Junior Achievement of Southwestern Indiana Inducts Two Honorees into the Business Hall of Fame

By Kris Norton

Huntingburg – The Junior Achievement of Southwestern Indiana inducted two new members into the Business Hall of Fame on Thursday at the Huntingburg Event Center.

Hundreds of attendees met early on Thursday to honor Gilbert “Gib” Verkamp and the late Jerry Seger.

After a 17-month postponement due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the wait didn’t make the event any less meaningful, said Verkamp.

“I just put it out of my mind for a while because I wanted to be sure I was prepared to thank the people that helped this award being awarded to me,” Verkamp said. “I see it as a company award, a family award, I just happened to be the recipient.”

The annual event is meant to honor those who have made the community a better, stronger, place. Verkamp’s Indiana Furniture and Seger’s Farbest Foods have been staples of the regional community for decades.

The Business Hall of Fame induction ceremonies give back to those who gave so much in terms of business, philanthropy, and beyond, says Business Hall of Fame Committee Chair Luke Bawel.

“We started event to honor the folks here locally that have given so much to this community – not just from a business aspect, but through their philanthropy, and all of the other endeavors that they’ve done in this community,” Bawel said. “The great thing about it, too, is we now have a location at the Dubois County Museum that honors these individuals so they can have that legacy continue to live on into the future.”

While Verkamp was honored to be presented with the award, he also highlighted the importance of Junior Achievement to the community’s youth.

“Well, I’m deeply appreciative of the award, Junior Achievement is an excellent program for youth,” Verkamp said. “With the tumultuous situations that we encounter in life, to get them off to a good start is very important. So, anything that I can do with the Junior Achievement program is very important.”

Since 2015, Verkamp and Seger join an exclusive list of inductees: Arnold H. Habig, Robert Ruckriegel, Alvin C. Ruxer, Clement Lange, Gervase Schwenk, Robert H. “Hank” Menke, Stanley Krempp, Mark Schroeder, Robert Menke, and Doug Bawel.

The Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony is looking to revert to its usual May event for 2022. To nominate a community leader for the 2022 Annual Junior Achievement Dubois County Business Hall of Fame, contact the office at 812-425-8152 or email [email protected].