Friday, December 12
Location: Bright Lion’s Club
Time: 9:00 am
January 2026 Meeting
Date/Time: January 9, 2026
Location: Bright Lion’s Club
Attendees:
- Bebe Kinnett-Absolute Web Marketing
- Nicole Wuestefeld-Andres-Wuestefeld Funeral Home
- Tamara Taylor-Beacon News
- Kendall Eberhart-Bright Fire & EMS
- Art Little-Bright Lions
- Mike Bender-Bright Lions
- Diane Bender-Bright Lions
- Eric Kranz-Dearborn County Chamber
- Tom Palmer-Dearborn County Chamber
- Amy Fryman-Friendship State Bank
- Susan Hoffman-Friendship State Bank
- Hope Tarkensley-Friendship State Bank
- Heather Davies-Friendship State Bank
- Zach Tucker-Historic Renck’s 1860
- Chris Matly-Historic Renck’s 1860/Tucker Homes
- Grace Burress-Historic Renck’s 1860/Tucker Homes
- Jay & Jennifer-Logan Supermart
- Rachel Lutz-Lutz Auction Services
- Joni Helton-MaryKay Cosmetics
- Bruce Lippard-North Dearborn Pantry
- Mark Munchel-Optimum Chiropractic LLC
- Tonya Wolfe-Tonya Wolfe-City Wide HM
- Robert von Gerds-Triplecrown Wealth Management
- Sara Uhlenbrock-Heath-Uhlsee Creative
- Jeannette Huelseman-WorkOne Southeast
Tonya Wolfe, President called the meeting to order.
Pledge of Allegiance – Everyone
Welcome & Merry Christmas! Thank you to Bright Businesses! Early membership registrations go into a drawing at the January meeting to receive one of four gift cards from local businesses.
Today BABA will be making donations to:
- Bright Lions Club
- North Dearborn Pantry
- Bright Fire & EMS
- Stellar Pathways pledge for Bright Meadows Park
We will also be conducting elections for the BABA 2026 Board of Trustees.
Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors
- Friendship State Bank – Gold Sponsor
- FirstFinancial Bank –Bronze Sponsor
- Synergy Labor Solutions – Bronze Sponsor
Treasurer’s Report Susan Hoffman:
Beginning Balance: $21,491.92
Deposits: $637.49
Ending Balance: $22,094.41
Membership Report Dr. Mark Munchel: Memberships are at 47. Dr. Mark is available to assist with posting your logo on the website Member Directory and video spotlights.
Election of 2026 Board of Trustees
Voting reminders, only one vote per business.
The following trustees were nominated and approved by the members.
- President Tonya: Wolfe
- Vice President/Secretary: Jeannette Huelseman
- Treasurer: Kim Stock
- Membership: Mark Munchel
- Golf Chair: Open
- Member at Large: Bebe Kinnett
- Member at Large: Sara Uhlenbrock-Heath
Donations:
Mike & Diane Bender received $1,000 on behalf of Bright Lion’s Club
- The Lion’s Club is the largest service organization in the world where all proceeds go to communities and are nearly always first on the scene of disasters even over the Red Cross.
- Medicare considers toiletries as convenience items-The Lion’s Club considers them necessities.
- Provides medical equipment for anyone to use as long as needed in the Tri-State area.
- They hold a pancake breakfast fund raiser in March.
- Eyeglasses and hearing aid recycling:
- Used eyeglasses are collected, then sorted and processed at Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers. Usable glasses are distributed to individuals in need, particularly in low and middle-income countries, helping to improve vision and quality of life.
- Walmart Vision Centers: Deposit eyeglasses at any participating Walmart Vision Center.
- Lions Eyeglasses Recycling Centers (LERC): You can find your nearest LERC here.
- Hearing aids: Those interested in donating used hearing aids of any age, brand or model can do so by visiting the Hearing Charities of America donations page.
- Key recycling-metal keys are collected, and the proceeds go directly to cancer patients.
- Pop tab collections: Pop tabs from soda cans are collected and donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which recycles the tabs to generate funds that support their operations and programs for families with hospitalized children.
- They work in conjunction with other Lions Clubs to provide eye examinations for children of low-income families and at the request of schools advocating for children in need of eye exams and glasses.
- All services are free to recipients.
Art Little received $2,000 on behalf of North Dearborn Pantry
- The pantry was established in the early 1970’s by Ann and Leroy Jeffries who ran it from their home. In 2005 the pantry moved to its current location and today it has approximately 150 volunteers and serves about three hundred households per month.
- They work in conjunction with the town of Sunman and other organizations to ensure kids do not go hungry. They do not receive any Federal funding. They receive free donations from Kroger, Wal-Mart, JTM, Thrive Market and the Free Store-Food Bank at a reduced cost.
- They received an infrastructure grant that updated their wiring, added reinforcements to the structure, ADA restroom renovations and improved the work processes for volunteers who assist with shopping needs.
Hours are below, but they will open for anyone in need.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. – noon
Sunday 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Monday 9:00 a.m. – noon
Tuesday 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
812-637-2841 / info@NorthDearbornPantry.org
Chief Kendall Eberhardt received $6,500 on behalf of Bright Fire & EMS
Thanking BABA for its continued support Chief Eberhardt shares the current state of the Bright Fire and EMS services. Acting as a strong advocate for the Bright community, the Chief finds himself at odds with community leadership over funding allocations that prioritize social resources over the safety and security of local lives, homes, and businesses. While the department gets .4% of the funding the library receives .8%. Since 2021 the department spent $40k on repairs to the ladder truck, which needs replacement, but the cost has skyrocketed to $1.79 million with a 3-4 year wait list. It is impossible to save money to buy one. Bright is a growing community without consideration taken for how that growth taxes the resources. When 911 calls come in Bright Fire & EMS respond to everything, which leaves the community vulnerable when calls come in back-to-back or simultaneously. Also, since Bright is not a municipality it does not qualify for State benefits, but these firefighters and EMS personnel carry a disproportionate amount of the workload. Bright Fire & EMS services provide nearly 50% of the total County coverage while only having 12% of the total residency. The festival fund raiser comes up often, but the personnel in service are exhausted and are unable to use their personal time for such a time-consuming endeavor. The hope is that grant funding will come through but in the interim all donations will be accepted.
Eric Krantz, Dearborn County Chamber received the pledge to Stellar Pathways matching grant for $1000 for Bright Meadows Park.
The grant application submission is scheduled for August 2026. All funds collected are matched by the Stellar Pathways grant. This project is part of the larger Dearborn County Parks initiative, which supports reinvestment across the County’s five parks. It aligns with the ongoing Dearborn County Parks Master Plan. At Bright Meadows Park, the project includes widening the walking trail, extending it into the southern portion of the park, installing new playground facilities, constructing pickleball courts and building an amphitheater for community events. These updates ensure Bright Meadows Park remains vibrant and inviting for residents.
Merry Christmas to all and looking forward to a prosperous 2026 for Bright Area Businesses!