Who would you honor for living their Catholic values? Nominate them now

By John Shaughnessy

Nominations are now being accepted for the archdiocese’s Career Achievement Award, an honor that is presented annually at the Celebrating Catholic School Values event.

Archdiocesan officials also announced that the Celebrating Catholic School Values event will be held on Feb. 7 of this upcoming school year—a change from its traditional time in October.

One of the two main reasons for moving the awards event from October to February is so it coincides more closely with Catholic Schools Week, which traditionally is scheduled in late January.

The other reason is the archdiocese’s desire to invite all the people who contribute throughout the year to the Indiana Tax Scholarship program, which helps families in need chose a Catholic education for their child.

“It will be a perfect opportunity to not only celebrate all of the wonderful things going on in our schools, but also celebrate the generous donors who make it all possible,” said Mary McCoy, an assistant superintendent of Catholic schools in the archdiocese. “By moving the event to February, this also allows us to invite all of those who have donated up to the last day of [2016].”

The Feb. 7 celebration of Catholic education will once again be held in the Grand Hall of Union Station at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Indianapolis.

The event will also continue to celebrate “Catholic school graduates who exemplify the values of a Catholic education—individuals whose ethics, leadership, service and achievements are significant to their parish, school, work and/or civic community.”

Nominations for this year’s Career Achievement Award will be accepted by the archdiocese until Aug. 31.

“Many of our honorees from past Celebrating Catholic School Values events tell us they consider their Career Achievement Award the greatest honor of their life,” said Gina Fleming, the archdiocese’s superintendent of Catholic schools. “They cherish their award above all others because it represents the values they espouse every day in their lives as a result of their education in Catholic schools.”

Eighty-four individuals have been honored since the event began in 1996, she noted.

“In addition, the event has raised more than $20 million, including $5.6 million in 2015, for program sponsorship and tuition assistance for families in need to allow them to choose Catholic schools for their children.” Fleming said.

“In 2015, more than 7,700 of our students received Indiana Choice Scholarships, popularly called vouchers, and another 2,300 students received Indiana Tax Credit Scholarships.”
 

(Nomination forms for the Career Achievement Award are available on the Office of Catholic Schools website at oce.archindy.org. The forms can be sent by e-mail to indyocs@archindy.org or faxed to 317-261-3364. They can also be mailed to Office of Catholic Schools, 1400 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46202. Nominees should not be told that they are being nominated. All nominations will be kept confidential unless the person is selected.) †