Leadership Hancock County board president Nicole Mann presented Hart Summeier with the Stacia Alyea Excellence in Leadership Award at a graduation dinner held May 3 at the Overlook at Brandywine event venue in rural Greenfield.
HANCOCK COUNTY — Nicole Mann knows she may have overused the word “phenomenal” at the Leadership Hancock County graduation dinner Wednesday, May 3, but it really couldn’t be helped.
“From the word ‘go’ I knew there was something special about this class,” said Mann, who has served on the LHC board ever since she graduated from the class in 2017.
“They have been one of the most engaged classes I’ve seen. They really soaked everything in,” said Mann, who is wrapping up a two-year term as board president.
Twenty-three men and women from a variety of working backgrounds comprised the graduating class, which has met monthly for the past eight months to learn all about Hancock County and its various components, from local government to history to nonprofits.
They celebrated the end of the year Wednesday with a barbecue dinner at the Overlook at Briney Creek in Greenfield.
Each leadership class is tasked with completing a variety of capstone projects to serve the community, and this year’s projects did not disappoint.
“It really was no surprise to me that their projects went above and beyond. There were some stellar projects,” said Mann.
The class was divided into four separate groups to work throughout the year on the projects, which were presented at this week’s graduation dinner.
One group helped raise $25,000 to install a Safe Haven Baby Box for surrendered babies, at the fire station at 473 South 500 W. in New Palestine.
Another raised $18,000 to create a bike share program for use in Greenfield parks.
A third group supplied books and digital resources for Hancock County’s Drug Court library, while a fourth created cookbooks specifically designed for those who get food from the Hancock County Food Pantry.
“Their projects were simply amazing and will benefit the county for years to come,” said Mann, who manages the Jane Pauley Community Health Center in Greenfield.
After the project presentations on Wednesday, it was time to announce this Stacia Alyea Excellence in Leadership Award, named for a member of the first LHC class who was killed just a month before graduating while pursuing a drunk driver as a deputy with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.
The award winner is chosen each year by members of the graduating class.
This year’s recipient was Greenfield real estate broker Hart Summeier, an active community servant who ambitiously ran for the mayor of Greenfield at the age of 18.
“Hart is very active in the community and we all recognize that. I know him personally outside of LHC so it was no surprise to me that he won this,” said Mann. “Based on the things he does for the community and for his family, he just really embodies the values represented by this award.”
Summeier said winning the award was an incredible honor.
“I am grateful to my classmates for recognizing the qualities that I strive to embody in my life. I’m also deeply grateful to LHC for providing the conduit that brought us all together,” he said. “Without this program, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn from such a talented and passionate group of individuals, or to contribute to our community in the ways that I have.”
