Carla Clark | For The Republic Dr. Jim Roberts, superintendent of BCSC, speaks during the 2023 Columbus North High School commencement ceremony in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, May 27, 2023.
INDIANAPOLIS — Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Superintendent Jim Roberts was one of three who received the 2023 Samuel C. Schlosser Volunteers of the Year Award from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
The award was presented at a luncheon presented by Cummins, Inc.
Honored in addition to Roberts were Lori Danielson, president of leadership development consulting firm GoTime Coaching LLC in Terre Haute and Andy Bowman, partner with the Dentons Bingham Greenebaum law firm in Indianapolis.
“All of our volunteers are instrumental in carrying out the Indiana Chamber’s mission,” remarks president and CEO Kevin Brinegar. “We’re delighted to spotlight Lori, Jim and Andy in 2023 – all longtime partners of our organization. Whatever the project’s focus or magnitude – within the Indiana Chamber and their respective communities – they exhibit an indomitable spirit of giving back.”
Roberts brings his passion for mental health to the Wellness Council of Indiana (WCI), a subsidiary of the Indiana Chamber, where he’s served on its board of advisors for more than a decade. He weaves wellness into daily life for employees and students alike at BCSC, which is comprised of 17 schools. Among his contributions with the WCI is serving as a presenter at its annual Wellness Summit, a two-day event that brings together Hoosier health and wellness professionals offering best practices to enhance well-being for Indiana’s workplaces and communities.
“Businesses from across the state learn a variety of ways to take care of their staff,” Roberts observes. “It’s always great to see the interaction and to believe that people are going back and making a difference in their worlds. If we’re able to all do that, we bring down costs of health insurance, cost of medical services, all those kinds of things because we become a healthier group of people.”
For the past two decades, Bowman has been involved in authoring and editing the Indiana Chamber’s Environmental Compliance Handbook. The publication helps businesses stay up to date with everchanging rules and regulations as well as avoid costly non-compliance fines and penalties. In addition, he’s served as a presenter throughout the years at a variety of Indiana Chamber conferences and seminars pertaining to environmental issues.
Bowman enjoys “helping other people solve really complex problems” as an attorney – specifically in environmental law “because it’s challenging and always changing. No two cases are the same.”
Danielson takes pride in her work with the Institute for Workforce Excellence (IWE), a nonprofit subsidiary of the Indiana Chamber. Currently, she’s chair of the IWE’s governing and advisory boards. Danielson first joined forces with the Indiana Chamber in 2018, partnering with Work and Learn Indiana (formerly Indiana INTERNnet), a free work-based learning matching marketplace connecting Hoosier employers, experience seekers and education institutions.
“I really appreciate the Chamber for working to bring individuals from outside of Indianapolis from different backgrounds to have a diverse perspective on this particular work, which is so important,” Danielson stresses. “We need more individuals to come to the table and bring their local and regional experience to our state. The more business can come along to help mentor and expose youth to career paths, the better off we’re all going to be.”
The 2023 Annual Volunteer of the Year Awards Luncheon was also sponsored by Dentons, The National Bank of Indianapolis and Ruoff Mortgage.
Later today, the 34th Annual Awards Dinner, presented by Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, will feature current football television analyst and 2007 Super Bowl champion with the Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy as keynote speaker.
Awards also will be presented to U.S. Sen. Todd Young, Birch Bayh-Richard Lugar Government Leader of the Year; Paul Thrift of Thompson Thrift, Ogletree Deakins Business Leader of the Year; Mario Rodriguez of Indianapolis Airport Authority and the Indianapolis International Airport, Dynamic Leader of the Year; and Community of the Year, Boone County.
PNC is the opening reception sponsor. Corporate sponsors are Ambassador Enterprises, LLC; AT&T Indiana; Eli Lilly and Company; French Lick Resort; Indiana University; Indianapolis Colts; NIPSCO; OneAmerica; Polaris Marine; Tilson; and Zimmer Biomet.
Contributing sponsors are AECOM Hunt; Cherry Bekaert; Corteva Agriscience; Fineline Printing Group; Indiana Soybean Alliance/Indiana Corn Marketing Council; Inside INdiana Business, a division of IBJ Media; Leaf Software Solutions; Markey’s; Subaru of Indiana Automotive; The Kroger Co.; and Witham Health Services.
