• Spelling Bee Champion: Again!

    Regina Solomito, last years winner, again won the Regional Bee on March 20th, 2012. The Rotary Club of Indianapolis sponsors a portion of the winner’s trip to Washington DC for the Scripps National Bee.

    Regional Bee Results:

    • First Place: Regina Solomito, 8th grade, Kolbe Academy Homeschool. Winning word “materialize”
    • Second Place: Cy Orentlichter, 5th grade, Hasten Hebrew Academy, went out in round 24 on word “rambla”
    • Third Place: Mihir Patel, 7th grade, Chapel Hill 7th and 8th Grade Academy, went out in 16th round on word “lenitive”

    Regina will go on compete at the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee May 27-June 4th in Washington D.C. Be sure to watch and cheer for her!

    Photo: Left to Right (Back Row) Nathan Connor, Laura Sniadecki, Paul Del Re, Eric berman (WIBC) (Front Row) Cy Orientlichter (2nd Place), Mihir Patel (3rd Place), Regina Solomito (First Place)

  • Centennial Congratulatory Billboards

    About the Billboards:
    All billboards will be alike with the exception of the sponsor’s name. Located in downtown area outlined by the following:

    • 38th Street on the north
    • Hanna Avenue on the south
    • Sherman Avenue on the east
    • Tibbs Avenue on the west
    • Each billboard will run for a four-week period

    A Typical Rotary Billboard DesignOur goal is to have 25 billboards for a four-week period beginning with February 2013. We will include additional 4 week periods (i.e. January, then December, then November, etc.) as demand allows.

    We cannot select the billboard locations within the area specified. ClearChannel will have discretion. This is due to needing to meet the needs of other customers.

    The cost of $650 per billboard per four-week period. The normal price can be as high as $1,000. Because of the number we are attempting to secure and as a means to support Rotary, ClearChannel has offered this special pricing. For simplicity, our Rotary Club will receive payment from each of the sponsors. ClearChannel will invoice our club for the billboards used.

    Please make checks to “Rotary Club of Indianapolis” for $650.00 and note “Billboard” in the memo line.

  • WSC Births Ghana Peace Learning Initiative

    Inspired by the work of the Indianapolis Peace Learning Center’s work with the Savannah La Mar Rotary in Jamaica, Rotarian, George Okantey met with Tim Nation, director and co-founder of the Indianapolis Peace Learning Center (PLC) to begin exploratory conversations to replicate the best practices work of PLC in Ghana. In December 2011 Rotarian George Okantey traveled to his home country of Ghana to explore project possibilities with two Ghana Rotary Clubs.

    The Accra Rotary Club seems the most enthusiastic and the best fit especially because their projects are well aligned with the goals and objectives of International Rotary.

    Current conflict reduction training programs in Ghana, conducted by organizations such as Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Kofi Annan International Training Center (KAITC), and the West African Civic Society Institute, have centered on chieftaincy disputes, governance, water and land issues.

    The Ghana Peace Initiative, a program which is being sponsored by the Indianapolis Rotary World Service Committee, will focus on grass-root, youth, and primary and secondary schools in Ghana. In collaboration with the Accra Rotary Club, we will select four schools and train forty-eight teachers by July 2015. The selection of schools will be completed this fall and the first 12 teachers will attend a 4-Day train-the-trainer retreat in March 2013. Instruction in the classroom will begin in April 2013 and at least one hundred students will benefit from the first class. In addition to equipping teachers with tools and competencies to manage conflict, we will also teach them facilitation and leadership skills that will enable them to manage their classes more effectively and foster their own professional growth. The curriculum for student instruction will be a culturally relevant PLC curriculum that focuses on examination and understanding of the root causes of conflict and effective ways to manage, lead and accept it as an opportunity to learn and grow. To that end, we invite Rotary friends with experience and knowledge in this area to help us shape and direct the program, and support it by volunteering to visit training sites in Ghana and help with instruction.

    The Ghana Peace Initiative curriculum will include tried and tested resources from the Indianapolis Peace Learning Center. We will also expand the learning by including materials from the Arbinger Institute, as our focus will be researching and teaching the root causes of conflict and creating best practice processes that help people in developing economies, like Ghana, to thrive.

    The outcomes we envision will include ongoing educational and training support to marginalized groups that are at risk of violence or persecution. Our objective is to have our Peace curriculum incorporated into the school curricula and to conduct quarterly webinars for Program Leaders that will support an annual symposium.

    Communities thrive when they are at peace. It is our intention to introduce and show the benefits of negotiating peace and of learning better ways to resolve differences when different alternatives and interests exist. By creating an atmosphere that encourages critical thinking and consideration of the views of others, we hope to enable the development of trusting relationships that will lead to improved and caring interpersonal relationships. It is in such an atmosphere of peace and trust that we can create entrepreneurial opportunities for youth. Through fundraising and increased partnership relationships, we hope to eventually engage a benefactor who will donate a building in which the Ghana Peace Learning Center will be established. We will provide an ongoing educator exchange program between Indianapolis and Ghana.

    For more information and ways you can contribute, please contact Rotarian Tim Nation.

  • Indianapolis Rotary Foundation Community Grant: Second Helpings

    The Rotary Foundation of Indianapolis awarded a $25,000 Community Grant to Second Helpings this year. If you don’t know, Second Helpings is a non-profit organization that focuses on the power of food to change lives. They recover prepared/perishable foods and convert them into nutritious meals and then deliver those meals to over 60 social services organization that feed hungry people.

    Second Helpings used the grant to purchase a new vehicle to deliver meals prepared in the Second Helpings kitchen to people all over the Indianapolis area. The new vehicle highlights the Rotary Club of Indianapolis (see below).

    Pictured: (Left to Right) Mary Burger, Paul Del Re, Brenda Jackson-Morrissey, Sue Tempero, Kathy Cookerly, Jennifer Vigran (Second Helpings, CEO), Susie Harmless

    A group of our Rotarians (above) accompanied Second Helpings to the HVAF of Indiana and where they helped deliver the ceremonial 6 millionth meal served by Second Helpings. The entire affair was reported in the Indianapolis Star.

    Jennifer Vigran, CEO of Second Helpings is pictured above, noting the 6 millionth meal served by Second Helpings. The Rotary Club of Indianapolis is excited to have been a part of this achievement! Congratulations to Second Helpings!
    Article by Don Sedberry, Rotary Club of Indianapolis Staff

  • Rotarians make a difference on “Make a Difference Day”

    On October 22nd, Rotarians helped Teacher’s Treasures on “Make a Difference Day” by collecting school supplies and monetary donations to purchase school supplies for Teachers and Students. There were over 20 boxes of supplies collected, in total $2,200 in monetary donations! Thank you, Rotarians!

  • Indianapolis Rotarians visit the Rotary Club of Indianapolis Family Lounge

    Riley Family Waiting RoomOn October 17th, 2011, a group of Rotarians visited the Simon Family tower at Riley Hospital for Children to view the finished family lounge completed with funds from a $1M donation from members of the club.

    In 2009, the last contribution towards a 5 year pledge of $1M was completed. This stems from a challenge by Rotary International to honor the centennial of Rotary which occurred in 2005 with a large project. The Rotary Club of Indianapolis chose to meet this challenge by partnering with Riley Hospital for Children and providing $1M for a family lounge that would include kitchen facilities, internet hookups, and as much comfort as could be afforded to families with children being served by the hospital.

    It should come as no surprise that the Rotary Club of Indianapolis partnered with Riley Hospital. Early in the history of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis, the club’s members helped found the Riley Hospital for Children, and it bears the name of a famous Indianapolis Rotarian James Whitcomb Riley.

  • Concord Neighborhood Center: Civic Entrepreneurship Grant

    The downtown Rotary Club has been involved with the Concord Neighborhood Center for quite some time. Last year, Marie Koenig, Rotarian, applied a Rotary Civic Entrepreneurship Grant towards improving the landscape around the Center’s main building.

    Volunteers from Rotary, Regions Bank, and Concord planted 50 shrubs and spread 15 cubic yards of mulch. Installation of the awnings, above the two Dynki Deli windows at Concord, is a continuation of this beautification project for the outside of the Center, providing a more inviting place for visitors. They were courtesy of the downtown Rotary Club’s Environment and Beautification committee.

  • Green Tips from the E&B Committee

    Check Ya Later

    More like “Check ya never”! Who writes checks anymore? Save a tree and go paperless.

    Nearly every bank and bill has a paperless option these days, including IPL and Citizen’s Gas (hopefully Citizen’s Water is soon to follow?). Even Republic Waste and Recycling has a new email invoice and automatic payment system.

    Going paperless with my bills has not only saved a few trees, it’s saved some precious time. Most of my bills are paid with a simple click these days. Sure beats writing a check, paying for a stamp, and licking an icky envelope.

    According to research on creditcard.com, approximately half of consumers use online bill payment services, but only about 15% have opted out of receiving paper bills and statements. C’mon now…

    The only checking you should be doing is to see which of your bills have paperless invoice and payment programs in place.

    Ordinary Joe

    When you’re livin’ green, an ordinary cup of joe simply won’t do. Us treehuggers, we like our coffee fair trade, organic, bird-friendly, single-origin, shade-grown, locally-roasted, artisanal – with room for real cream and raw sugar.

    According to Green America, coffee is second to oil in US imports. So, we have an opportunity to make a real difference with our purchasing decisions.

    But making Earth-friendly coffee choices isn’t just about where it comes from – it’s about how it’s packaged.

    A recent NY Times article states that single-serve coffee is now the second most popular method of preparing coffee after drip brewers. In the 13 weeks leading up to Christmas 2011, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters who claims to be “Brewing A Better World” sold more than $715 million in K-Cup packs. That’s roughly 715 million little plastic cups that are not recyclable (straight from Keurig’s “Commitment for a Better Planet” web page: “The polyethylene coating of the foil – as well as the process of heat-sealing the various elements – makes recycling difficult.”).

    If you already own one of these wasteful machines, don’t let it become yet another item to discard. Apparently now there are K-Cup reusable filter baskets available so you can pack your own coffee, preferably from a local roaster who cares about their impact on the planet.

    For those who think buying organic coffee means spending more money, compare Bjava’s house-roasted 12oz bags of organic coffee for $12-$14 to typical K-Cups that come out to be about $50/lb – and not because it’s better coffee.

  • Member Spotlight – Ramona Adams

    Ramona AdamsA true “type A” with passion about life, people and entertainment, Ramona Adams grew up in Carmel, IN with her brother and parents citing a true Midwest upbringing.

    She attended Carmel High School and went to college at University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

    She feels her parents are the people that influenced her the most in life and enjoys spending time with them today.

    As a career woman, her path has taken her to several different positions – notable locations such as the Indianapolis Star, Pacers and she is currently in private dining sales for the downtown Ruth’s Chris Steak House location. She loves working and interacting with people who enjoy fine dining, wines and culinary excellence which is why the position at Ruth’s Chris is a perfect fit for her. In our discussion, she noted that her father became a personal chef after a career in Medical Technology and that cooking is a big part of their family. They don’t do anything simply when it comes to food and family gatherings!

    She came to Rotary after several friends recommended the downtown club as a great place to be involved. And after one meeting, she recognized several people she knew, became enamored with our group and knew immediately it was the place she wanted to spend her time giving back. She is chair of the Social Committee, is a member of the Membership Committee, Co-chairs the Riley Event, is overseeing the Centennial Gala Committee for 2012.

    She and her husband John, a freelance writer and marketing researcher, live in Indianapolis and have been married for five years after a longer courtship. Although they don’t have children, they are “thinking about a dog”. They love to travel and hike and they are definitely “word” people as they enjoy games like Scrabble as well as crossword puzzles that they can do together. She has a goal of making sure she visits all fifty states along the way. Her hobbies include working out, scrapbooking and entertaining! She and John would love to live downtown at some point.

    When asked about her favorite quote she cited a bumper sticker that she has seen several times – MEAN PEOPLE SUCK. She feels that life is too short to spend it being mean, sad or unhappy!

    Her words to live by are to “Live in the moment and don’t put life off!”

    Written by Dene Dresch Nidiffer

  • Member Spotlight – Evan Bedel

    Evan grew up here in Indy with his parents and one older brother. He had a very active childhood as his parents kept him and his brother incredibly busy. Between basketball, baseball, soccer, cross country, or track practice, there wasn’t much time for sitting around or being lazy! Weekends he had out of town tournaments which kept the whole family very active, too.

    After graduating from Brebeuf, Evan was off to Wittenberg University where he was recruited to play basketball. He quickly learned that there are not many professional basketball opportunities for a slow, Division 3 basketball player so he stopped playing and joined a fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi. Evan graduated in 2005 with a Business Management degree. Upon graduation, he sought the answer to this question from his mother: “What’s the best financial planning school in the country?” Elaine quickly replied “Texas Tech” and he said “Where!???” Next thing he knew, he was off to Lubbock, Texas where he graduated with a Master’s degree in Personal Financial Planning in 2008. He feels he made some lifelong connections in Texas and enjoyed his time there very much.

    His first Financial Planning position was with Clarus Financial, in Cincinnati, OH. The firm was owned by a single owner with Evan and a part time administrative assistant only. With the onset of the financial recession at the start of his career, he indicated that he was certainly “baptized by fire” as a new financial planner and it was great experience to kicking off his career. Today, he truly enjoys helping young families reach their financial goals at Bedel Financial Consulting. He can remember as a teen working at the firm, he and Elaine may have not always seen eye to eye, probably because he was a teenager. However, today he feels he and Elaine work incredibly well together. He sees her as a great mentor to him and she has certainly given him lots of advice, yet at the same time is very determined to allow him to fend for himself and provides him the opportunity to make his own path along the way.

    His decision to join Rotary was based on wanting to join a world class organization outside of his profession which has the goal of helping community prosper. He has visited some groups within Rotary to get his feet wet, but believes that he is probably best suited for a budgeting role with Rotary and is planning to seek this type of role as soon as he can.

    Personally, Evan is married to Abbe, a mental health counselor for St. Vincent New Hope. She is a home based therapist working with families that are in need or at risk. These are often families who have lost children due to neglect or other unfortunate circumstances. One exciting piece of news for Evan and Abbe is that they are expecting their first child in January 2012. The whole family is thrilled at the prospect of having this new little member of the family join them. Evan is very excited to be the best Dad that he can possibly be and to start his family.

    As to the most exciting thing that ever happened to him… he and his teammates won an Indiana State Basketball Championship in 2000! (Not everyone can say that!) As to the most interesting place he has ever been… he traveled to China with his college basketball team for two weeks to play Shanghai and Beijing Universities. While there, he experienced some culture shock as to the level of poverty and lifestyle of many people living in China. It made him appreciate life in the US. As to his free time… Evan hangs out with his “virtual friends” through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (isn’t this how we communicate today when we have busy lives?) and loves to be with his wife, dogs, play a little basketball and exercise when he can.

    As to his community involvement…he is involved as a Board Member, Financial Planning Association of Greater Indiana; Investment Committee, Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame; Member, Indianapolis Alumni Association of Phi Kappa Psi and Member, Young Professionals of Central Indiana.

    As to favorite quotes and words to live by…

    Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. – John Wooden

    From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere. – Dr. Seuss

    As to what is next for Evan… for the long term he is looking forward to raising a family, staying connected with the community and helping his clients. For the short term, he will be participating in a 10-12 mile obstacle course designed by British Special Forces in November, it’s called Tough Mudder. He has never done anything like this, so he feels it could be the worst idea ever!

    (He claims that his true motivation for doing this is the “free beer” at the end of the event that he will enjoy!) Good luck Evan!
    Written by Dene Dresch Nidiffer, IIDA, RID of Lohr Design, Inc.