Tom Kelley, Fort Wayne and Lake Wawasee, received the Sagamore of the Wabash award from Indiana First Lady Janet Holcomb. (Photo by Jay Jorgensen)

FORT WAYNE — Tom Kelley, Fort Wayne and a resident of Eli Lilly Road, Syracuse, was awarded the Sagamore Of the Wabash from Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. The award was presented during the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Foundation’s biannual conservation banquet.

Tom Kelley

This is the second Sagamore of the Wabash honor Kelley has received. Gov. Frank O’Bannon presented Kelley with his first Sagamore of the Wabash. The honor was presented by Indiana First Lady Janet Holcomb.

This honor is the state’s highest honor for civilians.

“I don’t deserve it, there are a lot of great people who do a lot of great things. … It’s an honor,” said Kelley.

According to information from Holcomb’s office, Kelley is a fixture in the Fort Wayne community. He is an avid outdoorsman whose vision to bring together conservation partners resulted in the creation of the Northeast Indiana Conservation Banquet. Since 2012, Kelley has worked with the Natural Resources Foundation to acquire publicly accessible property in northeast Indiana. Kelley is a generous contributor to conservation and a friend to the state.