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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN We enthusiastically accept our responsibility to serve the communities where we live and work, both as individuals and corporate citizens. Both Vectren and The Vectren Foundation play an instrumental role in “walking the talk” – providing more than $2 million in grants to help support the operation of and the programs offered by the many valuable not-for-profit organizations that make our communities strong. And a large number of these grants were accompanied by volunteer time and leadership by Vectren employees living our corporate value: community. Our communities are facing significant challenges these days. The resources of many nonprofit organizations are being stretched to the limit as they attempt to address community needs. The Vectren Foundation believes communities must have a strong social infrastructure to thrive, so we continue to focus our giving on health and human services, civic and community development and education as well as arts and culture to help the nonprofits stretch their resource dollars. Beginning in late 2007 and continuing into the future, an increasing number of Foundation grants are helping communities focus more on our environment and educating customers on how to conserve energy as well as natural resources. We believe this new strategic focus will help to shift our collective behavior, so we all will be in a position to mitigate our growing energy use and increasing energy costs. I am proud of the many Vectren employees who are contributing their time, talent and leadership to nonprofit organizations. These employees are helping to guide charitable organizations to become more focused with their strategies, more efficient with their delivery and even more sustainable to better serve their clients. The following pages share with you how the energy of the human spirit can – and DOES – help us all to be productive, comfortable and secure. Sincerely, NIEL ELLERBROOK Niel C. Ellerbrook Vectren Chairman and CEO 2007 ALLOCATIONS BY SEGMENT 2007 GIVING Total: $2 million by geographic region 1 Vectren Foundation is committed to educating the communities in which it serves through the following: • Improvement in literary and critical thinking skills • Classroom programs teaching creative skills • Programs that prepare youth for higher education and entry into the workforce • Higher education programs that support technological and business interests of the natural gas and electric industries Cris Hochwender, UE biology professor, and his students studying the land at The Vectren Conservation Park-University of Evansville Environmental Research Lab Photo by Jordan Barclay When the University of Evansville was looking for the thousand-plus acres of wetlands promise to offer ways to act on its promise to become a leader in environ- remarkable insight into a recovering ecosystem. It’s that mental issues, it turned to Vectren for help. Through a potential that Vectren CEO Niel Ellerbrook found unique partnership forged in the summer of 2007, UE and attractive when the university approached him for help Vectren created an 1,100-acre “outdoor classroom” that creating an outdoor research facility. To others, the offers students an extraordinary opportunity. property may have seemed just a vast tract of land; The land, known as The Vectren Conservation Park- Ellerbrook saw it as a place where, as he says, University of Evansville Environmental Research Lab, “nature and knowledge combine.” lies along the Wabash River in southwest Indiana. An It’s a powerful combination given the potential. UE ecologically diverse wetlands area, it has been under the biologist Cris Hochwender predicts this expansive outdoor protection of Vectren since 1999, when the energy classroom will produce essential information about water company bought the property and enrolled it in the U.S. purification, groundwater recharge, prevention of soil Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Wetlands erosion, and the recovery of wildlife habitat. As exciting, Reserve Program. To transform the farmland back into an the site may soon become a destination for archaeology important wildlife habitat, Vectren planted 120,000 trees students learning the art of excavation, creative writing and 14,000 native shrubs. students composing odes to the environment, and It’s this richly reforested site that is now offering astronomy students in search of star-filled skies. Says Arlen university students invaluable field experience in Kaufman, director of the university’s environmental science environmental research. As university scientists note, program, “We’re at the tip of the iceberg.” 2 Vectren Foundation recognizes the need to foster creativity and celebrate unique forms of human expression. Arts and culture funding requests are awarded to groups that support or offer the following: • Promote and support the performing arts • Preservation and presentation of graphic arts • Examination, preservation and presentation of the history of our communities and our culture • Exploration of this amazing world and our interrelation with our environment Linda Edwards, Terre Haute Children’s Museum interim director, and local children at the construction site of the new museum Photo by Chelsea Sanders | bluelinestyle.com The power of imagination and the energy of the science, math, and technology – will be bigger than human spirit are what fueled an ambitious dream in the the original museum by more than ten-fold. Indiana city of Terre Haute a decade ago. That is when Museum supporters recall their decision to dream a group of devoted citizens opened the Terre Haute big and audacious. Booster Linda Edwards, who is Children’s Museum in a 1,500 square-foot basement of serving as the museum’s interim director, says the an old church. plan to raise $8 million was met with skepticism, Within three years, they had found a new home in given the museum’s relative youth and inexperience an old bank, doubling the size of their exhibition space. raising money. It’s a story she loves to tell, given how Since then, thousands of children have come to know close the new children’s museum is to opening its the museum as a place to feed their intellectual doors in Downtown Terre Haute. curiosity and nurture their love of learning. Yet the Fittingly, the museum’s new logo is a wide-eyed community of believers who birthed the museum knew character that symbolizes “every child” and portrays the possibilities for more were there. the museum’s pledge to make discovery a part of every So, too, did the Vectren Foundation, who in 2007 magical experience inside its doors. That has been the joined a battalion of supporters, from large corporations mission ever since those early days when the museum to small donors, in contributing to a major capital was a modest grassroots initiative with the big ambition campaign that has raised millions of dollars to build a of developing a community of lifelong learners. Vectren new children’s museum. Slated to open in early 2009, is proud to be part of a project that serves and the facility – devoted to celebrating the wonders of strengthens the Terre Haute community. 3 Vectren Foundation supports events that celebrate the spirit of community, diversity and good citizenship. Foundation contributions are generally awarded to programs or agencies that meet the following criteria: • Conservation of and education about natural resources or sound environmental practices • Sustainability through preservation and revitalization of communities • Programs that promote or celebrate the benefits of diversity in the community • Programs that provide experienced executive talent to nonprofit organizations Local Bedford children playing on the new Edgewood Park playground Photo by Shane Zinkhon | bluelinestyle.com Almost one out of every five dollars the Vectren The transformation of that “little spot” into a Foundation spends goes to improving communities and destination for neighborhood children and their families making them sustainable. These civic projects celebrate took place over the course of a long day of labor by the spirit of community, and nowhere was that spirit more volunteers who worked in teams. Their work ran the evident than in the community of Bedford one hot August gamut – from serving up iced tea to thirsty workers to day last summer. That is when more than 175 volunteers heavy manual labor. “The community just came turned out to take part in an ambitious project that trans- together,” says Johns. One great joy for many who formed an unsafe play area in an aging neighborhood into donated their time that day came from knowing the a state-of-the-art playground that inspires community pride. playground would be a safe destination not just for Vectren was one of a partnership of public servants, Bedford citizens but for their neighbors. Edgewood private individuals, local businesses, and generous corporate Park is located next to a hospital, the Bedford citizens who donated money to the Bedford Urban Enterprise Regional Medical Center, which provides Zone to buy playground equipment, but it was the good essential medical care for residents from citizens of Bedford who deserve the praise for the success of throughout the area. Could there be Edgewood Park Build Day. Project organizer Natasha Johns a better place for such an inviting remembers what the park’s old play area looked like before park or one that instills such a the renovation. “It had an old wooden playground that had to sense of community pride? be taken