I began showing up at Fishers Town Council meetings in January of 2012 as I began this local news blog.  I had been a reporter covering other local government bodies but it had been more than 28 years since covering such a beat and I was learning at every meeting.

The Town of Fishers retained the law firm of Church, Church, Hittle & Antrim for legal services to the town and in the early days of my town council coverage, Attorney Doug Church was at most council meetings.  He was a treasure trove of information for a new reporter such as me.

For example, when the council passed a routine item financially supporting the Fishers YMCA, Doug Church went into the history of how the Y ended up in Fishers and not another area community (many wanted it).  That history ended up in my story, because I was certain many residents of Fishers, a number of them recent residents, were not aware that Fishers was chosen over many other suitors for that beautiful YMCA facility we continue to enjoy today.

I also remember a town council work session when Counselor Church gave a stern warning to councilors not to lobby a certain board, which state law dictates must remain independent.  Everyone listened carefully and my best educated guess tells me no one lobbied that body again.

Doug Church is a man with a stellar reputation among legal circles, not just locally, but throughout the state.  When he argued before the state supreme court on behalf of the town many years ago, I watched the video and it was clear attorney Church’s reputation was well known to all the justices.

As a new reporter trying to cover the local council, Mr. Church often introduced me to people in town government he thought I should know.  Overall, in his dealings with me, he has always been a class act.

As Fishers became a city, the mayor hired a city attorney and no longer continued the contract with Church, Church, Hittle & Antrim.  But Doug Church’s fingerprints in forming the Fishers we know today are everywhere.

I tend to see Doug Church each year at the fund raising breakfast for the Fishers YMCA.  We nod and say hello and that’s the extent of my contacts with him in recent years.

I am giving you all this background to recognize Doug Church.  He has been named the 2020 Legendary Lawyer by his peers in the Indiana Bar Foundation for his dedication to legal ethics, community involvement and public service, according to a story published this past week by my news gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter.

“There is not another person who possesses greater insight, greater passion, or greater humility than Doug,” said the Honorable Steven David, Indiana Supreme Court, in his letter of support. “He is everything that comes to mind when one thinks of what a legendary lawyer is and what a legendary lawyer means to our profession.”

My congratulations to Doug Church on a well deserved honor.