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Janie Ulmer, who has served on the executive staff of the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) for the last two years, has announced her intention to leave this summer. Ulmer was approved last evening by the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Board of School Trustees to become an assistant principal at Fishers High School. Her last day with the IHSAA will be June 30, 2024.

Ulmer joined the IHSAA August 1, 2022, as an assistant commissioner and administered the sports of girls basketball, girls gymnastics, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. She also directed the IHSAA’s sportsmanship program.

“Working with students has always been my passion, and I am grateful to once again to have the opportunity to lead in a school,” Ulmer said. “I have truly valued my time at the IHSAA and have not only grown professionally, but personally as well. I have been blessed to work alongside a very knowledgeable and committed team who are passionate about what they do and the education-based system that they protect.”

Janie has served the student athletes of Indiana and the membership of the Indiana High School Athletic Association with exemplary dedication and passionate service in her role as assistant commissioner,” said IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig.

“On behalf of our Board of Directors and staff, we thank Janie for her leadership and offer our best wishes for success in the future.”

A career educator prior to arriving at the IHSAA, Ulmer spent five years with Hamilton Southeastern Schools, the last two as the principal at Hamilton Southeastern High School (202022) in Fishers. From 2017-2020, she served as Director of the Hamilton Southeastern Fishers Academy (HSEF), an off-site alternative education program she helped launch for both Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers high schools. In that role, she managed all functions of the program including staffing, development of academic programs, student services and facilities.

Prior to that, Ulmer spent 24 years in the LaPorte Community School Corporation in northwest Indiana. She was Director of Virtual Learning, an alternative high school within LaPorte High School, from 2012-17. And from 1993-2012, she taught mathematics to seventh and eighth graders at Kesling Middle School in LaPorte. 

Ulmer is a 1989 graduate of Valparaiso University earning a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a minor in Secondary Education. She went on to earn an Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from American College of Education in Chicago in 2012. She is an alumnus of LaPorte High School where she was a member of the Slicers’ varsity girls basketball team, later serving as an assistant coach, and helped in a supporting role with the baseball team under late Hall of Fame coach Ken Schreiber.

Ulmer is engaged to Christopher Hagenow and she has two adult children – Zachary (Maria) Ulmer and Kate Ulmer - and two grandsons – Elliott and Everett. 

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By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer

• Auto Racing

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Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery officials have announced that the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers will return to support Salem Speedway for the upcoming 2024 season as the title sponsor of the highly anticipated return of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial to the famous High Banks. The event will take place on Saturday, September 7th and will be sanctioned by the Auto Value & Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores 500 Sprint Car Tour based out of Anderson, Indiana, home of the famed Little 500.

“We are very excited to sponsor the return of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial to Salem Speedway this season,” remarked Steve Motsinger with the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers and Eddie Gilstrap Motors. “We are also very happy to support the return of Sprint Car racing back on the High Banks. Open wheel racing is what made this track famous, and we are very proud to help continue the great history of this racetrack!”  

“We really appreciate the continued support of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers at Salem Speedway,” commented Nick Bohanon, owner of Salem Speedway. “No one has supported this track over the years like the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers and Eddie Gilstrap Motors, we appreciate their support and look forward to what is going to be a huge event on September 7th!” 

Read more: Kentuckiana Ford Dealers to Sponsor the Return of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial