Indiana Governor Presents State’s Highest Honor to Bill and Gloria Gaither

INDIANAPOLIS (April 2, 2008) – Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels today honored gospel music singing and songwriting pioneers Bill and Gloria Gaither with the 2008 Sachem, the state’s highest honor.

The Sachem is given to an individual or individuals in recognition of a lifetime of excellence and moral virtue that has brought credit and honor to Indiana. Previous recipients include college basketball coaching legend John Wooden, the Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame and world statesman, and philanthropist Jane Blaffer Owen.

“It’s very rare people like Bill and Gloria Gaither who not only achieve great things but do so in a way we can admire and that remind us all to try to be better people, remind us that all conduct is not relative, that all conduct is not equally worthy of our respect and admiration,” said Daniels. “For a life of true excellence in achievement and performance and for lives led in ways that every Hoosier ought to want their children to imitate, we recognize them today.”

The ceremony included performances by Hoosier recording artist Sandi Patty and Larnelle Harris as well as comments on Hoosier character by Anderson University President Dr. James Edwards. Patty was a member of the Gaither tour in the past and a popular guest on Gaither Homecoming videos. Harris was a member of Gaither’s Grammy Award-winning, Gaither Vocal Band and also guests on Homecoming videos.

Bill and Gloria Gaither are most well-known for their significant contributions to the Christian music industry over the past four decades. Their early success in performing and songwriting has grown the Gaither Music Company into an Indiana business that comprises a record company, production studio, retail store and a variety of related entities. Despite careers that have taken them throughout the world with their ministry, the Gaithers have continued to call Indiana home, living and raising three children just miles from the farm where Bill grew up.

“Governor Daniels said we had chosen to stay in Indiana and take our advice from our fellow Hoosiers. That is really true, and I don’t think there is any more trustworthy advice, or opinions, or influences than the influences and advice and opinions of those who know you best on your block,” said Gloria.

“Indiana is really a nurturing state, and I hope that will always be the case,” said Bill.

Born and raised near Alexandria, Bill Gaither began his music career while pursuing a degree in teaching at Anderson University. He was still a teenager when he formed the Bill Gaither Trio with his brother, Danny, and his sister, Mary Ann. After graduating from college in 1959, Bill worked as an English teacher at the local high school in Alexandria and married fellow Anderson alumna Gloria Sickal three years later. The Gaithers began writing songs together in the evening while Bill continued teaching as his primary job. Gloria later replaced Mary Ann in the Bill Gaither Trio, and in 1967, Bill left his teaching position so that they could pursue full time careers in the Christian music industry.

The Bill Gaither Trio went on to begin a new era in the gospel music industry, selling out arenas and earning the respect of audiences and industry peers for decades. Their timeless songs would win worldwide recognition, many of which are now considered classics, which have been recorded by countless artists over the years from Elvis Presley to Sandi Patty. In the 1980s, the Gaither Trio evolved into a four-part male group known as the Gaither Vocal Band, which forever raised the bar for gospel groups everywhere and remains the premiere four-part group in gospel music today.

At this date the Gaithers have collaborated on more than 700 popular gospel songs, winning eight Grammy Awards and more than two dozen Dove Awards from The Gospel Music Association (GMA). They have earned the title of the GMA’s “Songwriter of the Year” eight times. In 2000, Bill and Gloria were named “Songwriters of the Century” by ASCAP (American Society of Composers Authors, Publishers).

In 1996, Bill and Gloria Gaither were the first musical artists to be inducted into the Christian Booksellers Association’s Hall of Honor, joining only three others who have previously been honored with this distinction: Reverend Billy Graham, Dr. Kenneth Taylor (author of The Living Bible) and Dr. Richard Halverson (former U.S. Senate Chaplain). The Indianapolis Star named “He Touched Me” among the top 10 songs of the 20th century written by a Hoosier.

The Gaithers have never lost touch with their alma mater. Bill has served on Anderson University’s board of trustees for 28 years. Gloria has taught songwriting classes at the university and served on the National Board of Directors for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. They both received honorary doctorates— Bill an honorary doctor of music and Gloria an honorary doctor of humane letters.

Sachem (Say-chum) background:
In 1970, Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb introduced the “Confederacy of the Sachem,” a group of business, industry, publishing, banking and legal leaders, who served as state hosts, welcoming visitors to Indiana and promoting the state’s culture and economy. The organization’s name came from the Algonquin term applied to village leaders, implying wisdom, judgment and grace.

At the time, Sachems constituted an honor greater than being named a Sagamore of the Wabash. Bylaws outlined that Sachems were to nominate and recommend Sagamore appointments to the governor. The Sagamore of the Wabash dates to the term of Indiana Governor Ralph Gates in 1945 and has been the state’s highest honor bestowed by the governor.

Following Whitcomb’s term, the Sachem project was not pursued, and the organization dissolved in 1989. Whitcomb visited Daniels in 2005 to acquaint him with the concept and to give him custody of remaining Sachem funds. Governor Daniels recreated the Sachem to underscore the importance of moral example; achievement alone without exemplary virtue does not qualify a person for this recognition.

Each Sachem honoree receives a specially-designed sculpture that captures the Native American heritage of the Sachem. All Sachem recipients will be selected by Indiana’s governor.

Bill and Gloria Gaither, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels