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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.