Mari Hulman George
| Mari Hulman George | |
|---|---|
 Mari Hulman George 2015 Indianapolis 500 | |
| Born |
Mary Antonia Hulman December 26, 1934 Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | St. Mary-of-the-Woods College |
| Employer |
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hulman & Company |
| Title | Chairman |
| Spouse(s) | Elmer George (1957–1976) |
| Children | Nancy, Josie, Kathi and Anton "Tony" Hulman George |
| Parent(s) | Anton "Tony" Hulman and Mary Fendrich Hulman |
Mari Hulman George, born Mary Antonia Hulman on December 26, 1934, in Terre Haute, Indiana, is the daughter of Anton "Tony" Hulman and Mary Fendrich Hulman, prominent Indiana philanthropists and business owners. She is the current chairman of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company.[1]
Family
Mari was the Hulmans' only child, but from the age of eleven she was often surrounded by the families of Indianapolis 500 drivers, whom she befriended. Perhaps it would come as little surprise that she would marry one such driver, Elmer George, on April 29, 1957. At 22 years of age, she became stepmother to Elmer's children from his first marriage, and the couple would go on to have four children together: three daughters, Nancy, Josie and Kathi; and one son, Anton Hulman George, who, like his namesake grandfather, would be better known as "Tony."
Elmer George, who met with little success as a driver, retired from racing in 1963, later becoming a Speedway vice-president and head of the IMS Radio Network.
For most of the couple's marriage, they owned a farm outside of Terre Haute, but spent much of their time at their 1,300-acre (5 km2) ranch in Wyoming.
The Chairman
After the death of Tony Hulman in 1977, his wife, Mary Fendrich Hulman, assumed the chairmanship of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Co., the family's primary businesses. When Mrs. Hulman's health began to deteriorate, she retired and passed the chairmanship of the companies to her daughter in 1988. Mari Hulman George retains both positions today.
Like her father and mother before her, since 1997, Mari officially starts the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 races with the command, "(Lady/Ladies and) gentlemen, start your engines!" In 2015 her daughter Nancy interrupted her while she was giving the command, and said the command with her at the same time without Mari's permission.
Philanthropist and lover of animals
Like her parents, Mari Hulman George is well known throughout Indiana for her generosity to institutions of higher learning, with her alma mater, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in West Terre Haute, Indiana among the top recipients of her monetary gifts. The college maintains the Mari Hulman George School of Equine Studies, founded in part due to her love of horses.
In 2001, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security renamed their search-and-rescue training area at Camp Atterbury the Mari Hulman George Search and Rescue Training Center, in recognition of her contributions to the care of animals displaced and otherwise affected by disasters. She has also been active in the rescue and adoption of racing greyhounds.
References
- ↑ Comiskey, Daniel S. "The Great Families -". Indianapolis Monthly. p. 7. Retrieved 16 April 2011.