Honor a Hero.
Activate a State.
A permanent civic recognition program built to scale state by state — beginning in Indianapolis on June 17, 2026.
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Mary L. Aurtrey
A life of duty, service, and sustained community impact — recognized as the first of the Founding 50.
Sergeant Major, U.S. Army (Retired). Vietnam · Desert Storm. Recognized by VFW-aligned organizations, AMVETS Post 99, and the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame.
Mary leads work with the Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, The Julian Center, and women’s leadership networks across Indianapolis.
On June 17, 2026, Mary will be honored at the Office of Congressman André Carson — and through that honor, every citizen, community, nonprofit, and business in Indiana gets access to a verified civic platform.
The framed presentation Mary receives on June 17. Certificate of Honor (#HBA-2026-0001), Community Hero Medal, and signed Letter of Legacy — one frame, one ceremony, one permanent civic record. The State Sponsor’s name appears on the certificate and remains on the record from this day forward.
June 17, 2026
Dear Mary,
On behalf of CityByApp™ Inc. and the HeroByApp™ Community Heroes Program, it is my deepest honor to recognize you as our Founding 50 Honoree — Certificate #HBA-2026-0001. This recognition is nonpartisan and intended solely to honor service and community impact.
Your decades of military service, senior leadership, and sustained community impact represent the very spirit this program was created to celebrate. You have lived a life of duty and discipline, and you have continued that same service through unwavering commitment to others. This recognition is designed to create lasting benefit — not just as a moment, but as a permanent civic legacy.
Locally — Your recognition opens CityByApp™ access for you and your selected affiliated organizations and issues Virtual Key certificates for the State of Indiana, Indianapolis (Primary), and your legacy hometowns Sumter and Pinewood, South Carolina (Legacy) — ensuring your name remains connected to the communities that shaped your journey. These Virtual Key certificates make platform access available to all 6,785,528 citizens, 92 counties, 1,008 cities/towns/villages, and an estimated 620,000 businesses across Indiana.
- Women In Networking (WIN) — Indianapolis
- American Legion Women’s Post 438 — Indianapolis
- Global Society of Female Entrepreneurs (GSFE) — Menifee, CA
- Woman’s Life, a Trusted Fraternal Life — Chapter 703 — Indianapolis
- National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) — Indianapolis Section
- Sister Soldier Network — Indianapolis
- Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame (Inductee)
- Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (IADRC) — Indianapolis
- Community Advisory Board, IU Memory University — Indianapolis
- American Veterans (AMVETS Post 99) — Indianapolis
- Veterans History Project (Library of Congress)
Nationally — You are the first of 50. This recognition is part of a scalable civic recognition model designed to connect leadership, organizations, businesses, and citizens through a unified civic ecosystem — built to strengthen engagement and measurable outcomes over time. When a hero is honored in every state capital, 50 Virtual Key Certificates will make platform access available across the entire United States — all 3,243 counties, more than 51,000 communities, and over 33 million businesses eligible for one unified civic platform. Your recognition is the foundation of that national vision.
Globally — Indianapolis’s sister-city relationships are also honored through Virtual Key certificates spanning multiple continents, including Campinas (Brazil), Cologne (Germany), Hangzhou (China), Hyderabad (India), Le Mans (France), Monza (Italy), Northamptonshire (United Kingdom), Onitsha (Nigeria), Piran (Slovenia), Santiago de Querétaro (Mexico), and Taipei (Taiwan) — reflecting our program principle: Local Honor. Global Impact.
Mary, your service matters. Your legacy endures. And through HeroByApp™, the impact you have already made will continue to be discoverable, verifiable, and celebrated — locally, nationally, and globally — for generations to come.
With great respect and gratitude,
Jerome Mark Mikulich
Founder & CEO
CityByApp™ Inc. x ByApp.ai
HeroByApp™ Community Heroes Program
- Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation (HVAF) — Indianapolis
- Ronald McDonald House — Indianapolis
- Good News Ministries — Indianapolis
- The Julian Center — Indianapolis
Indiana proof point + institutional foundations.
Three steps. One state activated at a time.
Honor a Hero
A community member nominates an extraordinary local leader in their state capital — a veteran, educator, first responder, nonprofit director, or volunteer. Free. Takes two minutes.
The Hero is honored at an official ceremony
After verification, the selected Hero receives a Certificate of Honor, Community Hero Medal, Letter of Legacy, and a Virtual Key that activates their entire state.
The Virtual Key unlocks the platform statewide
CityByApp™ becomes available — for every government agency, nonprofit, business, and citizen in the state. Each one claims a free verified profile and starts publishing real, current, trusted information.
Joel can walk Jose through this — slide by slide.
Click the arrows to advance. The full visual story of the Founding 50 in two minutes.
One honor ripples across every stakeholder in the state.
Citizens
6.7M
One verified place to find every civic agency, nonprofit, and business serving them.
Civic Agencies
1,008+
Free verified listing. Selected municipalities invited to the CivicByApp™ Pilot Sandbox — at no cost.
Nonprofits
33,000+
Free verified profile. Selected nonprofits earn Recognition Certificates at the ceremony.
Businesses
~620K
Free verified business listing on the state’s trusted civic platform.
Sponsors
1 per state
Permanent named placement on the Certificate of Honor and across every channel the activation flows through.
Three tiers. One sponsor per state, permanent.
The complete benefits package — including ceremony participation, branded recognition channels, activation reporting, statewide announcement materials, and platform integration — is unveiled on the founder call.
Municipality, county, or region. Branded recognition within the local activation footprint.
“Presented by [Your Brand]” on the Certificate of Honor. Statewide announcement materials. CivicByApp Pilot introduction to qualified municipalities. One per state, permanent.
Founding partner across all 50 state capitals plus international sister cities. Brand named on every Certificate of Honor.
Why this resonates with Western & Southern.
Western & Southern’s community work is built on a long-standing principle: invest financial strength into the people and institutions that hold communities together. The Founding 50 is the same idea expressed in civic recognition. Mary L. Aurtrey makes the alignment especially clear:
From handshake to permanent record in 32 days.
Schedule the founder call →15 minutes with Jerome Mark Mikulich, Founder & CEO. The founder call covers the complete sponsor benefits package, ceremony participation details, statewide announcement materials, and the path to Western & Southern’s State Sponsor designation. Curated and introduced by Joel Clelland.
What the path looks like
The receipts, the architecture, the contacts.
Mission
To honor one extraordinary community leader in every U.S. state capital — and through that honor, activate the civic infrastructure that serves every citizen, community, nonprofit, and business in their state.
Vision
50 heroes. 50 states. One ceremony at a time — building the trusted civic platform that connects every citizen, community, nonprofit, and business to the tools they deserve.
The Tech Stack
Five-tier civic architecture: ByApp.ai (AI orchestration) · CivicByApp (governance OS) · Nine modules (ReportByApp, BidByApp, WalletByApp, SecureByApp, RealtyByApp, GridByApp, AnalyticsByApp, MapsByApp, CivicAudit) · CityByApp deployments · ByApp Exchange. AI runs on a four-step Permission Ladder: Read → Draft → Recommend → Execute.
The Founder
Jerome Mark Mikulich · Founder & CEO · CityByApp™ Inc. × ByApp.ai · 13 years building civic infrastructure · President’s Volunteer Service Award · Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award (twice).
Contact
Curator: Joel Clelland · Strategic Advisor
Founder: Jerome Mark Mikulich
herobyapp@citybyapp.com
citybyapp.com/herobyapp
Sponsor Teaser (2-page leave-behind)
Download the 2-page sponsor teaser (PDF) — the fast read. Print-ready leave-behind designed to share internally with your team before the founder call.
Executive Briefing (full)
Download the executive briefing (PDF) — 14 pages, print-ready. Provided on request from your Strategic Advisor.
Confidential. Prepared exclusively for Western & Southern Financial Group. Curated and presented by Joel Clelland, Strategic Advisor to the HeroByApp™ Community Heroes Program.