9/28/2006
Media Contact:
Justin Ohlemiller, [317] 327-3690 |
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Mayor Peterson seeks nominations for outstanding diversity in business
October 4 deadline for nominations approaching
INDIANAPOLIS – Mayor Bart Peterson is seeking nominations for the sixth annual “Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards”. He created the award in 2001 to honor businesses and organizations that have excellent records in workforce diversity, opportunities for diversity education and communication within the organization, activities that encourage diversity in the community and leadership in developing supportive diversity strategies throughout the organization.
“In my first month in office, we held a summit to celebrate our diversity and to discuss our community’s rich racial, ethnic and religious heritage and disability inclusion,” Mayor Peterson said. “We determined, among other things, that we need to support the private sector in its efforts to support diversity and reflect the society in which we live. The Celebration of Diversity Awards has highlighted the best Indianapolis has to offer in terms of diversity and inclusion.”
A nomination form is available online at www.indygov.org/mayor or by calling (317) 327-3601. Nominations are to be submitted online or postmarked by Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 5 p.m. The award winners will be honored at the Celebration of Diversity Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.
Last year’s luncheon attracted its largest crowd with more than 1,000 attendees who honored six award winners: FedEx for workforce diversity; Bosma Industries for development; Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis for development; WISH-TV Channel 8 for community relations; and Roche Diagnostics for leadership in diversity.
Veolia Water was awarded the “Sam H. Jones Award” for the business or organization with the strongest performance in all categories. The Mayor named the award in honor of Jones, the first president of the Indianapolis Urban League and a tireless advocate for peace, justice and understanding in Indianapolis.
This year the Diversity Awards Committee will continue to focus on the great strides that corporations and organizations are making to develop, promote and celebrate real diverse talent, which in turn supports the city’s efforts to create a vibrant and world-class community.
The Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Award is an outgrowth of Peterson’s January 2000 Summit on Race Relations, which brought together hundreds of Indianapolis residents to bridge the gaps that sometimes exist between people of different races, religions, disabilities and backgrounds. The summit received a national "Best Practices" Award as a model for the rest of the nation to follow.
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