Indianapolis Honors Jim Walsh

Mayor Greg Ballard recognized 11 outstanding volunteers at the 2010 Mayor’s Community Service Awards this afternoon at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center. The Mayor’s Community Service Awards were created to highlight and honor Indianapolis residents who continually give their time to strengthening their communities through various volunteer contributions and service projects. “Our city is widely recognized for being a compassionate and friendly community that looks out for its neighbors,” Mayor Ballard said. “These 11 individuals represent the very best that the City of Indianapolis offers in the area of volunteerism and community service. It is a privilege for me to honor them for their exemplary volunteer contribution and dedication to bettering their neighborhoods and ultimately our city.” The 18th annual awards ceremony recognized 11 public servants from throughout Indianapolis and Marion County. Following tradition, a brick will be engraved with each recipient’s name and placed at the Mayor’s Volunteer Plaza at the 11th Street Canal basin. In 1993, Jim Walsh began working on a community project with the aspiration to develop a radio station that would increase the lack of music diversity in the community and be “a voice for many voices.” His dream came to fruition in June 2009 and has since become a popular and heavily enjoyed not-for-profit radio station. Operated by volunteers, friends, and supporters of Jim’s dream, 91.9 WITT works to “promote understanding and respect among individuals of diverse cultures, beliefs, and lifestyles.” Jim devotes an average of 120 hours per month to the radio station, highlighting county events, holding fund-raising concerts with local musicians, airing live studio performances, and playing an endless variety of music genres. He creates about 22 hours of programming a day that he fills with music, commentary, and current news, fulfilling the mission of being a community radio station.