TIF survey — The City of Carmel is conducting a 15-minute survey that asks community members if they believe using TIF to finance projects — such as the Palladium and Midtown Plaza — have produced a good return on investment. It also seeks to understand how well the Carmel community understands the financing mechanism. Participation in the survey is voluntary, and individual responses will be kept confidential. Take the survey at carmeldataplatform.com/survey.
BMV Commission appointment — Gov. Eric Holcomb has reappointed Steve Baranyk of Carmel to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commission. Baranyk, a retired former principal of Baranyk & Associates, will serve a term that ends Jan. 31, 2025.
Chinese New Year — The Indiana Association of Chinese Americans is partnering with the Indianapolis Public Library to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Feb. 12 through videos highlighting scholastic art, lifestyle and performing art. Watch the videos at youtube.com/c/IndyPL/videos.
Virtual author visits — The Carmel Clay Public Library will host virtual author visits by Bryan Reardon at 11 a.m. Feb. 11 and Cate Quinn at 11 a.m. Feb. 18. Visit facebook.com/carmellib/live to watch a livestream of the event or to view them later.
Conservation district meeting — The Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District will hold its annual meeting scheduled at 4 p.m. Feb. 18. Limited in-person attendance will be allowed at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds, 2003 Pleasant St. in Noblesville, but those interested are encouraged to attend virtually. RSVP by Feb. 16 at hamiltonswcd.org. For more information, contact the district at [email protected] or 317-773-2181.
Silver Pen scholarships — The Stratford senior living community has begun accepting applications for its annual Silver Pen Writing Competition, which awards three local high school seniors with scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,500. The deadline to apply is Feb. 12. Learn more and enter the competition at silverpen-slc.com.
Night to Shine — Northview Church, 12900 Hazel Dell Pkwy., will host the annual Night to Shine event as a drive-thru experience on Feb. 10 followed by a virtual prom on Feb. 12. Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is a prom night experience for people with special needs age 14 and older. At the drive-thru, participants can prepare for the virtual prom by receiving flowers, a swag bag, crown and dessert to go. Learn more at northviewchurch.us/nighttoshinesignup.
Beekeepers club meeting — The North Central Beekeepers Club will hold its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Cool Creek Nature Center, 2000 E. 151st St. in Westfield. Presentations will cover young beekeepers, apiary locations/relocations, feeding options and cluster physics. Meetings are free to attend in-person or online by all levels of beekeepers located centrally north of Indianapolis. Learn more at facebook.com/ncbclub/.
Board president elected — Mark Heirbrandt has been elected president of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners. He replaces Christine Altman in the role. Steve Dillinger will serve as vice president. Election of officers is an annual practice at the first meeting of each year.
Graduate school scholarships — The Beryl Showers Holland Fellowship will offer a $3,000 first place and $2,000 second place scholarship to graduating seniors at Indiana University who will attend graduate school in the fall. Learn more and apply at trikappa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BSH-Application-2021-Packet-FF-2.pdf.
Programming competition — Carmel resident Steven Platt was part of a team from Bob Jones University that finished second in the U.S. and 59th in the world at virtual programming competition IEEEXtreme 14.0. The team placed first in the Southeast region. BJU’s second-place national ranking is the best the South Carolina university has performed at that level.
Kindergarten registration — Carmel Clay Schools’ kindergarten registration for the 2020-21 school year is open. Students must be at least five years old by Aug. 1 to start kindergarten in August. When registering children, parents/guardians will need an official birth certificate (not a hospital record) and proof of residency. Registration is encouraged to be complete by March 5. Learn more and register at ccs.k12.in.us.
Earth Day Art Contest — Carmel Green Initiative is inviting students in kindergarten through 12th grade to enter the 2021 Earth Day Art Contest. Art entries will be displayed at several community exhibits to give youth a voice, empowering them to inspire the community to live more sustainably. Participants will also receive a free postcard with their artwork. Entries are due Feb. 19. For details, visit CarmelGreen.org.
New state troopers — Hamilton County residents Benjamin Beyler and Erin Fillenwarth are among 36 probationary troopers who graduated from the 80th Indiana State Police Academy on Dec. 19, 2020. Beyler and Fillenwarth are assigned to the Indiana State Police Post in Indianapolis. The probationary troopers will undergo a three-month field training period riding with veteran troopers.
Free math, science homework help — Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s free AskRose homework helpline is available to help middle and high school students get a head start on understanding their math and science homework problems through a simple phone call, email or chat session. Rose-Hulman students are available Sunday through Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m. during the school year to help youth in grades 6 through 12 review math and science concepts. Connections can be made at 877-275-7673 or AskRose.org.
Sip + Shop — Carmel City Center will host a Valentine’s Day Sip + Shop & Food Drive from 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 13. Visitors can enjoy sipping on white wine and peach lemonade champagne cocktails available at Bath Junkie, Be.You.Tiful NAILS, beauty + grace and Fishman Fine Jewelers as they shop in the center. Several shops will have specials during the event. Visitors are encouraged to bring unopened, non-perishable food products to benefit Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana. Food donations will be collected through Feb. 15.
State Bank honored — State Bank is Indiana’s Small-Business Lender of the Year for 2020. The award was made by Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation and is for loans made by State Bank to small-business owners using the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program. Ryan Murphy and Kevin Hall were State Bank’s officials making the loans. The Lender of the Year Award is made to the Indiana bank that makes the highest dollar volume of SBA 504 loans with Indiana Statewide CDC as a percentage of the bank’s total deposits.
Pierce Aerospace lands Air Force contract — Carmel-based Pierce Aerospace and the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Research Computing was awarded an Agility Prime contract from the U.S. Air Force for “Decentralized Remote ID for Air Vehicles: Optimization of Low Latency, Scalable Data Networks Via Emulation, Modeling, and Simulation.” This award comes on the heels of Pierce Aerospace’s recent advances with Flight Portal ID, a Remote ID and Combat ID technology suite. In addition, Pierce Aerospace recently received a matching grant through Indiana’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program.
Realtor makes Hall of Fame — Shell Barger, a Realtor at RE/MAX Ability Plus in Carmel, was named to the RE/MAX Hall of Fame in December 2020. The honor is given to agents who earn at least $1 million in commissions during their RE/MAX career. Only 34 RE/MAX agents earned the honor in 2020.
Construction scholarship — Old Town Design Group has established the Orchard Project Scholarship to provide tuition assistance to a Hamilton, Boone or Johnson County student preparing for a career in the construction industry. Applications are being accepted through March 19. For more information or to request an application, email [email protected].
New hire at MJ — Carmel-based MJ Insurance has added industry veteran Leea Ashfeld-Schwarz to its benefits consulting team, where she will serve as an employee benefits client executive. In her new role, Ashfeld-Schwarz will work to develop and execute the most cost-effective and strategic benefits options for both new and existing clients. She will lead and support the internal team to ensure the timely delivery of each segment of MJ’s value proposition.
TCC earns 2 awards — Carmel-based TCC, a Verizon authorized wireless retailer with more than 900 locations across 39 states, has received two national accolades for its employee-first approach and culture of service: Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award and 2021 Top Workplaces USA Award issued by Energage. TCC is one of seven local businesses to be recognized for the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award and the only Indiana business of its size to be recognized for the 2021 Top Workplaces USA Award. Learn more at tccrocks.com.
Synergize blood drive — Synergize will host a blood drive from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Carmel as part of an effort to donate 200 units of blood in 2021. Additional drives are scheduled for May 25, Sept. 28 and Dec. 14. The drives coincide with four of the group’s 12 annual 4:30 Meetup events. Sign up to donate blood at donate.indiana.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/146137. Learn more about Synergize at SynergizeIndy.com.
Partnership announced – A new partnership will bring Methodist Sports Medicine’s expertise and resources to the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association and its members. Methodist Sports Medicine will provide seminars, programming and training for the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association across the state. For more information on Methodist Sports Medicine’s public safety programs, call 317-817-1200 or visit methodistsports.com/tactical-athlete.
