In an effort to show that the Rotary Club of Indianapolis is fully engaged in Indy Do Day and all that it stands for, Rotary Club of Indianapolis worked on a landscaping project on, June 20 at the Benedict Inn / Our Lady of Grace Monastery. Sign-up today!
Category: Latest News
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Need Volunteers – June 20, Landscape a Monastery
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June 2, Barbara Morrow, Hardwood Glory: Sports Legend John Wooden
Hardwood Glory: Sports Legend John Wooden and His Hoosier Roots
John Wooden helped define college basketball in the 20th century and became an icon of American sports. Often overlooked is the fact that he was born and raised in Indiana, where he honed his basketball skills and launched his phenomenally successful college coaching career. In Hardwood Glory: A Life of John Wooden, a new biography from the Indiana Historical Society Press, author Barbara Olenyik Morrow examines the Hoosier roots of this famed UCLA coach. Her presentation will highlight Wooden’s early years and include photos from his days in Martinsville, West Lafayette, South Bend, and Terre Haute.
Barbara Olenyik Morrow is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism. She worked for newspapers for many years, during which time she was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for editorial writing.
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May 26, Join Us as We Welcome Edward Bensman
Edward A. Bensman was part of the April 1975 rescue mission for the Children of An Lac, a Vietnam Orphanage north of Saigon. The rescue was coordinated by civilians who organized in the United States and then went to Vietnam to perform the rescue in the heat of the final days. Many of the orphans have stayed in touch in the United States.
While American forces were in Vietnam, the U.S. Army’s First Division “adopted” the An Lac Orphanage, and as Vietnam was falling during the spring of 1975, many veterans then tried to move the orphanage again. Then, Captain Edward Bensman took leave from his assignment at Fort Benjamin Harrison to participate in the An Lac project.
The incident became the basis of a movie, The Children of An Lac, based on the true story of film actress Ina Balin and her efforts with American Red Cross volunteer Betty Tisdale (played by Shirley Jones) as well as Madame Vu Thi Ngai, a compassionate Vietnamese woman running the An Lac orphanage, to rescue 219 orphaned children and fly them out of the country before it fell to the communists in the spring of 1975
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Indy Rotarian, Philanthropist, business leader Donald C. Danielson dies
Dec. 3, 1919 – May 7, 2015
Donald C. Danielson, Indiana philanthropist and business leader, died Thursday at his home in New Castle after a brief illness. He was 95.
“Danny” Danielson served as vice chairman of City Securities, the oldest and largest Indiana-based investment bank, commuting regularly to his office in Indianapolis until the months preceding his death. He was former president of Modernfold and led the expansion of a new industry, as the accordion-fold Modernfold Door transformed the way businesses, schools and churches utilized interior space.
He was the longest-serving trustee on record at his alma mater, Indiana University, sitting on the board from 1958 to 1980 and serving as president for 11 of those years. He spurred the creation of IU’s Wells Scholar program.
As a philanthropist, he led fundraising campaigns in his hometown and across the state that consistently exceeded their targeted goal. He served as vice chair and then as co-chair of two IU campaigns that raised a collective $800 million for the university.
For his excellence in business and service to his state, Danielson in 2009 received the Sachem award, the highest honor in the state of Indiana. Multiple times he was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by an Indiana governor, and, in 2014, the Indiana Historical Society named him a Living Legend. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement of Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame in 2010.
Danielson spent his childhood in Minnesota and South Dakota before becoming the first person in his family to attend college, coming to IU on a baseball scholarship.
He graduated in 1942 with a bachelor’s degree in education before entering in the U.S. Navy. He served in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters of World War II until 1946, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of lieutenant, senior grade.
Upon graduation, Danielson had been signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. When the war ended, the Dodgers once again invited Danielson to report to training camp with their AAA team – coincidentally, the same year Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers’ AAA team, at the same position as Danielson.
But head won out over heart, as Danielson, a consummate storyteller, would say. He decided instead to return to IU for a job at the Alumni Association. While there, he served a one-year stint as interim head baseball coach.
In Indiana, he met Patricia Peterson, daughter of City Securities founder J. Dwight Peterson, whom Danielson knew through their mutual involvement in the Sigma Chi fraternity. Danny and Patty Danielson were married April 12, 1947. Patty Danielson preceded him in death in 2013.
Danielson joined the future Modernfold in 1948 as a dapper salesman, working his way up to a director on the board in 1958. He was elected president in 1969. Under Danielson’s leadership, Modernfold became a division of American Standard.
But the job involved constant travel. When the Danielsons’ third daughter left home to go to college, he changed careers to spend more time with his wife. He joined Indianapolis-based City Securities in 1976 and was elected vice chairman of the investment bank’s board in 1981.
Danielson and his wife focused much of their philanthropy on giving back to their hometown of New Castle. After kick-starting giving toward an IU East satellite facility in New Castle, Danielson and his wife jointly received the Chancellor’s Medallion for their service to the IU campus. The new branch, which opened in 1999, was named the Danielson Center in their honor.
The couple also led the effort to relocate the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame to New Castle in 1990 and spearheaded the development of the new Henry County YMCA in 2003.
For his involvement in his community, Danielson was twice named Citizen of the Year by the New Castle Chamber of Commerce, and in 2012, he and his wife jointly received the Henry County Foundation’s Judy Melton Award for their commitment to their community.
Danielson also served as chairman of the Walther Cancer Foundation, sat on the board of governors for the Riley Children’s Foundation, chaired the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ national board and served as a director of New Castle’s Ameriana Bancorp.
In 1988, he received a Jefferson Award for public service through The Indianapolis Star. The Indianapolis Business Journal named him a 2004 Healthcare Hero. In 2007, the Rotary Club of Indianapolis named him Rotarian of the Year.
Danielson embodied true friendship. On holidays, his voice would boom out of his office as he called close friends to wish them well. He’d network and dish out advice in a packed schedule of breakfasts in New Castle, lunches in downtown Indianapolis and golf outings with friends and business partners.
A proud Republican, Danielson aided with the campaigns of Vice President Dan Quayle, Sen. Dan Coats and Gov. Mike Pence and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the Credit Standards Advisory Committee. In 2013, the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site gave him its Advancing American Democracy award.
Danielson’s involvement at Indiana University also continued throughout his life. Along with his trustee’s position, he was a director of the IU Foundation and a member of the IU East board of advisors. The university honored him in 1994 with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. He also received an IU Distinguished Alumni Service award, a Thomas Hart Benton Medal, a President’s Medal of Excellence, a Zora G. Clevenger Award for athletic contributions and the 2007 Herman B. Wells Visionary Award.
Three daughters followed Danielson to IU and, along with their husbands, carry on his legacy of giving and faith: Mary Johnson (Stan) of Quincy, Mass.; Susie Anderson (Duane) of Indianapolis; and Amy Thompson (Ron) of Kokomo, Ind.
Eight grandchildren also survive, along with their spouses. They’re teaching 13 great-grandchildren to share their Go-Pa’s love of sports, especially IU athletics.
Besides his wife, Danielson was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin and Freda Holdhusen Danielson; his brother, John (Patty); and his sister, Leanore von Grossman (Fritz).
The family will receive callers from 2 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, at Sproles Family Funeral Home, 2400 S. Memorial Drive, New Castle. (www.sprolesfamilycares.com)
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 15, at First Presbyterian Church, 1202 Church St., New Castle, where Danielson was an elder.
Donations in his memory may be offered to the Indiana University Foundation, P.O. Box 6460, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6460; or the Henry County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 6006, New Castle, IN 47362.
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May 5, DigIndy and Arbor Day Celebration
Jessica S. Bastin andBenjamin E. Reed, Planning & Design Services in the Special Projects Group with Citizens Energy Group
The DigIndy Project is a 27-mile long network of 18 foot diameter deep rock tunnels being built 250-feet beneath the city. Beginning near the Indiana State Fairgrounds on the north, and ending on the south side of Indianapolis, DigIndy will be the largest public works project in the city’s history.
The tunnel system will extend along Fall Creek, White River, Pogues Run, Pleasant Run and Bean Creek to create a collective, underground storage and transport facility for wastewater (sewage). All sewage stored and transported in the tunnel system is sewage that otherwise could have gone directly into our waterways. The tunnel system is a component of the federally-mandated plan to reduce raw sewage overflows into our waterways
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Awadh Dubey, Senior Ophthalmologist and Motivational Speaker, April 29
Dr. Awadh Dubey was born on December 27, 1949 in India to spiritual parents involved in several community services. Dr. Dubey a committed family man having joy in the centre of all the activities has traveled widely and is a well-read person. His wife Shubha is a MBA and shares administrative responsibilities in their Hospital. Dr Dubey’s elder son Dr Gaurav is also an ophthalmologist and shares his professional assignments and charity work. Dr. Gaurav’s wife Suprabha has done Masters in Hospital Administration and looks after Hospital’s Administration. Dr Dubey’s younger son Vaibhav is a MBA working as Vice President in Genpact New York, USA. Vaibhav’s wife Shreya is D. Phil from Oxford University, England.
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May 6th, Special Rotary 5:31 CLUB at Hotel Tango Whiskey
The Pony Keg will be doing an acoustic set at Hotel Tango Whiskey, located at 702 Virginia Ave.
Pony Keg is Dale Robbins and (Rotarian) Orion Bell, 2/5th of the band Wildheart.
There will be no cover charge, but donations will go to the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation. A little country, rock, blues and folk, cocktails all for a good cause!
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Peace Education in Jamaica
“This is the best training I’ve ever attended,” said a veteran Jamaican teacher while participating in a Rotary International vocational training on peace and conflict resolution in Savannah La Mar Jamaica.The three day spring conference hosted over 90 participants who learned ways to peacefully resolve their conflicts while improving their classroom management techniques for better learning.
A partnership between Savannah La Mar Rotary, and Rotary Districts 7020, 6490, and 6560, the project brought a team of six facilitators from Peace Learning Center in Indianapolis, Indiana USA, to implement the learning. Peace Learning Center was co-founded by Rotarian Tim Nation in 1997 and its mission is to educate, inspire and empower people to live peacefully. The team also included James JT Taylor, a new Rotarian from the Indy Progressive Rotary.
The teachers assembled were challenged to reflect on why they are teachers, while exploring the root causes of many of the problems their students and communities face. “We must be the change we wish to see in the world,” they shared.Each day was packed with useful peacemaking methods that can be incorporated into the classroom including a peer mediation model called STEP – that asks each person in a conflict to Stay cool, Tell one point of view, Explore the other point of view and Problem solve. Teachers also explored the concept of “counter aggression” and how to control anger when faced with difficult students.
Participants received a Teach the Facilitator Manual and Jamaican Student Peace Education Workbook both printed and electronic, posters, learning guides and other materials to share with their students and colleagues. Day three included small group work designing and implementing their own peace education workshop.
“I think this training should be mandatory for every existing and new teacher in Jamaica,” a high school teacher commented on the evaluation. “Make this training part of our university teacher curriculum,” said another.Douglas Arnold, past president of Savannah La Mar Rotary and current assistant governor of District 7020 plans to build a Peace Learning Center Jamaica where teachers from throughout Jamaica can attend educational seminars and receive materials.
Next the project will send a team of teachers from Jamaica to the Peace Learning Center in Indianapolis to become certified peace education facilitators who will be able to host groups at the new Peace Learning Center Jamaica and will be self-sufficient and sustainable.
“Peace and conflict resolution is one of the main goals of Rotary International,” said Indianapolis Rotarian Tim Nation. “We are demonstrating to the world that peace is something everyone should share with each other, and our way out of current problems and strife.”
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Rotary Packs 12,096 Meals on April 7, 2015
On April 7, 2015, members of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis packed over 12,000 meals for hungry people, both in Indiana and in the world. “This was a great success!” said Club Manager Greg Albright. “While we do have amazing speakers 50 weeks a year, we also do lots of community service work. So, why not bring one into the hallowed halls of the Scottish Rite Cathedral?”The Rotary Club worked with Pack Away Hunger, an organization that brought the equipment and raw materials and supplied Rotarians young and old – including kids – with all the materials needed to do good for the community!
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April 21, Health Fair and Expo at Rotary!
The Health and Wellness Committee is excited to announce that the Indianapolis Rotary Club will have a Health and Wellness expo on High School Honors Day, April 21, 2015. Please join us for this first-ever Health and Wellness Expo at Rotary!
