Category: News

  • Ralph Taylor Wins Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award

    Ralph Taylor Wins Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award

    Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award
    The 159th Annual Volunteer Recognition Program – YMCA of Greater Indianapolis

    Ralph Taylor has brought his passion for diversity and inclusion to every role he has served in this community. He was the first minority to be elected president of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis and during his leadership he made diversity a key component of his term by discussing this topic at every weekly meeting. When he was Program Officer for the Central Indiana Community Foundation, he launched the Sam H. Jones Creating Greater Awareness Forum to highlight the issues, challenges and concerns of the invisible populations living in the greater Indianapolis area.

    Ralph has a long history of supporting our community as a teacher and coach. In addition to being on the youth advisory board of the Fall Creek YMCA and teaching youth basketball, he has been a classroom teacher and coach for IPS. He has been a 4-H Agent for Purdue University Marion Co. Extension Service, Recreation Administrator for Indianapolis Youth Institute, Program Officer for the Central Indiana Community Foundation, a consultant on international relations and is presently a consultant for the Welcoming Indianapolis Project.

    In addition to his work experience has has served and continues to serve on several community boards, including the Indianapolis Arts Council, Planned Parenthood of Indianapolis, Coburn Place, the Asian-American Alliance and United Way of Central Indiana’s Committee on Diversity.

    When reflecting on his work as an advocate for new arrivals, immigrants and refugees, Ralph is quoted as saying, “I don’t view myself as a leader. I view myself as a concerned individual who wants to make a positive difference in his community. From my perspective, you either care about people or you don’t.”

    The Y is proud to recognize him as the first recipient of the 2013 Volunteer/Community Leader Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award.

  • Rotary Speaker to be Inducted into Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame

    Rotary Speaker to be Inducted into Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame

    On January 28, 2014 Rotary Club of Indianapolis welcomes Bille Dragoo to the Scottish Rite Cathedral. Dragoo is an award-winning and nationally recognized entrepreneur. Ms. Dragoo is CEO of RepuCare and a lifelong resident of Indiana with 23 years of innovative executive experience in the medical staffing industry. Please join us (public welcome) at Noon on Tuesday, January 28!

    Recently, Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc. has announced the 2014 Laureates for the 26th Annual Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame Event, presented by Crowe Horwath LLP, which will take place on Thursday, February 20, 2014. This year’s Laureates are Billie Dragoo, Founder, President and CEO of RepuCare; Dave P. Lindsey, Founder, President and CEO of DEFENDER Direct; David E. Simon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Simon Property Group, Inc. and Michael Smith, Retired EVP/CFO of Anthem.

    The 2014 Laureates will be honored at a black tie event to be held on Thursday, February 20, 2014, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. A VIP reception will kick off the event, followed by a dinner and awards ceremony at 7:00 pm.

    Sponsorship opportunities are currently available; please contact Tabitha Williams at 252-5900 ext. 8 or visit www.jaindy.org for more information.

    Download the full press release.

    Listen to the program from January 28, 2014: 

  • IBJ 2013 CFO of the Year: Rotarian, Mark Winzenread

    WinzenreadMark Winzenread’s 33-year tenure at Walker defies the norm.

    “Statistically, you change jobs every five to seven years,” he said. “I’m always a little embarrassed to say I’ve been here 33. I’ve resigned twice. It just hasn’t worked out.”

    Walker, the consumer intelligence consulting firm, wasn’t Winzenread’s first professional job. Out of college, he worked in public accounting but was drawn to the private side.

    “It was frustrating to go to clients year after year, make recommendations, and then see that things don’t change. You can’t force a client to do anything,” he noted. “On the inside, I can make things happen.”

    Still known locally by some as Walker Research, the company does more than research. Its consultants work with dozens of companies on customer retention and growth strategies.

    Read full IBJ article.

  • Rotarian Phyllis Geeslin Receives Lifetime Achievement Award!

    Rotarian Phyllis Geeslin Receives Lifetime Achievement Award!

    Since 1993, Phyllis Geeslin has been leading the Harrison Site onward and upward. In that time, she has accomplished much that has enriched our shared community, enhanced the guest experience and preserved Benjamin Harrison’s legacy.

    In recognition of those years of service, dedication and contributions to the field of history, Phyllis will receive the 2013 Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Indiana Historical Society (IHS).

    She will receive her award during IHS’s annual Founders Day event on Monday, December 2, at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.

    Rotarian Phyllis Geeslin has also served as a Club Director, is a Paul Harris Fellow and the current History Committee Chairwoman.

  • Indy Rotary Adds New Mass Texting System

    Indy Rotary Adds New Mass Texting System

    The Rotary Club of Indianapolis recently added a Mass Texting system, to help communicate with membership and the community in the event of major developments, such as cancellations due to weather events, last minute changes in meeting times, programs or locations.

    “While we already send a number of announcements to our members each week,” said Susie Harmless, Executive Director, “it is important to emphasize that the Club is incorporating this system for very important and time-sensitive updates, alerts or announcements – NOT to promote regular events or to advertise. For these things, we will continue to distribute weekly e-news announcements, use our website to keep the community updated and will continue to be very active with social media.”

    While it is not scientific, the percentages of individuals who read texts verses email, Facebook and Twitter posts, is staggering. One report said that – 98% of text messages are read vs. 29% of Tweets vs. 12% of Facebook posts vs. 20% of emails. Here’s another recent article on those statistics. Said Greg Albright, Club Manager, “We must provide the easiest methods and various ways to communicate to our membership. Everyone has a mobile phone. In fact, some of our members may have better access to a text message than an email!”

    Over the past year, the Rotary Club of Indianapolis has improved it’s overall technology to better serve the community and Rotarians. Adding to the many benefits of being a member of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. For more information on how you can become a member, visit the Membership Information page.

     

  • 2013-14 Rotary License Plate Program

    The Rotary License Plates Sales Challenge

    • First Place: $2000
    • Second Place: $1000
    • Third Place: $ 500

    Prize money will be awarded based on the percent of license plate sales by District membership. The total number of plates sold by county within each District is determined from July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014 and divided by the number of members in the District at the end of June 2014. The District with the greatest percentage of sales/members will be awarded the first place prize. Districts with the second and third place percentages will also receive prize awards as listed above. Prize money will be awarded to the 2013-14 District Governors in July 2014 to be used for a charitable purpose within Indiana.

    How to order your Rotary License plate:

    Cost: $40 ($25 group fee, $15 administrative fee)
    The group fee is used to fund Indiana college scholarships and education initiatives.

    Low-digit plates (q100) are still available at an additional cost of $30.

    (Last year, sales increased to 278 plates. Our challenge is to increase sales to 500 plates so we can keep the Rotary Plate alive in Indiana!!)

    Support for the RI End Polio Now Campaign
    For each Rotary License plate sold between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, the Columbus Sunrise Rotary Club will donate $1 to the Rotary Foundation on behalf of the District to support the End Polio Now initiative:

    • License plate sales will be tracked for each District: 6540, 6560, 6580
    • A check for the amount equal to the number of plates sold in each District will be sent to RI Foundation on a quarterly basis (October, January, April & July)
    • The check will identify the District (6540, 6560, 6580) to receive credit for the donation
    • Each District Governor will be notified of the amount of the donation on a quarterly basis.

    For more information, contact:
    Cindy Green at info[at]columbussunriserotary.org or Trish Moore at 812.371.3243

  • Two Rotarians Shine as Finalists for Junior Achievement’s “Indy’s Best And Brightest” Awards!

    On Thursday, Ocotober 17, Junior Acheivement will recognize two of our very own at the annual “Indy’s Best and Brightest” event. In Banking and Financial Services, LaTonya Gaither, Service Center Manger at the Teachers Credit Union, Rotarian since November, 2012. And, in Technology, Dan Randolph, Lead Biologist with Dow AgroSciences and Rotarian since December, 2010. Our Rotarians are special! Please congratulate these deserving members of our community and thank them for being members of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis!

  • Young Professionals of Rotaract and Rotary Club of Indianapolis Help Raise $11,000 for Timmy Global Health!

    Young Professionals of Rotaract and Rotary Club of Indianapolis Help Raise $11,000 for Timmy Global Health!

    On Friday, August 16, Rotarians “Thought Global,” tested their knowledge of world trivia and competed for great prizes with lots of other donors at the annual Taste of the World Timmy Trivia event. Everyone ate delicious international cuisine prepared by Second Helpings and drank locally crafted beer pairings from Flat 12.

    Rotaract’s goal was to raise $6000 and they surpassed that number by raising $11,000 to benefit lots of lives for Timmy Global Health. Way to go Rotary and Rotaract!

    The Rotary club was well represented by purchasing two tables! Please thank Rotarians Scott Armstrong, Jeff Lake, Lauren Scheldrup, Debbie Hyde, Stacey Blanton, Patrick Broccolo, and Greg Albright.

    And, a special thank you to ALL of the Rotaract participants and organizers who made this event possible, including President Tyler Droste, Chris Bean and Grant McCoy!

  • The Rotary Membership Message

    The Rotary Membership Message

    RI President Ron BurtonDuring Membership and Extension Month, Rotary International has  planned a variety of activities to help you get  club members involved and share the passion for Rotary. Building strong and vibrant clubs is critical for Rotary’s future. Here are some steps we can take this month to attract new members and engage the ones we already have:

    • Join Thunderclap and share a powerful membership message with the world on the last day of August. Thunderclap is a tool that allows thousands of people to connect their social media accounts to send a single, simple, amplified message all at once. Spread a message on Facebook and Twitter that is sure to be heard. Learn more about Thunderclap and how it works.
    • Take part in our Membership Challenge and set concrete plans for increasing our club’s membership. We choose our goals — such as referring a new member, inviting a friend to our club or service project, or connecting with alumni. Once we submit our goals, we’ll get an email listing steps to take to meet our goals.
    • Watch RI President Ron Burton’s message on membership.
    • Learn more about regional membership plans with the new infographic. Regional membership plans, now in their second year, take advantage of each region’s unique needs, customs, and historic trends to greatly enhance the ability of district leaders to bring in new members and retain existing ones.
    • Look for a new publication Connect for Good (formerly known as Rotary Basics) in the September issue of The Rotarian to get insights on engaging members and keeping them involved.

  • November 1-2, 2013 – Rotary District Conference

    November 1-2, 2013
    Sheraton Indianapolis, Keystone at the Crossing

    Note: District Conference is being combined with the District Success Seminar. At least one representative from each club must attend the Success Seminar for their club to be eligible to apply for District Grants.

    Conference Registration Cost:

    • $129 per person for both days,
    • $80 per person Friday only or Saturday only,
    • Registration fee includes dinner Friday & Saturday and lunch on Saturday.

    If you and your spouse are both Rotarians, you will each need to register separately.

    Each Rotarian is responsible for their own hotel reservations.
    Note: Rooms are being held for the Rotary District Conference at the Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel at Keystone Crossing from Thursday, Oct. 31st through Saturday night Nov.2nd. Please reserve your room by phone at (317) 846-2700. The Rotary District Conference rate of $103 is guaranteed until Oct. 1st, 2013.

    Rotarians, click here to register.