Who We Are

About BRAG | Thomas Binford | Top 10 List | BRAG Officers | Objectives | BRAG Map

About BRAG

BRAG, short for Binford Redevelopment and Growth, was launched in April 2005 as a grassroots effort to “fight the blight” at Binford Boulevard and 71st Street.

With that effort now bearing significant fruit, the organization has grown into a community development group with a broader focus, addressing economic and quality-of-life issues facing residents and businesses in the area bound by Sargent Road on the east, 82nd Street on the north, Dean Road on the west and 56th Street and Fall Creek Road on the south. Hundreds of volunteers have planted bulbs, perennials and trees along the Binford corridor, a project supported by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and honored with a Gold Leaf Award from the Indiana Arborist Association. The organization also has spearheaded crime-prevention efforts.

In the fall of 2006, the BRAG area was chosen to be a part of the Great Indy Neighborhoods demonstration initiative involving quality-of-life project planning. With the help of graduate students from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, BRAG conducted hundreds of resident interviews along with focus groups to learn what residents find attractive about the area, what they see as its assets and what they would like to improve.

In June 2007, a neighborhood vision planning meeting helped narrow the focus of the GINI demonstration project to six priority issues:

• Pedestrian access and connectivity
• Business development (particularly around the Binford Boulevard and 71st Street area)
• Crime reduction and safety
• Increasing parks and green space
• Better perception of Lawrence Township schools
• Sustainability

For each priority, BRAG has formed an action group, and these groups are meeting throughout the late summer and fall to make plans for addressing the six priorities.

Through a GINI early action grant, BRAG formed the Binford Farmers Market. The market runs from late Spring into late Fall.   For more information check out www.binfordfarmersmarket.com.

BRAG is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, with a Web site at www.binford71.org.

BRAG Area Accomplishments - The Top 10 List

BRAG Officers and Directors

Kas Vargo, President
An enthusiast of the BRAG area, Kas and her husband, Greg, parents of two grown children, have lived in Ivy Hills since 1995.  Originally from northwest Indiana, Kas is a design graduate of Purdue University and received her MBA in finance from Indiana University.  Her early career involved positions in residential and commercial design and sales. She was assistant treasurer for Oxford Development Corp. in Indianapolis and is a former executive of the Presbyterian Church, USA, in Louisville, KY, where she was responsible for property and risk management.  Today, Kas owns and operates both an interior design and remodeling business and a garden design business.  Kas has a continuing interest in being involved in organizations that support schools and neighborhoods.  A founding BRAG board member, Kas serves on the Executive Committee and formerly functioned as BRAG Treasurer. 

Jim Strauss, Vice-President
Jim is the owner of PIP Printing and Marketing Services. Jim began his career with PIP printing in 1972 at PIP's first Indianapolis location. He opened his first PIP Printing location at 71st Street and Graham Road in 1975 and has remained in the BRAG area ever since. He is presently located in the Metro Centre at 75th and Binford.

Jim is presently serving his second 3-year term as a member of PIP Printing's National Advisory Council representing franchise owners on a variety of issues such as national advertising, budgets, marketing materials and market trends.

Jim and his wife Kris have been married 38 years and have 2 grown sons, and 3 grandchildren. Kris and Jim along with their son Ryan, work together making it a true family business. Jim's interests include golf, fitness, open-wheel racing, live music and travel. As a lifetime fan of the Indy 500, Jim is a dedicated 500 Festival volunteer, serving as Entertainment Co-chair for the Mini-Marathon and serving as Spectator Relations Co-chair for the 500 Festival Parade. Jim is also a member of Millersville Lodge #126 of Free and Accepted Masons and is a 32 degree Scottish Rite Mason.

Lynne Goodin, Member, Secretary
Lynne Goodin is the Executive Director of the Fine Arts Society, classical music on 88.7.  Prior to this position she was the General Counsel for the Indiana Department Revenue, her first position after completing law school at the age of 55.  Before law school, she worked at Deloitte LLP as their first manager of business development.  Previously, she worked in banking for 23 years where she spent 10 years as a corporate banker (commercial lender).  In addition to her law degree from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, she has an MBA from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  She is an inactive Indiana CPA.  Lynne serves on the executive committee of the Women and the Law Division of the Indianapolis Bar Association.  She has also served on the board of Dance Kaleidoscope and for fifteen years on the board of Bosma Industries, serving as chairman for two years.  She lives in Avalon Hills with her husband David Duchesne, five cats and one dog.

Amy Porterfield Myers, Treasurer
Amy has lived in the BRAG area since 1971 when she moved here with her parents to Avalon Hills as a teenager. She has the desire to see the BRAG community continue to improve and prosper. She and her husband John Myers have been married for 30 years, and have 3 young adult sons. Amy and John have chosen to raise their family in this same community because of their positive experiences here. She attended Lawrence Township schools, and graduated from the Indiana University School of Business with a degree in Finance. Amy has more than 30 years of experience in business operations during her career. She has worked in the for-profit and non-profit fields in Accounting, Finance and Payroll/Human Resources for several companies and organizations during that time.

She was an active parent volunteer for Lawrence Township schools and continues to volunteer in LT schools through the Volunteer Initiative program. Amy has previously served on several school PFO committees and the Lawrence Central Performing Arts Association (LCPAA). She served for many years at Castleton United Methodist Church as a volunteer Sunday School teacher, on the Children's Council, VBS Board member, UMW Board member and Circle Chair, Vision Committee, Finance Committee, and also as Treasurer and Executive Director of CUMNS KIDS preschool program. She is trained as a Stephen Minister, and as a Conscious Discipline 1 instructor of parenting skills.

Amy got involved with the planning committee for the BRAG Gala in 2011, and began serving on the BRAG Board as Treasurer in August 2011.

Larry Riggle, Member
Larry, one of the founders of BRAG, has lived in the BRAG area, in Avalon Hills, since 1971 and has been involved in the Avalon Hills Civic Association as a board member since 1984 and president since 2000.  Larry is a member of the BRAG Executive Committee and heads the Economic Development Committee.  Larry believes the BRAG area is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Marion County and that BRAG’s goals and actions will make the area an even better place to live and raise a family.  Larry is a proud and loyal graduate of Butler University and he and his wife Karen have two grown children and one grandson.

Michael R. Baldwin, Member
Michael and his wife, Judy have resided in the BRAG area since 1976, and are current residents of the High Gate neighborhood. Michael and Judy have two sons who live and work in Indianapolis.  Michael has been a member of the BRAG Landscape Committee since 2005. In 2008 Michael became a BRAG Board member and chairperson of BRAG Landscape Committee.  He is also a member of the BRAG INSTEPP committee.

Michael has a BS in Forestry from Purdue University and worked for two summers for the U.S. Forest Service in Utah and Colorado.  He then worked for as Staff Forester for the Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL) retiring after 36 years and was contracted by IPL to manage the Trees for Tomorrow and Indy Free Tree programs.  He is a Certified Arborist, charter and current member of the Indianapolis/Marion County Tree Board, a board member of the Indiana Urban Forest Council and member of the Plant a Million Steering Committee.  He also served for 10 years on the ANSI 05.1 Committee for wood poles.  Michael is a member of Alpha Zeta and Xi Sigma Pi national honorary fraternities.  

Michael is dedicated to bringing the trees back to Marion County.  His goal is to save the trees we have while increasing the over all tree canopy in the BRAG area as well as other Indianapolis neighborhoods.  Not only should we want safe sidewalks and trails but they should also be shaded!

Ray Brinkmeyer, Member
Ray has been involved in BRAG since its creation in 2005 as one of the founding members and currently is the President of the Friends of Skiles Test Nature Park. The Friends are a group of highly motivated board members who are committed to enhancing the beauty, accessibility and sustainability of Skiles Test Nature Park and Woollens Gardens -- the only two parks within the BRAG area. Skiles Test Park is a key component in the BRAG goal of having a healthy, vibrant neighborhood. The Park has become a destination point for families and individuals in the BRAG area.

 Ray, his wife Kathy and their sons have lived in Lawrence Township for 30 years. Ray has been involved in a variety of community activities including Avalon Hills Civic Assoc, Lawrence Central BAC, Lawrence Babe Ruth Baseball, and other community organizations. Ray grew up in Cincinnati, OH and received his BS degree from the University of Cincinnati. He then obtained a PhD in chemistry from Colorado State. University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. He began his career at Eli Lilly and Co. where he held a number of research and management positions and currently works for Dow AgroSciences where he is a government affairs and regulatory leader with membership on a number of state and industry boards.

Joe Komenda, Member
Joe Komenda, his wife, Marianne, and three daughters moved to the Devonshire V Neighborhood in Indianapolis in 1967. Sadly, Marianne passed away in 1998.  Joe is from northeast Ohio and served two years in the U.S. Army Air Corps including 9 months stationed in Japan.  He traveled to Chicago for training in the field of Process Control Instrumentation and also received an Associates Degree in Electronics from DeVry Technical Institute.  Joe was the Indianapolis Branch Manager for Barber-Colman Co., the firm he worked for and later represented for a total of 44 years. Joe was President of Skiles Test School PFO, has volunteered for many organizations and presently is Sunday School Supt. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, is Past Post Commander  and a District Chairman for The American Legion and a Volunteer for Heifer International. He is on the board of Devonshire V Civic Association and of Binford Redevelopment & Growth (BRAG) as well as the Residential Crime Watch Communicator. Because of his love for and involvement with his neighborhoods, Joe shares the concerns and goals for which BRAG was formed and is pleased to be part of its ongoing efforts. 

Scott Maskel, Member
Scott and his wife, Erin, parents of one son – Carson, have lived in Lawrence Township since 2006. Both are originally from Illinois and moved to the Indianapolis area after completing their Masters degrees at Illinois State University in 2003, with a short stint of residency in Florida in between.

Scott has been actively involved in the Lawrence community since their arrival by being involved in the Greater Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, Lawrence Sunrise Kiwanis Club, his neighborhood homeowners association, and several professional groups.

Scott is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and works with many of the residents and business owners in the BRAG area. Additionally, Scott and his family enjoy spending much of their time together in the BRAG area and taking in all it has to offer. Scott is passionate about the overall development of the north east side of Indianapolis and when he saw and heard about all that BRAG had been doing to move this forward, knew he wanted to be involved.

Erik Vohs, Member
Erik Vohs is an Assistant Vice President for Key Bank.  He is a fully licensed investment banker.  Erik manages the Binford office located at 71st and Binford Blvd.  Erik is a graduate of PortlandStateUniversity.  He majored in Psychology, Sociology.  After graduating from college Erik was a therapist at a maximum security psychiatric hospital for six years.  Prior to working at Key he was the general manager of a large construction/restoration company here in Indianapolis. Erik is passionate about community involvement and leaving a better foot print for the next generation.  He and his wife Nichoel have two beautiful girls, Jordan and Sidney.  Erik serves on multiple boards.  He currently serves of the following boards:  CASA of MadisonCounty, Leadership Academy of Madison County, and the Priority PROS vendor network.  Erik moved from Oregon and has lived in Indiana since 1998.  He has family that lives in the BRAG area and is committed to help make our community a better place.

George Wright, Member
George has a long work history in the broadcast and cable TV industries.  He completed his bachelor’s degree in marketing and mass communications from Western Michigan University, while working as a cable TV maintenance technician and then completed course work to become a certified electronics technician, through the Cleveland Institute of Electronics and took graduate classes in business management from Baldwin Wallace University and Western Michigan University.  He has certifications in eight areas of broadband telecommunications ranging from Fiber optics to data networking and a certification in project management from Villanova University’s Graduate School of Business. He also worked for the US Army Reserve as a financial advisor, when they were establishing a command center for their medical personnel and medical assets in the Western Hemisphere. George and his wife, Denise, are developing a home care agency serving Northeast Marion and Southern Hamilton Counties.  George was elected to the BRAG Board in 2011 and currently serves as chair of the INSTEPP committee.

Kristi Howard, Member

David Wisneski, Member [Crime Watch and Public Safety]

Jane Lommel, Past President
Disgusted by the blight in the retail centers outside her neighborhood, Jane founded BRAG on April 27th, 2005 when 350+ other disgruntled neighbors and local business folks attended the first meeting to discuss what could be done to reverse the blight.  Since then, BRAG has grown into a dynamic community group that involves 44 neighborhoods and local businesses in beautification, economic development, residential and business crime watch systems, collaboration with Skiles Test Nature Park, running the Binford Farmers Market, and implementation of trails throughout the BRAG area.

Jane and her husband, Richard Judy, moved to Indianapolis in 1986 and have lived in their home in Avalon Hills neighborhood since 1987 with their daughter.  Jane has been involved in helping to set up the International School of Indiana and has spent extensive time in the former Soviet Union with her family as part of her husband’s work at Hudson Institute.  She grew up in New Jersey and received her BA in Sociology and MPA at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.  She also has a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Technology from Kansas State University.  Jane has worked in the business world, in IPS as the Director of Technology, and non-profit groups of all sizes.  She and her husband currently run TORQworks, a workforce software company.  They have collaborated in workforce and economic development consulting and in running the Judy cattle ranch for nearly 20 years.

BRAG Objectives

• Collaborate with local businesses and residents to attract new businesses to the area and retain the ones we have
• Develop a strategic plan to guide and monitor progress
• Seek funds for financing BRAG communications and activities.
• Meet regularly with neighborhood associations and governmental entities.
• Apply for grants and sign up volunteers for beautification projects.

BRAG Area Map

Read the BRAG Fact Sheet

BRAG Bylaws