Pro disc golfers sail into Kokomo

Also, Ivy Tech exceeds fund-raising goal; library hosts death café

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The Third Annual Central Indiana Epilepsy Awareness Showdown came to Kokomo’s Highland Park on March 26, attracting 75 professional and amateur disc golfers to the south-side venue.

Sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association and put together by the City of Firsts Disc Golf Club, the event offered cash prizes to the top finishers and also raised money for the Indiana Epilepsy Foundation. According to City of First DOC’s event director Benji Zirkle, the tournament donated $3,000 to the foundation.

The Indiana Epilepsy Foundation provides “programs and services that support people and families impacted by epilepsy,” and according to the foundation’s website more than 68,000 Hoosiers are living with epilepsy.

The tournament pro purse was $2,425 distributed among four categories, including Mixed Pro-Open, Women’s Pro Open, Mixed Pro 40+, and Mixed Pro 50+. The tournament also featured eight Mixed Amateur categories as well.

Disc golf as a sport has a hazy history, with most of the documenting coming from informal Frisbee competitions in the 1960s. One of the most influential products to the sport of disc golf was the development of the “Disc Golf Pole Hole,” patented in 1977 by the Wham-O company, also the developer of the Frisbee disc. The pole hole is a chain linked basket that serves as a target and holder of the thrown discs at the “holes.”

The PDGA came out of a series of games known as the World Frisbee Championships in the late 1970s, evolving into an organization that, according to the PDGA, has nearly 31,000 members.

Zirkle noted that City of Firsts is planning a smaller event in April and a larger tournament during the 2023 Haynes Apperson Festival.

Ivy Tech Kokomo tops Day of Giving goal

Ivy Tech Day – the first-ever Day of Giving for Ivy Tech Community College – brought alumni, students, and friends of the College together on April 11 to celebrate 60 years of achievement and opportunity in Indiana. In the Kokomo Service Area, friends, alumni, faculty, staff, students, and employer partners presented the College with 171 gifts totaling $25,000.

“A day can make all the difference,” said Kelly Karickhoff, executive director of Resource Development for the Kokomo Service Area, which serves Cass, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Pulaski, and Tipton counties. “We kicked off Ivy Tech Day at midnight Tuesday, April 11, with the goal of garnering 60 gifts and raising $10,000. The generosity of our Ivy Tech family and friends never ceases to amaze me. We are so grateful for all those who share our passion to help our students succeed and thrive.”

The 24-hour event also exceeded the statewide goal with 1,839 gifts contributing $241,685 that will provide for immediate student and programmatic needs across the state. The Ivy Tech Foundation had set a goal of 600 contributions to recognize Ivy Tech’s 60th anniversary this year.

Across the state, events knitted together the state’s passion for the nation’s largest singly accredited community college – such as lighting downtown Evansville green, a commemorative Ivy Tech wine in Terre Haute, a “green scene” in downtown Muncie, and a Monument Circle lighting in downtown Indianapolis.

On the Kokomo and Logansport campuses, faculty and staff members dressed up in Ivy Tech green in styles ranging from basic t-shirts to sequined green pants paired with a sequined white jacket. Employees ran snack carts around the campus morning, afternoon, and evening along with a rolling photo booth to capture the enthusiasm in every building. Faculty, staff, and students gathered for a campus-wide cookout at lunchtime. More than a dozen areas of the campus were decorated for the workspace decoration competition won by the faculty and staff team in the School of Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Applied Science. As their exhibit proclaimed, "AMEAS runs the world.”

Throughout the day, the 171 donors hit various progress points to unlock matching and challenge gifts. Illustrating the creativity of the fund-raising effort, Dr. Tammy Greene, chair of the Department of Arts, Science and Education for the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area, issued one of the more interesting challenges to encourage her fellow faculty and staff members to donate. If enough of them joined in the Day of Giving, Dr. Greene would dye her hair, appropriately enough, Ivy Tech green! Faculty and staff came through, and on Wednesday she kept her part of the bargain.

“Our first annual Ivy Tech Day was, by all measures, a wonderful success,” said Chancellor Ethan Heicher, noting the $25,000 raised Tuesday will have an immediate and lasting impact for Ivy Tech Kokomo area students.

“What was most inspiring was the level of engagement from everyone on campus,” he added. “I loved seeing everyone’s office décor, their enthusiasm for the day, and most importantly, that we all got the chance to spend some time with each other. It was amazing seeing our students joining in with our celebration of Ivy Tech Day.  It was a great start to a season filled with end-of-year celebrations.”

Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann said the statewide response to Ivy Tech Day underscores the importance of Ivy Tech to the State of Indiana.

“Our donors, alumni, students, employer partners, faculty and staff, and friends in the community demonstrated the collective passion people have for Indiana’s community college, and I am incredibly grateful to the many people and organizations who support our work.”

Approximately 173,000 people attend Ivy Tech’s 19 campuses across Indiana. Last year, over 41,000 credentials and certifications were awarded, and 93 percent of those who graduate stay in the Hoosier State to pursue their careers.

Ivy Tech was founded 60 years ago on March 15, 1963. Ivy Tech contributes $3.9 billion annually to Indiana’s economy, including a net impact of $3.6 billion from alumni working in the state. Eight of 10 students who graduate from Ivy Tech do so without student debt. Additionally, Ivy Tech:

• Graduates more nurses with two-year degrees than any college in the nation, and most stay in Indiana to pursue their careers.

• Contributes to 1 of every 70 jobs across Indiana.

KHCPL to host Death Cafe

The Kokomo-Howard County Public Library will host the area’s first Death Café, a discussion group that aims to increase awareness of death in a safe, open environment.

Death Café is a “social franchise,” according to deathcafe.com. The organization is run by volunteers and provides a model for events hosted around the world. The goal of Death Cafés is to help people make the most of their finite lives.

The Cafe isn’t a grief or counseling group; rather, it is a safe and open place for people to talk about death and dying. The event has no formal agenda and no single speaker. Participants are invited to share their own experiences. Snacks will be provided.

“There is a natural tendency to avoid talking about death, and the aim of the Death Café is to challenge that taboo,” said Jordan Huffer, who works for the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library and will be leading the event. “So far, the mortality rate for being human is 100 percent. We owe it to ourselves and the ones we love to have these conversations.”

Other resources will be made available at the Death Café, including books that can be checked out from the library and printed materials with information on death and dying. The Death Café will be held from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, April 22 at KHCPL South, 1755 E Center Road. Registration is not required.