Tammy Settergren, left, is the new head of Hancock County CASA, replacing Marciann McClarnon, right, who is stepping down. Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — Marciann McClarnon Miller told herself she’d retire when she turned 70.
She missed the mark by just a few months.
On Monday, she handed over the reins at the Hancock County Court Appointed Special Advocates program — better known as CASA — to a colleague, Terry Settergren, who has been working as a local CASA case specialist for the past two years.
Settergren replaces McClarnon Miller as director of the Hancock County CASA program and executive director of Friends of CASA, a nonprofit which raises funds for the program aimed at supporting children removed from their homes by the court.
McClarnon Miller was instrumental in starting both programs with help from former Hancock County Superior Judge Terry Snow.
McClarnon Miller got involved with CASA as an advocate for Hancock County in 2017, back when the county partnered with the Madison County CASA program.
As her swan song before retirement, the dedicated children’s advocate launched the Dream Big program, which grants wishes for children in the Hancock County CASA program.
“I wanted to see that come to fruition and get some legs, so I stayed on until that was done,” she said earlier this week as she gradually eased into retirement.
The longtime Greenfield resident spent 37 years teaching before launching a second career in social work through CASA.
She has nothing but great things to say about Settergren, who was handpicked by Miller to be her replacement.
“Tammy has the grit and the guts and also the grace to do what needs to be done to make the program continue to grow,” she said.
For the past five years, Settergren and her family have run the Riley Settergren Foundation in memory of her son, who was killed in a traffic accident at the age of 17.
“Tammy knows all about fundraising. She knows all about what it takes to run a not-for-profit. She has also been a tremendous volunteer and has really, literally saved some kids when she was their CASA, so I knew that she had what it takes,” McClarnon Miller said.
As a CASA, Settergren has shown up at court hearings, school meetings, even hospitals to support the kids entrusted to her care.
“The kids that were assigned to Tammy had her phone number and knew that she would pick up for them any time of the day, any day of the week, and that’s what she did. She showed up at hospitals when kids were in harm’s way. She showed up and talked with kids until midnight if that’s what it took,” said McClarnon Miller.
“Tammy is a person who shows up. I know that she believes with her whole heart in the mission and vision of this program, and I know she’s going to take it to the next level.”
Settergren was excited to hit the ground running this week.
“It’s difficult work to work with children of abuse and neglect, but I would say personally and from a work standpoint, it’s exactly what I needed. I know I’m on the right path,” she said.
Settergren was hesitant when first approached about stepping into the director’s role, but her husband, Jay, and son, Chase, encouraged her to take the job.
“They said, ‘Mom, Riley’s been gone almost five years, and you have so much love to give. This sounds like the perfect thing for you.’ So I went, and now here I am,” she said, wiping away tears.
Settergren previously worked 15 years as a program director in corporate America, working in all 50 states, before taking some time off to raise her sons.
She’s spent the past five years helping run her family’s memorial foundation and their Settergren Family Farm in eastern Hancock County, as well as a small printing business called Just Good Tees. She also serves on the Eastern Hancock school board.
“I didn’t realize how busy I was until I had to leave the house five days a week and go to the office,” she said this week, but she’s loving her new role.
“I would say what I’m looking forward to the most is taking this amazing program that Marciann and Judge Snow brought to Hancock County and continue to grow it, helping more children by bringing in more volunteers,” she said.
“I still think so many people don’t understand what CASA is, so I want to help spread that awareness. We still have some kids on the waiting list who need someone.”
McClarnon Miller will continue to help spread the word about CASA as she cheers on the organization from the sidelines.
“When we opened our doors, we had about 30 volunteers, and now the county’s program has 58 people serving as advocates. It’s just been amazing and wonderful to see the program grow,” she said.
McClarnon Miller said it’s been a privilege to help build a program that helps so many youth in Hancock County.
“There are so many people with big hearts for so many great initiatives in the county. I just knew they would want to help CASA and would want to help our most vulnerable children,” she said.
The new retiree said it’s been bittersweet to leave the program as she adjusts to her new normal this week.
“That program was my baby,” she said. “If I didn’t have so much faith in Tammy, I’d be nervous, but I’m not nervous at all. I’m just really grateful I had the opportunity to serve the county as director of both CASA and Friends of CASA. I am absolutely certain that the program will continue to grow.”
In retirement, McClarnon Miller plans to spend more time with her husband, attorney Tom Miller, and their 12 grandchildren.
She also plans to do some quilting, hiking and genealogy research, and perhaps write a book about her great-grandmother, Rose Lynam, one of Greenfield’s first businesswomen, who ran Lynam Funeral Home in the 1930s and ’40s.
“She was my hero, so I’d love to write a book about her,” she said.
Hancock County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a non-profit organization serving abused and neglected child victims in Hancock County.
Last week, the organization’s founder — Maricann McClarnon Miller — stepped down as director to retire.
Her successor — Terry Settergren — took her place this week, carrying on the work McClarnon Miller has done since the local child-advocacy group was formed in 2020.
According to its website, CASA works with volunteer advocates who provide hundreds of neglected, abused and exploited children with a voice in the court, and a friend in the court process.
There are nearly 60 volunteers and more than 180 children in Hancock County’s program, though numbers fluctuate.
Settergren said more volunteers are needed to assure that no child is left on the waiting list without representation.
CASA volunteers must:
– Be 21 years of age or older
– Have a minimum of a high school diploma or a GED equivalent
– Successfully pass all criminal and child welfare background checks
– Provide personal and professional references
– Successfully complete an interview with CASA staff
– Complete 30 hours of pre-service training
– Complete pre-service court observation time
To apply to be a volunteer, or to make a donation to the Friends of CASA nonprofit, which supports the CASA program, visit casahancockcountyin.org.
