Deaconess Chief Administrative Officer Linda White sat grinning at the front table as her face flashed across the big screen.
She was announced the Rotary Civic Award Winner for 2023 on Tuesday, drawing a few standing ovations from the crowd around her.
“This is a 'wow' kind of moment,” she said on stage. This was after a video presentation with first -hand testimony from several associates and friends, like Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and University of Evansville Chairman of the Board, Bob White. “I didn't expect this at all. And it's just very humbling.”
According to Evansville Rotary Club, White is receiving the award, “for her remarkable leadership in healthcare in the greater Evansville region, expanding compassionate and caring service, for her contributions in forming a robust economy that makes life better for hundreds of thousands of people, and for her extraordinary record of public service.”
This award is given annually to a person, persons or an organization for community service.
White’s list of community contributions and achievements are too long to list here (in fact it takes Award Chairman Rick Moore seven minutes just to summarize them on stage) but they center on the healthcare field including time as Deaconess Chief Executive officer during 15 years of growth including overseeing building the women’s hospital, oncology clinic, gateway hospital in Newburgh and her namesake hospice center.
“I have a passion for people,” White said. “And in fact, in our Deaconess mission, we talk about ‘compassion’ and ‘caring spirit.’ And that doesn't happen with a robot. It doesn't happen with machines. It doesn't happen with beautiful buildings. It happens with people. And that's the center of everything that we do. And so when I think about involvement in community, it's about getting people involved, who have a passion to make this a better place.”
White is also beloved for her personability and interest in her staff and her fearless sense of humor.
She’s known for donning funny costumes for a good cause — like a girl scout uniform to deliver a speech about the importance of Girl Scouts, or as Elvis Presley — complete with wig — for an Arc of Evansville benefit show.
White said she was raised to work with passion. “And it's a labor of love,” she said. “And I want to — I would encourage everyone to look at work as a labor of love helping others. I don't care what position you have.”
She came to Evansville to attend the Deaconess School of Nursing. “So I had a math degree previously, then I became a nurse,” White said. She earned a master's degree in business which led to administration opportunities.
White will also be recognized with a billboard on Diamond and First Avenue in Evansville.
Career Highlights
White rose to the hospital ranks after starting as a nurse, and eventually became CEO of Deaconess, overseeing 51 counties in the tri-state area. “You could write a book on initiatives that were concepted and implemented under Linda's vision and leadership,” Moore said while summarizing her career so far, which included multiple area hospital and clinic expansions and enhancements.
Her civic work includes Chairman roles of the Indiana Hospital Association, Board of Directors, the University of Evansville Board of Trustees, Boys and Girls Club of Evansville and many others such as the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Evansville Regional Business Committee and Task Force on Mental Health.
Awards include Evansville ATHENA Award, Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Hall of Fame, Indiana Academy, Henderson Woman of the Year. Moore said White was listed as one of the 250 most influential business leaders in Indiana in 2022. Her list of awards goes on.
“Linda has found time in her schedule to make people laugh,” Moore said. “Outside as well as inside the walls of hospitals. Her quick wit landed Linda in local musicals and variety shows. Those who work with her discovered that she literally stole the show, even before the curtain rolls. Linda has kept those around her serious about their jobs, but not overly serious about themselves. Linda never takes credit for her own amazing accomplishments. She puts others in the spotlight so that they can take the bows. Linda E. White lives the Rotary motto of ‘service above self’ and always places others first.”
About the award
The Evansville Rotary Civic Award recipient is an individual who has put service above self to improve the community.
“It honors an outstanding individual or individuals that have contributed to the community, within their business or outside of their business,” Moore said. “It could be a current year, previous year, or it could be a combination of years.”
This is about the 96th year of the award, Moore said.
Rotary Club President Kari Akin said during the award event that there’s no rigid metric for deciding who deserves the award — members weigh in and talk about it.
Said Moore, “you look for a person that's been in the community been doing lots of things that will not only contribute to enhancing their business, but the business in the community and community, any kind of community work that's expanded throughout the city.”
At the core, each recipient had a commitment to the community and the element of follow-through with their goals.
Prior to naming White, present past recipients were recognized, which include Winnecke and spouse Carol McClintock, John and Diane Schroeder, and Ron and Connie Romain.
The inaugural 1927 award recipient was E. Mead Johnson, Sr.