Geist Magazine March 2022 by Towne Post Network, Inc.

MAGAZINE

MARCH 2022

Selling

GEIST

JAMIE BOER HOMES JOINS ELITE COMPASS REAL ESTATE

CONNECTING THROUGH ARTS

Arts for Lawrence Leaders Talk Programming and Partnerships

PORTER BOOKS & BREAD Cafe & Bakery Is Still a Local Favorite Nearly 7 Years Later

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MARCH 2022

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Nonprofit Blends Philanthropy & Artistry

Bill Benner Talks Career, March Madness & the State of Sports in Indy

CREATIVE DIRECTORS TONI EADS VAL HACKER

Cafe & Bakery Is Still a Local Favorite Nearly 7 Years Later

Jamie Boer Homes Joins Elite Compass Real Estate

GRAPHIC DESIGNER ROBBY BERRY COPY EDITOR JON SHOULDERS

HOPEANCHOR & CREW

THE WRITE STUFF

PORTER BOOKS & BREAD

Fishers Disability Awareness Month Returns With Full Lineup of Events

Local Students Learn Valuable Lessons Through the VEX IQ Robotics League

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I TRE MORI

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TOWNE POST NETWORK, INC. 8800 North Street, Suite 117 Fishers, IN 46038 Phone/Text: 317-810-0011

SELLING GEIST

CONNECTING THROUGH ARTS Arts for Lawrence Leaders Talk Programming and Partnerships

FRESH BREWS & HAIRDOS

Valor3 Barbers + Brews Has a Unique, Relaxing Concept KEY CONTRIBUTORS AMY PAYNE / BRIAN BROSMER / CHRISTY HEITGER-EWING JON SHOULDERS / JULIE YATES / MATT KEATING / MICHAEL DURR RENEE LARR / ROBBY BERRY / SAM ZACHRICH

Owner Lindsay Schloss and her husband Steve

HOPEANCHOR & CREW NONPROFIT BLENDS PHILANTHROPY & ARTISTRY studio is a visual treat for the eyes. Patrons who either buy or make a beautiful and fashionable bracelet can enjoy themselves HopeAnchor & Crew Philanthropic Jewelry, even more knowing that 25% of sales benefit a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, evolved from a other nonprofit organizations, both locally fun, family craft activity into an endeavor and throughout the nation and world. that blesses the community and beyond. Recently relocated in Saxony Village’s Bonn During the 15 years that Founder and Building, the retail space and philanthropic Writer / Julie Yates Photographer / Amy Payne

6 / GEIST MAGAZINE / MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

Owner Lindsay Schloss worked as a social worker, she was able to see firsthand the need to coach women and teach them coping skills in order to improve their situations. A mother of five children aged 5 to 13, she has always had a passion for art and design. Her love of community, family and deep faith all came together in

creating the philanthropy in May of 2019. It operated out of her home until moving into its current site this past October. “Hope anchors the soul,” she says. “Taking a step further, our community is only as strong as we are able to give back to the most vulnerable in it. Our Crew Fellowship is the backbone of the organization. At first the Crew was just my kids. Now the Crew is about 50 volunteers.” The Crew Fellowship is one of the three pillars that the company is based on. Women from centers such as Dove Recovery House for Women, Teen Challenge, and Hope Center Indy become part of the Crew as they make bracelets while being coached on how to live a healthy, full and balanced life. A curriculum based on a Wheel of Life concept, consisting of 10 separate areas, is followed. “It’s like an internship for the women,” Schloss says. “They are coached to set one goal per area to work on, and encouraged to pick a word such as grateful, intentional or perseverance to focus on. All our volunteers are trained and have gone through the curriculum because you can’t teach what you don’t know.” The bracelets made by the Crew enable the pillar of retail. Customers can walk in any time and either purchase alreadymade jewelry or make their own in the philanthropic studio. Many volunteer groups, as well as moms-night-out gatherings, sports teams and Parties with a Purpose groups, have enjoyed assembling their own designs. The pieces come with drawstring bags and are priced at $25 for one, $45 for two or $60 for three. Bracelets available for sale either in the retail space or online are made of a variety of materials such as glass and wooden beads, pearls, precious stones and metal. Varieties are available for children, women and men. They can be worn individually or stacked. The beaded combinations work well paired with the trendy metal cuffs. Prices range from $16 up to about $52 for a stack of three.

Through the partnerships that Schloss has established, the bracelets are sold in boutiques and several different organization websites throughout the country. In addition, several different collections are offered. The Light for Levi Collection includes a white stone bracelet with the word “Light” spelled out via individual beads for $22, as well as a mixed-metal option with the word “Pray” at $28. The Purposeful Living Shine Stack is featured in shades of pink and silver for $42. Other nonprofit fundraising collections include the Patriot, Mason and Londyn collections. Purchasers not only have the ability to buy a piece of jewelry they will enjoy, but they also have a say in what their money will benefit, since 25% of retail profit is donated to other organizations and also used to fund the Crew Fellowship. This collaboration with 40 local and global philanthropic entities is the organization’s third pillar. Some of these partnering nonprofits have partnered with the company to sell the jewelry collections on their websites. TownePost.com / MARCH 2022 / GEIST MAGAZINE / 7

Gleaners Food Bank, Damar Services and Purposeful Living are some groups that have benefited. Volunteers from the community are welcome. Making bracelets for the organization’s philanthropic partners is a great team-building exercise, and a fun way to accumulate service hours for National Honor Society. The studio room can accommodate up to 35 people at one time. Sign-up opportunities can be accessed on the official website. The website also allows reservations to be made for special events and Parties with a Purpose. Bracelets and collections can be viewed to get ideas on what is possible to create within the philanthropic studio. HopeAnchor & Crew is located at 13578 East 131st Street, Suite 101 in Fishers. For more info, call 317-219-6267, visit hopeanchorandcrew.com, or email hopeanchorandcrew@hopeanchorandcrew. com.

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PORTER BOOKS & BREAD

CAFE & BAKERY IS STILL A LOCAL FAVORITE NEARLY 7 YEARS LATER

Writer / Renee Larr Photographer / Robby Berry

The staff at Porter Books & Bread is celebrating the eatery’s seventh anniversary this year. The bakery and cafe is located in one of the old Army barracks on the historic Lawton Loop. The shop was one of the first tenants in the building. “We worked with our landlord, who is also the contractor,” says Will Worley, owner and operator. “We were able to keep a lot of the original materials from the building. A lot of what you see when you come in is original. The hardwood upstairs is original from when they built the building. We have exposed rafters. We wanted to keep everything as original as possible but polish it up a little bit. It feels like an old, worn kind of space, and we like it that way. I think our TownePost.com / MARCH 2022 / GEIST MAGAZINE / 9

Will Worley

customers do too.” The store was initially supposed to be a book shop, but fate found a way of intervening. “When we were looking for a place to set up shop, we had it in our minds it was going to be a bookstore, and then on the side we would be baking bread and making sandwiches,” Worley says. “Once we got going, we quickly shifted our focus more toward the food side of things, but the books have always been part of the concept.” Guests can peruse and purchase used books while enjoying coffee, baked goods and lunch items. In keeping with the literary theme, menu items include author’s names. The Vonnegut, Poe, Twain and Tolstoy are all sandwiches on the menu. Worley says it’s important to support the local economy by using local ingredients for their menu items. “We are big believers in keeping our dollars in the local economy and trying to support the people that are working hard to grow and create produce, meats and cheeses around the area,” Worley says. “Frankly, we think those items are higher quality. It can

be intimidating walking in, looking at the menu and trying to figure out what you might like. However, we’re pretty confident once people try it, they’ll understand why we do things the way we do them.” During the shutdowns of 2020, Worley says the business had to switch gears. “A lot of things changed for us,” Worley says. “On any given workday, 5,000 to 10,000 people drive through Fort Harrison. When that changed, we started to focus a little bit more on our weekend service and things that resonated a little bit more with the people that live within walking distance.” Throughout the last nearly seven years, the community has rallied around the local cafe. “The people around here have been more than welcoming,” Worley says. “I think we made it through 2020 because we had the support of our neighbors and the people that live around us. We’re very communityoriented. We like that we know almost everybody that comes through by name.” Porter Books & Bread is located at 5719 Lawton Loop East Drive in Indianapolis. For more information, call 317-388-5046 or visit porterbread.com. 10 / GEIST MAGAZINE / MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

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The Joy of Inclusion FISHERS DISABILITY AWARENESS MONTH RETURNS WITH FULL LINEUP OF EVENTS Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided by Brian Brosmer & the City of Fishers

Since 2016, the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability (FACD) has rallied the community to work together to make Fishers an inclusive and awesome place to live, work and play for those with intellectual and physical disabilities. By doing so, they have inspired those in neighboring communities like Carmel, Westfield and Lawrence to follow suit and form their own committees that celebrate inclusion. “We’re super excited about what has transpired within the city of Fishers, as it relates to disabilities and working together as a city with stakeholders and community partners to build a more inclusive environment and community,” says Cecilia

Coble, co-chair of the FACD. “We’re the model of what can be done when we collaborate and work together, which is why our theme for this year’s Disability Awareness Month is ‘Achieving More Together,’” adds Kelly Hartman, co-chair of the FACD. “We started out trying to lead the way, but this is our first year to expand and include not just people from other cities, but also more citizens in Fishers who have never been involved before.” According to Hartman, while Hamilton County has returned to pre-pandemic unemployment rates of lower than 3%, the unemployment rate amongst qualified people who have a disability is more than 70%. “We have talented people who happen to have a disability who are very employable MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

Cecilia Coble

and aren’t always given opportunities in the employment market,” Hartman says.

Nevertheless, Keith reinvented herself, embarked on a new career and started speaking publicly to raise awareness about TBIs. She’s honored to speak at the Fishers event.

The FACD has partnered with OneZone, the local Chamber of Commerce, to empower local employers to hire individuals with disabilities and connect them to “I love the ‘Achieving More Together’ available resources. theme, as that has been the story of my life,” she says. Every March the FACD and the City of Fishers celebrate National Disability At the kickoff event, they honored Awareness Month with a series of special individuals and organizations with three events and programs to bring awareness to awards including the Life Without Limits what life is like for those with physical and award, the Cornerstone Employer award intellectual disabilities. This year OneZone and the Accessibility award. will host a luncheon that includes a presentation called “A Photographic Journey “It’s an opportunity to recognize those Through an Inaccessible World.” Featuring individuals who have made significant real-life pictures of challenges in navigating strides and contributions as disability in the environment, the presentation is eye- advocates, or significant strides in our opening to business owners and gets them community, whether through the arts, thinking about changes they might make so athletics or advocacy,” Coble says. their establishments are more accessible to people who are disabled. In the past couple of years, this initiative has helped to create positive developments. For The kickoff event for Disability Awareness instance, SouthPointe Village Apartments, Month took place on March 1 at the Fishers a 62-unit RealAmerica development that City Hall Auditorium, where keynote features 13 units designed for individuals speaker Darcy Keith, a Fishers resident, with developmental disabilities, opened. delivered a message about being a traumatic In September of 2020, a new social club brain injury (TBI) survivor. Keith was a for young adults with intellectual and 22-year-old student at Ball State University developmental disabilities launched in when she was involved in a horrific car Fishers called Thrive Social Club. A book accident that left her with a TBI. The crash club geared towards including adults changed the trajectory of her life as she lost with intellectual and developmental memory of her entire college major. disabilities called Check Your Shelf meets “I lost everything mentally, physically, emotionally and financially,” says Keith, who had to relearn how to walk, eat and swallow. She also had to learn to function with a TBI, which can be tricky when there are no outwardly visible signs of injury. When she was transparent about her condition, sometimes it backfired. For instance, during a job interview she was asked to describe how she handled a difficult time in her life. “I talked about my accident and my TBI, and the interviewer’s eyes got so big,” Keith recalls. “Lack of awareness on her part cost me that job.” TownePost.com / MARCH 2022

Fishers resident Darcy Keith shared her story during the 2022 Disability Awareness Month kickoff event.

at the Hamilton East Public Library on the first Thursday of every month. In addition, the City of Fishers has plans to build a community recreation center that will include aquatics, basketball courts, a walking path and some community space for collaboration. There will be dedicated inclusion programming for people with disabilities in the Fishers community housed at the center. Hartman, who has worked in this arena for more than three decades, notes that while there are champions in every community for disability inclusion and awareness, it’s rare to see city leaders, elected officials and an entire community come alongside those champions to make something happen for

Fishers Advisory Committee Chrissy Pogue, Cecilia Coble, Kelly Hartman and Michelle Steltz

the community at large.

County Transition Fair on Wednesday, March 16, “Prism Project of Fishers: Spring Performance” on Sunday, March 20 and the “OneZone Caffeinated Conversation: Disability Employment” on Tuesday, March 22.

“This isn’t just about people who happen to have disabilities,” she says. “This is about a city that wants to be accessible for all people. The fact that Scott Fadness and the City of Fishers have been champions for this has made it a bright and shining beacon for For a full list of events, locations and times, visit fishers.in.us/999/March-Disabilityother cities to follow.” Awareness. Other events for Fishers Disability The City of Fishers offices are located at 1 Awareness Month include the “OneZone Luncheon: A Photographic Journey Municipal Drive. For more information, call Through an Inaccessible World” on 317-595-3111 or visit fishers.in.us/1289/ Wednesday, March 9, the 2022 Hamilton Fishers-Advisory-Committee-on-Disability.

317-576-9393 holtdentalindy.com 7862 E. 96th St. - Fishers, IN MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

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Closing costs and fees are not included in prices shown. Prices, plans, availability, features, terms and options are subject to change without Closing costs and fees are not included in prices shown. Prices, plans, availability,and features, terms and options are notice or obligation. Measurements dimensions are approximate. subject to change without notice or obligation. Measurements and dimensions are approximate. Photographs Photographs and renderings are for illustration purposes only and are not and renderings are for illustration purposes are not partcontact of a legal contract. Please contact a part of aonly legaland contract. Please a neighborhood sales manager for neighborhood sales manager for additional details.details. Arbor Arbor Homes is anisequal opportunity home builder. additional Homes an equal opportunity home builder.

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Sam Chamsine (middle) with business partners Isadore Gurnell and Martin Ledwaba

I TRE MORI

ITALIAN RESTAURANT SERVES UP AUTHENTIC PIZZA, PASTA & MORE Writer / Renee Larr Photographer / Sam Zachrich

Many countries throughout history have their own iteration of pizza, but the type of pizza many Americans have come to know and love is uniquely Italian. It gained popularity in the 1940s when Italian immigrants brought their creation to the masses. Restaurateur Sam Chamsine grew up in Italy and brought classic Neapolitan-style pizza to Fishers. Chamsine and his two partners, Isadore Gurnell and Martin Ledwaba, opened I Tre Mori in March of 2021. Gurnell and Ledwaba also hail from Italy. The restaurant and wine bar features pizza, pasta and desserts with classic Italian ingredients.

“I bring 31 years of experience in the restaurant industry,” Chamsine says. “The menu is pretty simple, really. It’s very authentic though. It’s what you would eat in Italy.” The wood-fired pizzas are topped with ingredients many might not expect on a pizza. Items such as eggplant, pistachio, walnuts, fig chutney, tuna and bresaola all find their way onto the pizzas Chamsine creates. “We are very focused on the quality of our ingredients,” Chamsine says. “We care about the freshness of the ingredients. Nothing in this restaurant is frozen. Everything from the marinara to the ragu bolognese to the lasagna is made from scratch under my direct supervision.” MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

The wood-fire oven gives the pizza crust a crispy yet chewy texture. The partners sourced the MAM wood oven from Modena, Italy. It was shipped in more than 100 pieces that Chamsine, Gurnell and Ledwaba had to put together themselves. “It took the three of us about three weeks to put this together over Zoom meetings with the company in Italy,” Chamsine says. “We also invested in a Smoke Zapper, which eliminates the oven’s wood-burning smoke without harming the environment.” The pasta dishes on the menu, created by Chamsine’s exacting standards, include Ragu Bolognese, 4 Formaggi, Amatriacana, Arrabiata, Alla Norma, Lasagna Bolognese, and Spaghetti & Meatballs.

Additional offerings include traditional salads, appetizers and focaccia. Guests can choose from Homemade Tiramisu, Mini Chocolate Chips Cannoli, or Mille-Feuille, layers of puff pastry filled with Chantilly cream to satisfy a sweet tooth. I Tre Mori serves a large selection of wine and beer to accompany any dish on the menu. The restaurant’s name cannot literally be translated to English, but Chamsine says it pays homage to the three partners and their Italian roots. “We’re unique in the sense that we’re not a franchise, number one,” Chamsine says. “There are a lot of restaurants with good food and good service, but what we do comes directly from Italy. We offer many years of experience with traditional Italian food. And, we focus on the highest-quality ingredients we can find.” After living in Italy and Germany, Chamsine now calls Fishers home. He and his partners are excited to bring the flavors of their

TownePost.com / MARCH 2022

culture to a setting where residents can enjoy each other’s company and relax during these difficult times. I Tre Mori is located at 8220 East 106th Street, Suite 200 in Fishers. For more information, call 317-436-8739 or visit itremorifishers.com.

MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

FULL + BLEED

FRESH BREWS & HAIRDOS

VALOR3 BARBERS + BREWS HAS A UNIQUE, RELAXING CONCEPT Writer / Jon Shoulders Photographer / Michael Durr

foot space previously occupied by Edible Arrangements off 116th Street.

the people here and do something that we love.”

Valor3 Barbers + Brews in Fishers is the result of hard work, complementary skill sets and familial solidarity.

“We’ve always been a close family, and we wanted to do something together,” Drew says. “Caleb is our lead barber, and he was cutting hair in Florida before we decided to do this in Fishers. We love the city, and that was really the main driver - for us to bring a welcoming, neighborhood-type place for

It’s a little bit classic barbershop and a little bit cafe culture - patrons can order a cup of joe and crack open their laptop or perhaps have a craft beer beverage while awaiting their turn for a haircut, beard trim or shave.

Florida natives Drew, Daniel and Caleb Powell opened the barbershop - the name of which is, of course, is a nod to the three siblings - in an approximately 1,300-square-

MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

Caleb, the youngest of the three Powell

brothers, and already an experienced barber in his own right, oversees the barbershop aspect of the business, while Drew and Daniel head up the shop’s marketing and business components. The brothers love the location. “We wanted to be close to the heart of downtown Fishers,” Drew says. Caleb and his staff offer adult and kid cuts, beard trims, straight-razor shaves, as well as coloring and highlight treatment. The shop offers combo deals that include haircuts along with beard trims or shaves for special pricing. “It’s less of the in-and-out model - if people want to get their cut and get out that’s fine, but we also want to build relationships with people in the city,” Drew says. “We’re real relational guys, and we hope people get to know us and look forward to coming in and chilling out.” The Valor3 beverage menu consists of hot coffee and cold brew from a rotating selection of local coffee vendors, with flavor add-ins available, and a rotating variety of local craft beers on tap as well. So far, the shop has carried Sun King and Four Day Ray brew selections, to name a few. Drew says the brothers plan to continually feature IPAs, amber ales and darker brews in order Owner Caleb Powell

to offer patrons a flavor variety. “We realize that people are busy and it’s often hard to find time for things like getting a haircut,” Drew adds. “We have a shop where people can come in and relax and take a break from the hustle of the world. We went for a throwback setting like the old barbershops used to be. Our grandfather was a barber.” Brendan Fields

TownePost.com / MARCH 2022

Drew says the local response to the Valor3 concept has been positive. The Valor3 staff has seen a wide range of ages come in for cuts, trims and shaves (Drew attributes the presence of some of the younger clientele to the shop’s proximity to Handel’s Ice Cream next door), and according to Drew the shop has even welcomed repeat customers.

“It was funny [when we first opened] because coming out of the quarantine, people were coming in looking awful,” Drew says with a laugh. “But it kind of worked in our favor because we had a lot of people coming in and the turnarounds were amazing because everybody needed a haircut. There was hair everywhere - we posted some great pictures of that on social media at the time.”

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Be close to the city and close to the grandkids.

Drew adds that he and his brothers are optimistic about basing their business in Fishers and so far have been embraced by many locals eager for a barbershop with a relaxed vibe.

Lake Meadows SENIOR ASSISTED LIVING

“The response from the community’s been amazing,” he says. “We’ve felt so supported, and even people from other counties are coming over to us. We want people to leave feeling refreshed and have a beer or two with a couple of their buddies - like the old ‘Cheers’ model. That’s our goal.” Valor3 Barbers + Brews is located at 8754 East 116th Street in Fishers. For more information, including pricing and a scheduling page, visit valor3barbers.com or call 317-563-0002.

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Writer / Jon Shoulders • Photographer / Michael Durr

B I L L B E N N E R TA L K S C A R E E R , M A R C H M A D N E S S & T H E S TAT E O F SPORTS IN INDY

s Bill Benner reflects on a career of 40-plus years as an Indianapolis Star sports reporter and columnist, Butler University professor, communications and public relations director, and coorganizer for many major sporting events in the city - a career, by the way, that is in many ways as productive as it ever was, but more on that later - he remains extremely optimistic about the future of sports in the Hoosier state and Indianapolis in particular. Such optimism has merit. After all, Indy is again playing host to this year’s NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament and has been home to numerous NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Fours, the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials for swimming, and of course Super Bowl XLVI.

“I was fortunate enough to be at the Star as Indianapolis evolved as a sports city, and was almost the primary person assigned to write about the formation of the Sports Corp, the building of major venues, the attraction of the NCAA and Pan Am Games, and so much stuff that has happened here in Indy,” says Benner, who served as co-chair of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee’s media relations committee, as well as on organizing committees for numerous NCAA Final Fours. “The city has come through on all of it, and will continue to do so.” Benner says Indy’s development as a major sports city can be traced back to the forethought and planning of several local leaders, around the time Benner himself TownePost.com / MARCH 2022

was starting out as a sports reporter at the Indianapolis Star. “There was a vision that a few leaders had back in the ‘70s - Jim Morris and Ted Boehm and a host of others - going back to the building of Market Square Arena,” Benner says. “They had a vision to turn Indianapolis into a sports capital and make the investment with the arena, and then the Hoosier Dome, and attract the NCAA and bring Final Four here. All that led up to the Super Bowl, and then we had five consecutive Big Ten basketball tournaments, Final Fours, and now, of course, March Madness.” Benner, an Indy native, came up through the Center Grove school system, and learned

fairly early on that writing, particularly of the reporting variety, came naturally. He wrote for the school paper and yearbook in the latter part of his high school years, and by the time college rolled around he had obtained an evening job as a score boy with the Star, where his father Charlie worked in the printing department, while studying journalism at the IU-Indianapolis Extension (now IUPUI). “Score boys worked with the sports department and gave out scores when people would call in wanting to know Pacers or college football scores, or horse race results,” Benner explains. By the end of his freshman year Benner had

developed a relationship with Cyrus “Cy” McBride, the Star’s executive sports editor, and expressed interest in whatever reporting position was available at the time. He was given a few small duties writing headlines and reporting game results and eventually took on an assignment in August of 1968 covering a Greenwood woman who had won the national table tennis championship. Thus, he secured his first byline as a newspaper reporter. “Cy edited that story and worked it over, but thought it was pretty good, and from then on I stayed in the sports department,” Benner says. “In the following years they would let me go out and cover high school games, and I was hooked.”

Benner finished up his journalism degree at IU-Bloomington after a stint in the Army, and went on to work at the Star until 2001, writing as a full-time columnist beginning in 1990. In the mid-1990s Art Levin, chairman of Butler University’s journalism department at the time, reached out to Benner about joining the faculty as an adjunct sports journalism professor. Benner developed a curriculum and taught at Butler from 1995 through 2004, drawing on his reporting knowledge and experience. “I was lucky in that I had great students, several of whom have gone on to have great careers, and the teaching was a lot of fun,” he says. “It taught me how to be creative all over again.” In 2001, Benner began as a sports columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal, a position he would continue until 2013. Around the same time, he also decided to explore a few different career avenues and became vice president of communications for the Indiana Sports Corporation, while working for Visit Indy in a sports capacity. In August of 2013, he got a call regarding a job with Pacers Sports & Entertainment, eventually serving as both senior vice president for corporate, community and public relations, and also de facto executive director of the Pacers Foundation.

MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

In 2020, Benner stepped away from his role with Pacers Sports & Entertainment after seven years, and continues to serve on several boards, including Special Olympics Indiana, the Finish Line Youth Foundation, and the Pacers Foundation. Nowadays, Benner tries to spend as much time as possible with his wife Sherry, their children Allison and Ashley, and two grandkids William and Emma. “I love the mountains out west, and we have a place in the mountains in Colorado, but I’m still a Hoosier at heart,” he says. As for Benner’s accolades, the list is lengthy - he was twice awarded Indiana Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (now the National Sports Media Association). In 2017, he received a Sagamore of the Wabash award from the governor, which is Indiana’s highest individual honor.

Last spring Benner was inducted into the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame, of which he was president from 1998 to 1999. The induction ceremony was held during the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Super Bowl, the World Championships for gymnastics - Indianapolis has always raised the bar. I have no doubt that will continue to be the case.”

“I’m so honored by it and elated,” he says of his Hall of Fame honors. “It was a total surprise to me. After I left the Star I continued to write for Indianapolis Business Journal, but I truly haven’t been a full-time basketball writer since I left the Star, so for them to reach back into the archives and honor me like this is a tremendous thrill.” Benner feels Indy is more than ready to handle the logistics, crowds and fanfare of another NCAA March Madness - and he should know, having written about and helped organize so many of Indy’s major sports events. “I don’t think there’s any other city that could do it,” he says. “Every time we’ve hosted a major event - a Final Four, the

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JAMIE BOER HOMES JOINS ELITE COMPASS REAL ESTATE Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Amy Payne

JAMIE BOER HOMES

or more than 25 years in the real estate industry, Jamie Boer, owner of Jamie Boer Homes ( JBH) in Fishers, has taken excellent care of her clients, making them her number one priority. Boer and her team are taking their services to the next level by joining Compass Real Estate, a leading real estate technology company. “We’re thrilled to launch in Indiana with such a high-esteemed group of Founding Agents,” says Rachael Rohn, Compass Regional President. “The market-leading agents joining Compass in Indianapolis are known for their exceptional client service, and we can’t wait to supercharge their businesses with Compass’ proprietary technology and programming. Our continued growth throughout the Midwest region will provide Compass agents with an expanding referral network.” Boer joins Compass as a founding Agent in Fishers, as one of the top real estate teams in Central Indiana, Boer and her team are excited to utilize the leading tools in the industry to represent their clients. “I am extremely excited and honored to be a part of the Indiana Compass Team,” Boer says. “Partnering with leaders in the industry and helping one another navigate and grow in one of the most unprecedented markets ever is nothing short of spectacular. Being part of this organization is a dream come true, and Teamwork makes the Dreams work.”

Front (left to right) Alex Klingensmith Jamie Boer Troy Dixon Steve Short Back (left to right) Zeke Mayberry Alison Shailes Derrik McGee Brock Walker

Founded in 2012, Compass is a leading real estate technology company, providing an end-to-end platform that empowers its residential real estate agents to deliver exceptional service to seller and buyer clients. Their platform includes an integrated suite of cloud-based software for customer relationship management, marketing, client service, brokerage services and other critical functionality, all custom-built for the real estate industry. Compass agents utilize this platform to grow their business, save time and manage their business more effectively. Compass is also the country’s largest independent real estate brokerage, consisting of a national network of local experts who are tasked with helping

“IT WAS ALWAYS MY DREAM TO BUILD A TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS THAT SHARED THE SAME COMMITMENT, PASSION AND LOVE THAT I HAVE FOR HELPING OTHERS.” —JAMIE BOER our client’s real estate goals from building their new home, selling their current home, purchasing their dream home or expanding their real estate portfolio. It is our honor to help navigate our clients through the process and exceed their expectations.”

clients — whether you are a first-time or seasoned buyer or seller — to make wellinformed decisions. Compass takes this task as a challenge to provide superior customer service and exceed its clients’ expectations. The Jamie Boer Homes Team is most excited about the advanced services Compass can provide by being powered by Compass tools and programs. Compass Concierge gives sellers a hassle-free way to sell their home faster and for a higher price with services including staging, flooring, painting and more, even dog walking. “We will do just about anything to help our clients, and we love dogs,” Boer says. “Our customer service is truly unparalleled.” With Compass Bridge Loan Services, the Jamie Boer Homes team offers a simple solution to buyers and sellers to bridge the gap between the home they have and the home they want. In today’s market, some sellers are very apprehensive to list their home in fear of not having a place to go.

“This particular program takes the worry away and allows you to buy your new home in the timeline you want while we get your current home in shape to sell for top dollar in this ever-changing competitive market,” Boer says. For more details, please call the Jamie Boer Homes team.

Partnering with such an amazing technologically, forward-thinking company enables Boer to do so much more, which perfectly meshes with the promise to her clients that they will, “Get more with Jamie Boer!” “The most important part of life is relationships,” Boer says. “With us, when you are our client, we strive to create strong relationships, friendships and you will always be a part of the JBH family.

“If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, call our team today “Our unsurpassed agents using our customer-focused approach will ensure the as it would be our honor to serve you, and success of our clients by utilizing the leading the ones you love. We truly care about our clients and building our community.” buying, selling, and marketing tools and technology in the business,” Boer says. For more information, call at 317-289“The marketing we have as agents will 9169 or visit Jamie Boer Homes online enable us to provide superior service at jamieboerhomes.com, and Get More to our clients that is unmatched by our with Jamie Boer! competitors. Our state-of-the-art social media platform we use to market our client’s home is second to none. “It was always my dream to build a team of professionals that shared the same commitment, passion and love that I have for helping others,” Boer adds. “The Jamie Boer Homes Team is committed to fulfilling 32 / GEIST MAGAZINE / MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

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LOCAL STUDENTS LEARN VALUABLE LESSONS THROUGH THE VEX IQ ROBOTICS LEAGUE Writer / Matt Keating Photography Provided

Kevin Kemper, principal and parent at Indian Creek Elementary, says the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township VEX IQ elementary robotics league has been a big hit because it teaches valuable skills for success.

only two students to more than 20, each working together, and each sharing the skills they have and have learned. It’s mostly just perseverance and a willingness to fail.” The league started as a simple idea to get robots in the hands of teachers at every school, gather informally to practice, and allow students to learn from each other.

The coaches have also been a key to the program’s success.

“That is still the goal, but from just a few schools that already had robots and teachers comfortable with the technology, it has “Our VEX IQ coaches come from all grown to over 200 students from first to Lawrence Township schools, and most are sixth grades learning together through a classroom teachers,” Kemper says. “Bruce challenging competition,” Kemper says. Nelson, who manages the league, has been “After just two years we had outgrown our teaching robotics and design at Indian venue, and needed to look at other options. Creek since 2016.” One benefit that can’t be ignored is that the teachers involved gain confidence and A robotics team needs a lot of different skills are much more comfortable with using to be successful according to Kemper. the engineering design process, therefore integrating what they have learned into their “During a tournament, the students need classrooms. The impact goes beyond just to communicate with the other teams to the teams.” develop a strategy on how to work best together,” he says. “By themselves, the Each school is different regarding team is challenged to go solo on the field requirements in getting involved in the VEX and show what they can do without any IQ program. help - not only with human drivers, but also autonomously, with just a programmed “Some will take kids as low as first grade,” robot.” Kemper says. “Indian Creek takes students This year’s challenge required the programmed robot to move objects into a center goal or a high goal, each worth different points. At the end, the robots had to hang on a pole, all in one minute. The teams also keep an engineering notebook to record their process. On the day of the tournament they are interviewed by the judges about their robot and how they worked together. “As you can see, there are a variety of skills needed, not just building and driving robots,” Kemper says. “Teams range from

from third to sixth grade. Any student can apply. All they need to do is fill out an application. We schedule a day for tryouts to determine who to put together as our teams. Sometimes the best fit is students all in the same grade. Other times it may be having a team of all girls. Most of the time, a mix works best.” Kemper notes that the Lawrence Township VEX IQ league allows any student at any school, regardless of financial need, to get hands-on experience with science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “They learn basic engineering and computer 34 / GEIST MAGAZINE / MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

science skills,” he says. “Like any team, they also learn how to work together to meet a common goal. With VEX IQ, the students also get to meet students from all over the township and work with them during a tournament, since alliances are random. Personally, I like having a competition that celebrates creativity more than physical prowess. So many times, those students are left out.” Kemper says the state VEX IQ championship will be held on March 12 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Volunteers are wanted. The world championship will be held in Dallas, Texas, in late April. In January, 30 teams representing all 11 Lawrence Township elementary schools gathered at Indian Creek Elementary. “There are different pieces that make up a tournament,” Kemper says. “The one part that all teams participate in is teamwork matches. On January 22, each team had nine. Each match is one minute, and consists of both teams working together to get the highest score.” Throughout the day teams also had an opportunity to test their skills on the field solo. “There are three driver’s runs and three autonomous runs,” Kemper says. “The

highest score for each of those attempts are totaled to create the overall skills score for that team. The team with the highest score at the end of the day is awarded the Skills Champion Award.” Judges review engineering design notebooks, and interview teams to determine the team that has best documented their growth during the season. “The skills runs and design notebook are not required, and coaches can decide what they want to focus on,” Kemper says. “Usually new coaches focus on teamwork matches and driver’s skills runs. As the students and coaches gain experience, they add a design notebook and programming.” A team must participate in everything to be considered for the Excellence Award. At the end of the day, with 144 matches finished, the top 10 teams compete in the finals. The alliances are determined by average score, with the ninth and tenth teams being paired. “Each alliance gets one chance to score as high as they can and take home the Teamwork Champion Award,” Kemper says. “Finally, everything from the day, which includes notebook, interview, skills and teamwork matches, is combined, and the Excellence Award is determined.” In late January, Skiles Test Elementary won the Judges Award, and Sunnyside Elementary won the Design Award. Indian Creek Elementary won as Skills Champion. The Teamwork Champions were the Crestview Botcats and Oaklandon Eagles, with an overall score of 44 points. Indian Creek Elementary won the Excellence Award.

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CONNECTING THROUGH ARTS ARTS FOR LAWRENCE LEADERS TALK PROGRAMMING AND PARTNERSHIPS

Writer / Matt Keating Photographer / Robby Berry

16 months because of the pandemic. We reopened to the public with the grand opening of the Fort Ben Cultural Campus in June 2021, and gradually introduced indoor stage performances in the fall.”

Arts for Lawrence (AFL) has received a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as part of a recently announced $57,750,000 in funding Byron notes that audiences are not coming from the NEA American Rescue Plan. back quickly, and adds that AFL is grateful for those who support them while they get Judy Byron, executive director for Arts for back on their feet. Lawrence, is very excited about the grant, and has big plans to use the money to “The NEA grant will do just that,” she enhance the arts organization. The grant will says. “With the extra support for staffing, support job creation, facility management, we were able to offer Jay the promotion to health and safety supplies, and promotion of artistic director, a well-earned move to top events. leadership for AFL. Jay has a great vision Additionally, Arts for Lawrence’s Program Manager Jay Hemphill was promoted to artistic director. Byron says that in total, 567 organizations were selected to receive funding to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic.

“The pandemic, however, stalled our ability for earned income,” Byron says. “Because we believe everyone should have access to the arts, we want to keep our programming accessible with affordable ticket prices and free festivals.” Support from the NEA will help AFL pay artistic partners, while keeping program costs affordable and free to the community.

“Arts for Lawrence, of course, has developed a reopening plan that includes safety policies and procedures to keep our patrons and artists safe from the spread of COVID-19,” Byron says. “Unfortunately, these policies for the organization’s future programming. often come with limited seating at With the opening of the Fort Ben Cultural performances, which has an impact on our Campus, Arts for Lawrence oversees more ticket revenue. The show must go on, and the NEA American Rescue Plan grants will help programming spaces. We not only offer Arts for Lawrence and others move forward performances on the stage of the newly renovated theater, but have a theater addition with quality arts and cultural events.” with a puppet stage and activity room, a Visual Arts Center with a gallery and classrooms, and the plaza is equipped for outdoor events with the completion of the amphitheater coming this spring.”

“The pandemic has been especially hard for the arts sector, and in particular, performing arts venues,” Byron says. “The Theater AFL was on a fast growth trajectory due at the Fort closed in August of 2019 for to the community’s demand for more arts renovations. Arts for Lawrence prepared for programming. this financial impact on earned revenue, but was not prepared to be closed for another

36 / GEIST MAGAZINE / MARCH 2022 / TownePost.com

and developed socially distanced outdoor events,” Byron says. “Since construction work was considered essential, the creation of the Fort Ben Cultural Campus kept us plenty busy leading up to the grand opening.” Byron adds that AFL is generously supported by the City of Lawrence, which keeps overhead costs low.

The grant from the NEA will go directly to staff salaries, payment for performers, and other artistic partners. “This support keeps Arts for Lawrence on the same growth trajectory as before the pandemic,” Byron says. “It also allows our

audiences to join us slowly and safely.” Even though doors were closed to audiences, AFL leaders were busy during the pandemic. “We redesigned programs for virtual format

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“We could hunker down and wait out the pandemic but we had this beautifully remodeled theater with no shows on the stage,” Byron says. “It was sad to see it sit idle. We offered the stage free of charge to performers for rehearsals, or to film virtual programs. It was our way of helping others in our sector continue on in these strange times.” Byron is excited about the work Hemphill has planned. With more than three decades of performing arts experience on stage, on television and with touring companies, Hemphill showed exemplary leadership skills and developed high-quality arts programming during challenging times, according to Byron. Hemphill joined AFL in December of 2020. “My first position was program manager,” Hemphill says. “In this position my job was to book and create programming to an organization that had more or

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As AFL’s artistic director, Hemphill hopes to create new partnerships with other performing and visual arts organizations, while continuing to strengthen and grow existing partnerships. “Taking inspiration from AFL’s early years, the development of a robust arts education program, in both visual and performing arts, is another area where Arts for Lawrence can expand,” Hemphill says. “Lastly, I would like to see Arts for Lawrence produce their own theater productions - one or two annually. We have already begun work on our first in-house production of Hank Greene’s “Benjamin Harrison Chased a Goat,” an original play by Arts for Lawrence.” Hemphill says he is humbled by the promotion. “Judy Byron and the board of directors of Arts for Lawrence have given me an amazing opportunity,” he says. “I am excited by what the future holds for Arts for Lawrence, and I’m so grateful that I get to help shape that future.” For more info, visit artsforlawrence.org.

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