Employee Spotlight – Ben VanMeter



What year did you join Slattery & Holman?

May 2021

Tell me a little about where you attended college and the degree(s) you earned? Any special accomplishments?

I just graduated from IU Bloomington’s Kelley School of Business with a degree in accounting.

What is your favorite thing about living in Indiana?

Making trips to the lake during the summer. I also enjoy having all four seasons.

Tell me a little about your family.

My family has lived in Indiana my whole life. My dad is a retired orthopedic salesman and my mom is an artist who shows her work at the Art IN Hand Gallery in Zionsville. I have one sister named Claire who just finished her second year at Dayton. She is studying biology.

If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

Spend time with my friends and family.

What fictional place would you most like to visit?

Mos Eisley Cantina from Star Wars.

What is a new skill that you would like to master? 

I would like to learn how to play guitar.

What do you wish you knew more about?

The tax code.

What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?

I took a school trip to Europe during my junior year of high school. We went to Italy and Greece. It was absolutely beautiful; the food was tremendous, and I learned a lot about the long history of these two countries.

What question would you most like to know the answer to?

You think this steak is cooked?

What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?

Cooking different foods. I have been making a lot of food lately (Cajun foods, chili, meatballs, wings, Mexican food, potato salad, breakfast foods, etc.) and I’m getting pretty good at it.

What was the best compliment you’ve ever received?

Being there for a friend when they needed me.

What silly accomplishment are you most proud of?

I won my friend group’s annual euchre tournament two years running. It’s a big deal.

What is your favorite smell?

The smell of the Cajun Holy Trinity (onions, celery, and bell peppers) cooking in a little oil.

If you had a clock that would count down to any one event of your choosing, what event would you want it to count down to?

IU winning another national championship in basketball and hanging our 6th banner.

When was the last time you climbed a tree?

I am not fond of heights, so it has been a while.

What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?

I’ve eaten a chocolate-covered cricket before.

What was your first job?

When I was really young, I would water my neighbors’ flowers, and I eventually graduated to mowing lawns as well. My first official job was working on the bag staff at Meridian Hills Country Club.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

I would want to read people’s minds.