Greenwood Community Magazine March 2017

COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

MARCH 2017

From Hoop Dreams to Helping Others FORMER INDIANA FEVER STAR KATIE DOUGLAS LAUNCHES NEW CAREER

atGreenwood.com / MARCH 2017 / GREENWOOD COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 1

Roncalli Salutes Marion County Wrestling Champion

Roncalli junior, Sam Hansen, was crowned champion in the 182 lb. weight class in the 2016-17 Marion County Wrestling meet held on December 17.

Hansen defeated wrestlers from Speedway, Pike and Perry Meridian and recorded two wins by fall and one win by major decision. Congratulations to Sam, his teammates, and Coach Wade McClurg for an outstanding showing at the tournament!

Applications For Registration Now Being Accepted Call 787-8277, ext. 243 or visit www.roncalli.org

COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

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PUBLISHER Tom Britt

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PRESIDENT Jeanne Britt

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GRAPHIC DESIGNER Austin Vance

ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Alex Segal / Leslie Brooks

EDITORIAL MANAGER Josh Brown

MARCH WRITERS

Christy Heitger-Ewing / Dan Wakefield Heather Simpson / Jessica Lollino Josh Brown / Michelle Kaufman

MARCH PHOTOGRAPHERS

FROM HOOP DREAMS TO HELPING OTHERS: FORMER INDIANA FEVER STAR KATIE DOUGLAS LAUNCHES NEW CAREER

Brian Brosmer / Heather Simpson

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As a professional athlete, WNBA player Katie Douglas and her teammates were always talking about new fitness methods on the market. So, several years ago when Douglas sustained an injury while playing with the Indiana Fever, she tried out Orangetheory Fitness in an effort to keep in shape. She was instantly stunned by the result.

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4 Greenwood Community Schools

22 Bill Hampton Gets the

12 Tamika Catchings: Former WNBA

25 From Hoop Dreams to Helping

Add Activity Complex

Star Talks Life After Basketball and Giving Back

17 Girls Pint Out: Feminine Firepower In Indiana Beer

20 TLC Lawn Application

Hall of Fame Call

Others: Former Indiana Fever Star Katie Douglas Launches New Career

28 Marathon Couple:

Blake and Sandy Briggs

atGreenwood.com / MARCH 2017 / GREENWOOD COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 3

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GREENWOOD COMMUNITY SCHOOLS ADD ACTIVITY COMPLEX RENOVATIONS AND UPGRADES TOTAL $46 MILLION

Writer / Michelle Kaufman

Greenwood Community Schools are currently in the middle of a $46 million renovations project, and one of the corporation’s two, new buildings opened January 6.

The Greenwood Activity Complex, a 30,000-square-foot indoor sports facility, is already in use by athletic teams and winter

color guard. The complex features three basketball or volleyball courts, a two-lane track, indoor and outdoor restrooms and an indoor and outdoor concession stand.

“In the midst of talking about our middle school, we also knew that we needed more space for our physical education classes,” DeKoninck said. “We needed more area for our youth leagues, and our elementary When Greenwood Superintendent Dr. Kent gyms really weren’t appropriate for them DeKoninck took the position in 2013, he to practice in. They’re too small and have discussed facility improvements with the carpet, so getting practice time for those school board. The middle school was aging youth leagues was tough. and room for more athletic-related activities was needed.

“It’s added space for our athletic teams,” he

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added. “Before, you’d have athletes running in hallways and running into each other, so now there’s actually space for kids to be in there for our athletic activities. I kept hearing from our athletes and our coaches too that we just don’t have enough facilities.”

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court, with lines for a tennis court, all athletic teams can do things year-round, including running and hosting tournaments.

“If the community wants to use it, obviously they’ll be last priority over all our kids, but the community can use it,” DeKoninck said.

“It kind of just opens up all that area for us.

It was a need we had. The school board has to be the one who says, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’ and then they charge us with making it

happen. Our community has to support it as well.”

In addition to the activity complex, new tile, lights and benches were installed in the high school pool, and new lights and air conditioning were recently added to both the main and auxiliary high school gyms.

The new Greenwood Middle School, off Averitt Road, will be open in time for the 2017-2018 school year.

atGreenwood.com / MARCH 2017 / GREENWOOD COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 5

BEFORE AFTER

Go-to Design and Remodeling: Gettum Associates

Carmel residents Tracy and Andy Miller had a big renovation project on deck, and they didn’t want to take it on all alone – enter Gettum Associates.

The Millers were looking to create a new laundry and mud room in their west Carmel home and heard from a friend that Gettum Associates is a great choice for design and remodeling.

“Gettum worked with me on the design to accommodate the specific needs I had,” Tracy says.

“The way they combined custom cabinetry with stock cabinetry in the mud room in a seamless look helped keep us on budget. When I realized well into the project that I could add drawers below the bench seat of the lockers to create more storage, they quickly ordered the additional materials and worked them into the design. They made my ideas happen!

“I was very pleased with their work,” Tracy says. “Gettum was very responsive to my concerns and made sure I was very happy with how it all worked out in the end. It’s been over a year since the construction and I wouldn’t change a thing — except to have less laundry to do, of course!”

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Down 1. George Gervin’s nickname, the ___man 2. It can result in a strip 3. Break in the play 4. ___ Dhabi 5. They reached the NCAA finals in 2010 and 2011 6. NBA great, Rick ____ 7. Ancient time period 8. Cry of success 11. Miss a shot for example 12. Missed, as in an opportunity 14. Team coached by Coach K 15. Indiana’s Mr Basketball 17. Fastener 20. 25-25 at the half, for example 22. Escaping, from man-toman defense, say 23. Anti-oxidant, abbr.

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TAMIKA CATCHINGS

Former WNBA star talks life after basketball and giving back Writer / Josh Brown . Photographer / Brian Brosmer

If you’re an Indiana sports fan then surely you know her name. How could you not?

Tamika Catchings will go down as one of the greatest WNBA players ever, and no one could argue otherwise. Her career accolades speak volumes: 10-time All-Star, 5-time Defensive Player of the Year, 12-time All-WNBA selection, 2002 Rookie of the Year, 2011 MVP, and 2012 Finals MVP. Take a breath, there’s more.

The former Indiana Fever star forward also sits atop or near the top of the all-time rankings in several WNBA categories: second in points, first in rebounds, first in steals and sixth in assists.

Catchings officially retired in September, 2016, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy. Recently, the former WNBA champion has traded her basketball shoes for a headset.

Not long after retiring, Catchings was approached by ESPN about the possibility of being a game analyst on the SEC Network to call women’s college basketball games for the remainder of the season.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself on TV commentating,” Catchings said. “I think I was a little selfconscious. After talking with my agent and the contact with ESPN, they approached it as, ‘you don’t know what you don’t like if you never try it.’ Sometimes in order to succeed you have to be a little uncomfortable and do stuff you never thought you would do.”

On January 8, Catchings was on a basketball court, but she wasn’t suiting up to play. Instead, she was on the sidelines calling her first game — Texas A&M vs. Kentucky.

“I really enjoyed it,” Catchings said. “I feel like the more and more I practice, the better I will get. It is a really fun opportunity.

“It is much harder than I thought it would be,” she added.

“Being on the backend now and seeing all that really goes into it, you have a full grasp of what it takes. It is a lot like being on a team.”

If you talk to Catchings for more than five minutes you soon realize that her greatest passion is giving back to the community and serving others. The 37-year old has been just as much of a leader off the court throughout her storied career.

She created the Catch the Stars Foundation in 2004 to help provide goal-setting programs for disadvantaged youth.

The idea sprouted back in 2001 when Catchings arrived for her first season with the Fever but was sidelined for the year while recovering from an ACL tear.

She wanted to get involved with the Indianapolis community, so she set up an event at a local park with Indy youth. From there, it grew into kids’ basketball camps and other events before the foundation was officially created.

It is a passion that she says is still very much a focal point since retiring.

“It kept me inspired and to this day keeps me inspired and motivated knowing that I can make a difference and that the programs we offer are truly needed and necessary,” Catchings said. “I end up getting

more out of it by giving back and seeing the smiles on kids’ faces and sharing love. I just want to provide them an opportunity where they can believe in themselves and know there are people out there who want to see them be successful. Thinking back to what people have done for me, I feel it is my role to be that for other kids.”

Last July, New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony asked Catchings, along with other members of the men’s and women’s USA basketball teams, to participate in a town hall in Los Angeles. The event brought 80 teens, as well as athletes, community leaders and members of the LAPD together for a social discussion.

The meeting inspired Catchings to

INDY METRO / MARCH 2017 / TownePost.com

bring something similar to Indiana.

Last November, her Catch the Stars Foundation hosted the first “Conversation With Our Future” in Indianapolis, bringing together more than 60 students representing 30 schools across Indy and more than 80 volunteers, including Colts, Fever, and Pacers players, and IMPD officers.

“We had some great discussions about racial and social issues,” Catchings said.

“We are trying to figure out a way to bridge the gap between the community and the IMPD and strengthen those relationships. It is also an opportunity for kids to meet these cops who don’t come dressed in uniform and realize they are just normal people.”

“We are trying to figure out a way to bridge the gap between the community and the IMPD and strengthen those relationships."

Catchings will be bringing the event back to Indy again this November while continuing to host the many camps and other events put on by the Catch the Stars Foundation throughout the year.

The desire to make a lasting impact beyond basketball can be traced back to her days at the University of Tennessee, playing under the late Pat Summitt. The legendary women’s basketball coach inspired and encouraged her players to be great off the court.

“Anybody that knew her, knows she was such a genuine person,” Catchings said. “When I look at my legacy and where I am at now in life, a lot of it came from being around positive role models such as her. Pat talked about being a great person and giving back to

society, and that is who she was.”

For now, Catchings will stay busy with the new SEC Network gig and her Catch the Stars Foundation.

As for what lies ahead in the future she’s not sure, but she isn’t ruling out any possibilities.

How does Coach Catchings sound?

“I used to think, ‘No way,’” she said.

“But now, I don’t know. Never say never. I’m at a stage right now where I wouldn’t want to coach. But maybe down the road with staying around the game and staying engaged, it might be something that I end up wanting to do one day.”

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GIRLS PINT OUT: FEMININE FIREPOWER IN INDIANA BEER Writer / Jessica Lollino

As Indiana grows closer to becoming a craft brewing behemoth like Michigan, more and more people are getting hip to the hops. Women especially are a part of the craft beer revolution, both as appreciators and creators.

offer. A personal favorite is “Beer, Coffee, and Donuts” which take place on a chilly autumn Saturday morning and features pairings of coffee-infused brews with donuts and pastries.

Responsible for planning and flawlessly executing a packed calendar of events, Wishin says, "I am always amazed by how We sat down to talk to two leading women far breweries will go to help GPO and what in Indiana craft beer, Amanda Wishin from sort of events they will put together. So Girls Pint Out and Eilise Lane from Scarlet many breweries have made a special beer Lane Brewing Company, to bring a little for us, or made a one-off, or put together an more awareness to the feminine firepower in education that took a lot of time and effort.

Indiana beer.

I have never dealt with anyone who hasn't

been super supportive of Girls Pint Out.” Most people don’t know what Girls Pint Out is or that it even exists. Seven years One of those breweries is the female-headed young and with 104 chapters around the Scarlet Lane Brewery Company. country, Girls Pint Out is a way for women to come together and learn more about something they love — beer. Amanda Wishin, Indianapolis Chapter Head and National Girls Pint Out President, is the tsunami-like force that took a women's beer group and grew it into something so much more over the last few years.

Talking to Eilise Lane, the CEO and Head Brewer of Scarlet Lane Brewing Company is an education in itself. A self-described “English geek,” her brewery is a magical marriage of literature, mythology and, well, outstanding beer. The name of the brewery, Scarlet Lane, is named after Lane’s dog, whose name is inspired by Scarlett O’Hara of Gone with the Wind. Lane says of her favorite heroine which shares the brewery name, "Scarlett O'Hara is a huge inspiration; she's just so strong. She said, 'I'll just think about it tomorrow,' and I get that. I really get that."

Eilise isn’t doing too much putting off until tomorrow in grand O’Hara style in her demanding dual role as she creates both innovative and crowd-pleasing beers at what seems like an impressively expedient pace.

One of the significant changes is the new 501(c3) status, which is something she is not only proud of, but is part of the new mission of the group: “Girls Pint Out wants to build a community of women who love craft beer and are involved in the craft beer community. Beyond planning events, we try to get people involved in a lot of other ways like volunteering.”

They also offer other women's interest events in addition to beer education and volunteerism like "Damsel in Defense," which provides self-defense training to members.

Membership is informal (just ‘like’ their Facebook page), free, and exposes members to the very best and some of the most unique events the city has to

Eilise Lane from Scarlet Lane Brewing Company and Amanda Wishin from Girls Pint Out are bringing awareness and feminine firepower to the Indiana craft beer industry.

TownePost.com / MARCH 2017 / INDY METRO

She does, however, occasionally meet a few raised eyebrows and suspicious glances as a female Head Brewer.

extracts, are also critical and are true to what brewing truly is. Her actual brewing philosophy is quite simple.

”I think being a female in the business, you have a lot of people watching over your shoulder making sure you are the brewer,” Lane said.

"I like to make beers I want to drink that other people want to drink with me,” she said.

Naysayers and doubters can pop by her taphouse and see her in her element immersed in her labor of love - brewing.

But the job doesn't end there.

"You work 12, 14-16 hour days when you are the Head Brewer and CEO,” Lane said. “You do that multiple days a week. You crisscross the country trying to make beers with other people that are like-minded, and you come back to the state and also brew with people who also have that like-minded idea."

A lover of collaboration, she believes that camaraderie, not rivalry, is the key to making great beer. Natural ingredients, not

Her flagship beer, the beloved Dorian Stout, was a bold choice for a new brewery that is now getting ready to celebrate its third anniversary and is reflective of Lane's bold and intoxicating character. She lovingly works on her beers, developing their unique personalities and finding layers of complexities within each. It is not uncommon to see evolved versions of her favorites, like the Dorian Stout, with new and different flavors exposing its multifaceted nature. The mythology of each and every one of her beers, beginning with the names and ending with the labels with hidden images of her dog, Scarlett, gives each beer its uniqueness and

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Plainly, this is craft beer that engages an enthusiast with not only its taste but the entire creative process with which it is created.

Amanda and Eilise are two of the women making delicious craft beer in Indiana. Join them at Girls Pint Out events throughout the Indianapolis area like the Poutine Party at Big Lug on March 6 at 6:30 pm and be sure to visit Eilise and her crew at the SLB Tap House at 7724 Depot St., McCordsville, IN 46055.

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SPRING IS TIME TO GIVE LAWNS TLC Writer / Josh Brown

Spring is around the corner. With the spring comes getting our lawns prepared for the coming growing seasons.

Indy’s TLC, Total Lawn Care, Inc has been providing the greater Indianapolis market with professional lawn care services since 1989. TLC was founded by Mark Cavin and Terry Jungels (MS Agronomy, Purdue University, 1987) with the intent to provide a professional service using professional products with personal service to the homeowners in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.

It is TLC’s policy to get to know its customers by trying to have continuity

with the lawn specialist and the homeowner. TLC employs its Lawn Specialists year-round and provides training and customer contact throughout the year.

TLC uses an organic-based program to reduce the nitrates and uses more biology and less chemistry to help maintain a healthy, green lawn for its clientele. TLC uses a variety of products, such as bio products, formulated with Advanced Turf Solutions, Holganix and BioGreen to help increase biology in the soil profile and to utilize the fertility already present in the soil profile. Typically five applications per year are sufficient to provide the nutrients necessary for the lawn to stay healthy throughout the year.

TLC co-owners Mark Cavin and Terry Jungels.

INDY METRO / MARCH 2017 / TownePost.com

There are many factors in having a quality lawn. We have cool season grasses here so weather, types of grass, mowing and watering habits of the homeowner and soil types as well as a balanced fertility program all have a role in providing a healthy lawn.

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Dan Wakefield recently caught up with Bill Hampton, future Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, at the Friendly Tavern in Zionsville.

BILL HAMPTON GETS HALL OF FAME CALL FORMER CRISPUS ATTUCKS GUARD WILL BE INDUCTED INTO THE INDIANA BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME court basketball at the Fall Creek Y. Hampton started at guard on the Crispus Attucks team that became the first black Here are two women who grew up in high school to win a state championship in Indianapolis talking about their father: 1955, not only in Indiana but in the entire Tanya: “He’s a lot of fun. We danced, and we United States. Attucks was also the first still dance! When I come back to Indy we put Indianapolis high school to win the state on Marvin Gaye and Al Green and we dance. tournament, giving the city “Something Here, he was an athlete and he had two girls to Cheer About,” as Indy native Betsy who are very girly – not the athletic type. He Blankenbaker called her documentary film has a good, kind heart. We were spoiled.” of the legendary team. Ted Green, who made the new documentary film, “The Tina: “Our dad just adored us. He was School That Changed a City,” about the very thoughtful, and he expected a lot. We team as well as the outstanding faculty and took ballet, but he showed us how to drive graduates of Crispus Attucks, including a nail and use a saw. He’d be out there Army generals as well as doctors, lawyers, in the backyard turning cartwheels with Judges and scientists, nominated Hampton us. He wanted us to be strong. When we for the Hall of Fame. didn’t make good grades or do our chores we had privileges taken away. We couldn’t “Of course, the superstar was Oscar just go anywhere we wanted to go, we had Robertson,” Green said. “What you see in the a lot of guidance.” films but never read about is it was the defense Writer / Dan Wakefield Photographer / Brian Brosmer

Their dad, Bill Hampton, will be been inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

Hampton, a thoughtful man who stands six feet, is mostly bald but has a black mustache and is still in good shape for his current sports of golf and bowling. He could probably still play some up-and-down the

that started it all with the team, and Bill Hampton and Bill Scott started that from the guard position, making steals and streaking down the court in a blur, flying in a distinctly new era for the state’s beloved pastime.”

“The championship meant a great deal because it was nothing that you would ever envision would happen,” Hampton said. “It also meant a great deal because it meant so INDY METRO / MARCH 2017 / TownePost.com

much to the people in the neighborhood that followed you, that followed Crispus Attucks. We didn’t have a lot to hang our hats on back then, unless it was Joe Louis fighting, Jackie Robinson playing or later Muhammad Ali boxing.”

Hampton and I are talking at Moe and Johnny’s, a north side restaurant and coffeehouse where, he points out, we would not have been able to sit together over coffee in the era when his team won the state championship. This was still a de facto segregated city in the mid-1950s.

It was not until after Attucks won the state championship that Hampton and his teammates were allowed to eat at a downtown restaurant.

“It was Fendricks, on Illinois Street,” Hampton recalled. “And then we also got to go to our first downtown movie theater – The Lyric. But we had to sit in the balcony. After that we were just more comfortable going to the restaurants in our own neighborhood, like Doyle’s, ‘Shugs’ and Barbecue Heaven, and we went to the movies on Indiana Avenue like The Madame Walker, the Lido and The Indiana Theatre.”

Betty Crowe, the wife of Attucks’ coach Ray Crowe, said that black kids weren’t

allowed to sit at lunch counters downtown in those days but had to stand at the end of the counter and wait for their order to be handed to them to take away.

“We didn’t have the money to go to lunch counters, we made our sandwiches at home,” Hampton said of himself and his teammates.

After they won the championship, restaurants on Indiana Avenue fed the Attucks players free, prompting one of the starters, Willie Meriwether, to tell his teammates: “We’ve got to keep winning so we can keep eating!”

accomplishment, Green said, was that the Attucks players “overcame so many obstacles, displayed such sportsmanship and did what years of legal challenges couldn’t do – they brought together a divided city.”

That’s where the patience, restraint and dignity came in. That’s what it took to never argue with a referee, never respond to racial slurs yelled from the stands, never get into a fight in the course of compiling a 51-5 record with Hampton in the starting lineup over two seasons, never complain that in most of the towns and cities where they

Patience, restraint and dignity were just as important to that team’s success as their ability to put the ball in the basket. Crispus Attucks High School was founded by the Klan in 1927 and no black high schools, Catholic schools or The School for the Deaf had been allowed to play other teams in the Indiana High School Athletic Association until 1941 (and not allowed to play in the state tournament until a year later). So, Attucks teams had to travel to other states to get to games. When they finally had permission to play other Indiana teams, no Indianapolis schools were interested at first in scheduling them. They had to play teams from small schools in little farm towns with names like Prairie Creek and Rising Sun, taking sandwiches in brown bags since local restaurants wouldn’t serve them.

“In some of those little farm towns we played in people had never seen a black man before,” Hampton recalled.

Oscar Robertson, who became “Mr. Basketball” in Indiana, an All-American at Cincinnati University, an All-Pro on The Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks, an icon of the sport who became the first basketball player ever to appear on the cover of Time Magazine, remembered in his autobiography The Big O, “We’d arrive in some of those little matchbox towns and folks would be waiting for our buses like we were from outer space, they’d follow us into the gym. Really. It’s comical in retrospect, the long gawking stares they’d give us.”

More important than athletic TownePost.com / MARCH 2017 / INDY METRO

traveled Hampton and his teammates were not allowed to eat in local restaurants. They weren’t even allowed to eat in their home city until after they won the championship, not even at Butler Fieldhouse where they brought in as many as 14,000 customers to see them play. Butler Fieldhouse, as well as the opposing teams, profited, and Butler profited further from the fans who ate at the cafeteria where the Attucks players who drew the crowds were not allowed to eat.

After high school, Bill’s coach, Ray Crowe, got him a scholarship at Indiana Central, where he had played.

“I had room and board and did work like keeping the gym floor clean,” Hampton said.

Hampton was twice an all-conference player, averaging 18.1 points a game in 1956-57 for the NAIA Regional Champions. He left after two years to go to work to help support his family.

“I know he went through hard times,” Tanya said. “I’ve always been very proud of him. I’m not starstruck by the great Attucks basketball players, because they were always around – Oscar and Willie Meriwether were like uncles, and they’re all still here now. It’s a blessing to see them all living.”

“We grew up with his team,” Tina said.

“Now I understand what they did was much more than basketball, it was race relations.

Now you appreciate what they did. History is not always pretty.”

A player cannot get into the Basketball Hall of Fame - at least not the Indiana Hall - for exploits on the court alone. They must also lead an exemplary life. Hampton scores high in that regard as well.

He worked for The Marion County Sheriff ’s Office, a job he got at the suggestion of Bob Collins, the great Star sports writer and editor who was the first of his colleagues to recognize the Attucks’ unusual prowess.

At the same time, a former sports editor was grumbling that Dr. James A. Naismith did not invent the game of basketball “for players with jumping jack legs.”

Collins’ raves for the team drew curses on himself, letters to the editor calling him a communist and demanding he be fired, ugly late-night phone calls trash-talking his daughters, speeding past his house honking horns and yelling. None of it fazed Collins.

Oscar Robertson said later that, “People really resented him for writing about us. I can’t even tell you in a few words how much he meant to our team at that time.”

asked me: ‘How would you like to be in the Sheriff ’s department? We need more black guys there,’” Hampton said. “I was only the fourth black man to be hired there. It was Collins’ idea to have more. If we had more Bob Collins this would be a totally different place. We could ill afford to lose him.

“I think I started there in ’59 or ’60, but I only stayed three or four years because it was so racist,” Hampton said. “I didn’t feel I had to take that. You couldn’t go beyond your immediate supervisor with any complaint or suggestion. They put me on the 2nd shift – days gone and nights gone. I worked inside the jail. It was an atmosphere, the men above you telling you things like, ‘Who do you think you are?’ Most places were prejudiced, that’s the way it was. If you didn’t have thick skin, you wouldn’t survive.

“I left that job and sold life insurance,” he added. “I wanted to be in charge of me. I got to be a district manager. Then I had a Shell Oil station at 38th and College. Later on, I formed the Hampton Janitorial Service.”

Collins became friends with Coach Crowe, and he did not forget about the players after their basketball days were over.

Hampton served as Bailiff in the Washington Township Small Claims Court presided over by Judge Steve G. Poore.

“Bob Collins called me up one day and he

“I worked with Bill Hampton a long time INDY METRO / MARCH 2017 / TownePost.com

before I realized he was part of basketball history, he is such a humble guy,” Poore said. “I was in the Attucks gym when I played for Brebuf in ’72. We were pitiful, but it was a thrill to be in that gym. From watching Betsy Blankenbaker’s film about the team, I was not just impressed with the basketball, I was impressed with the grace and dignity these guys carried themselves with. It was inspiring.”

“I still work one day a week as a Deputy Constable in the court system,” Hampton said. “I quit full-time eight and a half years ago, and I said I’d only continue part-time another year or two but my daughter Tanya told me, ‘No, you can’t leave yet.’ My daughters tell me I’m still young, and I have to keep working. I tell them we need to sit down and do my will, and they say, ‘No, it’s not time for that yet.’

“It’s for them,” he added. “I wanted the Hall of Fame for my daughters.”

Tanya Nolcox from Phoenix and Tina Hampton from Ft. Lauderdale will both be there for their father’s induction into the Hall of Fame. As well as going to the ceremony and the dinner, there’s one more thing Bill’s daughters will likely do with their father while they’re here — they will dance.

From Hoop Dreams to Helping Others FORMER INDIANA FEVER STAR KATIE DOUGLAS LAUNCHES NEW CAREER

Former WNBA player, Purdue and Perry Meridian graduate Katie Douglas starts her second career by opening the OrangeTheory Fitness at the corner of Smith Valley Road and St. Rd. 135.

On average, participants burn 500-plus calories per workout. Douglas found that the high-intensity interval training, which As a professional athlete, WNBA player Katie involves heart-rate monitoring in order to Douglas and her teammates were always amplify metabolic stimulation, was a perfect talking about new fitness methods on the complement for an elite athlete. market. So, several years ago when Douglas sustained an injury while playing with the Douglas continued to train, while learning Indiana Fever, she tried out Orangetheory more about the Orangetheory business.

Fitness in an effort to keep in shape. She was As she neared retirement in 2015, she instantly stunned by the result. contemplated the notion of becoming a Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Brian Brosmer

“Not often do you leave a 60-minute workout as a professional athlete feeling like you got everything you needed in that 60 minutes, but I did,” says Douglas, who was intrigued by the physiology behind the Orangetheory exercise regime and started studying up on the practice.

The hour-long session, split into intervals of cardiovascular and strength training, is designed to maximize metabolic burn.

Opening a studio in her hometown checked off all of the boxes that mattered to her: staying involved in health and fitness, being more present at home and giving back to the community that has shown her unwavering support through the years.

“Everyone around here has been behind me during high school, collegiately, and professionally, so to come back here and franchisee by opening a studio in Greenwood. give them something that can improve lives on the south side is special,” says Douglas, “I loved the workout. I loved how it who also played at Purdue. evened the playing field,” Douglas says.

“I could be a pro athlete, and when I When Douglas was drafted in 2001, she transitioned to just being Katie, the former dreamed of playing professionally in the U.S. even though she knew that at the time pro athlete, I could get all four of the she wasn’t ready for that kind of pressure. components I need in 60 minutes,” says Douglas, referencing the incorporation “It’s challenging playing at home and having of treadmills, rowing machines, TRX so many different things pulling at you on suspension training and free weights that and off the court,” Douglas says. each session demands.

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By 2008, however, when she was traded to the Indiana Fever, she was primed to return to her roots.

Playing overseas and in Connecticut helped her grow into the woman she is today. She describes being traded in 2008 to the Fever as “a mixed bag of emotions.” During the flight from Valencia, Spain to Indianapolis to do press about the trade, the magnitude of the moment sank in.

“It really hit me at that point that I was a member of the Fever,” recalls Douglas, who recognized that few pro athletes ever get the opportunity to play in their hometown in front of friends and family.

Certainly, winning a national championship title hails as one of her fondest memories.

Though she had been to the finals three times with Connecticut, she had never brought home the big prize. She redeemed herself in 2012 when she won the national championship game here in Indy on her home floor in front of her fans, in a sold-out Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“It was like everything had finally come together, and then there’s that moment that’s hard to explain. Every athlete knows what I’m talking about,” Douglas says. “It’s when you’ve worked so long and hard and made so many sacrifices and done so many things that people have no idea about.

Then to finally be that team and that player and be a part of that championship was a phenomenal accomplishment.”

“There’s no other place that does what we do.

If you’re interested in getting fit and becoming healthier, this is the place for you.” home like nieces and nephews growing up.

In the last two years, Douglas has enjoyed re-introducing herself into people’s lives.

And now an added focus is on her new business venture. Though she’s been encouraged by others to pursue a television or coaching career, Douglas says her life passion is clear.

“Every time I talk about Orangetheory, I light up,” Douglas says. “I have such excitement about being a business owner here on the south side and giving this opportunity to Greenwood residents. I know in my heart that this is what I want to do.”

Douglas has enjoyed building what she affectionately terms her “Dream Team” of employees, whom she has trained. Now she’s empowering them to motivate the public to embrace health and fitness, which is not to say Douglas won’t maintain a strong presence at work.

“I’m not going to be an absentee owner by any means,” Douglas says. “There won’t just be a cardboard cut-out of me in my office.

I’ll be here.”

So far, the response from the Greenwood community regarding Douglas’ new career has been hugely positive, and when the doors of the studio open in April, Douglas anticipates the buzz will grow.

“There’s no other place that does what we do,” Douglas says. “If you’re interested in getting fit and becoming healthier, this is the place for you.”

Community members have already been signing up, eager to reach fitness goals that have thus far been unattainable in other venues. Douglas expects that members will be pleased with their results.

Especially since she promises to take great care of her customers, just as they have taken care of her.

“As we continue to grow, I think Orangetheory will become a fabric of the Greenwood community,” Douglas says.

For more on Orangetheory Fitness, visit www.orangetheoryfitness.com. Douglas’ Greenwood studio is located at 1675 W. Smith Valley Road, Suite D5.

After 14 seasons in the WNBA, Douglas retired in May 2015. She was careful not to immediately jump into something new but instead take time to relax and reconnect with loved ones.

“I wanted to navigate those waters and see what makes me tick besides playing basketball because that literally has been all I’ve known my entire life,” Douglas says. “From age 7 on up, I’ve always had a ball in my hands.”

While she admits to having lived a phenomenal life traveling the world during her WNBA career, doing so meant she missed out on important life events back atGreenwood.com / MARCH 2017 / GREENWOOD COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 27

Marathon Couple : Blake and Sandy Briggs

GREENWOOD COUPLE BECOMES ONE OF THREE IN THE U.S. TO COMPLETE ALL MAJOR WORLD MARATHONS

To earn the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Finisher Medal, runners must complete all six major world marathons. The When Sandy Briggs crossed the finish line of the London Marathon challenging list includes Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago she collapsed into her husband Blake’s arms, tears running down and New York. It was a task made more daunting by the fact that her face. An accidental journey that started six years earlier on their Boston and New York have time standards for entry, and several of 25th anniversary had come to an end. the other races are so popular you must enter a lottery and hope to get picked.

They had finished the Abbott World Marathon Majors together — an astonishing goal reached by an elite group of only 850 Married for 32 years, Sandy didn’t take up running until 15 years people worldwide and just three couples in the United States. into their marriage. One spring, she was picking up her father The accomplishment earned them bragging rights for the rest Blake from the Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon and got caught of their lives and the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star up in the moment. It was then she resolved to finish the race Finisher Medal. the following spring. She joined Indy Runner’s Bricks to Bricks Writer / Heather Simpson

28 / GREENWOOD COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / MARCH 2017 / atGreenwood.com

training program and never looked back.

“She was a natural,” Blake said. “It wasn’t long before she was running me into the ground. One time, after a race she asked me, ‘When did you lose sight of me?’”

The couple’s World Marathon Majors journey started accidentally.

They started to plan vacations around races and decided to visit Maui for their 25th anniversary. In 2009, they both ran the Maui Marathon, qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

In 2010, the couple tackled Boston and qualified for the New York Marathon. They were enjoying the races and the travel.

“Sometimes it’s hard for couples to find stuff to do together,” Sandy said. “Traveling and racing together brought us closer. The friendly competition helps us both improve.”

It was at the New York Marathon that they saw a sign advertising the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Reading through the list of races, they realized that they had already finished two of them and another one, Chicago, was close to home. A dream was born.

The couple skipped 2012 for Sandy’s 50th birthday to take on the challenging Pike’s Peak Marathon, a grueling 7,815-foot ascent with a turnaround 14,050 feet above sea level. It would be a nice challenge before they started their quest for the World Marathon

atGreenwood.com / MARCH 2017 / GREENWOOD COMMUNITY MAGAZINE / 29

Majors Six Star Finisher Medal in earnest.

They stayed closer to home in 2013, taking on the Chicago Marathon, at which point they were halfway there.

In 2014, they ran into a snag. Entries for the Berlin Marathon are distributed via a lottery system, and Sandy got in but Blake did not.

Seeing their dream fading, they bought a package trip for Blake from Marathon Tours that included a race entry. They were back on track.

Four down, two to go.

In 2015, the couple finished the Tokyo Marathon. Blake and Sandy agreed that it was a favorite.

They checked off race number five.

In 2016, Blake and Sandy traveled to Europe for the tradition-rich London Marathon. As a warm-up to London, they ran a warm-up race in Paris and broke tradition by running together. They ran sideby-side, enjoying the sites, taking pictures and finishing together.

The final stop was London. Six years of work and one last finish line punctuated by grateful tears for a journey more about traveling and making memories than running.

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