Constellation of Starke Exec Committee Selected as Recipient of Leadership in Philanthropy Award

Posted on October 5, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

For the work they’ve done to unify the region behind the common goal of being designated a Stellar Community, the Constellation of Starke Executive Committee has been selected by the Starke County Community Foundation as the recipient of the 2019 James R. Hardesty Leadership in Philanthropy Award.

According to SCCF officials, the award was established to honor James “Jim” Hardesty’s legacy of giving back to the community. Jim lived in Hamlet and genuinely loved Starke County. He stated his philosophy of giving simply and poignantly, he would say “If you can’t do a lot, do what you can do.”

Hardesty passed away in May of 2014 at 92-years-old. His contributions to the SCCF make up the largest gift to-date from a single donor in any of the three counties served by the Northern Indiana Community Foundation.

The Leadership in Philanthropy Award honors of the achievements of an outstanding individual philanthropist or an effective and worthwhile organization that makes an impact on the community.

In past years, recipients have been Marilyn and Mathew Swanson, Tri Kappa, Cherry Gumz, and Barbara McLaughlin.

The Constellation of Starke Executive Committee members will be honored during the Community Foundation’s Giving Tuesday Open House event on December 3rd. The award also comes with $500 that can be donated to any Foundation fund that the Stellar group chooses. 

Click the following link to view Constellation of Starke’s Regional Development Plan that the committee submitted to Stellar Program officials for consideration back in September.

In addition to highlighting various projects, programs, and plans for the future, it includes details about each member of the COS Executive Committee.