When a town, later a city, grows economically, there are key people in that community steering the way.  For Fishers, Warren Harling, known as Butch to his friends, was a key player in the massive growth Fishers has seen ever since I moved to Fishers in 1991.

Warren Harling died today, per a Twitter message posted Monday evening (see above) by Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.

I worked, on and off, as a local news reporter for many years.  In the 1970s and early 80s, that’s how I made a living.  The past nine years I have reported on Fishers news as a volunteer.  I have attended numerous public meetings as a reporter, and Warren Harling knew how to run a meeting.

Mr. Harling was a man that cared enough about his community to spend untold hours toiling on the local Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.  These are two governmental bodies that do not normally receive a great deal of publicity, but both have been instrumental in the economic expansion Fishers has experienced.

After sitting through many a meeting chaired by Mr. Harling, I can tell you he was in charge and was a master of moving the proceedings along while giving everyone at a public hearing a fair hearing.

I recall one Plan Commission meeting where he chastised a prominent local attorney representing a developer for not providing the guarantees the city should have in the arrangement.  He had seen so many shiny, nice looking projects never come to fruition.  Warren Harling was determined to protect the interests of the city and its taxpayers.

I was honored to be the Master of Ceremonies at one of the annual dinners the city hosts in honor of volunteers, passing out awards to the many local citizens donating their precious time to the city and local nonprofit groups.  Mayor Scott Fadness chose that night to award Warren Harling the Key to the City, a well deserved honor.

During a podcast interview with the Mayor Fadness, I brought-up Mr. Harling’s name and the mayor spent several minutes listing the many contributions Warren Harling had made to the Fishers community.

There are some “movers and shakers” within any city that would be hard to replace.  Warren Harling will be hard to replace, but there are others that will step forward and learn from the example Warren Harling has set.

I had many off-the-record discussions with Mr. Harling.  He had so many stories and so much institutional knowledge about Fishers that I did my best to file away in memory what he taught me.

This is a sad time for Fishers.  I have a tear in my eye while writing this.

My sincere sympathies to the family of Warren “Butch” Harling.