FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Charbonneau begins official role as Senator
(STATEHOUSE)– Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso) begins his official role as Senator today while the General Assembly gathers at the Statehouse for Organization Day.
In the upcoming 2008 legislative session, Charbonneau will serve as a member of the following state Senate standing committees:
- Education and Career Development;
- Homeland Security, Transportation and Veterans Affairs;
- Natural Resources; and
- Utilities and Regulatory Affairs.
He will also serve as Chair of the Public Safety subcommittee.
Charbonneau became the newest member of the Indiana Senate and Senator of District 5 in July. With his family standing by his side, Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard swore in Charbonneau within the historic Statehouse Senate Chamber in Indianapolis.
Although today marks Charbonneau’s first official day as a legislator, he has been busy throughout the summer months preparing for session. Throughout the summer interim, Charbonneau served on several committees including the Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Commission on Autism, Joint Study Committee on Mass Transit and Transportation Alternatives, the Northwest Indiana Transportation Study Commission and the Shoreline Development Commission.
“I’ve been busy throughout the summer preparing for the 2008 session,” Charbonneau said. “A lot of vital work lies ahead and I will be focusing my attention on property tax, economic development and quality of life issues.”
Charbonneau, an economics graduate of Wabash College, received his M.B.A. at Loyola University and holds a law degree from South Texas College. He chairs the Porter County United Way and is president of the Home Field Advantage Foundation. He serves as vice president of the Methodist Hospital Board of Directors and recently finalized a year and a half as Interim President and CEO of Methodist Hospitals, Inc.
“I’ve known Senator Charbonneau for many years when he was working for U.S. Steel,” President Pro Tem David C. Long (R-Ft. Wayne) said. “He is a very knowledgeable individual who brings great life experiences here to the Senate. More importantly, he’s an honorable man with great integrity and will be a hard working, great public servant for the people of his district. He is a great addition to the Senate.”
Charbonneau was selected at a June 9 caucus to fulfill the four-year term of outgoing State Sen. Vic Heinold (R-Kouts). Heinold’s career caused his family to relocate to Louisiana earlier this summer.
Charbonneau gained the attention and respect of agricultural, small business, industry and community leaders through the years. Most recently, he worked on the Indiana State Ethics Commission, the Indiana Steel Industry Advisory Commission, Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s budget crisis task force and the Prospective Payment Study Commission.
A recipient of both the Governor’s Sagamore of the Wabash Award and Tradewinds Rehabilitation Center Sempre Vivum Award, Charbonneau says he feels prepared to begin serving his constituents in the upcoming session.
“I am honored to serve as the newest member of the Indiana State Senate, and more importantly, to serve the people living in District 5,” Charbonneau said. “I am prepared and ready to take action in the months ahead in order to improve the lives of the people in Indiana.”
Charbonneau and wife, Sharon, of 34 years have two children and two grandchildren. He and his family reside in Valparaiso.
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