Alumni Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men 2

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Past Presidents | Scholar-Athletes | Stag | Man of the Year

Mission

The Board of Directors of the Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men (IAWM) is formed for the purpose preserving, promoting, expanding and extending the Wabash Community at large. Inasmuch as IAWM represents the largest regional membership of Wabash Alumni, and considering that IAWM is the regional chapter which includes the Wabash College Campus, itself, it is the election of IAWM to further state and extend its individual mission and goals.

The purpose of IAWM is to preserve, promote, extend and expand the Wabash Community beyond the years of matriculation. The Wabash Community has four distinct constituencies; the students, the faculty, the administration and staff, and the alumni. The body of alumni is by far the largest of these four constituencies, IAWM and it the mission and goal of IAWM to assure the growth and viability of the Wabash Community at large in four ways.

Preserve: It is the mission of IAWM to preserve the Wabash experience through a commitment to community and public service, through thoughtful dialogue between and among its individual constituencies and through sharing the history and tradition of Wabash with others.

Promote: It is the mission of IAWM to promote the Wabash experience as a unique opportunity for educational excellence, to promote its qualities to prospective students and to promote the Wabash experience as an excellent basis for professional service in both the public and private sectors.

Expand: It is the Mission of IAWM to expand the Wabash Community by linking the network of constituencies through social, professional and educational interaction, and by providing forums and opportunities for communication throughout the Wabash Community in order to share ideas and interests.

Extend: It is the mission of IAWM to extend the Wabash Community into the 21st century and beyond by embracing new graduates as they embark on their professional careers, and by providing a framework for interaction between alumni, community leaders, students, faculty and administration in an effort to assure the continued health and viability of the finest educational institution on earth.

The Board

2018 Officers

Tony Unfried ’03, President    
Josh Tatum ’03, Vice President
Josh Nicholson ’04, Treasurer    
Kyle McClammer ’08, Secretary
Brandon Clifton ’05, Immediate Past President

Board Members

College Contact 

Steve Hoffman '85 - (765) 361-6236 hoffmans@wabash.edu

History

The following records were compiled by "unofficial" IAWM historian Jon Pactor '71. They will be updated once further information is uncovered.

Last updated November 16, 2018.

PRESIDENTS OF THE IAWM

The term Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men probably came into being in the 19th century. Records of the IAWM are not the best. Clarence Merrill was president in 1924. Current records do not show a president until 1968. Starting for a few years in 1968, the term of the IAWM president was not a calendar year. At least since 1975, the term has been a calendar year, January through December.

IAWM SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARDS

The IAWM has long given a scholar-athlete award, sometimes called a student-athlete award, to the senior who has best demonstrated the combination of scholarship and athletics.

As typical, the record-keeping of the IAWM has not been the best, and piecing the winners is a work in progress The award is a cash prize and a plaque. The list below starts with 1984, but the award was given for several years before then. This list will be updated.

1984 Scott Douglas
1985 Mike Carter, Roger Grabner
1986 Michael Haugh, Robert Molloy
1987 Jay Herrmann
1988 Bill Ahrbecker
1989 Joe Turk
1990 Mike Funk, Brian Satterfield
1991 Steve Turk
1992 *verifying winner
1993 John Turk
1994 *verifying winner
1995 Bryan Popp
1996 Jeremy Wright
1997 Christopher Combs, Grant Comer, Joshua Robinson
1998 Daniel Emerson
1999 Kim King, Matthew Rose
2000 Jonathan Haug
2001 Joe Trebley
2002 Jared Smit
2003 Nate Boulais, Mark Sherer
2004 Nick Dawson
2005 Chris Healy
2006 Jared Bogan, Chris Ogden
2007 Patrick Millikan, Nathan Bates
2008 Brian Hilts
2009 Brock Graham
2010 Skip Tokar
2011 Seth Einterz 
2012 Kevin McCarthy 
2013 Weston Kitley
2014 JT Miller (pictured)
2015 Steve Batchelder, Billy McManus
2016 Daniel Purvlicis
2017 Kyle Stucker
2018 Cody Cochran

THE MONON BELL STAG

In 1965, the men of DePauw and Wabash began to gather on the Thursday before the Monon Bell Game to celebrate their friendly and beloved rivalry. They made new friends and solidified old friendships. Over the years, men of both schools anxiously awaited the hilarious wit of Tommy Mont, DePauw's revered football coach, and the wondrous magic tricks of Thad Seymour, Wabash's president. The crowd consisted of trustees, presidents, football coaches, faculty, and alumni, young and old. Each school put forth a roaster to add to the merriment and good will. Roasters have included Andy Paine (DePauw), Bob Bottoms (DePauw), Phil Eskew (DePauw), Steve Goldsmith (Wabash), Dean Ben Rogge (Wabash), Bill Placher (Wabash), Vic Powell (Wabash), and an array of other faculty and alumni. The Stag stopped after 1992. The men of the two schools desired to return to the good old days and revived the stag in 2001. In 2014, DePauw backed out and held a separate event. The IAWM event continued first under the name Spirit of the Monon Bell and then as Rally for the Monon Bell.

Wabash Roasters

The following list contains the men who have honored Wabash men by roasting the Dannies since 1965. The list will be updated to fill in for the missing years starting with 1965.

*No Stag was held because DePauw men withdrew from participation. The IAWM carried on with a Monon Bell celebration and roasted the hapless Dannies in their absence.

**Once again, DePauw backed out of the Stag. Instead the IAWM hosted a Spirt of the Monon Bell Celebration, later named Rally for the Monon Bell.

In 1981, the schools began to honor a Man of the Year, alternating between schools. Upon restarting the stag in 2001, the schools began to honor distinguished alumni, with Wabash honoring a DePauw alumnus each year and DePauw honoring a Wabash alumnus each year.

The award is now called the Spirit of the Monon Bell Award. Generally, the recipient is an alumnus who has done well in his profession and has given back to the community, bringing credit to his alma mater and to the liberal arts.

Spirit of the Monon Bell Award Winners

MAN OF THE YEAR

The IAWM has honored a Man of the Year since 1975. Three women, Lou Ristine, Anne Ford, and Chris White have also been honored. This award has been presented at the annual Christmas Dance until 1994 when the party was moved to Valentine’s Day.

The event has morphed from a fancy dinner-dance to a Valentine’s Party to a Winter Gala and most recently renamed the Winter Bash. In 2015, the IAWM took a year off to consider a new event. In 2016, the IAWM hosted the inaugural Leadership Breakfast and continued the awarding of Man of the Year at that event.