The eighth annual Katie Hall Public Service Awards luncheon has been pushed back to August 21 at the Genesis Convention Center because of coronavirus pandemic concerns, organizer Junifer Hall confirmed to the Crusader.
Governor Eric J. Holcomb, will deliver the keynote address at the luncheon, sponsored by the Katie Hall Educational Foundation.
The event was scheduled for Friday, April 3, 2020, but with two deaths and 30 coronavirus cases in Indiana, organizers decided to postpone it to prevent the spread of the virus.
Governor Holcomb will join other national and international luminaries being bestowed with the prestigious Award, which has been presented every year since April 2013.
The Katie Hall Public Service Award is named in honor of the legacy of The Honorable Katie Hall, the first African-American elected to serve in the United States House of Representatives from the State of Indiana.
In 1983, U.S. Representative Hall of Indiana’s First Congressional District authored and sponsored House of Representatives Bill, H.R. 3706, commonly known as the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday Law. The federal legislation designated the third Monday in January as America’s official observance of the birthday of Dr. King.
Presently, the Dr. King national holiday is celebrated by millions of people and in some form, in more than 100 countries around the world. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the only African-American in United States history to be recognized with a national holiday by the United States Congress.
A lifelong Hoosier, Governor Holcomb is a veteran of the United States Navy, served as the state’s 51st Lt. Governor, was a trusted advisor to both Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and U.S. Dan Coats (R-IN), and was a former State Chairman of the Indiana Republican Party.
He was elected governor in November 2016, following an unprecedented 106-day campaign and was sworn in on January 9, 2017.
Holcomb is moving the state forward. He led the way for the largest long-term infrastructure investment in the state’s history with the 20-year Next Level Roads Program, which will invest $4.7 billion for roads and bridges in the first five years.
In his first legislative session as governor, he rallied bipartisan support from Indiana lawmakers to expand pre-K for low-income Hoosier kids, and unveiled Next Level Recovery-a one-stop shop for information and resources on the state’s comprehensive and community-based effort to fight the opioid crisis.
Holcomb’s mission aims to make Indiana competitive in the global economy by “bringing the world to Indiana and taking Indiana to the world.” So far, the governor has met with officials and industry leaders in the United Kingdom, Japan, Hungary, and France to showcase Indiana’s assets and build global economic ties.
Throughout his career in public service, Holcomb has earned a reputation of being a consensus builder. He has traveled extensively in the state, talking with residents about how to make Indiana a better place to live, work, and play.
Holcomb is a graduate of Pike High School in Indianapolis and Hanover College in southeastern Indiana, where he majored in U.S. History with a focus on the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. He and his wife Janet, live in the Governor’s Residence on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis.
Other members of the 2020 Class of Honorees for the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Incorporated are: Glenda Baskin Glover, Ph.D., JD, CPA, Supreme Basileus, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and President, Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee; and Mark Spencer, Director, West Side Theater Guild, Gary, Indiana.
For more information contact The Law Office of Attorney John Henry Hall or Junifer Hall, at (219) 883-7711 or (312) 953-5697.