The Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway is once again hosting their Annual Dinner. March 13th at 6:00 p.m. Doors will open at 5:30 at Third Place in Brookville. The dinner event is filled with all kinds of news and fun about the byway. Also highlighting the Spirit if the Byway Award. This award is for a recipient who most showed their Spirit in the development and devotion of the Whitewater Valley,

The special guest speaker this year will be David Willkie from Rushville. He is currently the founder of Willkie Ventures, a finance company, which does specialty lending and investing. David had spent nearly a decade in politics and public policy under former Senator Richard Lugar as Senior Professional for the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was responsible for nine tax and investment treaties which received Senate approval and were enacted into law. Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, he lived in New York City where he served as a business industry expert for the television show 60 minutes and 60 minutes two under correspondent Bob Simon. He worked on a segment that was nominated for an Emmy in business reporting. In 1992 David worked with the Lilly Endowment spearheading saving the Athenaeum Building in Indianapolis from demolition which helped spark revitalization of one of the downtown neighborhoods. David holds an MBA from Columbia University, a degree in History from Indiana University and is a graduate of the Culver Academies. He currently serves on the Indiana Advisory Committee, and is a board member on the Global Reporting Centre at the University of British Columbia. He is the founder of Willkie Days “Five in 50” Covered Bridge Bicycle Ride held in Rush County. The Willkie name is also known for Grandfather Presidential Candidate Wendell Willkie.

This annual event is always a good time and a great chance to learn about the Whitewater Valley. For reservations and information, contact 765-647-2541.