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Political Rancor, Corporate Uncertainty and GlobalMalaise Temper 2013 Growth

Atlanta, GA – Although the nation-al economy emerged from the fiscal cliffdebacle virtually unscathed,Congressional rancor over how to handlethe debt ceiling and the indiscriminatespending cuts that will be triggered bythe upcoming sequester is tempering cor-porate investment. Those factors, com-bined with a precipitous drop in exportscaused by global noise (eurozone debtproblems, a Japanese recession andChina’s inflation-fighting measures)have put the brakes on real GDP growthin 2013, according to Rajeev Dhawan ofthe Economic Forecasting Center atGeorgia State University’s J. MackRobinson College of Business.

“Real GDP growth will be only 1.0%in the first half of 2013, and a subpar1.2% for the year – a steep drop from2.2% growth in 2012,” Dhawan writes inhis quarterly Forecast of the Nation,released today. What’s behind the drop?Several factors, says Dhawan, who pegsthe statistical drag from federal spending

cutbacks at 0.5% of GDP in 2013 – avalue that he projects will hold for thenext several years. Domestic uncertainty– specifically the impasse over thesequester and the inevitable showdownover the debt ceiling – Is weighing heav-ily on the U.S. economy and making theprivate sector skittish about investmentand hiring.

As for the seeming stalemate overthe sequester, the forecaster says thatCongress cannot yield to its temptationfor a full postponement of resolving thematter. “It’s infeasible because we bor-row 35 cents on every dollar we spendand lenders will not offer open-endedcredit to finance the status quo,” assertsDhawan. Instead, he says “Politicianswill have to send a credible signal to thecapital markets that they are seriousabout controlling big deficits and bal-looning future entitlement liabilities.”Dhawan anticipates that will happenaround the third quarter of the year.“Congress will buy some time to make a

credible down payment on deficit reduc-tion.”

Export growth, the other culprit in2013’s lackluster GDP numbers, will beonly 0.8% for 2013 ? a drop from 3.2%in 2012 and vigorous 11.1% growth in2010. The decline can be attributed inpart, but not completely, to the contrac-tion of the eurozone GDP.

Also responsible: the Chinese econ-omy, which Dhawan says, “practicallystalled last year after the Chinese tried tofight inflation by turning off the creditspigot to state-run enterprises,” and adownturn in Japan.

Look for the Eurozone to startgrowing later this year, which will con-tribute to better export growth in 2014(4.5%) and 2015 (5.9%), says Dhawan.

Highlights from the EconomicForecasting Center’s National Report:

• Real GDP will grow by only 1.0%in the first half of 2013 and 1.5% in thesecond half of the year. For all of 2013 itwill be 1.2%. In 2014, real GDP will

expand at a stronger rate of 2.1% andthen 2.6% in 2015.

• Private fixed investment will growby a weak 3.2% in 2013, expand by5.8% in 2014 and increase again by6.5% in 2015. The U.S. economy createdalmost 180,000 jobs per month in 2012.That rate is dropping in 2013 to an aver-age addition of 135,000 jobs per month.It will rise to 160,000 per month in 2014and 180,000 per month in 2015.Unemployment will not drop below 7%until after 2015.

• Consumer spending growth willaverage 1.7% in 2013, followed by 2.1%in 2014 and 2.3% in 2015.

• Housing starts will average 0.905million units in 2013 and gradually riseto 1.229 million units in 2015. In Autosales will average14.7 million units in2013, improve to 15.0 million units in2014 and 15.3 million units in 2015. The10-year bond rate will rise to 2.5% byyear-end and to 3% by mid-2015.

Finance/Insurance/Banking BriefsSparta – ChoiceOne Bank announced itsparticipation in Michigan State HousingDevelopment Authority’s newly fundedfirst-time home buyers program whichauthorizes Michigan to receive $97.2 mil-lion from the National MortgageSettlement, and allowing creation of theHomeowner Protection Fund. A portion ofthese funds were appropriated byMichigan Legislature for two new pro-grams: Home Buyer Assistance - $15 mil-lion is available to provide assistance toqualified first-time home buyers; andHome Affordable Refinance Program -borrowers applying may be eligible toreceive $500 toward their closing costs.

Grand Rapids – Charter Group announcedit completed placement of a $55 millionSenior Secured debt package for MerrillTechnologies Group - leader in manufac-turing, fabricating, and systems integra-tion serving customers in robotics,machine building, energy, aerospace, anddefense industries. The debt package, pro-vided by Fifth Third Bank, includesSenior Secured: Revolving Credit Facility,Term Loan, Equipment Term Loan, andfour separate Real Estate Term Loans.

Lansing – LAFCU expanded its mid-Michigan service territory from 3 to 11counties with approval to replace its fed-eral charter with a state charter. The newcounties are Barry, Calhoun, Gratiot,Ionia, Jackson, Livingston, Montcalmand Shiawassee.

Grand Rapids – Tori Ruesink joinedLighthouse Group as BusinessInsurance Technical Assistant, with overtwo years experience in the insuranceindustry, specifically in claims and cus-tomer service.

Grand Rapids – Economic DevelopmentFoundation announced new staff mem-ber Kyle Wilson, SBA Specialist, who willassist borrowers with loan applicationsand funding.

Holland – Macatawa Bank welcomedJordana Dickinson as Branch Managerto their 8th Street office, and will beresponsible for building and retainingrelationships with potential and existingcustomers, along with fosteringMacatawa’s support in downtown com-munity events.

Grand Rapids – Lighthouse Groupannounced addition of BusinessInsurance employees: Alan J. Woznicki,LIC, joined as Risk Consultant; and CindyHicks joined as Account Manger servingEast Michigan.

Muskegon – Ron Maciejewski wasappointed Executive Vice President forShelby State Bank, bringing 28 years ofexperience, primarily with lending inMuskegon area.

Dowagiac – Pokagon Band ofPotawatomi Indians announced theymade nearly $35 million in additionalcontributions to the economy in 2012,which does not include annual paymentsmade directly to State of Michigan as

mandated by the Band’s compact, job cre-ation, and other ancillary benefits result-ing from its Four Winds Casinos andother ventures.

Troy – Altair announced appointment ofveteran financial executive HowardMorof as Chief Financial Officer, afterserving on Board of Directors for the pasttwo years, extensive experience withhigh-growth companies, as well asexpertise in capital markets, mergers,acquisitions, and joint ventures.

Grand Rapids – Legacy Trust welcomednew team members: Brian Balke,Investment Operations Associate; andLaura Drabczyk, AdministrativeAssistant.

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Wireless Technology, Today and into the FutureBy Jane Whittington

Wireless communication is so ubiqui-tous that it’s hard to remember a timewhen we weren’t connected 24/7 via ourcell phones, tablets, GPS units and satellitetelevision. Wireless communication hasbrought us closer (we can reach out tofriends and family across the globe atminimal cost) and driven us farther apart(face-to-face communication may well bea thing of the past). It has sparked revolu-tions (the Arab Spring was a social mediaphenomenon), and it has shone a spot-light on situations we might want to forget(be careful what you post on Facebook!).It allows us instant access to events occur-ring across the globe and thus may alterglobal politics. It has marked the semi-demise of handwritten letters and phonecalls (so much easier just to text).Shopping isn’t a car trip away; it’s a clickaway. And just about everyone has afavorite “app”, a word so new it firstappeared in the 2011 dictionary (and, ofcourse, the ‘dictionary app” is available).

Simply put, wireless communica-tion is the transfer of informationbetween points that are not connectedby electricity. Instead, these systems usesome other form of energy like radiowaves or to transfer information with-out the use of wires.

Wireless communication systemsinclude traffic control systems, remotecontrol devices, consumer and profession-al marine VHF radios, airband and radionavigation systems used by pilots and airtraffic controllers, cellular telephones andpages, GPS, cordless computer devices likethe cordless mouse and keyboards andprinters linked to a computer via wireless;satellite television and many others.

Probably the most familiar exampleof wireless technology is the mobile phoneor cellular phone. The Huffington Postreported in October of 2012 that therewere six billion cell phones in use world-wide. Considering the fact that the earth’spopulation is seven billion, that is aremarkable number. A global survey byQualcomm and Time, revealed that 68 per-cent of people worldwide sleep with theircell phone at their bedside, and threequarters of Americans said being con-

stantly connected by technology is helpful.The world of technology is a world

of rapid change, with new products andservices introduced seemingly on a dailybasis. What was the latest thing yester-day will be old-hat by tomorrow.

Rod Kirby, Vice President of BASICCommunications, whose corporate officeis in Grand Rapids, says, “My brotherGreg Kirby founded the company in1992 as a long-distance reseller tele-phone plan seller. This was right afterthe breakup of A T & T, and the marketwas opening up. In 1997, we were thefirst Nextel dealer in West Michigan. “

He continues, “It wasn’t till about1995 that cell phones started to get pop-ular. There were two companies in GrandRapids selling them: Citywide Cellularand Century Cellunet. Eventually,through some mergers and acquisitions,they were taken over by Verizon byabout 2000.”

At that time, Nextel was the leader incell phone sales and services. BASICCommunications functioned at that timeas a wholesaler for Nextel. In 2001, theypicked up Alltel, which covered mostlyNorthern Michigan. At the same time, theystarted selling Dish Network TV service.

In 2005, Sprint bought Nextel, and,in 2008, Verizon bought Alltel. InNovember of 2012, BasicCommunications stopped selling Verizonwhen they went to an all-exclusive plan;in other words, if a business soldVerizon, that was all they could sell. TheKirbys chose to go with Sprint.

Currently, Verizon is the largest sell-er, A T & T is second, and Sprint is third.

Kirby says, “In 2001, we openedour first brick and mortar store. Beforethat time, sales were mostly business tobusiness and salespeople traveled to dotheir selling directly to customers. Wehad to evolve from a group of sales peo-ple to a retail business model.”

Currently, there are 18 storesthroughout West Michigan from Gaylordto the Indiana border and from LakeMichigan to Howell. Two district man-agers oversee the day-to-day operations.There are 110 employees. According toKirby, “We plan to be up to 25 stores bythe end of 2013.”

Basic Communications is a pre-ferred Sprint dealer, a designation givenby Sprint to top stores.

The majority of their sales are toconsumers, but they also sell to busi-nesses and municipalities, state agenciesand fire and police forces.

Sprint is in the process of buildingnew networks with the latest 4G tech-nology in order to increase coverage,reliability and reach.

Kirby reports that a Japanese cellphone business, Softbank, has recentlypurchased 70 percent of Sprint for $20billion (pending FCC approval) and is con-tinuing to expand in the Asian market.

According to Kirby, “It used to bethat customers wanted their cell phone tobe smaller and smaller, but today, with somuch more technology on the phone, likestreaming video, downloads and otherapplication, cell phones are now gettingbigger. They aren’t just phones anymore;they’re mini-computers.”

CNN reports such futuristic “super-powers” as a new technology from Google

that will use augmented reality technolo-gy to superimpose a layer of digital infor-mation on top of the real world throughthe use of high-tech glasses allowingwearers to see data about people theyencounter or deals at restaurants theypass. Paul Kim, chief technology officer atStanford University, says that schools inrural Africa, where textbooks are unavail-able, are incorporating smart phones asan information source. Researchers atHarvard are trying to use smart phones totake medical care to remote corners of theworld where people can’t reach a doctor ofnurse. George Whiteside of Harvard hasbeen working on a paper chip that can betouched with a drop of blood and thenphotographed and texted to a clinic whereit is analyzed.

It’s a brave, new world in wirelesscommunication. And we will all be partof it.

Jane Whittington is a freelancewriter and editor who lives in GrandRapids.

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Ferris Ranked ‘Best Online Graduate Nursing Program’ by U.S. News and World Report

Big Rapids – The frigid month ofJanuary witnessed Ferris StateUniversity take center stage, nationally,for one of its hot nursing programs. U.S.News and World Report ranked Ferrisatop its list of “Best Online GraduateNursing Programs.”

Ferris’ Master of Science in Nursingfinished at the top of the list – just abovesecond-place Lamar University (Texas)and third-place University of Michigan-Flint. Also of statewide interest,Michigan State University ranked 43rdoverall on the list. Among the primaryfactors U.S. News and World Reportsconsidered were faculty credentials,graduation rates, and student servicesand technologies.

The University’s top ranking, from aprestigious publication like U.S. Newsand World Report, is a major point ofpride for Ferris and its College of Health

Professions.“This is very impressive indeed for

our University, the College of HealthProfessions and the School of Nursingfor our online graduate nursing programto be ranked No. 1. I was very impressedby the methodology used by U.S. Newsand World Report for its data collection,”said Matthew Adeyanju, dean of theCollege of Health Professions. “I wouldlike to extend congratulations to all ofour faculty and staff and our online aca-demic advisors for their efforts that havebrought this outstanding recognition toFerris.”

Ferris’ nursing programs, historical-ly, are noted for strong career mobilityoptions as graduates get started in nurs-ing in addition to assisting nurses seek-ing advanced degrees at the undergradu-ate, with a Bachelor of Science inNursing, and at the graduate levels, witha MSN. The U.S. News and World Reportranking is pride-building for the pro-gram and Ferris, according to Director ofthe School of Nursing Julie Coon. Thattop ranking, for Coon, was a validationof the great collaborative efforts of thetop-notch faculty, staff and students whodefine the program.

“The School of Nursing is very

proud to have our online MSN programranked as No. 1 in this national survey,”Coon said. “While we have always recog-nized that this program is exceptional interms of meeting the needs of today’sworking nurse who aspires to complete aMSN degree, it is certainly wonderful tohave this external validation.”

During the fall semester of 2012,Ferris had approximately 100 studentsenrolled in its MSN program, which fea-tures learner-centered curriculum thatequips nurses with the knowledge andskills that are vital for a variety ofadvanced specialty roles. The MSN pro-gram has three concentrations in special-ty leadership roles: nursing administra-tion, nursing informatics and nursingeducation. Ferris’ graduate program alsois fully accredited by the National Leaguefor Nursing Accrediting Commission.

“Our enrollment has steadilyincreased from 2004-05 when we startedthe program with about six students tothe 100 we have today,” Coon said. “TheMSN has enjoyed a nice reputation andwe attract students from all over thecountry, which is impressive when youthink about all the online programs thatstudents have to choose from. We likelydon’t have the enrollment that some of

the larger online universities provide,but I think that allows us to maintain thequality we do have.”

The creation of the 2013 rankingsfor “Best Online Nursing Programs” wasa two-step process for U.S. News andWorld Report. Step one was to compilethe list of schools offering these master’sdegree programs online while step twowas the data-collection progress from thelisted institutions. The start of the data-collection progress began in late July2012. The closing date was Fall 2012. Inall, 280 institutions (59 percent) repliedand 101 (36 percent) noted that theywould be offering an online master’sprogram in nursing as defined in thesurvey.

“The categories that reflect the rat-ing: student engagement, faculty creden-tials and training, admissions selectivityand student services and technology areall areas where the School of Nursingand the University have clearly placed afocus as the demand for online educationcontinues to grow exponentially,” Coonsaid. “We are pleased to be able to show-case this outstanding example of effec-tive online program delivery.”

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Publisher: Gary Kralapp

Business DevelopmentSenior Vice President: Diane LaPrezeSenior Vice President: Jim LroyCirculation: Aubrey Day

Contributing Writers: JaneWhittington, Brad Rutgers, JohnGraham, James R, LaPiedra, RobertMucci, Jennifer Hutchison

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Legal/Accounting/Consulting BriefsGrand Rapids – West Michigan Centerfor Arts and Technology announcedappointment of Board of Directors mem-ber Michael Walton, shareholder withRhoades McKee.

Fremont – H&S Companies announcedaddition of Accountants: MichaeliaBreuker, Heidi Tice, Julie Lawton, TomGarner, and Jarred Hibma to theirFremont, Muskegon, Holland, MountPleasant, and Rockford locations respec-tively. Julie Lawton, AdministrativeAssistant, will provide support to theHolland team.

Grand Rapids – Warner Norcross &Judd, LLP, was named as “highly rec-ommended” by Benchmark Litigation inareas of general commercial, intellectualproperty, and personal injury litigation.Also recognized were Attorneys:Douglas A. Dozeman, commercial andintellectual property litigation; RichardA. Kay, commercial litigation; F.William McKee, personal injury litiga-tion; and William R. Jansen, commer-cial litigation.

Battle Creek and Grand Rapids –EmploymentGroup announced recentemployee promotion and new hire: TiElzinga was promoted to Sales AccountManager for Grand Rapids andLakeshore regions; and Brenda Howardwas hired as Sales Account Manager forLansing, Battle Creek and Kalamazooregions.

Grand Rapids – Cooper & Partners,announced Cynthia Eiseler, formerDirector of Membership Development atLansing Regional Chamber ofCommerce, joined as Director of ClientServices.

Fremont – H&S Companies announcedaddition of Michaelia Breuker, Farm andAgriculture Specialist.

Grand Rapids – Rodney D. Martin,Diversity Partner with Warner Norcross& Judd, LLP, was appointed Co-Chair ofthe Diversity and Inclusion AdvisoryCommittee of the State Bar of Michigan,and will serve a one-year term on the 17-member committee.

Grand Rapids – U.S. News & WorldReport and Best Lawyers rankedGardner, Linn, Burkhart & Flory, LLP,for the second consecutive year as First-Tier law firm – the only firm in WestMichigan ranked First Tier in all theIntellectual Property Law categories:Patent Law, Trademark Law, CopyrightLaw, Litigation-Intellectual Property, andLitigation-Patent.

Lansing – Foster Swift Attorney FrankMamat (Farmington Hills) was named“Top Lawyer” by Business magazine;Mamat is one of the nation’s preeminentlabor law attorneys, and focuses his prac-tice on complex labor issues.

Grand Rapids – Hungerford, Aldrin,Nichols & Carter, PC, announced theirnew business valuation subsidiary,Hungerford Valuation, which will be ledby valuation specialists Kerry A. Bean,CPA/ABV, and Brandon S. Finnie.

Grand Rapids – Rodney D. Martin,Diversity Partner with law firm WarnerNorcross & Judd, LLP, was recognizedby Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of its2013 Leaders in the Law.

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Finally—A SMART Act for Workers’ CompensationBy Brad Rutgers

It’s unusual that Democrats andRepublicans in Washington D.C. agreeupon something that actually makes senseand helps businesses, insurance carriersand self-insured entities. On January 10,2013 that rare event occurred whenPresident Obama signed the“Strengthening Medicare and RepayingTaxpayers Act” (SMART Act). The SMARTAct will help to reduce uncertainty andcosts, and expedite workers’ compensationsettlements involving Medicare beneficiar-ies. To appreciate the SMART Act, we mustdiscuss some historical events.

In 1980 The Medicare SecondaryPayer Act was created to reduce Medicarecosts. The Secondary Payer Act designat-ed Medicare as the secondary payer forMedicare recipients. As such, workers’compensation (and other types of insur-ance) was made the primary payer. TheCenters for Medicare and MedicaidServices (CMS) did not want the tax pay-ers paying for injuries caused by a thirdparty. In practice, however, carriers andself-insured’s did not always takeMedicare’s interest into considerationwhen paying or settling claims. Thatchanged significantly in July of 2001when CMS released the “Patel Memo”.

The Patel Memo introduced the work-ers’ compensation world to the MedicareSet-Aside (MSA). Simply put, a MSA is aportion of a workers’ compensation settle-ment that is “set aside” to pay for future

medical expenses related to an injury of aMedicare beneficiary. While the SMARTAct does not directly apply to MSA’s, theyare worth mentioning as CMS’ memoestablished review criteria in which a MSAshould be obtained, and it was the firsttime workers’ compensation carriers regu-larly began to protect Medicare’s interests.This development increased claim settle-ments and durations.

In December of 2007 the Medicare,Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act(MMSEA) was enacted. The MMSEArequired entities making payments toMedicare beneficiaries to report thosepayments to CMS. Section 111 of the Actcreated a new enforcement tool. CMS hadnew power to impose and enforce apenalty of $1,000 per day for each claiminvolving a Medicare beneficiary that wasnot reported properly. Adding to this con-cern, claims were to be checked or“queried” through a complicated processto determine if the employee was onMedicare. Claim information had to bereported in a very specific, confusing andcomplicated format.

When settling a workers’ compensa-tion claim involving a Medicare recipientthe parties must also research and consid-er conditional payment claims. A condi-tional payment is a payment made byMedicare for services another payer maybe responsible for, and is conditional as itmust be repaid to Medicare when a claim issettled or an award is granted. CMS’ pastpolicy did not make a final conditional

payment determination until after settle-ment. Not knowing this amount at the timeof settlement can impede this process.

The SMART Act is intended to sim-plify and ease portions of the processesoutlined above. The Act requires CMS tomake a “statement of reimbursement”available which the parties can rely asbeing the final determination concerningconditional payments. Also, if any of theparties officially dispute the conditionalpayment amount, CMS must nowrespond within 11 days. Historically, CMScould pursue repayment at any time fol-lowing a settlement. The SMART Actimposes a three year statute of limita-tions on pursuing reimbursement of con-ditional payments. Finally, the languageregarding the $1,000 per day penalty fornon-compliance contained no exceptionfor a good faith effort. The Act modifies

the language to state that CMS “may”impose this penalty, a provision thatshould reduce anxiety for insuranceexecutives.

The SMART Act should reduce someof the cumbersome and costly burdensimposed by the Medicare SecondaryPayers Act. There is still plenty of confu-sion and ambiguity, but this is a refresh-ing step in the right direction.

Risk Management expert, BradRutgers, has over 18 years of experiencein the insurance industry, and hasauthored publications on Workers’Compensation best practices and Liabilitybest practices. Brad works for AcrisureLLC, the parent company of The CampbellGroup in Caledonia, MI. Brad is theCorporate Risk Manager for Acrisure andall of its agencies.

Current Business Trends:Nicely Up

Grand Rapids - The greater GrandRapids industrial economy is “nicely up,”according to the results of a monthly sur-vey compiled by Brian G. Long, directorof Supply Management Research in theSeidman College of Business at GrandValley State University.

The survey results are based on datacollected during the last two weeks ofFebruary.

Both December and January wereflat, but in February, things started topick up. The survey’s index of businessimprovement, called new orders, came inat +16, up from the dead flat +0 inJanuary. The production index shot up to+21 from January’s bearish -6. Activity in

purchasing offices also turned back topositive at +12, up from -1. The employ-ment index, which was already positiveat +10, rose to +22.

“Looking at individual industrialgroups, the auto parts suppliers remainpositive, and some are busier due to pro-duction schedules being revisedupward,” said Long. “Similar to lastmonth, the capital equipment firms arestill widely mixed, but some firms arereporting business to be picking up con-siderably. For industrial distributors, thismonth’s bias was to the up side, with nofirms reporting downticks.

Continued on page 8

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Kingma’s Market: A Grand Rapids TraditionBy Jane Whittington

Since the 1930s, Kingma’s Markethas been providing the people of GrandRapids with everything from fresh pro-duce to delicious candy to hand-cutmeats of all sorts. In that time, the venuehas changed, the product line has grown,and the store has expanded, but somethings have stayed the same. TheKingma family, from then to now, spe-cializes in personalized service, superiorproducts and a wide variety of temptingtastes to please every palate. This busymarket, on Grand Rapids’ northeast side,attracts customers from throughout thecity and beyond. They have learnedthrough the years that the Kingma namemeans something, something that cre-ates loyal customers and keeps themcoming.

When William Kingma first beganselling locally grown produce in the ‘30s,he was located on Division Avenue.Later he moved to Grandville Avenue,then to Chicago and Godfrey SW. Whenthe South End Fruit Market on

Grandville came up for sale, Mr. Kingmabought it for his oldest son Harvey tooperate and manage.

In 1952, Willard Kingma, William’syoungest son, went into business withAl Gritter to begin what was called“Produce Center”, located within theBoston Square Business District. Withina year, Williard bought out Gritter. Thebusiness grew, and Willard and his wifeMary lived behind the store in a homethat had once been a stage coach shop.The house was later torn down to makeroom for a parking lot.

In time, Willard’s older brother, Ed,began working at the Produce Center asdid Jim, another brother. In time, thethree became full partners, and the namewas changed to Kingma BrothersProduce Center. Jim left the business inthe ‘70s, but both Willard and Ed contin-ued to run the business until they retiredin the mid ‘80’s. By that time, anothergeneration was waiting to take the helmand Ed’s son Ed Jr. and Willard’s son Bobtook over the business.

Bob and Ed expanded operations by

opening up a garden center on PlainfieldAvenue in the Cheshire BusinessDistrict, which ran for three years.

Due to increasing support and theencouragement of local residents, theKingmas demolished the existing struc-tures on Plainfield and replaced themwith a new building which they movedinto in 1994. The business was nowknown as Kingma’s Market. The BostonSquare location remained open until1999 after which only the garden centeroperations continued until 2002. In all,the market on Boston had been doingbusiness on that site for 50 years.

As the Market grew, so did theproduct mix. The Kingma brothersexpanded the cheese lineup and beganoffering both domestic and importedcheeses of all kinds. Dave Koster cameonboard in 1996 to open a full servicebutcher shop. Wine and craft beers wereadded in 2007. Both domestic andimported wines and beers are on theshelves, but the focus is on Michiganwines and Grand Rapids and Michiganbeers.

In the spring and early summer, thestore’s garden center and the area out-side is full of annuals, perennials andgarden plants of all sorts. They alsostock everything to make your gardengrow, and the staff is there to answerany questions customers might have.

And, as you might expect, Octoberbrings pumpkins and gourds, and theChristmas season is the time forChristmas trees, wreathes and other hol-iday items. During the holidays, theystock a good selection of gift baskets.

Especially popular is what theKingmas call “The Great Wall”, stockedwith every kind of candy imaginable.The store also carries Dutch candies andpastries as well as fresh bread and pack-aged pastries.

According to Ed Kingma, the storeemploys about 25-30, depending on theseason. He says, “We are always addingnew products, and we always stock agood selection of made-in-Michiganitems.”

He continues, “We buy meat fromlocal providers and never buy anythingthat’s pre-packaged. We do all the cut-ting and packaging here in the store, sowe know all our meats are fresh andhigh-quality.”

With over 150 different cheeses,750 fine wines (over 150 Michiganmade), 380 beers, bouquets of freshflowers, fresh produce and many special-ty items, the selection can’t be beat.Loyal customers agree, and Kingma’s isalways bustling with activity.

Ed Kingma says, “We value our cus-tomers and appreciate the support of theneighborhood and the community. Weplan to be here for many years to comeas we continue serving the people whoshop here.”

Jane Whittington is a freelancewriter and editor who lives in GrandRapids.

Legal/Accounting/Consulting BriefsGrand Rapids – Plante Moran, PLLCpromoted three area staff members toAssociates: Erin Miller, CPA, audit pro-fessional; Jeff Rohde, CPA, tax profes-sional; and Joe Vloedman, CPA, auditprofessional.

Grand Rapids – Steve Hilger, Attorneyand Partner with Hilger Hammond, wasappointed to serve on Board of Directorsof Associated Builders and Contractors,West Michigan Chapter.

Troy – Dynamic Advisory Solutions,leading CFO support services company,partnered with Michigan State MedicalSociety to offer its physician members aseries of financial wellness programs fortheir medical practices.

Grand Rapids – Varnum announced addsto thier Metro Detroit Office: Matthew W.Bower joined as Counsel; Dennis M.Devaney joined with more than 25 yearsexperience practicing Labor andEmployment Law; Richard P. Manczakjoined with more than 30 years experi-ence in all major areas of Corporate,Business and Commercial Law.

Grand Rapids – Eugene E. Smary,Partner with Warner Norcross & JuddLLP, was appointed to governing councilof International Bar Association's Sectionof Energy, Environment, NaturalResources, and Infrastructure Law.

Grand Rapids – Warner Norcross wasranked as one of Michigan’s leading lawfirms in banking, finance, corporatemergers and acquisitions, employee ben-efits, executive compensation, and com-mercial litigation. Additionally, the fol-lowing attorneys were recognized indi-vidually for their work in the above areas,as well as bankruptcy: James H. Breay;Douglas A. Dozeman; Richard A. Kay;Anthony J. Kolenic, Jr.; Mary Jo Larson;John H. McKendry, Jr.; Robert H.Skilton, III; George L. Whitfield; Lisa B.Zimmer; and Stephen C. Waterbury.

Kent County – Area CommunityServices Employment and TrainingCouncil announced appointment of JacobMaas, Executive Director, at a pivotalmoment as the organization’s workforcedivision - Michigan Works! - is undergo-ing a strategic planning process, andchanging its model for service delivery.

Lansing – Foster Swift Attorney MichaelHarrison (Lansing) was included in the2013 Edition of Marquis’ Who’s Who inAmerica.

Lansing – Karen Surdenik, ManagingPartner of Cooper & Partners, announcedthe appointment of Jane Lucas toDirector of Program.

Grand Rapids – D. Adam Tountas,Attorney with Smith Haughey Rice &Roegge, was named to American Societyof Legal Advocate’s list of Top 40 LawyersUnder 40; Attorney Kristen E. Ray waspreviously named to that list as well.

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7Innovative Partnership Leads to Healthier Children

and is Model for StateGrand Rapids - An independent eval-

uation of an innovative three-year projectfocusing on children’s health care in KentCounty concludes that the modelworked—fueling community conversa-tions and big ideas to improve health carefor the underserved in Kent County.

The Children’s Healthcare AccessProgram (CHAP) is a collaborative, com-munity-based project to improve thehealth of children on Medicaid. First Stepslaunched CHAP in partnership with HelenDeVos Children’s Hospital, PriorityHealth, the Great Start Collaborative ofKent County, the Asthma Network of WestMichigan, Cherry Street Health Services,and numerous health care practices andhuman services agencies. The model ofcare focuses on mitigating barriers to carefor children enrolled in Medicaid.Strategies incorporated into the modelinclude offering health education andsupport services for families, advocatingfor changes in health plan coverage,extending evening hours for primary careand improving the referral process forspecialty services including mental healthservices.

An independent evaluation of thethree-year effort was recently released bySRA International, and the evidence showsthat CHAP has worked. Visits to the emer-gency department decreased 35 percent andavoidable hospitalization decreased 46 per-

cent for clients after one year of programinvolvement. Data also shows a largedecrease in number of school days missedby children receiving asthma case manage-ment services (from 6.3 pre to 1.4 post). Asocial cost-benefit analysis shows an aver-age annual cost benefit of $1.16 for every$1 spent on CHAP.

Additional outcomes from the three-year project include 1,445 new primarycare practice openings for children onMedicaid and increased hours of service.And the least tangible, but most powerfulresult of the CHAP effort enabled commu-nity collaboration and an increase in com-munication between agencies, doctors,parents and hospital executives.

“The Children’s Healthcare AccessProgram is a great example of innovationand collaboration in Kent County,” saidFirst Steps executive director RebekahFennell. “The community gatheredaround the table with research indicatingthat children on Medicaid have muchpoorer health outcomes than privatelyinsured children. Together, the CHAPmodel was designed to improve healthoutcomes and patient care while reducingcosts – and it has succeeded. Now weneed to take what we learned from theproject and leverage the important sys-tems lessons regarding the value of help-ing families navigate complex systems inhealth care and human services.”

“We are thrilled with the data thatdemonstrates the success of the CHAPprogram, and are even more thrilled thatthe children in the program are livinghealthier lives,” explained Tom Peterson,MD, executive director of safety, qualityand community health at Helen DeVosChildren’s Hospital and medical director ofCHAP. “CHAP has encouraged those inthe health and human services arena totry new approaches to pediatric care andthe children are reaping the benefit of thatinnovation.”

Based on the promising results inKent County, other communities areadopting the model. In partnership withthe Early Childhood InvestmentCorporation, First Steps is developing astatewide implementation strategy.Partnering counties include Wayne,Kalamazoo, Genesee, Ingham, Macomb,Saginaw, and a four-county northwest

Michigan region.Maureen Kirkwood, director of

health initiatives for First Steps, notedthat “A guiding principle of CHAP is thatall children should have a consistent,high-quality medical home—a doctor’soffice or clinic where they always can gofor regular checkups, immunizations andtreatment when they are sick. The medicalhome concept is based on family-cen-tered, coordinated care, with a strongemphasis on prevention.”

With the substantial evidence thatthe CHAP model works, many are asking“What’s next?” To tackle that questionkey health care providers, communityagencies and potential funders are con-ducting a feasibility study to better under-stand the needs of the community, andhow innovative models of health care—like CHAP—might work in Kent Countymore broadly.

College of Nursing HostsTravel Clinic

Grand Rapids - For nearly two years,the nurse-managed health center atGrand Valley State University has helpedprepare travelers for global destinationsthat may pose health risks.

The GVSU Family Health Center, 72Sheldon Blvd. SE, houses a travel clinic.Center staff members can provide routineimmunizations needed for travel. Thecenter serves the Grand Valley communi-ty and the public.

Ann Sheehan, assistant dean forpractice at the Kirkhof College of Nursing(KCON), said immunizations are givenfor tetanus, polio, typhoid, yellow feverand other health risks. The center is oneof two in Kent Country certified to vacci-nate travelers for yellow fever, which is adanger in sub-Saharan Africa. It can alsoprovide prescriptions for malaria preven-tion.

Sheehan said the center uses a web-

based system called Travax that continu-ally updates global health risks.

There is a fee for travel clinic servic-es, and some insurance providers do notcover international travel immunizations,Sheehan said.

It’s also key to work ahead of time,she said. “Some immunizations are need-ed 10-14 days before traveling,” Sheehansaid.

The Family Health Center has startedmarketing the travel clinic services to areacolleges and universities that host inter-national education programs. “We’reencouraging anyone with plans for over-seas studies to make appointments,”Sheehan said.

Center staff members are workingwith the KCON faculty members and stu-dents who will travel to Ghana, WestAfrica.

Continued on page 8

8Health Care BriefsGrand Rapids – Children’s LeukemiaFoundation of Michigan is opening aregional office in Grand Rapids on April 1,2013, which provides information, finan-cial assistance and emotional support toMichigan families affected by leukemia,lymphoma, and related blood cancers.Approximately 20% of families are fromWest Michigan – the organization’s high-est concentration of patients and familiesoutside of Southeast Michigan.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum Healthresearchers found that by using carefulguidelines, many patients undergoingangioplasty and stenting do not requireovernight stays. Their findings were partof an original study titled “Assessment ofClinical Outcomes Related to EarlyDischarge after Elective PercutaneousCoronary Intervention”, and was pub-lished in January 2013’s issue ofCatheterization and CardiovascularInterventions.

Kalamazoo – HealthCare MidwestAmbulatory Surgery Center achievedaccreditation by the AccreditationAssociation for Ambulatory Health Care,an accreditation distinguishing outpa-tient facilities providing the highest qual-ity of care to its patients.

Allegan – Allegan General Hospitalwent live with an electronic medicalrecord system, allowing AlleganGeneral’s doctors, nurses, and othermedical staff to have immediate access toa patient’s medical information.

Grand Rapids – Hospice of Michigan(HOM) received a $225,000 grant fromPeter C. & Emajean Cook Foundation todevelop a community outreach programto reach the Hispanic population in KentCounty, which will be led by a full-time,bilingual nurse who will serve as com-munity outreach liaison between HOMand the Hispanic community.

Grand Rapids – Agility Healthannounced expansion of its multi-stateoutpatient clinic group through new part-nership with Boston-based McGovernPhysical Therapy Associates. With fourNorth Shore Boston locations provide akey strategic addition to Agility Health’sgrowing national network, which nowincludes 160 partnered or owned servicesites in 14 states.

Kalamazoo – Lakshmi Kocharla, MD,FACR, board certified in internal medi-cine and rheumatology, will head thenew HealthCare MidwestRheumatology located at 601 JohnStreet, Suite M-170B.

Grand Rapids – Foot & AnkleSpecialists of West Michigan will be thefirst in West Michigan to offerExtracorporeal Pulse ActivationTreatment®, the newest method of non-invasive treatment of acute and chronicheel pain which does not require anes-thesia.Kalamazoo – Bronson MethodistHospital was selected by Centers forMedicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)for participation in its new BundledPayments for Care Improvement initia-tive, to improve quality of healthcaredelivery for Medicare beneficiaries byaligning financial incentives of allproviders. Traditionally, Medicare makesseparate payments to providers for eachindividual service they provide topatients for a single illness or episode oftreatment, resulting in fragmented care.It pays according to quantity of servicesprovided rather than quality of care fur-nished. Under bundled payment, organi-zations enter into payment arrangementswith CMS in one of four models, includ-ing financial and performance accounta-bility; it is expected to lead to higherquality, more coordinated care at lowercost to Medicare.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum Healthreceived international accreditation forquality and expertise of its rehabilitationprograms from CARF International, anindependent, nonprofit accreditor ofhealth and human services, meetingstandards for brain injury specialty, andstroke rehabilitation.

Kalamazoo – Bronson HealthFoundation announced MicheleMarquardt, Esq, founding member ofDeMent and Marquardt, PLC, as incom-ing Chair to its Board of Directors.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum HealthCardiothoracic Surgeon AsgharKhaghani, MD, and assisted byCardiothoracic Surgeon Robert Hooker,MD, performed the first lung transplantin West Michigan. Joseph Steponski,59, of Wyoming, Mich., received a single,right-lung transplant February 4, 2013,at Spectrum Health Fred and Lena MeijerHeart Center.

Grand Rapids – Hospice of Michiganwill hold a volunteer training series onMar. 14, 21 and 28, 2013, at their Adaoffice, 989 Spaulding Ave. SE, from5:30-9:30 p.m. The office is currentlylooking for volunteers to support patientcare, office administration, and WeHonor Veterans outreach.

Grand Rapids – AstraZeneca HealthCareFoundation’s Connections forCardiovascular HealthSM programannounced a grant of $161,950 toCatherine’s Health Center to supporttheir “Live Heart Smart” initiative - target-ed toward low-income, medically under-served residents of the community.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum Health’s CoreHealth Program was named 2012Program of Excellence as part of theHospital Charitable Service Awards,sponsored by Jackson Healthcare, whichhonors projects demonstrating sustain-able community impact.

Kalamazoo – Borgess Medical Commons-Delton is now open in Delton MedicalCenter, 11320 S. M-43, Suite 2, and offersone-stop care, including diagnostic imag-ing, lab services, cardiology, orthopedic,and other specialty health clinics.

Grand Rapids – Researchers at VanAndel Institute embarked on a multi-faceted initiative, Pathway of Hope, tostudy Tuberous Sclerosis Complex(TSC), a rare genetic disorder most oftendiagnosed during infancy or childhood.The genetic disorder causes tumors invital organs throughout the body affect-ing the brain, eyes, skin, heart, kidneyand lungs. While diagnosed primarily inchildhood, TSC is not solely a pediatricdisorder, and can result in health compli-cations throughout adolescence andadulthood with 80% of individuals hav-ing epilepsy at some point in their lifespan.

8

College of Nursing HostsTravel Clinic

Continued from page 7

Grand Valley sends students to morethan 44 different countries for studyabroad programs.New master’s program to begin in fall

Grand Valley will begin a new mas-ter’s level program in Speech-LanguagePathology in fall 2013.

The program is housed in the Collegeof Health Professions. Students had beenable to obtain an emphasis in speech-lan-guage pathology through Grand Valley’sAllied Health Sciences program.

Beth Macauley, associate professor,said expanding the SLP program meets a

need for speech-language pathologists inMichigan and nationwide. Speech-lan-guage pathologists work in schools, hos-pitals, rehabilitation centers, extendedcare facilities and private practices.

In West Michigan, she said, it’s com-mon for SLP positions to remain unfilledfor years. The Michigan Speech andHearing Association stated that a mas-ter’s-level graduate typically has four joboffers to choose from.

Graduate students are required tocomplete a practicum within the firstsemester of their program; the last semes-ter includes a full-time internship.

Current Business Trends:Nicely Up

Continued from page 5

Finally, the office furniture firms arestill holding their own, but the marketshows signs of topping out or stabilizingat the current level.”

Long said states that have a big mil-itary presence may be affected by the“sequester” of $40 billion, but for WestMichigan, it will probably be unnoticed.“The next two stumbling blocks on the

calendar are more substantial than thesequester,” said Long. “On March 27, the‘continuing resolution,’ which has keptthe government going since the last realbudget was passed in 2009, comes due.Just like it did in late 1995, failure to actcould shut down non-essential functionsof the federal government. If we get pastthat crisis, the next fight will be the May18 deadline over the debt ceiling.”

9

Construction BriefsGrand Rapids – Baker Book House cel-ebrated completion of a 28,166 squarefoot renovation and expansion of theirfacility located at 2768 East Paris SE.Integrated Architecture and OrionConstruction Company provided designand construction services for the projectwith natural lighting, café, fireside read-ing area, community room, children'splay area, and author presentationspace.

Grand Rapids – National Association ofHome Builders released January’s FirstAmerican Improving Market Index,which tracks housing markets through-out the country showing signs ofimproving economic health. The indexuses three sets of independent monthlydata – employment growth, price growth,and single-family housing growth - toidentify top improving markets. GrandRapids area market continues to be onthe list of top improving markets withthe largest gain in home prices, whichhave increased by more than 12% sinceFeb. 2011.

Kalamazoo – CSM Group announced:hiring new Project Coordinator LisaRuthruff, who will work directly withProject Directors and Managers; and pro-motion of Beth Willson from ProjectCoordinator to Senior ProjectCoordinator.

Grand Rapids – Grand Rapids PublicSchool Board of Education announcedthey selected Owen-Ames-Kimball Co.,to oversee renovations at StockingElementary School, and will be respon-sible for budgeting, scheduling, bidding,and on-site management.

Detroit – U.S. Army Corps of EngineersDetroit District, through its Great LakesHydraulics and Hydrology Office, reporta preliminary new record low water levelfor Lake Michigan-Huron for the secondmonth in a row. The Corps issues waterlevel forecasts for the Great Lakes incoordination with Environment Canada,

and with the use of water level data andforecasting models developed by theNational Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration's Great LakesEnvironmental Research Laboratory, andNational Ocean Service. The Corps latestforecasts indicate a strong likelihood forcontinued record lows on Lake

Michigan-Huron over the next severalmonths, with water levels on theremaining Great Lakes expected toremain below their respective long-termaverage water levels, but above recordlows.

Wolverine Construction ProjectsGrand Rapids - As the construction

market trends upward, one local companyis celebrating with a host of projects indowntown Grand Rapids.

Wolverine Building Group, a GrandRapids-based firm that offers generalcontracting, construction management,and design/build services and has crewsworking from the East Hills neighborhoodto the Heartside District to revitalize his-toric Grand Rapids to the heart of down-town. They are currently building manynew projects that will add to the growingdowntown skyline.

New multifamily projects include the

new structures at the corner of Divisionand Cherry, a new midrise at 240 Ionia,and the future Southtown Lofts nearMadison and Hall.

Their team has also begun the exten-sive renovation and addition to the formerBethel Pentacostal Church at 834 LakeDrive. “It will be unique to this neighbor-hood,” says Wolverine’s Vice President,Curt Mulder. “There are few apartmentcomplexes of this size in this neighbor-hood, which will be a welcome addition tothe area and add a new housing option forthose seeking a place to rent.”

Later this spring, Wolverine will

begin a major historic renovation of theStuyvesant Apartments on the corner ofMadison and Cherry in Heritage Hill.“We’ll be breathing new life into this oldbuilding, which will greatly improve theliving environment for the existing ten-ants.” says Mulder. “There is no placeclose to the project to relocate the existingtenants to, so the projects most significantchallenge will be to renovate the unitswhile keeping the entire building fullyoccupied.”

Wolverine has been active in down-town Grand Rapids for decades, with high-ly visible landmark projects like Helen

DeVos Children’s Hospital and River HouseCondominiums, as well as interior renova-tions to historic buildings, like the officesof Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge located inthe Flat Iron building. The current wave ofnew multifamily projects downtownappears to have some staying power andwill help add to that growing list of projectswith the Wolverine stamp on them.Wolverine Building Group is a proud sup-porter of the downtown’s revitalization andevents and has been a sponsor for Art Prizeas well as the Metro Health Grand RapidsMarathon. The company will celebrate its75th anniversary in 2014.

10

Construction BriefsGrand Rapids – Wolverine BuildingGroup announced Project ManagersBrandon Hartel and Jon Lauretoreceived their Hazard Analysis & CriticalControl Points Manager TrainingCertification for food safety.

Comstock Park – National Associationof the Remodeling Industry namedDreamMaker Bath & Kitchen ofGreater Grand Rapids, 2013 EastCentral Regional Contractor of the Yearin the Residential Bath over $60,000category in its annual awards competi-tion.

Lansing – Clark Construction Companywas nominated as a finalist forAssociated General Contractors ofAmerica’s 14th Annual ConstructionSafety Excellence Award, which will bepresented in Palm Springs, California.

West MI - Signature Associates hasnegotiated • the sale of a 3,672 square foot hi-techbuilding located at 3635 29th Street SE,Grand Rapids for the buyer, IPConsulting, Inc.• the lease of 1,500 square feet of retailspace located at 1621 Leonard Street NE,Grand Rapids for represented the land-lord, Four Jays Property, LLC. and thetenant, JTH Tax, Inc.• negotiated the lease of 1,018 square feetof retail space in the Ramblewood RetailCenter located at 2761 44th Street SW,Wyoming for represented the landlord,Aimco, and the tenant, VIP Mini Spa.

Grand Rapids – First Companies negotiat-ed an 11,254 sq. ft. industrial propertylease for landlord CDSA Investments andtenant Thornview Electric, located at4349 - 40th St., Ste C&D.

Grand Rapids – GR1K, popular WestMichigan housing energy efficiency pro-gram, extended its sign-up deadlinethrough March 31, 2013. GR1K programpartners - Better Buildings Michigan,West Michigan Environmental ActionCouncil, and City of Grand Rapids -announced more than 400 homeownerssigned-up for an assessment in late2012. GR1K is for GR residents, but alsofor non-GR residents.

Holland – Elzinga & Volkers is nearingcompletion of a 30,000 square-footaddition for supplier GNS America,which will be used as a metal stampingfacility for auto parts, and is expected toboost GNS America sales by $10 millionannually, plus create 15 new jobs. Theadd-on will house equipment andassemblies for the highly specialized hotstamping process which makes steelstronger and lighter.

Lansing – Michigan Chapter ofAssociated General Contractorsawarded Tooles Contracting and ClarkConstruction with 2013 Build MichiganAward for construction of New EastEnglish Village Preparatory Academy inDetroit.

Michigan - Signature Associates hasnegotiated • the sale of a 267,622 square footindustrial building located at 10 N. ClarkRoad, Battle Creek for the seller, EnergyConversion Devices Liquidation Trustand the purchaser, Dieomatic Inc.(Cosma Casting Michigan).

• the lease of 25,000 square feet ofindustrial space located at 770 WatkinsRoad, Battle Creek for the landlord,VanDillen Building Group, LLC and thetenant, II Stanley Company, Inc. II.• the lease of 9,940 square feet of officespace located at 16916 Robbins Road,Grand Haven to JSJ for the landlord,Lake Trust Credit Union.• the sale of a 3,510 square foot buildinglocated at 1073 Evanston Avenue,Muskegon for the seller, 1073Evanston, LLC, and the buyer,Heaven’s Gate Church.

Grand Rapids – The exterior repairs ofhistoric McKay Tower is scheduled tostart in March 2013, with protectivewalk-thru canopies amid scaffolding byportions of the public entrances. All retailtenants will continue normal operationsduring construction.

Grand Rapids – Orion II ConstructionInc. announced addition of Matt Anisko,LEED® Green Associate, as QualityAssurance Manager, with more than 10years of construction-related experience.

Rockford – RE/MAX United, ownersTom and Tracie Rich, was awardedOutstanding New Franchise by RE/MAXof Michigan, an award presented to theBroker/Owner. In addition, Kim Maggini,Operations Manager for RE/MAX United,was named one of three finalists forOutstanding Administrator of the Year.

Delivering Peace of MindCambridge, MA and UK – Keeping

track of dropped and damaged packageshas just got easier – with a new sensorsystem and app developed by innovativeproduct development firm CambridgeConsultants. Called DropTag, the conceptshows at a glance what’s happened to apackage in transit. And it could end thegamble of signing for a delivery withoutunpacking and checking the goods first –as well as giving delivery companies andmanufacturers reliable real-time informa-tion about the status of packages beingtransported.

“Existing package condition moni-toring systems tend to be quite basic,mechanical sensors – or very expensivedata loggers. DropTag is different – it’s asimple, low-cost sensor platform withconnectivity via Bluetooth Low Energy toa smartphone. We’ve developed a simpleapp which shows what’s happened to apackage in transit – for example, if thebox has been mistreated, the app immedi-ately indicates this. We’ve also created aplot mode within the app for moredetailed analysis.”

Cambridge Consultants is now devel-oping the sensor platform further to logcritical event data so that, when DropTagis interrogated, it can provide informationon exactly what happened to the packageand when. And it’s exploring how theaddition of other sensors could boost itspotential applications – for example,adding temperature sensing for ‘cold-chain’ storage and distribution in the

pharmaceutical and food industries.DropTag can be remotely interrogat-

ed at any stage of the delivery process –with a maximum range of about 160ftindoors. So as a package is moved arounda warehouse or carried in the back of avan, smart handsets could remotely andautomatically check the package at eachstage of its journey – reporting the statusback to headquarters and so allowing anearly proactive response to any incident.

This local connectivity capability pro-vides a range of tracking possibilities – forexample, the location of the parcel can beverified in real time if it is transmitting to aGPS-enabled smart handset. And boxesneed no longer be individually scanned atlogistics checkpoints. Smart connected‘gateway’ zones within warehouses couldperform this role automatically, establish-ing the condition and location of eachpackage remotely as it passes through fromone area of the warehouse to another.

“By minimizing the complexity of theelectronics in DropTag – and, instead,making better use of smart devices –we’ve calculated that DropTag could ana-lyze and log crucial events for manyweeks using just a single coin-cell battery,and could even perhaps be reused,” saidLawrie-Fussey. “And, by keeping it sim-ple, we’re confident that the bill of mate-rial (BoM) cost would be less than $2 –making it a very affordable addition thatwould add significant value to the con-sumer and distributor alike.”

Health Coverage in 2014Washington DC - Health and

Human Services (HHS) SecretaryKathleen Sebelius today announced thatmore states are moving forward toimplement the health care law and estab-lishing Health Insurance Marketplaces.HHS conditionally approved Iowa,Michigan, New Hampshire, and WestVirginia to operate State PartnershipMarketplaces, which will be ready foropen enrollment in October 2013.

These conditional approvals bringthe total number of states that have beenconditionally approved to partially orfully run their Marketplace to 24 statesand the District of Columbia. In addition,several other states have suggested their

own approaches to contributing towardplan management in their Marketplace in2014. HHS will continue to provide allstates with the flexibility, resources, andtime needed to support the establishmentof the new health insurance marketplace.

Consumers in every state will soonbe able to buy insurance from qualifiedhealth plans directly through aMarketplace and may be eligible for pre-mium tax credits and cost sharing assis-tance to help lower their costs. Thesehealth plans will ensure consumers havethe same kinds of valuable insurancechoices as members of Congress, andcannot be denied coverage because of apre-existing condition.

More Tech Startups in Michigan is the GoalAnn Arbor - A new entrepreneurial

training program for inventors inMichigan aims to fast-track technologiesto market and boost the economic impactof research conducted in the state.

Launching this spring, the MichiganI-Corps program will help researchersfrom across the state identify and assesspotential applications and businessopportunities for their technologies.

Though designed to equip technolo-gists with a better understanding of thecommercialization process, program coor-dinators predict Michigan I-Corps willhave a significant positive impact on thestate's entrepreneurial climate and eco-nomic performance.

Michigan I-Corps is modeled after theNational Science Foundation's National I-Corps program. In 2012, U-M became oneof three nodes selected by NSF to admin-ister the national program to entrepre-neurial faculty from across the country. U-M also received $1.5 million from NSF toadminister the Michigan I-Corps.

"I-Corps regional nodes are the foun-dation of a national innovation ecosys-tem," said Don Millard, NSF I-Corps nodeprogram director. "They expand our reach,bringing innovation, education andexpertise to faculty and students that arepursuing commercialization efforts. Weanticipate that the regional nodes willprovide valuable feedback to the pro-grams that support the advancement ofour nation's basic research and develop-ment portfolio."

Similar to the national program,Michigan I-Corps cohorts will be comprisedof approximately 25 teams, each with threemembers: a principal investigator (or sen-ior executive), entrepreneurial lead (orproduct manager) and industry mentor.The statewide program will leverage theexisting I-Corps curriculum, which focuseson customer discovery and business modelgeneration, but will supplement it withmodules on business basics, intellectualproperty, and entrepreneurship ownershipand operations. Workshops will be led by a

team of local serial entrepreneurs, venturecapitalists and experienced entrepreneurialeducators.

One major difference between thenational and regional programs is thatapplicants to Michigan I-Corps need not beacademic researchers working on an NSF-funded technology. Any Michigan-basedtechnologist, regardless of academic affilia-tion or funding source, is eligible to apply.Program coordinators are recruiting teamsfrom Michigan colleges and universities,such as Michigan State, Michigan Tech,Western Michigan, Wayne State, GrandValley State and U-M, as well as from inno-vative technology companies and startupsfunded by venture capitalists.

"If you've developed a unique, cut-ting-edge technology but you're not surewhat market to go after or what the busi-ness model should be, this program willsave two years of your life by giving youthose answers in seven weeks," Fay said.

Applications will be accepted on arolling basis beginning March 11. The

first two Michigan I-Corps sessions will beheld in Ann Arbor, but the plan is for sub-sequent sessions to be held in differentlocations around the state to make theprogram accessible to as many Michiganentrepreneurs as possible. Organizershope the program can train 100 teamseach year.

The first session will be held in Maywith three days of onsite training. It cul-minates in June with a two-day story-telling workshop and demo day. Inbetween, participants attend online lec-tures, conduct outreach to potential cus-tomers, blog about their progress andreceive extensive mentorship and coach-ing from the teaching team.

John Diebel, assistant director oftechnology commercialization at MichiganTechnological University, has beenthrough the National I-Corps programtwice as an industry mentor. He says hebelieves I-Corps is a game changer notjust for the participating teams, but for theentire field of technology transfer.

11

Why Marketing Goes Wrong So OftenBy John Graham

Marketing is a mystery — at leastthat’s the way it seems when comparedwith just about every other companyfunction. There’s plenty of talk about“marketing,” but efforts to nail it down,specifically, usually end in an uncomfort-able silence. It makes the point that it’sdifficult to get your arms around market-ing.

There are more “marketing genius-es” floating around than anyone cancount. Everyone has an opinion as towhat’s needed, what works and whatdoesn’t.

And whatever marketing activities acompany implements, there will always bethose who rush forward with criticismsand complaints.

Such turmoil may help explain whyso many companies harbor serious doubtsabout marketing, others keep it on a shortleash, and some solve the problem byturning it into a glorified “gofer” function.

As it turns out, demystifying market-ing is rather easy. After peeling away thenutty (and usually meaningless) jargon,marketing is simply aligning an organiza-tion’s products and services so customerscome to identify with a brand.Unfortunately, much of what passes as“marketing” fails to pass the test.

To better understand why marketinggoes wrong and what can be done aboutit, here are seven common pitfalls, obsta-cles and stumbling blocks:

1. Management believes it knows

marketing. It’s not uncommon for the per-son in charge of marketing to report tosomeone who “loves marketing” and hasstrong opinions, but little or no marketingknowledge. This is often the same personwho says, “I seem to have a flair for mar-keting.” In such a situation, the personcharged with the marketing responsibili-ties has two options: either bang heads orcave-in to the pressure.

An annual marketing plan that’sapproved by management can help avoidsuch difficult and, frankly, depressing sit-uations. Without that, there’s only chaosand unacceptable results.

2. Marketers make a splash ratherthan a difference. While managementmay a marketing culprit, marketers can beto blame, as well. Making a quick“impression” is often the goal. As onemarketing manager said the first week onthe job, “We’ll be rolling out a new logo ina couple of months.” The logo remained,while the marketing manager didn’t.

Soon after arriving at Radio Shack asEVP and CMO, Lee Applbaum kicked off acampaign to rebrand the lack luster per-formance of this venerable company. Itwould now be known simply as “TheShack.” That didn’t last long and neitherdid Applbaum. Unfazed by reality, hisfinal Tweet, as reported by the DallasBusiness Journal, said it all, “Been a great3.5 years @RadioShack. Hopeful I had apositive impact on the brand. On to thenext one.”

Rather than listening to what a mar-keter says, it’s better to ask questions. For

example, “What would be your plan forthe first 90 days on the job?”

3. Lack of discipline. It’s easy formarketing to get out of hand, particularlywhen there are so many “great ideas” fly-ing around everyday. It takes a verystrong person to listen and then say “no”to anything that’s off plan. Making excep-tions and giving in can spell trouble.

The best way to stand firm is to havecarefully developed, absolutely clear andwell-documented objectives.

4. Failure to engage customers andprospects. Although it’s difficult tobelieve, the tendency to equate “selling”with “telling” persists. It’s hard to root itout of our thinking, particularly whenanything less direct seems wimpish.

Yet, Lincoln Motor Company’s recent60-second TV spot got it right by aban-doning “telling,” starting with its “Steerthe Script” title. They invited people toTweet about their favorite road trip, andthe spot featured excerpts from funepisodes, not the car. It ended this way:“The story starts with you because luxuryalways should.”

And it isn’t just “luxury” that should

start there. That’s where all marketingshould begin.

5. Unrealistic budget. While there arealways ways to improve marketing effi-ciency without damaging effectiveness,all-too-often companies expect those inmarketing to produce extraordinaryresults with an underfunded budget.

There’s nothing wrong with a leanbudget, but one that’s anorexic simplywon’t work. Today, marketing tools costmoney and not to take advantage of thelatest technology is a prescription for fail-ure if a company wants results to matchits expectations. And, while junior mar-keters can add value, it takes a senior,experienced professional to steer the shipin the right direction.

6. Failure to think through the impli-cations. Ron Johnson created Apple’shugely successful Apple’s retail stores andthen moved on to tackle JCPenney’s falter-ing brand. Soon after arriving, he rolledout a massive TV marketing campaignthat succeeded in thoroughly confusingconsumers who had been accustomed to400 “sales” a year.

Continued on page 12

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ID Theft Takes Its Toll on the WorkplaceBy James R, LaPiedra

This past winter one of the top box-office movies was called “Identity Thief,”a lightweight comedy about a guy chasinga woman across the country after she hadstolen his identity. It was filled with prat-falls, sight gags and fat jokes.

The message of the movie was simple:getting your identity stolen can be funny.But try telling that to the more than 11 mil-lion victims who each year suffer the dev-astating emotional toll of knowing they nolonger have control over their lives. To hiscredit, film critic Mick Lasalle of the SanFrancisco Chronicle summed up the moviequite well, “The concept of one personstealing another's identity might be amus-ing in the abstract, but the minute you startfilling in the details, it becomes the stuff ofdrama, not comedy.”

Identity theft is not just a financialburden, but also a feeling of vulnerabilityand violation. It’s why you can find sup-port groups all over the country that dealwith nothing but helping ID theft victimscope with the realization of what hasbefallen them, and the long and windingroad needed to be traveled in order to tryand resolve the situation.

Research shows it can take up to 33hours for a victim to come to a satisfacto-ry ID theft resolution. With some reportssuggesting it can take up to 600 hours fortruly serious breaches to be rectified, andoccasionally the problem never getsresolved. There are instances where a per-son’s identity has been abused so badlythe victim has to walk around with anaffidavit saying they are the real persontheir ID says they are.

Whether 33 hours or 600 hours,that’s a lot of time spent on phones,emails, copying documents, running tothe post office, etc. It also takes a lot ofdirect telephone interaction with a liveperson, a person who works your basic 9-

5 schedule.This means when a person has their

identity stolen there’s also an innocentbystander about to become collateraldamage: the employer.

Industry research has found conclu-sive evidence that legal issues causeworkplace distraction, absenteeism andlost productivity. According to CorporateWellness magazine, 48 percent of a com-pany's employees will experience somebusiness or personal legal-related issues(including ID theft) throughout the year,and be away from their jobs at least 51hours per year to solve them. This timespent away from work dealing with legalissues, ends up costing employers thou-sands of dollars in terms of overtime,absenteeism, higher insurance and com-pensation premium claims, administrativecosts and lost employee production. Thepublication goes on to further state thatstudies show employees with legal prob-lems usually:

• Are absent five times more thanaverage

• Use their medical benefits fourtimes more than average

• Use their sick leave twice as oftenas the average employee

• Experience a substantial reductionin their productivity

Identity theft issues can have a dev-astating effect on an employee's creditrating, their reputation, emotional stateand morale. Employees are battling theemotional stress akin to being the victimof a violent assault.

Employees dealing with ID theft donot have their head in the game when onthe job. They need to make repeated phonecalls, either on the company phone of goingoutside to talk on their cellphone. They arechecking their personal emails, using thecompany fax and copy machine, takinglonger lunch breaks to stand in line at thepost-office. Just dealing with the credit

bureaus along is a herculean effort.According to a recent report on 60 Minutes,the three major credit bureaus are designedto make the situation even more difficult.The report states that no one on a phonehas the power to help you and if you sendanything to their post office box “No onewith the authority to settle your disputewill ever actually see it.”

And to add to the crushing emotionaltoll, the fastest-rising form of ID theft ischildren. If you think your employee is dis-tracted by their own legal issues, picturethe mindset when they also have to con-centrate of protecting their children as well.

The core of the issue is lost productiv-ity, through either not being on the job tonegligence in doing the job. Employers maybe able to tolerate something simple like astressed-out secretary misspelling a wordin a correspondence because her credit cardcompany just charged her $5,000 for a 7-day cruise to the Bahamas she never took.But what if the distraction is life threaten-ing, to fellow employees and the cus-tomers? What if the guy driving a busthrough a busy city street is shouting at hisbanker on his cellphone and doesn’t noticethe light is no longer green?

ID theft is a major problem is thiscountry and any employer who thinksthey are not going to be affected by itbecause they handed out a pamphlet atorientation on how to be careful is simplysticking their head in the sand. Employersneed to be supportive of what the employ-ee is going through, and make everyeffort to make the process as stress-freeas possible, both for them and the compa-ny’s bottom line.

Companies need to train their HRstaff on how to deal with this ever-grow-ing issue in a way that can boost employ-ee morale, keep their eye on the ball, anddo everything possible to alleviate the sit-uation. But most importantly, many busi-nesses with foresight are now making

identity theft services a coveted voluntarybenefit. They are discovering that for anominal cost per employee, depending onthe size of the company and participation,it’s a small price to pay in lieu of a reduc-tion in productivity and revenue.

Stephanie Ward, vp-account man-agement at Corporate Synergies GroupInc., a Mount Laurel, N.J.-based healthinsurance broker and consulting firm,when interviewed by Business Insurancemagazine, stated that ID theft protectioncoverage is something she is including inher proposal information. And accordingto Rob McGinnis, president and chiefexecutive officer of Marsh Inc.'s U.S. con-sumer business, “all types of employersare now offering it, (particularly) finan-cial, medical and security firms whichhave a heightened awareness of the riskbecause these industries are popular tar-gets for identity theft-related crimes.”Libertyville Savings Bank in Fairfield,Iowa, provides full coverage of legal serv-ices, including identity theft, to its 32employees at an annual cost of roughly$5,000, says CEO Jill Burnett.

Some ID theft services have proce-dures in place where case managersreduce significantly time spent byemployees on the phone during workhours trying to cancel stolen credit cardsby making the calls for them.

Employers are never going to be ableto completely protect their employeesfrom ID theft. But with the right mecha-nisms in place, they can help ease thepain, reduce the stress, and keep the bot-tom line from hitting rock bottom.

James R. LaPiedra is President of IDTheft Solutions USA. James is a CertifiedIdentity Theft Risk ManagementSpecialist, CITRMS®. For more informa-tion visit www.IDTheftSolutionsUSA.comor contact him directly at James@idtheft-solutionsusa.com.

Why Marketing Goes Wrong So OftenContinued from page 11

When Women’s Wear Daily askedhim how he was going to correct the prob-lem, he told the interviewer that the mar-keting “overreached,” adding, “It didn’tdo the hard work. People found it enter-taining but it wasn’t doing what we need-ed to do to build our business.” Then henoted, “There was too much TV and notenough print.”

If you wonder what those wordsmean, here’s the translation of the jargon:he roared in as CEO, shot from the hipwith “a great idea” and when it failed, hecame up with an excuse and flipped back

to JCP’s traditional print promotion strate-gy, which isn’t doing the job, either.

Failure to think through marketinginitiatives follows one path: justificationfor failure and repeating the cycle.

7. Keeping marketing too narrowlyfocused. Although bouncing too manymarketing activities at one time is possi-ble, there’s a seductive tendency to do justthe opposite, to lighten the load by peel-ing away activities or stripping themdown so they’re only marginally effective.

Marketing success today moves inmany directions. It depends on connectingwith customers and prospects in all theways that work for them. Inevitably, this

means marketing programs must bemulti-faceted.

While marketers often speak ratherglibly about “integrated marketing com-munications,” walking the talk isn’t soeasy. It’s a daunting task to integratesocial media, media advertising, publicand media relations, eMarketing andsales promotion so they connect with cus-tomers and prospects, and even moredemanding to do it consistently so theeffort enhances the brand.

If there’s a clear thread runningthrough these seven ways marketing goeswrong, it’s that marketing is more thangreat ideas, innovative events or cutting

edge techniques. At its core, marketingsuccess depends on an understanding ofprospects and customers, and makingsomething happen to turn one into theother.

To accomplish this objective takesvision, innovative thought and persist-ence.

John R. Graham of GrahamComm is amarketing and sales consultant and busi-ness writer. He publishes a free monthlyeNewsletter, “No Nonsense Marketing &Sales.” Contact him at johnrg31@me.com,617-774-9759 or johnrgraham.com.

12

13Metal Fabrication Uses New Technology

for Today’s NeedsBy Jane Whittington

The original “metal fabricators”were most likely blacksmiths wholabored over a blazing fire and usedtheir heavy hammers to bend and shapemetal into horseshoes. While black-smiths still ply their trade, the world ofmetal fabrication has evolved into anindustry using state-of-the-art technol-ogy and tools a blacksmith never imag-ined. A metal fabricator today needsskills in welding, soldering and metal-lurgy. The ability to interpret blueprintsand technical drawing, math skills andskills in reading complex instructionsare required. Communication skills areneeded to work effectively with co-workers since much of the workinvolves teamwork. A strong back and aheavy hammer, which may have servedthe blacksmith well, are no longerenough to succeed in the modern indus-try of metal fabrication.

Metal fabrication involves cuttingthe materials, done by sawing, shearing,torching, using either hand or powertools or by using automated CNC (com-puter numerical control). Today’s meth-ods of metal fabrication rely on technol-ogy. Component design uses computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aidedmanufacturing (CAM) programs. Theprograms create a computer file that isloaded into the computer numerical con-trol (CNC) machines. The series of stepsneeded to produce any part is highlyautomated and thus produces a part thatexactly matches the original design.

The next step is bending, done by

hammering, using either manual orpower tools or via brake presses, whichare machine tools for bending sheet andplate material. Assembling, or joiningthe pieces, is done by welding, bindingor further bending in the form of a seam.Steel, sheet metal, welding wire, flux (asubstance used to promote fusion) andfasteners are used in the assemblyprocess. Both human labor and automa-tion may be used.

Typical products created throughmetal fabrication include loose parts formanufacturing use, structural framesfor building and heavy equipment, handrailings and stairs, furniture, cabinetsand shelves, framework or shells formachinery, ovens, tanks and manyother uses. In Michigan, metal fabrica-tion has long been an essential part ofthe automotive industry, and many ofthe companies involved in metal fabri-cation are automotive related.

In Grand Rapids, ProosManufacturing has been an integral partof the city’s business landscape foralmost 100 years.

In 1919, Neal Proos started thecompany as a casket hardware manu-facturer. The business expanded, andProos moved into other areas.Eventually, the company evolved into afull tool and die shop. Today, ProosManufacturing is a provider of manufac-turing and engineering solutions for avariety of customers including automo-tive, industrial, office furniture, medical,the Department of Defense and alterna-tive energy.

Today, the company is owned and

operated by the third generation of theProos family, Amy Proos. She says, “Iwas in college and worked here over thesummer. By the time the summer wasover, I decided that this was what Iwanted to do. I went back to college andchanged my major from pre-vet toProduction and Inventory ControlManagement.”

Amy Proos formally purchased themanufacturing operations from herfather in 2004 and acquired the rest ofthe business in 2010. Currently, thecompany has a plant on Michigan with65,000 square feet where the emphasisis on manufacturing. About 12 yearsago, Proos began the metal fabricationpart of the business, and, in 2012,moved into a new facility just off FullerAve and created a separate companycalled Proos Fabrication. So now there isa Proos Manufacturing company and aProos Fabrication company. Accordingto Amy Proos, “We saw the automotivemarket getting tighter and tighter andrealized that our customers were askingfor different products in other areas. Sowe got into the sheet metal fabricationbusiness. We now focus on office furni-ture and the industrial market in thefabrication part of the business.Through Proos Manufacturing, we arenow about 30 percent automotive prod-ucts, and, in Proos Fabrication, we areonly about 15 percent automotive. We’llcontinue to work with the automotivemarket through Proos Manufacturing,but mostly through smaller, specialtyproducts for the industry.”

Proos Fabrication has all the latestbells and whistles in automated fabrica-tion products, but they continue to relyon skilled employees to properly use thecomputerized assistance that is avail-able. Both Amy Proos and ProductionSupervisor Terry Hansen stress the needfor employees who can deal with thenew ways of working in the fabricationindustry and who can continue to learnthe latest technology as it evolves overtime. Proos Fabrication is known forhigh quality products, and skilled anddedicated employees make those highstandards attainable. As a third-genera-tion owner of this family business, AmyProos understands and values the fami-ly tradition of excellence.

The company employs 78. In 2009,due to the recession, employment wasdown to 33, but, according to Proos, thebusiness is now strong and stable, andthey expect to add employees over thenext year. They will continue to keep aclose eye on the latest technologies asthey go forward. Proos says, “In WestMichigan, there’s a real spirit of coopera-tion, and we will often network with sim-ilar companies as we consider incorporat-ing new technology in our facilities.”

Their vision statement says it all:“We will do what right. We will do whatis best for our customers. We willaccomplish what others say can’t bedone.”

Jane Whittington is a freelancewriter and editor who lives in GrandRapids.

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14Industrial BriefsHolland – Stow Company, Inc.announced Randy Tallman was pro-moted to Executive Vice President ofOperations responsible for manufactur-ing operations, product development andengineering for the company’s facilitiesin Holland, and Pine Brook, NJ.

Grand Rapids – Firstronic, LLC,received a State Export Trade Now grantvia Michigan Economic DevelopmentCorporation’s (MEDC’s) Pure MichiganExport Program to help offset marketingexpenses. MEDC grants in 2012 helpedoffset cost of trade missions to Germanyand Romania, which resulted in projectwins representing 50% of this year’sexport revenue. An additional grant-funded trade mission to Mexico alsoresulted in a new customer representinganother $5 million of this year’s exportrevenue.

Grand Rapids – Grand Rapids New CarDealers Association announcedCascade Engineering was the recipientof its 2013 “Celebration of Innovation:Automotive Supplier of the Year” award.Cascade Engineering has developedtechnology to benefit both manufactur-ers and consumers with a high-perform-

ance, lower-cost automotive part,designed to support the organization’slong-term fuel efficiency and environ-mental goals by replacing a traditionallynon-recyclable component with a lightercomponent that is 100% recyclable.

Holland – Stow Company Incannounced Carl Seymour was promotedto Vice President of Dealer Network andwill be responsible for leading strategicbusiness development of the dealer dis-tribution channel.

Grand Rapids – X-Rite, Inc., a DanaherCorp. company, announced Ron Voigtwas named President, and TomVacchiano announced his retirement asPresident, effective March 1, 2013.

Grand Rapids – Faye Richardson-Green, Steelcase Inc. Director ofLearning & Development and long-timediversity and inclusion leader, wasnamed as 2013 Diversity VisionaryAward recipient by Grand Rapids AreaChamber of Commerce.

Charleston, SC – GreenWizardannounced it entered into a strategicpartnership with Business and

Institutional Furniture ManufacturersAssociation, the not-for-profit tradeassociation for business and institution-al furniture manufacturers and develop-er of the level®.

Grand Rapids – Custer ArchitecturalProducts announced addition of BradLackman, Owner of Honor Seating inMidland, to head its growing interiorarchitectural products division.

Allegan – Perriogo announced: TonyaRetherford was promoted to Stage GateProject Manager; Christopher Steinwaywas hired as Packaging Engineer; KevinSeckel was hired as IS ApplicationsManager for the Information Systems andTechnology team; Carrie Weldon waspromoted to Training Professional; JakeCook was hired as Tax Analyst .

Burlington, Ontario – Scott Baderreached agreement acquiring ATCFormulated Polymers, Inc., ofBurlington, Ontario, which has strongreputation for manufacturing a widerange of bonding, tooling, fairing, com-pression moulding, and other polyesterand vinylester based pastes, suppliedlargely in the North America compositesindustry.

Belding – Stahlin Non-MetallicEnclosures, manufacturer of the world’smost frequently specified fiberglassenclosure products, has provided finan-cial and technical support to Belding HighSchool Robotics Team for the past 8 yearsto battle and win competitions.

Ann Arbor – Tecumseh ProductsCompany announced the move of its cor-porate and North America headquartersfrom the Oak Valley Drive facility tonewly renovated space at 5683 HinesDrive. The new facility is also home toTecumseh’s Global Technology Center,allowing consolidation of executive staff,as well as sales, marketing, finance, engi-neering, research and development, labtechnicians, and other personnel into onebuilding.

Novi – OPS Solutions, announced expan-sion of the company, located in NovawestTech Center, 24371 Catherine IndustrialDrive, and includes facilities for customermeetings, product demonstrations, corpo-rate offices for sales, engineering, admin-istration, as well as space for system fab-rication and staging prior to customerdelivery. New additions include: Chris

Bala, Vice President Sales and Marketing;John Morelli, Vice President of RegionalSales; Bill Coe, Vice President of RegionalSales, and Will Sommerville, ChiefTechnology Officer. A contributing factorto the expansion was a $400,000 awardfrom Michigan Economic DevelopmentCorporation.

Grand Rapids – Southwest Airlinesannounced it will make Grand Rapids oneof their next cities to be transitioned fromAirTran Airways to Southwest Airlinesstarting August 11, 2013, with nonstopservices to Baltimore/Washington,Denver, Orlando, and St. Louis. Todaythere are three flights per day, but start-ing August, there will be six.

Oxford – Relume Technologies, leadingmanufacturer of LED products and smartgrid control systems for outdoor lightingapplications, announced two of its out-door LED products – OXFORD fixture andparkVUE fixture – were recognized byNext Generation Luminaires™ Solid StateLighting Design Competition.

Grand Rapids – Consumers Energy is mak-ing a $1 million contribution to SalvationArmy, enabling the charity to supportMichigan’s most vulnerable residents withemergency energy bill assistance.

Allegan – Perrigo announced: NickVanLent was hired as Enterprise ReportAnalyst; Samantha Somerlott was hiredas Analytical Research & DevelopmentScientist; Dr. Tamala Mallett Moore washired as Head of Global Patient Safety;Kevin Pockrandt was hired as TrainingProfessional; Sarah Rodriguez was hiredas Domestic Reporting Analyst.

Albion – Caster Concepts, Inc.announced addition of Jamie Long,Director of Sales, bringing with him anextensive sales management, and strate-gic planning background.

Hatfield, PA – Rodon Group acquired anew manufacturing robot named Baxter,brainchild of Rethink Robotics, Boston,MA. Baxter is a user-friendly robot cre-ated to help American manufacturingcompanies compete more effectively.

Kalamazoo – Landscape Formsannounced LEO, the company’s most effi-cient LED light, won 2012 NextGeneration Lighting Design CompetitionAward, and a “Recognized” award instreetscape lighting category.

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15New Generation of Kilowatt Fiber Lasers

San Francisco, CA - IPG PhotonicsCorporation, the world leader in high-power fiber lasers, announced atPhotonics West a new generation ofKilowatt class low-mode Ytterbium fiberlasers offering lower cost per watt of laserpower, operating expenses and servicerequirements. Leveraging its experience

from delivering thousands of Kilowattfiber lasers to commercial customers overa decade of time, the improved 1060 nmlaser from IPG offers customers excep-tionally simple operation and extends therange of applications for fiber lasers.

Designated as the YLS-xxx-Y13series, the new lasers offer customers

lower operating costs and service require-ments over IPG’s current best-in-classlasers. The main benefits includeincreased wall plug efficiency (up to 33%from 28-30%), up to two times averageimprovement in beam quality and anincrease in the estimated mean time ofuninterrupted laser operation from thecurrent one and one-half years to greaterthan three years. As a result of the manytechnological improvements andincreased reliability, IPG now offers forthis series an industry-leading three-yearwarranty, an upgrade from the currenttwo-year warranty.

The customer benefits stem from themany technological improvements overIPG’s existing high performance products.These new improvements include:

New higher power diode modules,New fiber block design with 3X

increase in damage power threshold,resulting in increased reliability,

New basic line of basic single-modefiber modules with higher power and effi-ciency,

New internally developed and manu-factured modular digital power supplieswith higher efficiency and enhancedunparalleled redundancy features,

New digital laser diode current driv-ers with increased control flexibility, sta-bility and precision,

New control system allowing inte-grated control of both laser and processsubsystem,

New generation of compact multi-channel beam switches, hermeticallysealed for enhanced reliability,

New sealed laser cabinet designallowing for more reliable laser operationin extreme operating conditions, and

New innovative high performanceprocess heads for welding, cutting andremote welding applications.

Assembly Fixtures andTooling for

New GM X44FDetroit - Global sales and marketing

company, Reshamca LLC, continues tofacilitate successful tooling and manufac-turing programs in China. Most recently,Reshamca teamed up with Livonia,Michigan-based O. Keller ToolEngineering Company to provide a com-plete assembly fixture and tooling pro-gram for the new GM X44F 7-speed dual-clutch transmission program that is beingassembled at Shanghai Gear inChongqing, China.

Reshamca LLC worked closely withthe China Trading Company to establish along term contract for O. Keller Tool

Engineering Company to provide the ini-tial 40 tool program. Rex Smith, presidentof Reshamca LLC, reports, “The toolswere designed, developed and deliveredwithin a seven month window. Initial pro-duction of the transmission isFebruary/March 2013.”

Reshamca LLC is a global sales andmarketing company focusing on coordi-nating customer and supplier relation-ships for large grey iron, compactedgraphite iron, and aluminum castings aswell as stamped mechanical and electromechanical assemblies in China, Indiaand Eastern Europe.

Industrial BriefsGrand Rapids – Custom Profile, Inc.,leading manufacturer of extruded plasticproducts primarily for the appliance andoffice furniture industries, announcedaddition of James T. Gorant, ChiefFinancial Officer, who will be responsiblefor day-to-day control of all financial-related activities.

Allegan – Perrigo announced RobSomers was hired as GlobalEnvironmental Health and SafetyDirector, providing global leadership andstrategic direction for EnvironmentalHealth and Safety programs. Additionally,Perrigo announced Corey Berkimer waspromoted to Operations ManagementTrainee for the Packaging team .

Grand Rapids – Supply Chain Solutions,Inc. announced it entered into a five-yearlease agreement of 38,500 square feet torelocate its Chicago facility to a ware-house facility in Lafayette, Indiana, tobetter serve needs of its client -Shandong Special Industry Group Co.,LTD. of China.

Appleton, WI – Forest2Marketannounced it has begun providing itsLake States subscribers with itsForest2Mill Delivered Price Benchmark,the first transaction-based market pricereport available in the region. Accordingto the report, the Midwest delivered costof total wood fiber (pulpwood and chips)was lower at the end of the 4th quarter2012: aspen fell 2.8% (from $49.10 perton to $47.73 per ton); hardwood fiberfell from $51.51 per ton to $51.31 perton; and softwood fiber fell from $52.78per ton to $52.04 per ton.

St. Joseph – Aleydis Centers, LLC, man-ufacturer and installer of multi-care treat-ment rooms developed for senior livingfacilities, completed a 6-month trial peri-od in Program for All-inclusive Care forthe Elderly. Currently, visiting providersare delegated to render care bedside, incommon areas, hair salon, or in the facil-ity conference room and offer little digni-ty, privacy, infection control, or HIPPAcompliance.

16Loading and Unloading: When Are You

Protected and Not ProtectedBy Robert Mucci

We receive numerous calls everyday from employers seeking “liabilityinsurance.” The caller generally alreadyhas insurance on their truck(s) and arenow looking for coverage for loss or dam-age arising during loading or unloading oftheir vehicles. This coverage is not neces-sarily for the property of their customers,but against the possibility of injury ordeath to third parties or loss or damagethe property of 3rd parties. Picture a one-ton piano being hoisted out of a third-floor window into a truck and the cablesuddenly snaps. It either lands on a 2013Toyota Camry, or the owner of a 2013Toyota Camry. Either way; no coverage,lawyers get rich.

In all states, damage or injury to per-sons and property is covered by commer-cial automobile insurance which arisesduring loading or unloading of the vehi-cle. The question is whether the statewhere the accident occurred follows the“complete operations” or “coming to rest”doctrine.

For all movers, whether conductingoperations entirely within one state or inmore than one state, two insurance poli-cies are recommended: Automobile andCommercial General Liability.

The differences are as follows:Automobile Insurance Terms and

Conditions• Omnibus Clause. This policy

extends coverage to “Anyone using, withyour permission, a covered ‘auto’ youown, hire or borrow.”

• Handling of Property. The cover-age form covers the “handling of proper-ty”

• “‘bodily injury” or “property dam-age” resulting from the handling of prop-erty, before it is moved from the placewhere it is accepted by the ‘Insured’ formovement into or onto the covered auto,or after it is moved from the covered‘auto’ to the place where it is finally deliv-ered by the ‘insured’.

Commercial General Liability Termsand Conditions

• The loss must take place in the‘coverage territory’ (which includes theentire U.S.)

• Exclusion for aircraft, auto orwatercraft

• Bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’arising out of the use of any auto. Useincludes loading and unloading.

So exactly what is the differencebetween loading and unloading? Loadingor unloading means the handling of prop-erty: (a.) After it is moved from the placewhere it is accepted for movement into oronto an auto, (b) while; it is in or on anauto, and (c.) while it is being movedfrom an auto to the place where it is final-ly delivered. However, loading or unload-ing does not include the movement ofproperty by means of a mechanical deviceother than a hand truck that is notattached to the auto.

For example, Acme Movers is hiredto relocate the Smith Family from theirhome to an adult residential communityin the same town. While packing Mrs.Smith’s china serving platter the mover’semployee drops it, breaking the glasstable top. A flying shard of glass severelycuts Mrs. Smith’s leg prompting a 911 calland she is treated in the emergency roomfor non-life-threatening injuries.

Who will defend and pay for Mrs.Smith’s injuries – Acme’s Auto or theCommercial General Liability Insurer?The answer is the CGL insurer, as thechina serving platter had not technicallybeen “accepted for movement”, but wasmerely being packed.

Let’s continue the scenario. Mr. andMrs. Jones are friends of the Smiths.Learning of Mrs. Smith’s injury, the Jones’decide to instead hire Ajax Movers tomove them to an adjacent state, eventhough Ajax is fifteen percent higher thanAcme Movers. The packing and loadinggoes without incident. Upon arrival at theJones’ new residence, the crew unloadsthe headboard of the king-size bed, andputs it on the sidewalk resting against amailbox, while moving the remainder ofthe bed into the house.

The Jones’ new next-door neighbor

decides to take her 100-pound goldenretriever for a walk, which gives her theopportunity to scope the new neighborsand their possessions. The dog makes abeeline for the headboard assuming it tobe the latest replacement for mail box postwhich serves as a local substitute for adistant fire hydrant. As the dog’s ownertries to prevent him from marking thenew neighbor’s possessions with the callof nature, the headboard falls on the nosyneighbor and breaks a bone in her foot.

Who defends, who pays? As theaccident occurred in a state which adheresto the “coming to rest” doctrine, the CGLinsurer is “on the hook.” Unfortunately,Ajax Moving & Storage being located in a“complete operations” state never pur-chased CGL coverage.

So the long and short of it is this:always protect yourself by having bothauto and CGL insurance coverage. And,

whenever possible, always have bothpolicies with the same insurance carrierbecause this will prevent each insurancecompany from pointing to the other forcoverage. By having them with the sameCarrier, they must pay whether they con-sider it automobile or general liability andit keeps you out of the middle.

Robert Mucci of Wolpert InsuranceAgency, Inc. in Worcester, MA is aCertified Insurance Councilor, AccreditedAdvisor in Insurance, a MA LicensedInsurance Advisor, a Certified MasterWorkers Compensation Advisor and a for-mer Certified Public Accountant with PWcand Bain & Company, Inc. He has morethan 25 years experience in the insuranceindustry specializing in commercial riskstrategies. For additional informationrobert@wolpert.com.

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Communication & IT 17

Communications & ITLansing – Center for BusinessInnovation, a Michigan technologyservice provider, announced it completedits examination in conformity withStatement on Standards for AttestationEngagements No. 16, Reporting onControls at a Service Organization for theperiod October 31st, 2012, throughOctober 31st, 2013.

Comstock Park – Office ProductsMarketing & Advertising, Inc.,appoined Andrea Stone, AccountExecutive, who will liaison betweenclients, print partners, and manufacturerson all key functions of projects.

Grand Rapids – Corporate TechnologiesLLC, d/b/a CPR, was named to CRN’sthird annual list of Tech Elite 250, andincluded on 2013 MSPmentor 501 GlobalEdition list.

Grand Rapids – AdvantageCIO, leader instrategic technology planning servicesand division of CU*Answers, announcedaddition of Jim Lawrence who will pro-vide disaster recovery and business con-tinuity planning services to credit unions.

Philadelphia, Pa. – Comcast Corp.announced Upware™ marketplace, asuite of cloud-based business solutionsthat can be purchased through one inte-grated web portal. With Upware, Comcastchose a select group of top-tier vendorsmeeting strict sets of security, redundan-cy, and customer service requirementsthat include: Data Backup – Carboniteand DigitalSafe; Online Backup – Mozy;Data Security – Norton and Websense;Collaboration – Box, online storage;Microsoft, web collaboration; Soonr,online file sharing; and YouSendIt, docu-ment collaboration.

Working in the Cloud and On the JobBy Jennifer Hutchison

Professionals who work in the serv-ice field often have to juggle several tasksat once. Service techs have to make salespresentations and deal with customerservice and still fix the problem they werehired for! They’re basically a one-manshow that travels from site to site, theultimate multi-tasker, with so many proj-ects and phone calls to handle that a per-son can’t help but wonder how most evensurvive each day! But there’s somethingout there to help these guys out with theirbusy life. By working in the cloud, con-tractors and techs can gain an extra pairof arms to make each day count.

When your techs show up to a jobthey bring their toolbox and a bulky lap-top. Their hands are extremely full!Everything they need to know is on thatcomputer but it takes minutes to load, andthey have to be on the phone at the sametime talking to the office. If a problemshould arise, they may have to leave thesite and only return after obtaining theinformation or ordering the parts thatthey need. And then what happens ifthere are errors in that information? Theyhave to head back again to the office. Thetech wastes gas and the client wastestime. No one’s a winner here.

With your current setup, your servicetechs might not have access to immediateinformation because it’s all manual. Thesituation could be improved with instant

access to what is needed: information. Withthe cloud, your techs would be able to pullout their phones to access job, client, andother information instantly, not to mentionreplacing that bulky laptop with a slimsmartphone that’ll fit in any pocket.

When working in the cloud, there areno risks or compromises, only faster, bet-ter, and more accessible tools for communi-cation. The smartphone becomes just asimportant as the wrench in a plumber’stoolbox.

It’ll always be there.What happens now when a loyal

long-term client calls for a tech to solve aproblem? The job is scheduled for thenext day and files have to be sortedthrough at lightening speeds to obtain theright info. Sometimes a different workeris assigned to a job and hasn’t talked tothe previous tech. What if the files werelost or thrown away? If your tech is work-ing in the cloud, going back to visit an oldjob or obtaining a new job from a loyalclient isn’t a big deal. They can have pre-vious notes and billing statements avail-able on-demand. All they need to do isopen the app on their phone to see everynote anyone in the company ever made.The same thing goes for a different techvisiting the same job. Every worker hasaccess to a large amount of data that isavailable at the click of a button.Managers will also be able to see whatprojects techs are working on. Neveragain will your techs say “I wasn’t the

technician on that job”, everyone will beable to work together with the sameaccess to information. Best of all, theinformation is safe, secure, and alwayswithin reach.

Even years later the information willstill be there, ready to be used when fix-ing another sink or repairing more ducts.With cloud providers keeping your infor-mation safe, wouldn’t it be a safer, betteridea to be working in the cloud?

When hammer meets nail.The cloud is growing, and using it to

manage your business means simplifyinga complex and slow process. Managerscan see directly what projects are beingworked on and can participate in helpingthose projects move smoothly.

Say for instance, your companyreceives a service call from a new client.You make a few notes: “Customer sayssink is backed up” or “AC unit won’t turnon”. You then send a truck to visit theclient. With the cloud, the tech snaps pic-tures and enters notes into his mobiledevice, and you can read everything hedoes from your own office computer. Youinstantly notice that it’s a different prob-lem and not the one he seems to suspect.You send him an alert, and togetherdevise a new proposal to hand to your

client. You’re able to instantly accept theproposal and email or print it out to putinto your client’s hands. You show theclient that you’re on the top of your gameand secure the job. After they accept, yousend out invoices and orders for partsneeded for the job. Your consultant putson his tech hat and gets to work. At everystep, you and your tech can stay in touchwith each other and the client, just in casemore problems arise. There are no nastysurprise additions to the estimate becauseyou have access to all of the informationneeded to fix the problem.

You are able to communicate withyour on-site consultant/tech and togetheryou both achieved your goal: to satisfythe customer with fast high-quality serv-ice. There’s no doubt that the customerwill refer you to friends and family, andwill probably call you back in the future ifsome other problem comes up.

Jennifer Hutchison is a tech bloggercurrently based in Los Angeles. She hascovered a wide range of topics includingbeauty products, travel, books, technolo-gy, and small businesses. Jennifer is theOnline Marketing Specialist for InfoStreet,makers of SkyDesktop, a free Cloud-based desktop.

General BusinessGrand Rapids – Goodwill Industries ofGreater Grand Rapids announced itwas awarded the designation, “FullPartner,” for its racism-free efforts byPartners for a Racism-FreeCommunity.

Grand Rapids – Junior Achievement ofMichigan Great Lakes announced itwas awarded 2013 Peak PerformanceTeam Award by Junior AchievementUSA.

Grand Rapids – Guiding Light Missionwelcomed new Board Member NancyClaus. Also continuing their terms:Board Chair - Jeff VanWinkle, ClarkHill; Board Vice-Chair - Shawn Merritt,SDI Consulting, LLC; Board Treasurer -Claire Larson, Christian SchoolsInternational; Board Secretary - PhilDeVries, Bank of Holland; Advisory(Former Board Chair) - MichelleBehrenwald, inspired desiGn; andBoard Members - Clifford Washington,Pine Rest; Brad Mathis, St. Mary'sHealth Care; Kevin Stotts, Talent2025; and Nate Vander Stelt, ChristianReformed Church.

MI – Michigan Association ofConvention & Visitor Bureaus namedits officers for the upcoming calendaryear: President - Mary Carroll, BenzieCounty Visitors Bureau; Vice-President- Jamie Furbush, FrankenmuthConvention & Visitors Bureau;Secretary - Laurie Supinski, Newaygo

County Convention & Visitors Bureau;Treasurer - Paul Beachnau, GaylordArea Convention & Tourism Bureau;Member-at-Large - Linda Freybler,Calhoun County Visitors Bureau; andserving as Past President - LisaShanley, South Haven/Van BurenCounty Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Grand Rapids – Grand Rapids AreaChamber of Commerce announce: AndyJohnston was promoted to Vice Presidentof Government and Corporate Affairs;Mark Allen was promoted to SeniorDirector of Membership Development;Latricia Trice was promoted to SeniorDirector of Marketing andCommunications; Intern Tori Bennettjoined as Membership DevelopmentCoordinator; and Desiree Reed joined asMembership DevelopmentRepresentative.

Grand Rapids – Connie’s Cakesannounced the grand opening of theirnew store at 1416 Robinson Rd. SE, inthe historic Kingsley Building.

Grand Rapids – Friends of Grand RapidsParks announced Dotti Clune, a tirelessadvocate for trees and urban forest,received Alliance for Community Trees2012 Volunteer of the Year Award.

Holland – WMEAC volunteer and formerboard member Peter Boogaart willreceive Outstanding Earth Steward Awardfrom Michigan Interfaith Power andLight.

Grand Rapids – Angela DeVries,Divisional Volunteer Director for WestMichigan - Northern Indiana Divisionof Salvation Army, was awarded theprestigious Certified in VolunteerAdministration.

Grand Rapids – Cynthia Kay and DoreenBolhuis, owners of FitsmartProductions, LLC, announced release of“Move to the Music”, a new DVD in theGymtrix™ series.

Grand Rapids – Women’s ResourceCenter named three recipients of 2013Huntington Pillar Award: ExpressEmployment Professionals, Porter HillsRetirement Communities, and 30-2-2.

Lansing – Michigan Licensed BeverageAssociation announced hiring BrittanyMackey, Member Relations Coordinator,who will work with staff and board mem-bers to plan board meetings, memberevents, membership recruitment andretention.

Lansing – The 46th Military PoliceCommand held a Change of CommandCeremony welcoming incoming com-mander Brig. Gen. Burton Francisco,and said farewell to retiring commanderBrig. Gen. Mandi Murray.

Grand Rapids – The Historical Society ofUnited States District Court for theWestern District of Michigan will cele-brate the 150th Anniversary of formationof the District Court, with a gala at

Amway Grand Plaza Hotel’s AmbassadorBallroom, March 12, 2013.

Grand Rapids – American LibraryAssociation announced its top books,videos and audio-books of 2012 for chil-dren and young adults: Claire Alexander’sBack to Front and Upside Down! receivedSchneider Family Book Award forYounger Children, which honors anauthor or illustrator for a book thatembodies an artistic expression of thedisability experience for children ages 0-10; and Anne de Graaf’s Son of Gunreceived the Batchelder Honor, an awardgiven to outstanding children’s booksoriginally published in a language otherthan English, in a country other than theUnited States, and subsequently translat-ed into English for publication in theUnited States. Both titles are publishedby Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

Grand Rapids – In 1943, President FranklinD. Roosevelt proclaimed March as RedCross Month. Today, Red Cross provides24-hour support, responds to nearly70,000 disasters a year providing shelter,food, emotional support, and other neces-sities to those in need around the world,collects and distributes approximately 40%of the U.S. blood supply, and trains morethan seven million people in first aid, watersafety, and other life-saving skills.

18

Devastating Coffee Rust Disease OutbreakCollege Station, TX - Many coffee

farmers across Central America will notturn a profit in 2013 and some will evengo out of business due largely to the near-epidemic levels of coffee rust diseaseoccurring across the growing regions.

Total production of high-altitude,and thus high-quality, arabica coffee fromCentral America will be reduced signifi-cantly. About 20 percent of all CentralAmerican coffee production due to rustand other diseases will be affected in thiscoffee cycle. The Guatemalan CoffeeBoard, ANACAFE, estimates that produc-tion in Guatemala will be significantlyaffected due to this year’s rust outbreak.

Meanwhile, Ric Rhinehart, ExecutiveDirector of SCAA, the Specialty CoffeeAssociation of America, says “This is espe-cially worrisome for the U.S. Specialty mar-ket that sources its beans from the small,high altitude farms in Central America.”

Hemileia vastatrix, or coffee rust,causes some damage in any year but can

be devastating when conditions are espe-cially favorable for its rapid growth.

High rust-spore populations were lefton the ground from last year and heavyrainfall allowed rust disease to multiplyand rapidly attack coffee plant leaves,reducing physiological activity and thusthe plant’s ability to produce.

Many stakeholders in the coffee sec-tor have wondered whether the severeoutbreak of rust this year was due to avirulent ‘mutant’ race. But work by CENI-CAFE scientists in Colombia proves thattheory invalid.

Schilling says it is likely that, “wildand extreme climate events like this willcontinue and cause more problems astime goes on. We simply must invest inresearch to provide solutions to farmerswhile governments and the UN try to fixthe global climate crisis.”

Most Central American coffee coun-tries have already harvested this year’scrop while others continue to harvest.

Farmers, governments and developmentagencies now pose a question as to howcoffee rust disasters like that of CentralAmerica can be avoided in the future.

One of the surest short-term protec-tion actions involves the application of asystemic fungicide to the coffee plantbefore the disease damages the plant.Dose, timing and frequency depend onlocal conditions and recommendations. Itis important to start the application withthe first rains.

The best way to protect against rustin the medium and longer terms isthrough the use of a resistant variety ofcoffee. The good news is that resistantvarieties do exist and even some of thenew F1 Hybrids from different sourcespossess rust resistance combined withother desirable agronomic traits.

The bad news Schilling says “is thatthe resistance to rust of nearly all avail-able varieties is specific for only RACE IIof the disease and that the resistant genes

come from the robusta coffee species, alesser quality species than arabica. Forthe quality coffee market, this is not thebest of news.”

Not only are many of these varietiesof inferior quality when compared to theirarabica parents but, as the resistancescome from a genetically very narrowsource of robusta, when the disease pro-duces a mutation, the world’s coffee vari-eties will be susceptible and what hap-pened in 2012-2013 will be far worsewith far greater world coffee productionrepercussions.

World Coffee Research, variousnational coffee research institutes andothers are working toward developingnew pre-breeding populations that willpossess more than 10 times the level ofgenetic diversity used to produce today’scoffee varieties. It is expected that theincreased diversity will result in new rustresistance genes with arabica back-grounds and thus high quality.

19Education BriefsCadillac – Baker College of Cadillac isrolling out a donated 53-foot truck trail-er, freshly painted with Baker Collegelogos and information about Zeeland-Cadillac truck driving program, thanksto three Grand Rapids-area businesses:Super Service, LLC, donated the trailer;M&K Quality Truck Sales, Inc., donatedpainting; and Premier Graphics donateddecaling.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsCommunity College is part of a State col-laboration to greatly expand onlinecourse. Michigan Community CollegeVirtual Learning Collaborative - an initia-tive of Michigan Community CollegeAssociation - has been working with EastLansing-based Digital Active to redesignand launch a website giving studentsaccess to more than 2,000 courses froman online catalog. Enrollment in onlineclasses at GRCC is up about 17% sincewinter 2012 semester.

Muskegon – Muskegon CommunityCollege Nursing Program awarded arecord 163 nursing diplomas anddegrees in 2012 - 83 Associate Degreesin Nursing, and 80 Practical NurseDiplomas. Among practical nurse grad-uates, 100% passed LPN licensing examon first attempt, compared to Michiganaverage of 92.57%, and national aver-age of 84.23%. For RN licensing exam,95.12% of graduates passed NCLEX-RNon first attempt, compared to Michiganaverage of 91.92%, and national aver-age of 90.34%.

Allendale – Grand Valley StateUniversity and Lansing CommunityCollege signed a transfer agreement tohelp students transferring to GrandValley, complete an associate’s degree atLCC.

Grand Rapids – Aquinas CollegeSchool of Education was granted themaximum five year accreditation byTeacher's Education AccreditationCouncil.

Kalamazoo – Kellogg CommunityCollege’s Lifelong LearningDepartment was awarded a $3,424grant from United Educational CreditUnion’s Bright Ideas PartnershipProgram to purchase additional roboticsmaterials and supplies for their BruinBots robotics program for youth.

Allendale – Grand Valley StateUniversity was selected as the first sitein Michigan to launch a new lawenforcement training program – MilitaryPolice Basic Training (MPBT) - designedto focus on talents of military veterans.The MPBT program will provide militarypolice veterans with an abbreviated for-mat of a traditional police academytraining session with the same areas ofinstruction, but with reduced number ofhours in each instructional block.Military police veterans who meet eligi-bility requirements for the program willparticipate in the six-week training pro-gram and, at the conclusion, will be ableto apply for employment at law enforce-ment agencies.

Big Rapids – New owners of HolidayInn Hotel and Conference Center inBig Rapids were welcomed to the com-munity by Ferris State University, andarea business and community leaders.Representatives from Big Rapids HotelGroup presented a $25,000 donation toJerry Scoby, Vice President forAdministration and Finance at FSU - thefirst installment of five unrestrictedgifts.

Grand Rapids – Cindy Todd, AssociateProfessor and Chair of the Art EducationProgram at Ferris State University’sKendall College of Art and Design,received prestigious National ArtEducation Student Chapter SponsorAward of Excellence, an award givenannually recognizing outstandingachievement, contributions and serviceto the field of art education by the spon-sor of a student chapter.

Kalamazoo – Western MichiganUniversity marks recent certification ofthat building and five other campusbuildings for LEED, the national bench-mark for design, construction and oper-ation of high-performance green build-ings. By this time next year, theUniversity expects to have 13 LEED-cer-tified buildings.

Grand Rapids – Academic QualityImprovement Program Report, releasedby North Central Association’s HigherLearning Commission, praised GrandRapids Community College for itsdiversity, ethics, transparency, educa-tional soundness, and support servicesto provide high quality education.

Kalamazoo – Michigan Department ofEducation approved state-required con-tinuing education courses for schoolteachers through Kellogg CommunityCollege.

Kalamazoo – Western MichiganUniversity's Dr. Alyce Dickinson,Professor of Psychology, was honoredby Organizational BehaviorManagement Network with a LifetimeAchievement Award.

ABig Rapids – Ferris State University’sBoard of Trustees approved a newBachelor of Fine Arts in Printmakingfor Kendall College of Art and Designto aid Graphic Design, Industrial Design,Interior Design, and other KCAD pro-grams.

Grand Rapids – Ferris State UniversityKendall College of Art and Designnamed Gayle DeBruyn, AssistantProfessor in Design, as its first ChiefSustainability Officer.

Big Rapids – Ferris State University’sRegistered Student Organization,FSUbuntu, received $2,000 in fundingsupport from Public Education forPeacebuilding Support initiative of theU. S. Institute of Peace, enabling Ferristo bring three Fulbright Scholars to cam-pus to speak about peace building andconflict resolution.

Grand Rapids – Davenport Universityannounced Community Leader andPhilanthropist Carol Van Andel willjoin its Board of Trustees, effectiveMarch 2013.

Grand Rapids – Grand Valley StateUniversity’s Van Andel Global TradeCenter is organizing a trade mission toSão Paulo, Brazil, the world’s 7th largesteconomy, from May 12-17, in partner-ship with Michigan EconomicDevelopment Corporation. Targetedindustries for this trade mission areadvanced manufacturing, environmen-tal technology, medical equipment andengineering, and construction.

Communications & ITGrand Rapids – WGVU Public Mediaannounced an annual national survey,conducted over the last 10 years, consis-tently confirmed PBS and its member sta-tions are ranked first in trust amongnationally known institutions, and areconsidered an “excellent” use of tax dol-lars by the American public.

Detroit – Lambert, Edwards &Associates is the latest company to joinPROI Worldwide Partnership, theworld’s largest partnership of market-leading, independently owned marketingand communications agencies with globalfee income in excess of $382 million.

Swartz Creek – Integrity, web based com-pany linking customers with holisticproviders, was named March 2013 ‘Trepof the Month in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Grand Rapids – Lambert, Edwards &Associates, public relations firm,announced it added Michigan’sUniversity Research Corridor - consistingof Michigan State University, Universityof Michigan, and Wayne State University- to focus on transforming, strengtheningand diversifying the State’s economythrough supporting innovation, educatingstudents, attracting talented workers toMichigan, and encouraging transfer oftechnology to the private sector.According to a just-released study byAnderson Economic Group, the alliancewill impact Michigan by $15.5 billion.Muskegon – NeXt I.T. landed on NineLives Media’s sixth-annual MSPmentor501 Global Edition, distinguished list andreport identifying the world’s top 501managed service providers.