Right To Your Doorstep: John Dortch receives Esteemed Dr. Daryl Yost Award for Philanthropy
By M. Todd Manuel
FWIS Contributing Writer
John P Dortch was the 2023 recipient of the Daryl Yost Award from the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center on April 24, 2023. The esteemed award has never been given to an African American business leader since its creation nearly nine years ago. The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, The NIIC--is an incubator for business development offering supportive resources to entrepreneurs in the greater Fort Wayne area. The award's representation models the life and activities of its namesake, Dr. Daryl Yost, a practical, honest, and genuine businessman who helped establish the NIIC and many other businesses in the area.
After nearly a decade, the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center on Stellhorn and Hobson Road successfully supports hundreds of local businesses while coaching them through their entrepreneurship journey.
John Dortch is a man that I have come to know well in my business activities and through listening to him speak. He is everything Fort Wayne needs him to be while staying continually committed to challenging disempowering beliefs. John Dortch is a mentor and a man that doesn't do anything without purpose. But the best part is he does this out of the kindness of his heart. Admittedly, John avoids the spotlight and he looks for nothing in return.
The Dr. Daryl Yost Excellence in Philanthropy Award represents the embodiment of philanthropic actions consistently over time for the benefit of others in our community.
John began his journey by working hard and helping to develop others. As the original founder of the Fort Wayne Black Chamber of Commerce, a previous senior executive at Parkview Hospital healthcare system, and the owner of several businesses, John Dortch embodies meaningful actions for his role in several business-related developments in our area. His interactions center themselves around virtues and great business principles with a shared belief in an indiscriminate approach to entrepreneurship, community, and business development.
Over the past 40 years, John has worked in the community as a leader who also founded the Fort Wayne Ink Spot, a local black-owned original newspaper. He is on many executive boards and continues to meet high-profile business arbitration processes by applying a sturdy philosophy of goodwill.
The Daryl Yost Award for philanthropy represents the great things above and the philanthropic contributions towards cultivating teams and organizations. That is, the award is not for being just a great business person but for being that while also leading by example in volunteering, teaching, and having a passion for helping others. John embodies assisting others, and in response to receiving this award, he says jokingly, "In receiving this award, I look at NIIC, and I believe they did the right thing because I got the award, and I do appreciate that," as the crowd of a few hundred gathered at Parkview's Mirro Center.
Speaking with Jami Thomas, the NIIC's Senior Director of Business Development, that day, she described to me that John felt like a father to her. With Mr. Dortch's back turned in his everyday, enthusiastic conversation, Jami looked at me in tears as she described the man who helped her become who she is today. She mentioned her development and the development of many who attended the NIIC programs--hundreds and maybe even thousands that John Dortch either indirectly or directly applies his honest connection that serves as a lifeline in times of need or lack of direction.
The Yost Award is just one of many things that this business giant deserves as he continues to grow and empower others. If you have ever sat on a board or just talked to John, you will come to know the man that I and many have come to respect and learn from. The YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne, the City of Fort Wayne, and more than a dozen other organizations attest to his genuine goodwill and ethical approach to entrepreneurship.
Last month John opened an abandoned manufacturing facility that once provided jobs in this area. The building, which was Stuart manufacturing, offers office space for rent, classes, health screenings through a partnership with Parkview Health, and a space where the community might come to learn about how to become an entrepreneur, as John puts it:
"...Spike Lee came out with a movie titled Do the Right Thing. I always try to do that. I wouldn't say I like to say what I've done, what I'm planning to do, or anything of that nature. I can tell you one thing. I'm still going. Doing what is right is doing what is best for the greater or common good."
He takes pride in that common good and exemplifies and keeps it as a way of life. His contributions to this city are enormous, and his eagerness to help others succeed comes right to your doorstep. The Fort Wayne Ink Spot congratulates our owner, friend, and community father, Mr. John P. Dortch.