The Education committee is excited to participate in Indy Do Day this year! You are invited to join the Committee as we provide a Classroom Makeover for Teach for America Alumni Teacher of the Year Ms. Ella Hereth. Our education committee has provided Ms. Hereth with a $1,500 stipend to buy materials for her classroom, some of which includes furniture and supplies to help organize her space. Ms. Hereth teaches middle school math and has requested volunteers to help put together furniture and help clean and organize the classroom. You and your families, and other Rotarians, are encouraged to join us at Guion Creek Middle School located at 4401 W 52nd St # 603, Indianapolis, IN 46254 from 9:30-11:30 a.m on Saturday, October 1. If you plan to attend, please email ktingle@indyrotary.org to confirm. A confirmation email will be sent as the date draws nearer.
Category: Latest News
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Rotarian Cyclist Rides Across Country
The Rotary Club of Indianapolis will be hosting Rotarian Chris Figurieda from the Rotary Club of Ventura California as he makes a cross country bicycle ride to bring attention to healthy life styles and heart health. Chris has made several cross country and long rides to bring attention to his mission which you can learn about at his website at www.cycleforheart.org. He is raising funds for the American Heart Association and the Rotary Polio Plus Program on his ride. He will be in Indianapolis on Sept 25th & 26th and staying with Rotarian Joe Gaafar while in Indy. Chris is looking for opportunities to share his message with students in kindergarten through college as well as elected officials and would appreciate local Rotarians introducing or arranging meetings for him. If you have a group or person that would be interested in meeting Chris, please contact Joe at 317-294-6059 or Joe@SDGAvising.com. Also, if you’re a cyclist, fitness buff, or just interested in his trip, call Joe. -
September 13, Indy Rotary: Brian Murphy, Holcomb Observatory
The New and Improved Holcomb Telescope
The Holcomb Observatory at Butler University is putting the finishing touches on a $450,000 refurbishment of Indiana’s largest telescope. These improvements were funded by a generous donation from Butler physics graduate Dr. Frank Levinson (’74). The Holcomb Telescope is now a vastly improved version of its old self and is remotely operable and used by Butler students and faculty for research from anywhere in the world. In this presentation Brian Murphy will give a bit of history of the observatory, explain the improvements to the telescope, and describe the outreach at Butler University and the research programs at Holcomb Observatory. In addition to the Holcomb Telescope, Butler has also been part of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA) telescope consortium. Murphy will describe the mission of SARA consortium and explain how the Holcomb Telescope dovetails with this consortium that allows the remote operation of three other 1-meter class telescopes located on three continents.
Brian Murphy has served as chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy for nearly eight years and as director of Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium throughout his 20 years at Butler. In 2012, Murphy received the University Award for Distinguished Research, Scholarship, or Creative Work which is the highest accolade a faculty member can receive that honors her or his body of substantial scholarly achievement accomplished as a faculty member of Butler University.
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September 6, Indy Rotary: Rev. Dr. Stephen Hrekio, The Chin Community of Indiana
The Chins are a minority ethnic population from North-Western Burma (Myanmar). Many Chin experienced forced labor, arbitrary arrest, rape, torture and sometimes even execution of family before fleeing their home country as refugees. In Indianapolis, the Chin community has been growing to almost 15,000, due to it becoming a “hub” for Chin refugees fleeing from this military dictatorship of their home country, Burma.
Life can be difficult for newly arriving Chin refugees. Many have limited English proficiency and skills that are not easily transferable to the American workplace. Some are not accustomed to living in a technologically-driven culture. And still others are overcoming the memories and emotional scars of being persecuted.
Join us on Tuesday to learn more about the Chin community- the struggles they’ve experienced and their efforts to assimilate into Indianapolis and become valuable, educated, employed citizens. It’s a program you won’t forget and will be an inspiration to all who attend.
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August 30, Indy Rotary: Marianne Black, Veterans History Project
Marianne Black, a staff member for United States Senator Joe Donnelly, will discuss the history of theVeterans History Project as well as the efforts Senator Donnelly makes to promote the VHP throughout Indiana. She’ll also talk about the mutual benefits to veterans and volunteers of conducting a VHP interview, and how Rotarians can participate.
In an effort to collect, preserve and make available the personal stories of American veterans, Congress created the Veterans History Project (VHP). The VHP is an archive of veterans’ oral histories, and they are housed in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, one of the world’s most respected research and cultural institutions.
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August 16, Indy Rotary: Howard Kellman, Voice of the Indianapolis Indians
On Tuesday, August 16, please join us as we listen to an inspired presentation about our very own Indianapolis Indians baseball team.
Longtime Indianapolis Rotarian Cal Burleson, Vice-President for Indians Baseball and Administrative Affairs will give a brief presentation on the Indians in the community, including a new initiative the Indians are starting with Indianapolis Public Schools.
Then, Cal will introduce veteran Indians broadcaster Howard Kellman who will give us a presentation on Baseball, including a few of his favorite stories from the Indianapolis Indians archives.
Howard Kellman is in his 39th season as the “Voice of the Tribe,” having called his first Indians game during the Tribe’s 1974 campaign in the American Association. Kellman’s illustrious career behind the microphone features a selection as Indiana’s Sportscaster of the Year in 2002 and an induction into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 2009.
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World Community Service Committee donates $7,000 to the Give Hope, Fight Poverty
Swaziland, Africa is a small country with a population that has been decimated by HIV/AIDS. The AIDS pandemic, highest in the world, left over 120,000 orphans in its wake with a total population of only one million people. The number of orphaned children exceeds the number of caretakers leaving the orphans to fend for themselves in child-headed homes. Give Hope, Fight Poverty works holistically to ensure that the orphans receive a high quality education – but scholarships alone are insufficient. The children need food, water, healthcare, shelter, and sanitation to stay in school and be successful in their pursuit of an education.The lack of proper sanitation and hygiene in rural Swazi communities has led to communicable disease, school absences, and entirely preventable death among children. The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation played a crucial part in addressing the sanitation and hygiene needs of our orphans in two rural communities: Malindza Village and eLangeni Village. The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation’s donation enabled us to attack the sanitation challenges three ways:
- We build pit latrine toilets strategically at schools and throughout the communities.
- We partner with local Swazi hotels to sanitize and distribute used soap to schools and child-headed homes.
- We distribute reusable sanitary pads to adolescent girls to ensure they are able to continue their education through their menstrual cycles.
Teachers have been reporting increased attendance and we have not had a single case of Rotavirus since the beginning of this Rotary sponsored program. We are excited to continue witnessing the progress and will continue the soap and sanitary pad program throughout the year.
The photos are of our youngest cohort of orphans at our Malindza New Hope Children’s Centre (green uniforms), my husband sanitizing and reforming the used soaps with bleach and hot water, and one of the pit latrine toilet structures in almost finished condition (only the door needed hung).
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September 14, 2016, at the Columbia Club
On September 14, 2016, 5:30pm, expand your connections, experience club life, and learn more about an exclusive offer for Indy Rotary Members during a prospective member reception at the Columbia Club! Download the flyer and please RSVP to this special event by September 12 To Sarah Henry, Club Concierge 317.761.7523 or shenry@columbia-club.org
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August 9, Indy Rotary: Hunter Smith, musician and retired Indianapolis Colt
Hunter Smith was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and earned a Super Bowl ring with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI. He is now retired from professional football.
As a musician, Smith felt the musical pull very early in his life. His broad musical influences include: Keith Urban, U2, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Rogers, Coldplay, Willie Nelson, Sawyer Brown, and Alabama. Probably not something you’d expect from a kid raised in a non-instrumental, a cappella church. He taught himself how to play the guitar and began writing his own music at a very young age. In 2012, his dream became reality. The Hunter Smith Band released their first album, “Green.”
And, as an author, in his book “The Jersey Effect,” Smith has demonstrated how to pursue the ultimate prize – a goal that has little to do with winning a (NFL) championship ring and everything to do with how we can have a positive effect on those around us through the sports we love.
Hunter will be sharing from his experiences as a husband, father, NFL football player, artist, and leader in his community.
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August 2, Indy Rotary: Thom England – Chef & Executive Director, Dig IN
Chef Thom England, is a professional chef, food writer, educator and mentor and has shared his expertise with many aspiring and seasoned chefs for over 20 years. Born and raised in Northern Indiana, Chef England trained in New York at the Culinary Institute of America. He spent much of his professional career in New York and in Central Indiana. He is an ACF Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and Certified Foodservice Educator (CFSE). He is also well versed in the production and pairing of alcohol, running and consulting for wineries. He is a Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS)
Chef England currently serves as program coordinator at the Ivy Tech Hospitality and Culinary Arts program. Additionally, he is active in the community as a local foods activist as co-founder and president of Dig-IN: a non-profit for the promotion of Indiana Food, Beverage, and Agriculture. Working together with Hoosier farms of all sizes and varieties, agriculture associations, community organizations, and the consumer, Dig IN is working to create and sustain a new future of Hoosier food and agricultural economy.