Leadership Johnson County at Franklin College Earns Award from Indiana Historical Society
Campus News
LJC Dream Team

DREAM Team members from left to right: Jim Engmark, Levi McNeely, Nicole Otte, Shadi Lilly, Doug Gray

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) has awarded the Leadership Johnson County at Franklin College (LJC) “Booker T. Washington Community Center Rededication Project” with a 2021 Founders Day Award in the category of Outstanding Collaborative Project.

The category recognizes exceptional projects by a historical or heritage organization with one or more partners implemented during the past year, particularly for projects that share county or regional history.

Leadership Johnson County at Franklin College is a nine-month community leadership training program that focuses on community awareness and leadership development. Participants of the program are tasked with completing a community service project of their choosing. For this particular award, the project group DREAM Team (Diversity in Recreation for Education, Alliance and Motivation) Class of 2021’s project was to highlight a local history that was not previously well-known – the history of the Booker T. Washington School in the city of Franklin and the in-depth stories of the former students and educators. They coordinated the renaming of the center and a rededication of the newly-named Booker T. Washington Community Center.

“Hoosiers have a wonderful appreciation and respect for their history,” said Jody Blankenship, president and CEO of the IHS. “I am constantly amazed by the incredible dedication and work that happens across Indiana by local historical societies and individuals—from Evansville to Fort Wayne and Richmond to Gary.”

“The LJC staff and board members are proud of the work the DREAM team did to honor the history associated with the site of the Booker T. Washington School in Franklin,” said Tandy Shuck, executive director for LJC. “Their project was a great display of honoring history, collaborating with key community stakeholders and using leadership skills to move a project to completion.”

Each year, the Founders Day Awards recognize outstanding individuals and organizations whose efforts have enriched the lives of others by conveying awareness and appreciation of Indiana’s history on local, regional and statewide levels. To see the entire list of awardees, visit the IHS website, www.indianahistory.org.

For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.

POSTED Nov 3, 2021