# 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.
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. | |
| Simeon Willis | 1946 | Governor of Kentucky. Presented by Ralph F. Gates at a tristate meeting in Cincinnati. | |

### Awarded under Henry F. Schricker

| Name | Date | Notes |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| John L. McCaffrey | October 11, 1950 | President of International Harvester Company. Presented by Henry F. Schricker at a dinner during the International Dairy Exposition. |
| Alva W. Phelps | October 11, 1950 | Board chairman of Oliver Corporation. Presented by Henry F. Schricker at a dinner during the International Dairy Exposition. |
| 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. |
| William Morris Sparks | February 1949 | Former United States federal judge. |
| 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. |

### Awarded under Matthew E. Welsh

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

### 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. | |

### Awarded under Otis Bowen

| Name | Date | Notes |
| Quentin A. Blachly | 1975 | Republican politician and attorney. First award. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Harvey U. Gill | May 2, 1975 | Director of the Indianapolis Boy Scout Band. |
| Maynard K. Hine | June 19, 1973 | Chancellor of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Presented by Otis Bowen at retirement dinner. |
| George Smerk | December 1980 | Professor of transportation at Indiana University. |

### Awarded under Robert D. Orr

| Name | Date | Notes |
| Quentin A. Blachly | 1988 | Republican politician and attorney. Second award. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Barbara Bush | June 20, 1983 | Then-second lady. Presented by Robert D. Orr at fundraising dinner for the Indiana Republican State Committee. |
| 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. |
| Jim Davis | 1984 | Cartoonist. |
| 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. |
| Tim McCarthy | May 14, 1981 | United States Secret Service agent known for defending Ronald Reagan in assassination attempt. |
| Willie Nelson | August 19, 1986 | Country singer and activist. Presented by Robert D. Orr during a concert at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum. |
| Maureen Reagan | October 29, 1981 | Republican activist and daughter of Ronald Reagan. |
| Ginger Rogers | January 28, 1983 | Dancer and actress. |

### Awarded under Evan Bayh

| Name | Date | Notes |
| Ray LeBlanc | March 8, 1992 | Olympian ice hockey goaltender. Presented by Lieutenant Governor Frank O'Bannon. |
| 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. |
| Merle H. Miller | 1989 | Attorney and civil leader. |
| John Houston | 1989 | Veteran, former D.A.V. State Commander |
| Marshall Sipe | December 21, 1990 | Civil defense director for Delaware County. Presented by State Representative Hurley Goodall. |
| Gazella Ann Granger Summitt | August 15, 1994 | Director of personnel and affirmative action at Vincennes University. |
| Philip S. Chua | November 25, 1995 | Cardiac Surgeon |

### Awarded under Frank O'Bannon

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

### Awarded under Joe Kernan

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

### Awarded under Mitch Daniels

| Name | Date | Notes |
| 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. |
| Connie Kay Nass | December 7, 2006 | Indiana State Auditor. Presented privately before public reception with over 200 attendants. |
| Elinor Ostrom | December 21, 2009 | Arthur F. Bently Professor of Political Science at IU. Presented by Mitch Daniels at the Governor's Residence. |

### Awarded under Mike Pence

| Name | Date | Notes |
| Lois Eskenazi | May 28, 2013 | Philanthropist |
| Sidney Eskenazi | May 28, 2013 | Real estate developer and philanthropist |
| Donald Davidson | May 20, 2016 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian |
| Roger Johnson | September 2016 | Former firefighter and Indiana state fire marshal. First award. |
| Eugene Spafford | November 2016 | Purdue University professor and cybersecurity expert. First award. |
| Una Mae Reck | April 17, 2013 | Chancellor of Indiana University South Bend. Presented by IU president Michael McRobbie. |
| Jack Howey | March 29, 2016 | Indiana newspaper editor and journalist. Member of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. |

### Awarded under Eric Holcomb

| Name | Date | Notes |
| Adam Vinatieri | February 6, 2017 | Former NFL kicker for the Indianapolis Colts |
| Don Babcock | February 2021 | Former director of NIPSCO's Economic Development team. |
| Dave Bangert | February 4, 2021 | Former journalist at the Journal & Courier. |
| 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. |
| Kenneth Brock | October 2021 | Academic and author of ornithological books. Presented by Eric Holcomb at Indiana Dunes State Park. |
| Steve Davisson | August 2021 | Republican politician. |
| Sarah Hallberg | August 2021 | Medical director of Virta Health, for her work in diabetes research. |
| 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. |
| Roger Johnson | July 5, 2017 | Former firefighter and Indiana state fire marshal. Presented by Eric Holcomb in Columbus. Second award. |
| Thomas Jones | December 10, 2021 | Interim Provost at Taylor University. Presented by Eric Holcomb. |
| 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. |
| David Lewis | April 2018 | Former Library Dean at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. |
| Laurie Burns McRobbie | November 3, 2021 | Indiana University’s First Lady Emerita and co-founder of the Center of Excellence for Women & Technology. |
| 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. |
| Mary Beth Schultz | March 12, 2021 | Former director of The Caring Place domestic violence shelter. Presented by State Senator Ed Charbonneau. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Martha Wheeler | October 14, 2021 | Former president of the Lake Court House Foundation. |
| Shontrai D. Irving | June 28, 2022 | Clinical Associate Professor of Business Law at Purdue University Northwest. Presented by State Representative Vernon Smith. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Mathew Palakal | April 26, 2023 | Former Executive Associate Dean of the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at IUPUI. |
| Mayor Steve Collier | October 21, 2023 | Mayor, City of Lawrence, Indiana (2016-2023) |
| Paul Halverson | November 6, 2023 | Founding dean of the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health |
| James Brainard | December 4, 2023 | Mayor, City of Carmel, Indiana (1996–2024) |
| Robin Miller | October 2, 2021 | Motorsports Journalist |
| Maureen McFadden | February 12, 2019 | Reporter and anchor for WNDU-TV in South Bend |
| Terry McFadden | February 29, 2024 | Reporter and anchor for WNDU-TV and WSBT-TV in South Bend |
| Bob Vollmer | December 20, 2016 | Indiana's oldest employee, who retired in 2020 at age 102 |
| Dennis Blaney | March 20, 2024 | Founder of the SHARE Foundation in La Porte, which assists mentally handicapped adults |
| Craig Allebach | July 18, 2024 | Town Manager, Winona Lake, Indiana |
| Thomas P. Miller | November 6, 2024 | Workforce development expert and founder of Indiana-based consulting firm TPMA |
| John S. Pistole | December 6, 2024 | President of Anderson University |
| Mung Chiang | December 31, 2024 | President of Purdue University |
| Josh S. Tatum | December 31, 2024 | Attorney, constitutional scholar and Wabash College graduate (Class of 2003) |
| Bruce Schumacher | January 3, 2025 | Chairman of the Board of the Indianapolis Indians |
| Pamela Whitten | January 13, 2025 | President of Indiana University |
| Doug Boles | January 13, 2025 | President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway |