Members of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis helped judge the Christel House Academy Science Fair on Thursday, February 6, 2014. These are just a handful of the 150 students from grades four through six judged – everyone had a great time! Participants were: Hugh Wolf and Nathan Connor (Education Committee), Laura Sniadecki, Greg Cookerly, Marsha and David Spring, Tye Stebbins, Alan Leighton, Steve Smith and Greg Albright.
If you are interested in helping out next time (we need more volunteers!), please contact Nathan Conner at 317-753-6884.
Carole Darst was awarded Denison’s Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation Alumni Citation, the highest award bestowed to its alumni, for her lifelong work in the arts. Carole has been a toy designer, graphic artist, interior designer and assistant director at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. She served as director of the Indianapolis Art Center and exhibits coordinator for the Indiana Arts Commission. Congratulations Indianapolis Rotarian Carole Darst!
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.
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.
The Rotary Club of Indianapolis is excited to announce the official adoption of its new Signature project – Indy Do Day. This is a Service Above Self initiative that will be managed by the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. The growth of this initiative will allow Rotary to continue Growing Indianapolis Communities for the next 100 years and beyond.
WHAT IS IT?
It’s one day when the people of this city get to know their neighbors, take ownership of their neighborhoods and take care of one another.
It’s decentralized, ground-up, people-powered community improvement.
It’s about pride, shared ownership, and stronger relationships.
It’s about building the most civic-engaged community in the nation where every day is a Do Day.
WHY DO IT?
It’s good for everybody: Strong communities are built from the inside out…by people who are personally invested and can see their investments matched and multiplied by others.
It’s good for neighborhoods: Committed residents and organizations build and renew partnerships to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods.
It’s good for learners: When stewardship is regularly taught and modeled, it can become woven into how people interact, and care for, their communities.
It’s good for the mission: Diverse community, cultural, and faith-based organizations can transform their commitments into tangible action, and unite the members along the way.
It’s good for business: There is a growing consensus that giving employees a day, or even a few hours, to work in the community is good team building, good brand building, and good business.
It’s that time of year! Coming in March, Rotarians will be lobbied and swooned by Board Candidates at this year’s 2014 Campaign Day (March 4). Get ready for some surprises! The future of our Rotary Club is secure because such outstanding members are willing to serve. It is always challenging for club members to select just eight new members for the Board. We wish good luck to ALL candidates!
Please, meet your candidates by clicking on the graphic!
HUBS – Chairperson Jennifer Hobbs
Angela Cecil
Rachel Conner
Steve Harris
Debbie Hyde
Lauren Scheldrup
David Seymour
SPOKES – Chairperson Tim Nation
Evan Bedel
Marie Koenig
Steve Myren
Mercy Obeime
Michael Salemi
Lesley Stoeffler
Tanya Woodward
Mark your calendars! Race car driving Legend Derek Daly is coming to Rotary on January 21! From Victory Circle to the Announcer’s Desk, Hall of Fame Race Car Driver and Network Television Color Analyst Daly has spent nearly three decades as the face of the motorsport world.
Derek Daly’s professional racing career spanned 17 years, and his experiences are nothing short of breathtaking. Daly’s story is one that precious few have lived to tell. In 1984, Derek suffered one of the hardest crash impacts that a driver had ever survived when he hit the wall at Michigan International Speedway at 212 MPH. After fourteen surgeries and three years in therapy, he returned to full-time racing. He competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring – one of the premier motorsport endurance races in the US – and won the race two years in a row.
Born in Dublin, Ireland to a middle class working family, Derek’s career path was set at the age of twelve when he attended his first auto race. From that moment, his commitment to the dream of being a professional driver was unshakeable. On the way to his dream he worked as a laborer in the iron ore mines of Australia and, while travelling the race tracks of England, even took up residence in a school bus.
His dreams became reality when he won Irish, British and European championship events. In 1978, he competed in the highest class of auto racing at the Formula One World Championship, and two short years later Derek was ranked 10th in the world. In 1983 he made his first of six starts in the Indianapolis 500.
In 1985 Derek started a 10 year association with ESPN as a motor sport color analyst. Since then he’s become the face of motor sports, seen on NBC, CBS, Fox and Speed Channel. USA Today highlighted Derek as “the best new face on sports television” and IndyCar Racing magazine voted Derek “the most popular motor sports television announcer.”
Moet & Chandon champagne awarded Derek the Joules Goux Award for his outstanding contributions to motor sports television. He was later nominated for ESPN’s Ace Award, and Derek received the 2000 Hall of Fame Award from “Motor Sport Ireland” for his leadership of Irish motor sport.
Derek became the ‘voice’ of motor sports when Electronic Arts signed him to be the voice of the Andretti Racing high-tech video game. MotorTrend Magazine voted the Derek Daly Performance Driving Academy as “the best driving school in America”. The school boasts title of the most advanced driver training / racing school in the USA, and even hit the big screen when Sylvester Stallone chose Derek’s program for his own race driving preparation for the film “Driven”. Robin Yount, Pete Sampras, Aerosmith, John Oates and Vin Diesel have also have attended the academy’s world-class driving programs.
Derek Daly is CEO and founder of MotorVation, a unique provider of consulting and experiential learning solutions.
Derek literally wrote the book on how to become a ‘complete champion’. Race To Win: How to Become a Complete Champion was heralded a “future classic” by the Irish Times. Friend, former race competitor and international auto racing superstar Mario Andretti contributed the foreword: “Derek’s book teaches lessons it took guys like me years to learn. Quite honestly, I believe the advice in this book resonates far beyond the racing industry.”
Using his hallmark “Complete Champion” presentations, Derek has taught the timeless principles of SAFE – Speed, Agility & Flawless Execution to companies like , Pepsico, Goldman Sachs, Xerox, Bayer, Deloitte, Growmark, Pioneer, Roche, Abbott Labs, US Govt Department of Defense, USDA and Gallo wines.
Derek, his wife Rhonda and three sons reside outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. Derek became an American Citizen on September 28, 1993, but retains his wonderful Irish accent.
Circle City Networking / Rotary Business Exchange meetings will be held at Paradise Cafe in Castleton on the first and third Tuesdays of the month from 7:45am to 8:45am. The next meeting to be on January 21.
Circle City Networking is a group that Chairperson John Dewey started in 2012. Classifications are restricted and membership is by invitation only (contact: jedewey[at]me.com). If the group becomes too large, then a second group may be formed. Visitors are encouraged however only one visitor per calendar year.
CCN’s format is simple: Each member has 4 minutes to present in this format – 2 minute story about a client you helped describing the situation, 1 minute describing connections you would like relating to the story, 1 minute for the group to give feedback on that story or how you helped them since the last meeting.
We keep SCORE! We run a spreadsheet on who attends, connections made, business obtained from said connections and the overall activity of each member. If a member fails to attend, contribute and make a difference then their seat is opened up for another person to fill. Like the Pacers or the Colts, we keep a very active bench. At the end of the quarter, the best networker gets to take home the traveling trophy for the next quarter.
The purpose of the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation, Inc. is to promote charitable and educational purposes within the State of Indiana and such other charitable and educational purposes deemed appropriate by its Board of Directors. To satisfy this goal, the Foundation requests Letters of Intent be submitted from community organizations that wish to be considered a community grant. Learn more about the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation and the grants offered.
In 2013, the Foundation received over 100 “Letters of Intent.” 54 became second phase finalists in July, 2013. They were required to submit additional information by October, 2013 and the five recipients were chosen and notified in November.
Rotary Club of Indianapolis recognized on Jameson Camp vehicles
CONGRATULATIONS! On December 3, 2013 the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation publicly awarded grants to the following organizations:
