[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 77 (Thursday, May 20, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S4080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       TRIBUTE TO NIEL ELLERBROOK

  Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, on behalf of myself and Senator 
Lugar, I would like to bring to the Senate's attention the service of 
Niel Ellerbrook, who is retiring as chief executive officer of 
Evansville-based Vectren Corporation after more than 30 years of 
service with the company and its predecessor. Mr. Ellerbrook's 
accomplishments as a business leader in Indiana are well documented and 
too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say, Niel has been a strong and 
positive force for change in the State for many years. He successfully 
engineered the merger between two utility companies and built the 
resulting company Vectren Corporation into one of Indiana's largest 
publically traded corporations with more than 3,700 employees and 
operations encompassing half of the United States. Under Niel's 
leadership, Vectren has embarked on an impressive campaign to provide 
consumers cleaner energy and cost-saving energy conservation programs 
all of which have become models for others in the industry to follow.
  Niel's business acumen tells only a part of the story, however. The 
son of a minister and elementary schoolteacher, Niel was born into a 
household that put a premium on sacrifice and doing for others. Niel's 
generous commitment of time and resources to civic endeavors in 
Evansville has benefited untold numbers of Hoosiers. Niel is an active 
supporter of the United Way and devotes significant energies toward 
education serving as chairman of the board of trustees at the 
University of Evansville, on the board of Signature Learning Center in 
Evansville, and as cochair, with his wife Karen, of the fundraising 
campaign that led to the opening of the Koch Children's Museum of 
Evansville in 2006.
  Born in Rensselaer, growing up in Franklin and graduating from Ball 
State University, Niel is a born-and-bred Hoosier success story. 
Fortunately for us Hoosiers, he decided to remain in the State and 
place his significant mark on the history of Indiana business and civic 
leadership.
  Speaking for my colleague Senator Lugar, I can say how fortunate we 
are to call Niel a friend.
  It is with great appreciation that Senator Lugar and I congratulate 
Niel Ellerbrook on his remarkable career, and wish him and his wife 
Karen the very best in their future endeavors together.

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