DANVILLE, IN (Sept. 23, 2015) –With less than a week until Hendricks County’s Bicentennial kickoff meeting, the Indiana Office of Tourism Development (IOTD) and the Hendricks County Bicentennial Committee are seeking nominations from the public for the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay.
Torchbearer nominations recognize Hoosiers who demonstrate exceptional public service, excellence in their profession, acts of heroism or volunteer service to their neighborhood, community, region or state.
“Being selected as an Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay torchbearer is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hoosiers,” Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann said. “We look forward to honoring Indiana’s history while also optimistically looking forward to the future during this momentous event for Indiana.”
Developed by IOTD, the torch relay will be patterned after the Olympic Torch Relay and is designed to connect Hoosiers across the state and nation with their home state during the bicentennial year. The torch will pass through all 92 counties during a five-week trek beginning Sept. 9, 2016, in Corydon, Indiana’s first state capital, and culminate with a celebration Oct. 15, 2016, on the grounds of the statehouse in Indianapolis.
The torch will spend about four hours in Hendricks County one year from today on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, starting that morning in Brownsburg and making its way through Avon, Danville, Clayton and Plainfield before being passed off to Morgan County.
“We have some fun plans that are still in the works for the torch relay’s visit to Hendricks County,” said Josh Duke, Hendricks County Coordinator of the Bicentennial celebration. “But we need everyone to nominate deserving individuals as torchbearers to truly make it memorable because it is people who make Indiana and Hendricks County special places to live, work and visit.”
The online nomination form is available at www.indiana2016.org/torchrelay/nomination-forms/. Nomination forms also can be picked up from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday at the Visit Hendricks County office at 8 W. Main St. in Danville on the north side of the square.
The nomination period ends Dec. 31, 2015. Once all nomination forms are collected, a juried nomination process will be employed in each county to select torchbearers. Hendricks County has already formed a selection committee with representatives from throughout the county to manage this process.
Torchbearer nominees must be a current or former resident of Hendricks County or be nominated in honor of a current or former resident. Hoosiers may be nominated posthumously and a substitute torchbearer can be submitted to carry the torch on behalf of the nominee. Nominees can be any age (torchbearers that are minors will be subject to additional youth torchbearer requirements). A nominee must possess the physical adaptive ability to carry the torch a minimum of a quarter mile. Accommodations will be made for those torchbearers with disabilities. The complete list of torchbearer criteria may be found on the online nomination page.
Volunteer county coordinators are organizing torch relay activities in their respective counties. Additional volunteers will be needed to assist with the preparation and execution of relay-related activities. Hoosiers interested in volunteering can sign up at the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay website or by attending the Hendricks County Bicentennial Kickoff Meeting at 6 p.m. this Tuesday, Sept. 29 at the Visit Hendricks County office.
