MDLF Annual Event
The Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation held its 2026 Annual Event on Thursday, September 10, at the Indiana State Museum in Downtown Indianapolis. Nearly 400 Hoosier leaders gathered for a record-breaking evening, including MDLF Fellows, alumni, Board Members, community partners, sponsors, and friends from across the state.
This year’s Annual Event celebrated the launch of Mitch Daniels’ new memoir, Impatience Is a Virtue: A Life Where the Buck Stops, offering guests a unique opportunity to hear directly from Daniels about the experiences, lessons, and leadership principles that shaped the book.
Daniels was joined by Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and contributing writer at The Atlantic, for a thoughtful conversation on leadership, strong institutions, free expression, pluralism, public trust, and the civic habits necessary to sustain a healthy society. Their discussion explored how leaders can pursue meaningful change while strengthening the institutions and communities they are entrusted to serve.
The evening also celebrated outstanding leadership and service across Indiana. We proudly recognized Dr. John and Sarah Lechleiter with the Daniels Prize, Scott Massey (Class VIII) with the 2026 Outstanding Fellow Award, and Casey Crouse (Class VII), founder of New Shoe Day, with the 2026 Driving Change Award.
The night was presented by Garmong Construction, with IBJ Media as our Torchbearer Media Sponsor and the Bruce and Beth White Family Foundation as our Champion of Change Sponsor. It was an evening of meaningful connections, insightful conversation, inspiring leadership, and a shared commitment to MDLF’s mission to Enable Leaders. Drive Change.
