At the last meeting of the Carmel City Council in 2015, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard gave out various awards for service, including to the outgoing elected officials.
Brainard handed out clocks to honor the time of service for city councilors Eric Seidentsicker and Rick Sharp. For councilor Luci Snyder and clerk-treasurer Diana Corday, Brainard presented a plaque for the Range Line Pioneer Award, the highest award given by the city for people who are “friends of Carmel.” All four of these elected officials lost their respective elections and won’t serve in 2016, but a packed house of friends and family showed up to say thank you to the departing officials.
“I’m very proud of the city that we live in,” Sharp said. “Make no mistake that we might wrangle on the policies to get to our goal. Our goal always remains the same.”
Brainard also announced that the city was recognized at the annual 3CMA – Savvy Awards for two unique projects.
One project, called “Chairs of a Different Color,” was led by Stephanie Marshall, merchant liason/event planner for the city, and Bob Shade, local artist. The project involved using Carmel High School technology students to help design and paint chairs and place them around the Carmel Arts & Design District. It was praised for being the most creative project that spent the least amount of money.
Another project that received acclaim was the #31Bites social media campaign, which promoted restaurants near U.S. 31 that were affected by road construction. Nancy Heck, head of the city’s community relations department, along with her staff that includes Dan McFeely and Melanie Lentz were honored for helping promote economic development in that area.
Brainard also announced that The Omni Centre for Public Media, which handles the public access channel for the city, received the Alliance for Community Media’s Overall Excellence in Governmental Access award. Owners Winston and Sandra Long were on hand to receive the honor.
