‘Team Hadley’ Awarded LWV Honor

David and Sheridan Hadley’s touch is evident all over some of Montgomery County’s most democratic, neighbor-serving projects.

If you’ve never met them, you might not realize how giant their impact is. David looks like someone who’s spent his time outdoors. He showed up for the dinner in a pin-striped blue button-up with red cuffs. He’s lithe and white-haired. Sheridan looks like she’s on the cusp of retiring from her role as principal, silver pixie cut, khaki slacks and a white jean jacket. They exude an energy that matches what they do.

You might see them at concerts or demonstrations for democracy, working the polls, in the seats at government meetings, or in church. They are tireless, networking and inviting others to help them make the county a better place to live. They are two-time recipients of the League of Women Voters’ Making Democracy Work Award, which honors those who strengthen civic life. It is shorthand for a decades-long record of seeing community needs and then doing the hard work to meet them.

The specific achievement that put ‘Team Hadley’ at the center of this year’s celebration is Crawfordsville Area Transportation, the city’s long-needed public transportation system. CAT did not start as a fully formed system; it started with many citizens, the Hadleys among them, who listened to the need. Local businesses and residents needed a way to get employees to shifts and patients to medical appointments. At the same time, the League’s local planning meeting was elevating transportation as a priority under its economic health position. The Hadleys connected the dots.

As League members approved transportation as a focus, David and Sheridan acted. They met with city officials, including the mayor, and with key partners such as economic development consultant Cheryl Morphew, to explore what a real public transit system might look like.

The Hadleys helped secure sponsorships to fund a consultant-led, countywide needs assessment—a feasibility study that would determine what kind of system could work here. The League of Women Voters and others helped with financial support for that study, and the Hadleys linked local efforts to state-level resources at the Indiana Department of Transportation. Eventually, a grant was obtained to expand transportation, and the Sunshine Vans operated by the Parks Department evolved into CAT, a true public transit system for the Crawfordsville area.

If it seems like they put in a lot of work, Sheridan framed it this way: “The timing was right, and it was just plain fun.”

The numbers from CAT’s first quarter of 2026 speak to the need: CAT has provided 2,227 rides in just three months. Those riders include seniors, people with disabilities, high school and alternative school students and adults traveling to medical appointments, jobs, school and grocery stores. Fourteen employees now support the system, and the budget request for the coming year is roughly $700,000. The community needs to expand rural service and create more tailored routes for businesses that need reliable transportation for workers. To celebrate CAT’s growth and encourage ridership, the League provided reusable shopping bags – branded with CAT and League logos – for the first waves of passengers.

CAT is only the latest chapter in the Hadleys’ civic story.

Sheridan, a retired Hoover Elementary School principal, has poured her energy into initiatives like Humans United for Equality, the Women’s Legacy Fund, the Moco Robo robotics program at Ivy Tech, and the “Concerts on the Corner” series at Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church, which offers free music to a neighborhood that includes many low-income renters. Each of these projects opens doors – to STEM learning, to leadership opportunities for women, to arts and community life. Sheridan championed the creation of the skate park at Milligan Park, pressing the case that young people needed a safe, dedicated place to skate – and then working until that “state of the art” facility became reality.

David, a retired Wabash College political science professor, has served on the Friends of Sugar Creek board, the city-county planning commission, the South Montgomery school board and an advisory council for the Indiana Department of Education. He has been active in party politics and was appointed by Governor Evan Bayh to the Indiana State Ethics Commission, where he once served as chair – a role that underscores his long-standing commitment to transparency and accountability in government.

Together, they have also led projects that grabbed wider attention. In 2018, moved by the Parkland school shooting, they organized “Gifts for Guns,” a no-questions-asked gun turn-in that exchanged firearms and ammunition for gift cards, an effort covered by the Indianapolis Star and WRTV.

In their acceptance remarks, David and Sheridan resisted the spotlight. They described their role in CAT as a “small part” of making democracy work. David framed democracy as requiring fair rules, responsive institutions, protection of minority rights, transparency, accountability and a rich ecosystem of civic groups and associations; in Montgomery County, he said, they had been fortunate to find all of these. Sheridan described CAT’s launch as a case study in how purpose, platform, and people must come together at the right time. The purpose was clear – people needed rides. The platform was the League, with its reputation and structure for study and advocacy. The people were the mayor, city and county officials, parks staff, the Community Foundation, state transportation partners and residents who cared enough to show up.

The Defending Democracy Award recognizes not just a year’s worth of work, but a way of moving through the world. In CAT, in skate parks and literacy efforts, in environmental protection and ethical government, “Team Hadley” has modeled a simple but powerful creed: democracy is not something we admire from afar; it is something we build, together, one local project at a time.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, multi-issue political organization which encourages informed and active participation in government. For information about the League, visit the website www.lwvmontcoin.org; or, visit the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, Indiana Facebook page.