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This week we are thrilled to announce our second annual Indiana 250, a list of movers and shakers from every corner of our state.
While the majority of those on our list come from for-profit businesses, you’ll find not-for-profit leaders, educational leaders and civic leaders. One common theme shared by this group (and a trait important in their selection) is a high level of engagement in their communities and beyond.
I know you will find the Indiana 250 magazine included with this week’s issue of IBJ interesting and inspirational. In fact, once you start reading it, I’ll bet you have a hard time putting it down.
Along with profiles of all of our 250 honorees, you’ll learn something surprising about them—about their first jobs, their advice to young people, their leadership style and whom they admire most.
You’ll even learn what some of them would do if they could swap jobs for a day, their toughest challenges, their favorite gadgets, what they would change in Indiana and their choice of walk-up songs.
My favorite is the surprising facts about our group. Bet you can’t guess who medaled in Irish dance as a kid, who has an irrational fear of butterflies and moths, who has been to 59 consecutive Indianapolis 500 races or who played golf with Mickey Mantle. Or who had an early career as a police officer and delivered a baby during a snowstorm, who was kicked out of Girl Scouts for writing a poem laced with profanity and who always wears two socks on his right foot.
Can you believe someone on our list in high school rode a unicycle all over Southport while dribbling a basketball in an effort to improve his dribbling skills? Our list also includes the first girl in her county to play football as a placekicker on her high school team (and she tied the record for most extra points in a single game at the RCA Dome). We even have someone on the list who grew up without a TV but had a brief cameo in the movie “Hoosiers”!
You’ll find that the most common first job by those on our list is a newspaper route (followed by dishwashing and waiting tables). Many noted the responsibility and discipline that came with this first job, as well as an opportunity to develop sales and customer service skills.
I agreed with the following advice for young people offered by an educator on our list: “Don’t succumb to remote work. Relationships, working alongside (literally and figuratively) others, and soaking up as much coaching and mentoring as you can will be critical in building a strong foundation to your career.”
The walk-up songs offered by some on our list you’ll find fun. They include: “Run this Town” by Jay-Z and Rhianna, “Dream On” by Aerosmith, “About Damn Time” by Lizzo, “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, “Wild Thing” by the Troggs, “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper.
Enjoy reading and learning who made the list this year and all the fun facts about Indiana’s leaders.
A special thanks to Salesforce for hosting this esteemed group of leaders at an event this week to honor them. Additional thanks to our Indiana 250 title sponsors CareSource, Ice Miller, and Pacers Sports and Entertainment, as well as our premier sponsors, Bank of America and Indiana University.•
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Feltman is publisher of IBJ and CEO of IBJ Media. Send comments to nfeltman@ibj.com.
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