Background:

A 50-year resident of Central Indiana, John W Samples has been a NineStar member since 2022. He attended Purdue, Kentucky Christian, and Milligan Universities. His Indiana broadcasting career began in 1979 as a statehouse reporter and public affairs director for

WFYI-PBS. He later moved to the Indianapolis CBS affiliate as news producer and anchor, then to the City/County building as press secretary to Indianapolis Mayor William Hudnut. While employed at Wabash Valley Power, he studied Rural Electric Management at the University of Nebraska, then became CEO of the Jay County REMC in Portland, IN and was selected as the initial chair of NRECA’s Touchstone Energy marketing committee. In 2000, after 13 years in the rural electric industry, John went into full-time ministry at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville and later with multiple inner-city ministries, including Lighthouse Mission in Indianapolis. As president and CEO of two different international NGOs, he served Christian churches in Ukraine and Israel as well as the USA. John has consulted with additional nonprofit corporations in strategic planning, mergers, crisis management, fundraising, and human resources. In addition to his professional positions, Samples has served in various church roles, including deacon, youth sponsor, etc. He’s been a volunteer firefighter and was a founding board member at the Indianapolis Center for Interfaith Cooperation. The publisher of six books, John has been married to Bobbi, his high school sweetheart, since 1974; they have two adult children, one grandson and another on the way, all living nearby. John and Bobbi reside in McCordsville.

Candidate Statement: I still cherish my years as a professional in the Rural Electric program, and I’ve been hoping to re-engage since the day I left nearly 25 years ago. My belief in the values and principles of electric cooperatives has never wavered, and our decision to build a home in McCordsville nearly three years ago was influenced by the chance to be an REMC member once again. I’d like to think I have something left to give, and it would certainly be a gift to be able to serve the community and the fellowship of co-ops in this way.