This year marks the 10th anniversary of Indiana Minority Business Magazine (IMBM). The publication focuses on business, lifestyle and diversity and is the only publication regionally that has a target audience inclusive of all minorities.
On Jan. 16, IMBM will host its 10th Champions of Diversity Awards Dinner which honors individuals and organizations that have made great strides in the areas of diversity and inclusion,
“It is important for us to recognize diversity advocates because what they do is really extraordinary,” said Shannon Williams, IMBM president. “Not too long ago, minorities and women in this country were prohibited from voting, working in certain places, and even eating at select restaurants. We can’t take the strides this country has made for granted. Because we know our past, we honor the present and work to preserve the future by recognizing some very deserving recipients each year at our Champions of Diversity Awards Dinner.”
The 2015 awardees include: Gary, Ind. Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson; consulting firm Shrewsberry & Associates; and John T. Thompson CEO of Thompson Distribution Company. The three will receive the evening’s top honors; the Rosa Parks Trailblazer Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Award, and the inaugural William G. Mays Entrepreneur Award respectively.
Read on for more on all 14 of this year’s award recipients:
Terri Cope-Walton (news director, WRTV-6)
On Jan. 9, 2013, Ohio native Terri Cope-Walton was named news director at WRTV-6, making it the first time an African-American woman would hold that position in Indianapolis. In her first year as news director, the Indiana Broadcasters Association named WRTV the station of the year in 2013.
Cornerstone Center for the Arts
Cornerstone Center for the Arts located in Muncie, Ind., serves the East Central Indiana community with a diverse range of artistic and educational programming. The center, housed in a former Masonic temple recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, has become a hub for those interested in community awareness and art appreciation. Cornerstone places high importance on inclusion and encourages the community to practice equality regardless of socio-economic status.
Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities
The Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities is an independent state agency whose mission is to promote public policy, which leads to the independence, productivity and inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of society. The council, celebrated its 20th anniversary last month.
Indianapolis Indians
Indy’s own minor league baseball team, the Indianapolis Indians have been entertaining Hoosiers with America’s favorite pastime since 1902. The mission of the organization, beyond athletic excellence, is to offer Indians baseball at Victory Field as affordable, memorable family fun. The team’s practice of outstanding community service includes non-profit nights at the stadium, and the annual Civil Rights Game.
Henry Jackson (owner, Millennium Steel)
Henry Jackson, a veteran of the United States Army, started his business career after serving in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Jackson rose from working as a financial planning manager to becoming the president of a $170 million European subsidiary of a U.S. multinational corporation prior to starting Millennium Steel. The company also has the distinction of being the largest minority-owned enterprise in South western Indiana.
NCAA Office of Inclusion
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a non-profit agency tasked with regulating the athletic programs of several colleges and universities in both the United States and Canada. The office’s key areas of focus include: student-athletes with disabilities, race and ethnicity, international student-athletes, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and women in intercollegiate athletics.
Richard Propes (author, minister, advocate)
Richard Propes, is an outspoken writer, minister, and child advocate whose efforts have been recognized with many honors including Sagamore of the Wabash and the Donna J. Stone Award, Prevent Child Abuse America’s highest honor. A graduate of Martin University, Propes is the author of “The Hallelujah Life” and his book, “Original Skin.”
Joe Slash (former CEO, Indianapolis Urban League)
Joseph Slash is the retired president and chief executive officer of the Indianapolis Urban League. He joined the eague in 2002 as its chief operating officer and retired in October 2014. Slash is a founding member of the Diversity Roundtable of Central Indiana and a former member of the Board of Directors of the United Way of Central Indiana. He has been honored as a Sagamore of the Wabash, the Jaycee’s Outstanding Young Man of the Year; is listed in Who’s Who in Black America.
Tom Snyder (president, Ivy Tech Community College)
Appointed in 2007, Snyder leads the strategic, academic and operational processes of Indiana’s largest and fastest growing college, serving more than 200,000 students annually at 30 campuses and 100 learning centers. Snyder was also selected by President Barack Obama to serve on a Roundtable on Affordability and Productivity in Higher Education.
Brenda Stallings (CEO, Matrix Integration)
Stallings began her career as a typesetter and proofreader for Psychology Today and Marriage Magazine. She then started her own computer company, which later merged with a telecommunications company to form Matrix Integration. Matrix Integration has achieved one of the Best Places to Work recognition in Indiana for six years by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
University of Southern Indiana
USI, which is located in Evansville, Ind., has an enrollment of nearly 9,500 undergraduate and graduate students in 80 majors. The university’s commitment to diversity includes a host of on-campus and off-campus efforts as well as study-abroad opportunities in more than 60 countries.
Shrewsberry & Associates
*Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Award Recipient
President and CEO William Shrewsberry, has held several public offices, including deputy mayor of the City of Indianapolis, executive director of the White River State Park, commissioner of Indiana Department of Administration and executive assistant to the governor.
John T. Thompson (CEO, Thompson Distribution Company)
*William G. Mays Entrepreneur Award Recipient
In addition to Thompson Distribution Company, prominent Indiana business owner John T. Thompson serves as the chairman and CEO of the following Indianapolis-based companies, First Electric Supply Company LLC, a distributor of electrical supplies and equipment; CMID, an architectural and engineering design firm; and BC Countertops, a construction firm.
Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson (mayor, Gary, Ind.)
*Rosa Parks Trailblazer Award Recipient
Mayor Freeman-Wilson is a native of Gary, Ind. and a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Freeman-Wilson was elected the first woman to lead the steel city of Gary and the first African-American female mayor in Indiana.
