Writer / Brooke Beaman
Photography / Avon Community School Corporation
In celebration of Indiana’s 200th anniversary this year, the Indiana Bicentennial Committee has arranged a 3,200-mile relay run spanning Indiana’s 92 counties. It will last for 32 days, from Sept. 9 to Oct. 15.
The purpose of the run, according to the Indiana Bicentennial Commission, is to “inspire Hoosiers and promote unity across the state by connecting people, communities and regions.”
Torchbearers were nominated in each of the state’s counties. One of these nominated bearers is Avon High School senior Emily Parsons.
“I’m representing my great-great-grandfather posthumously,” Parsons said. “He’s a local historical figure. They wanted a descendant of his, so I volunteered.”
She is representing Adrian Parsons who is described as a “soybean pioneer” by the Town of Avon. His work in the field of farming led to Avon becoming a leader in soybean production in the late 1800s and early 1900s, thus adding to the history of Avon and Indiana as a whole. She will be representing this aspect of Indiana heritage in the relay. Another individual representing Hendricks County is Avon Superintendent Dr. Maggie Hoernemann.
Hoernemann said that she is only one of 24 people who are honored to represent the county in the relay. Parsons and Hoernemann will be running near the Avon Town Hall around the lake. One will be handing off the torch to the other, while the entire fourth grade class from all of the elementary schools in Avon spectates.
“I think it’s really easy for any of us to forget Indiana’s history. It’s such a great state and an important state, and I think what this does is it brings history alive, but it also gets us all excited about the future and the possibilities,” Hoernemann said. “I think it’s that part of us that says, ‘Wow, look back at what we’ve done as a state but more importantly where we can go in the future.’”
