At the last Council Meeting of 2019, Councillor Janice McHenry recognized three outstanding volunteers/community leaders and an organization for their roles in making a difference in their communities and Indianapolis.  First was Bob Hunter for his tireless work for Ovar’coming Together (fighting ovarian cancer), where he serves as President of their Board of Directors, as well as his work in the community including:  President of his HOA, his neighborhood’s representative on the Eagle Creek Neighborhood Alliance, tree plantings, trash pick ups, and many other activities.  Thanks, Bob, for your leadership, volunteer service, knowledge, and advocacy you show.

Second was Nancy Baxter.  Nancy is on Clermont’s Town Board and currently is serving as President.  She has organized numerous cleanups in Clermont and the surrounding area, has painted the curbs on Crawfordsville Road, has worked hard in Miller Park to make it look as it does today, is currently working with Robey Park to plant trees and paint, made sure banners, flowerpots, flags, and holiday decorations are displayed throughout Clermont.  Nancy is also a member of the Clermont Lions Club where she gives of her time and hard work, as well as being a HOST (Helping One Student to Succeed) mentor for Wayne Township Schools.  Thanks, Nancy, for your pride and dedication to the community.

 

 Next came Ed Locke.  Ed is an extremely active volunteer.  He is President of his neighborhood association and active in PTRA (Pike Township Resident’s Association).  He is a volunteer at Eagle Creek Park where he works with school groups, greets many visitors at the airport for the Heartland Film Festival, a photographer and piano player at the Indiana State Museum, volunteer for the Indianapolis Star’s Call for Action Team, works with Artmix, a non-profit that provides inclusionary arts education to people of all abilities, and entertains the elderly with his piano playing at nursing homes.  Thanks, Ed, for your work in making Indianapolis a welcoming and better place to live, work, and play.

 

 Last was recognizing Pike Township Residents’ Association, known as PTRA.  Susan Blair, the President of PTRA, is pictured here.  PTRA is an all-volunteer organization in which the officers and board members put in numerous hours in meetings and research of issues with no compensation.  They provide a forum in their monthly meetings for residents and business owners to meet and discuss regional and local neighborhood concerns.  This can include land use, new developments or modifications to existing ones, city code compliance, parks, transportation, and other concerns or issues in Pike Township.  Thanks, PTRA and Susan Blair for all of your commitment and hard work that you do for Pike Township’s residents and businesses.

  Thanks to all of these individual for everything you do to make Indianapolis, and especially our area, a place where people want to live, work, and play.  It is a real honor to know all of you and to have worked side by side with all of you the last twelve years on many projects.