Rickelman, and Beth Clark

Back Row: Matt Whetstone, McKenzie Ziliak, Elliott Kavanaugh, Rachelle Sneed, Chris Pfister, and Kyle Anslinger

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

HIGHER EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA

This is what we Scream for.

University of Southern Indiana Athletics has a proud and winning tradition as fierce competitors. The Screaming Eagles have entered a historic new chapter of competition under the leadership of Jon Mark Hall, Vice President and Director of Athletics, as a full NCAA Division I member.

A university-wide reclassification initiative proved successful in fast-tracking USI’s NCAA eligibility, positioning the Screaming Eagles to be able to compete in championship events by the 2025–26 season, one year ahead of schedule. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors officially approved USI as a full Division I member in June, marking USI’s potential postseason participation in all 19 varsity sports.

USI has already achieved success during its DI transition, including Ohio Valley Conference titles in Women’s Basketball and both Men's and Women’s Cross Country. Academically, the program continues to shine, maintaining an average student-athlete GPA of 3.3 and earning back-to-back OVC Institutional Achievement Awards for academic excellence leading the conference.

“Our

u Colin Wolfe, Bianca Anderson, Ali Saunders, Jon Mark Hall, Brynn Quick, Ish Habib, and Jackson Mitchell

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

TRI-STATE ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEONS

For more than 75 years, Tri-State Orthopaedics has proudly cared for the residents of Evansville and the surrounding communities. From athletes at USI, UE, EVSC high schools, Mater Dei, and Evansville Christian School, to weekend warriors, parents, grandparents, and children, we work every day to help you get back to doing what you love with the people who matter most.

Being part of a patient’s journey and restoring their mobility has been at the heart of our mission for more than 75 years. We are truly honored to serve this community and care for those who call it home every single day.

u First Row: Dr. Ryan Wetzel, Dr. William Ante, Dr. Peter Knoll, Dr. Tim Hamby, Dr. Jason Conaughty, and Dr. Tyler Kelly. Second Row: Dr. Paul Perry, Dr. Jason Franklin, Dr. Michael Boyd, Dr. David Whitney, Dr. Zach Hamby, Dr. Nicholas Rensing, and Dr. Craig Carter. Third Row: Dr. Braxton Facer, Dr. Paul Daines, Dr. Andrew Saltzman, Dr. Christopher Sneed, Dr. Terry Fenwick and Dr. Glenn Johnson II

u Front Row: Seth Pauli and Tom Rehl

Back Row: Chad Sander, Brandan Steele, Missy Gilles, Kerri Campfield, Jon Boyles, and Scott Hodoval

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

LOCAL REAL ESTATE

ERA FIRST ADVANTAGE REALTY, INC.

Experience Matters: Why the Right Brokerage Makes All the Difference — At Every Stage

In real estate, experience is everything. It’s the insight gained from each client, each contract, and each negotiation.

At ERA First Advantage Realty, Inc., we believe that experience matters, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve built a career of success.

Here’s why agents — new and seasoned — are choosing to grow with us.

We offer new agents:

• Proven mentorship from experienced producers who actually want to help you succeed

• Step-by-step training programs rooted in real-world, day-to-day success, not just theory

• Marketing tools and tech that help you build your brand and attract clients

• Supportive culture where you’re never left guessing what to do next

We support experienced agents with:

• Autonomy and respect for the business you’ve already built

• Advanced tools and marketing solutions that elevate your brand

• Leadership and team-building opportunities to help you grow beyond solo success

• A collaborative environment of high-performing professionals

Why agents choose us:

No matter your experience level, we know the value of what you bring to the table. We’re not here to fit you into a box; we’re here to help you build a business that’s truly your own.

At ERA First Advantage Realty, Inc., we don’t just say “experience matters.” We invest in it, recognize it, and build around it.

Ready to talk about the next step in your career? Let’s have a conversation, because experience deserves more than one-size-fits-all.

u Tanya Mauck (19 years), Angela Wilder (28 years), Angie Simpkins (3 years), Ryan Miller (22 years), Becky Demastus (29 years), Cara Titzer (8 years), Janice Miller (30 years), Chuck Walter (22 years), Liz Miller (12 years), and Deanna Gibbs (11 years)

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

CHIROPRACTIC

WEST SIDE CHIROPRACTIC

A Holistic Approach to Healing

Since taking over West Side Chiropractic in 2011, Dr. Jessica Ignacio has transformed the practice into a comprehensive wellness hub. What started with just one chiropractor and a small team of assistants has grown to include four skilled massage therapists, five chiropractic assistants, and Dr. Wes, who specializes in sports rehab. The addition of acupuncture has allowed Dr. Jessica and Dr. Wes to expand treatment options and focus on whole-body healing.

What drives Dr. Jessica and Dr. Wes is the ability to help patients achieve lasting relief, whether from headaches, arthritis, sports injuries, or even childhood conditions like colic and scoliosis. With a holistic approach, Dr. Jessica and her team treat the root causes of ailments, offering customized care to prevent future pain and discomfort.

Dr. Jessica Ignacio and Dr. Wesley Trauger

THE FACE OF

GARAGE DOORS

EVANSVILLE GARAGE DOORS

For more than 70 years, Evansville Garage Doors has been the go-to choice for quality, reliability, and — above all — customer service. Known for “good, old-fashioned customer service the way it used to be,” the company treats every client like family. Specializing in residential installation and service, these experts handle everything from new builds to retrofits on homes dating back to the 1800s. With 5,000-plus doors in stock, most installations are completed in fewer than 10 days. Evansville Garage Doors’ unmatched LIFETIME labor warranty — not 90 days, not a year, but forever — reflects its confidence in craftsmanship. Beyond garage doors, the business offers patio awnings, bug screens, entry doors, and exterior remodeling. Serving Evansville, Newburgh, and surrounding areas, Evansville Garage Doors combines tradition, innovation, and personal service to deliver results clients can see before they buy.

u Jeff Rothschild, Terri Rothschild, and Luke Freiberger

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

TRI-STATE ORAL SURGERY

Tri-State Oral Surgery exists to provide the Tri-State with exceptional oral and maxillofacial surgical services. Our boardcertified surgeons pride themselves on providing the highest level of care and using the most state-of-the-art technological advancements. We feel privileged to be trusted to provide this community with care, and we strive to treat all patients with honesty, integrity, and the utmost respect. Our full scope surgical practice offers the comfort of various sedation options and surgical excellence. Whether it be dental implants, “smile in a day,” wisdom teeth removal, extractions, or jaw corrective surgery, let Tri-State Oral surgery address your pain and help you smile again with confidence.

u Dr. Chase Andreason, DMD; Dr. Steven Ledford, DDS; Dr. Bradley Storrs, DDS; and Dr. Steven Rodgers, DDS

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

YOUR HEALTHY HOMETOWN HEROES

HEALTHY SPACES

We create a healthy home environment through mold prevention, crawl space encapsulation, basement waterproofing, foundation repair, and total basement finishing. We understand your home is likely your greatest investment and where you keep everything that’s precious. You should not trust its care to just anyone. Twenty-five years of feedback from our clients has given us the opportunity to continue to make them feel we are a trusted leader in creating healthy spaces. Our team stays focused on the customer experience to ensure peace of mind and comfort, knowing that your home is in the best hands.

u Front Row: Kyle Wheatman, Sean Rokes, Orlando Ortiz, Brandon Crook, Kelsey Bullerdick, Dana Mullen, Halley Bates, Adeleen Bender, Shelby Root, Dustin Hale, Marco Hernandez, Francisco Lucas, Lucas Miguel, Briar Utley, and Daniel Steele. Middle Row: Dakota Prince, Trent Feagins, Garrett Block, Scott Schuam, David Haire, Sean Lane, Jimmy Schaefer, Tim Runyon, Rory McNeely, Roger Alexander, Steven Rokes, Jason Butler, Eric Baldwin, Zeke Morrison, and Bryon Purkey. Back Row: Jordan Byrd, Nick Marlin, Joey Marlin, Abe Ford, Corey O’Conner, Jon Tornatta, Caleb Vaughn, Mike Hargis, Brandon Crowe, Otis Rankin, Damon Cheatham, Jacob Munro, Cameron Cordray, and Jackson Bailey

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

J.E. SHEKELL, INC.

“Behind every successful business are people, people who work hard every day to satisfy the needs and wants of others, our customers. I am extremely proud and humbled to represent the many faces of the J.E. Shekell family. Our people dedicate themselves to making sure our customers are comfortable in their homes and businesses. Because of their devotion, we have become the name you rely on for heating and air conditioning, electrical, refrigeration, and plumbing products installation, service, and maintenance.

My father, John E. Shekell, founded our company over 45 years ago with a commitment to provide unmatched service to our community. Today, our customers know and trust we will be there with the absolute best, friendly, and professional service when they need us. I am grateful for his legacy and the dedicated work family he helped cultivate. Our pledge to you is that the J.E. Shekell family is here for your family today and will be for years to come.”

AMERICAN EAGLE TREE SERVICE TREE SERVICE

Our tagline says it all: “Your LOCAL Arbor Master Trained Professionals” have proudly served Evansville, Newburgh, and surrounding areas since 2001. Rapidly approaching our 25th year in business, American Eagle Tree Service remains committed to providing outstanding tree services with complete customer satisfaction. Properly maintained trees not only look good, they also add value to your landscape. On the other hand, trees that are decayed, broken, and diseased will do just the opposite.

We provide professional services for commercial and residential properties. We take pride in our work, specializing in large and hazardous tree removal, expert tree trimming, land clearing, and emergency storm cleanup. Our arborists deliver comprehensive tree care solutions that prioritize both the health of your trees and the safety of your property.

u Charlie and Judy Oran with Bella

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

PILATES

CLUB PILATES

It’s more than a workout — it’s a community. At Club Pilates Evansville, you’re not just a member, you’re family. As a family-run business, every detail matters to us — from our top-tier instructors to the sense of belonging you’ll feel the moment you walk in. Our owners are hands on, teaching and supporting every day alongside a team that’s passionate about helping you reach your goals. We’re proud to feature more than 80 classes every week taught by the Tri-State’s most comprehensively trained instructors — whose training includes a minimum of 500 hours — and one Master Trainer with 24 years of teaching experience. Whether you’re new to pilates or a seasoned pro, we offer an engaging, effective workout in a space where everyone knows your name. Come for the fitness — stay for the connection.

THE FACE OF

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

LIFE RENEWAL YOGA

At Life Renewal Yoga, Whitney Arvin offers a deeply personalized approach to yoga, blending movement, breath, mindfulness, and meditation to support each student’s unique needs. Specializing in one-on-one yoga therapy, Whitney helps clients navigate injuries, chronic conditions, and emotional challenges with compassion and care. Group classes follow the adaptive Viniyoga tradition, where sequences are thoughtfully designed for the individuals present — there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. A certified yoga therapist trained through the Yoga Well Institute under Chase Bossart, Whitney draws on years of study in yoga philosophy, anatomy, and therapeutic application. Her gentle, holistic method empowers students to build strength, flexibility, balance, and resilience. At Life Renewal Yoga, the goal is simple yet profound: create a safe, nurturing space for healing and transformation — one breath at a time.

IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAREER LINK

Ivy+ Career Link: Connecting Talent and Business

In today’s fast-changing economy, the right connections can turn potential into progress. Ivy+ Career Link is that bridge — linking Southwestern Indiana’s businesses, students, and jobseekers with the tools to grow and succeed.

For employers, dedicated consultants uncover workforce needs and craft customized training to keep teams competitive. For individuals in our communities, our team has developed a portfolio of in-demand skills training — helping people advance in their current roles or pivot to new careers. Career coaches assist students in exploring careers, hone interview skills, and prepare for the workforce.

By blending employer insight with tailored learning, Ivy+ Career Link builds a stronger talent pipeline and fuels regional growth.

Connect with the team at evv-reg@ivytech.edu or visit link.ivytech.edu/CareerLink.

u Front to Back: Nick Bragin, Executive Director of Ivy+ Career Link; Carrie Feltis, Director of Career Coaching; Nicholas Gathercole, Program Manager; Kathleen Kania, Employer Consultant; and Joseph Brinkley, Director of Employer Education Services

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

GARMONG CONSTRUCTION

As a leader in construction management, Garmong partners with clients to turn visions into reality through tested experience, innovative solutions, and an unwavering commitment to quality. From concept to completion, the Garmong team blends expertise with a collaborative spirit, ensuring every project is delivered on schedule, on budget, and beyond expectations.

Garmong’s portfolio spans health care, education, industrial, and civic projects, each approached with the same dedication to craftsmanship and client satisfaction. Utilizing the construction management delivery method,

Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) process, and the traditional Design-Bid-Build process, Garmong has successfully completed 100-plus public and private projects across Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. Its legacy is rooted in integrity, but its focus is firmly on the future — embracing new delivery methods, strong relationships, and creative problem-solving to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving world. With deep community roots and an eye on progress, Garmong is the premiere construction management firm in America’s Heartland.

u Alex Blanford, Tyler Davis, Mark Ross, Steve Schaefer, Jimmy Kennett, Becky Gross, Brandon Seibert, Dan Alcorn, Joe Mattingly, Megan McCarnan-Whitledge, Hunter Williams, Jeremy Weber, Colby Frazier, Tanner Straneva, Patrick Enlow, Josh Gabbard, Kelly Crowell, Eric Wade, Holly Kiegel, Landon Wilder, John Thomas, and Eric Schaber

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

Nussmeier

THE FACE OF

EVANSVILLE PROTESTANT HOME SENIOR CARE

Evansville Protestant Home isn’t just another senior care provider — it’s a living legacy. For a century, it has blended historic roots with modern care to create a place where recovery, independence, comfort, and support coexist beautifully. From short-term surgery recovery to long-term assisted living and skilled nursing, the Home remains anchored in its original promise: to care for the aging population with compassion, dignity, and unwavering quality.

As one of the only nonprofit faith-based board operated skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in the Tri-State, we hold ourselves to a higher standard of service and appreciate the opportunity to serve our community.

For a full century, Evansville Protestant Home has stood as a beacon of compassionate senior care in southwestern Indiana. We opened our doors in 1925 and have faithfully served generations ever since, offering a full continuum of care under one historic roof.

u Front Row: Marylu Sonntag, Geraldine Oeth, Lewis Plane, and Lisa Doom.

Back Row: Rebecca Schadler, Janese Bacon, Michelle Perry, Paul Mayer, and Lauren Dill

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

ICE CREAM

JB'S BARNYARD

Not your traditional scoop shop!

Welcome to JB’s! Meet Jared and Briley, the husband-and-wife duo who are the proud founders of JB’s Barnyard. JB's takes a unique approach to ice cream that goes far beyond the traditional scoop shop. It offers more than just delicious ice cream — JB’s provides an experience!

Jared and Briley started the business in 2021 after realizing they were deeply unsatisfied in their corporate jobs. The couple shared a common life vision: They wanted a life on a farm. Their vision included a blue gambrel-style barn. Their animals would be in the back, and customers would come from near and far to visit, buy ice cream, and pet their cows.

The couple was devastated to learn they didn’t have the finances to recreate the farm they envisioned and that they had to start off as “just an ice cream truck.” But they never gave up on their dream — they even used the slogan, “A little ice cream truck with big dreams.”

In 2023, Jared and Briley began making their own ice cream. Now selling ice cream to more than 18 wholesale clients, JB’s Barnyard ice cream can be found all the way from Lafayette, Indiana, to Greenville, Kentucky. Its mobile ice cream trucks are used for private events, corporate parties, and weddings. JB’s Barnyard even offers a one-of-a-kind experience where guests can enjoy their favorite ice cream and meet the adorable JB’s miniature Jersey cows, Lucy and Tootie!

Although Jared and Briley have a dream of one day owning more land with more cows, for now, they will start with two and grow their business, one scoop at a time.

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

THE FACE PLACE

The Face Place of Evansville is a full-service medical aesthetics spa located in the heart of Evansville. Our practice is celebrating more than a decade of taking care of many of the Tri-State’s patrons and offers a variety of popular treatments including Dysport, Botox, Letybo, dermal fillers, laser, microneedling, microblading, Sculptra biostimulator, chemical peels, luxury facials, and more. Our nurses are experts in their field, and everyone who walks through our doors can expect a one-of-a-kind specialized visit that caters to each of our clients’ very personalized needs. Please stop by and visit our new location at 2042 Lincoln Ave., where everyone is welcome!

u Angela Bowlds, RDH, LPN; Barry Ray, DDS, MAGD; Sharon Ray, LPN, MS; and Michele Proctor, LPN

Located in the historic Curtis Building, GRO is a boutique advertising agency blending creativity and strategy to help brands thrive. With 22 talented team members — including content creators, designers, and more — GRO delivers big-agency results with a personal touch. From Los Angeles to Miami, the agency partners with clients nationwide, specializing in bold content creation, marketing, and digital experiences.

Leading the way are Jordan Huneycutt, Founder and CEO, lead visionary photographer and cinematographer; Chelsea Russelburg, COO, ensuring the heights of success; Lauren Wineman, CMO, driving next-level strategies; Ashby Henning, Director of Advertising, crafting campaigns with remarkable ROAS; and Niklas Andersson, Web Director, building sites that engage and convert.

GRO demonstrates that world-class creativity can flourish at home — rooted in Evansville, yet connected nationwide.

u Chelsea Russelburg, Ashby Henning, Lauren Wineman, Jordan Huneycutt, Brevin Snellenberger, Niklas Andersson, Lance Gardner, and Kayla LeBarron

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

FUNERAL SERVICES AND PRE-PLANNING

BROWNING FUNERAL HOME

For more than 70 years, Browning Funeral Home has been committed to providing compassionate and quality funeral service to the community. As a locally owned family business, we value interpersonal relationships with the families we serve, and we pride ourselves in exceptional customer care.

Founded by Charles Browning, Browning Funeral Home has remained a trusted part of our community since 1954. Today, it is owned and operated by his daughter, Jeannie Browning-Hester, who has dedicated more than 40 years of service to the business. She has been a trailblazer for women — not just locally, but also nationally — in a predominately male-operated funeral industry. Continuing the family tradition, Jeannie’s son, Jake Browning-Hester, represents the third generation of family leadership. In a world run more-and-more by big-business and large corporations, Browning Funeral Home offers a place for you and your family to be truly cared for during life’s most difficult moments.

Whether you are planning ahead or facing immediate need, we are here to guide you through every step. From traditional services to contemporary memorials, we accommodate your wishes and ideas to create a personalized remembrance of your loved one. As customs are evolving, so are we. At Browning, we are excited to go outside the lines of what is often considered a sad and somber experience to create an uplifting and celebratory event. We are confident our experienced team, with an average tenure of 15 years with Browning Funeral Home, will professionally handle your family’s needs — culminating in a finer touch to remembrance.

u Jake Browning-Hester and Jeannie Browning-Hester

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

CUSTOM POOLS

KELLEY CUSTOM POOLS

Kelley Custom Pools brings three generations and more than 70 years of craftsmanship to backyards across the TriState. Rather than chasing flash, they design warm, welcoming spaces where families gather and memories stick. The team manages everything end-to-end — custom construction, openings and closings, weekly maintenance, repairs, refurbishments — and backs it with a full retail store for supplies and guidance. Responding to today’s demand for choices and communication, Kelley added fiberglass pool options and keeps clients updated from the first sketch to the first splash. Each project begins with listening: define the vision and budget, then build a clear, detailed quote that aligns features with priorities. Serving Evansville to Washington, Indiana, Owensboro and Henderson, Kentucky, and Southern Illinois, Kelley Custom Pools turns yards into destinations. Have pool. Will travel.

u Austin Kelley, Brad Roberts with Wally, Alyssa Kelley, Hayden Cox, Chyna Jackson, Chris Kelley, Tommy Kelley, Dylan Robbins, Jake Kelley, Mike Smith, and Wayne Kelley

When you’re experiencing foot and ankle pain, First Podiatry will help you get back on your feet. From ingrown toenails to heel pain, we treat all foot conditions and offer in-office surgery, digital X-rays, and a large selection of diabetic shoes and custom inserts to provide the relief you need.

Dr. David Reynolds, DPM can be relied on for exceptional care and attention. Dr. Reynolds is certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine. By focusing on educating patients on the source of their pain and the appropriate treatment program, we provide all the information needed to take the first steps toward a pain-free life.

u Theresa Gough, Tiffany Book, Jennifer Harrison, Dr. David Reynolds, Kayla Peck, and Anita Collins

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION

THE COX GROUP

What sets The Cox Group apart is our vertically integrated approach to business solutions with offerings in real estate acquisition and construction, transportation, distribution, contract manufacturing, polymer processing, and information technology with embedded cybersecurity.

Our companies work seamlessly together, allowing us to provide comprehensive support for complex projects, lower costs, and improve the quality of your supply chain. Whether you need a new facility with integrated IT infrastructure, distribution services with coordinated transportation, or specialized plastic compounding with custom packaging and fulfillment, we deliver complete solutions under one trusted partnership that has been in the Tri-State area since 1986. Experience the power of integrated business solutions. Contact The Cox Group today at 812-833-6600 to discover how our companies can transform your operational challenges into competitive advantages.

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

FAMILY AND COSMETIC DENTISTRY

BLUEGRASS DENTAL

At Bluegrass Dental, patients experience the best of both worlds — modern dentistry backed by advanced technology and the warmth of a small-town practice. Their philosophy is simple: patients shouldn’t have to travel between multiple offices to get the care they need. That’s why their skilled team offers a full spectrum of services in one location, from preventive checkups and cleanings to advanced restorative and cosmetic procedures.

The team has noticed a growing trend in dentistry: patients value convenience, continuity, and comprehensive care from a provider they trust. They also see a rising interest in aesthetics, with many people wanting to enhance their smiles while maintaining optimal oral health. Bluegrass Dental meets these needs with services ranging from dental implants, root canals, and dentures to veneers, whitening, bonding, and complete smile makeovers.

Over the years, the practice has expanded both its services and its technology, making treatments faster, more comfortable, and more precise. By keeping more care in-house, they’ve strengthened relationships with patients and built trust that lasts.

What

sets

With a commitment to excellence and a genuine connection to the

Bluegrass Dental continues to make Evansville smile — one patient at a time.

u Katy Cate, Dr. Samantha Martin, Luci Webb, Kristi Uhde, and Alicia French

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

HOME FURNITURE

SIMPLICITY FURNITURE

Meet Simplicity Furniture, the stylish rebel of Evansville interiors. These local legends believe furniture shouldn’t just match your rug — it should match your vibe. Whether you’re redecorating your living room or just need a new throne for your cat to ignore you from, Simplicity has you covered.

Locally owned and operated, their showroom is packed with pieces so comfy you’ll start making excuses to sit more. (“Sorry I missed your call — I was deeply committed to my sectional.”) With customer service smoother than a velvet recliner, and prices that won’t make your wallet cry, Simplicity Furniture is turning Evansville homes into havens, one sassy sofa at a time. Stop in. Sit down. Try not to fall in love. (You will. It’s fine.)

THE FACE OF

PAIN MANAGEMENT

COMMONWEALTH PAIN &

SPINE

The team behind Commonwealth Pain & Spine recently opened the Advanced Surgical Institute (ASI), a new state-ofthe-art ambulatory surgical center, adjacent to Commonwealth’s Evansville clinic on Kimber Lane.

A sister company of Commonwealth, the center specializes in same-day outpatient procedures. It combines advanced surgical techniques with the latest technology in a welcoming, patient-focused environment that prioritizes safety and comfort.

“Our mission is to deliver unparalleled healthcare excellence to our community. We provide patients with access to the most advanced, minimally invasive spine and interventional pain management procedures available across the U.S.,” Dr. Nicolaus Winters says. “Our cutting-edge technology and unrivaled outpatient surgical suites enable us to offer safe, efficient, and cost-effective interventions without the delays or expenses associated with traditional hospital settings.”

u Sarah Herdes, Clinical Director; Nicolaus Winters MD, Partner; and Laura Myers, Administrator

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

MASTER METAL FABRICATORS

FRANKLIN STREET FORGE

Franklin Street Forge blends craftsmanship and full-service capability to bring metal projects to life across Evansville. As a turnkey metal fabrication shop, they handle design, plasma and laser cutting, forming, rolling, welding, powder coating, delivery, and on-site installation. Whether crafting delicate residential handrails or fabricating large industrial platforms, they’re equipped to handle the job. The team works with carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and bronze, with particular expertise in aluminum and sanitary stainless steel. Every project starts with collaborative design, followed by precise cutting, fitting, and welding, then finishing and inspection. With multiple quality checks and a fivestar Google reputation, Franklin Street Forge combines technical precision, creative problem-solving, and community pride in every build. Always.

THE FACE OF

CRESCENT CITY TATTOO SHOP & MUSEUM TATTOOS

Established in 2019, Crescent City Tattoo Shop & Museum offers expert tattooing and houses hundreds of tattoo artifacts. In January 2025, Ian Campbell took over as owner after purchasing the shop from his mentor, Clint Vaught. Ian’s mission is to preserve tattoo history while nurturing the craft as it is today.

The biggest trend they see is the growing acceptance of wearing tattoos. He says the biggest competition in tattooing is with yourself and maintaining the personal accountability to do your best work. That’s what sets them apart and has led to their success. From classic to contemporary styles, they have an expert. Tattooing and museum tours are available by appointment or by chance. “Our clients can rely on us, and our work speaks for itself.”

u Clint Vaught, Olivia Bullock, Joji Nagashima, Will Sandefur, David Nash, Shane Klos, Leah Leinani, Cody Boyer, and Ian Campbell

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

EVANSVILLE SURGICAL ASSOCIATES

Evansville Surgical Associates was formed after three surgeons came together and combined their practices to form one surgical group. Since its founding in 1969, the practice has grown to include 23 surgeons and offices in 11 locations, making it the largest general surgery practice in the Tri-State. Our vascular affiliate, Vascular Surgical Associates, is the largest vascular practice in the region. Our surgeons all are Board certified or Board eligible through the American Board of Surgery and many have subspecialty training and certification in vascular surgery, trauma/critical care, minimally invasive surgery, and hepatopancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery. When you’re looking for experts in surgery, look to Evansville Surgical Associates.

We provide expertise in general, colon and rectal, peripheral vascular and endovascular, breast, thoracic, endocrine, complex abdominal wall hernia, hepatobiliary, bariatric (obesity), and oncologic (cancer) surgeries utilizing advanced laparoscopic, thoracoscopic, robotic-assisted, and endovascular techniques to carry out these procedures. ESA surgeons also direct and staff the two American College of Surgeons Level II Trauma Centers at St. Vincent Evansville Hospital and

THE FACE OF

u Back Row: Dr. Katelyn Flick, Dr. Andrea Jester, Dr. Chandra Cherukupalli, Dr. Kristi Peck, Dr. Dharmesh Patel, Dr. Jay Woodland, Dr. Samir Gupta, Dr. Matthew Field, Dr. Anthony Kaiser, Dr. Henry Roberts, Dr. Prasad Gade, Dr. Roberto Iglesias, Dr. Todd Burry, Dr. Kevin McConnell, and Dr. Mallory Bray. Sitting: Dr. Kali Kuhlenschmidt, Dr. Katherine Lasher, Dr. Donald Patterson, Dr. Angela Martin, Dr. Erik Throop, Dr. Joshua Aaron, Dr. Brian Schymik

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF EVANSVILLE

Across the many ministries of the Diocese of Evansville, the staff works to invite all to a personal encounter with Christ, to deepen their love and understanding of their faith, and then to live as missionary disciples by serving their brothers and sisters. We accomplish this in many ways, including by supporting marriages and families, by promoting a greater respect for human life, by providing outreach to our growing Hispanic community, by offering direct assistance to those struggling with various needs, and by helping Catholics learn to share their blessings by serving their parishes and the community.

u Joe Paul Hayden, Director of Stewardship; Denise Seibert Townsend, Executive Director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Evansville; Most Rev. Joseph M. Siegel, Bishop of the Diocese of Evansville; Megan Knies, Director of Marriage, Family and Life; Father Alex Zenthoefer, Vicar General of the Diocese of Evansville and Rector of St. Benedict Cathedral; and Bertha Melendres, Director of Hispanic Ministry.

u Zach Rickard, Jeff Deaton, Trevor Dale, Rodney Lipking, Joel Heavrin, and Taylor Heavrin

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

DOG BOARDING, DAYCARE, GROOMING, AND TRAINING

BARKS & RECREATION

Barks & Recreation is where Evansville dogs come to learn, play, and thrive. As a trainer-owned, enrichment-based facility, safety and engagement are built into everything we do. Every staff member is trained by professional dog trainers, so they know how to read body language, guide play, and keep every dog happy and safe.

We offer enrichment-based daycare, immersive training camps, spa-quality grooming, and cozy boarding — all designed to build confidence and good manners. Owners today want more than “just daycare,” and we’re proud to give them a trusted partner in their dog’s well-being.

Owners Jennifer Bennett and Mike Goebel combined local roots, business leadership, and hands-on training experience to create the kind of place they’d want for their own dogs — and yours.

u Robin Blair (Grooming Manager) with Charlie; Jennifer Bennett (Owner) with Emi Lou and Uncle Baby Billy; Mike Goebel (Owner) with Quinn; Madison Scott (Kennel Manager) with Hamilton; and Tyler Burnette (Training Manager) with Beau.

THE FACE OF

EVANSVILLE COLORECTAL SURGERY COLORECTAL SURGERY

Dr. Santiago Arruffat, a board-certified colon and rectal surgeon, has been practicing in Evansville, Indiana, since 2006. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Dr. Arruffat specializes in minimally invasive surgeries, including robotic and laparoscopic procedures, for treating cancer and benign diseases. His expertise also extends to a wide range of pelvic floor disorders and other anorectal conditions.

Evansville Colorectal Surgery is a dedicated surgical practice committed to providing compassionate and exceptional care. The practice has a strong reputation in the community, with patients praising Dr. Arruffat and his staff for their expertise and patient-centered approach. Dr. Arruffat works with local and regional hospital systems and appreciates their support since opening his practice in 2023.

u Dr. Santiago

Arruffat

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

UNIVERSITY OF EVANSVILLE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS CLINIC AND EMILY M. YOUNG ASSESSMENT CENTER

The UE Mental Health and Wellness Clinic and Emily M. Young Assessment Center is dedicated to providing affordable, high-quality care for the community while training the next generation of mental health providers. Staffed by licensed psychologists, a physician assistant, and advanced doctoral and PA students, the clinic offers individual, group, family, and couples therapy; psychological assessments; substance use treatment; and medication management for clients ages five and up. Each client is thoughtfully matched with a therapist to ensure the best fit. Named in honor of Emily Young, the assessment center operates with a collaborative, integrated care model that meets today’s needs while preparing for tomorrow. By expanding access to mental health services and fostering future professionals, the clinic and center are making a lasting impact across the Evansville region.

u Dr. Matt Powless; Katherine Hulsey, MPAS, PA-C; Dr. Kevin Jordan; Lindsay Williams; Dr. Jenny Braun; Dr. Madison Stout; and Dr. Juliet Aura

THE FACE OF

EVANSVILLE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra is a cultural cornerstone powered by an exceptional team of musicians and educators. Led by Music Director Roger Kalia — praised for his dynamic presence and international engagements — the EP thrives under visionary leadership. Principal cellist Graham Cullen brings global experience, including performances with Yo-Yo Ma, while flutist Dr. Leanne Hampton balances performance and education, managing both the Evansville Philharmonic Youth Orchestras and university-level instruction. Violinist Maria Mastropaolo, a Suzuki educator and longtime EP member, has been nurturing young talent for over two decades. Principal percussionist Ross Erickson brings versatility, from classical symphonies to Afro-Cuban ensembles. This team embodies the EP’s commitment to artistic excellence, community engagement, and musical education — enriching Evansville’s cultural fabric with every performance.

u Dr. Leanne Hampton, Principal Flute; Graham Cullen, Principal Cello; Roger Kalia, Music Director; Ross Erickson, Principal Percussion; Maria Mastropaolo, Violin - Ellen Essig and Dr. & Mrs. J. Irwin Essig Chair

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

WEALTH PLANNING

BAIRD PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Our clients have sophisticated financial needs. We build elegant wealth management solutions to meet those needs. When a solution to a problem is “elegant,” it has every element it needs — and none it doesn’t. The enormous complexity of today’s investment climate can make wealth planning daunting and, well, inelegant. At Baird, our advisors provide comprehensive solutions for those with significant wealth — knowledgeable, experienced teams backed by state-of-the-art resources. Our planning discipline and “bench strength” let us build the right team using internal partners from across the firm to address your overarching goals and individual circumstances.

Our advanced modeling techniques help you make informed decisions about your financial future. Sophisticated whatif scenarios can “stress test” the possibilities for a complete range of life circumstances, from education funding and debt management to retirement, estate and business succession planning, and insurance. The right financial plan will help you build, manage, protect, and transition your wealth. It will have all the elements you need — and none that you don’t. Your advisor will work with you to create a financial plan simple enough for you to understand but sophisticated enough to address all your financial objectives.

u Andrew Williams, John Schutz, Dylon Moore, Tim Roe, Sara Springer, Miranda Schultheis, Charli Miller, Debra Guth, Kim Schultz, Ian Albin, Teri Hollander Albin, Tricia Hollander Henning, Scott Lobel, Troy Reynolds, Justin Holtz, David Perigo, Phillip Roberts, Beth Vincek, Meg Dill, Savanah Holland, Dianne Daniel, Tawne Wandling, Madeline Masterson, Grace Murrell, Kim Wren, Grace Butler, Christina Scherry, Emmy Kluemper, Julie Dudenhofer, Rebekah Dodd, Raelyn Anslinger, Sara Rogier, Mark Gerst, Peggy Hardesty, Eric Miller, Eric Provost, Steve Provost, Jake Schiff, Stacia Miller, Kristen Runyon, Jackie Russell, Robert Bernardin, Rob Wathen II, Jeffrey Berger, Felicia Hostettler, Kim Vollman, Michelle Vanover, and Roshan Tamang

2025 FACESOFEVANSVILLE

THE FACE OF

LIFE PROTECTORS

RIGHT TO LIFE OF SOUTHWEST INDIANA

Right to Life of Southwest Indiana upholds a shared mission to protect human life through education, services, and advocacy. Through partnerships with local pregnancy resource centers, nonprofits, churches/parishes, and schools, Right to Life intends to create an increasingly broad network of relationships serving mothers, babies, fathers, and the entire family. This ministry operates the Go Mobile Clinic offering women limited ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, and referrals, providing them with up-to-date health information so they can make informed decisions about their health care. Right to Life of Southwest Indiana works tirelessly with its regional strategic partners to be the voice for every life right here in the Tri-State, so that the voices of this next generation are silenced no longer.

20 N.W. THIRD ST., STE. 810

812-474-3195

RTLSWIN.ORG u Dr. Jeff Ferguson, Executive Director

WE KNOW THE BEST DINING

When it comes to dining in Evansville, no one has their finger on the pulse quite like Evansville Living. For more than two decades, we’ve celebrated the flavors that make our city unique — from longtime local favorites to exciting new restaurants making their debut. Our team is constantly exploring, tasting, and sharing the best food and drink experiences the region has to offer.

That’s why our Dining Directory is the go-to guide for food lovers. Whether you’re craving a fine dining experience, a casual lunch spot, or the perfect place for brunch, our curated directory makes it easy to discover your next favorite meal. Trust Evansville Living to connect you with the very best in local dining — because if it’s delicious in Evansville, you’ll find it here first.

For more information about this event, please email us at office@juniorleagueofevansville.org

Wednesday, November 5, 2025 Old National Events Plaza

For more than 99 years, the Junior League of Evansville has been dedicated to empowering women to be civic leaders. In support of this mission, the Junior League of Evansville hosts the Women’s Conference and Luncheon.

This 3-tiered conference program is specifically designed to inspire and empower women at every stage of their leadership journey. The day includes workshops and a vendor expo.

During the luncheon the Junior League of Evansville presents the Woman of Empowerment Award as well as names the 2025 Top 20 Women Leaders in the Tri-State Area. These awards will recognize innovative servant leaders in the TriState area who make our community a better place to live and work.

Melissa Morehead-Moore

Melissa

Morehead, LLC CEO|Life Coach|Speaker|Pastor|Author

Melissa Morehead-Moore is a dynamic coach, inspiring speaker, published author, ordained pastor, and committed community leader who has dedicated her life to public service and personal empowerment. A proud U.S. Navy veteran, she served for 9.5 years before returning to her hometown of Evansville, where her passion for people continues to make a lasting impact.

As the CEO and founder of Melissa Morehead, LLC, she equips women to dismantle fear, embrace their worth, and boldly step into the next chapter of their lives.

Known as The Fear Fighter Life Coach, Melissa helps women in transition rewrite limiting narratives and walk in confidence, clarity, and freedom. She is also an ordained pastor and sought-after moderator, known for creating safe, powerful spaces for healing, honest conversation, and breakthrough. Whether she’s preaching, coaching, or facilitating panels, her presence brings both compassion and command.

Terri Adams Warehouse 410

Owner

Terri Adams is the owner of Warehouse 410, a modern industrial event venue in Downtown Evansville that opened in 2023. With its versatile design and unique character, Warehouse 410 quickly became a destination for weddings, celebrations, and community gatherings. Terri’s vision for the space grew out of nearly two decades working in the wedding industry, where she spent 17 years as a professional wedding photographer. Her time behind the camera gave her a deep appreciation for meaningful details, seamless event flow, and the magic of celebrating life’s milestones — insight she now pours into every event at Warehouse 410.

Melissa currently serves as a School Board Trustee for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, where she works to bridge opportunity gaps, elevate student voices, and advocate for lasting change in education.

Her leadership transcends titles — Melissa is a voice for the voiceless and a catalyst for change in every space she enters. Above all, Melissa is a proud mother of three adult children and a joyful grandmother to Marlee, Jayvon, and Kamora, who inspire her daily to live boldly, walk in purpose, and help others take back their power — fearlessly.

Originally from Mount Vernon, Indiana, Terri graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 2002 before attending Oakland City University. There, she balanced academics and athletics as a member of the women’s soccer team. She graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources. During her time at OCU, she met her husband, Jon, and together they have built a life rooted in faith, family, and community. Today, they live in Fort Branch with their two children, Bralynne (18) and Nolan (12).

Terri is passionate about creating spaces where people feel celebrated and connected. Whether it’s a wedding, corporate event, or private party, she believes every occasion deserves an atmosphere that reflects joy and authenticity. With her background in photography, her small-town values, and her entrepreneurial spirit, Terri continues to grow Warehouse 410 into one of Evansville’s most sought-after event venues.

2025 WOMAN OF EMPOWERMENT

Mary Allen Sixth and Zero Owner

Mary Allen has called Evansville home for more than 30 years, choosing this community to raise her three daughters. Today, she and her husband, Greg, live Downtown, where they enjoy spending time with their two grandchildren and their dog, Pierre.

A small business owner, Mary operates Sixth and Zero, a sustainability-focused lifestyle shop on Main Street. She is also the voice behind the Waste Less, Live More podcast and co-owner of Virginia Street Properties, a small local real estate company, with her husband.

Mary currently serves as an At-Large City Councilor, where she chairs the Finance Committee and champions responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Mary has recently announced her candidacy for the 8th District Congressional seat, seeking to bring accountable leadership and a strong voice for Southern Indiana to Washington, D.C.

For decades, she has invested in Evansville through hands-on service and leadership, building partnerships to create lasting change. She continues this commitment by chairing the board of the Evansville Urban Enterprise Zone, which focuses on revitalizing underserved neighborhoods. Mary also is a proud member of Rotary Club of Evansville, where she lives out the motto Service Above Self.

Mistie Beckner Global Planning TransformationChange, at AstraZeneca, Director

Mistie Beckner is the Director of Global Planning Transformation - Change at AstraZeneca, where she plays a pivotal role in shaping and driving global supply chain planning improvements across the organization. Since joining AstraZeneca in 2007, Mistie has held a variety of leadership roles spanning supply chain planning, distribution, and program implementations. Her career has been defined by a strong commitment to excellence, continuous improvement, and strategic transformation in highly complex environments.

With nearly two decades of experience at AstraZeneca, Mistie brings deep expertise and insight into global pharmaceutical supply chains. Her leadership is characterized by a passion for collaboration, adaptability, and the belief that real change begins with understanding. She thrives on helping individuals and teams unlock their full potential, and she finds the greatest reward in leading others through growth — both personally and professionally.

Mistie is a firm believer in the power of people and process working together in harmony. She describes the best part of leadership as “seeking to understand and then beginning the journey of improvement” — a philosophy that guides her daily work and relationships.

Outside of her professional life, Mistie is married to Justin Beckner and proud mother to their daughter Abeygail, who is attending the University of Evansville. The Beckners value family, community, and supporting one another’s aspirations. Mistie’s leadership — at work and at home — is grounded in empathy, vision, and the unwavering belief that every person has the potential to grow and make a meaningful impact.

Sarah Brown Evansville Police Department Patrol Sergeant & Humane Unit Sergeant

Sarah Brown has been a member of the EPD since 2006. served in a variety of units, including the Patrol Division, Crime Prevention, Adult Investigations, and Training. As a member of the Patrol Division, she received multiple “Officer of the Month” recognitions and was twice awarded Bronze Merit awards for actions taken to assist suicidal subjects. She served as the Director of the Southwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy from 2021-2023 and is currently assigned as a day shift Patrol Sergeant.

In addition to her regular duties, since 2010 Sarah has also been assigned as the EPD Humane Officer, a position established by Indiana statute to specialize in enforcing laws related to animal welfare, abuse, and neglect, and she serves as a law enforcement liaison with community humane organizations. Over the course of this assignment, Sarah has worked to prosecute numerous animal crimes and to educate law enforcement and community members on animal welfare issues. She is very proud of the relationships she has built between EPD and local public and private sector animal welfare agencies, and in 2018 she was instrumental in creating the EPD Humane Unit, a 12-person all-volunteer investigative unit within EPD which specializes in animal-related crimes.

Dr. Tori Colson University of Southern Indiana

Professor of Education & Assistant Dean of Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education

Dr. Tori Colson is a transformative education leader with 20-plus years of experience in preschool-12th grade and higher education. As Assistant Dean and Professor of Education at the University of Southern Indiana, she leads with clarity, innovation, and a deep commitment to strengthening educator preparation and advancing educational equity.

Dr. Colson serves on the Executive Committee of the Indiana Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (IACTE), is the current chair of the Meetings & Professional Development Advisory Committee for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), and has served as the President of the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES). Her leadership shapes national conversations on educator quality, policy, and rural access.

She has driven large-scale program redesigns to embed the Science of Reading, developed Grow Your Own pathways to diversify the teaching workforce, and secured more than $1 million in external grant funding to support literacy initiatives across Indiana.

A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Colson brings authenticity, urgency, and a service-oriented mindset to everything she leads. She mentors emerging leaders, chairs doctoral research, and is a trusted voice in accreditation, research, and education policy.

Sarah was born and raised on the West Side of Evansville and received a Bachelor of Science in public affairs from Indiana University in 1998. Prior to her EPD career, she worked as a project scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency and as a veterinary assistant with a local animal hospital.

“Leadership is about building capacity in others while never losing sight of the mission. I lead by listening, acting boldly, and creating systems where people thrive.” — Dr. Tori Colson

Whether guiding statewide initiatives or mentoring a future educator, Dr. Colson’s leadership reflects bold vision, strategic action, and a passion for creating meaningful, lasting change.

Sarah Dauer City of Evansville Corporation Counsel

Sarah serves as Corporation Counsel for the City of Evansville, where she provides legal guidance to Mayor Stephanie Terry and city leadership, helping to shape public policy and ensure sound governance. Known for her steady leadership and collaborative approach, she works at the intersection of law, government, and community impact.

An Evansville native and proud graduate of Reitz Memorial High School, Sarah began her career as a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force before earning her law degree from the University of Tulsa (Oklahoma) College of Law. She later served as in-house counsel for two corporations before moving into municipal government. Her time in uniform strengthened her leadership skills and deepened her belief in the value of purpose-driven work.

Jane Elpers OBJ Design Owner

Jane Elpers is the passionate owner of OBJ Design, a thriving event design business, with 35 years of experience in creating unforgettable occasions.

Her love for weddings was ignited at just nine years old when she accompanied her father, a part-time wedding photographer. Observing the joy and beauty of brides on their special day opened her eyes to the magic of love and celebration. She delighted in helping her father, from straightening bridal dresses to holding bouquets, and absorbing every detail of the wedding day schedule.

Outside of work, Sarah and her husband, Zach LaGrange, an attorney at Old National Bank, are raising three children — Evie, Emmett, and Margot. She can often be found cheering on her children at their events or supporting school activities at the Montessori Academy of Evansville, usually with a coffee in hand.

Over the decades, Jane has developed a keen understanding of the wedding industry, turning her childhood passion into a successful career. Her dedication to making each couple’s vision come to life has earned her a reputation as a trusted professional among clients and vendors alike. Jane believes that every love story deserves to be celebrated, and she consistently strives to craft personalized experiences that reflect the unique essence of each couple.

In addition to being a successful business owner, Jane is a dedicated advocate for women in the wedding industry. She mentors aspiring decorators, shares her expertise, and actively participates in community events that celebrate the event industry. With a passion for fostering a supportive environment, Jane consistently inspires and uplifts those around her. When she’s not planning weddings, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her five grandchildren.

Andrea Gentry University of Southern Indiana Vice President for Development

Andrea Gentry graduated cum laude from the University of South ern Indiana in 2005, where she was mentored by faculty and staff who made a profound impact on her. She enjoyed USI’s culture and knew it would be a great place to launch her career, which has now reached 20 years in the Development Office, where she serves as Vice President for Development and President of the USI Foundation. Gentry earned the designation of Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) from CFRE International in 2013 and is a member of Leadership Everyone’s class of 2011.

Through her work in higher education fundraising, Gentry is dedicated to building long-term relationships with alumni and friends and cherishes the many friendships she has made. She is committed to fulfilling the needs of USI students, programs and colleagues while fostering a positive culture of philanthropy. Gentry credits the university with transforming her life and finds inspiration in seeing current students evolve through the guidance of faculty and staff.

Gentry has served on the boards of the Evansville Area Fundraising Council, Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville, and Keep Evansville Beautiful, and she mentors local high school students with the YWCA.

She is married to her high school sweetheart and is blessed with two sons. You can find them together in Liberty Arena cheering on the Screaming Eagles. Gentry believes kindness, a good sense of humor, and the occasional pun are essential to success.

Laura Gries Mead Johnson Nutrition Senior Portfolio Manager R&D

Laura was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, and in 1998, she made the move to Evansville to be closer to her husband’s family. Her career began at General Electric in its aviation division, where Laura was selected for its Technical Leadership Program. In 1999, she joined Mead Johnson Nutrition, where she has since built a career within the supply chain and R&D organizations. Currently, she serves as the Senior Portfolio Manager in R&D.

Over the years, Laura has held a variety of roles that have allowed her to contribute to the company in meaningful ways. She has led and supported numerous product launches, contributed to production line startups, and navigated and managed the ever-evolving challenges of global supply chain disruptions — particularly during the pandemic. Beyond her core responsibilities, Laura is proud to mentor other women within the organization by providing guidance and insights from her own professional journey.

Laura is married to husband Steve and has three children: Gabe, Danielle, and Ben. She volunteers with several nonprofits, including preparing meals for families at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley and planning fundraising events for Holly’s House. One of her most fulfilling contributions was serving on the planning committee for the inaugural Galentine’s Day event hosted by Holly’s House, a celebration that brought women together for fun, friendship, and philanthropy.

In her spare time, Laura enjoys reading and running. She has completed several half marathons and finds that running really helps her clear her head and stay focused.

Karese Johnson YMCA of Southwestern Indiana Grant Accounting & Compliance Coordinator

Karese Johnson is a dedicated community leader and lifelong resident of Evansville, whose heart beats for equity, service, and progress. With more than a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership, grant management and compliance, and community development, she has consistently used her voice and skills to uplift the most underserved in her hometown.

Whether she’s securing vital funding for youth programs through her work at the YMCA, evaluating impact for families in need, or helping grassroots organizations thrive, Karese leads with compassion, integrity, and a deep belief in the power of community. Her professional journey includes impactful roles with the United Way, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville — each one a testament to her lifelong mission to serve.

Karese’s advocacy extends beyond the workplace. She was recently a candidate for the Vanderburgh County Council At-Large, running on a platform of transparency, inclusion, and smart resource allocation to benefit all neighborhoods. Her candidacy reflected her deep desire to make sure that no voice in the community goes unheard.

Known for her thoughtful leadership style and her tireless dedication, Karese continues to be a trusted bridge between organizations, residents, and resources. She serves on the Commission on Food Security for Evansville-Vanderburgh County, where she helps tackle the root causes of hunger and food inequality, issues she believes no child or family should have to face alone.

Karese Johnson is more than a professional. She’s a neighbor, a mentor, and a believer in what’s possible when people come together with purpose.

LaToya Johnson Heritage Woods of Newburgh Director of Marketing and Sales

LaToya Johnson is a devoted health care professional with more than 15 years of experience in clinical care, operations, and marketing. As Director of Sales and Marketing at Heritage Woods of Newburgh, she helped open the community in 2020 to provide affordable assisted living for older adults. Since then, Heritage Woods has become the only assisted living community in the region to earn the Silver Quality Award, recognition by World News as one of the Best Assisted Living Communities, and certification as a Great Place to Work.

LaToya began her career as a Certified Nursing Assistant, and her journey from caregiver to leadership has always been guided by one principle: People come first. Her commitment goes beyond Heritage Woods — she supports seniors and their families throughout the community. Her work is grounded in compassion, dignity, and a belief that every senior deserves to feel valued, respected, and seen.

LaToya leads initiatives like food drives, health fairs, holiday giving campaigns, and an annual backpack drive — engaging her residents in every effort. She believes that when seniors are given opportunities to give back, it reminds them — and the world — that their lives still hold incredible purpose.

She serves on the Evansville Board of Public Safety; is Vice Chair of the Black Nurses of Evansville and Tri-State Health Advocates; and sits on the Board of Minority Health and the Community Health Services Advisory Council. She also is a former SWIRCA & More board member.

LaToya leads with heart and humanity — offering a voice to those who feel unheard, hope to those who feel forgotten, and love to everyone in her care.

Ashley Mayo Solarbron Director of Residential Marketing

With more than 16 years of experience in senior care Mayo has dedicated her professional life to guiding seniors and their families through some of life’s most important decisions. For the past 13 years, she has served in a variety of roles, but most recently as the Residential Director of Marketing at Solarbron, where her warmth, knowledge, and dedication have made a lasting impact on countless lives.

Ashley’s passion for helping others goes far beyond her profes sional title. She is a founding member of Rotary @Night, a longstand ing volunteer with SWIRCA & More and the Alzheimer’s Association, and an active member of Northwoods Church. Whether she’s organizing a fundraising event or sitting with a family discussing care options, Ashley brings compassion and clarity to every interaction.

Jessica McDonald U.S. Bank

Vice President Mortgage Financial Operations

Jessica McDonald is a dynamic force for change in Owensboro, Kentucky, and beyond, and her influence spans corporate innovation, community advocacy, and inclusive mentorship. As Vice President and Operations Manager at U.S. Bank, Jessica blends strategic innovation with human-centered leadership, driving initiatives that modernize systems, improve performance, foster a culture of continuous improvement, reduce attrition, and enhance employee engagement.

Outside of her career and volunteer work, Ashley finds her greatest joy at home with her husband, Aaron, and their two beautiful daughters. Family is at the heart of everything she does, and her deep love for hers fuels her desire to make every senior feel like part of the family too.

“I’ve always believed that people deserve to feel seen, heard, and supported — especially in the later chapters of life,” Ashley shares. That belief drives her daily work and community involvement, making her not just a professional in senior care, but a true advocate and friend.

Whether in the halls of Solarbron or serving in her community, Ashley Mayo is a shining example of purpose-driven leadership and heart-led service.

Outside of work, Jessica’s commitment to her community is equally powerful. She serves on the boards of directors for several nonprofit organizations, supporting families facing medical crises, advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion, expanding access to the arts, and shaping national-level inclusion strategies as an alumna with her sorority’s Human Dignity and Belonging council. Her volunteer leadership has raised thousands of dollars for causes including youth education, women’s health, and family support, resulting in increased community participation and the creation of safe, welcoming spaces for underrepresented groups.

Nationally recognized for her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion, Jessica received her company’s 2024 Global DEI Ally Award. She mentors and uplifts women across all stages of their careers, advocating for flexible work, equitable compensation, and leadership development. Her guidance has empowered others to find their voice, pursue growth, and lead with confidence.

Whether influencing executive policy or helping organize local outreach efforts, Jessica leads with empathy, vision, and a deep commitment to making her community, and her industry, more inclusive and empowered. She is not only a catalyst for change, but also a connector, a champion, and a trusted voice in every space she serves.

Janice Miller ERA First Advantage Realty Inc. Broker Owner

Janice Miller’s journey from a struggling young single mother in 1980 to a successful real estate and community leader exemplifies resilience, hard work, and giving back. After a brief and unsuccessful attempt at real estate amid a tough economy, she found success the second time, selling $18 million in 1995, which propelled her to establish ERA First Advantage Realty, now leading a thriving enterprise with 47 staff and 140 agents.

Her dedication extends beyond business; she actively supports local nonprofits, including the Warrick Parks Foundation, which she leads as president, carrying forward the legacy of philanthropist Howard Nevins. Miller’s personal experiences — overcoming divorce, the loss of her husband and son, and raising two children on a modest income — have deepened her empathy, reforming her approach to client relationships. Raised in Boonville, Indiana, she values her community and the wholesome upbringing it provided. Her leadership style is characterized by hands-on involvement and a genuine desire to uplift others, inspiring her team and community alike.

She is passionate about her family, traveling with her grandchildren and maintaining strong ties to the Evansville area. Miller’s life philosophy echoes Nevins’ principle of “leaving everything better than you found it,” a mindset she embodies through her business, philanthropy, and community service, earning her awards and respect. Her story reflects a commitment to growth, service, and creating a positive impact, illustrating that success is rooted in perseverance, kindness, and a dedication to making her community better.

Niti Moore EVSC Foundation Program and Event Coordinator

Niti Moore was born and raised in a small city in Maharashtra, India, in a family of educators and business entrepreneurs who instilled in her the values of service, compassion, and hard work. She carried those values into her career as a Spanish teacher, where for 16 years she built a classroom community that uplifted and celebrated student voices.

Her dedication was recognized in 2015 with the Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction award. In 2020, she helped lead the “Walk a Mile in My Shoes Refugee Camp Simulation,” which earned a Leadership Everyone award for promoting empathy through education. Most recently, she and co-coordinator Janelle Nisly received the Leadership Everyone Transformation and Inclusion Award for the EVSC ESL Festival of Nations, a celebration of cultural diversity that connected students and their families with community leaders, organizations, and businesses interested in fostering collaborative relationships.

For more than 15 years, Niti has also been a champion for immigrants and refugees. She is a founding board member of the Immigrant Welcome and Resource Center, where she now serves as board president, helping create spaces of belonging for those building new lives in the community.

Niti credits her family, mentors, colleagues, students, and community partners who have shaped her journey and allowed her to serve alongside them. In her current role as Program and Event Coordinator at the EVSC Foundation, she continues to build relationships, champion inclusion, and foster community well-being.

As César Chávez reminds us, “Our ambitions must include the aspirations and needs of others for their sakes and our own.”

Lakeisha Roach-Maxwell Vanderburgh County Health Department- Pre to 3 Social Work Team Lead/ Intake Coordinator

LaKeisha Roach-Maxwell is a dedicated mother of three boys and a passionate advocate for maternal and child health. For the past seven years, she has served at the Vanderburgh County Health Department (VCHD), where she works to improve health outcomes for families in our community. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Indiana Wesleyan University and is pursuing her Master of Public Health at Indiana University.

In her role at VCHD, she wears many hats — social worker, intake coordinator, and team lead. She connects families to vital community resources, enrolls them in supportive programs, and assigns home visitors who provide consistent care for up to three years using evidence-based curriculum. As a team leader, she is committed to supporting both staff and the families they serve, ensuring compassionate and effective service delivery.

LaKeisha is actively involved in several community and health initiatives, including the Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) Team, the Community Action Team (CAT) for Maternal Health, the Pre to 3 Advisory Committee, and CAPE’s Community Health Service Board. She also engages with organizations and initiatives such as Mental Health Matters, Community One, Black Nurses of Evansville, S.M.I.L.E. on Down Syndrome, and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation community meetings. On July 23, she won the award for Young Professional of the Year through E-REP.

Her work is rooted in a deep commitment to equity, advocacy, and empowerment for families, especially those navigating the challenges of pregnancy, parenting, social determinants of health, and early childhood development and heart-led service.

Jamie Schaefer Metronet

Director of Associate Resources

Jamie Schaefer is the Director of Associate Resources at Metronet, where she brings over 15 years of experience in Human Resources to support and develop organizational talent. In addition to her role at Metronet, Jamie serves as a part-time faculty member at the University of Southern Indiana, where she shares her expertise and passion for leadership, human capital development, and career readiness with future professionals. Jamie takes a holistic approach to the associate experience, focusing on every touchpoint — from their first interaction through the everyday moments that shape both their work and personal lives.

Jamie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management and Computer Information Systems, and a Master of Business Administration. Throughout her career, she has been committed to fostering inclusive workplaces, promoting women’s empowerment, and helping individuals achieve their full career potential.

An active community advocate, Jamie has volunteered with organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and United Way, as well as serving on the board of Junior Achievement and holding leadership roles at Junior League of Evansville. As an Evansville native, she frequently supports the community by speaking in classrooms, offering resume workshops, and providing interview coaching to students and job seekers. To her coworkers and associates at Metronet, Jamie is the voice of reason, the ultimate collaborator, and steps in to support in whatever role is needed to help anyone.

Outside of her professional and volunteer work, Jamie enjoys spending quality time with her family and giving back to the community that inspires her every day.

Erica Schmidt

Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville,

Executive Director

As Executive Director of the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville (cMoe), Erica Schmidt gets to be part of something tru ly special — a space where learning and creativity are experienced through play. She joined the cMoe team during its “Play It Forward” campaign, which aims to grow the Children’s Museum’s reach and impact through enhancing exhibits, programming, and a new mobile museum. It’s an exciting chapter, and Erica is humbled for the op portunity to build upon cMoe’s success in serving thousands of local children and families, and thousands of visitors from across the U.S. Over the years, Erica has worked across nonprofit leadership, higher education, and hospitality, each experience teaching her something new about collaboration, listening, and grit. She’s a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) with degrees in communication from the University of Southern Indiana, and most recently, she became a Certified Indiana Master Naturalist. Lifelong learning is just part of who she is.

Connecting with people and seeing the difference you can make, even by a small act, is where Erica feels most energized. She serves on the board of Girls on the Run of Southwestern Indiana, previously with the Rotary Club of Evansville, and volunteers with several orga nizations. She truly believes, as the philosopher Aristotle said, that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” You’ll likely see Erica’s husband, Christopher, their two kids, and a steady stream of family and friends close by, ready to roll up their sleeves and lend a hand. Erica would like to share this recognition with gratitude to all those who feed into her curiosity, nurture her ambition, keep her grounded, and lend a hand. Thanks for thinking of her.

Jessica Stein-Thomasson JCPenney

General Manager

Jessica Stein-Thomasson is the General Manager of JCPenney and is the Board President of Little Lambs of Evansville. Jessica moved to the Tri-State in 2000 to attend the University of Southern Indiana, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology and Master of Science in Higher Education Leadership and Administration from Capella University.

Jessica has nearly 20 years of retail experience and has been with JCPenney for five years. In 2014, Jessica learned about Little Lambs of Evansville through the Junior League of Evansville and began volunteering there on her days off. Four years later, she joined the Board of Directors and has served as Treasurer, Vice President, and is currently serving as President. Jessica and her JCPenney team help support Little Lambs every day through their “Round-Up” program. This program allows customers to roundup their purchase to support Little Lambs of Evansville, and 100 percent of the donations go to the organization. Jessica and the JCPenney team have raised more than $28,000 for Little Lambs over the past four years, and they look forward to supporting Little Lambs for years to come with the help of the community.

Jessica currently resides in Boonville with her husband, Ethan, and son, Greyson. She enjoys watching Greyson play T-ball, soccer, and basketball. The family enjoys taking day trips to visit parks, museums, and zoos, and they frequent Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari during the summer.

Congratulations!

Melissa C. Moore

Secretary, EVSC Board of School Trustees

Junior League of Evansville Woman of Empowerment

Holly Ziemer Evansville Day School Assistant Head of School

Holly Ziemer is a lifelong Evansville resident whose career bridges the worlds of education and law. She currently serves as Assistant Head of School for Strategy & External Affairs at Evansville Day School, where she leads strategic planning, advancement, enrollment management, communications, state tuition assistance, alumni engagement, and accreditation. Holly also teaches Advanced Placement courses in government, literature, and research, and has created international experiential learning programs to Japan and the United Kingdom.

Before her work in education, Holly practiced law for nearly two decades, serving as Partner at Bowers Harrison LLP, Vice President and Associate Counsel at Old National Bancorp, and Chief Operations Officer at Ziemer Law, LLC. Her legal expertise spans employment, school, real estate, banking, immigration, and adoption law. Holly holds a Juris Doctor from Indiana University in Bloomington and an Education Specialist degree from the University of Southern Indiana, where she is completing her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership.

Deeply engaged in professional service, Holly is a member of the Education Law Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Evansville Area Fundraising Council, and she is a NAIS Aspiring Heads Institute Fellow. She has presented nationally on faculty hiring and retention strategies and served on accreditation teams for independent schools.

Holly and her husband, attorney Jay Ziemer, have three brilliant adult children and three dogs with big personalities. Outside of work, she enjoys music, theater, reading, travel, and sharing tea dates with good friends, a reflection of her love for connection, culture, and lifelong learning.

Janice Miller Nominated for Junior League of

We are proud to share that our very own Janice Miller, Owner of ERA First Advantage Realty Inc., has been nominated for the Junior League of Evansville’s Top 20 Women in Business. This recognition honors women who exemplify exceptional leadership, community involvement, and professional excellence, qualities that Janice demonstrates every single day.

Throughout her career, Janice Miller has been more than just a leader in business, she has been a visionary, a mentor, and an advocate for growth both within our company and in the local community. Her dedication to empowering others, her innovative approach to problem-solving, and her commitment to giving back make her a true role model.

The Junior League of Evansville’s Top 20 Women in Business distinction celebrates individuals whose influence extends far beyond their own organizations. Janice Miller’s impact is felt not only in our workplace, where she inspires excellence, but also in her volunteer work, philanthropic efforts, and dedication to building a stronger community for all.

Please join us in congratulating Janice Miller on this well-deserved honor. We are thrilled to see her recognized for the positive difference she makes every day and look forward to celebrating her continued success.

President’s Message

Dear Friends,

This is not a positive message, but it’s necessary. Congress has removed funding that WNIN had expected to receive this November. Suddenly, we are faced with filling a $1 million gap that we had already budgeted for in our 2026 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2025. That amount is in addition to the almost half-million dollars the state of Indiana took away from us in April.

We are NOT closing our doors. Fortunately, we have some reserves that will assist us in the coming year, but that model of funding is not sustainable. The federal dollars we expected to receive from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) don’t simply pay

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2025

A.J.

Susan Hardwick

Richard Kuhn

Lawrence Taylor

Nancy Hodge

Treasurer

Tim Black

President

Noah Alatza

Steven Bridges

Beau Dial

Stephanie Koch

Whitney Lubbers

Kim McWilliams

Tara Overton

Amy Porter

Amber Rascoe

Stacey Shourd

Thomas Silliman

Lindsay Snyder

Daniela Vidal

Gene Warren

Amy Waterman

Hope White

Jordan Whitledge

Matthew Wright

for national programming delivered by PBS and NPR. WNIN uses that money to pay the salaries (modest, certainly) for 26 employees, to fund production of various pieces of local content like “Newsmakers,” “Lawmakers,” “Shively & Shoulders,” “Two Main Street,” and “The Friday Wrap,” and to pay for basics, like utilities. We also provide you with local news coverage that you simply don’t get from other sources. We attend government and school board meetings. We tell you about major infrastructure projects. We cover state governments across the Tri-State. We told all this to our elected representatives at the state and the federal level. Some heard us, but several did not.

Our CFO and I have begun making cuts to WNIN’s expenses. Local and national content will disappear, and it’s likely that staff reductions will need to be made. Again, WNIN

will continue to deliver content to your devices and into your homes. We will do good, local work in the various communities we serve in Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. But that cannot continue without major changes and your financial help. I appreciate ALL the work many of you did when we asked you to contact your various members of Congress. And, it certainly helped. Every vote that was taken in this process came within one or two individuals, and in at least one case, there was a tie. Of course, we all know that old adage about what “being close” means.

Now, we need your financial assistance. No gift is too small and, certainly, no gift is too large. It’s easy to give. Visit us online at www. wnin.org. Call us at 812-423-2973, or send a check to 2 Main St., Evansville IN 47708. We also accept donations via Venmo and PayPal. If you’d like to go into more detail about making a stock gift or planning for an estate gift, you may email me at tblack@wnin.org or call me at the number above and use extension 125.

It’s time for you to make an impact. Thank you when you do.

Sincerely,

Tim Black, President and CEO

WNIN Wins Telly Award

WNIN is proud to announce that our original production “A Monumental Honor: Celebrating the Honor Flight of Southern Indiana” was awarded a 2025 Bronze Telly Award.

Sustaining the Future

It’s that time of year again! Join us Oct. 20-24 as we set out to reach our goal of $150,000 during the Fall 88.3 FM Pledge Drive. It seems we all have a love-hate relationship with “The Pledge Drive,” but it’s not going anywhere. We are always working to best serve the needs of our community; these drives allow our community to support the public service that we provide. It’s a beautiful, symbiotic relationship. Some might even call public radio pledge week “the original crowdsourcing campaign.”

Cuts to state and federal funding are reshaping the country. Public media and WNIN are not immune. These cuts will severely compromise the service we provide to the Tri-State. Every dollar is critical to a non-profit organization like WNIN. The future of WNIN is at stake — but you can protect it now by starting a monthly gift or adding to your existing monthly contribution.

WNIN has never been more valuable or more vulnerable than we are today. You are used to hearing us ask for donations — but this is different from anything you have ever heard from us before. During this fundraiser, we ask you to STAND WITH US. We need your help to protect the independent journalism you depend on and keep WNIN strong as we move forward. Your donations keep the station moving forward for future generations. Your investment also allows us to extend our local coverage and reporting of ongoing public health, economic, and social justice issues. WNIN also uses your investment to help pay for operational costs and to acquire NPR programming, including local favorites and exciting new shows.

Why is the audience so important now? The reality of the cuts to WNIN’s funding requires all of us to step up our game when it comes to acquiring, retaining, and upgrading donor gifts. We know that if every listener gave at least

five dollars per month, we could sustain the service we provide to the Tri-State. That is why our current Sustainers, who give monthly, are the foundation that allows WNIN to meet our monthly financial obligations. A huge thank you to our current Sustainers — you are the key to securing our future.

Is it up to you? The answer is yes! We are so grateful to our current supporters who have made large additional gifts over the past few months to help bridge the funding cuts. The only way to sustain the service you count on is to raise the funds from the audience who listens. New sustaining donors will increase the monthly income to allow WNIN to bring you the programs you value.

So, be a catalyst of change when it matters more than ever. Join us for the Fall Pledge Drive to help us meet our biggest challenge ever. Become a Sustainer with a monthly donation that fits your budget. Make your pledge today, visit us online at www.wnin.org, find us on Venmo or PayPal, or call 812-423-5678 during the drive Oct. 20-24.

The Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television across all screens. Founded in 1979 to honor local, regional, and cable television commercials, with non-broadcast video and television programming added soon after, the award has evolved with the rise of digital video to include branded content, documentary, social media, immersive and more. The Telly Awards today celebrate the best work in the video medium in an exciting new era of the moving image on- and offline.

Telly Award winners represent work from some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies, and publishers from around the world. WNIN is proud to be recognized among the 2025 winners.

Honor Flights are an opportunity to honor and thank the Americans who secured our freedom by bringing them to the nation’s capital to see the memorials that commemorate their service. In operation since 2014 and serving 14 counties, Honor Flight of Southern Indiana has flown more than 1,000 regional veterans from all branches of service to Washington, D.C., to see the monuments that honor them. “A Monumental Honor: Celebrating the Honor Flight of Southern Indiana” follows 86 veterans to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at their journey.

Watch and celebrate the great efforts our community takes to come together and make this tremendous experience happen for our beloved and deserving veterans.

“A Monumental Honor” can be watched through WNIN Passport.

Spotlight

October Highlights

THE GOLD ON MASTERPIECE

Airs at 9 p.m. Sundays starting Oct. 5

Hugh Bonneville stars alongside Jack Lowden and Dominic Cooper in a series inspired by the 1983 Brink’s Mat Robbery, in which 26 million pounds (equivalent to $100-125 million today) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport in London. At the time, it was the biggest robbery in history and sparked a number of international criminal investigations. If you have bought gold jewelry in Britain since 1984, it is likely to contain traces of the Brink’s-Mat gold.

MAIGRET ON MASTERPIECE

Airs at 8 p.m. Sundays starting Oct. 5

The first contemporary adaptation of Georges Simenon’s beloved novels reframes Maigret (Benjamin Wainwright of “Belgravia” and “World on Fire”) as an unconventional, relentless young detective with something to prove as he heads La Crim, the elite police unit responsible for investigating all serious crime in and around Paris.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: KISSINGER

Airs at 8 p.m. Oct. 27-28

Empire-builder or nation-destroyer? Shrewd diplomat or cunning plotter? To a large degree, Henry Kissinger was in the eye of the beholder. Along with his own careful pruning of his image and legacy, this made Kissinger an enigmatic public figure, a giant who was constantly in the news yet somehow maneuvering behind-the-scenes. He served a half-dozen presidents as secretary of state and national security adviser, yet few could be sure exactly what he believed or what drove him.

AMERICAN MASTERS: MARLEE MATLIN

Airs at 8 p.m. Oct. 14th

Marlee Beth Matlin is an American actress, author, and deaf activist. For playing Sarah Norman in the 1986 romantic drama film “Children of a Lesser God,” she won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress, becoming – until 2022 –the only deaf performer to have won an Oscar as well as the youngest Best Actress winner. Matlin’s work in film and television has resulted in a Golden Globe award, with two additional nominations, and four Emmy nominations. Deaf since she was 18 months old due to illness and high fevers, she is also a prominent member of the National Association of the Deaf.

November Highlights

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Airs at 7 p.m. and repeating at 9 p.m. Nov 16-21

In this film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, 13 American colonies unite in rebellion, win an eight-year war to secure their independence, and establish a new form of government that would inspire democratic movements at home and around the globe. What begins as a political clash between colonists and the British government grows into a bloody struggle that will engage more than two dozen nations.

SALUTE TO SERVICE 2025: A VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION

Airs at 8 p.m. Nov. 10

Country music legend Trace Adkins joins the U.S. Army Field Band to host this inspiring tribute featuring unforgettable musical performances by opera superstar Angel Blue, acclaimed jazz vocalist Kurt Browning, and Adkins himself. Through powerful music and heartfelt storytelling, the program honors the courage and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans. Meet remarkable service members — from living World War II veterans to today’s heroes — sharing their personal stories of duty and resilience.

MASTERPIECE: THE GREAT ESCAPER

Airs at 8 p.m. Nov. 23

This is the true story of Bernard Jordan (Michael Caine), who made global headlines in summer 2014 when he slipped out

of his residential care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, France, for D-Day’s 70th anniversary. While Bernie is on his trip to Normandy, his devoted wife Irene (played by the late Glenda Jackson) recalls their younger days and falling in love during World War II. Bernie’s story captured the imagination of the world as he embodied the defiant, “can-do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing.

GREAT PERFORMANCES: TILER PECK: SUSPENDING TIME

Airs at 8 p.m. Nov. 7

Capturing one of America’s greatest modern-day prima ballerinas, this documentary explores Tiler Peck’s battle against challenging injuries and personal turmoil, fighting her way back as an elite dancer and choreographer with the New York City Ballet. With intimate access, Peck looks back at her past successes and faces her fears for the future, along with her desire to overcome the greatest physical and emotional crisis of her life: a spinal cord injury following a contentious public divorce from another NYCB principal dancer. With her return to the stage, she takes on the creative challenge of her career: a prestigious invitation to choreograph for the New York City Ballet, culminating in performances of her debut work as choreographer set to Poulenc’s “Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra.” Meeting with mentors, iconic choreographers, and other dance contemporaries, Peck pushes to create a ballet for the company that will make a lasting mark on the dance world.

GREAT PERFORMANCES: NEW YORK CITY BALLET IN MADRID

Airs at 9 p.m. Nov. 7

This evening of works was recorded during company’s European tour in spring 2023. Captured in peak performance at Madrid’s Teatro Real, the program features “Serenade” and “Square Dance,” two masterpieces choreographed by NYCB co-founder and original Artistic Director George Balanchine. Also featured is “The Times Are Racing,” a 2017 work by current NYCB Resident Choreographer Justin Peck.

GREAT PERFORMANCES: TWELFTH NIGHT

Airs at 8 p.m. Nov. 14

Continuing a partnership with The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park, this new production of Shakespeare’s audience favorite follows the romantic misadventures of shipwrecked twins, starring Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lupita Nyong’o, Sandra Oh, and Daphne Rubin-Vega. The production is recorded from Central Park’s newly renovated Delacorte Theater and is directed by Tony Award nominee Saheem Ali.

7:30 a.m. Carl the Collector

8 a.m. Daniel Tiger

8:30 a.m. Rosie’s Rules

9 a.m. Sesame Street

9:30 a.m. Work It Out Wombats

10 a.m. Donkey Hodie

10:30 a.m. Pinkalicious & Peterrific

11 a.m. Elinor Wonders Why 11:30 a.m. Nature Cat 11:30 a.m. Alma’s Way Noon Molly of Denali 12:30 p.m. Xavier Riddle

1 p.m. Baking with Julia 1:30 p.m. This Old House

2 p.m. Specials (3 hours) 5 p.m. BBC News The Context 5:30 p.m. BBC News America SATURDAY & SUNDAY 5 a.m. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood 5:30

Ahh Spa 50

American Eagle Tree Service LLC 141

Baird 174, 175

Bally’s Evansville Casino & Hotel 66

Barks & Recreation 170

Bauerhaus, The 7

Bluegrass Dental 160, 161

Boyd CAT 125

Brinker’s Jewelers C2, 102, 103

Browning Funeral Home 154, 155

Budget Blinds 137

Cabinets & Counters 107

Catholic Diocese of Evansville 168

Cedarhurst Senior Living 4

Center for Pain Management/ Dr. Khan 27

Center for Pediatric Therapy 118, 119

Children’s Museum of Evansville (cMoe) 32

Club Pilates 142, 143

Colonial Classics, Inc. 126

Commonwealth Pain & Spine 163

Crescent City Tattoo and Museum 165

D-Patrick Audi 3, 89

D-Patrick Ford/Lincoln 90, 91

Deaconess Hospital 96

Diana Schnakenburg/ F.C. Tucker Emge 9

Dirt Finders Maid Service 64

ERA First Advantage Realty 1, 87, 132, 133, 191

Evansville Colorectal Surgery 171

Evansville Day School 123

Evansville Garage Doors 135

Evansville Goodwill Industries, Inc. 50

Evansville Hearing Aid Center 100

Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science 8

Evansville Music Academy 52

Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra 82, 173

Evansville Protestant Home 149

Evansville Rug Cleaning 82

Evansville Surgical Associates BC1, 166, 167

Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation 120, 190

Explore Evansville 112

Eyewitness News WEHT/WTVW 54

F.C. Tucker Emge BC2, 108, 109

Face Place, The 152 First Bank 127

First Federal Savings Bank 17

First Podiatry 157

Franklin Street Forge 164

Garmong Construction Services 147

German American Bank 14, 111

Gill Wedding Orthodontics 106

Give a Dog a Bone 110 GRO 153

H.G. McCullough Designers Inc./ Home Design Group 104, 105

Hadi Shrine Circus C1

Hadi Shriners Children’s Hospital 16

MAnthropology of the Soul

Travel leaves you challenged, changed, and connected

onths after returning home, memories of Bali still trans fix me. From a sojourn to the Rotary International Conference in Singapore, we made a family bucket-list vacation come true. We blew our civic and architectural minds in Singapore, and then we flew to Bali. We weren’t there long enough — like Tantalus reaching for something just out of grasp — but our fleeting time there stamped itself on my soul. That may sound a bit saccharine, but it feels true: Of all the places on our epic journey last summer, Bali remains the emotional highlight. Compared to the high-polish architectural modernity of Singapore, Bali felt more worlds apart — rooted, sacred, stirring.

I’ve discovered there’s a quiet life force in traveling with respectful inten tion: observing local customs, honoring traditions, letting your perspective stretch beyond its usual shape. Travel like this is one of the purest ways to learn about shared humanity — and, I’d argue, one of the most necessary.

Real travel isn’t just a break from work or a social media flex. It’s a slow, reverent widening of your mental aperture — an anthropology of the soul.

You don’t have to cross an ocean for that kind of transformation. Whether you’re going to Cairo, Egypt, or to the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, there are residents to respect, things to learn, and lessons to take with you back home. The best kind of travel — global or domestic — asks something of you. It asks you to be a better guest, a better listener, a more generous student of the world.

The challenge, of course, is walking the tightrope between wonder and respect. In places where beauty and tradition are often commodified for the traveler’s gaze, it’s all too easy to become a cold consumer of someone else’s sacred story. I’ve thought often of a line from a recent essay in The Surfer’s Journal, among other things briefly comparing Hawaiian tourists to resort rats — sun-screened parasites slowly bleaching the coral reefs. It’s not entirely wrong. But it’s not the whole story, either. Because travel done right changes you — not in the influencer-posing-by-infinity-pool kind of way, but in

POWER OF TRAVEL A 2024 visit to Singapore with Rotary International produced two stirring experiences for Philip R. Hooper. While meeting Felix, a Maasai chief, Hooper was invited to lock hands with the chief’s talking stick to demonstrate the spirit of Tenebo — “together,” in Felix’s language. Hooper also marveled at the greenery-covered Pan Pacific Orchard hotel, which Forbes described as “something out of an urban nature-y fairy tale” when it opened in 2023.

the way that rearranges your inner furniture. It opens your eyes to how life is lived in its infinite variety, and forces you to question assumptions you didn’t even know you were making. It reminds you how different — and yet how alike — we all are.

At the Rotary International conference in Singapore, a highlight was meeting Felix, a Maasai chief, and finding myself discussing customs I’d only encountered in undergraduate anthropology courses. This conversation wasn’t a lecture or derived from a book. This was real life: standing with Felix, listening, questioning, and then being asked to lock hands with his chief’s talking stick to show the spirit of Tenebo — “together,” in the Maasai language. A face-to-face conversation between two people from radically different worlds, grounded in mutual curiosity and respect. That’s what travel makes possible. That’s why it matters.

With anti-immigrant sentiment on the rise, it’s more important than ever to cultivate the empathy that real travel can foster. When you have shared meals or traded stories across cultural lines, it becomes that much harder to swallow the fear narratives that dominate certain political talking points.

Travel reminds us that the world isn’t divided between “us” and “them.” It’s an endlessly complex, beautifully overlapping “we.” Tenebo. And that global empathy doesn’t stay behind on the plane when you land. It travels with you — into your neighborhood, your workplace, and your home. It teaches you to see differently, to listen longer, to live with more curiosity and humility.

The best kind of travel leaves you challenged, changed, and connected. That’s not just good for the traveler. That’s good for the world, as well as the communities where we live.

Philip R. Hooper is a real estate broker and development consultant with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Indiana Realty in Evansville. A past president of the Rotary Club of Evansville, he is passionate about architecture, historic preservation, and community development.

EVANSVILLE SURGICAL ASSOCIATES is bringing world-class surgical expertise directly to your community. With our strategic expansion across Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois we’re transforming how the tri-state area accesses specialized surgical care. Our growing team of sub-specialists delivers exceptional outcomes in general/trauma, vascular, hepatobiliary, bariatric, breast, and colorectal procedures — eliminating long drives and reducing stress during your treatment journey. The surgical excellence of a major medical center, now conveniently located near your home.

Evansville Living September/October 2025

Behind the Curtain

Best of the City

One Level, Big Style

10 In Every Issue

21 The Bend

55 Dwell

67 Savor

200 Final Detail

Sponsored Content

Coming Soon

THINGS WE LEARNED

Not the Worst IT’S A ZOO OUT THERE

Into the Woods

Most Beautiful Homes

Measuring Up

Mark Mathis

Mitzi S. Morris

Philip R. Hooper

Feeling Proud

Sister Cities

Bop to the Top

Honeymoon on the High Seas

The Journey West

Towering Moment

Life Beyond The Pool

Olympic swimmer Lilly King embraces newfound freedom in retirement

TO END ALZHEIMER’S – SOUTHWEST INDIANA

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR BRAIN HEALTH

ADOPT HEALTHY HABITS

LEARN THE WARNING SIGNS EARLY

BE PROACTIVE IN ADDRESSING MEMORY AND THINKING PROBLEMS

INVOLVED

The Bend

POINT OF VIEW

GRIT, GEAR, AND GLORY

350 Miles, Zero Quitting

Roger Orth battles rough terrain to claim a coveted prize

THE IRON SKILLET

ARCHITECTURAL GEMS LOST TO TIME

Grein building, Hotel Vendome once crowned a Downtown block

NATIONAL MERIT

BUILDING OBIT

START YOUR ENGINES

Classic Cruising

Christine Peck’s Volkswagen love spans decades and models

GOOD GIVING

BARKING FOR GOOD

Community support creates the sheriff’s office’s new K9 training facility

From Eye to Easel

PIONEER STRONGHOLD

Artifacts shed light on Fort Branch’s origin By

The Bend

The Bend

Scene

Wild Summer Lights

Trails at Twilight: Night Hike

Block Party

Kids Fest

The Longest Table

WWE Monday Night

River City Wiffle Ball Classic

Spooky Wine Walk

Play for Kate Memorial Softball Tournament

Henderson Haunts

Evansville Half Marathon

Urban Hikes

Great Pumpkin Metric

Lincolnshire

Napoleon Dynamite LIVE!

Perfect Arc Cornhole Tournament

Sacred Airs and Majestic Pipes

Boo at the Zoo

Halloween Illuminations

Twilight Dinner

Dog Day Downtown

Evansville Holistic Expo

Champions Night

Howl-O-Ween Puptacular

Fine and Performing Arts