Reimagining the Joel Award
During the June IPNA meeting we discussed the renaming of our neighborhood community service award. As you may know, the award was created in the mid-1970s by Robert Griggs, the founder of Inman Park Restoration, as a way for young, pioneering neighbors to recognize one another’s efforts in revitalizing our long-neglected neighborhood. The award became known as the Joel Award in recognition of Joel Hurt, the surveyor and developer of Inman Park.
As awareness has grown in recent years about Joel Hurt and his history of using and abusing convict labor, his name has become uncomfortable for many. (For reference, see Slavery by Another Name by Douglas Blackmon.) Clearly, Joel Hurt doesn’t represent the values of 21st century Inman Park. It is time for us to select a new name for the award.
We would like your feedback on what the new name should be. Please add your suggestion for a new award name below in the comments section or email [email protected].
Award Name Process:
July 1-July 7th: Submit suggestions for new name via blog comment or email.
July 8-July 15: Online Voting Begins. All name submissions received will be put out to the membership for a vote.
IPNA Meeting, July 16th: The top two suggestions with the most votes will be introduced at the meeting. Members will cast 1 vote for their choice during the meeting. The name with the most votes will be the winner and our new award name.
We encourage you to submit your suggestion or echo your support for a name someone has already posted. Thanks for helping us rename this award.
How about something like the IPioneer Award? I like it since it's descriptive to what is being recognized.
The John Sweet Award. His contributions to the neighborhood and to just causes were significant and tangible. His service was wide ranging- global and local. And music! I the butterfly has less significance.
I agree that all the individuals mentioned deserve recognition for their contributions to this special neighborhood. However, none of the victories, small or large, happened in a vacuum. It took (and continues to take) neighbors working together to rescue Inman Park and save it from the numerous forces ready to chip away at its historic fabric. Dorn, Bradshaw, Hays, Griggs, Mull, McMurry, Sweet, Smith...and so many others whose efforts over the past 50 years have made and are making a difference. Brewer, Lawson, Miller, Kinkopf, Berger, Abbot, Lenz: this is their real legacy, these and many more neighbors who are inspired to serve and preserve this special place right now. So let's not single out one neighbor to honor, let's name the award for the spirit that inspires all of us to continue the effort.
At this point, I think naming anything after a person is fraught with peril. I would love to see IPNA honor the incredible work of John Sweet in a different and permanent way. For the award, Ro mentioned the Monarch Award and someone else mentioned the Janus award. I think either of these names would be great.
I suggest the Griggs award in honor of Robert Griggs, who had the vision to buy a home when Inman Park had deteriorated due to the flight of the upper and middle classes to the suburbs. In 1969 he bought the Beath-Dickey House, when the hallway was "like a public street," Griggs recalled. Kids were playing basketball in it; derelicts wandered through it. The front yard was a sea of red mud. Broken glass, three abandoned cars and great piles of garbage littered the back yard. He and his partner proceeded to revitalize it, convinced 40 of their friends to buy and revitalize too. Their work and vision sparked the conversion of Inman Park from a slum to a desirable intown neighborhood.