National Day of Prayer blessed with good weather
Also, Ivy Tech holds four commencements today; Wyman to receive honorary degree
Hundreds of local worshippers turned out on May 4 for the annual National Day of Prayer in downtown Kokomo. The event typically draws a good crowd, but the fine weather helped attract hundreds to the event this year.
The theme of this year’s gathering drew from James 5:16 — “Pray fervently in righteousness and avail much.”
Pastor Kevin Smith, director of the Kokomo Rescue Mission, opened the event with a greeting, and he was followed by Deb Copeland, owner of Big Ben Coffee Co., who led the assemblage in the Lord’s Prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Kokomo High School student Grace DeBard.
Mayor Tyler Moore was on-hand to proclaim the date as National Day of Prayer in the City of Kokomo. Pastor Nicky Farmer of Kokomo Christian Fellowship provided a scripture reading before prayers were lifted up for various sectors in the community.
Pastor William Smith of Second Missionary Baptist Church delivered a prayer for the church, while Pastor Steve Claspell prayed for the church families. Kokomo Common Councilman Ray Collins prayed for government.
Kokomo High School teacher Randi Weeks was given the honor of praying for school teachers, students, and administrators. Retired Kokomo Police Officer and representative of the Kokomo Rescue Mission Troy Hintz was tapped to pray for first responders.
DeAndra Beard of Ivy Tech Community College led the crowd in prayers for local businesses, and Pastor Ned Sutherland of Turnabout Community Resource Center prayed for those suffering from addiction. Mark Miller of Courtside Ministries closed the event with another prayer.
The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by the U.S. Congress, requiring the President to set aside and proclaim a National Day of Prayer each year. It expanded to become an international movement in 1974.
Notably, the observance of the National Day of Prayer in 1983 was held in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., where then-Vice President George Bush delivered a message.
In 1988, the National Day of Prayer was permanently assigned to the first Thursday in May each year through Congressional legislation, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
This law was reaffirmed in 1998 with legislation signed by President Bill Clinton.
Ivy Tech Kokomo holds four commencements today
Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo Service Area – which includes campuses and instructional sites in Kokomo, Logansport, and Peru – will celebrate the Class of 2023 with four commencement ceremonies on May 12. The events, divided by schools, will honor 1,000 students who are expected to have completed work on 1,354 degrees and certificates by the end of the Fall 2022 and Spring and Summer 2023 terms.
Graduates of the School of Arts, Sciences, & Education will be honored at a 9 a.m. ceremony. At 11 a.m. graduates of the School of Health Sciences will be honored. Graduating students from the School of Public Affairs & Social Services; the School of Information Technology; the School of Business, Logistics & Supply Chain; and the School of Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering, & Applied Sciences will be honored at the 1 p.m. ceremony. Graduates of the School of Nursing will be honored at a 3 p.m. ceremony. All ceremonies will be in Hingst Hall in the Health Professions Center on the Ivy Tech Kokomo Campus at 1815 E. Morgan St.
While attendance is restricted to ticketed guests, the ceremonies will be live-streamed at: https://www.ivytech.edu/locations/kokomo/graduation-information/.
Dr. Ethan Heicher, chancellor of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area, extended his congratulations to the graduates for their many achievements and acknowledged those who supported them.
“The success of these graduates is the success of their families, their friends, their partners, their children,” Heicher said. “Their success is the success of the communities they live in. Their success is the success of our faculty and staff, whose hard work and dedication joined the hard work and dedication of our students to make this moment possible.
“Through commencement, we recognize and celebrate everyone’s commitment of time and effort, all we have dedicated to learning and all we have grown as result,” he added.
This year, Ivy Tech Kokomo is awarding an honorary degree to Kokomo businessman, government leader and philanthropist Paul Wyman.
Heicher said the honorary degree is a fitting recognition of Wyman’s involvement in the community.
“As a businessman, as an elected official, as a leader working to enhance our community’s not-for-profit resources, Paul has championed community uplift,” Heicher said. “Paul is a strong supporter of our community’s higher education institutions, and his work has enhanced Ivy Tech Community College’s ability to serve our community. With this honorary degree, we recognize the impact Paul Wyman has had on our community.”
Four members of the Class of 2023 have been selected as student speakers, one for each ceremony. These include Lyndsey Stewart of Walton, Arianna Fox of Kokomo, Jared Boone of Wabash and Nghi Vo of Kokomo.
Those being honored during the commencement ceremonies include Dr. Tammy Greene, chair of the Department of Arts, Sciences & Education and professor of Life Sciences, recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Instruction for full-time faculty; Ronald Wyatt of Kokomo, adjunct instructor in Education, recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Instruction for adjunct faculty; and Amy Lancaster of Peru, an English instructor at Peru High School, recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction.
Graduating student Jared Boone of Wabash, who has earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in Advance Automation and Robotics Technology, was honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Academic Excellence. Cathy Valcke of Kokomo, director of External Relations & Public Affairs at Indiana University Kokomo, is being recognized as Ivy Tech Kokomo’s 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award winner.