Presiding – Paul Finley

Attendance – 68

Invocation – Luke Becknell

Greeters – Everett Nifong & Rich Haddad

• Golf Outing – September 9, 2025
• Car Show Update – Sunday, May 18, 2025
• Triathlon Update – June 21, 2025, We are looking for sponsors for the Triathlon, need members to seek sponsors for the event.

50/50 – $29 to Jeff Owens

Birthdays – Happy Birthday to Adam Heckaman & Corbin Holtsberry

Optimist Singers – We were regaled by the Optimist Singers with Valentine’s Day songs

Sergeants – Questions about the Super Bowl were asked of members, those with incorrect responses were charged $1.00.

Program – Nick Ladig was our speaker. I’ve spent my career in family-owned businesses, in and around the hospitality, food, and beverage industries. I’ve lived and worked in Indiana my entire life and have built a network of well-respected professionals all over the U.S. My career has given me the opportunity to manage all areas of business – sales, marketing, finance, operations, human resources – and see all life cycles of business, from startup to exit.

My experience has allowed me to: build relationships with 1000’s of hospitality retailers across the country, build and manage teams of hospitality professionals, innovate and launch new products, design new concepts and menus, sell product to some of the world’s largest retailers, execute rebrands and website redesigns, write marketing strategies, sit on advisory councils for the national Wine and Spirits industry, site-plan new developments, and negotiate contracts with the Federal government. Financially, I’ve acquired small SBA loans for local startups and helped raise over $11m in venture capital and private equity for a scaling organization. I’m taking all I’ve learned through these experiences and sharing it with anyone it helps.

Digs Advising was created to help founders in the hospitality, food, and beverage industries launch new businesses, secure access to capital, and navigate the commercial property landscape.

Our mission is to enrich the small business environment and improve the communities in and around Northeast Indiana.

Optimistic Quote – Hallmark started mass-producing Valentine’s cards in 1913. People send more cards for Valentine’s Day than almost any other holiday. Six million people get engaged on Valentine’s Day.