By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
July 6, 2026
At a special ceremony on Thursday, which honored the current class and alumni of its Future Presidents of America program, the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site announced a new endowment that will ensure the initiative continues to teach leadership skills and foster civic engagement for generations to come.
The $2 million Gracia Johnson Floyd Family Endowment of support was announced during the Future Presidents of America Alumni Evening and Presidential Mentor Pinning Ceremony at the historic Harrison home in Indianapolis. Students currently enrolled in the program as well as alumni, friends and family were assembled on the lawn under the big white tent that just a few hours before had hosted a naturalization ceremony for 75 new U.S. citizens.
Charles Hyde, president and CEO of the Harrison Presidential Site, described the endowment as “transformative.” The funding, he said, “will ensure the continued sustainability and growth of the Future Presidents of America initiative as it builds character, leadership and civic literacy in the next generation.”
Gracia Johnson Floyd, who passed away in October 2025, was deeply committed to the Harrison Presidential Site. She served more than a decade on the presidential site’s board of directors, including a term as board president, the first woman to hold that position. Also, she was the first woman trustee and president of the Arthur Jordan Foundation.
The Future Presidents of America program was particularly special to Johnson Floyd. A graduate of Butler University, where she majored in history, Johnson Floyd would attend as much of the week-long program as she could each summer. She often sat in the back and absorbed the lessons on the Constitution and citizenship, and learned from the personal stories the many elected officials and civic leaders shared with the students.
“She would get giddy each year before camp started,” Gracia-Jean Darling, Johnson Floyd’s daughter said.
The Future Presidents program has been teaching civics, history and leadership to middle and high school students since the summer of 2015. Designed and run by Roger Hardig, BHPS vice president of education, and Jennifer Hodge, Garcia Johnson Floyd Presidential Fellow, the weeklong camp examines leadership through the lens of the American presidency. Group activities, units of instruction and a host of prominent Hoosiers who share their life stories and insights help give the 20 or so students the skills and knowledge they need not only to succeed but also thrive in whatever endeavor they pursue.
Four other presidential museums have noted benefits of the initiative and are now offering the Future Presidents of America program. The four sites are the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois; he tGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee; and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton, Virginia
“My mom just loved teaching civic involvement, volunteerism, leadership skills, etiquette, networking to the next generation,” Darling said. “Those aren’t the things (the students are) going to learn in school, no matter where they go, but these are things that will serve them the rest of their lives.”
During the Thursday evening ceremony, Future Presidents alumni told the crowd how the program impacted their lives.
Adeline Lindsay, FPA class of 2017 and Purdue University graduate, said what she learned in the program has become more relevant and more valuable as she has moved into adulthood. Future Presidents, she said, gave her the confidence and drive to take on leadership rolls, and, most importantly, helped her realize she could participate immediately.
“Future Presidents of America gave me this feeling that leadership was not something I have to wait for,” Lindsay said. “It was not reserved for people who already had a perfect plan, a perfect resume, or a title that seemed super important. I’m still figuring out that plan part, but it made me feel like I could step in the room, contribute something, and grow into the kind of person that I really wanted to be.”
Speaking before the ceremony, Logan Tucker, FPA class of 2023 and current political science and economics major at DePauw University, said the program sharpened his interest in politics and the speakers, former Democratic state Rep. Christina Hale and former Indiana Fever star and Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings, inspired him. He is eyeing a career in policy analysis and wants to use his skills to better his home state.
“I’d love to stay in Indiana,” Logan said of his future. “I’m proud to be from Indianapolis. Part of what this camp teaches you is Indiana history, Indianapolis history and stuff to be proud of.”
Johnson Floyd’s family history included a unique connection to the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site. Her great grandfather used to stop by the Harrison home each morning on his way downtown to his law office and gave the former president a ride, according to Darling.
And, Darling said, her mother would like knowing that her family’s endowment will help more students participate in the Future Presidents program and, perhaps, eventually boost another Hoosier into the White House as president.
“She’d be very proud today,” Darling said of her mother. “She would be very excited and very proud that we made it happen.”
In announcing the endowment, Hyde recalled Benjamin Harrison’s 1889 inaugural address where he looked forward with confidence. “I do not mistrust the future,” the Hoosier president said. Even though the students who enroll in the Future Presidents program are very talented, Hyde said, their talent alone is not enough. Their ability to become leaders requires other people nurturing and mentoring them, just as Johnson Floyd did and will continue to do as part of her legacy through the endowment.
“This is one of our ways of trusting the future and thinking of that next generation,” Hyde said of the Gracia Johnson Floyd Family Endowment. “Gracia was always very passionate about American history and thinking about the next generation and how we put them in the best position for success. That’s certainly what we hope to do through the Future Presidents of America program.”
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org
