2020 was a rough year that saw every aspect of our daily lives turned upside-down. Businesses found themselves under restrictions that not only limited the number of people who could be inside their establishment, but also put a dent in their ability to make a profit, and nearly every non-profit in the area saw a dip in donations thanks to the cancellation of annual fundraising events. However, as the old saying goes, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going."

We see it any time a problem of any kind arises. Certain people step up to lead the charge, refusing to let the situation get the best of them and their community with innovative and creative ideas. It's those individuals, and those who see a need within their community and work toward creating a solution, that Leadership Evansville looks to recognize each year with their Celebration of Leadership Awards.

Earlier this week, the organization announced the nominees for this year's award ceremony, which like last year, will be held virtually, being live streamed on their social media channels, as well as on WNIN-TV Thursday, March 18th beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Nominations for the awards were submitted by the general public back in November and December in the categories of Arts, Community and Neighborhood, Education,
Government, Public Service and Environment, along with Health and Social Service. Leadership Evansville then narrowed all the nominations down to the following 120 official nominees:

BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS

  • Arts
    • Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District
    • Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra
    • Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana
  • Community & Neighborhood
    • The Catholic Diocese of Evansville
    • Core Crew of Habitat for Humanity of Evansville
    • Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
    • EVPL To Go Curbside Pickup Service
    • EVSC Office of Food & Nutrition
    • Field & Main Bank
    • Gibson County Chamber of Commerce
    • Good Girlfriends Sisterhood
    • JD Sheth Foundation
    • Local Lenders Providing PPP Loans
    • McKim's IGA
    • P-47 Foundation
    • Small City, Big Eats
  • Education
    • EVSC Virtual Academy
    • Ivy Tech Community College Completion Academy
    • Optimal Rhythms/ACCESS Academy
    • Purdue Extension - Vanderburgh County
    • What Matters Most Evansville
  • Government, Public Service, & Environment
    • AmeriQual Group and EVSC Partnership
    • Berry Global
    • Citizens' Climate Lobby - Evansville Chapter
    • Evansville Climate Action Plan
    • EVSC Office of Technology
    • Southwest Indiana Chamber of Commerce
    • Vanderburgh County Health Department
  • Health & Social Services
    • Ascension St. Vincent Evansville COVID-19 Incident Command
    • Ascension St. Vincent Evansville COVID-19 Nurses
    • Ascension St. Vincent Evansville Infection Prevention Specialists
    • Ascension St. Vincent Evansville Respiratory Emergency Department
    • Berry Global
    • Chemo Buddies Inc
    • Gilda's Club Evansville
    • Little Lambs of Evansville
    • Market on Main EVV

INDIVIDUALS

  • Arts
    • Kimberly Bredemeier
    • Kaman Hillenburg
  • Community & Neighborhood
    • Chuck Armstrong
    • Leslie Asbury
    • Amy Bouchie
    • Bruce Bryant
    • Vera Campbell
    • Xavier Davidson
    • Amanda Deutsch and Emily English
    • Stephanie El Tawil
    • Alex Gale
    • Sean Kuykendall
    • Emil Lamar
    • Amy Lutzel
    • James MacLeod
    • Robin Mallery
    • Ryan McCann
    • Sr. Jane Michelle McClure
    • Cathy Myers
    • Dan Oates
    • Jaimie Sheth
    • Chet Todd
    • Lisa Vaughan
  • Education
    • Melissa Bippus
    • Marisela De la Parra
    • Nichole Freiberger
    • Erin Gibson
    • Pamela Hopson
    • Bruceann King, MSW
    • Dr. David Smith
  • Government, Public Service, & Environment
    • Tara Barney
    • Governor Andy Beshear
    • Marco DeLucio and David Jones
    • Kendall Paul
    • Dr. Thomas Stratton
    • Health & Social Services
    • Dr. April Abbott
    • Diana Butler
    • Jara Dillingham
    • Dr. Heidi Dunniway
    • Dr. Michael Hobson
    • Dr. Gina Huhnke
    • Andrea Lantz
    • Dolly Parton
    • Shawn McCoy and Dr. James Porter (representing Deaconess Health System)

PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS

  • Arts
    • Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science
    • EVV Jetstream Music Fest
    • Millie's Downtown Dino Trail
    • The Nutcracker Ballet Virtual Field Trip with Children's Center for Dance Education with the EPO/EYPO and Evansville Children's Choir
    • Pride of Bosse Marching Band
    • River Kitty Cat Café Public Mural
  • Community & Neighborhood
    • Black Chamber of Commerce
    • BOLD Holdings
    • The COVID-19 Crisis Response Fund of the Greater Evansville Region
    • Feed Evansville
    • Food & Nutrition Student Organization at USI
    • Habitat For Humanity of Evansville - St. Theresa Place
    • Missing Pieces Community Development Corporation
    • Need a Neighbor
    • Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center & Habitat for Humanity of Evansville
    • Story Trail
  • Education
    • 4T Academy
    • At Home Classroom
    • Greater Evansville Youth Parent Series
    • Ivy Tech Community College Adult Basic Education
    • Ivy Tech Community College Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics Technology
    • Joshua Academy Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF)
    • New Tech Institute STEM Fest
    • New Tech Institute Thunderbolts FIRST Robotics Team
    • Read Evansville
    • The Talking Library
    • Teacher Locker
  • Government, Public Service, & Environment
    • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Team at EVPL
    • EVV Solar Project
    • The Garvin Foundation
    • Handle with Care - Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office
    • Reopen Evansville Task Force
    • UE Center for Innovation & Change: COVID Between the Coasts
    • Urban Seeds Meal Cook
  • Health & Social Services
    • Deaconess COVID-19 Testing Sites
    • Evansville Independent Self-Isolation Center
    • EVSC Outreach
    • Initiating Fabric Mask Sewing, Locally and Far Beyond
    • Mask Makers
    • Sister Joanna's Table
    • UE Center for Innovation & Change: Evansville Adaptive Watersports
    • Youth First, Inc.

Congratulations to all of this year's nominees, and win or lose, thank you for everything you do to make our community the best possible place to live, work, and raise a family.

[Source: Leadership Everyone Press Release]

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