Michael Tamer

(1904–Nov. 13, 1974). Born in Appalachia, Virginia, Tamer was the son of Syrian-Lebanese immigrants. After moving to Indianapolis in the 1920s, he married Marie Kurker, also an Arab American and sister of Ann Kurker Zarick, at St. Francis DeSales Catholic Church in 1926. 

Tamer was a salesperson and retailer. Over the years, he operated a lamp store, the well-known Red Key Tavern, multiple bars, and Tamer Candy & Tobacco Company; however, it was in the nonprofit sector where he made his noteworthy contributions to Indianapolis and the United States. In the 1930s, he became leader of the Syrian So-Fra (Sorority-Fraternity) Club, and in 1939 he served as chairperson of the twentieth-anniversary celebration of Indianapolis’s Syrian American Brotherhood.  

As president of the Associated Syrian Lebanon Club of Indianapolis, Tamer led the Syrian-Lebanese community’s effort to purchase war bonds and support Indianapolis’s Arab American men and women in uniform during World War II. At one event alone, Tamer sold $210,000 in bonds. In 1944, Tamer was elected president of the Syrian American Brotherhood.  

Because of his reputation as a nonprofit leader and fundraiser, he was elected president of the National Association of Federations of Syrian Lebanese Clubs during a 1955 meeting in French Lick, Indiana. One of his first official duties included leading 325 members of the association to a month-long convention in Syria and Lebanon. During his time in Syria, Prime Minister Sabri al-Assaly and Foreign Affairs Minister Khaled al-Azm awarded him Syria’s medal of merit.  

In 1957, Arab American actor and comedian Danny Thomas asked Tamer to spearhead fundraising for a national children’s hospital that would treat children with cancer and other diseases at no cost. Tamer became national executive director of the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), the philanthropic organization that funded St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which broke ground in 1958.  

Tamer ran his fundraising effort from his Indianapolis office at 611 Massachusetts Avenue. At first, he donated his time and labor to ALSAC, though eventually, he and his executive secretary, LaVonne Rashid, became paid employees of the organization. Tamer helped ten regional directors establish 142 chapters of ALSAC in 35 states.  

In the end, Tamer raised $43 million, making ALSAC the largest Arab American philanthropic organization in the United States, a distinction it retains as of 2024. Its headquarters remained in Indianapolis until 1975, the year after Tamer’s death. Commenting on Tamer’s work, St. Jude’s founder Danny Thomas said, “I must thank God that along came Mike Tamer, because without his leadership, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital would have been just a dream.” In terms of dollars raised and local organizations initiated, Tamer may be the most successful Arab American philanthropist in Indianapolis’s history.

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