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74

BizVoice/Indiana Chamber – November/December 2017

“(Laurie) is wonderful with the data. I’m

always looking for good data. She’s great at

facts and puts together great information and

has a tremendous knowledge base. We feed

on each other. And she’s good at putting up

with me,” he says with a laugh.

Faulkenberg also includes his family: his

wife, two daughters and four grandchildren.

“When I was in Washington, the kids

were in junior high and elementary school.

That was a real critical time and being away

so much was really hard then; we didn’t have

the communication (tools) that we have now.

There were very expensive long-distance phone

calls the state would not pay for, or lots of

quarters in a payphone that doesn’t exist

anymore,” he recollects. “My wife was huge

in making that all work while I was gone.”

There’s someone else that he points to as

a true inspiration for choosing a business

career: his grandmother.

“She was what you’d call a stay-at-home

mom, but she was the best businessperson –

the most inspiring, hardworking, ethical person

that instilled so many values in me. She managed

a family of seven on a very meager, meager

existence. And she managed it well,” he shares.

He recalls that she sold mail order vitamins

to neighbors, and milk and eggs on the side.

“If she were born today, she would be an

incredible businesswoman,” he adds.

Coming full circle

Faulkenberg started out with INDOT on

the road crew while he was in college at Indiana

State University. During the summers, he could

be found “swinging a sickle and mowing roads.”

After graduating, he joined INDOT as a

federal auditor. The federal highway system

was being completed at that time; he

remembers some Indiana interstates opening.

He even attended the Indianapolis ribbon-

cutting dedication at the Interstate 65 and

Interstate 70 exchange at “spaghetti junction.”

The accessibility and connectivity that

the highway system provides was a major

influence on Faulkenber’s career choice.

“When I was in college, they were

building I-64 in southern Indiana. It went

right through my hometown of St. Croix,

Indiana. I remember the days pre-interstate

and the impact that had on us,” he notes.

“Coming from a very rural area, I

realized the real positive impact (interstates)

have on a community. The access it gives you

to the world is really amazing and all of that

really inspired me about highways and roads.”

AN HONORWORTH

CELEBRATING

Funded with Indiana soybean and corn checkoff dollars.

183727993

Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council,

congratulate

Representative Ed Soliday

, 2017 Government

Leader of the Year, and

Mr. Dennis Faulkenberg

, 2017 Volunteer

of the Year.

We are proud to partner with Rep. Soliday and Mr. Faulkenberg

and appreciate their continued support and leadership.

Rep. Soliday

Mr. Faulkenberg

2017 ‘Friend of

Farmers’ Award

Recipient

Faulkenberg has spent considerable time lobbying on Indiana’s behalf in Washington, D.C. He

also chairs the Indiana Chamber’s Infrastructure Policy Committee.