By Heather Lusk
A fast food franchise leader, a sports star and a Native American are among the 32 Hoosiers profiled in a new book by Zionsville resident Richard Gunderman, a chancellor’s professor at Indiana University.
“Hoosier Beacons” began as a newspaper column by Gunderman in honor of the state’s bicentennial.
“A lot of kids, and even grown kids like me, don’t know much about the heritage of this state,” saud Gunderman, an Indiana native. “These were people who knew adversity, who really had to struggle in life.”
Gunderman hoped the articles would illustrate the impact people in the state had on future generations. He was encouraged to turn the columns into a book to reach a wider audience.
“I think it’s hard for us to know who we want to be and where we want to go as neighbors and citizens, and even human beings, if we don’t know something about the people who came before us,” Gunderman said. “We owe it to them and to ourselves to try to understand better who they were, the lives they led, the difference they made.”
Making a difference in the lives of others is a theme in Gunderman’s other books, such as “Achieving Excellence in Medical Education” and “We Make a Life by What We Give.”
“I’m particularly interested in the idea that it’s giving or sharing that brings us most to life,” he said.
“Hoosier Beacons” is Gunderman’s 11th book. His 12th, “We Come to Life with Those We Serve,” will be released in September.
BOOK SIGNING
“Hoosier Beacons” is available at Black Dog Books, 115 S. Main St. in Zionsville, where Gunderman will conduct a book signing from 1 to 3 p.m. July 8.
