The IBJ Podcast

Her goal was to finish high school. Now she's launching a college at Butler for underserved students.

Carolyn Gentle-Genitty grew up in Belize, the eldest of five children whose parents operated a food cart and canteen. She applied to a private all-girls high school and, upon being accepted, worked with her parents to negotiate the terms that would allow them to afford it.

She paid for her associate’s degree through work study, earned a full scholarship to cover the cost of her bachelor’s degree, and paid for her master’s degree through a promissory loan. So she’s no stranger to the barriers that can keep young people from attending college.

Today, she's preparing to lead the creation of Founder’s College at Butler University, a two-year program designed for high school graduates who face significant barriers to higher education. Students at the college will be able to earn associates degrees in subjects such as in business management, data analytics and health care—all while paying virtually nothing for the education.

Gentle-Genitty comes to the position of inaugural dean after a distinguished career at Indiana University. After earning her PhD in social work from IU, she went on to lead the university’s Bachelor of Social Work program on its Indianapolis campus before moving into system-wide leadership roles, including developing online education programs, overseeing academic policy and programs, and improving transfer policies. But Butler also has touted her built-in empathy with the future students of Founder’s College, having faced so many obstacles to her own education and benefitting from the help of administrators who took an interest.

In this week’s episode of the IBJ Podcast, she lays out the mission of the college, how it will attract students for its first cohorts, and the many steps and decisions required to get the classes up and running. She also expands on her youth in Belize and the chain of events that took her far beyond her initial goal of simply finishing high school.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

Black Circle Brewing owner on planting flag on 46th Street, getting an MBA and the pressure to keep creating

Our guest this week is Jesse Rice, who took a circuitous route to becoming one of Indianapolis’ most unpredictable arts, entertainment and community entrepreneurs. He grew up in a blue-collar family in a small town, and then went to Purdue University with hopes of going to med school. He flipped his focus to finance and ended up working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and J.P. Morgan Chase. He and a friend started kicking around ideas for a venue where they could serve their own beer and feature live music. As Rice says, “I think of something I want that needs to happen, and I just somehow make it happen.” So was born Black Circle Brewing Company, just west of the intersection of 46^th Street and Keystone Avenue, which opened in 2016. In addition to craft beverages and some family friendly areas, it features a broad spectrum of entertainment, including heavy metal, drag and comedy shows.

In 2019, he opened an eclectic spot a few blocks to the west called Loom, which became the new home of Black Circle’s brewing operation, as well as a co-working space, a bar, a pinball parlor and a coin-operated laundromat. Just last October, he bought a 99-year-old building at 3317 E. 10^th St. that once was home to American Legion Post 465. Now in the midst of renovation, Rice envisions that project as an event venue, a recording studio and temporary accommodations for visiting musicians.

Rice readily admits he had no grand plan when he started on this path eight years ago, but there’s something to be said for making it up as you go. In this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, Rice discusses how he developed the first two venues while maintaining his career in corporate America and then in 2019, pursuing an MBA. He also details what he learned in the master’s program and how that changed how he ran Black Circle Brewing Co., the umbrella firm for all of these projects. And he takes a look back at what he’s created over eight years and what he thinks is most valuable.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

Explaining the Indy Eleven stadium, MLS soccer bid drama

Less than two weeks ago, everything that we had assumed about the future of pro soccer in Indianapolis and the creation of a publicly owned downtown stadium for the Indy Eleven soccer team received a swift kick between the stitches. With head-spinning speed on April 25, the owner of the Indy Eleven accused the city of backing out of negotiations to finalize the stadium deal and support financing for a $1.5 billion mixed use project that the stadium would anchor. Then Mayor Joe Hogsett announced that the city indeed had halted negotiations, claiming in part that the numbers didn’t add up. Indy Eleven representatives disagreed. Hogsett also said the city had been working with an undisclosed group of investors who believed they could bring a Major League Soccer franchise to the city. In fact, Hogsett revealed that he had just met face-to-face with MLS officials in New York and believed the time was right for Indianapolis to take its shot at the top rung of American professional soccer.

That's a relatively simple synopsis, but this set of events has a bewildering number of layers. The Indy Eleven is owned by the same man who owns the development firm Keystone Group, which planned to make the stadium the centerpiece of the $1.5 billion sports, business and residential campus downtown. In fact, it already has broken ground on the site. State legislators gave Indianapolis the means to harness tax revenue to pay for the majority of the stadium, and now the city has proposed using the same tool for a publicly owned soccer stadium that could be built a couple of blocks east of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. City-county councilors, who would have to approve the taxing district, have been skeptical and non-committal. In the meantime, the Indy Eleven continue to play on the IUPUI campus, having built more than a decade of relationships and goodwill in the city soccer community. Can two pro soccer franchises exist in the same city? And does this anonymous ownership group really have the wherewithal to even cover the entry fee for MLS, which most recently was $500 million?

IBJ reporter Mickey Shuey is uniquely qualified to cover this story, since two of his main beats for IBJ are the business of sports and real estate development. For the IBJ Podcast this week, Shuey and host Mason King lay out a clear timeline of events and help unpack and unravel all of these issues, while looking ahead to what might happen next.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

New AES prez on goals, growing up in Indy and system upgrades that led to billing mess

Our guest this week is Brandi Davis-Handy, who in February was named president of AES Indiana. That’s the electricity utility for Marion County and portions of the greater Indianapolis area, serving more than 500,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. Davis-Handy was promoted from her position as chief customer officer, and prior to that she spent much of her career at parent firm AES Corp. in communications and public relations roles.

That experience is entirely relevant to a major issue she now faces as president. In November, AES Indiana upgraded several customer-related systems that were at least a quarter of a century old. The complex operation hasn’t gone entirely as planned. At the height of the problems with the rollout, about 10% of the company’s customers were affected by billing issues—for example, being charged the wrong amount for service or not even receiving a bill. The fixes are ongoing despite the efforts of more than 400 people working on the project.

Davis-Handy’s goals as president include improving customer service and communication, as well as the reliability of service. In this episode of the IBJ Podcast, she discusses the problems with the upgrade. She outlines the challenges of trying to grow the business when it’s hemmed in by other electric utilities, as well as the company’s final push to eliminate coal as a source of energy for creating electricity. And she discusses growing up in the Indianapolis area with dreams of becoming the next Oprah Winfrey and pursuing a career in media.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

Pete the Planner on what your career earnings should tell you about retirement savings

This is the 300^th episode of the IBJ Podcast, which debuted on June 3, 2018. In what has become a tradition for the podcast's anniversaries, host Mason King checks in with Pete Dunn, aka Pete the Planner, to get his latest take on personal finance and some of the knottier issues that arise when managing your money.

In this episode, Pete explores for the first time the relationship between career earnings and the assets you’ve accumulated. It’s a different way to think about what you’ve saved so far, as well as how much more you need to put away before you retire. Along these lines, he also spend a significant amount of time talking about the role that your housing decisions—good and bad—play in retirement readiness. And if you listen closely, you’ll hear a recommendation for a book of financial advice that despite being nearly 100 years old is still valuable today.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

 

John Stehr, news anchor turned Zionsville mayor, on tackling one of the town’s most contentious issues

If you’ve lived in central Indiana for more than a few years, you’re probably at least familiar with John Stehr, a lead news anchor for WTHR-TV Channel 13 for 23 years before retiring in 2018. He since has gone from reporting the news to becoming the news. At the age of 65, he is now the mayor of Zionsville, the fast-growing town just northwest of Indianapolis with one of the state’s highest median incomes. He ran on a platform that included reforming the culture and financial transparency of Zionsville government and taking better advantage of economic development opportunities while preserving the essential character of the town.

He jumped into the job in January with a big-picture plan for addressing perhaps the most contentious issue in Zionsville over the last decade: how to develop the land just south of Zionsville’s gingerbread-like downtown business district. In the last decade, there have been at least three proposals for projects of various sizes with various uses for that area. None of them panned out. The typical result is that residents argue the proposals are too dense, would create too much traffic and would undermine downtown’s identity and power as a draw for visitors.

Stehr has proposed a master plan for the South Village area that could bring $250 million in investment over 160 acres, including new homes and apartments, office space and retail development, and road upgrades, while devoting nearly half of the area to greenspace. In this week’s edition of the podcast, Stehr makes his case for South Village and how he can win over opponents in coming weeks. He also discusses progress on several of his other campaign promises, including lowering the temperature of Zionsville politics. It became heated during clashes between former Mayor Emily Styron and the town council over personnel issues, spending decisions and reviewing the town’s finances. Here’s our conversation.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

Meet the minds behind the man-eating, soul-singing plant in IRT's 'Little Shop'

When Benjamin Hanna assembled the schedule for his first season as artistic director of the Indiana Repertory Theatre, he placed “Little Shop of Horrors” as the closing production for the 2023-24 season. The IRT, founded in 1972, had not previously staged “Little Shop of Horrors”—which debuted in New York in 1982 and was adapted for a 1986 film.

Perhaps more noteworthy is that “Little Shop of Horrors” is a musical. The IRT last staged a traditional Broadway musical in 2013, when Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” was part of the schedule.

For this edition of the podcast, IBJ arts reporter Dave Lindquist talks with Benjamin Hanna and “Little Shop of Horrors” cast member Rob Johansen, who preview the production that opens April 17th. Rob has appeared in more than 50 productions at the IRT. This time, he’s the puppeteer controlling Audrey Two, the otherworldly plant that requires human blood to thrive.

For more arts and entertainment news, sign up for Lindquist's "After Hours' newsletter here.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

Chick McGee of ‘Bob & Tom’ on happiness, regrets, mortality and (of course) Tom

Chick McGee has been a fixture on Indianapolis radio for 38 years as a cast member of “The Bob & Tom Show,” the morning show which originates from WFBQ-FM and is heard on close to 100 radio stations across the country. That’s 38 consecutive years, even if you count the six months in 1995 when he moved to San Diego to host another show and then resigned due to creative differences, home sickness and the earlier resignation of his co-host. He was quickly invited back to “Bob & Tom,” where his chemistry with the core cast continued to grow.

Anybody who has listened to the show for more than a few weeks knows his central role: He’s the combustible comic foil for host Tom Griswold, who likes to claim the intellectual high ground while Chick wears his heart on his sleeve, including his seven or eight stents from cardiac disease.

On this episode of the IBJ Podcast, Magee and host Mason King dive into the dynamics that drive the show and how his role developed and evolved over 38 years. You might know that co-host Bob Kevoian retired in 2015 and since has suffered serious health issues; Griswold had heart valve replacement surgery in 2021; and comedian Ron Sexton, best known as recurring character Donnie Baker, died last fall. Mortality isn’t necessarily funny, but it's fodder for McGee, who believes it’s important to be real on-air about difficult topics. McGee also runs through his origin story: growing up in an idyllic Ohio town, the rocky family life that shaped him and the mentor who encouraged him to embrace being funny.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

BSU hoops star turned bank CEO talks leadership tips, that UNLV game and making moves

Back in 1990, Mark Hardwick had a courtside seat on the Ball State University bench for one of the most memorable games in March Madness history. Those were heady times for the redshirt freshman from tiny Dunkirk, Indiana, and a few years later he would have his chance to start in an NCAA tournament game for Ball State. But it’s the former squad from 1990 that came within a basket of defeating one of the greatest teams in college basketball history and has since been enshrined in the BSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

But Hardwick’s journey as a distinguished alum continues. In early 2021, he was named CEO of Muncie-based First Merchants Bank after more than two decades as an executive for the institution, including a 19-year run as chief financial officer. Over the course of his tenure at First Merchants, the bank’s assets have increased from $1 billion to $18 billion, and its employee base has grown from 200 to 2,100 in its operations over four states.

Hardwick has lived the vast majority of his life either in Muncie or just outside Muncie, but in April 2023 he moved to Carmel. He’ll be working out of the new Indianapolis regional headquarters for First Merchants, the former headquarters building of Duke Realty Corp. The bank purchased the building for a bargain $18 million after Duke was acquired 2022. In this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, Hardwick and host Mason King of course tip things off by talking college hoops and the basketball lessons Hardwick now uses to preach business principles. He discusses the philosophy behind buying the Duke building in the Keystone at the Crossing area and why Muncie remains the bank’s corporate home base although most of the executives work in Indianapolis. And he dives into his passions for making lists of his goals and for developing leadership skills for himself and bank employees.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

 

Civic Theatre’s music director, fellow BSU alum create Carpenters cabaret show, take it to NYC

You don’t need to be 50 years old to remember the Carpenters, the brother-sister duo that helped define pop music in the 1970s with gold-gilded melodies, pristine production and a certain yen for heartache. The music is timeless and has ardent fans online and on music streaming channels. It’s also the basis for a new cabaret show that was developed in Indianapolis with a strong connection to Ball State University. It since has been performed on Broadway’s doorstep in New York City. The most recent production was less than two weeks ago at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42^nd Street.

Titled “The Carpenters Project: An Offering,” the show is the product of two performers who cut their teeth onstage in central Indiana. One of them you very likely have seen: Brent Marty, the director of music and education at Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre in Carmel, who performs all around the Indy area. His partner in the production is Amy Rafa, a performer, producer and arts and not-for-profit administrator based in New York City. The two of them met in Ball State’s Department of Theatre and Dance in the 1990s and have been friends ever since. Their mutual love of the Carpenters led them over several years to develop the show, which is more an exploration and celebration of the music than an impersonation.

By the same token, this episode of the IBJ Podcast is about more than two people putting on a show. It’s also about how young performers in theater have to hustle and sacrifice to build careers, and how they constantly face the question of whether performing exacts too high a price. It’s about opportunities for collaboration, particularly in Indiana’s close-knit theater community. And it’s about preserving the bonds of friendship and helping each other achieve dreams together.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.