Charter School and Indiana Governor Each Honor John Neighbours '71
November 13, 2009
November 13, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — A new, annual award to be presented each year by the Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School in Indianapolis will honor John T. Neighbours, a partner in the law firm of Baker & Daniels and 1971 graduate of DePauw University. Neighbours, the founding chair of the school's board of directors, learned during Tindley's first annual "Mentors for Success/Trailblazer" dinner that the Neighbors Medallion will be awarded each year at commencement to the student who has made the most significant contribution to the public charter school over the course of the academic year as judged by the staff and faculty.
"Without John, Tindley would still be a figment of our imagination," the school's board of trustees said in a statement. "The entire Tindley community would like to honor him."
Neighbours was also surprised at the dinner as he was presented with a Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor given to a civilian by the Indiana Governor. On behalf of Gov. Mitch Daniels, David Neighbours -- John's son -- presented the award to recognize his father's contributions to Tindley and the Indianapolis community.
According to an announcement, "Neighbours' contributions to Tindley started about eight years ago 
when he was a member of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors. He agreed to help create a concept of the Tindley School, and that's when its story started to unfold. With the help of many others -- including friends, the school's Board of Trustees, Principal Marcus Robinson ['94], staff and faculty -- Tindley became the first Accelerated School in the State of Indiana in 2004. Tindley is designed to offer powerful learning opportunities and an innovative classroom structure to keep students interested, engaged and enrolled in school. Tindley offers a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum that seeks to challenge each one of its students to pursue education beyond high school."
Read more here.
John Neighbours is a recipient of the 2009 Charles L. Whistler Award, a prestigious honor given by the Indianapolis mayor's office in collaboration with Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee. Details can be found in this recent story.
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