• May 7: Dr. Kenith Britt, Senior Vice President and Dean, Fred S. Klipsch Educators College, Marian University

    Join us on Tuesday to hear from Indianapolis Rotarian Dr. Kenith Britt the Vice President and Dean of the Fred S. Klipsch Educators College at Marian University. Dr. Britt has been a visionary in educational circles for nearly two decades. He was named an Impact Academy Fellow for Deans for Impact and received the prestigious Junior Achievement of Central Indiana Indy’s Best and Brightest Award for his work to help transform teacher preparation.

    Dr. Britt is the founding dean of the Fred S. Klipsch Educators College at Marian University – an innovative new program designed to recruit and prepare a more talented, diverse education workforce to drive improvement in schools. Prior to joining Marian University, Dr. Britt served for 10 years as a principal and president of K-12 Catholic Schools. He holds a PhD in leadership from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

    All are welcome at Rotary programs. The lunch buffet opens at Ivy Tech Culinary and Conference Center at 11:45 a.m. and the program runs 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. See you there!

  • Special Message from President John Mainella

    Special Message from President John Mainella

    By now, you have likely heard on the local and national news outlets that our beloved Rotarian and Senator Richard Lugar passed away Saturday evening after a short battle with the same syndrome that took his brother Tom.  He was surrounded by his loving wife of 63 years Charlene, four sons, and many other members of his family.

    We honored the Senator as Rotarian of the Century during our clubs centennial celebration and we recently joined with Gleaners to celebrate his work to eliminate hunger in the United States and across the world, as well as his efforts to promote global peace.  Many of us had the privilege and honor of hearing Dick and Tom share their brotherly love and their family’s story at a Tuesday meeting several years ago.  I was fortunate to receive several notes from him during this year as president and will cherish knowing and working with him for the rest of my life.

    To say that our club lost another giant is an understatement.  The entire world lost one of history’s greatest statesmen, advocates for peace, and incredible human being.

    There will certainly be many services and memorials, including something from our own club.  We will keep you apprised on arrangements as details become more clear. In the meantime, if you would like to send a note of condolence to the family, you can do so at The Lugar Center, 1455 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 1125, Washington, D.C. 20004.

    Please continue to keep the entire Lugar Family in your thoughts.

    With all best wishes,

    John Mainella
    President, Rotary Club of Indianapolis

  • April 30: Jim McClelland, Executive Director, Next Level Recovery

    April 30: Jim McClelland, Executive Director, Next Level Recovery

    Join us on Tuesday for Guest Day and to hear from Jim McClelland, former Rotary Club President and Executive Director of Next Level Recovery. In January 2017, Governor Eric J. Holcomb appointed Jim to the newly-created position of Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement for the State of Indiana. He reports directly to the Governor and also chairs the Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse.

    Jim is charged with coordinating, aligning, and focusing the relevant work of a wide array of state agencies that affect substance abuse issues. In addition, he seeks to leverage the state’s resources with those of entities in other sectors – business, higher education, health care, philanthropic, faith-based, and others – to respond as effectively as possible to the current opioid crisis and to substantially reduce the likelihood of a similar crisis arising from the abuse of addictive substances in the future.

    In 2015, Jim concluded a 45-year career with Goodwill Industries, the last 41 of those years as President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, based in Indianapolis. Jim has served on the boards of numerous not-for-profit organizations at local, national, and international levels and chaired several of them. He currently serves on the Dean’s Council of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business – Indianapolis, the Advisory Board of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, and the Board of Directors of Building Tomorrow.

    In 2009, Jim was inducted into the Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame; in 2011 he received the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University; and in 2018 he was inducted into the Georgia Tech College of Engineering Hall of Fame.

    A native of Florida, Jim earned a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

    All are welcome at Rotary programs. The lunch buffet opens at Ivy Tech Culinary and Conference Center at 11:45 a.m. and the program runs 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. See you there!

  • May 5:31 Club: Go-Karts & Gathering

    May 5:31 Club: Go-Karts & Gathering

    Join Rotary friends for two 5:31 Club events on May 1. 2019:

    1. Race high-performance go-karts at Speedway Indoor Karting starting at 5:31 pm. (1067 Main Street, Speedway)
    2. 1911 Grill, right next door.

    If you want to race go-karts, great! You’ll receive training and then race against the clock on the indoor track.

    Regular “license” and participation fees apply.

    Race first (or skip that part) and then enjoy food and beverages at 1911 Grill.

    Your friends are waiting for you…

  • April 23: Emily Mack, Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development

    Join us on Tuesday to hear from Emily Mack, Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development for the City of Indianapolis. She will be speaking on the White River Vision Plan which is a joint effort between the City of Indianapolis and Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. in partnership with Visit Indy’s philanthropic arm, Tourism Tomorrow, Inc. to develop a comprehensive and coordinated regional, community-driven plan to enhance 58 miles of the White River in Marion and Hamilton counties. The goal of the vision plan is to create an accessible, recreational, and cultural environment that encourages a unique sense of place for the community as a whole.

    Prior to her role as Director of DMD, Emily served as the Deputy Director for the City of Indianapolis Department of Code Enforcement (DCE). She was one of three executive team members that helped build DCE from the ground up, including transferring and realigning programs; developing an organizational structure; and re-engineering a fee schedule based on actual cost of services performed.

    Previously, Emily served as a Mayor’s Neighborhood Liaison, where she worked to build strong collaborative partnerships with neighborhoods and businesses, promote city initiatives, and address community-wide concerns. She also served as a Preservation Planner for the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission where she provided guidance to community groups seeking historic designation.

    Emily earned a Master’s of Science in Historic Preservation from Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning and a Bachelor’s of Science in History from Bradley University.

    All are welcome at Rotary programs. The lunch buffet opens at Ivy Tech Culinary and Conference Center at 11:45 a.m. and the program runs 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. See you there!

  • June 10: Special Program with Eva Kor, Holocaust Survivor

    Join the Rotary Club of Indianapolis for a special program as we welcome Eva Kor, Holocaust Survivor and Forgiveness Advocate, as our speaker on Monday, June 10.

    For the past 40 years, Holocaust survivor Eva Kor has shared her story with students, teachers, medical professionals, senators, administrators, historians, university groups, graduating classes, and civic groups, both nationally and internationally. Eva is one of the few surviving twins sharing her personal account of the medical experiments supervised by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele at Auschwitz. Eva’s account of her survival of the Holocaust offers many relevant lessons on the dangers of hate and prejudice, and the consequences of allowing prejudice to persist, unchecked, in others. 

    In addition to the importance of her account from a historical perspective, Eva’s life lessons and message of forgiveness have touched the lives of millions of people. In 1995, Eva chose to forgive the Nazis, after deciding that they should no longer have power over her life. She describes forgiving the Nazis as an act of self-healing, self-liberation, and self-empowerment; forgiveness is not about the perpetrator, not about forgetting. It is one step toward repairing the world by helping victims free themselves from perpetrators and remove anger and hatred. Eva shares her own discovery of the power to forgive so that others may see the possibility to heal themselves through forgiveness. Forgiveness provides a way for people to free themselves from hurt, anger, and hatred, from the pain of victimhood. If people find peace with themselves, the world may also find peace.

    WFYI Public Media recently received a $25,000 Community Grant from the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation to fund a recurring, interactive program at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center that will feature the “Eva” documentary, a half-hour discussion and an interactive exhibit. The “Eva” documentary brings difficult topics to the forefront as it features the life journey of Eva Mozes Kor, Holocaust survivor. 

    Pre-registration is required for this event and includes a buffet lunch provided by MBP Distinctive Catering. Indianapolis Club Rotarian tickets are $26 and guest tickets are $35. Tables of 8 can be reserved by contacting Donna Christian at dchristian@indyrotary.org. If you participate in the Rotary Value Club contact Donna to reserve your ticket.

    Purchase your tickets on Eventbrite.

  • Our Office Has Moved…..

    The Rotary Club of Indianapolis office is now located at the Glossbrenner Mansion. The new mailing address is 3202 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208 and the new phone number is 317-829-1041. Please update your records.

  • April 16: Paul Lushin, CEO, Lushin, Inc.

    Paul Lushin, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Lushin, Inc., a sales force development company. Paul works with presidents, CEOs, and business owners, utilizing a professional sales and management philosophy that emphasizes the importance of not only making a living, but also making a difference. Paul helps these visionaries bring clarity to the business development process for their companies while coaching them to foster a culture that drives innovation, personal growth, and increased revenue.

    In addition to Lushin, Inc., Paul has founded numerous businesses and he’ll admit that he’s seen more failures than successes through this journey. He’s embraced these failures and challenges as a learning experience to help him grow and improve that has set him up for the successes that he’s had. Paul will talk on how he’s taken the lessons from these failures to help him move forward and grow in the areas of leadership, have a success mindset, and growing multiple businesses.

    All are welcome at Rotary programs. The lunch buffet opens at Ivy Tech Culinary and Conference Center at 11:45 a.m. and the program runs 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. See you there!

  • April 9: Bryan Roach, Chief of Police, IMPD

    April 9: Bryan Roach, Chief of Police, IMPD

    Bryan Roach was named Chief of Police of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) on January 11, 2017, prior to that he served as Assistant Chief of Administration. In 2016, he was awarded with the Jake Laird Local Public Safety Hero Award. In 2015, he was presented the Hulman Health Achievement Award for being instrumental in Indiana’s first law enforcement life-saving Naloxone program for opiate overdose victims.

    Chief Roach joined the department in April 1991 and served as a North District patrol officer from 1991- 1994. He became a Narcotics Detective in 1994 and served in that capacity until he was promoted to Sergeant in 1999. Chief Roach served as a supervisor in Narcotics and of the North District Neighborhood Resource Unit until 2002 when he was named the administrative assistant to the Assistant Chief of Operations. In January 2005, Chief Roach was promoted to Lieutenant and served as the administrative assistant to the Chief of Police.

    Chief Roach was appointed Major in January 2006 and served as the Executive Officer to the Chief of Police. In September 2007, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Executive Division. In June 2008, he received the merit rank of Captain. In May 2010, Chief Roach began serving as a Major within the Operations Division, and in September 2010, became Commander of the Southwest District. In February 2014, he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Administration.

    Chief Roach is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy. He has been awarded two Medals of Valor and the Medal of Merit.

    All are welcome at Rotary programs. The lunch buffet opens at Ivy Tech Culinary and Conference Center at 11:45 a.m. and the program runs 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. See you there!

  • Nominations Open for Rotary Outstanding Achievement Recognition Award

    Nominations Open for Rotary Outstanding Achievement Recognition Award

    The Rotary Club of Indianapolis is proud to announce that nominations for the Rotary Outstanding Achievement Recognition (ROAR) Award is open (formerly called Rotarian of the Year.)  Nominations for Rotarians in good standing who have demonstrated “Service Above Self” during his or her lifetime are being accepted. This award recognizes a life devoted to reflecting the Four Way Test, not just within the Club, but in their career and community life as well. This is considered a lifetime achievement award.

    Award Information:

    1. The ROAR Award Selection Committee for 2019 is chaired by Elaine Bedel.
    2. Completed nominations should be submitted no later than May 3, 2019, to Jamie Stahl in person at a Tuesday lunch or via email to jstahl@indyrotary.org.
    3. Public announcement of the ROAR Award will occur on May 21 and the award will be presented at the 2019 Celebration Dinner scheduled for the evening of June 25.

    Download the ROAR nomination form.

    Past Recipients:

    2007: Marge Tarpley and Danny Danielson

    2008: Dr. Tim Dudley

    2009: Hugh Baker

    2010: Bill Batt

    2011: Bill Ervin

    2012: Gene Busche

    2013: Club celebrated 100th anniversary and named Rotarian of the Century: Senator Richard Lugar

    2014: Paul Raikes

    2015: Club celebrated retirement of Executive Director, Susie Harmless, and, therefore, no ROY named

    2016: Judge Tom Fisher

    2017: Elaine Bedel

    2018: Tom Lugar