Past Rotarian (for 24 years), Marjorie C. Tarplee died after a short illness Friday, June 12, 2015. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Maud and Wilber Clark. She was married for 50 years to her husband, Dr. Robert Tarplee, who died in 1999. She was a member of 2nd Presbyterian Church. Marge played a significant role in the business role of Indianapolis, but became an even more prominent and influential figure in the city’s civic and philanthropic circles. She was corporate secretary for Central Newspapers, Inc. and president of the Central Newspapers Foundation when the Pulliam family owned the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis News, as well as other news properties. See more
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Rotary Beats Kiwanis
The two year drought is over! The Rotary Club of Indianapolis have won-back the coveted Babe Ruth Softball trophy from the Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis.“No guarantees this year,” said team manager and coach Greg Albright. This was the announcement from the podium in May as the team geared-up for the 2015 game. “We have a really good team, but we need your support to bring home the Babe this year!”
Support was certainly given as nearly 130 Rotarians, family and friends turned out for the Annual Rotary verses Kiwanis softball game at Victory Field on June 15. The game coordinated by Rotarian Cal Burleson, Manager of the Indianapolis Indians and Max Schumacher, Owner of the Indianapolis Indians has been an yearly social event for over 30 years. While no one has kept records of wins and losses, the game has been a fun gathering for both clubs to capture bragging rights each year.
To recap the actual game, this year the Rotary team was behind nearly the entire game. Both teams struggled with bright sun hot weather conditions throughout the game. But Kiwanis had the edge in both offense and defense. “They had a couple of amazing players this year” said Albright. “There were several balls blasted over the heads of our outfield. And, we were playing near the warning tracks!” For a softball to go that far at a pro-level baseball field is saying something. For the first four innings, the Rotary team could not catch-up and at one point were down by five runs. But the team gathered momentum, a few runs and by the top of the sixth and last inning, the Rotary team rallied back to lead by two runs, 9 to 7. The bottom of the sixth inning was the last opportunity for Kiwanis to catch-up, but it never happened and Rotary left Victory Field – victorious.
“I’ve been playing this game for over a decade,” said Albright. “Each year I think I’ve assembled the best team I’ve ever had and it never ceases to amaze me how close the games end-up being from year-to-year. You just never know!”
For the past two years the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation has also benefited from the softball game. This year, the club raised nearly $350.00 for the local Foundation, which provides grants to both Rotary members and outside organizations.
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June 9, Rotary Success Stories, Phyllis Geeslin and Jim McClelland
Rotarian, Phyllis Geeslin has been the President and CEO of the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site since 1993. Under her leadership, the museum has undergone a far-reaching transformation. Phyllis has created a forward-thinking institution that mirrors much larger museums in our own community and across the nation. Under her direction, she has instilled a spirit that is intent on educating the state and nation of the vital message that is the extensive Harrison family legacy.
On April 22, 2015, Rotarian Jim McClelland retired as President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana after 41 years in that position. He continues to work part-time as an advisor to the Goodwill Industries Foundation.
During his career with the Indianapolis-based Goodwill, the organization grew from 558 to more than 3,200 employees and from $3 million to $130 million in annual revenue. Upon Jim’s retirement, the organization consisted of 57 retail stores, e-commerce operations, 10 commercial services sites employing over 300 people, and 10 charter high schools with a total of more than 3,200 students.
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Need Volunteers – June 20, Landscape a Monastery
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! -
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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May 12, NFL Colts Quarterback, at Rotary
On May 12, the Rotary Club of Indianapolis welcomed Andrew Luck, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL).
This was an evening event hosted by the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. It included brief remarks by Andrew Luck and a one-on-one conversation moderated by Dave Calabro Eyewitness 13 Sports Director.
He played college football for Stanford University, won the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award as college football’s player of the year, and was recognized as an All-American. He was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in both 2010 and 2011. He was named the Offensive Player of the Year in the Pac-12 (Pac-10) Conference in both 2010 and 2011. CBS Sports draft analyst Rob Rang called Luck the best prospect he has ever scouted, while the Kansas City Star put him in line with LeBron Jamesand Bryce Harper as “the most hyped amateurs in recent sports memory”.
Although widely projected as the first overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft, Luck decided to return to Stanford for his redshirt junior season. A year later, he was selected first overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.In his first three professional seasons, Luck has led the Colts to three playoff appearances including two division titles in 2013 and2014, also earning a Pro Bowl selection in each season. Also, in the 2013-14 NFL playoffs, he led the Colts to the second largest playoff comeback in NFL history.
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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 13, Indy Do Day Kick-Off Event at Emmis
Join us on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 from 5:00pm to 6:30pm at Emmis Communications Lobby (on Monument Circle) as we launch Indy Do Day 2015!
Complimentary food and beverages will be provided so wind down your work day with friends and colleagues and learn how you can help make Indianapolis the most civically engaged city in the nation. Participating in Indy Do Day is a rewarding experience for both volunteers and those organizations who benefit from those who help!
Thanks to Ruth’s Chris Steak House Downtown and Sun King Brewing for providing our refreshments. All attendees will be entered to win door prizes, including a Ruth’s Chris gift certificate and Indy Do Day merchandise from Colored Threads.
