Brownsburg Magazine November 2021 by Towne Post Network, Inc.

MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER 2021

MARCH ON

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Local Man Becomes Professional Driving Instructor for Motorsport Club HOPE HEALS

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MARCH ON

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PEDAL TO THE METAL LOCAL MAN BECOMES PROFESSIONAL DRIVING INSTRUCTOR FOR MOTORSPORT CLUB Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography / The Xtreme Xperience

There is a time and a place for everything, and sometimes those times arrive later in life. Such is the case for James Noah, currently 64 years old and living out his dream of being a professional driving instructor for a motorsport club. “Most of the other instructors are half my age,” Noah says. Not that he’s complaining. He’s just happy to be enjoying retirement behind the wheel of a fancy sports car. “Let’s be honest,” he says. “How often do you get paid to drive a Lamborghini?” Originally from Minnesota, Noah moved to Indianapolis in 1999 to work for a company that supplies robotics and assembly equipment for the automobile industry. Throughout the past two decades, he worked for various automotive companies before retiring in December of 2019. Noah had a good friend who was an instructor with Porsche Club of America, whose members get together at tracks around the country for high-performance driver education (HPDE). Though these are not racing events, they allow laymen to rent out a track for the weekend and learn how to In 2013, Noah purchased a vehicle he could use on the track, then started going to these drive performance cars. weekend events. As he gained experience, he moved through the ranks from novice to intermediate to advanced. After five years, he applied to become an instructor with a club out of Cincinnati called 10/10ths Motorsports. “These HPDE weekends enable people to drive their car in a controlled environment,” Noah says. “Though there are no prizes, this is a full speed race.”

In September of 2020, Noah was hired to be a professional driving instructor for Xtreme Xperience, a company out of Chicago that has a fleet of cars such as Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and McLarens. Xtreme Xperience goes around the country to different tracks almost like a tour, and people pay to drive supercars on a track with an instructor. Noah describes the interview process for this job as the most intense he’s ever had, but that makes sense when one considers

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“You’re in a half-a-million-dollar car going 140 miles per hour,” Noah says. “They want people they can trust.” Instructors arrive in the early morning to test cars and warm them up. Around 9 a.m. they start taking people out on the track to satiate their need for speed. Usually the guest is behind the wheel and Noah is the passenger, but sometimes they ask him to drive. “You have to profile people to see where they are comfortable, and be sensitive to how the car is handling,” Noah says. “The main goal is safety, but we want them to experience what it’s like to open up the throttle a bit.” All of the instructors have closed-circuit radio, so they are connected with one another and the pit boss. They know what the other cars are doing, making it a safe environment. Having said that, this high-octane fun is intense and hectic, which means that Noah must remain sharp all day long. To do that, he stays in tip-top shape, training like a professional athlete by following a regular regimen every day that he’s not on the track. “In this job, if you lose focus and make a mistake, it’s bad,” says Noah, who combines strength and endurance training with agility training, flexibility and core training, and hand-eye coordination exercises. A lifelong athlete, Noah is both an alpine skier and karate instructor. He goes to Michigan almost every weekend during the winter. He also skis in

West Virginia and Colorado, and attends race camps in Switzerland. He competes in the oldest and largest national amateur racing program in the world, and is a twotime national champion in his age group. Four decades ago, Noah met his wife Tsuyako in Okinawa, Japan, when he was studying karate. “When I lived in Japan, I competed on the U.S. World Championship team,” Noah says. “It’s been a lifelong activity for me.” Married for 41 years, the couple has a son named George, an Air Force major currently at Northern Arizona University and an instructor with the Reserve Officers Training Corps program. They also have a daughter named Leiona, who lives in Hollywood, Florida, where she is a law school student. Tsuyako, who worked in the Avon school district for many years before retiring, has been supportive of her active, adventurous hubby and all of his hobbies. Now that they are both retired, she usually accompanies him on his skiing and racing adventures. Though Noah enjoys his job, he recognizes that it’s not for everybody. “It’s mentally and physically demanding,” he says. Nevertheless, he’s glad he followed his dream and encourages others to do the same. He references a nautical term called kedging. When ships get caught in calm seas and sit for days, they take a small boat and row the anchor out ahead

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of the ship, drop the anchor, and it pulls the ship forward. They repeat this over and over again and, slowly but surely, they move the boat forward. “A dream is a great thing, but to be a goal you have to quantify it,” Noah says. “Set a goal and then ask yourself what you have to do to reach it.” Suffice it to say, Noah is relishing retirement. “I like the challenge associated with this career, the camaraderie of the instructor core and the enjoyment of driving full race speed in this car,” says Noah, who admits that this job was not originally on his radar. In fact, he was considering driving a delivery truck post-retirement, just to stay active. Then this opportunity came along. The funny thing is that Noah says he’s a rather poky driver when he’s out on public streets, proving that there really is a time and a place for everything.

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HOPE HEALS THE STAFF AT HOPE HEALTHCARE SERVICES IS EAGER TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided

Nearly 20 years ago, the former senior pastor of Kingsway Christian Church, John Caldwell, regularly preached a vision sermon, as he had a dream of forming a care center that would include not just a food pantry and clothing ministry, but medical care as well. He wanted to find a way to provide low-cost, quality health care to individuals who don’t carry health insurance, since roughly 8% to 10% of the Hendricks County population does not have health insurance.

Though the church leaders were on board with the vision, they needed the means to make it happen. In 2003, a physician named Dr. David Cheeseman, who was a member of the congregation, approached the church about starting the medical clinic. That’s how Kingsway Community Care Center, later

NOVEMBER 2021

renamed Hope Healthcare Services, was born. Leaders of the nonprofit, incorporated in 2004, officially opened the doors in June of 2005. A month later, an oral surgeon from Kingsway, Dr. Rob McDonough, heard about the vision and offered his dental services as well.

Several years ago, the United Way did a study that perfectly defined Hope’s patient population. These folks fell under the designation of ALICE, an acronym for access limited, income constrained and employed. If someone’s income falls below the federal poverty guidelines, the staff at Hope Healthcare will encourage them to sign up for insurance through the government programs. The problem is that many don’t qualify for government programs because they earn too much, yet they don’t make enough money to cover basics like housing, transportation, child care, food and health care. “Many times health insurance is the one that gets dropped,” says John Mollaun, executive director of Hope Healthcare Services since 2007. “Folks think, ‘I feel OK. I’ll get it later.’ ” According to Mollaun, 59% of businesses in Hendricks County staff four or fewer employees. That means the employer is not required to provide insurance. “That’s a large portion of people who are falling through the cracks - people who work at a small business or entrepreneurs or seasonal workers,” Mollaun says. “It could also be a situation where a family breaks up. One spouse had insurance and the other didn’t. Now the one without insurance is left to fend for themselves. There are myriad of reasons a person may find themselves uninsured. We’re here to catch those who are falling through the cracks and hopefully help them get better health.” When they renamed the organization in 2015, they asked patients for

NOVEMBER 2021

input. Hope is the word that sprang to mind because it’s the feeling that abounds. “They said, ‘Hope is what you are to us,’” Mollaun says. In 2019, Indiana University Health Foundation provided a two-year grant that enabled Hope Healthcare to hire their first staff practitioners - a physician’s assistant one day per week and a nurse practitioner one day per week. This was a big deal because up until then, they only worked with volunteers. Volunteers have full-time jobs, which means most of them are only able to work a single threeto four-hour shift per month. Though that grant ended in 2020, they have been able to continue staffing through other fundraising. Currently, in terms of volunteers, Hope Healthcare has two pediatricians, a urologist, a gynecologist, a chiropractor, a dermatologist, a dietician, an endodontist who does root canals, and an oral surgeon. The dentists are able to provide cleanings, fillings, extractions, crowns and dentures. In addition, Ann McCafferty with the Indiana Rural Health Association comes in one day per week to help patients file for insurance. She also connects folks to all kinds of available resources. “I could lose any of these services at any time should they choose to stop volunteering,” Mollaun says. “I could also gain a new service at any time. For instance, a neurologist recently expressed an interest in possibly volunteering.” NOVEMBER 2021

When patients come to Hope Healthcare, they pay a nominal fee at the time of service. “We are not a free clinic because it allows us to continue at a much higher capacity,” Mollaun says. “We also think it adds dignity to the patients that they are paying something for the services.” A visit with a staff provider is $30, and it costs $10 to see a volunteer. Make no mistake - this is not a charity clinic offering substandard care. The doctors who volunteer here are the same ones you’ll see in local hospitals and health-care offices. Though Hope Healthcare has had some of the same volunteers since its inception, most of them typically volunteer for several years until changing life circumstances no longer make it viable. “Sometimes volunteers say they’d like to come in once a week, but we don’t want our volunteers to burn themselves out so we suggest volunteering once a month,” Mollaun says. Though Hope Healthcare Services is a faith-based clinic, they see people of any faith or no faith at all. “There is certainly no coercion,” Mollaun says. Sometimes doctors pray with the patients, but not without permission.

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“Many of the volunteers here are motivated by their commitment to the kingdom of God, and we don’t hide that,” Mollaun says. “There is a spiritual aspect to what we do here. It’s kind of the heart and soul of who we are. We love people unconditionally.” Patients can typically see a medical practitioner within a day or two. The dental side, however, is booked out by several months. The primary question Mollaun fields is from people wanting to know whether they can see a dentist at Hope if they have medical insurance but not dental insurance. Unfortunately the answer is no, simply due to capacity. “If I took everyone who has medical insurance but no dental insurance, we’d be booked 900 years into the future because most people don’t have dental insurance,” Mollaun says. “Our only criteria here is that you carry no insurance - no VA, no Medicare, no Medicaid, no private medical or private dental.” The one exception to that rule is if someone has Medicare Part A for hospitalization only, or Medicaid for emergency only. Despite the challenges the pandemic has presented, some positives emerged from the experience. For instance, they began offering car-side visits and telehealth appointments. They also developed new alliances with local schools because when most of their senior student volunteers dropped out, that gap was filled by student workers from Avon High School and other learning institutions. “I honestly think we became a stronger clinic,” says Mollaun, who is pleased by the overwhelming community support for Hope Healthcare. For instance, a whopping 90% of their equipment and furniture in the building was donated. “It’s beautiful to see the way everyone has rallied around us to fulfill this need.” Hope Healthcare Services is located at 107 Park Place Boulevard in Avon. For more information, call 317-272-0708 or visit myhopehealth.org.

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As the weather gets colder, extra care should be taken to prioritize your health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 5% and 20% of the United States population gets the flu every year, and the average adult experiences the common cold two to three times per year. While we can’t always avoid winter sicknesses like the common cold, flu and strep throat, we can take precautions to lower our risk. MAINTAIN PROPER PERSONAL HYGIENE.

Wash hands with soap and water throughout the day, especially before eating or preparing food. The CDC recommends washing your hands for 20 seconds, or using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water is not available. In addition to keeping your hands clean, be mindful to keep the surfaces clean that you come into contact with. Keep disinfecting wipes handy to wipe down high-touch surfaces like doorknobs, light switches, keyboards and countertops. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND EAT A BALANCE.D DIET.

Although there isn’t a one-size-fits-all amount, around six cups of water daily is recommended. Your diet should include lots of fruits and vegetables, which are packed with vitamins and minerals needed to stay healthy. You can talk with your doctor to learn more about your individualized water intake and dietary needs. KEEP A CONSISTENT SLEEP SCHEDULE.

Sleep is an important time for your body to recover after a long day. Set a bedtime and aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night to get quality rest. If needed, a 20-minute power nap can be taken to recharge during the day. Other tips? Sleep in a dark, quiet room, and put away electronic devices 30 minutes before bedtime. GET AN ANNUAL FLU SHOT.

The best defense against influenza is getting your yearly flu shot. Everyone ages 6 months and older should get their shot every season, especially those who are at higher risk of serious complications from the flu, like pregnant women, children under 5, people with chronic health conditions, and adults 65 and older. If you do get sick, the flu shot may make your symptoms milder and reduce the risk of a flu-associated hospital stay. In addition to the flu shot, talk with your doctor to make sure you’re up to date on all vaccinations and boosters recommended for you.

MARCH ON

BROWNSBURG BAND TO PERFORM IN THE MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided by Curt Moss & Amy Payne

Band kids are a special bunch. Fiercely devoted to their craft, they’ve got good hearts, strong spirits, and a seemingly endless supply of energy. On top of that, they’re tenacious, tough and full of talent. Last year that talent was set to be put on full display for all the world to see when the Brownsburg High School (BHS) marching band, the Sound of Brownsburg, was invited

to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. As we all know, COVID-19 wreaked havoc on our lives, cancelling plans faster than a freak hailstorm. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was one such casualty. The good news is that the parade committee invited all bands that were scheduled to perform in New York City in 2020 to do so in November of 2021, and though COVID-19 is still around, bands have been

given the green light to participate this year. Senior Mackenzie Gillespie calls this opportunity a dream come true. “Being able to do this with my second family is going to be so special,” Gillespie says. “Every year my family and I have watched [the parade] on TV, but being able to be there and actually perform in it is going to be a whole different experience. The Sound of Brownsburg has worked so

TownePost.com / NOVEMBER 2021 / BROWNSBURG MAGAZINE / 25

hard for this moment. I can’t wait to have this experience of a lifetime with my second family.” Several hundred bands from across the country apply every year. Each must submit a band resume, a list of staff and band accomplishments, a video performance, and three recommendations from band directors. BHS is one of 12 bands that will perform. A 90-second spot highlighting the Sound of Brownsburg will air live on NBC on Thanksgiving morning. “We are not only representing Brownsburg, but also the whole state as we are the only band in Indiana who will be performing,” says Tracy Runyon, one of three BHS

performing arts and band teachers. Runyon, along with the other two BHS Band Directors Chris Kaflik and John Marque, will be taking the entire band to New York. This includes 205 kids, plus 20 staff members along with parents, siblings, other relatives and friends, bringing the grand total to 465 people heading to the Big Apple. The group is flying out on three chartered planes on November 24, while the equipment will be traveling via semi-trailer, which a couple of dads have graciously offered to drive. “We will need to take all of the instruments, including the large sousaphones, all the percussion, new large banner, uniforms,

guard equipment, shakos, plus all the luggage,” Runyon says. “We will be a packed caravan.” Once they arrive in New York, they will have charter buses in the city for transportation. The five-day trip will be full of fun activities for the students, including visits to the One World Observatory, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and Grand Central Terminal, as well as the choice to either see “Wicked” on Broadway or the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. They also plan to tour the American Museum of Natural History, ice skate at Rockefeller Center, snoop around Times Square, and take a Thanksgiving dinner cruise on the Hudson. Somewhere

26 / BROWNSBURG MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2021 / TownePost.com

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in there they may find time to get some sleep, but it’ll be tough as they must do a full rehearsal for everyone involved in the parade in the early hours of Thanksgiving morning. This means that they’ll be going through New York City at 3 a.m. After rehearsal, the students will eat breakfast, then hang out at the start of the parade route by Central Park.

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“After the parade is over, hopefully we will all get to go take a nap,” Runyon says. Connor Arnold, a junior, is happy to have this unique opportunity with his friends. “I look forward to sharing Thanksgiving with my friends and family, and everyone I

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love,” he says. Kaflik had applied previously to get BHS into the Macy’s Parade and received notification that they didn’t make it. They did, however, get a personalized note encouraging them to apply the following year because they were the last band taken off the roster for the 2019 parade. “The selection committee said that they liked the visual components of our show - things we were doing with props and color guard,” Kaflik says. “They said it would be a good addition to the Macy’s Parade.” With so many ups and downs as COVID-19 protocols were issued and revised, it made for a difficult year of learning and managing extracurricular activities. Thankfully, the Brownsburg Community School Corporation leaders were dedicated to doing all they could to make the year as normal as possible. For marching band kids, that means they have been practicing since April of 2021. “We had some workshops in April and May after school and in the evenings to get the basics down, and then we came back in June and had a normal band camp week like any other year,” Runyon says. Students used that time to prepare for the Fourth of July parade in Brownsburg, and also to get ready for the year’s competitive show. This fall they have been working on other parade music for Macy’s, as well as the 90-second production that will be televised. Through it all, parental, community and administrative support has been consistent. Schools in other parts of the country have not been as fortunate. “Schools who were virtual all last year are now having to rebuild their bands because they lost so many students,” Kaflik says. “Thankfully, we didn’t have to do that.” This is not to say that students haven’t sustained an emotional toll due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, their grit, resilience and resolve are evident. “We had limited practices last year, but I made the remark during band camp this 28 / BROWNSBURG MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2021 / TownePost.com

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summer that I couldn’t tell that COVID even happened because these kids hit the ground running,” Runyon says. “Coming back into this year, we wondered how the students would respond, but it feels like nothing has changed.” Kaflik believes that this will be one of the strongest bands they have ever had. “No one was expecting that, but it seems like our students are pushing themselves to excel,” Kaflik says. Preparation for this illustrious moment has been in the works for many years, starting with retired Band Directors Joe Vrabec and Myron Snuffin, current middle school Band Directors Courtney Cummings and Chad Brinkman, as well as Runyon, Kaflik and Marque. “All of these individuals have been pushing towards that direction and now it has come to fruition, which is awesome,” Kaflik says. Senior Michael Tewell is eager to showcase the school’s talent. “I’m really looking forward to being able to represent the face of our school and music as a whole, while doing something that I love,” Tewell says. Tyler Kindle, a senior, agrees. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that the band is blessed to have,” Kindle says. “Macy’s will give us a chance to show off how good the Sound of Brownsburg is.”

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