Larry Ricke receives Sagamore of the Wabash award

Oct. 6—NEW ALBANY — A New Albany businessman has received a statewide honor recognizing his service to the community.

On Thursday, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch presented Larry Ricke with the Sagamore of the Wabash award, which is the highest honor given by Indiana's governor. His financial services firm, Ricke & Associates, has been in business for more than six decades.

Ricke & Associates, 425 Bank St. in downtown New Albany, offers services such as insurance and retirement/wealth strategies, and the business is entering its third generation.

Crouch said it is leaders like Ricke that help communities progress, and the Sagamore of the Wabash is bestowed upon "those Hoosiers who really make a difference."

She said she is particularly moved by Ricke's work to support families of individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities.

"I think what you do in terms of giving to your community and giving back to those who are less fortunate is what distinguishes you from your fellow citizens," she told Ricke.

State Rep. Ed Clere (R-New Albany) praised Ricke's work in the community, including his work in establishing Develop New Albany, saying "before there was a shared vision, (Ricke) had the vision" for revitalizing downtown New Albany.

"A lot of what has happened since then is because of the investment that you made early on, the hard work that you put into it," Clere said.

Ricke helped form Develop New Albany in the late 1980s, and both his office and his home in New Albany are renovated historic buildings.

He said the revitalization in downtown New Albany was a community effort.

"Our vision for downtown New Albany at that time was we wanted to make this downtown Disney World — if you look at Main Street in downtown Disney World, this is exactly the characteristics we had in our buildings downtown, and if we could get people to come in and invest money and fix up the buildings, our vision was people would come," Ricke said.

"And now with the restaurants and everything that have come into downtown and the small little shops — our vision has been realized," he said.

Clere also described Ricke as a leader on the local and state level through his work in insurance and "helping families find solutions that are right for them and helping them ensure and assure their future."

Ricke said the award was "quite a surprise," and he thanked his family, colleagues and community for their support.