Indianapolis has lost an important leader. Chris J. Christy.
His obituary was in the Indianapolis Star a few days ago. His "celebration of life and faith" will be today at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodix Church, 4011 North Pennsylvania Street. Sadly, I cannot attend.
Chris understood that an important part of corporate public relations has nothing to do necessarily with media relations. He knew that to prosper in a community, you must genuinely embrace it, make it your own and work to help the community face its challenges. That's good on its own, and it has the added benefit of enhancing the reputation of your organization.
I admit I did not know Chris well, but I have been working with his daughter, Pam, on the Diversity Advocates Group at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School.
Here is what I wrote to members of the Diversity Advocates Group at Brebeuf when I learned earlier today that Chris Christy' died a few days ago:
I am sorry to read of the passing of Pam's father, Chris J. Christy. I did not know for sure if Pam was related to Chris, but I had suspected that she was. I hope you will consider a few thoughts about Pam's late father.I did not know Chris especially well, but for a time, perhaps 15 or 20 years ago, I interacted with him a lot. I was a reporter for the late, great Indianapolis News, then the city's afternoon newspaper. Chris was heading IBM's business activities in Indiana and he also served as president of the Indianapolis Private Industry Council, now known as the Workforce Development Board (or some such).It was a pleasure to cover the meetings that Chris led. He had a top-notch staff at IPIC, but it was clear that he had his own mission as chair of the board. He did not parrot what the staff said; he questioned it, researched issues on his own, and generally treated his position as chair with great respect and a lot of hard work. He did his homework and he was one of the most effective board leaders I have seen during my career in journaism and public relations.I met Chris only once or twice since those days, but I knew he was a good man with a lot of leadership and concern for the issues that are special to large cities like Indianapolis. When I saw his name in the newspaper, I knew that whatever he was doing would be done dillegently, and the city would be better off for his involvement. The apple does not fall far from the tree, and I now see that Pam has many of the traits and values as her father. Good on him. Good on her.Chris was not flashy and when his name was in the paper, it was often under a small headline on an inside page. But he was very active and took on roles in his adopted city that many people would not attempt.Chris' obituary is online on the Indianapolis Star's website. This is a link to the obituary. The calling was tonight and there will be a celebation of Chris' life and faith on Friday at 1 p.m. at Holy Trinity Greek Orthdox Church at 4011 North Pennsylvania Street. Flanner & Buchanan at Broad Ripple is assisting the family with arrangements.
Long before I knew about Brebeuf, I knew that Chris was "a man for others." Our community is indebted to him. As for myself, I wish I had known him better.Best regards and with appreciation for the difficult but rewarding jobs we share or shared as educators and as parents like Chris Christy,-- dtd
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