Fay H. Williams and Jerry D. Semler receive highly esteemed Whistler Award
The Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee presented Fay H. Williams and Jerry D. Semler with the Charles L. Whistler Award. The annual award recognizes one or two individuals who, outside the regular duties of their chosen professions, have brought together the public and private sectors for civic improvement in Indianapolis.
Fay Williams has been a driving force in creating forums and platforms where people of different views and perspectives can work together to achieve a common goal. An attorney by profession, Fay has applied her broad range of skills to promote family involvement, leadership development, and community action to transform Indianapolis. She has lent her leadership to the boards of The Children’s Museum, where she chaired its Diversity and Governance Committees, the Central Indiana Regional Blood Center, Visiting Nurses Association of Central Indiana, the Community Service Council of Greater Indianapolis, United Way of Greater Indianapolis, National Civic League, Indianapolis Economic Development Corporation, and countless more. She was a founding board member of the Indianapolis Urban League and President of the Indianapolis Chapter of the Coalition of 100 Black Women, and has been recognized as a B’nai B’rith Woman of the Year, the Mary Behune Award from the National Council of Neegro Women, the Distinguished Citizen Award from the National Municipal League, and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Martin University.
A successful businessman and philanthropist, Jerry Semler is uniquely able to bring together his contacts from the corporate world, those in government and those in the not-for-profit and educational sectors together for mutual benefit. His accomplishments extend well beyond serving as CEO of American United Life. He is active in more than 20 business and civic organizations, including Noble of Indiana. He has long supported urban Catholic education and has a long-standing leadership role with the Center for Leadership Development. A graduate of Purdue University and Stanford, he has been honored with numerous awards, including an Award of Merit from the NCAA Citizenship through Sports Alliance, the Horatio Alger Award from the Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis, the Jaycee Keyman Award, twice as a Sagamore of the Wabash, and is listed in the Junior Achievement of Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame.
