Tippecanoe Valley senior Barbie Kimmel was named one of 12 recipients of the Eugene Cato Award. (Photo by Mike Deak)

INDIANAPOLIS — Tippecanoe Valley High School senior Barbie Kimmel is one of 12 athletes from the state of Indiana to receive the 2013 C. Eugene Cato Memorial Scholarship Award.

The award is presented to athletes who represent character as described as well-rounded, positive role models that have demonstrated excellence in academics, school and community involvement, character, sportsmanship and citizenship.

Each individual will receive a $2,500 scholarship for their prep accomplishments and be recognized on Thursday, April 11, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis as part of the Brady Sports Achievement Awards established by Methodist Sports Medicine.

This year’s recipients are Kimmel; Aaron Bode, Avon; Christopher Dietrich, Crown Point; Anthony Douglass II, South Bend Washington; Erin Duncan, Providence; Anna Marie Farlow, Southwood; Levi Hilgenhold, Perry Central; Kaitlyn O’Rourke, Lebanon; Stephanie Pritchett, Lapel; Taylor Shake, Sullivan; Alec Sievern, Evansville Reitz; and Trent Tatlock, Edinburgh.

Kimmel has earned ten varsity letters in gymnastics, swimming, and track and field during her time at Tippecanoe Valley High School. Top-ranked academically, Kimmel is a member of the Key Club and National Honor Society.  She has served as a student council class representative and peer tutor during each of her four years at Tippecanoe Valley.  Kimmel has volunteered as a youth gymnastics coach, served as a student assistant for her church youth group, attended  summer church youth mission trips to Jamaica, and contributed as a committee volunteer for the Red Cross Blood Drive. She is the daughter of Joseph and Cinda Kimmel.

The scholarship pro­gram is named in tribute to the late former Commissioner C. Eugene Cato who led the IHSAA from 1983 to 1995 and also served as assistant commissioner from 1976 to 1983. “Gene’s” passion for athletics and his belief in the intrinsic value of athletic competition on the forma­tion of a child’s character enabled Gene to positively impact generations of young men and women with his well-known “Firm, Fair, and Friendly” approach to caring for others. He passed away in 2008.

Since 2003-04, the IHSAA has recognized 113 outstanding student-athletes with scholarships totaling $282,500.

Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, who captured the hearts of sports fans while battling leukemia during a three-month absence last fall, will serve as the keynote speaker for Thursday’s awards dinner.