• Celebration Dinner Silent Auction

    Celebration Dinner Silent Auction

    The Rotary Club of Indianapolis is excited about our second year for our upcoming Celebration Dinner on Tuesday, June 26.  Click HERE to purchase tickets to the dinner.

    Our silent auction will feature a great line up of unique experiences.  See below for a just a few of the items we’ll feature during the reception, starting at 5:30 p.m.  Please join us that night for a complete list and be sure to come ready to bid and support our club, so we can continue to build a better Indianapolis.

    Indy Skin Renew

    • When #adulting gets too hard… come on out to Skin Renew! This package is a half day spa package where you’ll receive a 60 minute massage, signature custom facial and a spa deluxe pedicure.

    Indy Fuel- Ride the Zamboni!

    • Receive four Club Level tickets to the Friday, October 12 season opener of our City’s own semi-professional hockey team, the Indy Fuel!  While there, you’ll get an opportunity of a lifetime to RIDE THE ZAMBONI during the first intermission.  If you’ve got any hockey fans- big or small- in your life, this will make an incredible surprise gift.

    Downtown Fireworks Passes

    • Gifted by Emmis Communications, these four VIP passes for the downtown fireworks show include admission to a private area on the War Memorial to view the Fireworks, a casual dinner from 6:30-9 and two complimentary drinks. Guests are encouraged to bring their own blankets and chairs, but expect to be treated like the VIPs they are!

    Spoke and Steele Bourbon Barrel Experience & Overnight stay at LeMeridien

    • Spoke & Steele is a restaurant concept drawing its inspiration from the emerging creative neighborhoods and familiar feel of downtown Indianapolis with a menu of authentic food and drink sourced and influenced from the best of Indiana’s craft vendors.  This auction item includes a personalized Barrel Experience and an overnight stay at the gorgeous deluxe LeMeridien Hotel.  You’ll receive an amazing one-hour session with a craft cocktail bartender to create a bourbon-based concoction for your personal one-liter barrel.

    In Studio Experience

    • Go behind the scenes with Emmis Communications!  Join your favorite radio hosts behind the scenes to watch how they produce some of the best radio shows in the country!  This certificate entitles you to meet the hosts and sit in studio to observe the magic of radio.

    Peace Learning Center Group Mini Retreat

    • Enjoy a 2-hour session with a trained Peace Learning Center Facilitator. This can be used with a team, classroom, club, or even a family! We can tailor your experience for up to 25 youth and/or adults. This unique bonding experience with our city’s premier peace building organization can be done at your site or at our beautiful facility in Eagle Creek Park. Choose from the following session topics: team building, conflict resolution, appreciating differences, bullying or peer pressure.

    Hilton Hotel and Suites & Pacers Tickets 

    • Enjoy an evening of fun and elegance downtown at one of the largest hotel suites in the City, after watching one of our best sports teams! This package includes a certificate good for a night at the Presidential suite along with breakfast for two as well as two tickets to a Pacers game next season.  You can also take advantage of all the great amenities the hotel has to offer, including a modern fitness center, indoor pool and whirlpool and an onsite spa.

    Pint Cycle

    • Enjoy the dynamic and growing downtown Fishers in style!  The certificate includes One (1) weekday tour on the Pint Cycle for 10-16 people. Your group will enjoy a pedal-powered, 16-person bicycle tour of the city’s center with optional stops at several breweries, bars, and restaurants, including Four Day Ray Brewery, Brixx Pizza, Louvino, and Nickel Plate Bar & Grill.

    Chef JJs 

    • Signed Cookbook & Gift Certificate for (2) Tickets to a Grilling Class of Your Choice at Chef JJ’s Downtown!  Grilling Classes are a unique dining experience where guests interact with the chef and learn new grilling techniques through our classes. This ticketed event will vary in price but includes the recipes, non-alcoholic drinks, beer tastings, and 4 medium plate style courses. These classes are an educational format where you can see all the action from prep work to grilling. Class participants are welcome to get involved and ask lots of questions. At Chef JJ’s you will enjoy an atmosphere that is both educational and entertaining.

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    In addition to these silent auction items, we have three incredible opportunities for you to “Buy A Seat” at three very special events.  The first 10 individuals who sign up for the events will receive the honor and privilege to be a part of the experience.

    Buy a Seat for Moscow Mules with Matt Burnett, August 23

    This experience is limited to the first 10 people to donate $100 to the Rotary Club of Indianapolis.

    Join the ultimate hosts, Matt and Jill Burnett, in their home to enjoy an evening of amazing fellowship and his famous Moscow Mules, made with Big Machine Vodka.

    Buy a Lesson – Beer and Ballet with Don Steffy, September 15, 11:00 am

    This experience is limited to the first 10 people to donate $100 to the Rotary Club of Indianapolis.

    Ever dream of dancing?  Then join Rotarian and former ballet dancer Don Steffy for a group lesson and fun experience of Ballet and Beer at Lebanon Ballet School.  Not only entertaining, you’ll also get a glimpse into the life of a professional dancer as Don relives his glory days. Beer tasting experience provided by Peoples Revel Room, but bring your own tutu.

    Buy a Seat for an Elegant Evening with John Mainella and Michael Pettry, August 18

    This experience is limited to the first 10 people to donate $100 to the Rotary Club of Indianapolis.

    Join 2018-19 President John Mainella and his husband Michael Pettry for a late summer dinner party at their historic Fletcher Place home! Enjoy the fruits of Indiana’s bounty, while you sip on craft cocktails from Rotarian Brian Willsey’s Hotel Tango spirits and wines from John and Michael’s personal cellar. And we bet there will even be some time around one of their pianos!

  • June 5: Professor Kelly Eskew, “Hoosier Hysteria- Muncie Centeral in 1964”

    In 1964, Muncie Central High School got the “death penalty” at the hands of the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) new commissioner, Phil N. Eskew, after post-game brawling at a boys basketball game led to a broader investigation of the entire program.  In the closing moments of the game, a Muncie Central opponent was bloodied by an inbound pass to the face and fans erupted in violence, swarming the floor.  The ensuing investigation revealed racial tensions, issues of sexual mores, political discord, and deep problems in the web of interrelationships that make up the phenomenon of Hoosier Hysteria.

    Kelly Eskew is a Clinical Associate Professor of Business Law & Ethics. An attorney, Professor Eskew started her law career with ten years in private practice, representing corporations and hospitals, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, and the doctors who invented Gatorade, among others. She also served for three years as in-house counsel to IU Health, managing malpractice and employment litigation. In 2014, she joined the American Civil Liberties Union as a staff attorney and litigated civil rights cases.

    Professor Eskew started teaching in 2010 at the IU McKinney School of Law and spent several years with Butler University’s College of Business before joining the full time faculty at the IU Kelley School of Business in Bloomington in 2015.

  • May 29: Welcome Governor Eric Holcomb

    May 29: Welcome Governor Eric Holcomb

    A lifelong Hoosier, Governor Eric Holcomb will join us at Rotary on Tuesday, May 29.  He is a veteran of the United States Navy, served as the state’s 51st Lt. Governor, was a trusted advisor to both Governor Mitch Daniels and Senator Dan Coats, and was a former state chairman of the Indiana Republican Party.

    He was elected governor in November 2016, following an unprecedented 106-day campaign and was sworn in on January 9, 2017.

    Throughout his career in service, he has earned a reputation of being a consensus builder. He has traveled extensively throughout the state—talking with folks wherever he goes about how to make Indiana an even better place to live, work and play. A lifelong basketball fan, Gov. Holcomb has shot and made a basket in each of Indiana’s 92 counties.

    The governor is a graduate of Pike High School in Indianapolis and Hanover College in southeastern Indiana where he majored in U.S. History with a focus on the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era.

  • May 22: Club Service Project, Backpacks for Homeless Veterans

    May 22: Club Service Project, Backpacks for Homeless Veterans

    Work together to pack backpacks for
    homeless veterans

    Every night, veterans wander the streets of Indiana’s cities and towns looking for a place to sleep or a hot meal. The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) reports 4,800 to 8,000 homeless persons in the Greater Indianapolis Metropolitan Area on any given night. Of that figure, approximately 600 (25%) are honorably discharged veterans. Nightly, there are over 62,619 homeless veterans nationally, and 126,000 veterans experience homelessness over the course of a year. Sadly, these veterans who are now homeless are the same veterans who served our country with courage, self-sacrifice, honor, dignity, and pride. These veterans are America’s forgotten heroes. They fought for our freedom on the battlefield, and now they and their families fight daily for their survival on America’s streets.

    Join us on Tuesday, May 22 as we hear from HVAF, the nonprofit who supports Indiana’s homeless veterans.  We’ll also work together to pack backpacks with life essentials, which will be distributed to those in need.

  • May 15: Chris Eley, Owner of Goose the Market and Smoking Goose

    May 15: Chris Eley, Owner of Goose the Market and Smoking Goose

    Fresh off an appearance on Good Morning America as well as a James Beard Nomination, we welcome Chris Eley, owner of Goose the Market and Smoking Goose, to Rotary on Tuesday, May 15.   Chris will talk food- after all, his Smoking Goose production facility is often lauded as one of the best butcher shops in the Midwest and ships his “meat treats” from coast to coast. Chris will also share his experience with the business of food and the challenges and opportunities that come with growing a business that features delicious, sustainable and widely-distributed products.

    Chris is a native of Indianapolis and is dedicated to using traditional methods to cure meat from healthy animals raised by Midwest farmers. Chris trained and worked in Chicago, Rhode Island, Thailand and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands before returning to Indy to be part of the growing food scene.

    Our catered MBP lunch will feature products from the Smoking Goose, so be sure to come hungry on Tuesday.

  • June 11: Annual Rotary vs Kiwanis Softball Game

    June 11: Annual Rotary vs Kiwanis Softball Game

    Once again, The Indianapolis Indians will host the Annual Rotary vs Kiwanis Softball Game. Help us bring home the Babe!

    This year, the game will be on Monday, June 11. Game time is at 5:05 p.m., with an Indians game beginning at 7:05 p.m. Each ticket is $15.00 and children 2 and under are free. $2 of every ticket will go to our own Indianapolis Rotary Foundation. Register and pay here!

    Please purchase tickets no later than Sunday, June 3. Physical tickets will be distributed at the Rotary program on Tuesday, June 5. If you are unable to pick-up your tickets at the June 5 Rotary program, they will be provided at the Indianapolis Indians Will Call office on June 11.

    Details:

    • Gates open at 5 p.m. (3rd base side)
    • Softball game starts at 5:05 p.m. (approximately) to 6:05 p.m.
    • Indianapolis Indians game starts at 7:05 p.m.

    Go Team Rotary!

  • May 8: Richard D. Chegar, Major General, United States Army (retired)

    We welcome Dick Chegar to Rotary on Tuesday, May 8.

    Dick Chegar was witness to a historic event at West Point in 1962 when, as a First Class Cadet Captain, he escorted General Anthony “Tony” MacAuliff of Bastogne fame to the ceremony honoring General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as the 5th recipient of the Sylvanus Thayer Award.  While his account of the event and the famous “Duty, Honor, Country” speech delivered by General MacArthur are captivating, it is Dick’s revelation about the “MacArthur Moment” during the speech that went unnoticed and has gone unreported that makes his talk relevant and memorable. Downtown Rotary will be only the second group for whom the “MacArthur Moment” has been shared with the public.

    Rotary Veterans will also be honored during the program on Tuesday.  Please plan to attend and maybe bring a Veteran or guest with an interest in military history!

  • June 26: 2018 Celebration Dinner & Fundraiser

    June 26: 2018 Celebration Dinner & Fundraiser

    The Rotary Club of Indianapolis is delighted to present the 2018 Celebration Dinner and Fundraiser.  This annual event is an opportunity shine the light on a year that has been exciting, engaging and continuously evolving. The evening is a wonderful night to celebrate our annual accomplishments, honor and recognize key leadership and achievers and also recommit to our Club and the work we do in the community.  Being held for the first time at the Indiana History Center, the night will feature an impressive silent auction as well as a three course dinner from MBP Catering, complimentary wine and a cocktail from Hotel Tango and an optional after-party on the Canal (weather permitting) that will feature the musical talents of our own Chris Gonzalez. Tickets for the event are just $60 if purchased before May 18- truly one of the best fundraising bargains you’ll see this year. Bring your spouse, family, colleague or a friend to share in the night.

    Purchase your tickets today at Eventbrite.

    Want to see how fun last year’s night was?  Check out our Facebook photo galleries here – Album 1 and Album 2.

  • May 1: Kellie Hanner, CEO and President, Indiana Donor Network

    Indiana Donor Network, one of 58 designated organ recovery organizations in the U.S., is a vital link between people waiting for life-saving organ transplants and donors. Indiana Donor Network works to provide Hoosiers with information needed to make an informed decision about donation, offers access to the Indiana Donor Registry, evaluates potential donors for medical suitability to donate organs and/or tissue and coordinates the donation process according to federal regulations and with the utmost respect for medical ethics.

    Hanner began her career at Indiana Donor Network in 2000 as a procurement transplant coordinator. Prior to joining Indiana Donor Network, Hanner worked at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health as a registered nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit. She earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Indiana University and is a certified procurement transplant coordinator.

  • April 24: Rotary Headed offsite to Newfields

    April 24: Rotary Headed offsite to Newfields

    Rotary Headed offsite to Newfields

    The Rotary Club of Indianapolis will be going offsite for our luncheon program to one of the city’s hottest spring locations next Tuesday, April 24. Registration is closed, but call the office at 317-631-3733 to see if a waitlist spot might be available.

    The program will begin with a lovely boxed lunch for networking and then we’ll proceed to a program presented by the Ruth Lilly Deputy Director for Horticulture and Natural Resources Jonathan M. Wright who will share with us the transformations occurring on the grounds of the property. Optional tours of their incredible outdoor natural exhibit, Hello Spring, will occur.  Hello Spring is an exhibit at Newfields, where a quarter of a million flowers will be arriving in stages through May, including different kinds of tulips you didn’t even know existed.

    Please note the alternate timing for this great program:
    Boxed Lunch in the Sutphin Fountain Room: 11:30-12:30
    Program in DeBoest Lecture Hall: 12:30-1:15
    Optional Tours of Hello Spring: 1:15-2:15