Mayor Ockomon presents Chief Anderson Award to Richard Mort

ANDERSON, IN - Richard Mort and the Mort Family have been selected by Mayor Kris Ockomon as recipients of the Chief Anderson award, the highest honor bestowed by the City of Anderson.  The Chief Anderson award recognizes extraordinary leadership that serves to positively impact Anderson’s future. 

“Mr. Mort and his family were instrumental in shepherding development to the Southern edge of Anderson, beginning with the location of Interstate 69, and continuing even today with the announcement of Nestlé’s expansion,” Mayor Ockomon explained.

Mort lives and does business along the corporate boundary between Anderson and Pendleton; an area which has undergone extreme change in recent years due to development along the I-69 corridor.  Changing corporate boundaries and development patterns could make this area ripe for controversy, but Mr. Mort has served as a leader, peacemaker, and respected advisor to others in the area who are grappling with the changes brought about by economic development projects at The Flagship and continuing to the west. 

Ockomon added, “Mr. Mort combines business acumen with the quiet, honest leadership that holds projects together.  Many of Indiana’s economic development projects are won or lost with the grassroots farm families of our rural areas, frequently led by people like Mr. Mort who have a long range view of community betterment and the respect of their peers which give them the direction and the ability to lead.”

Mr. Mort and his wife Ellen, now deceased, were the largest landowners in the area where Nestle today announced a 180 million dollar expansion project to its $369 million dollar facility.  Mary Starkey, friend of the Mort Family and director of the Corporation for Economic Development during the Nestle project, said, “The local project team was comprised of over 100 individuals from all walks of life, and Mr. Mort was chief among them.  Unquestionably, that project could not have happened in Anderson without the patience and commitment shown by Mr. Mort and his wife, Ellen, who trusted in the vision of a successfully transitioning economy and who shared that trust and vision with others.”   

The Chief Anderson award is a cast bronze work of art created by local artist Ken Ryden.  Some past recipients of the Chief Anderson award are: Chuck Staley, Thomas McMahan, Bill McCarty, Ray McCaslin, Norma Schlossberg, Bill Hardacre, and Bill and Gloria Gaither.

Source: City of Anderson Press Release