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Bluffton, Ind.
July 27, 2005

By Sarah Pulliam
Light-hearted humor flew into the air as Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman shook hands with Pretzels Inc. President Bill Huggins and his son, Steve, vice president of administration and purchasing.
“Boy, I didn’t know you were so pretty. Prettier than the governor,” Bill Huggins said. Steve added, “I think you’re taller too,” followed by laughter around the room.
Skillman visited Bluffton Tuesday to tour Pretzels Inc. She came to understand the challenges and successes the company faces since as lieutenant governor she serves as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development.
“This was important for me to see so I can tout them across the state and know what other food processing companies will face if they move to Indiana,” Skillman told the News-Banner.
Food processing employs more than 34,000 people in Indiana and Pretzels Inc. is one of the state’s largest food processors, according to Skillman’s press secretary Vicki Duncan Gardner.
Skillman came to Bluffton from Huntington where she visited the new Sheets Wildlife Museum and spoke at the Huntington Rotary Club. She said she has visited 13 counties in the last seven days.
Skillman stepped down from her Ethanol-powered black Chevrolet before shaking hands with many employees. Her time in Bluffton lasted about an hour before she left.
Receptionist Brandi McCormick raised her eyebrows with a startled look to see Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman greeting her.
“I was surprised she was here and glad that I got the opportunity to meet her,” said McCormick, a 21-year-old native of Bluffton and a student at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Before Skillman’s tour, owners Bill Mann, chairman, and Bill Huggins explained Pretzel Inc.’s mission. Mayor Ted Ellis jumped in, highlighting the 1997 Christmas Eve fire.
Ellis explained that after the fire, the owners kept their employees on payroll and Mann shot back, saying “Yeah you think the mayor would lower our taxes” as he laughed.
Mann gave Skillman a brief history of the business.
“The old joke we use is that it’s the last legitimate crooked business,” he said.
Pretzels Inc. went from one shift, one pretzel oven and five employees in 1979 to its current three shifts, eight pretzel ovens and 250 employees, according to its Web site.
Bill Huggins explained that pretzels are 65 percent of the snack industry. Steve Huggins said the company produces about an average of 150,000 pounds within a 24-hour period.
Rob Swain, director of Economic Development for Indiana’s Department of Agriculture, who accompanied Skillman during the tour, asked if the company receives many customers from the airline industry.
Mann explained that Northwest Airline is a customer, the airlines are cutting back on their pretzel purchasing.
Ellis said Bluffton receives phone calls because of the small pretzel bags that carry Bluffton’s name.
“The ripple effect is just amazing,” he said.
Mann drew surprised looks when he said hardware chain Menards was one of Pretzel Inc.’s biggest customers.
Tour participants were asked to remove their watches and bracelets and put on hair nets. After being warned an air conditioning unit was not working, many of the men removed their suit jackets.
Pretzels Inc. Director of Operations John Sommer led the eight tour participants through the factory. Sommer said one room in the tour was 125 degrees.
The tour participants included Jim Jackson, a Bluffton building contractor, Phil Swain of National City Bank in Bluffton and Lisa Shelton with AgriNews, an agriculture weekly newspaper in Indianapolis.
After her tour, Skillman said she was fascinated with the facility. Dressed in a shell pink jacket and white slacks, she smoothed her hair after she pulled her hair net off.
“We’ll spread the good story,” Skillman said. “Anything we can do to help you, let us know.”
Skillman described Pretzels Inc. as an “Indiana treasure.”
“I will now look at pretzels in an entirely new way,” she said. “They’re a great corporate neighbor here in Wells County.”
Skillman’s Bluffton visit ended with gifts, as Mann handed “The Pretzel Book,” a small paperback book filled with pretzel history and recipes.
Pretzels Inc. sent more gifts with Skillman as special assistant Tristan Vance and governor fellow Justin McAdams carried out 24 bags of pretzels in boxes that said “Handle with tender loving care” on the side.

(Sidebar) Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman

Age: 54

Hometown: Bedford, Ind.

Family: Skillman and her husband, Steve, have a son Aaron.

Position: On Jan. 10, 2005, Becky Skillman was sworn in as the first woman elected to the position of lieutenant governor in the state of Indiana.

Duties include: serving as president of the senate, overseeing the Office of Tourism Development, the Energy Group and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.
Skillman chairs the Indiana Counter Terrorism and Security Council, the intergovernmental entity responsible for homeland security. She also serves as the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development under the state’s, new Department of Agriculture and Office of Rural Affairs.

Previous political work: Skillman began her political career in 1977 when she was elected as the Lawrence County Recorder. Eight years later, the voters of Lawrence County chose her to serve as county clerk.
In 1992, Hoosiers in five southern Indiana counties elected Skillman to represent them in the Indiana Senate. She became the first woman in Senate Republican leadership when she held the second highest position as majority caucus chair.
During her 12 years in the Senate, she led the charge to include the state’s small towns and rural communities in its economic development agenda serving as president of the Association of Indiana Counties.
Source: Indiana Lieutenant Governor’s Web site