The congressman from Indiana's 6th congressional district has set up shop here in Muncie.
U.S. Rep. Greg Pence held the official opening of his Muncie Congressional Office between 3-5 p.m. April 25 at 2810 West Ethel Avenue, Suite 9.
At the opening, constituents came in and had a short audience with Pence to express their concerns.
“When I first took office, we had 4,000 emails, phone calls [and] increased requests for us to look into 'my Social Security' or 'VA benefits' or 'I have this problem with this federal agency. Can you can you help me navigate that?’ That's what we'll do here and in all our offices,” he said.
Pence said the people working in the office have been at work since he was sworn in, working from their homes until close to a month ago.
“We have offices in Muncie [and] Columbus here, and we're going to open up one in Greenfield,” he said.
On the topic of getting involved with the Ball State community, Pence said “Sure, if they invite us we’ll be here.”
The congressman said he was “in quite a bit of contact” with Ball State representatives, meeting with them “half a dozen times” in Muncie and Washington, D.C., since he was elected.
Ball State alumnus Dave Hinkel visited Pence’s office to resolve a tax deduction issue. Hinkel said he had met the Pence brothers previously, going as far back Vice President Mike Pence’s days on Indiana radio.
“I met [Mike Pence at the Horizon Convention Center] and talked to him, and we got a picture with him, my wife and I, and he autographed it for us,” Hinkel said.
Scott Crepeau, a sales manager for DANNAR LLC, which manufactures electric work vehicles, said he met with Pence to introduce his company, saying that he thought Pence would bring jobs back to the Muncie area.
“We think our product and our business is going to boom here in Muncie soon, and we just wanted to get on his radar and invite him to our headquarters to demonstrate or drive the Mobile Power Station himself,” Crepeau said.
Not all constituents that visited the office currently reside in Muncie, however. Jan Chalfant, a retired Muncie and Sarasota, Florida, resident, said he travelled over 1,000 miles to be in Muncie.
“I was coming back anyway but my father in law's a 96-year-old World War II veteran. He was on Veterans Aid and Assistance, and for some strange reason when his wife died two summers ago they terminated his assistance, and we haven't been able to get it renewed,” Chalfant said. “He's in a nursing home here in Muncie, and the family’s having to pay the bills instead of his assistance.”
Chalfant added that after meeting Pence, the congressman promised to look into the issue.
Contact Charles Melton with comments at cwmelton@bsu.edu or on Twitter @Cmelton144. Contact John Lynch with comments at jplynch@bsu.edu or on Twitter @WritesLynch.
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