Four with Terre Haute ties among 250 'most influential' Hoosiers

Jul. 23—Four Hoosiers with connections to Terre Haute are in the inaugural class of the 250 most influential and impactful leaders.

They are Jim Bopp for law; Kristina Box for health care and life sciences; Greg Gibson for civic leadership; and Paul Thrift for real estate.

The list was put together by the Indianapolis Business Journal, Inside INdiana Business and Indiana Lawyer.

Jim Bopp

In 2013, Bopp was named by The National Law Journal as one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America. Bopp, who maintains a legal office in Terre Haute, said he also was honored to make the top 250 list for Indiana.

"I love the Hooiser state and have lived here all my life except for law school (University of Florida) and it has been a wonderful state to grow up and raise my family — and to be recognized as someone who has contributed to our state is very gratifying to me," Bopp said.

Bopp said the top cases in his work since 1978 include being general counsel for the National Right to Life, including support in the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization — which effectively overturned Roe vs. Wade.

"One of my principle responsibilities has been develop and implement a legal strategy to overturn Roe vs. Wade and I have done exactly that in these 44 years, culminating in the Dobbs decision," Bopp said.

Bopp also cited Citizens United vs Federal Election Commission which reversed long-standing campaign finance restrictions enabling corporations and labor unions to spend largely unlimited funds to endorse candidates for public office.

Citizens United held that "independent political spending" did not present a substantive threat of corruption, provided it is not coordinated with a candidate's campaign.

"That was a very important First Amendment victory," Bopp said, adding that it also enables not-for-profit groups "the opportunity to advance their public policy agenda by endorsing candidates that share their views."

Third, Bopp named his work in Bush v. Gore, in which Bopp said he "developed a legal theory that the variation in vote counting standards that was being employed in the recount in Florida in 2000 violated the (federal) equal protection clause," Bopp said.

Bopp litigated a companion case, Touchston v. McDermott, before the Supreme Court, with the court ruling that using different standards for counting ballots was a violation of equal protection, which resulted in Bush's victory.

Paul Thrift

Thrift, president and CEO of Thompson Thrift, co-founded the company in 1986 with John Thompson. It has grown from a locally focused development and construction company into a full-service, integrated enterprise with 550 team members.

It has successfully developed approximately $4 billion in real estate developments in 20 states, and is engaged in all aspects of acquisition, development, construction, leasing and management of multifamily, mixed-use, retail, industrial and commercial projects nationally.

"I am incredibly humbled to be recognized by the IBJ as one of the state's most influential Hoosiers," Thrift said in a statement. "I wholeheartedly believe that 'to whom much is given, much will be required,' and in both my personal and professional life I strive to embody the core values of excellence, service and leadership each day."

Thrift was born and raised in Terre Haute and graduated from Indiana State University.

Thrift has served and chaired a variety of business, civic, religious and non-profit organizations across the state, including as chairman of the board of directors of Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Home Builders Chairman for the Multifamily Leadership Board.

Greg Gibson

Gibson is a developer and entrepreneur heading an array of businesses in the waste, environmental and development arenas, with more than 50 companies nationwide. He is a graduate of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.

On the award, Gibson said he "is certainly honored to represent west central Indiana in such an impressive and prestigious group. ...I am honored."

His business career started with ownership of Jamax Corp. and Victory Services Corp., both waste management firms, in Terre Haute and founded Millennium Waste in Illinois and Iowa; Mountain Jack in Idaho and Wyoming as well as Arizona Jack and Texas Jack, all waste management companies. He also has portable toilet and septic business with A-1 Sanitation and Skid-O-Kan.

Development firms include Gibson Development, Fontanet Holdings, Fontanet Properties, and Hulman Legacy Properties. Some other businesses include Hoosier Jack, Sullivan Jack and Farmer Jack Land Companies with nearly 15,000 acres for farming, hunting and fishing leases and industrial land development.

Gibson's GLG Hotel Group is a lead partner in four hotel projects in Terre Haute. When asked if a decision has yet been reached on developing a new hotel/parking garage at 7th Street and Wabash Avenue, Gibson Friday said no decision has been yet reached.

"That project will be an expensive and extensive project so it will require some public/private partnership and we hope to get that worked out. It think it is important for downtown and for the convention center," Gibson said.

"I think for (the convention center) to reach its maximum success we need access to more hotel rooms."

Gibson said he learned most "of my business sense from my dad" — who is Max Gibson. "I view him as the most influential person in my life. I have always wanted to be my dad and I am still working on that. I am not there yet."

Gibson also worked to develop a casino in Terre Haute, but stalled after the Indiana Gaming Commission did not renew a license for Lucy Luck Gaming, later awarding the license to Churchill Downs, which is now constructing a casino on the city's east side.

Dr. Kristina Box

Kristina Box was appointed Indiana state health commissioner in September 2017.

While born in Canada, as her father was a dentist on a U.S. Air Force base, Box lived in Terre Haute from ages 3 to 18, graduating in 1976 from Terre Haute North Vigo High School. She then went on to graduate from Indiana University and IU's medical school.

Her father, Carl McKee, was a dentist with a practice on East Wabash Avenue. He lived in Terre Haute until passing in 2020. Her brother and sister-in-law also live in Terre Haute.

Her husband, David Box, a retired ophthalmologist, also is from Terre Haute. His father worked as an insurance agent here.

Box has been a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist for more than 30 years.

She served on the Indiana Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative, an advisory council to the Indiana State Department of Health that is comprised of more than 300 statewide community professionals working to reduce infant mortality.

Her work with IPQIC included serving on a state task force to address neonatal abstinence syndrome, which established standards for the diagnosis of NAS and developed a hospital study to determine the prevalence of drug exposed newborns.

She and her husband of 40 years live in Indianapolis. They have four adult children and two grandchildren.

Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter@TribStarHoward