BusinessBusiness

upda teupdate1993-2014 u b l i c a t i o nu b l i c a t i o n

Cover Story: Wolverine Building Group

Celebrating Their 75th Anniversary

IInnssiiddee FFeeaattuurreessRetirement Planning

Nursing EducationWireless Communications

Metal Forming

March 2014 $2.00

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Economic Forecaster Says Odds Are Against 2014 Being a Breakout Year

Atlanta, GA Although 2013 hadenough positive data points (unemploy-ment drop, strong auto sales, housingreflation and a surging stock market) foroptimists to make a case for a boffo2014, a critical factor is missing from itsprospects to be a breakout year, accord-ing to Rajeev Dhawan of the EconomicForecasting Center at Georgia StateUniversitys J. Mack Robinson College ofBusiness.

One factor makes me less than san-guine about strong growth in 2014: ane-mic capital expenditures in 2013,Dhawan writes in his Forecast of theNation, released today. With capitalinvestment growing only 2.6% last year,Overall investment numbers for 2014are looking less rosy than I would like.

Corporations, especially in manufac-turing, are still hesitant to invest due todynamics including stalling manufactur-ing in China (which has induced a slow-down in emerging markets and suppliers

in developed countries), ongoing financ-ing constraints faced by small business-es, and the ding to corporate confidencecaused by a muted jingle at the cash reg-ister. For the 30 companies in the DowJones Index that I track, revenue growthhas become weaker and weaker over thepast two years, says the forecaster.

A continuing concern for Dhawan isthe quality of job growth, which he pointsto as the reason behind weak incomegrowth. In 2013 the economy createdjobs at a 194,000 monthly pace. Onpaper, this performance seems great. But,one-third of the jobs created were inretail trade and hospitality, sectors thatconsist mostly of low-paying jobs,which is not the sort of job growth thatwill produce income growth.

Dhawan anticipates the monthly jobcreation rate in 2014 to average only147,000 due to a continuation of weakinvestment, global malaise and stockmarket volatility. The easiest path to job

growth would be another superior per-formance from the stock market this year.But can the market deliver?

The year did not start well forstocks due to concerns about growth athome and abroad, and the direction ofour own monetary policy (the fate of QE3and the change in leadership at theFed), but, Dhawan notes, the markethas performed very well since new Fedchair Janet Yellen testified beforeCongress in mid-February. But the basicmovement of the needle is still controlledby underlying job growth, which pro-duces the needed income growth,Dhawan says. Jobs originate by hardactions, which are the risky investmentbets made by businesses.

Highlights from the EconomicForecasting Centers National Report

Real GDP grew 1.9% in 2013,will grow 2.4% in 2014 and at a briskerrate of 2.6% in 2015. Look for a 3.3%growth rate in 2016, thanks to strong

investment made the year before. Business fixed investment will

grow 4.0% in 2014, 5.6% in 2015, then astrong 7.8% in 2016. The economy creat-ed almost 2.3 million jobs in 2013 at amonthly rate of 194,000, but job growthwill average only 147,000 in 2014. In2015, the economy will add 188,000 jobsper month, then 205,000 per month in2016. Unemployment will come down to6.0% by mid-2016.

Housing starts will average1.032 million units in 2014, increasesharply to 1.228 million units in 2015,then rise further to 1.301 million units in2016. Auto sales will be 15.2 millionunits in 2014, increase slightly to 15.4million units in 2015, and further to 15.7million in 2016.

The 10-year bond rate will hit3.8% in 2014, but wont cross the 4%threshold until early 2016.

CBI Telecommunications Consultants: Saving Moneyfor Their Clients for Twenty-two Years

By Jane Whittington

Weve all heard the old saying: Theonly thing constant is change. Nowhere isthat truer than in the world of technology.Its hard to believe that only ten or so yearsago, there was no such thing as a smartphone. And in another ten years, todayscutting-edge smart phone will surely beobsolete. In fact, sometimes it doesnt eventake years for technology to change! Thepace of change is ever accelerating, andkeeping up can be a full-time job. CBITelecommunications Consultants make ittheir full-time job to stay up to date withthe latest and greatest in technology andpass that expertise on to their clients.

Founded twenty-two years ago andstill led by founder and President DenisePepin, CBI has, as they say on their web-site, one goal, and that is to improveprofitability by eliminating the costlyerrors that damage your bottom line andto gain the insight needed to make solidtelecom decisions.

CBI offers a variety of telecom-relat-ed services to assist their clients to man-age their telecommunication services andrelated expenses. These include but are

not limited to: Telecom auditing. By evaluating

the current situation, CBI can verify thattheir clients are receiving the best ratesfor service and are taking advantage ofthe latest technologies.

Energy/utility auditing. By evalu-ating both equipment and systems thatimpact energy consumption, CBI identi-fies energy-saving strategies to savemoney for their clients.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).This allows clients to make telephonecalls over the network instead of a regu-lar telephone line.

Technology policy writing andreview.

Bill review and bill pay. CBI willverify that telecom charges are correct,report any discrepancy and resolve anyinvalid charges.

Procurement and helpdesk services. RFP (request for proposal) servic-

es. CBI gives trusted vendors the oppor-tunity to bid on proposals. This processtypically results in around a 30 percentsavings for the client. CBIs RFP servicestypically result in a 27-31% savings forthe client.

Technology consulting.CBI also offers Enlitin, a software

tool they themselves developed for tele-com expense management.

According to Director of OperationsVince Cobb, Although we do work withsome large companies, we generally workwith smaller companies who dont havetheir own telecommunications staff.Essentially, they outsource their telecomfunction to CBI and we set up, add to,change or disconnect telecom services aswe study their specific needs. We workwith vendors whose products and servic-es we know and trust to provide thoseservices to individual businesses. Itsimportant to know that we do not partnerwith or act as an agent for any vendor.We seek out what can best suit ourclients needs. Our bottom line is whatsbest for the client.

He continues, Typically, a companycomes to us when they feel they dont havecontrol over their telecom spending. Wehelp identify what they currently have andhelp them optimize it for the lowest costwhile still maintaining efficiency. We wantthem to have the best possible service atthe lowest possible cost.

Online security has become a bigconcern not only for individuals but alsofor businesses. CBI can help businessesprotect their information, their employeesand their mobile devices from breeches ofsecurity. Cobb says, iPads, air cards andcomputers can fall into the wrong hands.If that happens, I can turn them intobricks using mobile device managementtools. Network security is an imperativepart of a companys business.

CBI currently has 16 full-timeemployees in their 44th Street office.While many companies suffered duringthe recession, CBI saw huge growth in2009 and 2010, and they are continuingto grow at a steady pace. Managing theconstancy of change is essential to theirsuccess. According to Cobb, We arealways in a learning mode here. Toremain of value to our clients, we neverstop learning.

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

Retirement Planning, Inc.: Helping Meet Retirement Goals

By Jane Whittington

People look forward to retirementas a time to step back from their busyprofessional lives and spend their daysdoing all those things theyve put offwhile they were earning a living.Whether its travel, more time with thefamily, pursuing long neglected hobbies,perfecting their golf swing or their ten-nis game, retirement should be a well-earned respite from pursuing profes-sional success. But in order to trulyenjoy all the gifts that retirement canbring, financial security is a must-have.While social security is part of the pack-age, it cant come close to providing thewherewithal to enjoy a secure retire-ment. Retirement plans offered byemployers help provide the financialcushion to make the years after full-timework happy and secure ones.

Probably the most common retire-ment plan offered by employers as anemployee benefit is the 401(k). Thisaccount allows the employee to con-tribute part of their pre-tax paycheck ina tax-deferred investment account. Bycontributing pre-tax money, the employ-ees taxable income is lower. In addition,investment gains grow tax deferred until

retirement. While withdrawing fundsbefore retirement incurs a penalty andcould be subject to state, federal andlocal taxes, some employers may offer401(k) loans. Many employers matchemployee contributions to a 401(k). Foreducators and nonprofit employees,there is a similar plan known as a403(b).

Retirement Planning, Inc. in GrandRapids, founded in 1988, works withemployers to design and maintain qual-ified retirement plans. According toPresident and founder Mark Whited,We work as a third-party administra-tive firm to assist clients in obtainingand maintaining the best possible planbased on their unique situation. Afterwe select the best plan, we coordinate itsinstallation and continue to meet withthe client regularly to review the planand provide updates on current rulesand regulation.

In effect, the employer comes toRetirement Planning, Inc. to select andset up a suitable 401(k). RetirementPlanning, Inc. works with brokers tomake that selection and put that planinto effect. They then continue to servicethe plan on behalf of the client. The bro-ker then meets with employees to

explain the plan while RetirementPlanning, Inc. works, as Whited says,behind the scenes.

He continues, We work with smallbusinesses, usually those with about 20to 50 employees. However, we haveclients with as few as one employee oras many as 3,500.

Five employees with a combined 75years of experience provide personalizedservice. As with anything connected tofederal, state and local regulation, thefield is one of rapid change. Accordingto Senior Administrator SharonDykema, Ive been working here for tenyears, and the biggest change Ive seenis the increase in rules and regulation.We work hard to keep up with currentconditions in order to better serve ourclients.

Whited says that he and his stafftake advantage of continuing educationopportunities in order to maintain theirbody of knowledge and to make sure

their clients have the benefit of a pro-active approach.

The website for RetirementPlanning, Inc. includes testimonialsfrom customers, attesting to their satis-faction with the work done by the firm.One says, "While working withRetirement Planning, Inc. over the pastdecade, I have realized that their level ofservice is exceptional in todays market.Their knowledge in the 401(k) area issolid. Their year-end audit turnaroundtime is fast. They explain their findingsduring our annual meetings in termsthat I can understand so I can affectappropriate change. For anyone search-ing for a third party 401(k) administra-tor, I would highly recommendRetirement Planning, Inc."

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

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Retailers 2014 ForecastsTurn Chilly

Lansing Michigan retail business-es project only a 1.4 percent increase intheir own sales this year, following apoor holiday shopping season and aworse January, according to theMichigan Retail Index, a joint project ofMichigan Retailers Association (MRA)and the Federal Reserve Bank ofChicago.

The latest monthly Index surveyfound 58 percent expect their year-over-year sales to grow in 2014, while 19 per-cent expect sales to shrink and 23 expectno change.

Although 25 percent expect theirsales to rise more than 5 percent, theaverage across the state is for 1.4 per-cent growth. Ten percent project a morethan 5 percent drop.

Their predictions followed a slowJanuary in which many retailers sawsales decrease.

Were still experiencing theadverse effects of a severe winter, saidJames P. Hallan, MRA president andCEO. January provided no respite fromthe subzero cold and snow that have

chilled shopping, or from a still-sluggisheconomy that makes consumers morecautious.

The January survey showed 30 per-cent of retailers increased sales over thesame month last year, while 46 percentrecorded declines and 24 percent report-ed no change. The results create a sea-sonally adjusted performance index of42.5, down from 50.5 in December. Ayear ago January the index was at 57.9.

The 100-point Index gauges theperformance of the states overall retailindustry, based on monthly surveys con-ducted by MRA and the Federal Reserve.Index values above 50 generally indicatepositive activity; the higher the number,the stronger the activity.

Looking forward, 45 percent ofretailers expect sales duringFebruaryApril to increase over the sameperiod last year, while 20 percent project adecrease and 35 percent no change. Thatputs the seasonally adjusted outlookindex at 58.5, down from 63.3 inDecember. A year ago January it was 74.7.

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Wolverine Building Group Celebrating Their 75th Anniversary

In 2014, Wolverine Building Grouphas a lot to celebrate. This year, theGrand Rapids-owned and operated con-tractor will be celebrating their 75thanniversary. With a proud history of con-structing local landmarks in WestMichigan, Wolverine also has a robustcurrent workload and a number of excit-ing upcoming projects.

From Gas Stations to High-RisesFounded in 1939 as Wolverine Tile

Company, Wolverine began as a tileinstaller for gas stations and restaurants.As the company grew in size and capabil-ity, they began constructing complete gasstations and later added pre-engineeredsteel construction to their skillset. In the1990s, Wolverine diversified, adding aconstruction management division andacquiring multi-unit builder FrylingConstruction. In 2006, the companyadded Wolverine North America, a divi-sion that would focus on serving cus-

tomers on a national scale. Led by Presidents Mike Kelly and

Dick VanderZyden, the company nowdoes business under the name WolverineBuilding Group, while continuing to offergeneral contracting, construction man-agement, and design/build services to avariety of markets. Wolverine BuildingGroup serves the same markets manu-facturing clients, healthcare and highereducation, multi-unit facilities, andretail/restaurant companies that haveallowed it to thrive for the past 75 years.

Wolverines manufacturing division,which originally did business asWolverine Building, Inc., has constructedcomplex industrial projects for localclients including Advance Packaging,Grand Rapids Plastics, KentManufacturing, and more. With projectsunderway in West Michigan, GrandLedge, Detroit, and Tennessee, this divi-sion is bringing their design/build expert-ise and in-depth understanding of theneeds of industrial construction to localand national clients.

Formerly Fryling Construction,Wolverines multi-unit division builds andrenovates apartments, condominiums,student housing, and senior living facili-ties across the country. The multi-unitdivision is now overseeing ground-upprojects in downtown Grand Rapids, MI,and Colorado Springs, CO, and a historicalrenovation project in Michigans UpperPeninsula, among others.

Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital, theMercy Health Hauenstein NeuroscienceCenter, and the Meijer Heart Center aresome of the highly visible projects thatWolverines construction managementteam has completed. The CM divisionalso built River House Condominiums, thetallest building in downtown Grand

Rapids. Wolverines construction man-agement staff is currently working atGrand Valley State Universitys Allendalecampus on the James H. Zumberge HallAddition and Renovation.

Wolverines North America divisiontravels the country for high-profile clientsincluding Red Lobster, Red RobinGourmet Burgers, DDR, and TractorSupply Company. They have also con-structed and renovated for many localretailers and restaurants, including sever-al Family Fare Supermarkets and QuickStops. The retail team is in the final stagesof a major rollout for Burger King in theDetroit area.

Re-Building an IconThis winter, Wolverine began work

on an unexpected but very high-profileproject - the re-building of Fifth ThirdBallpark. Wolverine oversaw the originalconstruction of the ballpark (then knownas Old Kent Park) twenty years ago.The Ballpark is one of the most iconicprojects on Wolverines resume, and whilethey have returned to the park manytimes over the years to construct addi-tions, new decks, and other renovations,the need to re-build so much of the locallandmark came as a surprise.

Much of the park was destroyedwhen it caught fire last winter, includingall of the suites on the first base side, aswell as the concession areas, restrooms,and locker rooms on the concourse level.Wolverines staff, including Fred Gilbert,the superintendent who oversaw con-struction of the original building, is nowworking at Fifth Third Ballpark to re-buildwhat was damaged by the fire, as well asto make other minor modifications.

With snowy and cold weather pre-senting some challenges, Wolverinesteam planned strategically and worked

quickly to get the work done on schedule.Extra shifts of crews have been added,with additional shelters to keep bothworkers and building materials warmdespite the cold. Masonry work in partic-ular requires extra measures, includingscaffolding, plastic, and temporary heat.

Despite the weather challenges thathave been present throughout the project,the Ballpark will be operational by thefirst home game of their 21st season,scheduled for April 8. The balance of theproject will be substantially complete byJune 17, in time for the 50th MidwestLeague All-Star game.

With a busy workload including FifthThird Ballpark and more, Wolverine hasmuch to look forward to in the future.The HopCat brew pub in downtownDetroit, many multi-family projects span-ning , and the completion of several proj-ects in the Southeast side of Grand Rapidsare just a few of the exciting projects com-ing up for the company. Wolverines com-bination of high-quality workmanship, astrong work ethic, and an enthusiasm fornew technology and cutting-edge con-struction practices have helped them tothrive in a changing industry. With 75years of experience behind them,Wolverine Building Group is busy prepar-ing for 75 more.

For more information aboutWolverine Building Group, please visitwww.wolvgroup.com. Fans of WolverineBuilding Group or the West MichiganWhitecaps can follow the progress of con-struction via the Rebuild Webcam onthe Whitecaps website, atwww.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t582.

Publisher: Gary Kralapp

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

Contributing Writers: JaneWhittington, Randy Boss, Neil P.Jansen, Joe Langner, Tasha Eurich,Brian Anderson,

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Health Care BriefsGrand Rapids Van Andel ResearchInstitute and Spectrum Health collaborat-ed to bring world-renowned CardiovascularResearcher and Cardiologist StefanJovinge, MD, Ph.D., to Spectrum HealthFrederik Meijer Heart & Vascular Instituteand Van Andel Research Institute to leadteams of researchers and clinicians in aneffort to stimulate regenerative medicinefor heart disease.

Holland Holland Hospital welcomedAlecia Jones, BSN, RN, OCN, as the newBreast Health Patient Navigator to serveas a liaison between breast cancerpatients, physicians and other caregiversto help coordinate overall care.

Kalamazoo Inga Springman was thefirst patient in southwest Michigan toundergo a new robotic hysterectomyrequiring a single tiny incision next to thebellybutton at Borgess Medical Centerby Anna Hoekstra, MD, a GynecologicOncologist at West Michigan CancerCenter.

Wyoming Metro Health is expandingits cardiovascular care and is seeingpatients at their clinic location, 904 S.Washington, Ste 130, Holland, two daysa month for cardiovascular appointments,and diagnostic testing for cardiovasculardisease.

Kalamazoo Steve Zanders, DO, FCCP,joined Borgess Critical Care, and is one offew physicians to be certified in critical careultrasonography, as well as developing pro-tocols nationally for American ThoracicSociety in therapeutic hypothermia.

Muskegon Mercy Health announced itis pursuing approval for a new $220 mil-lion medical center in Muskegon on thecurrent Mercy Campus, with a proposednew nine-story, state-of-the-art medicalcenter. The project requires review andapproval from the local board of trustees,Michigan Department of Public HealthsCertificate of Need Commission, and CHETrinity Health board.

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Be Prepared For the Risk of Sudden Cardiac ArrestBy Randy Boss

A few years ago a coworker had asudden cardiac arrest (SCA) on the job.While emergency workers were able to gether heart back in rhythm, too much timehad passed to prevent brain damage andshe died two months later, leaving behindher husband and daughter. It was one ofthe most devastating experiences I canremember. Not only did we lose a goodfriend but also a valuable member of ourteam. I learned as much as I could aboutSCA and what to do to help someone thatgets it. And I made a promise to makesure companies we work with know theimportance of having the necessary toolsreadily available should such an incidentoccur.

According to the National Heart,Lung and Blood Institute sudden cardiacarrest (SCA) is a condition in which theheart suddenly and unexpectedly stopsbeating. If this happens, blood stopsflowing to the brain and other vitalorgans. SCA usually causes death if it'snot treated within minutes. To betterunderstand SCA, it helps to understandhow the heart works. The heart has anelectrical system that controls the rateand rhythm of the heartbeat. Problemswith the heart's electrical system cancause irregular heartbeats calledarrhythmias. During an arrhythmia, theheart can beat too fast, too slow, or withan irregular rhythm. Some arrhythmiascan cause the heart to stop pumpingblood to the bodythese arrhythmiascause SCA.

However, SCA is not the same as aheart attack. A heart attack occurs ifblood flow to part of the heart muscle isblocked. During a heart attack, the heartusually doesn't suddenly stop beating.

SCA, however, may happen after or dur-ing recovery from a heart attack.

People who have heart disease areat higher risk for SCA. However, SCA canhappen in people who appear healthyand have no known heart disease orother risk factors for SCA.

Most people who have SCA die fromitoften within minutes. Rapid treat-ment of SCA with a defibrillator can belifesaving. A defibrillator is a device thatsends an electric shock to the heart to tryto restore its normal rhythm.

Sudden cardiac arrest is one of theleading causes of death in the U.S. Over350,000 people will suffer from suddencardiac arrest this year, many of themwhile at work. Everyone is susceptiblefrom the petite secretary punching a sta-pler to a burly cowboy branding a steer.An Automated External Defibrillator(AED) is the only effective treatment forrestoring a regular heart rhythm duringsudden cardiac arrest and is an easy tooperate tool for someone with no medicalbackground.

Time-to-treatment is critical whenconsidering the chance of survival for anSCA victim. Ninety-five percent of thosewho experience SCA die because they donot receive life-saving defibrillationwithin four to six minutes, before brainand permanent death start to occur. Theaverage response time for paramedics toarrive on the scene is 8 to 10 minutes.Below is a very powerful visual thatshows the chance of survival minute byminute.

Here are a few success stories fromthe American Heart Association

A 41-year-old worker at a manu-facturer of heating and air-conditioningsystems suffered a sudden cardiac arrestat work. After three shocks and CPR he

was revived within four minutes.Fortunately, his company had AEDs andtrained responders. By the time EMS per-sonnel arrived, he had been resuscitated

and was moved to a hospital. Theemployee survived.

Continued on page 6

Doctor of Nursing Practice program at GVSU's Kirkhof College of Nursing

Grand Rapids - A project led by adoctoral nursing student at Grand ValleyState University could help decrease thenumber of low birth weight and pretermbabies in Muskegon.

Cindy Betterly is enrolled in theDoctor of Nursing Practice program atGVSU's Kirkhof College of Nursing. Herclinical dissertation focuses on increasingthe health literacy of women who partici-pate in the Muskegon Area PregnancyPathways program.

Betterly works with Pathways clients

to help them betterunderstand whathealth care resourcesare available, andhow to advocate forthemselves. "It's alsomaking sure theyimplement theirhealth literacy com-prehension," Betterly

said. "Are they following directions if theyunderstand, and acting on what theirprovider is telling them?"

Muskegon has a higher percentageof low birth weight babies, children inpoverty and people who are uninsuredthan Michigan and the U.S. Betterly saidthose factors, and others, contribute tohigh-risk pregnancies.

She is using a tool, "Ask Me 3,"developed several years ago by theNational Patient Safety Foundation, andtransforming it for her clients. Ask Me 3encourages patients to write down threequestions before they see a health careprovider.

Cynthia Coviak, KCON associatedean for nursing research, said Muskegoncommunity leaders are dedicated toaddressing the area's health issues. ThePathways program stems from a commu-nity needs assessment.

Coviak said projects like Betterly'shelp DNP students view the health caresystem broadly and be innovative whenaddressing issues that affect a communi-ty.

Be Prepared For the Risk of Sudden Cardiac ArrestContinued from page 5

A 62-year-old employee of a coat-ings, glass, and chemical manufacturersuffered a sudden cardiac arrest afterwalking up the stairs to her office.Employees in the next office heard herfall and notified the plant emergencyresponse team. She was defibrillated andsaved in less than two minutes. EMS per-sonnel then arrived to transport her tothe hospital. She sent a note to the com-pany after her discharge from the hospi-tal saying she had "no doubt that head-quarters spent money wisely."

An employee at an automobilemanufacturer was working on the pro-duction line when he suddenly collapsed,lost consciousness, and stopped breath-ing. Plant security responded, and aftertwo shocks with an AED, the employee'sheart responded and his pulse returned.He's alive today thanks to the fastactions of his co-workers and the compa-

ny's emergency response plan, whichincluded AED installation and training.

Unfortunately less than 33% of wit-nessed out-of-hospital SCA victimsreceive bystander CPR according to datagathered from the Centers of DiseaseControl and the American HeartAssociation. I have made it my missionto get as many companies as possibletrained in the American HeartAssociations 5 links in the adult Chainof Survival and get an AED. This canimprove chances of survival and recoveryfor victims of heart attack, stroke andother emergencies.

The 5 links in the adult Chain ofSurvival are:

Immediate recognition of cardiacarrest and activation of the emergencyresponse system

Early cardiopulmonary resuscita-tion (CPR) with an emphasis on chestcompressions

Rapid defibrillation

Effective advanced life support Integrated post-cardiac arrest careA strong Chain of Survival can

improve chances of survival and recoveryfor victims of heart attack, stroke andother emergencies. Medical professionalswill tell you that the last two links in thechain are worthless unless a trainedbystander administers the first three links.

Losing an employee or coworker,very often right in front of their eyes, canhave a devastating effect on the psycheof any workplace. In honor of my friendand co-worker, Linda E. Anderson, who

passed away due to SCA, we created anaward in her name we give to companiesthat make an AED available to theiremployees. So far we have given awardsto five employers that covered 675employees with 27 AEDs. How manylives will that save? Theres no way toknow. But if it helps just one employeego home to his or her family at the end ofa workday, its well worth it.

Randy is a Certified Risk Architect atOttawa Kent in Jenison, MI. Randy can bereached at rboss@ottawakent.com.

6

Survey: M&A Dealmakers Optimistic but Frequently Disappointed

Chicago, IL While an overwhelmingmajority of companies with mergers andacquisitions (M&A) departments areactively pursuing deals, 51 percent of therespondents to the Critical Pillars for M&ASuccess survey admitted falling somewhator significantly short of their desired rate ofreturn on completed transactions. The sur-vey was conducted by Crowe Horwath LLP,one of the largest public accounting andconsulting firms in the U.S.

The survey, which incorporatedresponses from 80 C-suite and corporatedevelopment executives, showed thatM&A has become routine for many com-panies, with 63 percent of the respon-dents saying their companies have pur-sued three or more deals in the past twoyears. Yet the respondents admitted tomany reservations about their companies

deal-making prowess: Only 45 percent expressed a belief

their companies do a very good job atmanaging their deal pipeline.

Fewer than a third of the respon-dents said their companies clearly definea strategic plan to identify M&A opportu-nities.

Only 37 percent said their compa-nies have proper governance to preventthe C-suite from unduly influencingwhether to consummate a transaction.

Just 47 percent said their compa-nies maintain clarity and focus through-out the deal process.

Only 12 percent said they are veryefficient at executing M&A deals.

A mere 9 percent of the respon-dents said they are very effective at cap-turing synergies targeted at the start of

the transaction process. Nearly a quarter said their companies

do a poor or very poor job of communicatingabout and achieving alignment with thestructure of a combined organization.

M&A failure results when a dealfails to meet the goals identified prior tothe transaction, said Marc Shaffer, man-aging partner of financial advisory servic-es for Crowe. Our study attempts to peelback the onion, exploring whats happen-ing systematically at each level of theM&A value chain.

M&A volume has been stable forthree years, and there has been highlyvisible consolidation in the telecommuni-cations, media and technology industries,according to the latest trend report byMergermarket. Signaling that M&Aremains a core piece of a companys busi-

ness growth strategy, most of theresponding executives reported expectingto continue devoting significant time andresources to deal-making in 2014.Executives also said they generally arehopeful about future deals, but mostadmitted their companies past deals havenot achieved hoped-for financial out-comes and operational synergies.

Given the high-stakes involved, itshould no longer be acceptable for compa-nies to take a fly by the seat of yourpants approach to M&A execution,added Chris Nemeth, leader of M&A inte-gration services at Crowe. With morethan half of companies falling short ofachieving the desired rate of return, wewanted to examine the root causes bypolling experienced and sophisticated cor-porate serial acquirers.

Health Care BriefsKalamazoo Jeanne Bolhuis was pro-moted from Director of PracticeOperations to Administrator at BronsonHealthcare Midwest.

Kalamazoo Borgess Medical Centerearned renewed accreditation as aBariatric Surgery Center of Excellencefrom American Society for Metabolic andBariatric Surgery, Bariatric Surgery Centerof Excellence.

Grand Rapids Empirical Bioscience,LLC, elected Richard Leach, Ph.D., VicePresident of Business Development atComplete Genomics Inc. to its Board ofDirectors.

Kalamazoo Bronson Healthcareannounced James E. McKernan, currentVice President of Bronson HealthCareMidwest, as new Chief Operating Officerfor Bronson Battle Creek, and Senior VicePresident with Bronson Healthcare.

Grand Rapids Brian Brookman,Executive Chef at Holland Home'sFulton Manor, received Chef of the YearAward by American Culinary Federation,Greater Grand Rapids Chefs Association.

Kalamazoo Borgess ProMed FamilyPractice added Brittany Irey, MD, andKalind Parashar, MD, at the Woodbridgeand Three Rivers locations.

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(616) 456-4700

Legal/Accounting/Consulting BriefsGrand Rapids DWH, business advisoryfirm offering a variety of consulting serv-ices including ownership transition, suc-cession planning, and turnaround andrestructure services, named two new part-ners - Kirk Koeman, and MichaelLobbestael.

Detroit Honigman Miller Schwartzand Cohn, LLP, announced Philip J.Kessler, Peter J. Livingston, Jeffrey D.Smith, and Scot A. Hinshaw joined aspartners, bringing Honigmans total to255 attorneys.

Grand Rapids For the 12th consecutiveyear, Warner Norcross & Judd, LLP, wasrecognized as one of the leading law firmsin Michigan by Chambers USA 2014.Additionally, the following attorneys wererecognized for their work: James H.Breay, banking regulatory matters;Douglas A. Dozeman, commercial litiga-tion; Richard A. Kay, commercial litiga-tion; Anthony J. Kolenic, Jr., employee

benefits, and executive compensationlaw; Mary Jo Larson, employee benefits,and executive compensation law; John H.McKendry, Jr., employee benefits law,and pension plans; Robert H. Skilton, III,bankruptcy law; Stephen C. Waterbury,corporate law, mergers and acquisitions;George L. Whitfield, employee benefits,and executive compensation; and, Lisa B.Zimmer, employee benefits, and execu-tive compensation law.

Grand Rapids Hilger Hammond, PC,announced Attorney Stephen Hilger wasselected Leader in the Law in the State ofMichigan.

Kalamazoo Compliance One, whichformed in 2013, formed a partnership withLehmann & Associates, healthcare con-sulting firm; CSM Group, constructionmanagement firm; and Eckert Wordell,architecture, engineering, and interiordesign firm, to keep up with ever-changingstandards existing in the healthcare field.

Battle Creek EmploymentGroupannounced winners of its 5 in 5 schol-arship program: First place winner($3,000) - Gretchen Kohsmann,Kellogg Community College; Secondplace winner ($1,500) - KatherineIngersoll, Grand Rapids CommunityCollege; and, Third place winner ($500) -Joseph Martin, Grand RapidsCommunity College.

Detroit Varnum welcomed Jack M.Panitch to the firm's Metro Detroit officejoining Varnums tax planning and con-troversy group.

Grand Rapids Plante Moran, nationslargest certified public accounting andbusiness advisory firms, is celebrating its90th anniversary in 2014.

Detroit Honigman Miller Schwartzand Cohn, LLP, announced the firm wascounsel on more than 150 corporatetransactions that closed in 2013, up from

140 in 2012, and total transaction valuerising from $4.5 billion in 2012, to $8.2billion in 2013.

Grand Rapids Warner Norcross &Judd, LLP, was chosen to receive 2014Corporate International Global Award forFamily Law - Law Firm of the Year inMichigan.

Grand Rapids New board members recent-ly appointed to 2014 Right Place Board ofDirectors, replacing four retiring boardmembers are: Dan Malone, ConsumersEnergy; Sandy Jelinski, Lake MichiganCredit Union; Peter Hungerford, ADACAutomotive; and George Haga, Supervisor,Ada Township. Additionally: DennisEidson, SpartanNash was appointed toExecutive Committee; and Steve Bush,Lake Michigan Credit Union, to FinanceCommittee.

Hollywood Con Artists are Enjoyable Characters; RealLife Frauds and Scams are Anything but Lovable

By Neil P. Jansen

Hollywood frequently portrays conartists as lovable, Robin Hood-style ban-dits, tricking other criminals or the veryrich out of money they obtained illegally.You may recall Paul Newman and RobertRedford in The Sting, or George Clooneyand his friends in the Oceans 11movies. In reality, con artists prey on indi-viduals who are not able to protect them-selves and who cannot afford to lose theirlifes savings.

Some of their favorite approachesinvolve:

Notifying you that you won a lot-tery or sweepstake but you need to sendmoney to cover the taxes before receivingyour prize.

Collecting for a recent disaster inthe name of a charitable organization youhave not heard of before.

An investment broker withwhom you are not familiar inviting you toget in on the ground floor of a newopportunity for a very quick and usuallylarge return.

Sending you an official lookingnotice you that you must obtain an offi-cial copy of the deed to your home, which

they are able to provide to you for anexorbitant processing fee.

Calling you posing as your grand-child in trouble overseas, asking you towire money immediately.

With the amount of informationavailable on line today, scam artists havesharpened their ability to gain your confi-dence. They obtain information about youor your family and use that information tosuggest that they are familiar with you orhave your best interest at heart. Be onthe lookout for some common red flags:

Offers that are too good to be true. Telephone or door-to-door solicita-

tions. Attempts to instill fear or anxiety. Inquiries from a person, organiza-

tion or business that you have not hadcontact with before.

Any transaction where you mustact immediately.

How can you protect yourself fromthese fraudulent scams?

Never enter contests on line, overthe phone, or by mail.

Do not do business with anyonethat you do not know or have not fullyresearched.

Never accept a check from someone

in exchange for wiring a portion back tothem.

Never rush into any transactionbefore you have time to look into it com-pletely.

Carefully review all medical, insur-ance and credit card statements.

Never provide your birthdate,social security number, or other personalinformation to anyone over the phone orby e-mail unless it is connected with atransaction that you have initiated.

If you receive an unsolicited e-mailfrom your bank or credit card company, donot reply to the e-mail or contacting themthrough the phone number they provide inthe e-mail. Instead, look up their numberor e-mail address from a different sourceand contact them to confirm that the mes-sage you received is legitimate.

Consult your advisor, family orfriends to see if they have any suspicionsabout the transaction.

Review your own free credit reportat least annually.

Shred documents containing confi-dential information.

Cancel any credit cards that you donot use.

Have your name removed from

mailing lists by contacting the DirectMarketing Association, Mail PreferenceService, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, New York10512.

Finally, if you are a victim of fraud,report it to one of these organizations:The Michigan Attorney Generals Office,Consumer Protection Division: 1-877-765-8388. The Michigan State PoliceInvestigative Services Bureau: 1-517-332-2521. The Securities and ExchangeCommission: 1-800-732-0330. TheNational Association of Security DealersBroker Check Hotline: 1-800-289-9999.The Federal Trade Commission: 1-877-382-4357. Do not be afraid to reportfraud or abuse. You may be able to recov-er the money you have lost or help shutdown the criminal enterprise before itpreys on others.

Neil P. Jansen is an attorney withMika Meyers Beckett & Jones. Jansenpractices in the areas of civil and realestate litigation, probate litigation, estateplanning and eminent domain. He is amember of the Grand Rapids andAmerican Bar Associations, the State Barof Michigan and the National Order ofBarristers.

7

8Construction BriefsGrand Rapids 5 Star Window Coatingswelcomed Cindy Meert to manage theirnew office at 400 Ann St, NW.

Grand Rapids Kentwood OfficeFurniture announced Michelle Louters,previous Supply Chain Manager atVanerumStelter, joined as OrderFulfillment Manager.

Grand Rapids Bethel Abundant LifeCenter is re-locating to a new space inGrandville with Craig Architects leadingthe design efforts, and general contractorWolverine Building Group overseeingrenovations which consist of the conver-sion of a former grocery store into a19,000 sq. ft. space for Bethel.

Grand Rapids - Signature Associateshas negotiated: the lease of 10,750 square feet ofindustrial space located at 1750 CooperS., Jackson for the tenant, HeraldPublishing Company, LLC. the sale of a 6,000 square foot medicaloffice building located at 170 Marcell,Rockford for the buyer, DentalProperties of Rockford, LLC. the lease of 21,875 square feet ofindustrial space located at 650 Airport,Muskegon for the tenant, E SystemsTechnology, Inc. E-Systems is based inCalifornia with a facility in Newago, MI.They are moving the Newaygo Facility tothe Muskegon location to be close tomajor customers. has negotiated the lease of 4,000square feet of industrial space located at3526 Roger B. Chaffee Memorial Drive,Wyoming for the landlord, Grand RapidsCorporate Center, LLC. David Zeemering,and the tenant, Calstra, LLC.

Ada Dan Vos Construction Co.announced new employees Jon Serba,Construction Laborer, and Elizabeth Nol,Office Administrator.

Lansing Clark Construction Companywas selected as Construction Manager forCentral Michigan Universitys South Quad$4.6 million Improvement Project to installsouth quad residential halls with sprinklersystems, as well as updated electrical sys-tems, and replace many electrical panels inmany buildings. Work will begin this sum-mer as soon as students leave the halls atthe end of the school year.

Kalamazoo CSM Group welcomed newemployees: Construction Manager StanBedard; Project Manager DavidDahlquist; Project Coordinator PattiHilden; Intern Mason Mellema; andIndustrial Safety Manager John Rabbitt.

Lansing Clark Construction Co. wasawarded Keystone Award for EducationExcellence and Outstanding SafetyPerformance Award by AssociatedGeneral Contractors of Michigan, for itsProject Engineer Development Program.

Grand Rapids Rapid Fire Protection,Inc. announced promotion of Lee Jansmato General Manager.

Rockford Ed Zachow, one of WINHome Inspections Strategic-Partners,was bestowed with a CustomerSatisfaction Award for 2013, and washonored with a Presidents Circle ClubSingle Vehicle Operator Award havingperformed 309 inspections in 2013.

Grand Rapids Custer announced theaddition of Kylee Haywood as CorporateSales Account Manager.

Grand Rapids Board of Directors of FTCHannounced promotion of Kerri A. Miller,P.E., LEED AP, to Principal, the highestmanagement and leadership honor, whereher main focus will be business develop-ment and project management.

Grand Rapids Owen-Ames-Kimball,Co. announced the fifth phase of a multi-year historic restoration project at theiconic Basilica of St. Adalbert located at701 Fourth Street, which includes repair-ing the center portion of the plaster ceil-ing vaults, and repainting the century-oldsanctuary ceiling that stretches 58 feet inthe air. The current phase of constructionis scheduled for completion March 2014.

Allendale Dan Vos Construction Co.completed a new 5,231 sq. ft. veterinaryhospital clinic located at 6161 LakeMichigan Dr., and features a spaciouswaiting room with animal separation, cli-mate controlled pet wards, consultationroom, grooming services, dental, pharma-cy, five exam rooms, and a recovery suite.

Kalamazoo Eckert Wordell is celebrat-ing 30 years of providing architectural,engineering, and interior design servicesto health care, industrial, government,and private sector clients in SouthwestMichigan, across the U. S., and interna-tionally.

Home Builders Associationof Michigan Forecasts

Okemos The Home BuildersAssociation of Michigan announces thatdespite the cold weather drag on theindustry at the start of the year, the fore-cast for 2014 single-family home con-struction shows continued strong growthin permits. HBA of Michigan attributesthe strong forecast to an increase in jobgrowth, a continued strong rebound inNorth American vehicle production and arise in home sales in 2013.

Over 91,000 more people wereemployed last year compared to 2012,said Bob Filka, CEO of the HBA ofMichigan. Without question, the biggestcontributor to the burgeoning housingrecovery was the rise in home sales, par-ticularly the 12 percent increase in aver-age home sale values when comparingMichigan Association of Realtors datafrom 2013 to 2012. Combined with con-tinually decreasing inventories, the resultwas an acceleration of new home con-struction.

During 2013, Michigan saw 13,359single-family home permits recorded

year-to-date (U.S. Census Bureau data).This number was up by 28 percent com-pared to the 10,459 permits issued in2012.

From a trailing 12-month perspec-tive, Michigan single-family home per-mits exceeded the 13,000-permit thresh-old for the first time since May 2008,when the residential housing market wasnearing the end of a nearly five-year freefall that began in January 2005 and did-nt end until October 2009.

Weve seen steady upticks in virtu-ally every market in the state, notedFilka. Although the weather has createda slow start for 2014, we believe our fore-cast is conservative and that dependentupon labor availability and sustained jobgrowth, our number could very well besurpassed.

Looking ahead at single family homepermits in 2014, HBA of Michigan fore-casts a continued upward growth of near-ly 20 percent, with a total of 15,966 sin-gle-family home permits expected to beissued in the coming year.

Design, Fabrication, Manufacturing, PVC Coating, Insulation, Stripping,Sandblasting, Repairing, and Rebuilding of Anodizing, E-Coat, Painting, Plating, Powdercoating and PVD Racks, Baskets, Barrels and Screens

Phone: 616-453-8261 Fax: 616-453-38112855 Marlin Court N.W. Grand Rapids, MI 49544 racks@expertcoating.net

Michigans Top Engineering and Surveying ACEC Excellence Awards

Lansing The American Council ofEngineering Companies of Michigan(ACEC/M) recently honored firms forengineering and surveying excellenceduring the associations 49th annualEngineering and Surveying ExcellenceAwards ceremony.

This years engineering EminentConceptor Award winner was Fleis &VandenBrink Engineering, Inc., GrandRapids, for the West Bay CountyWastewater Treatment Facility upgrades.The $8.2 million project expanded theplant to handle existing flows and addtwo new communities. Fleis &VandenBrink used an innovativehydraulic design, installed a high rateanaerobic digester which helped eliminateodors, decrease sludge volume, and cap-tured greenhouse gas methane for energyuse (thus reducing operating costs). Fleis& VandenBrink saved West Bay Countymillions of dollars while providing a sus-tainable design with increased plantcapacity for years to come.

The firm also took home the survey-ing Eminent Conceptor award for theKalamazoo River Bank Stabilization. Fleis& VandenBrink utilized various surveyingmethods and laser technology to create athorough site map and model used to sta-bilize an eroding bluff. Data proved cru-cial to quickly and accurately analyze thesite and develop effective, sustainablesolutions. The Eminent Conceptor Awardis ACEC/Ms top honor.

Four firms were honored with theEngineering Honorable Conceptor Award:Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber, Inc.for the Mackinac Island WastewaterTreatment Plant Improvements (MackinacIsland); HH Engineering LTD and G2Consulting Group, LLC for the I-94/Sargent Road Interchange RoadRealignment and Bridge Replacement(Jackson); Harley Ellis Devereaux for theCHASS Southwest Center (Detroit); andHNTB for the Blue Water Bridge PlazaCBP Primary Inspection Booth Expansion(Port Huron). Engineering Merit Awardswere presented to Anderson, Eckstein &Westrick, Inc. for the Ember Oaks DrainDrainage District (Ingham County);Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber, Inc.for the M-20 over Schrader CreekDesign/Build project (Mecosta County);Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc. for the EastStadium Ann Arbor Bridges Replacementproject (Ann Arbor); OHM Advisors forthe DTW Deicing Runoff Pumping Stationand Force Main project (Detroit); HNTBfor the Blue Water Bridge FreewayCorridor Reconstruction (Port Huron);and Byce & Associates for the BellsBrewery, Inc., Brewhouse Expansion andRenovation project (Galesburg).

Surveying Merit Awards were pre-sented to Abonmarche Consultants, Inc.for the South Haven MaintenanceDredging Project (South Haven) andSurveying Solutions, Inc. for the M-1 RailData Fusion Project (Detroit).

The Judges Choice Award for BoardDesign was given to Spalding DeDeckerAssociates, Inc., for the project boarddesigned to tell the story of the VeteransMemorial Pointe Enhancement project(Rochester Hills).

This years ACEC/M Vernon B.Spalding Leadership Award was present-ed to Melvin Ernie Orchard, PE, founder

and past president of OHM Advisors tohonor his outstanding leadership roles inACEC and several community organiza-tions. The ACEC/M Felix A. AndersonImage Award was presented to RichardAnderson, PE, of Somat Engineering, Inc.for his actions and contributions toenhance the image of the profession.

9

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Gill Holding CompanyAcquires GR Srping

Grand Rapids Gill HoldingCompany announced that it has acquiredGR Spring & Stamping (GRS&S), a Tier 1manufacturer of metal stampings andassemblies. Terms were not disclosed.

The combined company globallyemploys more than 1,500 at facilities locat-ed in Michigan, Kentucky, Georgia, Mexico,India, China, South Korea and Europe. Thetransaction strengthens Gills position as afull-service supplier of engineered,mechanical assemblies to the automotive,furniture and multi-use vehicle markets.

By acquiring GR Spring & Stamping,we are able to diversify our customer baseto include additional OEMs and Tier 1 sup-pliers, enhance our product offerings, andleverage our shared operational and tech-nical expertise, said Gill Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Richard Perreault. The combina-

tion strengthens the competitive positionand long-term future of two Grand Rapidscompanies. Both companies have been partof the community for 50 years and weremain committed to it.

Founded in 1964, Gill Industries(http://www.gill-industries.com) providesworld-class manufacturing, prototyping,product and tool design, engineering,testing and analysis. Recently, the compa-ny joined the Alliance for Wireless Power,which represents companies dedicated todelivering a flexible wireless power tech-nology to the consumer electronics andautomotive marketplace.

Founded in 1960, GR Spring &Stamping is a custom manufacturer ofmetal stampings and value-added assem-blies, serving the automotive, furniture,medical and electronic industries.

Grand Rapids Advantage Sign &Graphic Solutions announced appoint-ment of Javier Mahmoud as VicePresident of Sales, overseeing the FieldSales team, hiring, and goal setting.

Walker Tubelite, Inc., added JimMcMahon, based in Houston, as ClientDevelopment Manager, and will assistarchitects and glazing contractors.

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids New CarDealers Association announced ProosManufacturing was recipient of its 2014Celebration of Innovation: AutomotiveSupplier of the Year award.

Milwaukee Pallet USA, LLC acquired the

majority of assets of Goemans WoodProducts, Inc., and will be known as PalletUSA.

Allegan Perrigo announced: IsaiahDahlman was hired as BusinessDevelopment Analyst for ConsumerHealthcare; and Matthew Pazynski waspromoted to Regulatory Affairs Associate.

Grand Rapids Dematic with their gift of$6,000, is an Emerald Sponsor for HelenDeVos Childrens Hospitals Auto ShowCharity Spectacular, made possible byGrand Rapids New Car DealersAssociation, to be held Feb. 5, 2014, atDeVos Place.

10What Do Manufacturers Expect from 2014?

By Joe Langner

The economic uncertainty of the pastfew years has clearly had a stifling affecton some businesses, but one of the brightspots in the economy was the modestgrowth seen in the manufacturing indus-try. Given the New Year, many are curiousto see what will come in the next twelvemonths and how the industry will evolve.Manufacturers are heading into 2014with increased confidence in the economyas a whole and an optimistic outlook forgrowth in production and hiring.

Overall, things are looking up for themanufacturing industry in the comingyear with an anticipated increase inorders, production and exports. Accordingto the second annual Sage ManufacturingSurvey, small and midsized businessesare conservatively optimistic about busi-ness growth in the next year. More thanone third of surveyed manufacturingfirms in the small and midsized business(SMB) sector expect the economy tostrengthen in the next six months, whilehalf expect it to remain the same.

These numbers are up from Sages2012s manufacturing survey only 27percent anticipated an improvement in theeconomy last year compared to 36 percentthis year. Almost half (48 percent) ofrespondents expect the economy toremain relatively the same over the nextsix months.

During the same period of time, 49percent of surveyed manufacturers expectorders to increase, 42 percent believe thatproduction will rise and 25 percent antic-ipate more exports.

The reasons for all the anticipatedgrowth? There were three main areas thatmanufacturers believed would positively

impact their business in the next sixmonths:

Stronger domestic demand (68percent)

The global economic recovery(36 percent)

The re-shoring of manufac-turing (26 percent)

Re-shoring stands in contrast tooffshoring, a practice which has had sig-nificant impact on the manufacturingindustry as a whole. Many manufacturerssurveyed are gaining new business byoffering customers greater flexibility tomake product adjustments based on mar-ket response and the ability to producesmaller lots. 5 percent of those surveyedplan on bringing some production back tothe U.S. in the next six months, and noneplanned on offshoring any manufacturingto other countries.

In this new climate, manufacturersare making plans to refocus their effortson specific areas that will have the biggestimpact on their bottom line.

Forty-six percent of respondents arelooking to invest to support their top pri-orities in the next six months, including:

53 percent are looking to investin increasing sales.

36 percent are looking to investin developing new markets

36 percent are looking to investin increasing productivity

The Sage Manufacturing Surveyfocused primarily on small and midsizedmanufacturers and distributors in the U.S.(defined as smaller than 100 employeesfor the purposes of this survey). Aboutnine out of ten of the businesses respond-ing have been in business longer than tenyears. The survey included 139 small andmidsized manufacturers and distributors.

The results from the SageManufacturing Survey were echoed inother industry reports as well. TheDecember jobs report from the Bureau ofLabor Statistics also showed that themanufacturing industry continues to addjobs and is expected to contribute to jobgrowth in 2014.

The outlook was not entirely rose-colored, however. In the survey, manufac-turers revealed some areas that still holduncertainty for them in the future.

When asked about influencers thatcould provide a downside for their busi-nesses in 2014, respondents in the SageManufacturing Survey pointed out threeareas that could have a negative impacton their businesses. They included:

A domestic economic slowdown(53 percent)

Additional environmental orfinancial regulations (35 percent)

A global economic slowdown

(29 percent).Barring these challenges, theres an

overall increased confidence in the econo-my and positive outlook for growth inproduction and hiring. The growth of re-shoring, the desire to provide flexibilityand the investment in productivity willunderscore the importance of technolo-gies like ERP in the coming months andyears. Manufacturers will need to turn totechnology tools in order to help them runleaner, more cost-effective businesses.

If this years survey serves as indica-tion of things to come, then the modestgrowth seen in the manufacturing industryin the past few years is likely to continue.

Joe Langner is executive vice presi-dent of Mid-Market Solutions for SageNorth America. A seasoned executivewith more than 25 years experience,Langner is responsible for driving theSage Mid-Market business strategy.

DeWys is Fabricators 2014Industry Award WinnerMarne DeWys Manufacturing, a

West-Michigan based metal solutions com-pany, was recently named TheFABRICATORs 2014 Industry AwardWinner presented by the Fabricators &Manufacturers Association (FMA).

The FABRICATORs Industry Award2014 will be presented to DeWysManufacturing in a ceremony during TheFABRICATORs Leadership Summit.

DeWys Manufacturing stood outbecause of the companys commitment tocontinuous improvement activitieson theshop floor and the front officeand totraining new team members and the current

workforce as well, Dan Davis, Editor inChief at FMA Communications Inc. states,Both have been identified as hallmarks offorward-thinking shops, and DeWysManufacturing has embraced the effortscompletely.

In large part, the success of DeWysManufacturing is because of their commit-ment to Lean manufacturing efforts andinvestment in technological advances. Bycreating DeWys University, they are alsoinvesting in their team members to helpadvance their skills and knowledge. Thiscombination will ensure their competitiveadvantage for years to come.

11Rapid-line: Metal Fabrication and More

By Jane Whittington

For almost 90 years, Rapid-line inGrand Rapids has been providing metalfabrication for customers both near andfar. Their advanced technology, superiorservice and high quality products havegiven them a reputation for contract man-ufacturing that is unsurpassed.

According to Mark Lindquist,President of Rapid-line, We currentlyhave 166 employees operating in 85,000square feet, and we generate $20 millionin sales annually. Weve been in our cur-rent facility since 2001. As an employee-owned company, we experience lowemployee turnover and consistently highcustomer satisfaction. Our employeeshave a stake in Rapid-lines success.

He continues, Rapid-line wasfounded in 1926 (under another name)and was, at that time, focused mainly onHVAC, especially duct work and furnaces.Over time, that has changed and we nowoffer a variety of services for a wide rangeof companies. The largest percentage ofour business comes from the office furni-ture industry, including Steelcase,American Seating, Kimball and others.Some are here in Grand Rapids, but wealso work with out-of-state customers inthe office furniture industry.

According to their website, Rapid-line has the capabilities to serve almostany industry and in our 80 plus year his-tory, we have provided precision metalfabrication services for many types ofcustomers.

In 2004, about 65 percent of theirbusiness was automotive, but that hasshifted over time, and Lindquist says thatis now a very small percentage of theircustomer base. Other customers includegeneral industrial, medical, transportation

and electronics, among others. Services offered include: Metal cutting using a variety of

tools including lasers and band saws.There are machines available that can cutalmost any material including wood orplastic and, of course, steel and othermetals.

Turret punching, a fast way tocut basic shapes in sheet material usingvarious punch shapes.

Sawing capability includingband saws and chop saws for cutting var-ious types of tube, rod or extrusions.Many of these are automated and pro-grammable.

Water jet cutting machines witha capability to cut many materials includ-ing metal alloys, glass, plastic, wood andmore. Water jet cutting offers precise,accurate and versatile results.

Computer Numerical Control(CNC) shearing most often used in con-junction with another process.

Engineering services, designsupport and prototype development.

Full service tool and die. Powder coating. Assembly, packaging and delivery.They work not only with metals but

can also integrate plastics, wood, fabric,cork and glass as part of their finishedproducts.

As contract manufacturers, Rapid-lineworks with its customers to provide justthe right product for the customers specifi-cations and can offer high-tech, high-qual-ity, dependable solutions, products andservices. Rapid-line prides itself on speed,innovation and lean manufacturing.

Lindquist says, The machines weuse to manufacture our products are flex-iblethat is, they can be used for differ-ent products. We can adapt to a variety of

customer needs. The processes are gener-ic enough that we can offer both shortlead times and competitive rates.

He continues, We had our share ofstruggles during the economic downturn:it hit us particularly from 2001 to 2003.However, we got through those years, andduring 2008 and 2009 when so manyother businesses suffered, ours stayedstrong and is continuing to grow.

As mechanization and technologyhas advanced, so too have systems with-in Rapid-line. Computers and robotic,mechanized equipment is everywherethroughout the plant, and jobs are con-stantly monitored to keep track of themany functions going on at any one time.

Lindquist says, From 12:30 at nightto 4 AM, we run an overnight shift withno one here. Our machines operate ontheir own during that time.

He continues, Mechanization, com-puter control and, just in general, technol-

ogy is getting better and better andbecoming more a part of manufacturing.Of course, we still rely on our skilledemployees to understand and use themachines. The challenge is findingemployees with the right kind of skills forour industry.

There may be many different kindsof customers, products and processes fig-uring into the mix at Rapid-line, but corevalues remain the same: dedication tocustomers needs, responsiveness tothose for whom we contract, dependabili-ty and quality. These values have beenthe hallmark of Rapid-line since 1926,and they will not change.

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

Industrial BriefsGrand Rapids Crystal Flashannounced it acquired OwensPetroleum, Inc., and Owens PropaneService, Inc., in Albion. The acquisitionis the seventh in the past two years forCrystal Flash which now has 16 locationsacross Michigan.

Allegan Perrigo, leading pharmaceuticalsupplier, announced: Amanda Haas washired as Marketing Information Analystto analyze and specialize in variousretailers loyalty program data; Jeff Flaggwas hired as Network Engineer for theInformation Technology team; andMorgan Martens was hired as Marketing

Information Analyst for the MarketingInformation team to work with customerbusiness managers and forecasting groupto analyze data.

Walker Tubelite, Inc. promoted TimDoughty to Southeastern Regional SalesManager, and Keith Hocutt was hired asClient Development Manager.

Grand Rapids Syzygy Biotech, Inc., isrebranding itself with a new name andwebsite as Empirical Bioscience, LLC, tobetter reflect its mission in serving therapidly changing life sciences industry.

Three Ways to Stop Your Job from Ruining Your Life

Dr. Tasha Eurich

He cant be serious, Jim thought. Jimbeen recruited away from a Fortune 500firm by a fast-growing start-up, and itwas his first day. The president of thecompany had just handed him aBlackBerry and said, Keep this with youat all times. Really?, Jim thought.

That Saturday morning, one of thefounders sent an e-mail to the senior lead-ership team. By 5:00 p.m., there were morethan thirty replies. Jim soon learned that atthis company, there was no concept ofdetachment from work. He grieved the lossbitterly, and his friends would mock himfor stepping out of the bar to check e-mailat 10:00 p.m. while they were out for a fewpints of beer. In a matter of months, Jimsjob began to seriously interfere with hisrelationship with his wife.

One study found that half of employ-ees believe their current workload isunsustainable. As a result, 33 percent ofpeople start thinking about work themoment they wake up and 75 percent thinkabout it until they go to sleep at night.

Luckily, Jims story has a happy end-ing. Less than a year after being handedthat BlackBerry, he left the company for ajob that allowed him to have a life. But formany, especially in the cold, dark days ofFebruary, the concept of a real life outsideof work is like a unicornit might exist,

but you havent seen it.So whether youre spending too much

time at the office or taking your stress outon your family, allowing your job take overyour life is a slippery slope of misery. Morescientifically, research shows that workerswho experience such conflict are lesshealthy, less happy, and more likely toengage in passive coping behaviors likeovereating, drinking, or drugs.

Want your job to stop ruining yourlife? Here are three tips to end the mad-ness:

Stop Wasting Time at WorkMore hours at work dont always

make us more productive. Think about atypical day in the office. You arrive, fire upyour computer, and answer e-mail. Thenmaybe you wander down the hall to thecoffee machine and leisurely pour a cup ofcoffee. You run into your friends and dis-cuss last nights football game. You wan-der back to your office, start a task, andget interrupted by a member of your team.And on it goes. By the time you leave at7:00 p.m., you might have had only fiveto six productive hours. Do you ever won-der if theres a better way?

We live in a society where the num-ber of hours we spend at work can be abarometer for our self-worth. Because Ispend twelve hours per day at work, wethink, I must be important and valuable.This reasoning is dangerous and illogical.

It is not a crime to do things efficiently; ifyou can get the same result in eight hoursversus ten and spend two more hourswith your family, do it!

To get more done in less time, usethe One Less Thing Principle. For everywork activity, ask yourself:

Can this activity be focused so lesstime is spent completing it?

Can this activity be delegated toanother person or group?

Can this activity be stopped? Harness the Power of Power

BreaksJust like Jim discovered, being teth-

ered to your e-mail 24/7 isnt a good idea.One study examined the effect of uninter-rupted work on our ability to focus. Theresearchers asked two groups of studentsto complete a forty-minute task thatrequired concentration. One group simplycompleted the task. The other group wasasked to stop the task and memorize a setof numbers at three points wile they com-pleted it.

The results were striking. Eventhough the second group spent less time onthe task, they performed better. Viewingthe numbers served as a power break:something that let them briefly turn theirattention from the task to something else.

Similarly, power breaks from workhelp us perform better. Certainty, its noteasy to take a three-week vacation and

lock your phone in the hotel safe. But at aminimum, carve out evenings and week-ends to escape your technology tether.Perhaps you cant unplug every eveningthen aim for three evenings per week. Ifyou have to work on a Saturday, dontwork on Sunday. Find what works for you.

Get MovingTheres a great deal of evidence that

exercise reduces stressin particular,high-intensity workouts have proveneffective in reducing anxiety. And recentresearch suggests that exercise actuallydecreases work-family conflict. In a studyof 476 workers, Russell Clayton and hiscolleagues found that people who exer-cised regularly had less conflict betweenwork and home. Why? They argue thatexercise can be a powerful way to psy-chologically detach from work.

So, it will pay off to keep your NewYears resolution to exercise morenotonly will you look better in your jeans,youll have a more balanced life!

A proud leadership geek, executivecoach, speaker, and contributor to theHuffington Post, Dr. Eurich is also theauthor of The New York Times bestsellingbook, Bankable Leadership: HappyPeople, Bottom Line Results, and thePower to Deliver Both.

General BusinessGrand Rapids Kent County LodgingAssociation voted its 2014 ExecutiveBoard of Directors: President - BrianBehler, JW Marriott; Vice President - NickFischioni, Hyatt Hotel; Secretary - JeniferCutter, Courtyard by Mariott Downtown;Treasurer - Suzanne Nichols, Hyatt Hotel.Committee chairs, which make up theextended Board of Directors, include: NickFischioni, Hyatt Hotel - MembershipCommittee (Interim); Dan Hunt, SpringHillSuites North - Events Committee; RenaeHesselink Nichols - Green TeamCommittee; Ryan Slusarzyk, AmwayHotel Corp - Charity Relations Committee;Megan Hill, SpringHill Suites North &Travis Mix, Susan G Komen - Experience

Pink Committee; Mike Donnelley, AmwayGrand Plaza Hotel - Student RelationsCommittee; Dianna Stampfler, PromoteMichigan & KCLA - ScholarshipCommittee; Emily Simms, Grand RapidsCVB - WAVE Awards Committee; and RickWinn, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel -Communications/Political Committee.

Grand Rapids Mary Moore joinedCatholic Charities West Michigan asDirector of Quality and Compliance, andwill be responsible for performance qual-ity improvement activities, accreditationand service standards, licensure andoverall compliance with federal, state,insurance and other third-party agencies.

Grand Rapids The Right Placeannounced - along with regional part-ners, statewide hop growers, and a grantfrom Michigan Economic DevelopmentCorp. - it established Michigan HopNetwork, a non-profit association dedi-cated to improving and promotingMichigans developing hop-growing mar-ket. Founding members approved theassociations bylaws, and elected board ofdirectors and officers.

Ottawa County Ottawa County wasawarded a total of $1,306,767 as part ofthe Skilled Trades Training Fund initia-tive, a program designed to enhance andpromote economic growth and sustain-ability. Leading the state, West Michiganreceived 37% of all funding for this ini-tiative. Twenty-four separate proposalswere approved, and Ottawa Countyreceived funding to train a total of 1,420participants resulting in 1,318 jobsretained, 102 immediate jobs created, andan additional 294 jobs to be created in thenext 6 months.

Lansing Michigan Women's HistoricalCenter & Hall of Fame is hosting areception to celebrate Womens HistoryMonth, Thursday, March 13, 2014, from5-7 p.m. The 2013 Michigan WomensHall of Fame contemporary inductees are:Elizabeth W. Bauer, Judith LevinCantor, Paula D. Cunningham, Dr. JoanJackson Johnson, Dr. Gladys HoldemanMcKenney, and Dr. Marina vonNeumann Whitman. The 2013 historicalhonorees are: The Con-Con Eleven,Elizabeth Bessie Eaglesfield (1853-1940) of Grand Rapids, and HarrietQuimby (1875-1912) of Arcadia.

Dowagiac Pokagon Band ofPotawatomi Indians announced it madenearly $44 million in additional contribu-tions to the economy in 2013. Combinedwith $35 million in 2012, the PokagonBand has made approximately $79 mil-lion in additional contributions, which donot include annual payments madedirectly to the State of Michigan as man-dated by the Bands compact.

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12

Communication & IT 13Employee Portals Spruce Up and Offer

Maximized Benefits for a Global EeconomyBy Brian Anderson

Shape Corp. is a global leader inimpact energy management systems thatprotect occupants, pedestrians and vehi-cles. Headquartered in Grand Haven,Mich., Shape Corp. is a full service suppli-er providing design, engineering, testingand manufacturing for plastic and metalsolutions in North America, Europe andAsia. Shape Corp. is recognized as a pio-neer in advanced custom roll forming andinjection molding and applies this expert-ise to energy management systems, inaddition to an array of industries includ-ing automotive, office furniture, healthcare, agriculture and more.

The ChallengeShape Corp. came to OST looking for

a highly customized employee portal.SharePoint wasn't solving their communi-

cation goals globally. They had someunique requirements:

1. They wanted to deliver contentglobally in in five different languages.They wanted the content to be manage-able at corporate and at each regional site.

2. They wanted a way to publishnews and events while building anarchive of this content. They also wantedthe ability to generate newsletters in bothprint and email formats from this content.

3. They have hourly employees whodon't have corporate Active Directoryaccounts but every employee needs to beable to access the intranet content.

4. They were concerned about serv-ing videos across the globe without overutilizing their corporate bandwidth andproviding a bad user experience for theiremployees.

5. They want to make the site more

social so you could tag / link to peopleand allow everyone to have an employeeprofile that they could customize.

6. They wanted people to be able tonavigate their corporate directory but thisdata was only stored in the ERP system.

Bringing external and internaltogether

OST recommend a custom intranetsolution that would become the 'umbrella'to other intranet systems such asSharePoint. We recommended a contentmanagement system that supports globalpublishing of content and allows multipleusers to be part of the content publishingprocess.

OST then integrated with the ERP sys-tem to allow for a single sign-on process.We were able to pull content about allemployees to help build the corporate direc-tory and employee profile pages.

OST recommend and integrated asecure video hosting service that providedthe ability to load and manage the distribu-tion of videos. It also brought additionalvalue because they didn't have to worryabout encoding the video into different for-mats and the service provides analyticsrelated to how employees were viewing

their videos.OST developed a navigable corporate

directory associated with each employeebased on the live data in their ERP sys-tem. Each employee's page displays theirupline and downline reporting structure(including dotted line reports). The profilepages included key employee data and theability for each employee to customizetheir page.

Business BenefitsThey now have the tools in place to

communicate globally in multiple lan-guages and standardize all of their com-munication. This not only solved a signif-icant communication issue, it also addedthe ability to discover employees andmake them more visible in the content.This helps achieve their corporate goals ofcreating a family-like culture.

Brian Anderson is an OSTApplication Development BusinessDevelopment Manager. Anderson currentfocus is to grow OST's application devel-opment team, providing strategic direc-tion for the practice, serving clients andbuilding long-term relationships throughsuccessful outcomes.

Communications & ITGrandville Trivalent Group announcedit completed installation of more than$75,000 in donated computer hardware,software and services for three local non-profit organizations. Catherines HealthCenter, Gildas Club Grand Rapids, andDeGage Ministries were each awarded agrant from CompassionIT contest.

Grand Rapids Community MediaCenter launched a project to empowerunder-represented voices and bringmedia tools and distribution expertise tothe neighborhood level. The project isfunded for three years by a $310,000grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundationof Battle Creek, and will lead to creationof up to six Neighborhood Media Hubswith nonprofit host partners.

Grand Rapids Open SystemsTechnologies opened December 1, 2013,in London, England, and is now anauthorized reseller for HP, Cisco and Dellproducts throughout the UK.

Grand Rapids C/D/H announced addi-tion of Susan Cotts as Partner, the firstfemale partner, and the sixth person to benamed partner in the history of the 23-year-old technology consulting firm.

Grand Rapids Former members only sci-ence organization Geek Groupannounced their Leonard Street Labsfacility is now open to the public.

Grand Rapids Lambert, Edwards &Associates announced additions ofMegan Susterich and Valerie Pesonen asAssociates to assist accounts across thefirms practice groups.

Grand Rapids C/D/H announced AmyMoore was promoted from Consultant toDirector of Client Service: Applications.

Grand Rapids Open SystemsTechnologies announced promotion ofMeredith Bronk, Chief Operating Officer,to President, effective April 1, 2014. DanBehm, current President and ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO), will remain withas the companys CEO.

Grand Rapids Shoreline PowerServices, Inc. welcomed Andy Hawleywith extensive experience in the datacommunications field.

Muskegon NeXt I.T. received ManagedService Provider Pioneer 250 award, anaward recognizing top technologyproviders and consultants in NorthAmerica.

Grand Rapids Modustri announced thebeta launch of its new mobile technologyplatform, the Modustri HDE Suite,designed for inspectors, sales reps, andfleet managers.

14Boating is BIG Business in the U.S. and in MichiganGrand Rapids For nearly 70 years,

the Grand Rapids Boat Show has helpedlaunch the annual boating season inMichigan bringing dozens of dealerstogether under one roof to showcase theirlatest products, accessories and servicescatering to the states active water-lovinglifestyle. This years 69th Annual event,February 19-23, welcomes nearly 30regional dealers with more than 300 boatsincluding cruisers, runabouts, trawlers,Catamarans, fishing boats, ski boats,pontoons and kayaks.

According to the National MarineManufacturers Association (NMMA), theU.S. recreational boating industry contin-ues to see the tide rise for new power boatsales, with a 5 percent increase in 2013.That increase comes on the heels of theindustrys 2012 rebound which saw anincrease of 10.1 percent.

Michigan continues to make recordstrides in industry growth, maintaining aranking of third in the U.S. when it comes

to new marine expenditures (new boats,engines, trailers and marine accessories).The latest NMMA numbers for Michiganshow $646 million in 2012 a 42%increase over 2011. In 2011, those num-bers were over $454 million a 29.5%increase over 2010. Numbers for 2013will be released in May, but are expectedto show a continued upward trend.

On a national scale, retail boating isa $35 billion industry, creating 338,526marine industry jobs (manufacturers,dealers, wholesalers, service providers)and 34,833 marine industry jobs.

Here in Michigan, there are approxi-mately 1,404 boating businesses employ-ing more than 16,600 individuals.Michigan is also home to nearly 30 boatbuilders names such as Manitou, FourWinns and Tiara which have built andmaintained the states rich maritime his-tory. What these economic and employ-ment numbers dont include the support-ing jobs in finance and insurance which

allows individuals to purchase and protecttheir boating investments.

Then, there are those jobs that pro-vide accessories and services such asdock builders, lift providers, gas stations,park operators and such. When you lookat the big picture, the businesses that aretied to the boating lifestyle and thestates overall Pure Michigan recreationaltourism industry.

Of the 232.3 million adults in theU.S. in 2012, NMMA reports that 37.8percent (88 million) participated in recre-ational boating at least once during theyear thats a 6 percent increase over2011 and the largest number of U.S.adults participating in boating since theassociation began collecting data in 1990.

The Michigan Secretary of Statereports that as of January, 2014, Michiganhas 902,519 registered watercraft inMichigan, ranking the state #3 nationally.Whats more, Michigan isnt a 12-monthboating state so the national rating is

even more impressive.Traditionally between 30-50% boat

sales happen or start at major boat showssuch as this, says Henri Boucher,Producer of the Grand Rapids Boat Show the largest and longest-running boatshow in Michigan. We recognize thatthis show is a driving force on multiplelevels for Michigans boating industry,contributing to the states overall econom-ic climate while also embracing our loveof the outdoor lifestyle.

The NMMA expect that in 2014,boating sales will continue to grow anoth-er 5 to 7 percent. If economic growth per-sists and the recreational boating industrycontinues gaining participants, NMMAanticipates sustained growth into 2015and 2016. Thats all good news for thosein Michigan who rely on the active boat-ing lifestyle focused on the Great Lakes,more than 11,000 inland lakes and milesand miles of rivers and streams.

Impacts of Climate Change on Michigans Tourism Iindustry

Thompsonville - Local experts and abusiness owner hosted a press conferencehighlighting the impacts of climate changeon Michigans tourism industry. Accordingto scientists, climate change could giveMichigans winters the feel of southernOhio in the coming century. This wouldmean major changes to our tourism indus-try, which generated $18 billion in 2012.

Looking at the trends, the naturalsnowfall we saw early this season is theexception rather than the rule, which iswhy we have invested so heavily in snow-making infrastructure, said Jim MacInnes,president and CEO of Crystal MountainResort. The ski industry has been quiteprogressive in addressing the effect climatechange has on the sustainability of ourbusiness. Serving as good stewards of theenvironment is part of our culture atCrystal Mountain but is also a critical com-ponent of our business philosophy as atravel destination. After all, Michigan'snatural resources and beautiful landscape

represent our most valuable assets.Crystal Mountain has long been com-

mitted to reducing its carbon footprint. Itwas the first Michigan resort to purchasewind energy credits to offset power usedby the high-speed Crystal Clipper chairlift.In 2008, the resort completed constructionon the first LEED-certified spa in theMidwest and one of just a handful in theUnited States at the time. The resort hasalso changed out hundreds of incandes-cent light bulbs to low wattage LEDs, sav-ing significant amounts of energy andmoney.

Our outdoor tourism industry is thebackbone of our recreational tourismeconomy, said Brenda Archambo of theNational Wildlife Federation. Climatechange threatens our winter and summersports, our fishing and hunting indus-tries, and our Great Lakes way of life.President Obamas Climate Action Planwill protect our air, land and water, pre-serving our states natural beauty, out-

door heritage and tourism industry.Last year, President Obama

announced his Climate Action Plan. Itincludes the first-ever limits on danger-ous carbon pollution from power plants,the leading cause of climate change andextreme weather events.

Our Great Lakes are a part of our cul-ture and protecting them from dangerous

pollution is vital, said Eric Keller of CleanWater Action. Our Great Lakes providejobs for more than 823,000 people and fuelMichigans tourism industry, which gener-ated $18 billion in 2012. PresidentObamas Climate Action Plan will protectour Great Lakes, rivers and streams andensure future generations can enjoy ourPure Michigan way of life.

General BusinessDowagiac Pokagon Band Citizenselected John P. Warren, former CouncilTreasurer, as the new Tribal CouncilChairman following retirement of the pastChairman in October 2013.

Dowagiac Pokagon Band Citizenselected John P. Warren, previous CouncilTreasurer, as new Tribal Council Chairmanin a special election following retirementof the past Chairman.

Grand Rapids For the eighth consecutiveyear, Gazelle Sports, fitness retail compa-ny with locations in Grand Rapids,Kalamazoo and Holland, was named to the50 Best Running Stores in America list.

Grand Rapids Boys & Girls Clubs ofGrand Rapids Youth Commonwealthand Grand Rapids Public Schools part-

nered with Dean Transportation to pro-vide bussing to current Club membersand additional students who are interest-ed in attending Clubs from the followingschools: Stocking Elementary (to SteilClub), Dickinson Elementary (to SeidmanClub), and MLK Leadership Academy (toPaul I. Phillips Club).

Grand Rapids MyWay Mobile Storagecelebrated expansion of their corporateoffices located at 3696 Northridge AveNW, Suite 20.

Grand Rapids West Michigan Centerfor Arts and Technology will honor JohnKennedy, Rick DeVos, and TeresaWeatherall Neal at the 3rd Annual iBallGala presented by Steelcase, Inc.

15Education BriefsGrand Rapids Marketing and communica-tions representatives from 28 communitycolleges in Michigan, including GrandRapids