Milt Thompson receives highly esteemed Whistler Award
On December 2, 2021, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC) and Mayor Joe Hogsett presented Milton O. “Milt” Thompson with the 2020 Charles L. Whistler Award during a breakfast ceremony at the Ivy Tech Community College Culinary and Conference Center. The 2020 and 2021 awards were given in a joint ceremony in 2021 due to the pandemic-related cancellation of the Whistler Award celebration in 2020. The annual award recognizes individuals who, outside the regular duties of their chosen professions, have brought together the public and private sectors for civic improvement in Indianapolis.
Milt Thompson, attorney and of counsel at Bleeke Dillon Crandall and President and CEO of sports, entertainment, and recreation management consulting firm Grand Slam, has long been dedicated to making Indianapolis the vibrant city it is today. A First Team All-American baseball player at Wittenberg University, Thompson has an extensive history of successfully combining his love of sports and community. He co-founded RBI of Indy (formerly Play Ball Indiana), a nonprofit whose mission is to reach and serve Indianapolis youth through baseball and softball. Former General Counsel to the Pan Am Games, he has served on the boards of the IHSAA Foundation, Indiana Sports Corp, and Indianapolis Indians Baseball Club, as well as on the Capital Improvement Board, Indiana State Lottery Commission, and Visit Indy Tourism Tomorrow Board. He played key roles in the creation of the Central Indiana Community Foundation and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Indiana, and the Crown Hill Board of Managers, Crown Hill Heritage Foundation, English Foundation, Indianapolis Foundation, and his collegiate alma maters have all benefitted from his board service.
“The Whistler Award and winners Milt Thompson and Murray Clark remind us of the years of personal commitment it takes to build a great city,” said GIPC Board Chair Mary Chandler, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Community Relations at Cummins Inc. and CEO of the Cummins Foundation. “They inspire us to do more.”
“The Charles L. Whistler Award is named for an individual who helped to make and re-make the city of Indianapolis through a commitment to both public and private sectors,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. “Milt Thompson and Murray Clark exemplify that commitment and build on Whistler’s legacy, each in their own way.”
Thompson’s many professional and civic contributions have been recognized by the Center for Leadership Development, Indianapolis Business Journal, Indianapolis Monthly Magazine, IU Maurer School of Law, National Center for Black Philanthropy, and Phi Kappa Psi. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Wittenberg University in Ohio, he earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from IU Maurer School of Law. In 2001, he was inducted into the Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. Thompson’s hobbies include attending sporting events, cooking, singing, golfing, and working on his new television show, “Playing for Keeps” on WHMB TV 40. He is an active member of Bethel United Methodist Church and enjoys spending time with neighbors and family, including daughter Macey (Michael), granddaughter Gwenyth, brother Harold (Ethel), and nephews Malcolm (Kenya), Marc, and Brian.
To view a recording of the award presentation, please click here. To see more photos of the event, please visit our Facebook page.