Indiana Minority Business Magazine will honor businesses, organizations and individuals that implement diversity in the workplace and beyond at its annual Champions of Diversity awards dinner Jan. 18 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. in the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown.
The magazine is part of the Recorder Media Group, which also includes the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper.
Two businesses will receive special honors for going exceedingly above and beyond in the areas of diversity and inclusion.
Eli Lilly and Co. will receive the Martin Luther King Freedom Award, and Vera Bradley will be honored with the Rosa Parks Trailblazer Award.
Others who will be honored are:
Abundant Life Church
Abundant Life Church was established in 1953 and had two previous locations. Now located at 7606 E. 82nd Street, Indianapolis, IN., it’s ran by the husband and wife duo, Pastors Peter and Debbie Bosworth.
Abundant Life’s Mission Statement includes living in a vital relationship with God, integrating biblical truth into daily lives, fostering meaningful relationships and establishing exciting avenues of service. Abundant Life works within the community providing food from their Life Café and Farmer’s Market. The church also provides Abundant Life School for the community. Ministries for youth in church include R.A.G.E. Youth Ministry and Cosmic Kids Children’s Ministries. For adults various ministries include Men of Integrity, Women’s Ministry and Divorce Care. Service hours are: Sunday morning worship beginning at 10:30 a.m.; Wednesday evening ministry begins at 7 p.m.
Lorene Burkhart
Author, speaker and philanthropist, Lorene Burkhart is known throughout Central Indiana and beyond. Among many other achievements, The Indianapolis Business Journal named her one of the most influential women. Her latest book, Bootstraps: How Women Pull Themselves Up Through Hard Times, empowers women seeking hope, inspiration and wisdom in the face of adversity. More books authored by Burkhart includes, Sick of Doctors? A Prescription for Patient Empowerment (2010); Animal Tales: It’s All About the Tails (2010); and Home on The Farm: If Chickens Could Talk (2007). Burkhart was also awarded by Girls Inc. for inspiring all girls to be smart, strong and bold.
Tamika Catchings of Catch the Stars Foundation
The WNBA star Tamika Catchings has soared on and off the court. Catching strives to be the best in the competitive world, but her work doesn’t end there. In 2004, she created the Catch the Stars Foundation, which provides youth with programs to help them achieve their dreams. Programs include Discovering the Star in You, Back to School Celebration, Catch the Stars Reading Corner and Catch the Stars Scholar Athlete Reception. Catch the Stars aims to provide goal-setting programs that promote literacy, fitness and mentoring.
Eli Lilly and Company
Diversity should be a depiction of what represents America, a melting pot of people perspectives, ideas and passion to produce a greater outcome. Eli Lilly and Company is not only a leader in the pharmaceutical industry, but also a leader in the corporate world market.
Established in 1876, Eli Lilly, has evolved to keep up with the times. They understand that to be a leader it’s crucial to recognize, groom, and take into account fresh ideas and perspectives of all individuals, regardless of race, gender or national origin. In 2012, Eli Lilly made Diversity Inc’s “Top 50 Companies for Diversity” list. It ranked 29 out of 587 companies that completed the survey. Eli Lilly also has eight affinity groups, which provide forums for employees to gather socially and share ideas outside of work. Their boundaries of diversity extend beyond the traditional concepts of race and sex to also include sexual orientation, national origin and religion. Diversity is truly embedded in the moral fabric of Eli Lilly and has become an intricate part of the way they do business. Eli Lilly will receive our 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. award.
Fed Ex
Fed Ex was built upon innovation, and it continues to be an integral part of the company’s culture and business strategy. FedEx created a new and distinct market over 30 years ago when it began providing customers access to next-business-day delivery service. With nearly 7,000 employees the Indianapolis Fed Ex Hub is the second largest sorting facility in the Fed Ex Worldwide network. Fed Ex supports numerous philanthropic efforts including the United Negro College Fund, National Coalition of 100 Black Women and the Indiana Plan for Equal Employment.
Head Start of Indiana
This organization has made a tremendous impact on children in the State of Indiana and has empowered many families, particularly single mothers, to work while providing their children with the necessary education to enhance their cognitive, social and emotional development. According to the Indiana Commission on Childhood Poverty, in 2011, one in five children in Indiana lived in poverty, and unfortunately, growing up poor and being raised by single parents sometimes go hand in hand. The Head Start program began as just a summer program in 1965, but has grown drastically over the years. Its outreach efforts, particularly in the lower-income African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian ethnic groups, has proved to be a success. Today, there are over 100 Head Start centers in Indiana, and in 2010, the Administration for Children and Families funded Head Start programs for 14,123 children in Indiana. The Indiana Minority Business Magazine is proud to award one of the most influential programs that not only seeks diversity in their clients, but in the workplace as well. Head Start of Indiana is located at 1845 West 18th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
Honda Manufacturing
Said to be one of the most remarkable entities of Honda is a zero waste-to-landfill facility, which means it sends nothing to landfills. Their site stretched across 1,600 acres, yet it was designed to have the smallest environmental footprint of all North American auto plants. Honda prides itself as being built on dreams. These dreams inspire the company to create innovative products enhancing human mobility and benefit society. The company corporate social responsibility is diversity. Honda embraces diversity across all levels, including their associates to suppliers of their dealers. It fosters the kind of innovation and vitality that enables Honda to dream big and create products and technologies that make people’s lives better.
Mary Francis Howard-Hamilton
As a professor at Indiana State University and researcher, Mary Francis Howard-Hamilton has published over 90 articles and book chapters. She focuses on multicultural issues, higher education, gender role socialization, and race and oppression. Her efforts have reached as far as South Africa. She has spent her entire professional career in higher education for a total of 37 years serving at eight institutions. Some of her published work includes “Diverse Millennial Students in College,” “Multiculturalism on Campus: Theories, Models, and Practices for Understanding Diversity and Creating Inclusion.”
Indiana Youth Group
Starting with weekly meetings in the living room of the founders, Indiana Youth Groups (IYG) offices and activity center is now located in a small grey house on the corner of 46th Street, and Binford Boulevard. Indiana Youth Group was founded in 1987 in response to the dismal suicide, homeless, and dropout rates of self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. For the past 26 years IYG has provided support groups, educational workshops, leadership opportunities, and drop-in times at their activity center. In 2012, over 750 youth attended programming at the IYG activity center. Programs are implemented in hopes to help build a more welcoming community for the LGBTQ youth.
St. Vincent New Hope
St. Vincent New Hope is a not-for-profit, faith based organization that kindly assists individuals with developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorders since 1978. Their core values include service of the poor, wisdom, reverence, integrity dedication and creativity. Those values affirm the dignity of all individuals as part of their ministry. The organization also provides group homes, transportation assistance and nursing assistance among other programs, which also offers support services for children and adults. St. Vincent New Hope ultimately connects its mission in the ministry of Jesus, as a healer. They serve all persons with unique attention to those who are underprivileged and helpless.
Telemon
Based in Carmel Indiana Telemon is committed to diversity. They received The Company that Cares Award from United Way of Central Indiana in making exceptional commitments through United Way campaigns and partnerships. They also take great pride in being a Minority Certified Business Enterprise. Established in 1985, Telemon Corporation specializes in solutions for telecommunications, business transactions, energy, assembly and logistics for medical material. It is one of the largest private companies in Indiana.
Tom Morales
Tom Morale started Morales Group in 2003, as he sought to find a way to contribute to the Hispanic community. He knew that having a job was critical to giving those new to the city a chance to flourish in their new home. He believes that businesses can utilize the work ethic and develop the talents of the growing immigrant workforce in Indiana in order to better the lives of employees and contribute to the success of clients.
Morales encourages people to listen to the stories of those around them, to embrace diversity, and see that Indianapolis is not just a crossroads but a destination for many people who share similar stories.
Vera Bradley
Vera Bradley’s headquarter office is located in Fort Wayne, Ind. The organization designs, markets and manufactures handbags, accessories, luggage, paper, gift items and eyewear. Its co-founders, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller founded the company in the basement of Baekgaard’s home in 1982 with just $500. Today, Vera Bradley employs 2,200 people and has more than 75 Vera Bradley stores across the country. Vera Bradley will be receiving the Rosa Parks Trailblazers Award.
Beth White
Elizabeth White was sworn in as Marion County Circuit Court Clerk in 2007. A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Clerk White is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University at Bloomington. She received her juris doctorate degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. White makes an effort to ensure that people exercise their right to vote. In 2008, a year after White took office voter turnout for African-Americans increased 18 percent. White strives to educate people about voting despite their political affiliation, race or gender.
