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Legacy Partners

Partners of the Americas is about building lasting partnerships here and aboard - share your stories with us and how being a part of this organization has made an impact in your life and the lives of so many others!
 

How to Apply:
 
1. Send a picture and a brief write up of your experiences with Partners of the Americas to Rebecca Polcz at rpolcz@iu.edu.

2. Pay $50 (tab in the Membership section) to become a Legacy Member.
 
And that's it! The organization will hold special events for Legacy Members and recognize them at official functions for their dedication to advancing the chapter's mission of strengthening foreign and domestic relationships.

Now to hear from one of Indiana's Legacy Partners...

             Victor Childers, IU Kelley School of Business - Indianapolis

 

My first contact with Partners of the Americas was through Dr. Bob Yoho who was with the Indiana State Board of Health.  As one of the internationalists on the growing campus, I continued to keep in touch through Dean McDonald of the School of Dentistry. A succession of dentists came from Rio Grande do Sul for graduate studies in the School of Dentistry.  I especially remember Dr. Gilberto Hanke who was a leader in the Partners organization in Rio Grande do Sul.  In a sort of liaison capacity, the Indiana Partners kept me informed of on-going activities involving our sister state.  Efforts were made to increase relationships among universities in both states, and I recall helping to write a proposal for a cooperative venture.


 In 1997, I arranged to attend an academic conference in Rio de Janeiro and checked with officers of Indiana Partners about extending my visit to Rio Grande do Sul.  Since I was not seeking a travel grant, there was no problem, but I was told I should become a member.  As I recall, that was the first time for me to become an official, dues paying member of Partners of the Americas.  I did visit Porto Alegre, where my activities were managed by Carmen Englert.  The hospitality was wonderful, and they kept me busy with appointments to meet leaders of the local Partners organization.  They scheduled a talk for a university audience at UNISINOS.  Thinking I would be doing them a favor, I told them that I could give the talk in Spanish, and they advertised accordingly.  I prepared my remarks in Portuguese and upon being introduced, started talking.  About two minutes into the talk, the moderator interrupted, asking if I would mind speaking in English.  They were having trouble understanding my Portiguese and most of the audience could speak English.  It was an enjoyable event.

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I have assisted with hosting of Partners visitors from Rio Grande do Sul.  One was a young engineer who worked for a power company in a regional city some distance from Porto Alegre.  He was here to study alternative energy sources, so I took him to visit some large landfills which were being tapped to collect gas for heating a greenhouse on the south side of Indianapolis and for generating electricity near Danville, Indiana.  Without the hosting assignment, I would have had no reason for visiting such interesting installations. I'm so thankful for all the opportunities afforded to me through Partners, and I wouldn't have traded any of the experiences for anything.

In love memory of our dear partners who have passed away

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Laura Yanich, long time Indiana and Rio Grande do Sul Partners supporter.

She will be remembered by so many Brazilian Youth Ambassadors as a fun loving person.

 ✝ July 2023

Bill Engle and Rubi at Artsgarden, Art &

William Engle, he was a pathfinder for Partners of the Americas in promoting culture and arts in Brazil and the US. Bill always gravitated to opportunities to mentor and support novice dancers, students and musicians, and Youth Ambassadors with the Partners program in the Brazil and US.

He will be missed dearly. 

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