The Honorable Eric J. Holcomb, Indiana’s 51st Governor, will keynote the Eighth Annual Katie Hall Public Service Awards Luncheon sponsored by the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Inc. on Friday, April 3, 2020, at the Genesis Convention Center in downtown Gary.
Governor Holcomb will join other national and international luminaries who have received 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 persons 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, 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. Senator 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 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 alone.
In his first legislative session as governor, he rallied bipartisan support from Indiana lawmakers to expand pre-K for low-income Hoosier kids, and he 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. His work is underscored by Holcomb’s commitment to providing great government service for Hoosier taxpayers.
Holcomb’s mission is to make Indiana competitive in the global economy by “bringing the world to Indiana and taking Indiana to the world.” He has met with officials and industry leaders in the United Kingdom, Japan, Hungary, France, and more to showcase Indiana’s assets and build global economic ties.
During his career in public service, Holcomb has earned a reputation of being a consensus builder. He has traveled extensively in the state, talking with Hoosiers about how to make Indiana a better place to live, work, and play.
The governor 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 with their dog, Henry, in the Governor’s Residence on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis.
Past recipients of the Katie Hall Educational Foundation’s highest award are: former Gary Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher; former U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-IN), a co-sponsor of H.R. 3706, in the United States Senate; Ronald Reagan (Posthumous), 40th President of the United States of America, who signed “The King Bill” in 1983; U.S. Representative Katie Hall (Posthumous)(D-IN), author and sponsor of H.R. 3706 in the United States Congress; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Posthumous), civil rights icon; Edward M. Kennedy (Posthumous)(D-MA), the primary sponsor of H.R. 3706 in the United States Senate; Attorney Willie E. Gary; Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO and Chairman, The King Center, Atlanta, Georgia; Attorney Karen Freeman-Wilson, former mayor, City of Gary; Lee Hamilton, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Margot Shetterly, author of the best-selling novel, “Hidden Figures;” Attorney Juan R. Thomas, 75th President of the National Bar Association; and Editor/Publisher Dorothy R. Leavell, The Crusader News Group.
Other members of the 2020 Class of Honorees for the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Inc. 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.
General Admission for the Luncheon is $55.00 per person, and tickets for the VIP Reception and Luncheon are $75.00 per person.
For more information contact the Law Office of Attorney John Henry Hall, Ed.D., LL.M. or Junifer Hall, JD, MPA, MBA at (219) 883-7711 or (312) 953-5697.
