Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee to Recognize Community Leaders Tamika Catchings and Jeff Smulyan with the 2024 Charles L. Whistler Award
The Whistler Award is the Mayor’s highest honor for civic leadership recognizing those dedicated to progress in Indianapolis through public-private partnerships and beyond
INDIANAPOLIS – The Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC) and Mayor Joe Hogsett are pleased to announce Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings and entrepreneur and founder of Emmis Corporation Jeff Smulyan as the recipients of the 2024 Charles L. Whistler Award. The annual award, given by the Mayor of Indianapolis since 1983, recognizes individuals who, outside the regular duties of their chosen professions, have brought together the public and private sectors for civic improvement in Indianapolis.
“This is an exciting year for the Whistler Award where we recognize not one, but two outstanding leaders who have elevated and enhanced Indianapolis’ reputation as the ultimate sports, entertainment, and tourism destination,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “With long careers that span both the private and public sectors, Tamika and Jeff both blazed the trail for the success we are experiencing today and will see for decades to come.”
One of the most prolific athletes of our generation, Tamika Catchings is widely considered one of the greatest women’s basketball players to ever play. However, it is Tamika’s impact off the court that has made her especially beloved by so many across the city and state. In 2004, she founded the Catch the Stars Foundation which has helped more than 15,000 local youth set goals, dream bigger, and achieve more. Tamika is also an entrepreneur and business owner. Tea’s Me Café has become a staple in the neighborhoods it serves, offering free community programming and events and giving Indianapolis residents safe spaces to connect and network. Additionally, she has served as a board member of the Indianapolis Airport Authority since 2018, was co-chair of the 2024 NBA All-Star Indianapolis Board of Directors and most recently, was named a co-chair for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend.
As the founder and Chairman of the Board of Emmis Corporation, Jeff Smulyan not only revolutionized the broadcasting industry but has also dedicated himself to enriching the community through his extensive civic involvement. Viewed globally as an award-winning media innovator, Jeff has a long history of building successful media operations with loyal audiences in sports and entertainment. Jeff’s service to his community has always extended well beyond his business role. A founding CEO member of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, he also served as the organization’s Board Chair. Over the years, he has mentored dozens of emerging business leaders through his work at Emmis, his many civic engagements, and his service to the Indianapolis Jewish community at Congregation Beth-El Zedeck. Notably, Jeff also served on the committee that secured and hosted the 2012 Super Bowl.
Mayor Hogsett will present the 2024 Charles L. Whistler Awards at a breakfast ceremony on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at the Ivy Tech Community College Culinary & Conference Center. This year’s title sponsor is Faegre Drinker. For information on tickets, tables, and sponsorships, visit https://gipc.memberclicks.net/whistleraward.
Last November, Mayor Hogsett presented the 2023 award to J. Albert Smith Jr., former Indiana Chairman for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co..
About the Charles L. Whistler Award:
Charles L. Whistler understood working for the future. To ensure Whistler’s legacy lives on, GIPC instituted the Charles L. Whistler Award – the most prestigious award given annually to a community volunteer. The Charles L. Whistler Award continues to honor the legacy of Whistler, a lawyer and community leader in the grand tradition, who gave his time and extraordinary abilities to the Indianapolis community without asking for power or position in return.
The names of Tamika Catchings and Jeff Smulyan will be added to a limestone and granite monument containing past award recipients’ names and located in the Charles L. Whistler Memorial Plaza at the City Market in downtown Indianapolis.
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Past Whistler Award Recipients:
1983: Thomas H. Lake
1984: Thomas W. Binford & David R. Frick
1985: Frank P. Lloyd
1986: Phillip R. Duke & Thomas W. Moses
1987: Mattie M. Coney
1988: Donald W. Tanselle
1989: Ramon L. Humke & Henry C. Ryder
1990: Richard O. Morris
1991: Eldon Campbell
1992: Michael A. Carroll
1993: William W. Mays & James T. Morris
1994: Fred C. Tucker, Jr.
1995: Robert H. Reynolds
1996: Thomas M. Miller & Sam H. Jones
1997: Dr. Gene Sease
1998: Jack Shaw & Dan & Lori Efroymson
1999: Andrew Paine & Yvonne Shaheen
2000: Rev. T. Garrott Benjamin & Michael Maurer
2001: Jerry Semler & Fay Williams
2003: Alex Carroll & Rev. Charles Williams
2004: Dr. Beurt Servaas & Gerald Bepko
2005: Joseph D. Barnette, Jr. & G. Frederick Glass
2007: P.E. MacAllister & Marge Tarplee
2008: Patrick J. Early
2009: John T. Neighbours & Sallie W. Rowland
2010: Michael G. Browning
2011: Samuel L. Odle
2012: David Shane
2013: John M. Mutz
2014: Martha Lamkin
2015: Thomas A. King
2016: Sarah & John Lechleiter
2017: Andre B. Lacy
2018: Marianne Glick
2019: Bill Shrewsberry
2020/2021: Milt Thompson/J. Murray Clark
2022: David L. Johnson
2023: J. Albert Smith Jr
More about Charles L. Whistler:
As an Indianapolis Star editorial noted shortly after his death in 1981, “Charles L. Whistler was a visionary, talented and energetic prime mover who had a leading role in shaping the Indianapolis of today and its modern political structure. He loved the capital city and the Hoosier state, town and county, urban scenes with beauty and character, and the great outdoors. He had the persuasive ability often associated with the authors of constitutions and used it to win strong support and positive contributions from others, often representing diverse interests, for the array of projects and programs that he helped conceive and bring to fruition. He wrote much of the legislation consolidating city and county governments under UniGov. He also had a leading role in the modernization and beautification of downtown Indianapolis and the creation of the City Center on Monument Circle, the adaptive reuse of the Indiana Theater, the downtown retailing mall concept, and the planning of the White River State Park.”
About GIPC:
Founded in 1965, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC) is a non-partisan organization that partners with leaders of the public and private sectors of Indianapolis to study, discuss, and address issues of concern and areas of opportunity to advance the progress of the City.
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