By Deba Uwadiae

Columbus City Mayor Andrew J. Ginther has announced five residents of the city as the newest inductees to the Columbus Hall of Fame. The five 2023 Hall of Fame inductees, including Elizabeth Greer Coit, Imran Malik Awan, Jordan A. Miller, Jr., Linda Schuler, and Les Wright, will be formally inducted on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at the Lincoln Theatre Ballroom on E Long Street, Columbus, Ohio at 5.30pm.

The 2023 Inductees:      

Elizabeth Greer Coit

Elizabeth Greer Coit was an ardent advocate for education and equal rights for women. She and her friend, Frances Casement, revitalized the moribund Ohio Woman Suffrage Association in 1884. That year, Elizabeth also founded the Columbus Equal Rights Association, the first woman suffrage group in Columbus. In 1894, she and the state organization lobbied and won a bill permitting women to vote in school board elections.

Imran Malik Awan

Imran currently serves as an appointed commissioner of the City of Columbus Community Relations Commission. In the past, he has served on the Columbus Mayors’ Faith Leaders Action Group. He serves on the board of trustees for the Washington Gladden Social Justice Park of America, the first of its kind in the U.S. He is also president of the first Noor Islamic Cultural Center satellite campus. He’s an active board member of the Veterans Interfaith Bridge (VIB) of Ohio and has also served as the chair of the Social Responsibility Committee of the Hilliard YMCA’s Board of Directors.                               

Jordan A. Miller, Jr.

Jordan A. Miller, Jr. is currently the Chairman and CEO of Adelphi Bank, Ohio’s only Black-owned bank. Adelphi Bank aims to help families, individuals and businesses build wealth and self sufficiency that can enrich their lives. Prior to this new venture, he was the Regional Chairman at Fifth Third Bank of Central Ohio and leader of the local advisory board.  His focus was to expand the Bank’s footprint in the Commercial, Consumer, and Wealth Management areas.  He was also committed to efforts to expand affordable housing and helping women and minority-owned businesses gain access to capital.

Linda Schuler

During her 30-year career with the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, Linda Schuler saw first-hand the importance of community-based programs. As a Senior Center Director for 21 years, she learned how important dedicated volunteers are to the success of center programs. In 1997, Linda and her wife, Karla Rothan, were asked to chair the Stonewall Columbus Pride Parade. She continued to serve as parade chair until 2019. Under her leadership, the parade grew into a community-wide event with public officials, churches, employee resource groups and activists all marching together to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community, bringing in over 700,000 visitors and millions of dollars to the Columbus community each year.

Les Wright

Les Wright is an institution builder and a committed community leader focused on improving the status of women and families. In 1990, she became the first African American woman to serve on Columbus City Council and was President Pro Tem in her second term. During her nine years on Council, she garnered national recognition for her innovative work with law enforcement and the juvenile courts to address school truancy, resulting in her selection to co-chair the National League of Cities’ Task Force on Youth, Education, and Families.

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