List of recipients of the Sagamore of the Wabash Award

The Sagamore of the Wabash is an honorary award in the state of Indiana. It is given by the Governor of Indiana under their own criteria, and there is no official record kept of all previous recipients.^[1]

The award was first created by Governor Ralph F. Gates to compete with the Kentucky Colonel title, with the first two Sagamores being Robert A. Taft and Simeon Willis. The title was later given to those who had contributed to Indiana life: several recipients have been associated with Indiana University (IU), with former president Herman B Wells receiving the award six times. Other recipients have included astronauts (Gus Grissom), athletes (Michael Brinegar, Ray LeBlanc), comedians (David Letterman), musicians (Willie Nelson), and presidents (George H. W. Bush).

At least one fictional character has been the recipient of an award, being Garfield (creator Jim Davis received an award four years prior).

Recipients

Awarded under Ralph F. Gates

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Robert A. Taft	1946	Senator for Ohio. Presented by Ralph F. Gates at a tristate meeting in Cincinnati.	[2]
Simeon Willis	1946	Governor of Kentucky. Presented by Ralph F. Gates at a tristate meeting in Cincinnati.	[2]

Awarded under Henry F. Schricker

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Lewis Crusoe	October 11, 1950	Vice president of the Ford Motor Company. Presented by Henry F. Schricker at a dinner during the International Dairy Exposition.	[3]
Courtney Johnson	October 11, 1950	Assistant to the president of Studebaker Corporation. Presented by Henry F. Schricker at a dinner during the International Dairy Exposition.	[3]
John L. McCaffrey	October 11, 1950	President of International Harvester Company. Presented by Henry F. Schricker at a dinner during the International Dairy Exposition.	[3]
Alva W. Phelps	October 11, 1950	Board chairman of Oliver Corporation. Presented by Henry F. Schricker at a dinner during the International Dairy Exposition.	[3]
W. A. Roberts	October 11, 1950	Vice president of the Allis-Chalmers Company. Presented by Henry F. Schricker at a dinner during the International Dairy Exposition.	[3]
William Morris Sparks	February 1949	Former United States federal judge.	[4]
Edith Willkie	October 11, 1950	Widow of Republican politician and presidential candidate Wendell Willkie. Presented by Henry F. Schricker at a dinner during the International Dairy Exposition.	[3]

Awarded under George N. Craig

Awarded under Harold W. Handley

Awarded under Matthew E. Welsh

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Ralph C. Newman	December 1963	Director of the Indiana Bureau of Mines and Mining.	[5]

Awarded under Roger D. Branigin

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Gus Grissom	May 30, 1965	Project Mercury and Project Gemini astronaut. Presented by Congressman Lee H. Hamilton in front of thousands.	[6]

Awarded under Edgar Whitcomb

Awarded under Otis Bowen

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Quentin A. Blachly	1975	Republican politician and attorney. First award.	[7]
Iron Eyes Cody	October 13, 1975	Actor. While reported to be the first Native American recipient of the award, he was later revealed to be of Italian descent.	[8][9]
Richard G. Fazakerley	June 27, 1973	Commander of the U.S. Army Finance Support Agency at Fort Benjamin Harrison. Presented by Wendell G. Garrett, president of the Veterans Day Council.	[10]
Harvey U. Gill	May 2, 1975	Director of the Indianapolis Boy Scout Band.	[11]
Maynard K. Hine	June 19, 1973	Chancellor of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Presented by Otis Bowen at retirement dinner.	[12]
George Smerk	December 1980	Professor of transportation at Indiana University.	[13]

Awarded under Robert D. Orr

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Quentin A. Blachly	1988	Republican politician and attorney. Second award.	[7]
Albert J. Boone	July 4, 1984	Presented by Robert L. Walters, president of Public Assistance of Indiana Inc., and Mable Johnson, Montgomery County Republican vice chairman, at a July 4 celebration in New Richmond, Indiana. It was presented for his efforts to establish the New Richmond-Coal Creek Township Museum to preserve local history.	[14]
Bay Buchanan	June 24, 1981	Treasurer of the United States. Presented by Robert D. Orr at 23rd biennial convention of the Indiana Federation of Republican Women.	[15]
Barbara Bush	June 20, 1983	Then-second lady. Presented by Robert D. Orr at fundraising dinner for the Indiana Republican State Committee.	[16]
George H. W. Bush	June 20, 1983	Republican then-vice president. Presented by Robert D. Orr at fundraising dinner for the Indiana Republican State Committee.	[16]
Jim Davis	1984	Cartoonist.	[17]
Garfield	January 8, 1988	Cartoon cat. For efforts in promoting higher education to high school students. Presented by Robert D. Orr to creator Jim Davis.	[18]
Tim McCarthy	May 14, 1981	United States Secret Service agent known for defending Ronald Reagan in assassination attempt.	[19]
Willie Nelson	August 19, 1986	Country singer and activist. Presented by Robert D. Orr during a concert at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum.	[20]
Maureen Reagan	October 29, 1981	Republican activist and daughter of Ronald Reagan.	[21]
Ginger Rogers	January 28, 1983	Dancer and actress.	[22]

Awarded under Evan Bayh

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Ray LeBlanc	March 8, 1992	Olympian ice hockey goaltender. Presented by Lieutenant Governor Frank O'Bannon.	[23]
Howard E. McVicker	September 1990	Professor emeritus of industrial technology at Purdue University. Presented by Evan Bayh at the Indiana Vocational Association's annual conference.	[24]
Merle H. Miller	1989	Attorney and civil leader.	[25]
John Houston	1989	Veteran, former D.A.V. State Commander	[26]
Marshall Sipe	December 21, 1990	Civil defense director for Delaware County. Presented by State Representative Hurley Goodall.	[27]
Gazella Ann Granger Summitt	August 15, 1994	Director of personnel and affirmative action at Vincennes University.	[28]
Philip S. Chua	November 25, 1995	Cardiac Surgeon	[29]

Awarded under Frank O'Bannon

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Phillip M. Summers	February 2001	President of Vincennes University. Presented by Frank O'Bannon during bicentennial celebration ceremonies at the Indiana Statehouse.	[30]
Herman B Wells	June 10, 1997	Former president of Indiana University. Sixth award.	[31]
Samuel D. Conte	October 31, 1997	Founding head of Purdue Computer Science Department	[32]

Awarded under Joe Kernan

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Kiyoko Ikeda	December 20, 2005	Council member for Starke County and former county clerk.	[33]
David Matsey	December 20, 2005	Circuit court judge.	[33]

Awarded under Mitch Daniels

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
David Letterman	September 7, 2007	Television host and comedian. Presented by Ball State University president Jo Ann M. Gora during dedication of the David Letterman Communication and Media Building.	[34]
Connie Kay Nass	December 7, 2006	Indiana State Auditor. Presented privately before public reception with over 200 attendants.	[35]
Elinor Ostrom	December 21, 2009	Arthur F. Bently Professor of Political Science at IU. Presented by Mitch Daniels at the Governor's Residence.	[36]

Awarded under Mike Pence

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Lois Eskenazi	May 28, 2013	Philanthropist	[37]
Sidney Eskenazi	May 28, 2013	Real estate developer and philanthropist	[37]
Una Mae Reck	April 17, 2013	Chancellor of Indiana University South Bend. Presented by IU president Michael McRobbie.	[38]
Jack Howey	March 29, 2016	Indiana newspaper editor and journalist. Member of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.	[39]
Donald Davidson	May 20, 2016	Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian	[40]
William Van Deman	June 22, 2016	Banker and 20 year University of Indianapolis Board Member[41]
Dr. Robert Kopecky	June 22, 2016	MD and longtime University of Indianapolis Board Member[42]
Roger Johnson	September 2016	Former firefighter and Indiana state fire marshal. First award.	[43]
Eugene Spafford	November 2016	Purdue University professor and cybersecurity expert. First award.	[44]

Awarded under Eric Holcomb

Name	Date	Notes	Ref.
Adam Vinatieri	February 6, 2017	Former NFL kicker for the Indianapolis Colts	[45]
Don Babcock	February 2021	Former director of NIPSCO's Economic Development team.	[46]
Dave Bangert	February 4, 2021	Former journalist at the Journal & Courier.	[47]
Michael Brinegar	October 17, 2021	Swimmer at 2020 Summer Olympics. Presented by Eric Holcomb at Lucas Oil Stadium during Indianapolis Colts game against Houston Texans.	[48]
Kenneth Brock	October 2021	Academic and author of ornithological books. Presented by Eric Holcomb at Indiana Dunes State Park.	[49]
Steve Davisson	August 2021	Republican politician.	[50]
Sarah Hallberg	August 2021	Medical director of Virta Health, for her work in diabetes research.	[51]
Marilyn Morin	December 20, 2017	Founder and former Director of the Foster Grandparent Program, Marilyn received this award for providing the state of Indiana with more than 40 years of volunteer work with the elderly and children. The model Morin established for her volunteer programs and the Foster Grandparent Program are still used by the National Corporation for Community Service, and her Foster Grandparent Program still is thriving in the original south-central Indiana counties. The program is currently functioning in 33 schools.	[52]
Roger Johnson	July 5, 2017	Former firefighter and Indiana state fire marshal. Presented by Eric Holcomb in Columbus. Second award.	[43]
Thomas Jones	December 10, 2021	Interim Provost at Taylor University. Presented by Eric Holcomb.	[53]
Randy Kolentus	April 2, 2021	Public safety leader with Richmond Police Department and Reid Health. Presented by State Senator Jeff Raatz and State Representative Brad Barrett.	[54]
David Lewis	April 2018	Former Library Dean at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis.	[55]
John Ditslear	November 9, 2019	Mayor, City of Noblesville, Indiana (2004–2019).	[56]
Laurie Burns McRobbie	November 3, 2021	Indiana University’s First Lady Emerita and co-founder of the Center of Excellence for Women & Technology.	[57]
Frank Schilling	September 25, 2021	President of the Schilling Home Improvement Center. Presented at St. John's Oktoberfest by State Senator Rick Niemeyer and State Representatives Hal Slager and Michael Aylesworth.	[58]
Mary Beth Schultz	March 12, 2021	Former director of The Caring Place domestic violence shelter. Presented by State Senator Ed Charbonneau.	[59]
Lenore Schwartz	May 27, 2021	Known as Sister M. Lenore Schwartz, nun at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Lafayette. Awarded for "her years of dedication to the education and betterment of Indiana communities". Presented by State Senator Ron Alting.	[60]
Melvin F. Wilhelm	July 24, 2021	Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney for 40 years, making him the longest-tenured elected prosecutor in U.S. history. Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Association President 2004-06. In 2018, Wilhelm received IPAC's Eugene “Shine” Feller award, the association's highest honor.	[61]
Martha Wheeler	October 14, 2021	Former president of the Lake Court House Foundation.	[62]
Shontrai D. Irving	June 28, 2022	Clinical Associate Professor of Business Law at Purdue University Northwest. Presented by State Representative Vernon Smith.	[63]
James R. Williams	November 15, 2022	Partner at DeFur Voran LLP and President of the Muncie Community Schools Board of Directors. Presented by Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns and Muncie Community Schools CEO Lee Ann Kwiatkowski.	[64]
Daniel C. Banina	December 16, 2022	Devoted nearly 39 years of service to the people of Indiana. Served 12.8 years as a Chief Deputy Prosecutor and 26 years as Superior Court Judge in Miami County. Created State Pro Bono District. Chaired youth leadership programs for Boys Scouts and Peru Rotary Club. Presented by Ret. State Representative William Friend.	[65]
Mathew Palakal	April 26, 2023	Former Executive Associate Dean of the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at IUPUI.	[66]
Mayor Steve Collier	October 21, 2023	Mayor, City of Lawrence, Indiana (2016-2023)	[67]
Paul Halverson	November 6, 2023	Founding dean of the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health	[68]
James Brainard	December 4, 2023	Mayor, City of Carmel, Indiana (1996–2024)	[69]
Robin Miller	October 2, 2021	Motorsports Journalist	[70]
Maureen McFadden	February 12, 2019	Reporter and anchor for WNDU-TV in South Bend	[71][72]
Terry McFadden	February 29, 2024	Reporter and anchor for WNDU-TV and WSBT-TV in South Bend	[73]
Bob Vollmer	December 20, 2016	Indiana's oldest employee, who retired in 2020 at age 102	[74][75]
Dennis Blaney	March 20, 2024	Founder of the SHARE Foundation in La Porte, which assists mentally handicapped adults	[76]
Craig Allebach	July 18, 2024	Town Manager, Winona Lake, Indiana	[77][78][79]
Thomas P. Miller	November 6, 2024	Workforce development expert and founder of Indiana-based consulting firm TPMA	[80]
John S. Pistole	December 6, 2024	President of Anderson University	[81]
Mung Chiang	December 31, 2024	President of Purdue University	[82]
Josh S. Tatum	December 31, 2024	Attorney, constitutional scholar and Wabash College graduate (Class of 2003)	[83]
Jud Fisher	December 31, 2024	President & CEO, Ball Brothers Foundation	[84]
Bruce Schumacher	January 3, 2025	Chairman of the Board of the Indianapolis Indians	[85]
Pamela Whitten	January 13, 2025	President of Indiana University	[86]
Doug Boles	January 13, 2025	President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway	[87]