Nancy Ann Brown Poynter received the 2017 John Rumple Democrat of the Year award at the Bartholomew County Democratic Party’s annual dinner.
A crowd of 170 people attended the May 19 at Donner Center, where Brown Poynter was honored for her political achievements. Notably, she was the youngest and first woman Bartholomew County treasurer and Columbus mayor. She also was recognized for a lifetime of community leadership, having served as president of a many organizations.
Bartholomew County Democratic Party outreach chairman Bob Pitman said perhaps her most notable qualification for the Rumple Award is having been a proud Democrat all her adult life, and her willingness to return from retirement to serve as interim chairperson for the local Democratic Party for the past 18 months.
The award Brown Poynter received is named in honor of John Rumple, who served as the Bartholomew County Democrat Party chair from 1985-89, led one of the party’s most successful county elections in 1986 and was a candidate for Indiana Attorney General in 1988.
Bob Hyatt, the newly-elected local Democratic Party chairman, introduced the speaker for the evening, Morton Marcus, a well-known Indiana University economist, who challenged the party to demand an independent redistricting commission from the state legislature.
The other county Democratic Party officers are: Kathy Thompson, vice-president; Sharon Krieg, secretary; and Dennis Baute, treasurer.
