2025 Award Nominations

The recipient is honored as the person most responsible for the growth of the party and dedication to the libertarian cause.

• Donald Rainwater (Johnson Co.)
  • Through two election cycles, Donald has been a tremendous voice for liberty and expanded both the reach and perception of the LPIN as a viable political movement in the eyes of voters.
  • Gave the party immense levels of publicity through his runs for Governor in 2020 and 2024.
• Kenneth Richard Fitzlaff (Vigo Co.)
  • Ran a great campaign and spread the message of liberty across his entire district.
• Andrew (Andy) Horning (Owen Co.)
  • Andrew has consistently stepped forward to serve and run for office for many years. His longtime dedication is without questioning and has done much to grow the party.
  • Andy has served the party for many, many years and has done an excellent job or teaching Libertarian principles
• Kristin Alexander (Monroe Co.)
  • One of the two hardest-working people in the party. Hands-down.
  • Kristin has worked tirelessly to maintain and grow party membership over the past year. She has had a major impact on the campaigns of several candidates during the 2024 campaign season.
  • Kristin, in addition to serving as LPIN Vice-Chair, took on the very difficult task of being Don Rainwater’s Campaign Manager. She has been very active in her county party and at the state level for many years, doing what is asked without complaint and with great enthusiasm.
• Tim Cotton (St. Joseph Co.)
  • Tim is dedicated to furthering the Libertarian Party and he goes out of his way to connect with those in our county concerning the cause. He is big part of why I chose to run as a candidate.
• Chad VanRyn (Owen Co.)
  • Hardest working candidate
• Elizabeth Coquillard (Elkhart Co.)
  • Activism and consistency
• Lauri Shillings (Hamilton)
  • Lauri has worked tirelessly and professionally behind the scenes for years to grow and organize the LPIN. Since 2021 – she has been directly involved in the planning and execution of our annual conventions; she is a county chair, a district rep, and – above all – a great friend and kind human. In 2024 she volunteered her marketing acumen and design expertise to help Libertarians succeed – from the county level to the national level – all while running her own congressional race. Aside from the tangible hard work Lauri does to support our party, she is also a voice of reason and rationality – while holding true to her values. She is principled in her decisions and her ideas. She is an integral advocate for the LPIN, the people she loves, and for liberty for ALL. Lauri speaks to Libertarian values in every walk of her life, holds firm to her beliefs when faced with pressure to change them, and treats her fellow human with kindness along the way.

Awarded to a current elected officeholder of the Libertarian Party that best promotes libertarian principles and values through public service.

• Clayton Soultz, Jonesboro City Council (Grant Co.)
  • Clayton has held firm to libertarian principles while serving in Jonesboro.
  • Clayton has successfully been elected to Jonesboro City Council where he not only represents Libertarianism well, but he also represents a youthful future for the LPIN as an influential member of his local community as a city council member.

Awarded to a party member who has worked exceptionally hard to spread the message of libertarian principles to as many potential voters as is possible.

• Lauri Shillings (Hamilton Co.)
  • Lauri’s work on the Rainwater, Oliver and her own campaigns, as well as with the LPIN, has gone a long way in providing a professional image for the LPIN.
• Kristin Alexander (Monroe Co.)
  • Membership director, campaign manager, vice chair, what more can be said, she is a beast and we are lucky to have her!
  • Kristin was great support and a wealth of information for candidates running. As a new member, she was great with all of my questions along the way.
• Tonya Hudson (Lawrence Co.)
  • Tonya tirelessly traveled the Hoosier State as our Lt Governor candidate and spread Libertarianism throughout the state.
  • Tonya traveled all over the state during the gubernatorial campaign this year. She is heavily dedicated to the message of liberty, and the growth of the LPIN. When she sets a goal – she goes all in. She personally delivered over 100 yard signs for the campaign and applies libertarian principles to all parts of her life – a walking cheerleader for liberty!
• Kenneth Richard Fitzlaff (Vigo Co.)
  • Invested his personal time and money
• Darin Kinser (Lawrence Co.)
  • Lawrence Countys growth and consistency is because of Darin
• Andrew (Andy) Horning (Owen Co.)
  • A voice of reason in a world of soundbites, Andrew brings the Libertarian message not only as an author but also as a communicator. Andrew received 73,278 votes in his campaigh for the US Senate.
• Kristopher Bilbrey (Delaware Co.)
  • Mr. Bilbrey is the host of The Political Spotlight podcast on YouTube and Rumble. His podcast focuses on local politics where he often speaks about Libertarian ideals and promotes Libertarian candidates. His work to show corruption in local and state government is important for educating voters and highlighting the importance of having more voices in government outside the two party system. In addition to his 5 night a week podcast, he also hosted three town halls for Donald Rainwater during the 2024 election cycle.
• Andrew Smith (Hancock Co.)
  • Andrew delivered a number of wonderful opinion pieces in 2024 that articulated the Libertarian position very well on a wide variety of topics. Many of those articles spread through multiple publications giving us a lot of positive earned media. This included an article on Asset Forfeiture which was reportedly the most popular opinion piece for the Indy Star in 2024, by a very wide margin.
• Jaime Ortiz (Tippecanoe Co.)
  • The door-knocking king of Indiana

Awarded to a campaign volunteer who has worked above and beyond in an extraordinary fashion, and has significantly contributed to the success of a campaign.

• Perry Shepard (Greene Co.)
  • Perry was good to be at any and every event possible. he shared and commented on every social media post for all candidates in the 8th district and beyond.
• Kristin Alexander (Monroe Co.)
  • Kristin took on the difficult task of managing Don Rainwater’s campaign with no experience of running a statewide candidate and did so with great skill and patience.
  • Stepped up while Vice chair to run our biggest campaign of 2024.
  • When the Gubernatorial campaign needed someone to step up when a family emergency required the campaign manager to step back, Kristin went above and beyond to step in and take the reins. Kristin was able to hit the ground running and maintain the campaign’s momentum while working to identify new opportunities to expand the campaign’s outreach.
  • Seeing Kristin juggle running the Rainwater campaign while also serving as LPIN VC has been impressive.
• Beth Spurgin (Vigo Co.)
  • Worked tirelessly on Fitzlaff campaign
  • Beth put in a lot of hard work for the Fitzlaff for Congress campaign.
  • Beth came to us after convention and not only immediately joined the party but became very involved and instrumental to several campaigns across the 8th District. Beth has tirelessly worked to support multiple candidates and support their efforts. As a small business owner Beth sacrificed much to be able to volunteer for campaigns giving countless hours, financially, driving and more. All in an effort to support a party she just joined. I can think of no one across the state who has done more as a new volunteer to live out our values and support us more than she has.
  • Beth joined the 8th District Congressional campaign to work for a candidate she personally believed in. She was new to politics, and the Libertarian Party – but never wavered in her principles or support of our party. She had her candidate’s back through thick and thin and wore many hats she’d never donned before. Her positive attitude and passion kept the campaign running when faced with roadblocks.
• Charlie Florence (St. Joseph Co.)
  • Charlie went out of his way to allow us to use his place of business to conduct meetings and to do phone banking for candidates. He made sure to share information of other fellow Libertarians campaigns outside of his own campaign and he helped support multiple campaigns at once. I was unable to set up my own phone banking platform in time, but Charlie helped me set up something. When I had volunteers unable to figure out the technology, Charlie again took time out of his own campaign calling to make sure they were set up. Charlie is a role model for Libertarians and the community alike.
• Larry Silver Jr. (Hancock Co.)
  • Larry once again sat at booths, raised money at fairs and events, and took over both the county party and social media for my campaign, while influencing the city council to more Libertarian stances. He is a rock star.

Awarded to a Libertarian Candidate that has shown an extraordinary ability to reach and connect with voters, as well as further the cause of libertarianism.

• Donald Rainwater (Johnson Co.)
  • Once again Don represented the LPIN and the libertarian perspective on state government with tremendous skill and perseverance. This year’s campaign was much more difficult than 2020’s for a variety of reason, but Don kept up the pace for months and gave Hoosiers a true choice for a smaller and more tolerant government.
• Luke Lomax (Hancock Co.)
  • Outperformed most Libertarians in voting percentage, didn’t go negative and tarnish the Libertarian Party’s integrity, and received over 5000 votes in a single county.
  • While continuing to perform his duties as regional representative on the SCC, Luke ran an active and impactful campaign for Hancock County Council.
  • One of our best performers in the State this election. Ran a really good campaign all on his own.
• Jarrad Lancaster (Whitley Co.)
  • Jarrad ran all around Northeast Indiana in his campaign for Congress this year.
• Kenneth Richard Fitzlaff (Vigo Co.)
  • Best grass roots effort
  • Richard poured countless hours into not only his campaign, but into supporting the campaigns of others. I’m curious how many miles he put on his vehicle during this campaign. I know he was everywhere, meeting as many voters as possible.
  • Fitzlaff answered a call to action placed by the LPIN Leadership. The LPIN had a goal to have a candidate in all 9 congressional districts (and they succeeded!). When Fitzlaff heard the call – he immediately jumped all in. He began a self-funded campaign, and his boots hit the ground. He was able to raise additional funds from people who were inspired by his uphill battle against a “ghost candidate”. He generated tons of earned media – and worked across aisles to bring election transparency to the public. His campaign faced many obstacles: it’s the largest geographic district in Indiana & it has the fewest LPIN affiliated counties, it is very rural, his campaign signs were stolen from multiple locations, and his republican opponent refused to debate. Despite that – he continued on and worked 2 full time jobs and campaigned every single day in September and October; he knocked doors, made phone calls, and attended every interview and candidate event physically possible. His dedication is something to be commended and celebrated.
  • Principled, consistent messaging. Not afraid to take it to his opponent, even in public.
• Libby Glass (Marion Co.)
  • Libby took on a Democrat incumbant in a highly Democrat district, so much so there was (again) no Republican challenger. Libby received the confidence of 1817 voters, a solid 11% of the total.
• Tim Cotton (St. Joseph Co.)
  • The biggest reason I want to nominate Tim Cotton is because when I was electioneering on November 5th outside the polling place, I was asked to leave and told I was unable to solicit on the property at all. However, there was a Republican candidate right there closer to the door by 15 ft. Once Tim found out, he came to the polling place right away and confronted those involved and solved the matter with diplomacy. I was able to stay and continue to educate people.

Awarded to a Libertarian in recognition of outstanding service as an appointed Libertarian.

• Chad VanRyn (Owen Co.)
  • Chad has served in an appointed position in Owen County and has participated in committees in his community. I think we were all shocked that he did win his council seat.
  • Chad VanRyn has served in appointed position on the Owen County planning commission in addition to being a full time husband and father, a small business owner and leader within his county party. Chad ran unsuccessfully for county council while still fulfilling all those duties and working with the community on UDO and several other projects. He’s also done wonders for his county party and supporting other LPIN candidates.
• Danny Lundy (Morgan Co.)
  • Makes a difference everywhere he serves.