Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Day, Inc. (HHAD) is an Indiana Non-Profit Corporattion
Domain Names: HoosierHeroesAppreciationDay.com & HoosierHoroes.net
This page is updated as our event comes together. Last updated 23Jan23 at 1255.
Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Day
(Formally the Mayors' Veterans Appreciation Day for 9 Years)
Saturday the 16th of September 2023 at White River State Park
Honoring our Veterans, Military & First Responders
Our First Responders include, but are not limited to our; Police, Sheriffs, Firefighters, EMS, Doctors, Nurses, Care Givers
A Day to Show our Appreciation for their Heroic Service and Commitment to Community and Country.
For 9 Years, the Mayors’ Veterans Appreciation Day has honored our Veterans and our Military with an Appreciation Day event with their families. In 2023 our new format will be held on Saturday the 16th of September 2023 at the White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis. In 2023, our 10th Annual event (after three years off), honoring our Veterans and Military, will also honor Indiana’s First Responders. We are also expanding our reach from just Marion County to all of Central Indiana.
We are now looking for Volunteers, Vendors, Suppliers, and Sponsors. We will need help to pull it all together to produce a great event honoring our Veterans, Military & First Responders, and their families. If you are interested in being on the Organizing Committee for this event, please complete one of our “Sign-Up” forms.
Proposal for a 16th September 2023 Event Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Day To Show Thanks to our Veterans, Military & First Responders to be held at the White River State Park
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Dear Veteran, Military & First responder Supporter:
Hello, my name is Don Hawkins, and I am the Co-Chairman of The Mayors’ Advisory Council for Veterans (MACV) and the President of Veterans Support Council, Inc. (VSC). Our group has promoted the Mayors’ Veterans Appreciation Day event for nine (9) years in a row, starting in 2011. MACV-VSC did not have an event in 2020-2021 & 2022 because of the COVID-19 virus. Beginning in 2023, we are changing the event’s name to “Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Day” (HHAD), which will include the acknowledgment and appreciation for our First Responders for apparent reasons.
This information aims to inform you and your organization of the below proposal. At this time, no one has agreed to do anything in writing. This information is just a fact-finding proposal to find out who is interested or who is not interested in working with VSC on this project. We are also looking for your suggestions or criticism of this proposal.
This Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Day event would celebrate all of Indiana’s Veterans, Active-Duty Military, and First Responders such as; Police Officers, Sheriffs, Firefighters & EMS personnel, Doctors, Nurses, Care Givers, etc. It would be a FREE event for all our Hoosier Heroes and their families. In our opinion, the men and women who work for these organizations are the true Heroes in our Hoosier State that must be acknowledged and celebrated annually to let them know we appreciate them.
This project will take an enormous effort, with several groups working together to recognize and support our Hoosier Heroes and their families. With all the resources within the Indianapolis area, it should be no problem if we have the desire to show our Hoosier Heroes our support and appreciation.
Date: Saturday the 16th of September in 2023 – Personally, I would like to see the third Saturday of each September be an Official Day for our Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Event.
Place: White River State Park because of its existing facilities and central location. Plus, it would be an excellent opportunity to spotlight Indiana’s great new facility in Downtown Indy..
Times: From 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM
What areas of the State should we invite: All
Who is welcome to attend: Everyone will be welcome to attend. Different color Arm bands will be issued to our Military, Veterans and First Responders at the check-in area to identify those that are entitled for their FREE food, entertainment, drawings, etc.
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Proposed Supporters & Sponsors:
1) Veterans Support Council & MACV
2) State of Indiana
3) City of Indianapolis
4) IN Department of Veterans Affairs
5) IN Department of Workforce Development
6) Marion County Sheriff’s Department
7) Indianapolis Police Department
8) Indianapolis Fire Department
9) Indianapolis EMS
10) Veteran Support Groups – American Legion, DAV, VFW, National Guard, etc.
11) Branches of Military Service
12) Indy Sports Teams
Still looking for Suggestions on this topic
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We would invite all:
1) Components of our Active/ Guard and Reserve Military Services (City, State & Federal)
- Veterans Organizations
- Veterans Service Organizations
- Veterans Service Providers
2) Components of our Fire Departments
- Firefighters
- Firefighters Service Providers
3) Components of our Police Departments
- City & County Police Officers
- Sheriffs
- State Police
- Police Service Providers
4) Components of our EMS
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Caregivers
- Ambulance services
- EMS Service Providers
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Proposed Events for the Day:
Instead of putting all these events on from scratch, we would try to get existing shows and events to change their booking dates to our event date if possible. For events like the motorcycle ride, car show, concerts & gun show they use to bring in money, we would negotiate some type of income sharing if necessary. Still open to suggestions here.
1) A program celebrating our Hoosier Heroes (Speakers, Acknowledgments, Accomplishments, Awards, etc.)
2) FREE lunch for the Heroes and their Families before & during the program
3) Other food vendors with other food and drinks for sale would also be available
4) Vendors and Service Providers that offer goods, services, benefits, and ???
5) Workshops on learning what others are doing
6) Free Concert (big name, country-patriot) in the evening or late afternoon
7) A couple of local bands playing throughout the day
8) Job / Career Fair
9) Gun & Knife show ???
10) Playground & games for the kids on the Washington St bridge on the way to the Zoo
11) Car, Truck & Motorcycle Show
12) Motorcycle Ride
13) Competitive activities
14) Sports Celebrities, Cheerleaders & Mascots (football, baseball, hockey, soccer, etc.) for the kids
15) Entertainment and events for the kids (games, bounce houses, sports, etc.)
16) POW/MIA Program
17) Door Prizes all-day
18) We will be developing Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Awards for each group
19) We are asking national groups that help Veterans and first Responders like tunnel 4 Towers, Wonunded Wariers, Folds of Honor, etc. to participate in our event
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Who is on our Email List:
Eric Holcomb, Governor of the State of Indiana (via Samuel Frain) Joe Hogsett, Mayor of the City of Indianapolis Vop Islip, President, Indianapolis City Council Sheena Linville, City of Indianapolis, Director of Veterans Affairs Dennis Weimer, Director of the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs Jake Oakman, President, White River State Park Laura Dowling, White River State Park, Director of Outdoor Events Dennis Buckley, Mayor of Beech Grove Steve Collier, Mayor of Lawrence Jim Cooney, Mayor of Southport Grant Kleinhenz, Town Manager of Speedway Stewart Goodwin, Executive Director, IN Memorials Commission Stephen Cox, Executive Director, Indiana Homeland Security Randall Taylor, Chief, Indianapolis Police Department (IMPD) Jerry Martin, Chief, Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) Dan O’Donnell, M.D., Chief of Indianapolis Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Will should also include Hospital Staff members (Doctors, Nurses, etc.) Kerry Forestal, Sheriff of Marion County John Dieter, Marion County Sheriff, Community Outreach Richard Leier, IN State Commander, Veterans of Foreign Wars Hugh Dagley, Adjutant, American Legion Kevin Coley, State Adjutant, Disabled American Veterans R. Dale Lyles, Adjutant General, Indiana National Guard Mike Stern, Executive Director, National Guard Association Gonzales Callaway, Commander, AMVETS Bob Lee, Commandant, Marine Corps League Larry Shaw, President, Vietnam Veterans of America Jill Fewell, President of Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Buzz Smith, Easterseals Crossroads Jeffrey Harrison, President & CEO, Citizens Energy Rafael Sanchez, WRTV
All Officers & Directors of VSC All Executive Committee Members of MACV
Volunteers of VSC-MACV that help with Special Projects
We will be adding additional names as our progress progresses
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Vendor’s Tables (will be available for a minimum table & chair fee):
Any organizations that offer benefits, goods, services, support,& benefits to our Hoosier Heroes and their families will be invited to participate if they want to share their resources and information at our event.
1) Government – Federal, State & Local
2) For Profit business
3) Non-Profit organizations
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Corporate Sponsors & Donors (we would put out a book/program with sponsors ads like the American Legion does every year):
1) Banks
2) Utilities
3) TV & Radio Stations
4) Auto Dealers
5) Supermarkets
6) Pharmaceutical
7) Beer & Wine Distributors
8) Building Supply Companies
9) Soft Drink Distributors
Still looking for Suggestions on this topic
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As we hear from the above organizations, we will add more information on any suggestions or ideas they/you may want to add.
For additional information on MACV, please visit https://www.veterans.ooo/macv.html
For additional information on VSC, please visit https://www.veterans.ooo/vsc.html
For additional information on Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Day, please visit www.HoosierHeroesAppreciationDay.com or www.HoosierHeroes.net
We have incorporated the name “Hoosier Heroes Appreciation Day, Inc.” (HHAD) as a non-profit Indiana Corporation. It is 100% owned by Vetereans Support Council, Inc. (VSC), the organization responsible for raising the monies for the Mayors’ Veterans Appreciation Day event for the last five (5) years.
We have also secured the web addresss www.HoosierHeroesAppreciationDay.com & www.HoosierHeroes.net which is currently directed to a separate page on our website. As this project develops, we will post that information on that web page.
Please call me at 317-632-0500 or email me at Hawkins@Veterans.ooo with any ideas or suggestions you may have.
Sincerely,
Don Hawkins President of VSC & CoChair of MACV
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