Tonight we gather to celebrate the lives of two people. Two people who were teamed together not only in marriage, but also in life's endeavors; with the result that together they achieved more than if they had pursued life separately. The synergy of Gloria's graciousness, sense of what was good and right, and spirit of encouragement; along with Art's entrepreneurial, can-do hard work, sense of opportunity and principled commitment to be a good community citizen, meshed together with the results that blessed this community in ways not possible without them. Tonight with gratitude, this gathering acknowledges the life contributions that these two persons generously gave not only to this community but to the places of importance in their life's journey. Tonight we honor Arthur Kenneth and Gloria Elaine Koenemann Muselman by conferring upon them posthumously the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is reserved for those individuals who have given a lifetime of service to this community. This award is more than a Citizen of the Year Award; it is more than a Citizen of the Decade Award. Tonight we are conferring this award in appreciation and with gratitude for the lifetime work and service of Art and Gloria. Their dedication to this community's welfare embodies the spirit and work that is intended to be recognized by this award. In fact Art and Gloria dignify the Lifetime Achievement Award as few other individuals could.

As we confer this award posthumously, we want to recognize Art and Gloria's contributions to the spiritual, civic, educational, philanthropic and business life of this community. We are a better people, an enriched community with a higher quality of life because of the many and varied contributions that Art and Gloria made during their lifetimes. They invested heart, intellect, time, money and love into this community with generosity and no expectation of recognition. That they expected no recognition was the quiet yet powerful beauty about Art's and Gloria's generosity.

Art was born on February 1, 1930 and grew up in Berne. Gloria was born on March 11, 1931 and joined Art in this community when they were married on October 21, 1961. Berne became their home and from that point forward they wholeheartedly invested their lives into the life of this community.

Spiritual
Spiritually Art and Gloria have left a vibrant legacy that has contributed much to this community. Both were sincere and humble in their Christian faith. They were charter members of Peace Lutheran Church and faithful members of that congregation since its founding. Gloria was much appreciated for her Bible studies and her commitment to prayer and as an encourager to others. Art served on the Board of WBCL Radio, a local Christian radio station. And most importantly they have left a living heritage of their faith, in the love of their lives, their family. It was always apparent to me that faith and family were most important. Their faith will live because of the love investments they made in family and in others.

Civic
Civic life was also important to Art and Gloria. They invested time in the lives of others through varied organizations. Art was a 49 year member and past president of the Berne Rotary Club. He was also a Founding Director of the Wabash Valley Golf Club, a game that he loved and enjoyed. Gloria was a past recipient of the Angel of Mercy award, served as a leader of the Wabash Cloverleaf 4-H Club, was a founding director of the Swiss Heritage Society, a member of the Berne Mother's Club, a South Adams Music Booster, a district president of Indiana Rural Youth and Vice President of the American Farm Bureau Young People.

Art's commitment to civic duty was enduring throughout his lifetime. He was a member of Swiss Village's Board of Directors for 31 years and served on several committees following his last term as a director. Throughout Art's tenure as a Swiss Village Board Director, he always demonstrated foresight, good judgment, and courage. Fellow Board members recognized his giftedness and paid tribute to him by electing him to serve in numerous Board Leadership positions. For eight (8) years the Board called upon Art to serve as the President and Chair of the Board. The call to leadership was an earned trust that the Board bestowed on Art. Under Art's leadership considerable steps were taken to ready Swiss Village for the new millennium. Several major building projects were under-taken and even more significantly it was during his tenure that Swiss Village purchased the farm north of 218, what we now refer to as our North Campus. His vision and actions helped to position Swiss Village for continued growth into the future. Without question Gloria's interests in Swiss Village paralleled and supported Art's commitment and leadership during his long tenure.

Educational
Educationally Art and Gloria contributed substantially of their time and resources locally and beyond. Art served on the Board of Trustees for Taylor University, giving 20 years of service. During the 1980s they served on Taylor University's Parents Cabinet and were named "Parents of the Year" in 1987. Gloria received the "Distinguished Friend" Award from Taylor in 1998. They helped many local students attend Taylor University. Additionally, Art also gave of his time and support to serve on the President's Advisory Council of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. Concordia is sponsored by the Lutheran Missouri Synod and trains persons for ministry within and beyond the church's institutions.

Philanthropy
Art and Gloria were philanthropists in the best of all descriptions. They epitomized the spirit of true giving. It was always my sense that they felt blessed, and that out of gratitude they wanted to use their blessing to bless others. There is no better reason to give, than to give out of the spirit of gratitude. Art and Gloria gave to many causes and they gave generously because they were grateful people. They lived life gratefully.

I can talk with personal experience of Art's and Gloria's generous giving. As previously noted, Art and Gloria were intimately involved with Swiss Village. Earlier I mentioned that Art served as a Board Director for over 3 (three) decades. During those years Gloria was also actively involved. She served as the Director of Volunteers during the formative years of Swiss Village and served in that role till the mid 80s. She continued as a volunteer right up till the time of their passing from this earth to their eternal home with God. They gave generously of their time. And they also blessed Swiss Village with their financial giving. They were a couple that matched words and charitable giving with their passion to make a difference for good. Art and Gloria believed deeply in the importance of Swiss Village's mission. They were liberal in giving of their resources to help a variety of Swiss Village causes, including the Samaritan's Endowment Fund and more recently the fund development effort for the wellness center.

Those of you who knew Art and Gloria know that they were not noisy about their philanthropy. As noted above, they gave out of gratitude and not for attention. In the past few years Swiss Village has been working on fund development for a wellness center that can serve not only the residents of Swiss Village, but all of the residents of the South Adams Community. Tonight I can tell you that the community wellness center will happen because of the vision and support that Art and Gloria have given to this project. Swiss Village is blessed to be a channel of their generosity.

As noted previously Art's birth date is February 1. To mark the anniversary of Art's birth date, Swiss Village will be making public a news release on February 1, to detail some of the developing plans for the wellness center.

Business
As noted previously, Art grew up in this community. His father Christian Muselman founded the Economy Printing Concern in 1925. In 1952 Art joined his father at Economy Printing Concern. And in 1959, Carl and Art purchased the business from their father. Together they grew the printing business, Art focusing on sales and Carl making sure that production occurred efficiently and on time. In 1976 they purchased The Berne Tri-Weekly, Indiana's only community newspaper published three times a week. Their scope of business broadened significantly in 1985 when they purchased House of White Birches, a publishing company originally domiciled in New Hampshire. They extended their publishing business in 1994 by acquiring The Needlecraft Shop and again in 1996 when they purchased Annie's Attic. It was at this time they formed Strategic Fulfillment Group, located in Big Sandy, Texas as a fulfillment company.

In addition to the printing business, the brothers were also involved in furniture making. They purchased Smith Brothers from the L. B. Smith, Marilyn Muselman's father and Mrs. O.N. Smith, Marilyn's Aunt in 1964. Later, Fred Lehman and Steve Lehman joined the Smith Brothers partnership and have helped that firm thrive in an economic challenging environment for furniture manufacturers.

Art and Carl also were involved in a variety of other businesses, including a travel agency and the sale of wholesale records. But it was in the printing, publishing and furniture manufacturing that they made their biggest impact on the Berne community. Since 1959, they provided employment for many of the households in this area and have positively impacted the economic well-being of this community and beyond. In 1998, Art and Carl were honored as finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. This is a prestigious award that is given to the most successful and innovative entrepreneurial leaders in more than 125 cities in 40 countries. Art and Gloria and Carl and Marilyn were honored at a reception at the Century Center in South Bend in July of 1998 as the finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Closing
Tonight we honor Art and Gloria for their contributions to the spiritual, civic, educational, philanthropic and business life of this community. Art and Gloria lived life engaged. They invested themselves in the people and opportunities that surrounded them. It was their purpose to make a difference for good. The result has been that they touched the infrastructure fabric of this community in ways that will live on for the benefit of the future generations that will call Berne home.

Louis Boone observed that, "The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have." Tonight we celebrate the life contributions of Arthur and Gloria Muselman because they did not let the "should haves" go undone. They were persons of faith that purposefully used their gifts, abilities and resources to take care of the "should haves." They saw challenges as opportunities to act upon and did not let those opportunities become "should haves". Tonight out of gratitude for Arthur and Gloria Muselman's life of service to this community, we now bestow on them The Lifetime Achievement Award.

I would ask that Roger Muselman and Karen Thomas come forward to receive this award on behalf of their parents.