Loyalty, involvement earn Dr. Wainman Citizen of Year nod
A pilot and well-traveled individual who has taken part in humanitarian visits to such locales as Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Bangladesh and the Amazon rainforest, Dr. Perry Wainman knows where his heart is.
Home.
To the longtime Greencastle dentist, there's definitely no place like home.
And to his everlasting credit, Wainman's hometown apparently feels the same way about him as Saturday night he was named the 2013 Putnam County Citizen of the Year during the annual dinner meeting of the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce.
His "matchless and incomparable acts, donations and overall attitude demonstrate why we are so very fortunate to have him in our community," new Chamber President Bret Hurley said in introducing Wainman as the award winner.
In addition to the humanitarian efforts to which he has contributed, often during DePauw University Winter Term trips, Wainman has also been a fixture on the Putnam County Airport Board and assisted in its move to an airport authority in 2013.
In addition to flying search and rescue missions as a volunteer for the Putnam County Sheriff's Department, Wainman has helped introduce aviation to a group of youth through the Young Eagles program. He has flown nearly 400 local youngsters, often providing their first exposure to flying, during the annual Airport Appreciation Days program.
But what really stands out on his resume has been Dr. Wainman's courage and determination in the face of a personal and community disaster in the May 17 fire that damaged his office at 18 E. Washington St., as well as much of the entire block.
Already at the office that morning, attending to patients' dental needs before the fire broke out at 7:30 a.m., Dr. Wanman was credited with getting his staff and waiting patients quickly out of the building before he ran to neighboring units and apartments to make sure everyone fled to safety.
And in the aftermath of a fire that gutted his office, Dr. Wainman easily could have rebuilt somewhere else or taken the insurance money, retired and left a burned-out building for someone else to deal with.
But he wasn't about to leave a gaping hole in the community or his block. Nope, this dentist wasn't about to leave a cavity unfilled.
"I'm a stubborn guy," Wainman offered. "I wasn't going to leave my office empty."
Besides having the physical repairs to the building done, Wainman is also looking toward the next generation to run the dental office.
He said he has been working with a young individual to take over the practice when he's ready to walk away and "leave my legacy ... if that's the right word."
Meanwhile, President Hurley noted that the Citizen of the Year decision was partially based on Dr. Wainman's loyalty to the community. For not only is he rebuilding his office a block east of the courthouse square but he also purchased the eyesore property at the northeast corner of Indiana and Columbia streets and had the ramshackle home on it torn down last August.
"The community has served me much more than I have it," Wainman said after making his way to the podium through handshakes and high-fives to accept the Citizen of the Year plaque.
Wainman, who called wife Rose to the podium and said they recently marked 33 years together, spoke of being able to "go out and see the world."
"But I always got to come back to Greencastle," he said, voice choking with emotion, "and understand what we have here in the United States, Putnam County and Greencastle that nobody else has.
"We are blessed, we really are."
As the 2013 winner, Wainman succeeds Putnam County Food Pantry Director Judy Miller as Citizen of the Year.
Other previous winners have been Hazel Day Longden, the inaugural recipient in 1982; Hubert Clodfelter, 1983; Howard Williams, 1984; Bessie Rector, 1985; Mace Aker, 1986; Bobby G. Albright, 1987; Gerald E. Warren, 1988; David Barr, 1989; Jim Harris, 1990; Dr. James Johnson, 1991; Charles Chandler, 1992; Bob Evans, 1993; Julia "Judy" Johnson, 1994; Jerald D. Calbert, 1995; Harold Spicer, 1996; Jinsie Bingham, 1997; Dave Young, 1998; Barbara Lane, 1999; Ellen Sedlack, 2000; the trio of Lynn Wilson, Denise Sigworth and Rachel Seipel in 2001; Mike Rokicki, 2002; Joy Marley, 2003; Charles Miles, 2004; Judge Sally Gray, 2005; Dr. Donald "Doc" Brattain, 2006; Charles "Chuck" Schroeder, 2007; Lynn Bohmer, 2008; Ken Heeke, 2009; Becky Brothers, 2010, and Judge Diana LaViolette, 2011.