Fort Wayne Observed

Don Wolf and Northrop's Marissa Williams Honored by Red Cross

Former Do It Best CEO Don Wolf is to be honored today at a noon luncheon being held at the Marriott Courtyard downtown sponsored by the American Red Cross. Also to be honored is be soon-to-be Northrop High School graduate Marissa Williams. The two will be awarded, respectively, the Humanitarian of the Year and Youth Humanitarian of the Year.

From the Red Cross release:

The Humanitarian of the Year award, presented annually by the American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana, recognizes an individual or couple whose humanitarian contributions to our local community exemplify the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The award focuses on the first of these principles-Humanity.

This year, we are pleased to honor Don Wolf as a community-wide humanitarian. Don is the former CEO of Do it Best Corp and was with the company from 1947, known then as Hardware Wholesalers, Inc., until he retired in 1993. Don was the co-founder and first president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Fort Wayne. Don was also the founder of the Study Connection program in Fort Wayne Community Schools. Developed in 1989, this program provides approximately 1,000 volunteer tutors to help students who need assistance with their homework so that they can complete their education.<\p>

His long history of business success, combined with a generous and caring spirit, makes Don a deserving honoree.

We are also pleased to honor our 2012 Youth Humanitarian of the Year, Northrop Senior Marissa Williams. We asked Big Brothers Big Sisters to nominate “Littles” who they felt represented the definition of humanitarian. Marissa is a member of the National Honor Society and has been part of numerous community projects including Operation Backyard where she helped to clean yards in the community.

Marissa’s compassion, understanding and friendship are what make her our Youth Humanitarian of the Year.

Mr. Wolf is a native of Jefferson Township in eastern Allen County and is a graduate of New Haven High School. Mr. Wolf was previously awarded the Philanthropist of the Year recognition by the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Board for his work on behalf of Salomon Farm Park. In 1990 he was designated by the Journal-Gazette as 'Citizen of the Year'. He has been a member of the boards of the Edward M. Wilson Foundation and the Mary and Perry Spencer Foundations in addition to other numerous other community and trade organizations.

New Haven, Indiana's Lorna Schofield Nominated by President for Federal Bench

Lorna Schofield, a 1974 graduate of New Haven Senior High School, was nominated by the President on Thursday for a federal judicial seat for the Southern District of New York.

She is a former Governor of Hoosier Girls State, the American Legion Auxiliary program that gives civic experience to high school students from across Indiana.

Last week, I was privileged to hear former Attorney General Michael Mukasey address a group of conservation lawyers gathered in Washington, D.C. on the subject of terrorism.  Mr. Mukasey served under former President George W. Bush and had, himself, earlier served as a federal judge.

I took the opportunity to ask Attorney General Mukasey a self-admittedly leading question after his speech.  I remarked that Lorna Schofield had been recommended in January by US Senator Charles Schumer for the federal judiciary.  I noted that she was a member of General Mukasey's firm, Debevoise & Plimpton and then asked if he could comment on her qualifications.

He smiled wryly at first but ended with a broad smile after he remarked she had a first rate legal mind, a strong work ethic, was a delight to work with, and that she was not bored easily which, he noted, was a helpful quality as a federal judge.  He said that he worked with her closely and could recommend her heartily.

I then responded that all of us who had known her from junior high and high school all knew of her qualities well and that it was not surprising she was being recommended for this high responsibility.

I spoke with Mr. Mukasey briefly after the public portion of the luncheon had ended.  I told him that Lorna's mother, a pharmacist, was herself a model of a strong work ethic and high integrity and that those were qualities she had instilled in Lorna.

- Mitch Harper, Editor FWOb

Other biographical information from the Deboise & Plimpton website:

Ms. Schofield has defended clients before the U.S. Department of Justice, the SEC, FTC, EPA, as well as state attorneys general and other state regulators. Clients in these matters have been engaged in the financial services, insurance and reinsurance, accounting, telecommunications, and pesticide industries, among others. She has also led internal investigations at a major software development company and an American automobile manufacturer.

Ms. Schofield is an experienced trial attorney, building on the trial experience she gained as a federal prosecutor. Her trials include the successful defense of celebrity Rosie O’Donnell at trial in a $100 million lawsuit brought by the former publishers of Rosie magazine and a class action jury trial for one of the Big Four accounting firms in which the jury returned a favorable verdict after only 30 minutes.

Prior to joining Debevoise, from 1984 to 1988, Ms. Schofield served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where a majority of her cases involved commercial or financial fraud. During the height of the Iran-Contra scandal, she prosecuted 10 arms dealers, who were charged with defrauding the US Government to sell arms to Iran. Another major investigation that Ms. Schofield handled focused on a complex tax and customs fraud, involving import quotas on designer jeans.

Ms. Schofield is a former chair of the ABA Section of Litigation. She was listed as one of “The 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America” in 2008 by The National Law Journal. Ms. Schofield has demonstrated U.S. trial techniques in mock trials for foreign and American lawyers in Hong Kong, Argentina and England. She has testified and provided commentary on proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, concerning class actions and discovery. Ms. Schofield has written and spoken frequently about trial tactics and women in the legal profession.

Ms. Schofield joined Debevoise in 1988 and became a partner in 1991. She received her B.A. magna cum laude from Indiana University and her J.D. from New York University, where she was an editor of the New York University Law Review.

 

Waynedale Easter Egg Hunt Saturday at 10 AM

The 2nd Annual 'Easter in Waynedale' will be held tomorrow morning, April 7th at 10 AM at the Waynedale Park.

This is a FREE event for Waynedale area youngsters.  Activities will include an Easter egg hunt, photos with the Easter Bunny, a raffle, door prizes and candy.  The event is organized by The Waynedale Community Improvement Team.

Readers may download a PDF of the illustration here. Youngsters can color in the illustration and then bring it to 'Easter in Waynedale' for display.

Angola 4 Mile Race Saturday in Memory of Four Friends

The first annual Fourever Friends 4 Mile Race will be held Saturday, April 7th, in Angola, Indiana at 10 AM.

The race will support the Fourever Friends Scholarship Fund in memory of four young men from Angola who were killed returning from spring break a year ago.

From the Fourever Friends website:

Alexx Bauer, Matthew Roe, Evan Weaver and Matthew (Riley) Zimmer were upstanding members of our youth community in Angola, Indiana. They represented the promise of our youth, each with their own individual style, personality, interpretation of the world. They all played important roles in our community through sports, music and community outreach. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the families of these young men.

The Steuben County Community Foundation has teamed with community members and participating local organizations to raise money for the continuation of the Fourever Friends 2011 Memorial Scholarship Fund. The Fourever Friends Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to provide annual scholarships to college-bound seniors. We can continue their dreams and honor their spirit by supporting the Fourever Friends 2011 Memorial Scholarship Fund.

 

1940 Census Released; Allen County City Options are Fort Wayne and Waynedale

The release of 1940 Census data this morning at 9 AM was much anticipated.

Prior decennial census information can only be released after 72 have elapsed since its compilation.  This is the first release of historical data that which is fully digitized. Prior releases have been on microfilm.

Traffic on the Archives.com website for the 1940 census data has been heavy.

However, Fort Wayne Observed was able to get to the search site.  It was there, while trying to deterimine the 'Enumeration District' number that FWOb noted something unusual.

Once one enters the choice to search by location, there are drop down boxes for 'state', then 'county', then 'city'.  FWOb discovered that there are only two Allen County communities listed as choices in the drop down box for 'city': Fort Wayne and Waynedale.

We are not sure what happened to places like New Haven, Woodburn, Monroeville and others.  However, the news that the Census Bureau considers Waynedale a separate city from Fort Wayne will be a source of wry amusement on Fort Wayne's southwest side.

Schall Managing Primary Effort in Maryland

UPDATE: Wednesday April 4 - Mr. Schall's candidate, John Delaney, won the Maryland primary election Tuesday.

Campaign managers are an itinerant lot.

The campaign manager for Tom Henry's 2011 campaign was Justin Schall.  Tomorrow is the 2012 Maryland primary.

The Washington Post had earlier reported that Mr. Schall is managing the Democratic congressional primary campaign of John Delaney in Maryland's 6th District.

Subaru Buys IH Scout Brand From Navistar; To Produce New Scout in Indiana

It is expected an announcement will be made early this week that Japanese auto company Subaru has purchased the rights to the iconic International Scout brand from Navistar.

The Scout was assembled at the International Harvester facility on New Haven Avenue in Fort Wayne.  It is widely credited as having been the first production off-road SUV. 

Scouts were assembled in Fort Wayne from 1961 to 1980.

Subaru intends to market a new SUV under the Scout brand name for the North American market. The new vehicle is expected to be produced by Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. at its Lafayette, Indiana plant

Subaru makes a line of highly regarded and rated SUVs and sedans. The new Scout by Subaru is expectedt to get design cues from the boxy design of the legacy International Scout so as to be differentiated from the rest of the Subaru line.

Photo credit: Wisconsin Historical Images with rights reserved; may not be used without attribution.

UPDATE: Monday, April 2, 2012 at noon - Some of our readers noted that this was published on April 1st.  While the story above is not true, there is a Scout branded production vehicle sold commercially, albeit not in the US.  The Octavia Scout is assembled by Czech automaker Skoda.

Graham Richard Announced as CEO of Advanced Energy Economy

Former Fort Wayne mayor Graham Richard has been named the CEO of a national organization promoting American companies supplying 'smart energy' products and services.  The announcement was made during a meeting of the organization which began yesterday in Washington, DC.

The organization was founded last year by Thomas Steyer, a hedge fund manager on the Forbes 400 list with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.  A Forbes article described Mr. Steyer's entry into energy advocacy:

Hedge fund manager Thomas Steyer was peeved. It was May 2010, and out-of-state oil refiners and the conservative Koch brothers were backing a California ballot measure designed to quash the state’s ambitious law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Steyer, a Manhattan native and Democratic donor, was convinced passage would damage California’s economy and environment. “I just got pissed because no one was stepping up,” he says.

The former mayor has long had an interest in alternate energy sources.  After his term in the Indiana State Senate ended in 1978 Mr. Richard was engaged in a number of enterprises.  One of those efforts was promoting the production of hydroelectric generation from small dams in the Midwest.

From the Advanced Energy Economy release:

Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a national business organization promoting U.S. companies as global suppliers of innovative energy technologies and services, today announced the appointment of Graham Richard as Chief Executive Officer. A former Indiana state senator and two-term mayor of Fort Wayne, Richard, 65, is a recognized technology leader, entrepreneur, and innovator.

“Graham Richard is a proven leader in both the private and public sectors,” said Hemant Taneja, co-founder of AEE and co-chair of the AEE board of directors, who has been serving as interim CEO. “AEE is lucky to have him take charge of the talented and accomplished executive team we have put together. Under his leadership, AEE will become the platform this industry needs for growth and success. ”

“With Graham Richard, AEE will be in good hands,” said AEE co-founder Tom Steyer, Senior Managing Member of Farallon Capital Management. Steyer co-chairs the board of the Advanced Energy Economy Institute, a nonprofit educational organization promoting greater public understanding of advanced energy and its economic potential for the U.S. “Advanced energy is the global market opportunity of our lifetimes, and with Graham Richard at the helm, AEE will work to ensure that U.S. companies and U.S. workers make the most of that opportunity.”

“I am thrilled to assume the role of C.E.O. for Advanced Energy Economy,” said Richard. “This growing industry is in need of a unified voice to help the U.S. capitalize on the global transition to a smarter energy future. With the executive team assembled by Hemant and Tom, AEE will be that voice. I am proud to be a part of it.”

A description of the organization from its website:

Rather than favoring specific technologies, advanced energy is inclusive in nature and characterized by the benefits it provides in the field and in the marketplace. Electric and plug-in hybrid cars, lightweight composites for airplane bodies, natural gas fueled trucks, high-performance buildings, more efficient industrial processes, and the latest wind, solar, and nuclear technologies – these are all advanced energy, as they use energy more productively, diversify energy sources, and reduce health and environmental costs.

AEE’s mission is to create a positive business environment that will ensure U.S. leadership in meeting growing global energy needs with advanced energy solutions – a market opportunity of historic proportions. To that end, AEE provides a platform for business leadership to promote the growth and expansion of advanced energy by creating a unified industry voice, establishing a national network of businesses and business organizations, and leveraging the unique assets of regions across the country.

 

Ballot Placement: First in Alpha Order; First in the Hearts of His Countrymen

It has long been anecdotally noted that candidates whose name comes early in the alphabet seem to have a better chance of winning than those farther down ballot.  This is particularly true in multi-winner election contests for at-large county or city council seats.

Some may think that a study showing that would simply be wasted academic effort to show the obvious. Yet, researchers Yuval Salant of the Kellogg School of Management and Marc Meredith of the University of Pennsylvania studied more questions surrounding what researchers call 'framing' or the way in which presentation and order affect choices.

From a release regarding the study:

The results were clear-cut. “In one out of ten elections, the candidate listed first won just because he was listed first,” Salant recalls. “The first candidate advantage,” the paper notes, “comes primarily at the expense of candidates listed in the median ballot position who are 2.5 percentage points less likely to win office than expected absent order effects”

Note that Mr. Salant said that the advantage comes at the expense of candidates in the median position; a candidates at the end of the list also gets an advantage over the median candidates, albeit a smaller one.

Yesterday, FWOb talked with Allen County Council member Bob Armstrong outside the Allen County Election Board, where Mr. Armstrong had just filed for re-nomination as an At-Large County Council member in the May Republican primary election.  There is just one week to go before the filing deadline for the May primary.

There had been some speculation that Mr. Armstrong might not run for re-election; he has now put that speculation to rest. There had already been one open seat among the three to be elected; Paul Moss, one of the other At-Large County Council members, has filed to run for state representative in the 52nd district.  That has set off interest among a number of candidates and potential candidates. Two open seats would have resulted in a cascade of interested candidates and, potentially, a broad field filed by next Friday's filing deadline.

He said that one area political science professor had run in to him recently and told him that he would be crazy not to run.

Mr. Armstrong said that there have been many, including both Fort Wayne daily newspapers, who have credited his win four years ago, to the first letter of his name and to coincidentally having the same name as former Mayor and County Council member Robert Armstrong.

However, Mr. Armstrong had previously held an elected office and is now the incumbent. Former Mayor Armstrong passed away three years ago.

Indeed, Mr. Armstrong defeated incumbent Patt Kite four years ago in the Republican primary. He finished second in the results. The order of finish: Roy Buskirk, Armstrong, Moss, Houlihan, Kite, Connie Teeple and then City Purchasing Director Jim Howard.

The candidate list for the 2012 Republican nomination for Allen County Council now includes Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Buskirk, former Commissioner Bill Brown, and newcomer Tom Rotering. While the primary list is currently front-loaded with candidates whose last name begins with one of the first two letters of the alphabet - it is likely to grow more crowded.

If no other candidate files whose last name begins with a letter that appears later in the alphabet than "R" Mr. Rotering can take some heart in the research that shows the last person in a list gets a slight bump, too.

When Allen County voted on the old green mechanical voting machines, the candidates' names were rotated due to the fact that the number of available places on the machine row were limited.  A large number of candidates in a primary for an office might see names listed on the second or even third row of the machine.  The result of being listed on other than the first row were readily apparent.  Allen County had operated under an ongoing consent decree dating to the 1960's that required candidates' names to be rotated on the machine.  That was not the case in other Indiana counties using the mechanical machines.

Today, candidates' names on grouped by office on the electronic voting machines - by descending alphabetical order.

US Air Force: Full Statement - Fort Wayne ANG to Receive MC 12s in 2014

News that the Air National Guard base at Fort Wayne might be on the base closure list was of grave concern to northeast Indiana and, particularly, the 4th City Council District of Fort Wayne and the citizens of Waynedale.

You can read today's statement from the Air Force by clicking here.  The good news is that the ANG base at Fort Wayne will remain open.  The Warthogs currently based in Fort Wayne will be replaced by MC 12 manned intelligence, reconnaisance, and surveillance aircraft.

John Tirpak of Air Force Magazine describes the MC 12 in this story.

You can see a description of the capabilities of the MC 12 Liberty in this video by Staff Sgt. Larry Moore of the 455th Expeditionary Wing.