INDIANAPOLIS – Nominations are currently being accepted for the Charles L. Whistler Award – the most prestigious award given annually to a community volunteer.

This year, the award will again recognize one or two individuals who have brought together the Indianapolis public and private sectors for civic improvement. A subcommittee of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC) selects each recipient, and the Mayor of Indianapolis personally presents the award. The deadline for nominations is Friday, September 23, 2011.

A lawyer and community leader in the grand tradition, Whistler gave his time and extraordinary abilities to the Indianapolis community without asking for power or position in return. At the time of his death in 1981, he was a senior partner at Baker & Daniels and chairman of both the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee’s Urban Growth and Revitalization Task Force and the White River State Park Citizens’ Advisory Committee.

This is the 27th year for the award in Whistler’s honor. Mayor Greg Ballard and the board of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee invite community members to nominate a current leader who exemplifies this vital Indianapolis tradition.

Award nominations are open to anyone in the community, except currently appointed government employees and elected officials. Candidates should reflect the passion and the skill that Charles Whistler displayed for making the public-private partnership work for the overall betterment of the community. It’s also expected that many of each nominee’s efforts, like Whistler’s, have occurred in volunteer roles that far exceed what is simply expected of the individual through his or her employment.

The recipient(s) of the award – presented by the Mayor through the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee – will be recognized at a reception later this fall. Award recipients’ names will also be added to a limestone and granite monument located in the Charles L. Whistler Memorial Plaza at the City Market.

Nomination forms are available online at www.indygipc.org. Completed forms must be returned by Friday, September 23, to the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee by mail at 1901 City-County Building, 200 East Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204; by facsimile at (317) 327-8615; or by e-mail to nclayton@indy.gov.

For more information, call Matt Hendrix at the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee at (317) 327-3820 or (317) 607-3934.