Meet The Plunkett Family
Melissa and John
John and Melissa Plunkett live in Auburn Trace along with their children, Kathryn and Lucas, and their two dogs, Shelly and Oscar. They also have grown children, Patrick and his wife, Jazmyn; Breanna and her husband, Jake; and granddaughters Zoey and Ellie.
John works for AT&T, and Melissa is an elementary teacher at Center Grove Montessori and Area Representative for International Student Exchange.
Here are a few of their favorite family things:
Activities/Hobbies:
Hosting exchange students, traveling, camping, watching movies, playing board games
Park/Play Area/Place to Hang Out:
Our local library, Community Life Center
Restaurants:
Tried & True, Texas Roadhouse, and any local eateries (especially if they offer vegetarian choices for Melissa)
Vacation Destination:
John is from Clearwater, FL, so we like going there, but we travel internationally about once a year and are trying to visit all 50 states! We like long road trips and state/national parks.
Sports Teams:
Colts! And, of course, Center Grove.
TV Show/Movie:
Star Wars and Marvel movies
Music:
Musicals! Anything on or off Broadway.
Family Dinner:
We love to try new restaurants but also love to cook at home. We try to have many different types of international foods for dinner.
Way to unwind/relax:
Hanging out together, going out to eat, having a movie night, doing puzzles
Did you grow up in this area? If not, what spurred your move?
Melissa did and moved while in elementary school. We moved back when we purchased my grandparents’ home in 2004.
How long have you lived in this community? What drew you to the area? In what ways are you involved in the community?
Since 2004, and we moved to Auburn trace in 2021. We have attended and participated in activities at Mount Pleasant and the Community Life Center since its opening. We frequent the White River Library. We love anything our kids are involved in (SCSA soccer, activities at school, Scouts, etc.). I am president of the CGHS PTO and place exchange students in our area and in Central Indiana.
What is your favorite part about living in your community?
I love how for a large school system, it really feels small. I feel like there is a close connection between community members, and it is a super supportive community of the schools and neighbors. A friend at work often jokes that there are three degrees of separation from everyone in the community. The families at the high school are always so supportive of not just the individual activities their kids are in but of the general PTO as well and are always willing to jump in and help. Parents are very involved.
What college/university did you attend?
IUPUI, and Melissa is currently enrolled in Xavier’s Montessori Master’s Program. John was a Reserve Marine.
Do you have any unique family traditions?
We LOVE hosting exchange students and have hosted 17 students in the past 12 years! We will welcome a boy from Germany in the fall. Our senior daughter plans to attend college in England in the fall as well!
If you have kids, with what activities are they involved?
Robotics, STUGO, Scouts, photography, soccer
List any of your favorite family memories, funny things that have happened to your family, etc. Help your community to get to know you better.
We have a term in our house that is called “getting Plunketted.” It’s a funny way to express when we think we have everything planned out perfectly and something goes wrong. It’s a lighthearted way to laugh it off and keep on moving along. Like when you have a new house that you can’t wait to show off, so you host your daughter-in-law's bridal shower, and the main floor toilet breaks in the middle of it and overflows into the foyer. Or, during a trip, you are most excited about visiting a certain place, and it happens to be closed the only day you are in that town.