INDIANAPOLIS (March 12, 2012) – The Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC) today announced Mayor Greg Ballard has appointed J. Murray Clark, a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels, as its new chair. Clark, who has served on the GIPC board since 2007 and on its Executive Committee since January 2010, also chairs GIPC’s Charles L. Whistler Award Committee.
“Murray Clark’s proven track record building collaborations and his years of effective leadership experience demonstrate his capacity for presiding over this entity focused on creating and nurturing public-private partnerships,” said Mayor Ballard. “I look forward to working with Murray in this new capacity.”
Mayor Ballard appointed Clark and the rest of GIPC’s Executive Committee, which includes immediate former chair Deborah Daniels, Krieg DeVault LLP; Treasurer Michael Gargano, Indiana Family & Social Services Administration; Ellen Annala, United Way of Central Indiana; Lesa Dietrick, Ice Miller LLP; John R. Hall, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Melissa Proffitt Reese, Ice Miller LLP; Greg Schenkel, Pacers Sports & Entertainment; Yvonne Shaheen, William Shrewsberry, Shrewsberry and Associates; John Thompson, Thompson Distribution; and Deputy Mayor Olgen Williams, Office of the Mayor.
“I am extraordinarily excited and honored to become GIPC’s Chairman,” Clark said. “Since its inception in 1965, the collaborative efforts of GIPC to create meaningful bipartisan alliances and public-private partnerships have played a vital role in the remarkable growth and successes of the City of Indianapolis. I anxiously await the next big challenge in moving this great city forward with the assistance of GIPC, and in helping build on GIPC’s remarkable legacy of leadership most recently exhibited by my predecessor and good friend Deborah Daniels.”
Before joining Faegre Baker Daniels, Murray practiced law at the Indianapolis firm of Clark, Quinn, Moses, Scott & Grahn for 23 years. He served 11 years as an Indiana State Senator, representing portions of Marion and Hamilton counties. He also was campaign chairman of Mitch Daniels’ successful bid for Indiana Governor in 2004 and served as chairman of the Indiana Republican Party from 2006 to 2010.
Clark succeeds civic leader Deborah Daniels, a partner at Krieg DeVault LLP, who served as GIPC’s chair since her appointment to the board by Ballard in 2008. From 1994-1996, she served as GIPC’s executive director.
Under her chairmanship, GIPC actively supported a campaign for the New Wishard/Eskenazi Health hospital, which led to the ongoing construction of Eskenazi Health, and Daniels now serves as a co-chair for the project’s capital campaign. In 2010 and 2011, the Progress Committee provided bipartisan support for the City’s Rebuild Indy infrastructure initiative providing hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs and improvements to city parks, bridges, streets and sidewalks, and for the removal of hundreds of abandoned homes. Recently, GIPC oversaw the process for the City’s new Hoosier Legacy Awards initiative, whose inaugural class was recognized with downtown monuments unveiled March 2.
“Deborah Daniels has served Indianapolis well in her various roles at GIPC, with an adeptness for bringing people together and achieving creative solutions,” said Mayor Ballard. “Her time leading GIPC is marked by significant memorable accomplishments, and I thank Deborah for her continued commitment to moving our city forward.”
Since 2008, the Progress Committee has helped the City of Indianapolis launch a citywide Community Crime Prevention Grant Program and research options for improving local criminal justice facilities. GIPC routinely facilitates dozens of public initiatives that operate primarily or entirely on private funding, including citywide programs focused on financial fitness, community and neighborhood development, economic development and cultural diversity. GIPC’s revived Race and Cultural Relations Leadership Network (RCRLN) continues to play a central role in key public and private discussions to resolve racial and cultural issues in Marion County.
“I have appreciated the opportunity to lead GIPC over the past four years, and I am grateful to Mayor Ballard for having placed his trust in me,” said Daniels. “I join the rest of our Board in eager anticipation of Murray’s leadership in our continued collective efforts to make our first-class city even better.”