Honored by Rotary, Deaconess' White says people are the point

Thomas B. Langhorne, Evansville Courier & Press
·5 min read
Linda E. White smiles while watching a video of friends and community leaders speak on her accomplishments and character after being the recipient of the 2022 Rotary Club of Evansville's Civic Award at Bally's Evansville Conference Center in Downtown Evansville, Ind., Tuesday afternoon, June 13, 2023.
Linda E. White smiles while watching a video of friends and community leaders speak on her accomplishments and character after being the recipient of the 2022 Rotary Club of Evansville's Civic Award at Bally's Evansville Conference Center in Downtown Evansville, Ind., Tuesday afternoon, June 13, 2023.
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EVANSVILLE — Selfless, compassionate caregiver, visionary healthcare leader, civic activist, inspiration to other women, amateur comedienne — for playing all those roles, the Rotary Club of Evansville on Tuesday gave Linda E. White its Civic Award for 2022.

White, chief administrative officer of Deaconess Henderson Hospital, was the latest winner of an award that has annually recognized individuals in health care, business, education and philanthropy since 1927. In a video tribute, prominent local figures showered her with praise.

Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, co-winner of last year's award with wife Carol McClintock, recalled asking White before the COVID-19 pandemic to lead a mental health task force. There was no lack of useful work being done in the field locally, Winnecke said, but someone needed to bring "focus and clarity about the services that were offered here — and, we knew that we needed more services."

More: Honored by Rotary, Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke still mum on political future

White attacked the mission with uncommon zeal, Winnecke said.

"She just didn’t lead the task force; she sent out the meeting agendas, she made sure that everyone got the minutes from the meeting, she took copious notes," the mayor said. "She made sure everybody was involved and engaged.

"It's not like Linda’s not busy enough in all the other things she does."

Attendees stand in applause as Linda E. White, center, is honored with the 2022 Rotary Club of Evansville's Civic Award at Bally's Evansville Conference Center in Downtown Evansville, Ind., Tuesday afternoon, June 13, 2023.
Attendees stand in applause as Linda E. White, center, is honored with the 2022 Rotary Club of Evansville's Civic Award at Bally's Evansville Conference Center in Downtown Evansville, Ind., Tuesday afternoon, June 13, 2023.

White: It's about people, not buildings

Upon presenting the award, Rotary cited a pages-long list of White's achievements, civic engagements and awards in a career that took her from Deaconess nurse to president and CEO of Deaconess Health System to her current job. In January 2017, Deaconess opened the Linda E. White Hospice House on Deaconess Hospital's main campus in Evansville.

Amid it all, White has shown a capacity for silliness in local musicals and variety shows, clips of some of which appeared in Tuesday's video tribute.

Shawn McCoy, White's successor as CEO of Deaconess Health System, recalled White's zany lip-syncing rendition of an Elvis Presley song while wearing a wig in a benefit to raise money for a Deaconess affiliate hospital.

"It was probably the funniest thing I’ve ever seen," McCoy said.

But White got serious for a moment in her acceptance speech, recalling the reception accorded Deaconess Women’s Hospital as planning for it began in the late 1990s.

"We were ostracized by members of this community who said to me personally, 'Whoever heard of a hospital for women?'" said White, who won the ATHENA Award from the Southwest Indiana Chamber in 2001 for her support and mentorship of women in business.

Linda E. White addresses the crowd after being honored with the 2022 Rotary Club of Evansville's Civic Award at Bally's Evansville Conference Center in Downtown Evansville, Ind., Tuesday afternoon, June 13, 2023.
Linda E. White addresses the crowd after being honored with the 2022 Rotary Club of Evansville's Civic Award at Bally's Evansville Conference Center in Downtown Evansville, Ind., Tuesday afternoon, June 13, 2023.

"We proved them wrong. We opened the Chancellor Center for Oncology, took another risk. We did a big risk in opening up the Gateway Hospital. Whoever heard of a hospital in a cornfield in Newburgh? And that took the market by storm."

Facilities are fantastic, White said — but people are what counts.

"It's about nurturing them, mentoring them, helping them, coaching them along the way — and that's what I've had the privilege of having for over 40-some odd years," she said.

White's win marks a return to tradition for the Civic Award. The award typically does not go to political figures, but it went last year to Winnecke and McClintock, an Evansville-based real estate agent and former elected Vanderburgh County commissioner. The last mayor before Winnecke to receive the award was Frank McDonald II in 1998.

Top secret information

Keeping the Civic Award winner's identity secret before the Rotary Club's awards luncheon apparently is a cloak and dagger affair.

Candidates for the award are evaluated and a winner is chosen by a committee comprised of the most recent five past Rotary Club presidents and chaired by the previous year's president. When a winner is chosen, the committee discreetly slips the word to someone close to that person.

"They're in on it," said Cari Charnes, the Rotary Club's executive assistant. "They know, and they help kind of make sure that the person's available and get that person there."

Before she was named the winner Tuesday, White thought one of her colleagues at Deaconess would be honored, Charnes said. The person asked to make sure White was there may have encouraged that belief, Charnes said with a laugh.

Last year, McClintock said she knew Winnecke was being honored, but she didn't know that she would receive the award as well. Winnecke said he thought Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, a Vanderburgh County resident, would be the winner.

Past honorees

The Rotary Civic Award — its first winner was E. Mead Johnson — is intended to honor outstanding service to the city.

Here are the most recent recipients:

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Honored by Rotary, Deaconess' White says people are the point