September, 4th 2018
The Madam Carroll
(574) 583-3545
publicrelations (at) gmail (dot) com
Press Release: Indiana’s Largest Boat, the Madam Carroll, has New Local Owners
Monticello, IN – For many in the greater Monticello, Brookston, and Lafayette communities, the new owners of Indiana’s Largest Boat are familiar faces. Two longtime friends, Chris Peters of Lafayette and Chris Lehe of Brookston have teamed up to take on ownership and operation of the Madam Carroll beginning November 1st of this year.
The Madam Carroll is the largest licensed United States Coast Guard approved vessel in Indiana, built and launched by the late captain Bill Luse on Lake Freeman in August of 1976. She is 135 feet in length with a beam of 36 feet, giving her a capacity of 500 passengers. The Luse family continued operation of the Madam Carroll through 2012 when the vessel was purchased by Tom Heckard out of Logansport, Indiana.
“This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we’ve been evaluating for months” said Peters. “The boat and the Luse family are a huge part of Indiana history, and the upgrades and work done under Tom’s ownership will ensure she continues operation for many years to come. We feel honored to be a part of something so historic” added Lehe.
Peters has recently relocated back to Indiana from the East Coast where he oversaw the sales and marketing for a number of theme parks including the conceptualization and launch of Diggerland USA, a construction theme park where guests operate real heavy machinery. Prior to his work out East, Peters oversaw the sales and marketing for Indiana Beach and is intimately familiar with the local market. Peters’ mother, Janie, owns and operates Art of Framing, Inc. in Lafayette. His family has enjoyed the Monticello area with a cottage on Lake Freeman for over 30 years.
Chris Lehe resides in Brookston with his wife and two children where their family owns and operates Lehe Farms, overseeing nearly 5,000 acres of popcorn, dent corn, and soybeans as well as thousands of livestock annually. Chris earned his business degree in Lafayette and then went on to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematical Economics from Ball State University. The Lehe family has always held strong community ties and attitudes toward public service. Chris’ father, Don Lehe, has served as State Representative since 2002.
Operations on the boat will continue for the 2018 season under Tom Heckard with Lehe and Peters shadowing. The team is encouraging all patrons to visit the newly launched website, www. MadamCarroll.com where they can subscribe to Madam Carroll and Lake Freeman news updates. “We want to be sure that the community has the ability to follow our progress as we go into the 2019 season, email updates usually work best for everyone” notes Peters.
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Press and Media can communicate with Chris Peters directly via email: chrisdavidpeters@gmail.com. Guests or parties interested in upcoming events or private bookings can contact the Madam Carroll by email madamcarroll@gmail.com or by phone (574) 583-3545.