Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowCelebrated businessman, philanthropist and mentor Eugene Biccard Glick, who died Oct. 2 at 92, leaves behind a path of good work and generosity much longer and wider than the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, the acclaimed downtown recreational amenity to which he and his late wife, Marilyn, donated $17 million and their names in 2006.
Indeed, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick, while one of the most visible reminders of Glick’s generosity, is just a brick-and-mortar example. Glick was in the business of changing lives.
From the arts to blindness prevention, from Little League Baseball to the Pro-100 initiative, a summer youth employment program he started 32 years ago, Glick and his Glick Family Foundation donated many millions to charities that help people become self-sustaining and enjoy life to the fullest.
Perhaps Glick, an Indianapolis native and World War II combat veteran, came by his generosity naturally. His maternal grandfather was known for giving away $5 here and there to help a friend or neighbor even though he had very little money himself.
After the Gene B. Glick Co. made a fortune developing multifamily housing, Glick had the resources to take his grandfather’s example and run with it.
Glick, who won IBJ’s Michael A. Carroll award in 2004 for his devotion to the community, also had a perspective on life that was forged in the trenches of war.
After experiencing the depths of humanity, Glick set out to do whatever he could to be a positive force for his country and his fellow man. And after experiencing the horrors of war, he knew that most of his problems were relatively small ones. Thus one of his rules for living: “Never hurry, never worry and don’t get mad.”
Simple, sage advice from one who lived life with joy and generosity.
__________
Shutdown nothing to cheer about
Note to Gov. Mike Pence: You’re a chief executive now.
The governor, a former congressman, told reporters on the first day of the federal government shutdown that he supported the efforts of fellow Republicans that led to the furlough of 800,000 federal employees and estimates of $300 million in lost economic output a day.
Of course, the issue that caused the impasse was Obamacare, more formally known as the Affordable Care Act, which a small faction of House Republicans sought to defund or delay as a condition for continuing to fund the federal government.
One can certainly hate Obamacare, but using that hatred as a tool to wreck the very process of governing sets a precedent that leaders in both parties might one day regret. What if renegade Democrats someday vowed to hold the government hostage unless a Republican president and Senate agreed, for example, to strict gun control legislation?
The chief executive relies on the legislative branch to turn his or her agenda into law. As our state’s chief executive, Gov. Pence shouldn’t cheer dysfunction that imperils that model of government.•
To comment on this editorial, write to ibjedit@ibj.com.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.