Twenty women, including one from Jackson County, have been selected for the 27th Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series class Oct. 27 at the Ivy Tech Culinary Center in Indianapolis.

The 2016-17 participants include Nancy Franke of Seymour.

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson will be the featured speaker at the opening event, which begins at 5:30 p.m. The 20 women in the class will be formally introduced.

Class members were selected from a field of statewide candidates and represent diverse backgrounds and interests while sharing a commitment to public service in an appointed or elected capacity. Applicants were evaluated on the basis of written and oral presentations.

The Lugar series was founded in 1990 as a women’s leadership development program designed to increase the number of Republican women in local, state and national elective and appointive offices. It was inspired by Senator Richard G. Lugar and originated in Indiana.

To date, the program has trained 469 Hoosier women in 26 classes to enter public service. More than 2,000 women from across the nation have been trained for public service through a national series of programs.