Smither Roofing was contracted by JW Marriott Indianapolis to install the Firestone membrane roofing on 137,700 square feet of roof area, on 23 different roof levels, some 34 stories in the air.
Smither Roofing received a “Safety Excellence Award” from construction manager Hunt Construction Group on the project, a tribute to the safety consciousness of Smither employees.
Smither work began in May, 2009. During this time, approximately 13,500 manhours have been expended to complete the project.
Rotarian and Rotary Board Director, Rick Alvis was recently recognized by the City-Council of Indianapolis for twenty years of service to the Wheeler Mission Ministries and the City of Indianapolis.
Wheeler Mission Ministries is a non-denominational, Christian, social services organization, which provides critically needed goods and services to homeless, poor, and needy of central Indiana without regard to race, color, creed, national origin or religion.
Wheeler is not a church, but does cooperate with many different churches that are concerned about poverty and homelessness in the inner city.
Founded in 1893, Wheeler is the oldest continuously operating ministry of its kind in the state of Indiana.
With five locations, dozens of ministries, a budget of $6.2 million, and about 130 employees, Wheeler is also the largest and most diverse ministry of its kind in the state.
Join us on June 29th as we present the fourth annual Rotarian of the Year Award to Rotarian, Bill Batt. We will also present President’s Awards, Milestone Awards, the Arthur E. Krick Award and Paul Harris Fellows.
President Julian Peebles and the Board of Directors hope that you will join them for this wonderful evening of celebrating many of the amazing accomplishments of our fellow Rotarians. Because of the festiveness of the occasion, this evening dinner will take the place of our regular Tuesday noon meeting.
We will also announce the 2013 Centennial Project and perform the installation of the 2010 – 2011 Officers.
Tickets will be sold at the Rotary meetings and through the Rotary office. They may be paid by cash or check. Make checks out to the Rotary Club of Indianapolis with “Celebration dinner” in the memo line.
The deadline for purchasing a ticket is June 15. Each ticket is $40 per person. Pre-paid lunch Rotarians pay $29 for their dinner reservation. Sponsored by PNC Bank.
Sitting at the Children’s Museum after enjoying the stories and wonderment the museum brings to children and families, I found this same wonderment in the story behind the man of Dr. Kent Millard, Senior Pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church and a long time Rotarian. His mission to children and families from Indianapolis to Kenya, to Haiti and Zimbabwe, brought both a tear and a smile as I listened to his life story and ministries.
Kent was born in Hereford, Texas. He and his family later moved to Faith, South Dakota. Yes, he really grew up in Faith! Kent graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University where he majored in English and History and played football. He attended seminary at Boston University School of Theology and did graduate work at Cambridge University in Cambridge, England. He received his Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.
Kent and his wife, Minnietta, have 2 children and 7 grandchildren. His son, Kendall, and his wife, Katherine, have 4 children: Madison, McKenzie, Morgan and Marshall. Kendall is also an active Rotarian. His daughter, Koretta and her husband, Eddy, have 3 children: Tre, Jalen and Taylor.
Kent has been senior pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church for 17 years. St. Luke’s is an open community of Christians that shares Christ’s unconditional love for all people and sponsor mission teams providing loving service somewhere in the world every month. There are 6,200 members with an average attendance of 3,000 with 10 different services and 3 locations.
I asked Kent if there were turning points in his life that brought him to the ministry. He recalled his Father’s struggle with alcoholism and the day he began his recovery. This turning point in his Father’s life not only changed him and redirected his life’s journey; it did the same for his entire family because then they started attending church. The second turning point was his decision to go to church camp as a young teen. He actually made this decision because he heard he could play sports and meet pretty girls. He accomplished both and much more as he met his future bride, Minnietta, and accepted Christ. He remembered a warm, summer night as he was sitting at a camp church service hoping no one would go up for altar call so that he could have more time with Minnietta. The next thing he knew he was the one walking to the altar. He remembers silently asking himself this question, “Where are you going, and why are you going there?” Kent, at that moment, realized he was being called to the altar. This was the moment of his calling to the ministry. He still fondly speaks of the peace that embraced him that night.
The ministry of Kent and St. Luke’s touches many lives both at home and globally. He is President of the Indianapolis Interfaith Hunger Initiative where Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh leaders work together to help feed 15,000 children in Indianapolis through Gleaners and 12,000 children in school lunch program in Kenya. He is also on the National United Methodist Global AIDS and Global Health Task Forces where funds are raised to help make an AIDS free, Malaria free and TB free world. He compared these missions to that of the Rotary dream of eradicating Polio.
Parishioners and volunteers have joined Kent on his many mission trips as he encourages others to give of their time and talents serving those in need. I asked him to share some of these stories and his successes of these missions and his ministry.
He began with a time he struggled to convince a parishioner in another community to join him on a mission trip as this parishioner was not convinced that mission work was something he wanted to be involved with or believed in. During the trip he and the parishioner visited a school in Haiti. They soon observed that some days the children were not being fed. When they asked the teachers why the children were not eating each day, they were told the food to feed the children is totally dependent upon the mission giving in the United States and when mission giving is down there is not enough food to feed the children daily. The doubt the parishioner had in his heart when he arrived in Haiti melted away that day. He now speaks on behalf of the mission teams and raises funds to help feed the children.
He spoke of another mission experience of a young Father in Zimbabwe performing very hard labor in extreme conditions of heat, hunger and thirst for hours a day without a break to make pennies to feed his family. Kent realized the young man was doing all of this without complaint of pain or discomfort and with shoes on his feet that had large holes that exposed most of his feet to the elements. Kent bent down, took the old tennis shoes off of his feet and handed them to the young Father, named Phillip. Phillip rejoiced as if he had been given the gift of life, which, perhaps, to him was exactly what these old shoes were. Kent also spoke of a doctor on a trip with him in Haiti treating a young girl with a rare tumor. He could not perform surgery there, so he convinced Methodist Hospital and other doctors to help him arrange a trip to Indianapolis for the little girl and her Mother so that she could have a life-changing surgery.
I listened to many stories that afternoon of one man making a difference in many lives, and, of one man creating a village to make a difference in many lives. I found that Dr. Kent Millard, Senior Pastor, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church is as so many Rotarians are, true servants to others and has a pure life mission of service above self.
I asked Kent if he could share a few words of advice what would they be? He replied, “If you want to be happy practice compassion and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I also asked him what he thought most connected him to Rotary. His response was one word, compassion.
Written by: Brenda Jackson, Stewart & Irwin, P.C.
On June 29th, the Rotary Club of Indianapolis will celebrate its distinguished members, set goals for the coming years and install the new Directors and Officers for 2010-2011. Also:
William G. Batt – Rotarian of the Year
Bill Batt served Rotary Club of Indianapolis as President in 1991-1992 and has chaired the club’s Foundation Investment Committee for 18 years. His club activities have varied from writing comical lyrics for fundraising songs to initiating Rotary meetings for senior members living at Marquette Manor. Bill was Rotary District Governor in 1997-1998, when Indianapolis hosted the International Convention. He has also worked as Director of the District World Community Service Foundation, District Polio Chair since 1998, committee member for Rotary Zone Institutes, Nominating Committee Member for the International Board, and District Delegate to RI’s Council on Legislation.
Bill received AB and MS degrees in engineering and business from Dartmouth College (NH) and an honorary doctorate from Martin University. As a U.S. Navy officer, he led the Naval Research Lab in Chesapeake Beach, MD. Following military duty, he worked in financial and marketing areas at Eli Lilly & Company before entering banking and eventually becoming Executive Vice President and Trust Officer at the former First Bank and Trust Company (now part of PNC Bank.) He is currently an Estate Planning and Tax Consultant.
Growing up in Pennsylvania during the Great Depression proved to be an interesting time in Jim Miller’s young life. With his large family of five brothers and one sister, him being the last, he remembers serious poverty in the small rural village at the base of the mountains where they live. His father attempted to make a living as a trucker during those tough times. The family later moved to Goshen, IN which is why Jim has his roots here now.
After an active family life in Goshen, Jim went to Goshen College where he majored in Sociology and minored in Chemistry. Originally he intended to be a physician, but decided against this and did not look back. It was his love for working with people that led him to the social work arena. He noted that working in a laboratory, for him, seemed a bit nightmarish!
He completed his graduate work at Ohio State with a Sociology/Social Work Masters Degree. The first date led them to the many wonderful years of marriage that they have shared until this day. His first job leading to his 55th year in 2010, started in Dayton, Ohio at a Family Services Agency. He now consults part-time for many not-for-profits in the area of Strategic Planning. He has over the years acted as an Interim Executive Director for many agencies across the United States where he relocates temporarily for 6-9 months in an apartment while visiting home regularly. Through his travels he has officially visited all 50 states in the US as well as several provinces in Canada and traveled to Europe.
Following college Jim began dating the sister of one of his friends whom he had known previously. The first date led to their strong relationship today. His wife enjoyed a career as a nurse and PhD. She also taught at Ball State and is now enjoying retirement to its fullest, but does work part-time at the Simon Cancer Center. They enjoy two grown sons and their families. One resides in Indianapolis, while the other in Michigan and their grandchildren include two college age grandsons with a granddaughter who is five. Jim and his wife enjoy spending time with their granddaughter as they travel to their second home in Michigan regularly.
Active in their church at Meridian Street United Methodist when asked what the greatest words of wisdom Jim has enjoyed and stuck to he indicated a simple, “Be grateful!”. His tenure with Rotary dates back to 1968 in Illinois and then he joined our downtown club in 1974. He has been active in the Education Committee particularly in the arena of Rotaract at IUPUI. He began working with them at their inception to assist with donated consulting and setting up their group. He has also enjoyed his time spent at the various 4-Way Tests that the education committee sponsors. He believes that Rotary is powerful and our motto places others interests above our own.
Jim’s hobbies include photography and biking. He noted that he has traditionally taken a photo for the annual Christmas card as well as its caption.
When asked what is next for him, he intends to lessen consulting in a couple of years and retire fully.
He intends to take more time to write and get organized so his children don’t have to do it for him later. With no regrets, he feels every season of his life has offered him more and more and that “old age” is the best part of his life! (I assured him I didn’t think he was old!).
Written by Dene Dresch Nidiffer, Lohr Design, Inc.
I’m told that many years ago, when comedian Jack Benny was being honored on a night like this, he came to the podium and said this, “I may not deserve this award, but I have acute arthritis and I don’t deserve that either”.
Well, I don’t have arthritis and whether I deserve this award or not, I’m going to accept it with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an especially important honor for me because it comes from Junior Achievement, an organization for which I have had enormous respect for as long as I remember.
I also value this honor for another reason. While I have known and worked with many of your earlier Hall of Fame members, I am especially close to at least two of them.
Back in 1994, you gave this honor to J. Dwight Peterson, one of the very early chairmen of City Securities Corporation. The late Mr. Peterson and I had a special relationship because I married his daughter Patty, and treasured him many years as my father-in-law.
Then just two years ago, you gave this award to John Peterson, the current chairman of City Securities—the son of J. Dwight and my brother-in-law for so many years. So at long last I am catching up with the rest of the family.
I’ve admired the work of Junior Achievement for many years. For many thousands of youngsters, you have painted a positive image of American business and have encouraged many young people, without apology, to pursue careers in profit-making organizations.
I don’t need to remind you that about every 20 years in this country we go through a period of anti-business sentiment where company executives rank near the bottom of the heap in public opinion. I must admit that on occasion—as in recent months—those wounds are self-inflicted.
Names like Enron and Bernard Maedoff remind us that a few business tycoons who used to show up on magazine covers are now languishing in prison.
In such times as these, we need to remind our critics that those who commit such misdeeds are a very tiny fraction of Americans in business. We need to say forcefully that the overwhelming majority of those who lead our business enterprises are honest, fair-dealing persons who operate with integrity in the public interest.
We must not apologize for seeking to make fair profits for ours is the engine that powers our economy and delivers an ever-increasing standard of living for millions of Americans.
Something the legendary P.T. Barnum contended back in the 19th century is no less true today. Barnum said this, “Money-getters are the benefactors of our race. To them we are indebted for our institutions of learning, and of art, our academies, colleges and churches.”
As one who has been heavily involved in higher education, various charities and organized religion for well over fifty years, I can testify that P.T. Barnum’s observation couldn’t be more accurate.
Finally, let me respond to a question I frequently get from business associates and friends—How would you describe the one thing that has influenced your 90 years of longevity?
It would be my faith!! I believe that God created me and that he will decide when my life is to be terminated. In other words, I believe God is in control of my life and therefore I prayerfully look to him for guidance and for direction.
During my lifetime, a few events have taken place where the results have not been what I had hoped for or even prayed for. Instead of becoming bitter and becoming discouraged, I have accepted the results as being God’s choice for my life.
This has been an enormous aid in my dealing with disappointment and with loss, and has been the catalyst in moving me on to the next challenge with a confident and joyful heart.
In closing, I’m confident that Junior Achievement will continue to stress the positive virtues of American business and enterprise as it works with Hoosier youth in the years ahead.
And for that reason, I’m doubly proud tonight to accept this honor from such a worthwhile organization. Thank you again and God Bless Junior Achievement and God Bless the United States of America!!!
The Interact Club at IPS School #2 (Center for Inquiry) at 725 N. New Jersey Street in downtown Indianapolis spearheaded a school-wide collection effort to raise funds for Rotary District 6560 World Community Service Foundation to benefit Haiti. In one week at this school with fewer than 300 students, $1,775.00 was collected. Interact President Josh Brunsting, a CFI eighth grader, presented the check to the Rotary Club of Indianapolis at its weekly meeting on Tuesday, February 9th. Josh was accompanied by Rotarian Scott Armstrong, who meets with the Interact students every other week. Scott stated that he is extremely proud of what the students accomplished in such a short time frame. Josh and all of the Interact Club members spent the week leading up to the collection advertising and advising the individual classes on how best to drum up donations. They then spent the collection week counting funds and spurring their assigned classes to even greater giving.
The Rotary Foundation of Indianapolis will match donations made by Rotary Club of Indianapolis members and the contributions from the Interact Club. The combined donations total $6,795 for relief to earthquake ravaged Haiti.