Knox City Council Renames Community Center In Honor of Dembowski

Nancy Dembowski

In honor of Nancy Dembowski’s unwavering dedication and service to the city of Knox, the city council this week passed a motion authorizing the renaming of the Knox Community Center to the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center.

The council originally discussed the idea of honorarily renaming a portion of Main Street, beginning at Claybaugh Drive extending south to County Road 150 South, to Dembowski Drive, but after a lengthy discussion, the council decided to rename the community center instead. Chambers said this was due to Dembowski being instrumental in its construction years ago.

“The council just wanted to do something to honor Nancy because of her years of service to the city of Knox, and they talked about renaming a street after her and they finally settled on renaming the community center after Nancy because she was instrumental in the building of that community center,” said Chambers.

The resolution approved by the council emphasizes that Dembowski was not only the first three-term mayor for the city, but was also on countless committees and boards throughout the city and county. On top of that, Dembowski served as Indiana’s senator beginning in 2002, and was a representative for the state in 2007 and 2009.

“She belonged to so many groups and organizations. She was always instrumental in starting something; she initiated the Main Street extension. That’s why the council thought about naming that after her, but ultimately decided on the community center,” Chambers said.

The city council unanimously approved the resolution, effectively renaming the former Knox Community Center to the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in honor of her outstanding and distinguished service to the citizens of Knox and Starke County.