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Friday, January 24, 2025 Indianapolis Recorder Page A9COD%u00a8Continued from A1This ad was not paid for by customer rates.REGULAR CHANGES OF YOUR FURNACE FILTER KEEP YOUR BILL FROM GOING OFF KILTER!It%u2019s the little things we do that can make a big difference on our bill. Take it from Ways to Save Man%u2014the more you conserve, the more you can save!Learn more at CitizensEnergyGroup.comPRESIDENT%u00a8Continued from A1Bryce Austin Fincher, the son of Sharon Allen-Simmons and Alvin Austin Fincher was born on January 8, 1972 in Indianapolis Indiana. He attended Heritage Christian School and was a graduate of North Central High School. He attended Kentucky State University from 1990 to 1991 and Knoxville College from 1991 to 1993. He was a member of Cathedral of Praise Bibleway Church.Bryce was employed by Navient Solutions, LLC as a Technical Security Analyst. He worked for Navient for eight years. Bryce was a %u201ctechie%u201d who was detail-oriented and was especially great with computers. He was also a musician who loved to make beats and music tracks and did business as Business As Usual Publishing LLC. He loved to record and made recordings through the years with other musicians. He also loved to DJ.When Bryce was young, he participated in sports and was especially proud of the trophies he won playing baseball. He enjoyed going to the Wheeler%u2019s Boys Club, where he participated in karate. He participated in the summer camp at Eli Lily%u2019s and was also a Boy Scout. Bryce was fun loving and had a great sense of humor. His cousins can tell you how playful he was while also being someone who could be a mediator to keep harmony if needed.Bryce cherished the time he spent with his son, Nathaniel. They went to the barber together and had father son adventures which were captured in the many pictures they took together. He was so proud of his son, who has grown up to be a fine young man who excels in school and has a bright future.His life will forever be cherished in the lives of his mother, Sharon Allen-Simmons (Michael Simmons); his only child, Nathaniel L. Fincher and Nathaniel%u2019s mother, Diana Powell; Bryce%u2019s grandmother, Delores Reed; his aunts and uncles; and a host of cousins and friends.Please visit dignitymemorial.com for funeral arrangement details and to send condolences.OBITUARYMinority Business Magazine. The gala saw more than 1,000 attendees and 25 awardees this year.%u201cAs president and CEO of the Recorder Media Group, I am deeply honored by the incredible success of our 18th annual Champions of Diversity Awards,%u201d Robert Shegog said. %u201cThis event has become a cornerstone of our mission to celebrate and uplift the individuals and organizations working tirelessly to make our communities stronger, more inclusive and full of opportunity.%u201dReginald and Tracey Jones, owner operators of several Indianapolis-based McDonald%u2019s franchises and founders of McMiracle on 38th Street, received the William G. Mays Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award.Dennis E. Bland, president of the Center for Leadership and Development received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Award.%u00a0Shannon Williams, chief operating officer and executive vice president of The Mind Trust, received the Rosa Parks Trailblazer Award.%u201cIt%u2019s humbling, but it%u2019s also a call to action of sorts, to ensure that everything I do, I continue to just act with courage and put into motion themes, and that will really impact people of color, not just today, but for generations to come,%u201d Williams told the Recorder. %u201cI think this year%u2019s class of award recipients are just phenomenal, and so to be included in that number is incredibly humbling, and I am immensely grateful for it.%u201dAndrea L. Neely, president and chief executive officer of the Simon Youth Foundation, Inc. received the Lifetime Education Achievement Award.%u00a0The Amos Brown Community Advocate Award, which was presented by members of the late Amos Brown%u2019s family, was given to Marshawn Wolley, president and CEO of Black Onyx Management.Deana Haworth, chief executive officer of Hirons, a newly certified Women%u2019s Business Enterprise, received the President%u2019s Choice Award.%u201cSeeing so many people from diverse backgrounds come together on Friday night is a testament to the power of unity and the shared commitment to building a brighter future for Indiana,%u201d Shegog added. %u201cIt fills me with pride to know that the Recorder continues to serve as a platform for recognizing these extraordinary efforts, and I look forward to continuing this tradition for years to come.%u201d2025 Champions of Diversity%u00a0Fred Payne, president and CEO of United Way of Central Indiana, received the Community Impact Award.Tamira Chapman, CEO of Storehouse in a Box, LLC, received the Social Innovation Mastermind Award.Dr. Lorenzo L. Esters, president of the Indianapolis Foundation, received the Visionary Leader Award.Sharon Barner, vice president & chief administrative ofi cers of Cummins, received the Sapphire Diversity Maverick Award.Kanwal Prakash %u201cKP%u201d Singh, founder and owner of KP Singh Designs (A Partnership), received the Civic Empowerment Award.Clarissa Nowlin, chief fi nancial ofi cer & controller of Professional Management Enterprises, Inc., received the Master of Finance Award.Daryle L. Johnson, vice president of Strategy, Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council, received the Distinguished Business Achiever Award.Melina Kennedy, chief executive ofi cer, and Latoya Alexander Botteron, president and chief fi nancial ofi cer of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), received the Bridge to Impact Award.Darryl Lockett, health equity director of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Indiana, received the Rising Star of Excellence Award.Dennis Trinkle, senior vice president of talent, strategy and partnerships at TechPoint, received the Innovation in Tech Leadership Award.Tamara Cypress, associate director of communications & creative design for Carrier Corporation, received the Changemaker Award.Travis Brown, founder and CEO of Mojo Up Marketing + Media, received the Breaking Barriers Award.Patrina Williams, CEO of Cherishing Lives Personal Care Services, received the Golden Heart Award.Leon Williamson, market president of iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group and iHeartMedia Indianapolis, received the Stewardship Young Leader Award.Steven Meyer, chief executive ofi cer, and Stephanie Quick, president of Intend Indiana, received the Beacon of Hope Award.Zachary Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, U.S. Department of Justice, received the Social Justice & Equity Award.Katie Lucas, president of Lucas Oil, received the Exemplary Service Award.Seth Morales, chief executive ofi cer of Morales Group, Inc., received the Emerald Leadership Award.Tracy Ellis-Ward, senior vice president for diversity, equity & inclusion for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, received the DEI Trailblazer Award.The 2025 Champions of Diversity was sponsored by Diversity Press, Bank of America, Lucas Oil, Eskenazi Health, The Indianapolis Foundation, Carrier and The Mind Trust.Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.actions but also on a broader, more complicated web of national and global forces.The president%u2019s role and powersLaura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis, described how one of the largest jobs of the president is coming into play this week %u2014 as Trump appoints his cabinet positions and confirmation hearings are taking place.%u201cPeople will come and leave the office, but the (high cabinet) appointments for a president are pretty important,%u201d Wilson said. %u201cIt establishes who he will be working with.%u201d More broadly, the president plays a large role in policy, Wilson explains. Executive orders and legislation in Congress are two main powers the president has.%u201cFor these first two years, President Trump will have the benefit of enjoying a unified government where the House and Senate are both controlled by republicans, but the challenge is that unified government just means it%u2019s the same party controlling the three elected branches of office, it does not mean that everyone from any given party feels the exact same way on all the issues,%u201d Wilson said. In terms of power abroad, foreign policy and international issues are also main components of Trump%u2019s role. %u201cHow the United States plays a role or doesn%u2019t play a role in what%u2019s going on in the Middle Eastern conflict and what%u2019s going on with Russia and Ukraine, those are all in the purview and interest of the president as well,%u201d Wilson said. Checks and balances on presidential powerVetoing legislation and appointing those who serve the courts are two major powers the president holds in the checks and balance system. These powers are not all-encompassing, however. Congress can override presidential vetoes, and the Supreme Court can determine executive authority to have been overreached, two checks and balances that have power over the president.%u201cAbout half the country is always excited and half the country is very upset after any given election, especially for those who are worried about unrestrained power,%u201d Wilson said. %u201cThere%u2019s a checks and balances system intricately drawn into the constitution to try and prevent that from happening or any power form being abused.%u201dGas prices and infl ation: who is to blame?Many have argued the president is to blame for rising gas prices or the cost of eggs at the store, but, as Wilson explains, the system is more complicated, and the president doesn%u2019t have ultimate control over it.%u201cThe president has very limited control over (gas prices and inflation),%u201d Wilson said. %u201cThis is probably true for many policy areas that Americans will subscribe blame or credit towards the president. The president has more control over issues of inflation, but those are still not absolute.%u201dThe system is complicated, Wilson explains. The international innerworkings of oil pricing and economic systems does not come down to the president and is not within his scope of powers.Local government versus federal governmentIn terms of gas prices and inflation, Americans are right that those issues are at a federal level, but they cannot be attributed to the president.%u201cIt%u2019s not necessarily wrong to focus on the federal government for these issues because that%u2019s largely where the decisions play out, but it involves multiple levels, multiple branches, multiple actors, multiple agencies that oftentimes aren%u2019t necessarily on the same page and can%u2019t act very quickly,%u201d Wilson said.On a smaller scale, the everyday lives of Hoosiers are most impacted by local government. Education, public safety, infrastructure, zoning and land use and utilities are all run by local government. Education funding, health care, criminal laws, driver%u2019s licensing and voting laws come from the state. As Wilson describes, however, many local elections ride on misconceptions about the president and parties.%u201cPeople don%u2019t like the current president so they%u2019re not going to vote for that person%u2019s party, even though the state legislature may have nothing to do with that,%u201d Wilson said. Understanding how federal power, presidential power, congressional power and local powers interact is an essential step in understanding how the next four years might play out as Trump takes office, Wilson explains. The misconceptions about presidential powers can muddy the waters of policies and government that help voters make informed decisions.%u201cIt%u2019s a great time for Americans to remember that there is limited executive authority,%u201d Wilson said. %u201cI think it provides an opportunity for people who either love or hate the leadership to re-examine. The president really isn%u2019t responsible for that many things, but, in conjunction with other people, the president does play a large role.%u201d To read a full list of Trump%u2019s executive orders, visit whitehouse.gov/news.This reporting is made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis African-American Quality of Life Initiative, empowering our community with essential health insights.%u00a0https://iaaqli.org/Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.