Noble: Worthe Holt, the 2007 Indiana Aviator of the Year. He’s a board-certified physician and a colonel in the Indiana Air National Guard. He’s the executive vice president and regional chief operating officer of St. Vincent Health, an Indianapolis not-for-profit hospital and health care system. The number of flying hours he logs to maintain his status as a combat pilot basically amounts to that of a full-time soldier and he still manages to coach his two sons’ ice hockey team.
Col. Holt worked as a flight instructor during college and joined the National Guard at age 27. The Guard lacked any program for physician pilots so Col. Holt created the Medical Officer Training Corps, a recruitment program that helped bring medical students into the organization. He eventually postponed his medical schooling until 1985 and began full-time military training to become an F-4 fighter pilot. He was commander of the 181st Medical Group at Terre Haute and completed combat missions over Iraq.
Col. Holt is pleased with this week’s announcement of his award, calling it “validation.” Few people get the opportunity to make careers out of not one but two of their life’s passions. Col. Holt said of his accomplishments: “If it flies, I love it, but it has been largely about service to my country.”
For his incredible professional accomplishments and selfless service to family and country, Worthe Holt is the Noble of the week.
Knave: The Lucas County, Ohio Democratic Party, for having strippers at a fund-raiser.
According to the Toledo Blade on Wednesday, some members of the Lucas County Democratic Party are calling for the resignation of Party Chairman John Irish over the previous week’s stripper scandal. At the annual golf outing, a Toledo strip club called Scarlett’s Cabaret paid for four golfers and provided waitresses from the club to serve cocktails. Also present were ladies from Club Diamonds in Oregon.
Not all of the 130 people who attended the event that day saw inappropriate behavior, but several verified that strippers were, in fact, present. Most of the elected officials denied any knowledge of the controversial ladies, but Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz said that he saw a waitress lift up her shirt to expose her chest to a group of male golfers and then pull her shorts down. No matter how few people witnessed it, behavior such as this has no place on a public golf course.
Mr. Irish released a statement earlier this week apologizing for the inappropriate conduct and said he will donate $1,200 — the amount associated with the strip club — to a local YWCA. Other party officials have expressed embarrassment, too.
For embarrassing themselves, the Lucas County Democratic Party is the Knave of the week.
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