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The Starke County Economic Development Foundation is pleased to honor a longtime board member and advocate with the 2023 Robert E. Hamilton Award. Carla Musial is the branch manager of DeMotte State Bank in Knox and served on the SCEDF Board of Directors from 1998 until 2022.
Musial’s banking background made her a natural fit to serve as SCEDF treasurer.
“I had been on the Board for several years. Mat Swanson, who was the treasurer at that time, was getting ready to retire. SCEDF Board President Bill Sonnemaker approached me and asked if I would consider being the treasurer,” Musial recalled. “I said give me a few days to think about it. I rarely missed a meeting, but I had to that month for another appointment. He called me the next day and said Congrats, you were voted in last night!”
Musial didn’t realize serving as SCEDF Treasurer carried even more responsibility.
“Bill said, ‘oh, by the way, the treasurer of SCEDF is automatically the treasurer of SCILL’, which is how I became the treasurer of that organization,” Musial recalled.
The Starke County Initiative for Lifelong Learning, SCILL for short, provides vocational training for high school students and adults. It was formed as an offshoot of SCEDF but is a separate organization with its own budget and board of directors.
“I have enjoyed working with the community over the years,” Musial said. “There is no place I would rather live.”
Musial retired from the SCEDF Board of Directors at the end of 2022, but she remains the treasurer of SCILL. In addition to working full-time, she is also a member of the Knox Winamac Community Health Board and the treasurer of New Hope Baptist Church. She has also served as treasurer of the Heart Association, Harvest Festival, and Salvation Army, among other organizations, over the years.
Her background in banking makes her a natural fit to serve as treasurer of various organizations. Musial has worked in banking for 46 years, including 26 at DeMotte State Bank. Prior to that she worked at the institution now known as KeyBank for 20 years and started out at Farmers Bank & Trust on January 3, 1977.
The Robert E. Hamilton award is presented to a person who has contributed greatly to economic development in Starke County, Indiana. It is named after the local banker who spearheaded the establishment of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation in 1985. Hamilton was the president of Farmers Bank & Trust. He believed that more industry would create additional demand for professional services, housing, retail, and other areas of growth in Starke County. He personally selected the early board members, attended a series of meetings in Indianapolis, and raised money to launch an organization that remains a vital part of this community nearly 40 years later.
