On Tuesday, March 14, 2017 the Rotary Club of Indianapolis elected eight members to serve on the Board of Directors for two years, beginning on July 1, 2017. We are pleased to welcome the following community leaders to serve our club in leadership positions.
Greg Albright
Jenny Dexter
John Elliott
Tom Fodor
Chris Gonzalez
Tim Lee
Wendy Noe
Matt Wilhelm
Join the Rotary Club of Indianapolis on Tuesday, March 14 as we welcome James Callaghan, President/CEO of Franciscan Health – Indianapolis, Mooresville and Carmel.
Callaghan served as Franciscan Health-Michigan City president 2008-2015. In that role, he headed initiatives that led to the hospital earning national and local recognition for outstanding quality of care. In addition, in 2011, Callaghan led the formation of the Franciscan Health Clinical Operations Group, which works to improve the quality and lower the cost of care system-wide, and served as its first director.
Previous to that, he served as that hospital’s chief operations officer and vice president of medical affairs. He led a physician multi-specialty group into a clinically integrated relationship with the hospital, and led the hospital to a financial turnaround.
Dr. Callaghan practiced as a family physician in Michigan City and Chesterton, Indiana. Prior to this, he served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. Dr. Callaghan resides in Indianapolis with his wife, Sue, and their four children.
Chin National Day celebrating the 69th year of independence from Burma was held on February 18, 2017. Approximately 1,000 people were in attendance. There was singing, dancing, a style show and a talent contest. The Rotary Club of Indianapolis was recognized for its recent grant of $50,000 to The Chin Community of Indiana organization. This grant is renewable for up to five years. The President of the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation, Matt Will, described how Rotary works to do good globally and locally. He also reiterated The Rotary Club of Indianapolis’ commitment to the Chin Community. Other Rotarian’s who attended were, Jeff Lake, Tim Dudley, Bill Bubenzer, Kelly Tingle, Hodge Patel and Monica Peterson. A Chin Support Committee of more than 15 Rotarian’s has been established and they will work to assist The Chin Community of Indiana in all the areas of need requested by their organization. If you are interested in helping with this Legacy Grant/Project, please contact Jeff Lake at lakejeff960@gmail.com.
The Rotary Club of Indianapolis is much more than just a meeting at the Scottish Rite Cathedral. We are a family of committed citizens who care about making our community, both in Indianapolis and around the world, a better place. And we will continue to perform our duties as Rotarians no matter where we meet.
Recently, the officers made the decision to explore other venues for our regular Tuesday meetings. While the Scottish Rite has been a wonderful home for the last several years, we feel that we have a unique opportunity to look for a new space that provides our members with a better and more meaningful Rotary experience.
Over the last few weeks, Ramona Adams and John Mainella have been working with Kelly Tingle to execute a request for proposal. We received interest from more than 10 new venues and are in the process of narrowing our selection to the top 2 or 3 and will visit with these places. Ramona and John will be presenting more information to you in the next few weeks. If you have any questions about the process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to either one of them.
The Rotary Office will remain at the Scottish Rite. Our last meeting at the Scottish Rite will be Tuesday, March 28. We are working to make our transition to a new space as seamless and smooth as possible and certainly appreciate your patience during this process. We look forward to a wonderful Rotary program on April 4 in our new home.
In the meantime and over our few remaining weeks in the Scottish Rite, please take a minute to thank the wonderful banquet staff, many of whom we see on a weekly basis.
Join the Rotary Club of Indianapolis as we host the 100th Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, Justice Brent E. Dickson to speak about the Indiana Constitution. While many may consider Constitutional Law a “dry” subject, the recent surge in interest in national and state Constitutional Law is an example of how important it is to understand and respect our founding documents.
Justice Dickson was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court in 1986 by Governor Robert D. Orr. Prior to being named a Justice, Dickson spent seventeen years as a general practice lawyer in Lafayette, Indiana, where he earned certification as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has served as a justice on the court longer than any other person since 1853, and served as Chief Justice of Indiana from May 2012 to August 2014. During his service as Chief Justice, he was selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the national Conference of Chief Justices and chaired the Conference’s Committee on Professionalism and Competence of the Bar. Justice Dickson retired on April 29, 2016.
Justice Dickson will be joining us to speak about the Indiana Constitution. For more than ten years, Justice Dickson served as an adjunct professor teaching evening courses in Indiana Constitutional Law at both Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law in Bloomington and its Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. He will again be teaching the course at McKinney beginning this fall. We look forward to hearing more from Justice Dickson!
Rotary Welcomes Filmmaker Ted Green
With 6 documentaries under his belt, filmmaker Ted Green will join Rotary to discuss challenges and opportunities that exist in telling visual stories that carry the lessons and legacy of such great subjects as John Wooden, Crispus Attucks and Eva Kor. Ted’s honors include nine regional Emmys, including two for Best Documentary and the 2016 Indianapolis Urban League’s Servant Leadership Legacy Award. The presentation will include clips from Attucks: The School that Opened a City and Green’s newest film, Eva, which features Hoosier and Holocaust survivor Eva Kor. Come with questions- a robust Q&A session is encouraged.
In 2010, Ted Green switched to filmmaking after 20 years as a newspaper journalist. Ted holds a BA from Princeton University and a Masters from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He and his wife, Jenny, the sports editor at the Indianapolis Star, live with their twin daughters in Indianapolis.
F.C. Tucker President Jim Litten will join Rotary on Tuesday, February 14 to talk housing trends in the Central Indiana residential real estate market. With over 1,500 agents statewide and over $3.2 billion in sales, The F.C. Tucker Company is the largest independent real estate firm in Indiana and is ranked among the largest independent real estate firms in the nation.
After receiving his B.S. from Ohio University, Jim served a tour of duty in Vietnam. He moved to Indiana while working with Hunt-Wesson Food Company, and joined the F.C. Tucker Company in 1972, serving as a sales associate, manager, and now Owner/President of the Residential Real Estate Division. He is very active in the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors, currently serving as Co-Chairman of the Real Estate Business Magazine and the National Convention Committee.
Jim was also the recipient of the 1997 Sagamore of the Wabash award from the Governor of Indiana.He remains active in the community through the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series, The Lawrence Township Foundation, The Arthritis Foundation, and the Advisory Task Force for Ivy Tech.
I have been sharing information about this most incredible Rotary scholarship opportunity – the Peace Fellowship program that offers either a two-year Master’s degree or a three-month certificate. It really is an ‘opportunity of a lifetime’……just ask D.F. Pace, police lieutenant and attorney with the Philadelphia police department. Lt. Pace uses the skills he learned in the intensive certificate program focused on conflict resolution to defuse tensions in Philadelphia neighborhoods cited for violence and confrontation between residents and police. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, member of the Philadelphia Rotary Club – 19th oldest in the world – wondered if the program was for academics and students only, and was excited to learn the curriculum was suitable for any one in any field focused on the need for conflict resolution. The next step was to find the right candidate. Lt. Pace has both street patrol experience as well as being trained as a lawyer familiar with legal aspects of proper policing. To Commission Ramsey, Lt. Pace had the right combination of street smarts and experience, education and training and a commitment that policing must be an instrument of peace.
Indianapolis and its metro area is among the largest urban/suburban/rural regions of the country. There are suitable candidates among us for a Rotary Peace Fellowship. Who needs to know more about the three-month certificate in peace and conflict resolution? What community could benefit? All expenses are covered……. airfare, accommodation, curriculum program. And surely there is a professional or advanced student intent on a Master’s program in peace and conflict resolution for whom an equally expense paid two-year’s Master’s program is ideal……someone who would be quite upset if we did not at least tell them about this opportunity. Please do not say you do not know of someone: I bet you do.
Please go to this link that has all the information one needs for the Peace Fellowships…both the Masters Scholarship and the three-month certificate. Rotary has made this easier yet to apply AND provide information. https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/peace-fellowships
You can also contact Betty Tonsing directly at bettyktonsing@gmail.com, or (574) 807-2382
Join the Rotary Club of Indianapolis on Tuesday, February 7 as we welcome Troy Riggs, Vice President of The Sagamore Institute. He recently stepped down as Chief of Police and has served as Director of Public Safety in Indianapolis. In addition to his time here in Indianapolis, Riggs has held executive staff positions within Louisville, Kentucky, and Corpus Christi, Texas, governments. During his 27 years in public service he has been invited to participate in White House discussions regarding youth crime and has testified to Congress and in state houses in Indiana and Kentucky.
Riggs will present a national review of crime and crime trends, with a focus on Indianapolis and the Midwest. He looks forward to robust conversation with the audience.
Rotarians,
The Scottish Rite Cathedral, built in 1929, is a remarkable building. As we all know, updates and renovations are necessary to keep a historic building in top shape. The Ballroom, where the Rotary Club of Indianapolis typically meets, will be undergoing a facelift for the next few months. During this time we will have the pleasure of utilizing the Grand Hall (located downstairs) for our weekly lunch and program. Once renovations have been completed, we will notify you that we can return to the newly updated Ballroom. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this change in location and I hope to see you at a meeting soon!
And remember, in addition to our regular meetings held in the Scottish Rite, there are many other activities happening at Rotary! From basketball games at IUPUI with Rotarian Roderick Perry to Movie Night with Rotarian Matt Burnett to volunteering at the Marion County Spelling Bee… there are so many ways to get engaged! Watch our e-newsletter or visit our website at www.indyrotary.org to check out our calendar of events.
Hugs,
President, Sheila Carlson