EVANSVILLE, Ind., March 10, 2016 — Leadership Evansville’s Celebration of Leadership Awards (COL) – title sponsored by Fifth Third Bank – drew a record crowd to help celebrate its 21st year of honoring the local community’s most inspiring examples of servant leadership by individuals, projects or organizations. The diverse audience – 1,200+ strong – packed into The Old National Events Plaza in downtown Evansville to participate in the special celebration. They were on hand to hear and cheer dozens of inspiring stories of selfless contributions to our community, and celebrate those who have made an especially powerful impact in their lifetime.
Leadership Evansville Chief Executive Officer Lynn Miller Pease was cheered by the record participation: “This event is so powerful! The celebration provides an opportunity for our community to celebrate these outstanding individuals who are transforming our community. Seeing that our community is healthy and thriving is what makes this evening so phenomenal. These servant leaders are who encourage us to keep moving forward.”
“With all of the energy from tonight’s event, we want to keep it going. We will have an Evansville VOICE Call to ACTION meeting. We are excited to have individuals such as those celebrated here tonight become involved in projects that match their passions.”
At the 21st Annual Celebration of Leadership Awards ceremony, 45 awards were presented to hundreds of recipients who have demonstrated outstanding selfless community service in the following categories: Arts, Community & Neighborhood, Education, Environment, Government & Public Service, and Health & Social Service.
Following is the complete list of all award recipients:
Division Recipients
- Individual Leadership Award – Brandon Ragland
- Project Leadership Award – The Women’s Hospital Perinatal Bereavement Project
- Business or Organization Leadership Award – Child Abuse Resource and Education Task Force
Special Awards
- Bryce Jordan Servant Leader Award – Lloyd Winnecke
- Outstanding Innovation Award – Jonathan Weinzapfel – Ivy Tech Community College
- Community Collaboration Award – Joshua Armstrong
- Sam Featherstone – Overall Award – Kyle Gorman
- Sam Featherstone – Individual Award – Dane Hancock
- Sam Featherstone – Project Award – Miss Golden Pageant
- Sam Featherstone – Business or Organization Award – South Heights Elementary School
- Sportsmanship Award – Jossie Hudson
- Sportsmanship Award – West Side Youth Basketball and Cheer
- Winternheimer/LaMar Public Service Award – Dale Naylor
- Col. Reginald Gibson Award – John D. Herring, Jr.
- Shirley James “Greening the Community” Award – Keep Evansville Beautiful “Planters on Main Street
- Raising the Bar Award – Collin Clarke
- Leaders in Technology Award – Laurel and Ken French
- Trusteeship Award – The Browning Family
- Sara B. Davies Award – M. Susan Hardwick
- Community Collaboration Award – Joshua Armstrong
- Civic Engagement Award – Melissa Tines
- Visionary Award – Joshua Conner III
- Willie Effie Thomas Diversity Award – One God, One Community
- Regional Impact Award – Greg Wathen
- Leader in Courage Award – Susan Kelley Jordan
- Lifetime – Education Award – Sheila Huff
- Lifetime – Government and Public Service Award – Marcia Au
- Lifetime – Arts Award – Gayle Begley
Recognition for Individual Leadership
- Arts – Sally Olson
- Community & Neighborhood – Elizabeth D. Baier
- Education – Marjorie Armstead
- Education – Kristine Eichholz
- Environment – Robert Flores
- Government & Public Service – Jim Heck
- Health & Social Service – Nancy Hughes
Recognition for Project Leadership
- Arts – Under the Beams
- Community & Neighborhood – Evansville Streets Alive!
- Education – Institute for Global Enterprise at the University of Evansville – Changemaker Challenge
- Environment – The Great Chicken Give Away
- Government & Public Service – SMILE on Down Syndrome – Trucks and Heroes
- Health & Social Service – Sozo Health Ministry – Patchwork Central
Recognition for Business/Organization Leadership
- Arts – The Dapper Pig
- Community & Neighborhood – Bridge Builders Transportation – New Hope Community Development Corporation
- Education – Carver Community Organization – Pathfinders Program
- Government & Public Service – Evansville Police Department Crime Free Multi-Housing
- Health & Social Service – Deaconess Family Medicine Residency
21 Years of Celebration
Begun in 1994 by Leadership Evansville, the annual Celebration of Leadership Awards has received more than 2,500 nominations and celebrated thousands of nominees for their contributions to our community. More than 10,000 people have attended COL since its inception, and a record 1,000 attended this year’s 21st Anniversary event.
About Leadership Evansville
Leadership Evansville was founded in 1976 by a group of future-thinking local leaders, whose original commitment to community-wide betterment remains unique and strong. Leadership Evansville brings together people with different talents, gifts and perspectives and transforms these individuals into leaders who embrace the concept of community trusteeship and the collaborative process. They help develop in them an understanding of how today’s leaders function and teaches them the skills to apply this knowledge in provided real life opportunities through practice and performance. These attitudes, skills and processes are taught to adults, youth, organizations, not-for-profits, businesses, educational institutions, neighborhood associations, churches and other leadership programs.
Social Media: Connect With Leadership Evansville
Twitter: #COL2016, @LeadershipEVV, @evansvillevoice