• Wed, Oct 5th 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off!

    Wed, Oct 5th 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off!

    ROTARY 5:31 CLUB/3rd Annual Chili Cook-off: Wednesday, October 5th at the Triton Tap Room, 915 Broad Ripple Avenue. Face-Off against other members of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis! Bring your best batch of chili and see how it stands-up to the chili made by other Indy Rotary Club members. Here are the rules! If you are not participating in the contest, PLEASE STILL COME AND BRING FRIENDS! So, like all 5:31 get-togethers, it will be hot, spicy and fun!

    “Registration deadline”: September 27th! For more information or to enter the contest, contact David Leonards: ieb@prodigy.net

    Reservations and punctuality not required! 5:31 meet-and-greets are our most popular event get-togethers. They are a fun way to get to know folks outside of our regular Tuesday programs. We always meet at a new location somewhere in the city and it is never dull!

  • August 16, Indy Rotary: Howard Kellman, Voice of the Indianapolis Indians

    August 16, Indy Rotary: Howard Kellman, Voice of the Indianapolis Indians

    On Tuesday, August 16, please join us as we listen to an inspired presentation about our very own Indianapolis Indians baseball team.

    Longtime Indianapolis Rotarian Cal Burleson, Vice-President for Indians Baseball and Administrative Affairs will give a brief presentation on the Indians in the community, including a new initiative the Indians are starting with Indianapolis Public Schools.

    Then, Cal will introduce veteran Indians broadcaster Howard Kellman who will give us a presentation on Baseball, including a few of his favorite stories from the Indianapolis Indians archives.

    Howard Kellman is in his 39th season as the “Voice of the Tribe,” having called his first Indians game during the Tribe’s 1974 campaign in the American Association. Kellman’s illustrious career behind the microphone features a selection as Indiana’s Sportscaster of the Year in 2002 and an induction into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 2009.

  • World Community Service Committee donates $7,000 to the Give Hope, Fight Poverty

    World Community Service Committee donates $7,000 to the Give Hope, Fight Poverty

    2013-01-11 21.21.46-for-webSwaziland, Africa is a small country with a population that has been decimated by HIV/AIDS.  The AIDS pandemic, highest in the world, left over 120,000 orphans in its wake with a total population of only one million people.  The number of orphaned children exceeds the number of caretakers leaving the orphans to fend for themselves in child-headed homes.  Give Hope, Fight Poverty works holistically to ensure that the orphans receive a high quality education – but scholarships alone are insufficient.  The children need food, water, healthcare, shelter, and sanitation to stay in school and be successful in their pursuit of an education.

    The lack of proper sanitation and hygiene in rural Swazi communities has led to communicable disease, school absences, and entirely preventable death among children.  The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation played a crucial part in addressing the sanitation and hygiene needs of our orphans in two rural communities: Malindza Village and eLangeni Village.  The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation’s donation enabled us to attack the sanitation challenges three ways:

    1. We build pit latrine toilets strategically at schools and throughout the communities.
    2. We partner with local Swazi hotels to sanitize and distribute used soap to schools and child-headed homes.
    3. We distribute reusable sanitary pads to adolescent girls to ensure they are able to continue their education through their menstrual cycles.

    Teachers have been reporting increased attendance and we have not had a single case of Rotavirus since the beginning of this Rotary sponsored program.  We are excited to continue witnessing the progress and will continue the soap and sanitary pad program throughout the year.

    The photos are of our youngest cohort of orphans at our Malindza New Hope Children’s Centre (green uniforms), my husband sanitizing and reforming the used soaps with bleach and hot water, and one of the pit latrine toilet structures in almost finished condition (only the door needed hung).

    [Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”7″ gal_title=”Swasiland”]

  • September 14, 2016, at the Columbia Club

    September 14, 2016, at the Columbia Club

    On September 14, 2016, 5:30pm, expand your connections, experience club life, and learn more about an exclusive offer for Indy Rotary Members during a prospective member reception at the Columbia Club! Download the flyer and please RSVP to this special event by September 12 To Sarah Henry, Club Concierge 317.761.7523 or shenry@columbia-club.org

  • August 9, Indy Rotary: Hunter Smith, musician and retired Indianapolis Colt

    Hunter Smith was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and earned a Super Bowl ring with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI. He is now retired from professional football.

    As a musician, Smith felt the musical pull very early in his life. His broad musical influences include: Keith Urban, U2, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Rogers, Coldplay, Willie Nelson, Sawyer Brown, and Alabama. Probably not something you’d expect from a kid raised in a non-instrumental, a cappella church. He taught himself how to play the guitar and began writing his own music at a very young age. In 2012, his dream became reality. The Hunter Smith Band released their first album, “Green.”

    And, as an author, in his book “The Jersey Effect,” Smith has demonstrated how to pursue the ultimate prize – a goal that has little to do with winning a (NFL) championship ring and everything to do with how we can have a positive effect on those around us through the sports we love.

    Hunter will be sharing from his experiences as a husband, father, NFL football player, artist, and leader in his community.

  • Rotary International Foundation’s 100th Year of “Doing Good” in the World

    Rotary International Foundation’s 100th Year of “Doing Good” in the World

    (L-R) Rick Conner, Mark Blade, Anita Harden, Matt Burnett, Teresa Walker, Kelly Tingle, Michael Salemi
    (L-R) Rick Conner, Mark Blade, Anita Harden, Matt Burnett, Theresa Walker, Kelly Tingle and Michael Salemi

    Setting the stage for The Rotary International Foundation’s (RIF) second century of being a powerful force for “doing good” in the world, the Rotary Club of Indianapolis kicked-off its official celebration of RIF’s centennial year at our Club’s Tuesday, August 2 luncheon with new incentives to contribute to RIF and nine Paul Harris Fellow presentations.

    David Yeley, chair of the Club’s RIF Committee said, “the importance of making annual contributions to RIF so the eradication of polio, providing access to clean water, healthcare, basic education and promoting peace in our troubled world are critical to the success of ongoing RIF programs around the globe.”

    Rotary Direct allows Rotarians to contribute online monthly, quarterly or annually. Get started, today!

    New Giving Incentives Announced:

    1. First five Rotarians to donate using Rotary Direct get 100 extra points toward PHF recognition.
    2. First 10 new donors will get an extra 100 points toward PHF recognition, as well.

    First time Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) awards were presented to Michael Salemi and Kelly Tingle. Seven other members were recognized for increased levels of giving. Accepting a level one pin was Theresa Walker. PHF level two pins were awarded to Matt Burnett and Anita Harden. Mark Blade and Rick Conner were presented level four pins. John Blakley was recognized with a level five pin and Pat Garten with a level eight.

  • August 2, Indy Rotary: Thom England – Chef & Executive Director, Dig IN

    August 2, Indy Rotary: Thom England – Chef & Executive Director, Dig IN

    Chef Thom England, is a professional chef, food writer, educator and mentor and has shared his expertise with many aspiring and seasoned chefs for over 20 years. Born and raised in Northern Indiana, Chef England trained in New York at the Culinary Institute of America. He spent much of his professional career in New York and in Central Indiana. He is an ACF Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and Certified Foodservice Educator (CFSE). He is also well versed in the production and pairing of alcohol, running and consulting for wineries. He is a Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS)

    Chef England currently serves as program coordinator at the Ivy Tech Hospitality and Culinary Arts program. Additionally, he is active in the community as a local foods activist as co-founder and president of Dig-IN: a non-profit for the promotion of Indiana Food, Beverage, and Agriculture. Working together with Hoosier farms of all sizes and varieties, agriculture associations, community organizations, and the consumer, Dig IN is working to create and sustain a new future of Hoosier food and agricultural economy.

  • July 26, Indy Rotary: Panel Discussion: Who is Responsible for Patient Safety?

    Medical errors and hospital infections are the third leading cause of death in the United States, following heart disease and cancer. 90% of the errors and 50% of the infections are preventable, and costly. Hospitals spend $9.5 billion on hospital acquired infections (HAIs) and $19.5 billion on medical errors, much of which is passed on onto the patient and/or their insurance companies.

    Tuesday’s program, includes a panel of experts who will explore this challenge and how hospitals, patients and the healthcare system is addressing this issue.

    The Experts

    Ken Lazarus, MD,
    Academic Content Specialist for the Indiana University School of Medicine

    Sharon Barclay, RN, MSN

    Steve Long,
    CEO of Hancock Regional Hospital

    Indianapolis Rotarian, Betty Tonsing, Ph.D., CLSS/GB
    Author, Stand in the Way! Patient Advocates Speak Out

  • September 15 – Rotary Youth Exchange Information Night

    youth-exchange-logoWould you like to study abroad?
    Do you ever dream of living in another country?
    Maybe Rotary Youth Exchange is for you. Questions?
    An information night for Rotary Youth Exchange will be held at the Carmel High School Community Room on September 15th from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. This session is for interested students and their parents to learn more about RYE, and whether or not it is the program for them. It is not a commitment, just a chance to learn more about the Program. Download more information, here.
  • Rotary Community Service Committee Assembles Childproofing Kits

    Rotary Community Service Committee Assembles Childproofing Kits

    group-shot-smallOn Tuesday evening, July 19, the Rotary Community Service Committee (left to right) Marie Koenig, Jennifer Hobbs, Lisa Crane, an RN with the NFP, Sara Garrett and Angie Ingalls fulfilled a Indianapolis Rotary Civic Entrepreneurship grant by assembling forty Safety 1st Essentials childproofing kits in conjunction with the Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP), operated by the Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana. NFP is an evidence-based, community health program that serves low-income women pregnant with their first child. Each vulnerable new mom is partnered with a registered nurse early in her pregnancy and receives ongoing nurse home visits.

    The NFP nurses provide a baby-safety childproofing kit to each family upon the birth of their child which includes plug protectors, door knob covers, bath thermometer, and cabinet locks. As with any gift from the program, this one comes with a lesson. Infant safety is discussed with the client and her family/relatives at a visit soon after birth. Educational information provided along with this includes the NFP handouts “How can I be safe in my home and in my neighborhood”, and “How do I keep my baby safe?” and an easy-to-read safety information brochure Additionally, the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory scale is completed when the infant is 6 and 12 months old to assess learning environment, including safety and appropriateness of infant toys.