Brown County Rotary Club
Brown County TRIAD volunteers Marianne Metzelaar and Nancy Smith will be the featured speakers at the Rotary Club’s October 10 meeting at 7:45 a.m. at The Seasons Lodge in the Fireplace Lounge, 560 State Road 46 East.
TRIAD nationwide is a group of community volunteers providing a link between law enforcement and the community. It began in 1988 as the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) came together to define a way to help keep older adults safe from crime.
Here in Brown County, the Sheriff’s Office has long supported TRIAD as a valuable periodic contact with the county’s citizens. The program is very active, providing social contact and information on resources for senior citizens and the disabled. Each TRIAD volunteer has undergone a background check and six months of training and is deputized. Any county resident may request home visits that are made by two-person teams, in uniform, using marked cars.
Metzelaar raised her children in Indianapolis and put her love of teaching to work there, first at Indiana University then Butler University for a total of 24 years in accounting and end-user computing education. After her 15-year “retirement” in Florida — which included eight years as a hospice volunteer specializing in caregiver respite and vigil — she achieved a long-held dream to live in the hills of Brown! She will complete five years “on the road” for TRIAD in January 2025 and hopes to do so for many more years.
Smith met her husband, a Brown County native, at Purdue University, and after four years of service in the US Marine Corps, he was eager to return to Brown County. They moved here in 1973, and she has chosen to remain in their Nashville-area home since his death in 2020. She managed retail furniture stores in Bloomington and Columbus for 30 years and then began her own interior design business in 2004. One aspect she enjoys most in her career field is helping seniors who are experiencing grief or infirmity move or downsize. She chose to become a TRIAD volunteer because of her passion for helping people and her interest in hearing their stories.
Members of the community, especially those interested in exploring opportunities to participate in projects and to be of service to our community, are invited to attend. You may also join us via Zoom using a link obtained by visiting www.RotaryClubofBrownCounty.org and clicking on the “Contact us” URL.
Woodworkers Club
The Brown County Woodworkers Club will meet Saturday, Oct. 12 at 10 a.m. at the home and property of Steve Reedy located at 13920 W. Baker Hollow Road in Columbus.
Brown County Bluebird Club
The Brown County Bluebird Club is offering cedar bluebird nest boxes for sale for only $15 each or two for $25. To order or with questions about bluebirds, please call Dan Sparks at (812) 200-5700.
Pioneer Women’s Club News
The 2025 raffle quilt is a Carpenter’s Star. It is currently on display in Howard Hughes Hall at the Brown County History Center. Quilt chances are on sale now.
The Pioneer Women’s Club functions as a complementary group within the Brown County Historical Society. They meet each Wednesday at the Brown County History Center, 90 E. Gould Street from 9 a.m. until noon. Interested women are encouraged to call (812) 988-2899 and leave their contact information. A member will be in contact to answer any questions and extend an invitation to visit the Club. PWC membership dues is $10 a year.
