Ned Kalb was a true leader in La Porte County for many years. He passed away on Nov. 19, 2011, and a county award was established shortly after. The award was created to honor and memorialize his life and deeds in La Porte County and beyond. The Ned E. Kalb Community Leadership Award annually recognizes a quiet, behind-the-scenes leader in La Porte County. The joint sponsors of the award are the Purdue Extension Office of La Porte County and Leadership La Porte County, two organizations that Ned Kalb impacted.
“Ned was a key founder of Leadership La Porte County,” stated Jim Jessup, a 30+year volunteer for the organization, which started in the Extension Office. “He spent several years in the early 1980’s guiding and facilitating the new non-profit training group,” Jessup added. Ned spent fifteen years as the Extension Director in La Porte County, where he served on many boards, both public and private. He was an educator and connector. Current Extension Director, Hugh Tonagel, remembers Ned as someone who recognized needs and got things done. “He worked with people and organizations to improve our quality of life in La Porte County, and he did it with little fanfare and recognition,” Tonagel explained. “That’s the spirit in which we created this award. We are dedicated to preserving Ned’s legacy by annually recognizing those who serve the community in a fashion similar to Ned’s,” Monica Komasinski, current Executive Director of Leadership La Porte County, added. After leaving La Porte County Ned went on to serve the Extension Office in other counties and later even went overseas teaching underdeveloped countries to be self-sufficient through modern farming and business methods. “Ned left his impact on La Porte County and the world,” Tonagel concluded.
Nominations are being sought for the 5th annual award now through February 29th. John Coulter, James Dworkin, George & Dory Morley and Diana Werner are past recipients of the award. Nominees can be individuals or organizations. “We are looking to recognize people or groups who are demonstrating servant leadership to improve our county in a quiet and behind-the-scenes way,” Komasinski said. “We are proud to partner with Purdue Extension on this annual award and we are also grateful for the support of Dick Reel, retired Extension Director, for his financial sponsorship of the award”.
Nomination forms are available from the Leadership or Extension Offices. Call Leadership at 219-325-8223, or Purdue Extension at 219-324-9407or 219-874-5611. You can request a form also by email to htonagel@purdue.edu, kulman@purdue.edu or info@leadershiplaportecounty.com.
A panel of local leaders will select the winner, who will be announced and honored at the Extension Annual meeting on March 30th at a location to be announced soon. For more information contact one of the numbers above.