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Wind Energy in MichiganBy David Calkins

Wind power has seen major advance-ments in recent years, making it an attrac-tive alternative to more conventional butless renewable or environmentally-friend-ly sources of energy. Compared to fossilfuels, wind power is relatively plentiful,totally renewable and widely distributedwith negligible impact on the environmentand no greenhouse gas emissions pro-duced during operation. A StanfordUniversity study in 2005 estimated thatpotential of wind power on land and near-shore to be five times the world's currentenergy use in all forms. Since 2000, the

world's wind generation capacity has dou-bled every three years, and according tothe 2009 World Wind Energy Report, allwind turbines installed worldwide weregenerating an electricity output equivalentto the total demand of Italy.

In recent years, the United States hasremained the number one global leader ininstalled wind capacity and Michigan hasreceived much attention for its windpotential. One study estimated that thewind resource over and around the GreatLakes alone equated to one third of thecurrent U.S. electricity demand.

Wind power in general has anextremely large potential, but there are a

number of pragmatic issues that must bediscussed in order to correctly utilize it.Even then, wind power is an intermittentand non-dispatchable energy form, and assuch, will never completely replace depend-ence on traditional forms of energy.

However, recent government initia-tives and policies have gone into place topush for more wind power development,especially in Michigan. In 2008, GovernorJennifer Granholm signed into law theClean, Renewable and Efficient Energy Actof 2008 (PA 295). This Act requires thatMichigan’s electricity providers generatearound ten percent of their electricity usingrenewable sources by 2015. This is build-ing towards the state's ambitious goal ofreducing state government grid-basedenergy purchases by 25% by 2015.

PA 295 also established a system ofrenewable energy credits (RECs) whichmay be traded, sold, or banked by electric-ity providers. A special class of "MichiganIncentive" RECs was also created – bonuscredits for actions like using solar power,generating at peak demand or using equip-ment made in Michigan by local residents.Providers will be expected to meet their10% renewable requirement by eitherusing renewable sources or by purchasingor trading these RECs.

This set of laws makes upMichigan's Renewable Portfolio Standard(RPS) and we're neither the first nor thelast state to implement one. Well overhalf of all the United States have set uptheir own RPS mandates, some of whichare extremely ambitious. In 2002,California mandated a 1% expandedrenewable profile each year reaching 20%in 2010. Governor Schwarzeneggerpassed yet another mandate in 2008 call-ing for a 33% RPS by 2020.

While these energy mandates areissued by the state, the job of managingdeployment of wind energy facilities isdelegated to local governments. In WestMichigan, the Ottawa County PlanningCommission partnered with the MichiganState University Extension Office todesign their own wind ordinance thatestablished rules for turbine installmentand operation only with a special-usepermit and only in non-residential areas.Other townships have since adopted sim-ilar ordinances based on Ottawa's model,and these regulate most wind farmsthroughout Michigan. About 70% of allwest Michigan townships either havetheir own ordinance or are in the processof developing one.

Though "going green" and "sustain-ability" have become popular buzz wordsin recent parlance, these legislative actions– ordinances and PA 295 alike – are not

simply efforts to jump on an environmen-tally-friendly bandwagon: Michigan hasbecome particularly guilty of outsourcingour energy needs to other state'sresources. More than half of Michigan’selectricity (69%) is generated by burningcoal and natural gas. As our state has nodomestic coal resources and only supple-ments around 30% of its gas needs withour reserves in the Antrim shale, a good60% of our energy is imported from otherstates and western Canada. Our threenuclear power plants (Donald C. Cook,Fermi 2, and Palisades) generate 25% ofour electricity, but nuclear power remains acontroversial option in terms of economicviability and environmental concerns.

Michigan has a unique profile forpotential wind sites as estimated bynumerous agencies and research studiesthat have been conducted in recent years.According to the American Wind EnergyAssociation (AWEA), the state's windresource is ranked 17th in the nation,and a resource assessment from theNational Renewable Energy Lab estimat-ed our wind resources could provide160% of our state’s current electricityneeds. Of course, not all potential sitesfor wind development can or indeedshould be utilized because of environ-mental, geographic or other reasons.

Michigan does however have a uniqueadvantage: the Great Lakes. Michigan StateUniversity’s Land Policy Institute estimatesthat the total power available offshore inMichigan is more than triple that of land-based wind energy facilities. Our state hassole jurisdiction of about 40% of the GreatLakes surface water area and owns 38,000square miles of bottomlands. The MichiganGreat Lakes Wind Council reported thatMichigan’s deep water ports are uniquelysuited to support regional, national andinternational shipping and deployment ofwind turbines, and the freshwater of theGreat Lakes has the potential to make windprojects easier and cheaper, leading togreater infrastructure durability than insaltwater regions.

However, wind power is not withoutits difficulties. The Great Lakes' fresh wateroften experiences substantial winter icecover, so potential wind farms may facemore icing issues that their saltwater com-panions. Poorly-sited wind turbines couldinterfere with recreation, the charter fish-ing community and the tourism industry ofcoastal towns. Even the aesthetic appeal(or lack thereof) of the turbines themselveshas always been a hotly debated issue.This isn't to mention challenges regardingsite selection and assessment, financing,construction and logistics.

Continued on page 3

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Wind Energy in MichiganContinued from page 2

Existing electricity transmissioninfrastructure is yet another critical com-ponent for wind energy deployment. Areport from the nonprofit nonpartisanindependent researchers "Resources forthe Future" stated that, “Without ade-quate and accessible transmission capac-ity, renewable projects are unlikely tocross the threshold of economic viability,and without adequate generation capaci-ty to justify new transmission construc-tion, investment in new lines is alsounlikely to occur.”

Still, clean local sustainable energyisn't the only reason to push forwardthrough these problems and developMichigan's wind potential. Wind develop-ment opens up new opportunities for jobcreation and retention by utilizing ourstate's strengths in advanced manufactur-ing and engineering, supply chain devel-opment and tool and die technology.Joseph Brown, founder of LintrioMarketing LLC delivered this testimony tothe Republican House Strategic Task Forceon Jobs held at Macomb CommunityCollege late last year:

"Without question, this is absolutelythe one industry that could prove to be thesaving grace of our nation’s critical manu-facturing base. No other market has thepotential to witness a mass transition ofCNC machining, metal stamping, tool anddie and injection mold companies into aviable, sustainable sector than that ofwind energy. A single wind-turbine caninclude up to 8,000 parts and is the bestchance we have to save and create jobs."

Michigan has already jumped onboard in a number of different capacities.Consumers Energy, one of the two largestelectric providers in Michigan, plans tomeet almost all of its renewable capacityportfolio and renewable credit portfoliorequirements through wind energy, evengoing beyond their state-mandatedrequirements by adding 900 MW ofrenewable capacity by 2017. The GreatLakes Energy Cooperative already pur-chases renewable energy from the HarvestWind Farm. The Holland Board of PublicWorks is investigating the potential ofinstalling a one to three turbine windfarmat Windmill Island in the city of Holland.Energetx Composites LLC, announcedplans last year to invest $37 million to pro-duce wind turbine blades. And 20 compa-nies now comprise the West MichiganWind Manufacturers Network, a no-costprogram The Right Place Inc. organized forlocal wind energy industry manufacturersto explore synergies and promote theregion’s capabilities.

Even with the complexity involvedin financing, constructing, citing andoperating wind power in Michigan, thepush towards renewable energy contin-ues to be strong. The Michigan Bureau ofEnergy Systems forecasts more than2000 megawatts of wind energy capacitywill be installed in Michigan by 2015, upfrom the current 130 megawatts. To meetthe 10% renewable energy standard in

PA 295, The Land Policy Institute atMichigan State University estimated that1,250 utility-scale wind turbines wouldneed to be installed.

This of course assumes that Michiganwill meet its renewable energy needs pure-ly with wind. Wind power is only one ofthe many new and exciting forms ofrenewable energy Michigan can pursue inthe future. Biomass, solar, hydro, geother-

mal and even landfill gas are all being con-sidered as potential supplements toMichigan's energy needs. Much attentionwill need to be given in the future to prop-erly developing these resources not only inour state, but nationwide as well, if we areto finally get our energy consumptionunder control and start making a realisticdent in our dependency on foreignresources both state and nation-wide.

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Grand Valley Celebrates 50 Years of Shaping LivesAllendale – Grand Valley State

University (GVSU) will celebrate its50th anniversary in grand fashion thisyear with a host of events planned toprovide a historical look back at theuniversity’s founding and a glimpseahead to its future. The greater GrandRapids community is invited to partici-pate in these events, which are centeredon the anniversary’s theme, “50 Yearsof Shaping Lives.”

GVSU was founded by a group ofWest Michigan citizens, a point univer-sity president Thomas J. Haas saidremains integral to the university’smission.

“The relationships with the commu-nity built by previous presidents, previ-ous board members and others connect-ed to Grand Valley have established anoutstanding foundation,” Haas said.“The public-private partnership still has

a strong effect on all that we can do forthe region, and I’m very proud to beworking from that foundation.”

Grand Valley received a charterfrom the state of Michigan in 1960 afteryears of lobbying by a citizens group ledby L. William Seidman, former chair ofthe Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Inthe late 1950s, Seidman read a legisla-tive report that stated young people inWest Michigan were going to college ata lower rate than elsewhere in the state.Seidman rallied support for a public,four-year college in West Michigan fromother influential community leadersincluding then Congressman Gerald R.Ford, Edward H. Frey, formerCongressman Richard VanderVeen,Francis C. Campau and Duncan E.Littlefair. Once they secured a charter,Seidman and others had to work toraise funds for a college, find land, hirea president and faculty members andrecruit students. His formula worked;GVSU is now home to more than 24,000students and has been ranked the top“up and coming” Midwest institution byU.S. News and World Report.

Shortly before he died in 2009,Seidman reflected on his life and careerthat included working for three U.S.presidents. “There’s nothing that I’vedone in life that gives me the satisfac-

tion of seeing how Grand Valley StateUniversity is delivering on its promiseto the western Michigan area,” he saidat the time.

Grand Valley admitted its first classof students in 1963. They arrived tofind one building on acres of farmlandin Allendale. Since then, Grand Valleyhas grown to a main campus that sitson 1,280 acres in Allendale, plus anurban Grand Rapids campus, MeijerCampus in Holland and centers inMuskegon and Traverse City.

Diane Paton was the first studentadmitted to Grand Valley. She said shewanted to take a chance on a newopportunity. “I credit the administrationfor putting a lot of decision-makingpower in the hands of the students. Weworked closely with the staff to estab-lish traditions like the school colors, themascot and song,” said Paton, now aretired teacher living in Holland. Sheand her husband Don Paton (also aGrand Valley class of 1967 graduate)remain close to the university, and theycouldn’t be more proud. “It’s becomemore than I could have ever dreamed ofwhen I became the first person to signon,” Diane Paton said.

Half a century later, ChelseaRobinson was celebrated as GrandValley’s 75,000th graduate in May at

commencement ceremonies held at VanAndel Arena. With a degree in diagnos-tic medical sonography, Robinsonsecured a full-time position at WestMichigan Heart PC, part of theSpectrum Health Medical Group.“Through my clinical rotations and theopportunity to learn on state-of-the-artequipment, I feel really well-equippedto enter the workforce. I haven’t justgrown academically but also as a per-son,” she said.

With her new job, Robinson joins88 percent of Grand Valley graduateswho stay in Michigan to work. TroyFarley, director of GVSU’s CareerServices, said Grand Valley produces a“brain gain” of graduates who stay inthe state, rather than a “brain drain.”“Producing more college graduates andkeeping them in the state is a key forMichigan’s economic recovery becausetalent, jobs and prosperity are intercon-nected,” he said.

50th Anniversary EventsEvents to celebrate the university’s

50th anniversary kick into full swing inSeptember with the start of the Fall ArtsCelebration.

Grand Valley’s Music Departmentwill present John Philip Sousa’s operetta“El Capitan” Sept. 13 at the LouisArmstrong Theatre, Performing ArtsCenter, on the Allendale Campus.

Jill Ker Conway – author, business-woman and former president of SmithCollege – is the distinguished academiclecturer and will present “The Next 50Years in the World” on Sept. 30 at theEberhard Center, Grand Rapids Campus.

A noon lecture by GVSU PresidentEmeritus Arend D. Lubbers and formerProvost Glenn Niemeyer will give a his-torical look at the campus on Oct. 13 onthe Allendale Campus.

Other events, ranging from poetryreadings to art exhibitions to recep-tions, are detailed online atwww.gvsu.edu/anniversary. Mostevents are free; Some require anadvance, free ticket for admission.

Grand Valley has also published acommemorative book that celebratesthe university’s five decades by high-lighting its people, academics, activitiesand athletics. “Grand Valley Celebrates50 Years of Shaping Lives” costs $19.95and is available online atwww.gvsu.edu/ubs. The book containsmore than 300 historic and newer pho-tographs, a university timeline andcountless memories of campus life.

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Needed: Investment in Michigan’s Future!Compiled by Brad W. Lyons, PE

Professional engineers from theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers(ASCE) recently participated in severalevents around the Great Lakes region insupport of a new report from the HealingOur Waters Coalition which emphasizesthe need for additional federal funding toprevent sewage from polluting thenation’s lakes. According to the report,“Turning the Tide: Investing inWastewater Infrastructure to Create Jobsand Solve the Sewage Crisis in the GreatLakes,” communities that rely on theGreat Lakes for drinking water, economicdevelopment and recreation dump tens ofbillions of gallons of untreated sewageevery year into the nation’s largest sourceof surface fresh water.

From January 2009 through January2010, just five cities on the U.S. side of theGreat Lakes – Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo,Milwaukee and Gary – discharged 41 bil-lion gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater into the lakes according to govern-ment data analyzed by the Healing OurWaters-Great Lakes Coalition. The reporturges Congress to provide at least $2.7 bil-lion this year for sewer upgrades national-ly ($972 million for Great Lakes states)with 20 percent of that money going togreen infrastructure projects.

ASCE President Blaine Leonard, P.E.,D.GE, F.ASCE was quoted in the pressrelease from the Coalition stating, “Failinginfrastructure cannot support a healthyeconomy, or a healthy population. Formore than a decade, ASCE’s Report Cardfor America’s Infrastructure has been call-ing for increased funding and leadership toprotect and improve these critical infra-structure systems. However, the fundinggap and the consequence of inaction havecontinued to grow larger. Today’s report

from Healing Our Waters should serve asyet another reminder of what’s at stake ifwe do nothing.”

Closer to home, in a report entitled“2009 Michigan Infrastructure ReportCard,” professional engineers from theMichigan Section of American Society ofCivil Engineers graded the overall condi-tion of Michigan’s infrastructure as a “D”(below average, mediocre). In particular,the report noted the following summaryassessments:Drinking Water Grade = D

The State of Michigan is in theunique position of being surrounded bythe Great Lakes, which offer an abundantsupply of fresh water. Yet the state facescrucial funding challenges both in treat-ing and distributing clean drinking waterto continue to meet the level of servicedemands of its residents. Nearly 75% ofMichigan's population is served by acommunity water system. The currentfiscal needs for water system rehabilita-tion in the state exceed $11 billion.Roads and Bridges Grade = D

Michigan’s extensive network ofroads and bridges allows the state’s 10million residents to safely and freelytravel while enabling businesses to effi-ciently serve their customers. However,Michigan's network is rapidly aging.38% of roads are in poor condition, 28%of the bridges are structurally deficient orfunctionally obsolete and U.S. truckersrate Michigan roads as 3rd worst in thecountry. While road and bridge fundingshould be increasing to keep pace withrising construction costs, the reality isthat revenues are declining. Continuingto shortchange our transportation sys-tem will lead to declining quality of lifeand reduced economic competitivenessin the global economy. Bold action isrequired now.

Wastewater Collection Systems = CThe Great Lakes State's 35,000 inland

lakes and ponds, 54,300 miles of river sys-tems and five million acres of wetlands areits greatest resource. Much of the state'swastewater collection system infrastructure– sewers, pumping stations and waste-water treatment facilities – is decadesbeyond a system's life expectancy. The EPAcalculates Michigan's funding require-ments at $6 billion to address the system'sreplacement, rehabilitation, expansion andprocess improvement needs.Approximately $2 billion alone is needed toprevent combined sewer overflows.Stormwater Management Systems = D

Michigan's stormwater managementsystem provides flood protection, fostersdevelopment, improves agricultural pro-duction and extends the service life ofroads, streets and highways. Stormwatermanagement improves the water quality ofstreams, rivers and the Great Lakes.Statewide operation and maintenance pro-cedures are inconsistent and the state does

not maintain an inventory of its stormwa-ter management system. Funding for con-tinued maintenance, repair and waterquality improvement is inadequate andnonexistent in many areas.

The economic challenges facingMichigan are intimidating. However, civilengineers can draw on centuries of prob-lem solving experience and have joineddiscussions with business leaders, govern-ment officials, citizen groups and electedofficials to help develop effective strategiesfor returning Michigan to the forefront ofeconomic growth and environmental stew-ardship. There is no easy fix to our currentproblems, but a collaborative program forlong-term infrastructure investment willcreate the foundation for future stability.

Brad W. Lyons, PE serves as the civilengineering manager of HollandEngineering, Inc. – a full-service civilengineering and surveying firm specializ-ing in a wide range of infrastructure eval-uation and construction projects.

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6Finance, Legal & Insurance BriefsSparta – On August 26, 2010, the boardof directors of ChoiceOne FinancialServices, Inc. declared a cash dividendon the corporation’s common stock. Thecash dividend of $0.12 per share wasdeclared payable to shareholders ofrecord as of September 15, 2010 and willbe paid on September 30, 2010. The div-idend declared for the third quarter of2010 is equal to the dividend paid in thefirst two quarters in 2010.

Lansing – Craig S. Gerard, attorney atThe Gallagher Law Firm, PLC, has beenelected as the president of the GreaterLansing Estate Planning Council - anorganization comprised of attorneys,accountants, financial planners, insuranceagents and trust officers which focuses onthe cooperative efforts in estate planningamong the business, professions andinstitutions represented by its members.

Grand Rapids – The law firm of SmithHaughey Rice & Roegge, along withLocus Development, announced that thefirm will lease the second, third andfourth floors of the historic Flat IronBuilding located at the intersection ofOttawa Avenue and Monroe Center indowntown Grand Rapids. SmithHaughey’s final decision to move to theFlat Iron Building was largely based onthe unique opportunity provided by thecurrent real estate market whereby it canoccupy a visible, historic building thatwill be strongly associated with the firmwhile realizing economic benefits as well.

Grand Rapids – Shelby Reno, senior vicepresident of marketing and communica-tions for Independent Bank, graduatedfrom the Graduate School of Bankingat the University of Wisconsin-Madison on August 20, 2010.

Holland – Macatawa Bank Corporationannounced that its board of directors hasadopted a comprehensive CorporateGovernance Policy. The policy containsguidelines designed to promote account-ability and transparency for the board ofdirectors and management of the compa-ny, defining their responsibilities as wellas criteria for board membership, stan-dards for director independence, guide-lines for avoiding conflicts of interests,the board leadership structure and otherimportant policies designed to help theboard of directors engage in independent,objective and transparent decision-mak-ing. The Corporate Governance Policyalso requires a director who fails toreceive the support of a majority ofshares voted in an annual election to ten-der his or her resignation to the board.

Newport Beach, CA – After 20 years ofserving on the board of directors andnearly four years as CEO of NACUSO,Tom Davis will be moving on to anotherchapter in his career in the credit unionindustry. During his tenure, Davisremained as a partner in CUSODevelopment Company LLC, and now,with the growth of the company's sub-sidiaries, Davis will serve as CEO of themulti-owned CUSO.

Grand Rapids - The following attorneys ofMika Meyers Beckett & Jones PLC wereincluded in the 2011 edition of the BestLawyers in America: Scott S. Brinkmeyer,James R. Brown, John M. DeVries,Douglas A. Donnell, Scott E. Dwyer,David R. Fernstrum, Larry J. Gardner,Fredric N. Goldberg, Michael C. Haines,William A. Horn, Mark A. Kehoe, Neil L.Kimball, Daniel R. Kubiak, Eric S.Richards, john T. Sperla, Timothy J.Tornga, Claude L. Vander Ploeg andJames K. White. Lawyers are selected forinclusion in Best Lawyers solely on thebasis of a nationally-conducted peer-review survey in which more than 25,000leading lawyers vote on the legal abilitiesand professional achievements of otherlawyers in their specialties.

Grand Rapids – Rhoades McKeeannounced that fourteen of the firm’sattorneys have been selected for inclu-sion in the Best Lawyers of America®2011: Frederick D. Dilley, Mark E.Fatum, Edward B. Goodrich, Todd A.Hendricks, Thomas P. Hogan, RichardG. Leonard, Paul A. McCarthy, BruceW. Neckers, Mary Jane Rhoades,Arthur C. Spalding, Scott J. Steiner,Connie R. Thacker, Michael C. Waltonand Terry L. Zabel.

White Paper Research forNew Economic DirectionLansing – As part of its ongoing

public policy initiative geared to revitaliz-ing Michigan’s economy, the SmallBusiness Association of Michigan(SBAM) issued a “Propelling a NewEconomic Direction for Michigan” WhitePaper. The research document, availablefor download at sbam.org, adds detail tothe reasoning behind SBAM’s efforts toencourage a significant shift in the stateof Michigan’s economic developmentefforts toward “economic gardening.”

“We seek to temper the public sec-tor’s traditional role of using tax creditsand incentives to lure industry and busi-ness from outside the state and insteadsuggest a new emphasis on makingMichigan welcoming and nurturing forthe home-grown, high-growth smallbusinesses that are proven to be the truejob-makers,” says SBAM president andCEO Rob Fowler.

The White Paper details the ele-ments of a successful economic garden-ing strategy including information, infra-structure and environment. It also liststhe services valued by growth-orientedbusiness owners and explains howMichigan’s economy and citizens willbenefit from economic gardening.

SBAM is seeking feedback and reac-tions to the White Paper. That input willbe used to help shape SBAM’s next majorinitiative in the Propelling a NewEconomic Direction for Michigan cam-paign - a ‘blueprint” for Michigan’sfuture economic direction that will beissued in early October.

The White Paper was prepared forSBAM by Public Policy Associates ofLansing with the support of the EdwardLowe Foundation, Michigan EconomicDevelopment Corporation and the SmallBusiness Foundation of Michigan.

7Construction Financing -

Frozen Banks or a Frozen Market?By David Calkins

When it comes to constructionfinancing, there seem to be two popularperceptions in current business world.I’ve often heard from grim-faced busi-nessmen that in light of economic set-backs, banks don't want to get involvedwith any new deals, particularly for pri-vate builders, and there isn’t anyfinancing available especially for newprojects. However, I’ve also heard thatfinancing is indeed available to thosethat need it and banks are still lending,it’s just that a sluggish market stem-ming from low consumer confidenceand cost-wary business leaders has leadmany to not even ask for financing.

I sat down with three experiencedprofessionals – Dan McLean, vice pres-ident, senior relationship manager atfirst (f1RST) Financial Bank inGrandville, Mike Manica, president ofUnited Bank of Michigan, and DerekHunderman, CCIM, managing partnerand vice president of leading global realestate services provider ColliersInternational West Michigan – to gettheir opinions on this issue.

[Dan McLean, can you give us a briefoverview?]

“Without question one of the hard-est sectors hit by the recession was thebuilding industry. Before the recessionhit, many builders and banks had the ‘ifwe build it, they will come’ mentality,which unfortunately left the market withsignificant inventory issues in the end.

“We at First Financial Bank contin-ue to evaluate loan requests for con-struction purposes, but on a muchsmaller scale than in the past. Manybanks are using a ‘back to the basics’approach to underwriting, which means

good equity into solid projects and notmuch speculation, if any. The entiremarket learned a great deal from therecession, bankers included, and all willbe financially stronger in the long run.”

[Mike Manica, what is your take onthe two opposing perspectives?]

“There is a little bit of truth in both.The biggest problem currently in thecommercial sector is the large vacancyrate. The last information I've seen putit somewhere in excess of 10 percent.Just drive around town and you can see"for lease" signs everywhere. Then, toget tenants – people who haveexpressed an interest to rent – prior toconstruction is a bit challenging. If thedeveloper has sufficient cash down tobring a projected appraisal value downto a loan in the neighborhood of 70%value, he might get the opportunity topresent his project to a banker. But he'llstill have a hard time coming in.”[So banks are still lending then?]

“Banks have plenty of money.Liquidity and interest rates is not theproblem. Money is available but devel-opers are recognizing the challenges ofgetting tenants for the places they'redeveloping and are simply not comingin to ask for loans. There might be someunwillingness to release that kind ofinformation, but it’s true. And if youhave a project that is started but not fin-ished, those are probably having a veryhard time in particular right now.”[Have there been any changes in pol-icy from the banking end?]

“Not enough to where it wouldmake the difference. Sometimes you'llsee a project that already has a singletenant building and the tenant is ofhigh quality and a space needs to bebuilt. I wouldn't say that when you

bring a project such as that in, that thedifficulties in finance would be anymore rigorous than what they were 18months ago.

“However, we do see significantproblems in new construction due to theexcess in capacity. It would not beunusual for a new project’s appraisalvalue to come in below its constructioncost. It’s clearly a tough spot, and untilwe get the supply and demand back inbalance, we're not going to have muchprogress there. If you're coming in witha spec project that isn't somewhere inthe neighborhood of 50% lease beforethe project is underway, you're going tohave a hard time finding financing.”

[Derek Hunderman, what’s youropinion on the issue?]

“I too can confirm that both trainsof thought are out there, and I do believethat perception on financing is worsethan reality, but it’s a mixed bag.Individual circumstances have somelenders in a position were they can't lendactively, while others have weatheredthe storm nicely. If you're close to a bankthat’s had their hands tied (so to speak)by the FDIC, then that perceptioninforms the marketplace that financingisn't available which isn’t exactly true.It's certainly different than it once was;The expectations are different. But it'sstill available.

“The appetite for lending on com-mercial real estate is actually pretty highif you’re looking at the user-ended mar-ket – the business owner who has aneed for space. As long as you have asolid business and a good track record,I would say the money is going to beavailable. It's still different from theinvestor standpoint though. For thosepartnering up on a building looking forincome only, not operating their busi-ness there, it's a different ballgame withgreater hesitancy.

“If the deal makes sense, it can getexecuted. Requirements have changed atouch, but they’re not show stoppers.As you said, the market has slowed,consumer confidence is poor and every-body is still very nervous. I'm hopefulthat come November elections, peoplewill get a feel for how business-friendlythe government leadership is going tobe locally and nationally. I think manypeople don't understand what some ofthe recent changes really entail. Oncewe have more certainty, we’ll all be in abetter place to make forward-movingdecisions.”

[Dan McLean, Mike Manica andDerek Hunderman, thank you all foryour time and insight.]

8SBA 504 Loan Interest Rate Drops Below 5%

Holland – The Small BusinessAdministration's (SBA) 504 loan pro-gram is providing long-term, fixed ratefinancing for the purchase of commercialreal estate at one of the lowest interestrates since the program's inception. TheSBA's lending partners, CertifiedDevelopment Companies (CDCs) arebusy working with small business bor-rowers who are taking advantage of thiscurrent low interest rate to purchase or

build new facilities.NADCO, the trade association for

the nation's CDCs, reports that the inter-est rate for a 20-year SBA 504 loan con-tinued to fall to a low of 4.93% thismonth. The August bond sale toinvestors that funded SBA loans wassold at a rate of 3.52%. This low saleprice resulted in an effective interest rate– including fees – of only 4.93% for bor-rowers this month. This interest rate is

one of the lowest since the programbegan in 1986.

The SBA 504 loan program pro-vides long-term, fixed rate financing forcommercial real estate and has fundednearly $60 billion in loans to growingsmall businesses over the past 24 years.Not only are the interest rates low rightnow, but one of the best aspects of anSBA 504 loan is the low down paymentrequired by a borrower - typically only

10%. CDCs across the country are busyhelping small business borrowers whoare taking advantage of these record lowinterest rates to purchase, build orexpand their own facilities.

Recent loan data has shown that alarge percentage of SBA 504 borrowersare professional practices. The greatestconcentration of loans has been tophysicians, dentists, veterinarians,lawyers and accountants.

Finance, Legal & Insurance BriefsGrand Rapids – Returning to privatepractice after nine years with the UnitedStates Attorney’s Office, Ronald M.Stella joins the health care practice atRhoades McKee. He will concentrate hispractice in areas of health care law, med-ical malpractice insurance defense andgeneral litigation.

Grand Rapids – Miller Johnson attorneyD. Andrew Portinga has been appoint-ed chair of the United States CourtsCommittee for 2010-2011 bar year bythe State Bar of Michigan. Portinga hasbeen practicing law since 1996 and hasextensive litigation experience in bothfederal and state courts.

Lansing – Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool announced the promotion of 11faculty members, effective January 1,2011. Seven faculty members were pro-moted from associate professor to fullprofessor with tenure: Christine Church,Dan Ray, Curt Benson, CindyFaulkner, Anthony Flores, NormanPlate, and Paul Sorenson. Four facultymembers were promoted from assistantprofessor to associate professor: TammyAsher, Stevie Barachkov, SherryBatzer, and Monica Nuckolls.Promotions included representatives ofall four of Cooley’s campuses.

Grand Rapids – The EconomicDevelopment Foundation (EDF) hasannounced that in Michigan, the totalnumber of SBA loans approved is up53% compared to last year, and the totalloan dollars approved are up 92%. Thisis encouraging news for our state and forthe unemployed who are still looking forwork. The EDF has assisted 12 businessin Kent County get approved for a total ofmore than $3.5 million in SBA 504 loansfor the current government fiscal year.

Grand Rapids – The law firm of SmithHaughey Rice & Roegge has beenselected as #1 in 13 categories as listedin the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyersin America. For each of these categories,Smith Haughey has more attorneys list-ed in Best Lawyers than any other lawfirm: Top-listed in Michigan in legal mal-practice law and medical malpractice law;Top-listed in Ann Arbor in medical mal-practice law; Top-listed in Grand Rapidsin legal malpractice law, medical mal-practice law and personal injury litiga-tion; Top-listed in Traverse City in bank-ruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law,bet-the-company litigation, commerciallitigation, insurance law, personal injurylitigation and trusts and estates. 14attorneys from all three offices havebeen selected for inclusion in the 2011edition of The Best Lawyers in America:George F. Bearup, Charles F. Behler,Mark P. Bickel, Albert J. Engel III, DaleL. Hebert, William W. Jack, Jr., John M.Kruis, E. Thomas McCarthy, Jr., ToddW. Millar, Craig S. Neckers, John C.O’Loughlin, John R. Oostema, L. R.Roegge, Ronald A. Schuknecht andEdward R. Stein.

Ferndale – Credit Union ONEannounced that it has received approvalto participate in the Michigan StateHousing Development Authority Helpfor Hardest Hit program. Credit UnionONE will partner with other financialinstitutions to help more than 17,000Michigan households.

Leslie – Margaret Clark has joinedIndependent Bank as a senior mortgageloan officer at the Leslie banking office.Clark brings over 17 years of mortgagelending experience to the position andwill assist customers with their mortgageneeds in the counties of Ingham, Jacksonand Lenawee.

Athens – The Nottawaseppi HuronBand of the Potawatomi, owners ofFireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek,announced that a $35 million loan waspaid off on Aug. 12, 2010, four yearsearlier than its due date. The payoff ofthis loan, which aided in purchasingFireKeepers’ 2,680 slot machines, camejust over a year after FireKeepers openedits doors to the public on Aug. 5, 2009.

Grand Rapids – Independent Bank re-launched their corporate website,IndependentBank.com, providing cus-tomers with enhanced functionality,increased homepage features, redesignedframework and a homepage portal to anew social media repository,EagleExperience.com.

9Grand Rapids’ Strength as a Corporate Meeting Mecca

Grand Rapids – 2009 was disas-trous across all industries, and as busi-nesses scrambled to improve their bot-tom line, corporate spending on conven-tions, meetings, lodging and amenitiesfell by nearly 15%. Since then, Americanbusiness has seen a slow recovery but arecovery nonetheless. Federal ReserveBoard chairman Ben Bernanke statedrecently that the Fed "expects continuedmoderate (economic) growth, a gradualdecline in the unemployment rate (toabout 7 percent) and subdued inflation"over the course of the next couple years.

This is a time when businesses andgroups are going to be conservativelyspending on off-site meetings onceagain, and corporate meeting and lodg-ing providers must continue to meet thisunique demand with aggressive use ofdeals and packages to promote continuedgrowth during a scaled-down economy.

Still, the outlook seems good. Citiesacross the nation are reporting highermeeting attendance, larger budgets, morecorporate bookings and increases as highas 20%-30% in group customer revenue.JW Marriott in Grand Rapids reported a20% increase over last year in groupnights sales. This can be reasonablyattributed to the city's thriving medicalindustry, but Grand Rapids is still unique-ly poised as a center for corporate lodgingand meeting in West Michigan and needsto continue playing to its strengths.

The state’s second-largest city, GrandRapids often provides a small-town feelwith the entire community known to rallybehind large conventions while offeringamenities and value that supersede “firsttier” cities. In fact, as the city is home tothe Amway Hotel Corporation's large tri-partite collection (Amway Grand Plaza, JWMarriott and Downtown Courtyard byMarriott) large groups can fill all threehotels and virtually “own” Grand Rapidswith the city’s support instead of beinglost among hundreds of groups (literally)as is the case with more populated meet-ing destinations.

“When you plan a meeting in GrandRapids, you are not just a number, but awelcomed member of the community,"said Ron Brondyke, vice president anddirector of corporate sales for AHC. "Ourgoal... is to show planners our dedicationto easing their burden and accommodat-ing all of their needs.”

Grand Rapids itself has much tooffer including urban sophistication,Midwest hospitality, safety and afford-ability. The city boasts Michigan’s only

professional ballet company and the onlyopera in West Michigan, as well as a hostof national performers making concerttour stops at Van Andel Arena. Most

hotels are a short drive from LakeMichigan, ideal for sunbathing, boatingand other water sports, and visitors willnotice most downtown attractions are

within walking distance from each other(often with heated sidewalks).

Continued on page 10

10Corporate Meetings, Catering & LodgingThe Amway Hotel Corporation (AHC)

(Grand Rapids)Made up of the Amway Grand

Plaza, JW Marriott Grand Rapids andDowntown Courtyard by Marriott, theAHC boasts over 1,100 committableguestrooms and 13 restaurants, provid-ing one host and point-of-contact with avariety of price points and services. Thethree hotels offer a tiered pricing struc-ture and attached to one another and toDeVos Place Convention Center via a cli-mate controlled skywalk. The conven-tion center and the hotels together fea-ture over 240,000 sq. ft. of meeting andexhibition space and limitless config-urable meeting locations, including twoof the largest ballrooms in the region.All food for the meeting space andDeVos Place is overseen by AHC, bring-ing the culinary team’s five-diamondexperience to the banquet food.

Courtyard By Marriott(Grand Rapids)

The AHC announced in late Augustthe renovation of the Courtyard byMarriott Downtown, capping a nearly $3million project that brings the brand’s“refreshing business” makeover toGrand Rapids. The transformationincludes the hotel’s lobby, redefined toinvite guests to get out of their rooms towork and socialize, guestrooms and anew restaurant and bar experience. Acenterpiece of the new casual lobbyspace is the exclusive GoBoard® tech-nology, a 55-inch interactive LCD touchscreen loaded with airport arrival anddeparture information, area maps ofmuseums and restaurants, news andsports headlines, and more.

The hotel offers over 10,000 squarefeet of meeting space and access to 13restaurants and lounges including The

1913 Room (Michigan’s first and onlyfive-diamond restaurant), the four-dia-mond Cygnus 27 (the highest diningdestination in Western Michigan) andsix.one.six the signature market-freshrestaurant at JW Marriott.

Meijer Gardens(East Grand Rapids)

Frederik Meijer Gardens &Sculpture Park offers much more thantheir spectacular sculpture and horticul-ture collections. Meijer Gardens hasmore than 137,000 sq. ft. in rental spacewith a large variety of room types:Banquet, board room, conference room,dining, auditorium and outdoor optionsas well. All rental guests receive compli-mentary admission to the gardens andsculpture exhibitions. They also offer avariety of catering options includingtheir own in-house "Taste of theGardens" full-service catering, and park-ing is free to all guests.

Several additions have been madesince 2009. Two new conferences roomsbring their total number of rentablemeeting spaces to 15. The KlopcicFoundation Room is a versatile space foras many as 36 and offers views of thepond, wetlands and other gardens. TheMarsilje Foundation Room is an afford-able conference room for ten guests withlarge windows on two walls offeringbreathtaking views of the gardens.

Significant A/V upgrades have beenmade in recent years including a state-of-the-art audio system. They offerbuilt-in projection and high-qualitysound and video in nearly every roomand a handful of their spaces areequipped with a hearing loop system,which was installed in 2009. It is alsogreatly utilized in their Grand Room -their largest space which holds approxi-

mately 2000 people and is one of themost flexible areas in terms of A/V uti-lization and customization.

Mission Point Resort(Mackinac Island)

This is the largest and most com-plete resort for meetings on MackinacIsland, offering in excess of 38,000 sq. ft.of flexible and state-of-the-art meeting,banquet and reception space for groupsranging from 10 to 1,000. It nestles on18 acres of beautifully landscapedgrounds on the southeastern shore ofMackinac Island directly overlookingLake Huron and the Straits of Mackinac.The resort complex also features its ownmovie theater, four restaurants, a heatedpool, a fitness center, a children's pro-gram and an 18-hole executive puttingcourse.

More than 11,000 sq. ft. of meet-ing/banquet space is located in the sixrooms in and above the Main Lodge,including the 3,050 sq. ft. Summit Roomand the 2,700 sq. ft. Lakefront andCypress Lodge meeting rooms. The adja-cent Conference Center also has morethan 12,000 sq. ft. of meeting space,including an amphitheater that can seat75 and nine private offices for meetingplanners. Directly above the ConferenceCenter is a 2,750 sq. ft. promenade deckthat can be used for outside functionsand banquets featuring spectacularwater views.

For a limited time, the Resort isoffering a variety of incentives for meet-ing planners who book a 2010 meetingor event. Meeting planners who book anew meeting at Mission Point Resort in2010 and spend more then $15,000 in

room revenue will have the opportunityto select a 42” flat panel high-definitiontelevision, a two-night package at theResort or a $1,000 credit towards thegroup master account. Meeting plannerswill also receive a number of compli-mentary bonuses including a cocktailreception, welcome amenities, round-trip ferry tickets, and discounts on food,beverage and audio-visual equipment.

Lexington Hotel(Lansing)

As you enter the stylish, five-storyfoyer of the Lexington Lansing Hotel,you may think for a moment that youare in New York City. With its doubleglass elevators, a lobby coffee shop thatserves Starbucks and over $1.4 millionin renovations of its public spaces, theLexington Lansing is an elegant experi-ence for any corporate conference, meet-ing or special event. From formal boardrooms to elegant ballrooms, theLexington Lansing can accommodate upto 700 guests with its 14,000 sq. ft. offlexible meeting space. Experiencedmeeting planners and on-site cateringstaff provide personalized attention toensure every event is a success.

Each of the 212 well-appointedguest rooms include free Wi-Fi and aLCD flat-panel television with HD chan-nels. But what sets the LexingtonLansing aside from other hotels is whatyou can do once the meetings are over.Loosen up with a pick-up game of bas-ketball on the hotel’s indoor half court,unwind in Christie’s Bistro and Bar, orcall it a night and snuggle into bed witha good book and nightly room deliveryof milk and cookies!

Grand Rapids’ Strength asa Corporate Meeting Mecca

Continued from page 9

And for groups with green on theirminds, Grand Rapids was named“America’s Greenest City” by FastCompany in September 2008 and leadsthe nation in the number of LEED-certi-fied buildings per capita, including theGrand Rapids Art Museum, the firstLEED-certified art museum in the world.

Grand Rapids needs to build on

these strengths, especially during thisrecovery. Even with the travel trendingpositive, companies are still leery ofhigh-end expenses. Grand Rapids is avalue option for businesses looking tocut their travel budget, by providing lux-ury in an unexpected place without thehigh price tag and without sacrificingluxury accommodations or culinary andcultural amenities.

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11Meeting, Travel & Lodging BriefsBay Harbor – Boyne Resorts has namedRon Braniecki as general manager ofThe Inn at Bay Harbor. His predecessorBill Quiseng resigned after 11 years atthe post and has accepted the position ofgeneral manager for The Henry inDearborn, MI. During his administration,The Inn at Bay Harbor was recognized asthe first and only Gold Medal Golf Resortin Michigan by Golf Magazine and twicenamed among the Top 500 World’s BestHotels by Travel + Leisure Magazine.

Grand Rapids – Amway HotelCorporation announced the renovationof the Courtyard by MarriottDowntown, capping a nearly $3 millionproject that brings the brand’s “refresh-ing business” makeover to Grand Rapids.

Lansing – Pure Michigan, the state ofMichigan's official travel and tourismcampaign, brought home a record fourMercury Awards for Best State Tourismfrom the recent ESTO Conference: BestTelevision Commercials, Best RadioCommercials, Best Co-op (Partnership)Program, and Best Welcome CenterProgram. The inaugural Pure Michigannational advertising campaign in 2009motivated 680,000 new trips to Michiganfrom outside the Great Lakes region andresulted in more than $250 million beingspent at Michigan businesses. For everydollar spent on the Pure Michigan nation-al campaign, new visits to Michigan stim-ulated by that advertising generated$2.23 in new state tax collections.

Grand Rapids – The 10th AnnualMidwest Mountain Bike Summit(Summit) will be held in Grand RapidsSeptember 10-12, 2010. The three-daySummit will bring an estimated 200mountain bikers, trail builders and advo-cacy club leaders from across theMidwest to the Grand Rapids Bike Park(580 Kirtland SW) for classes, clinics andmountain bike riding.

Peshawbestown – The EconomicDevelopment Corporation of the GrandTraverse Band of Ottawa & ChippewaIndians announced that Mr. Donald M.Ponniah has been chosen to be the newpresident & general manager of GrandTraverse Resort & Spa. Ponniah bringsover 30 years of experience at variouslevels in the hospitality industry withexpertise in management, food & bever-age operations, sales & marketing andhuman resources.

Muskegon – Recently created nonprofitShoreline Foundation Inc. took overthe Shoreline Spectacular Festival 2010this year - one of the longest runningevents in Muskegon’s history. TheFestival hoped to raise money to helpsupport as many local charities as possi-ble. This year, the Festival was relocatedto Western Avenue and Heritage Landingand was held September 3-6.

Lansing – The Michigan Department ofAgriculture announced Dr. John Tilden,food safety planning and response pro-gram manager, has been appointed to theUSDA Food Safety InspectionServices’ National AdvisoryCommittee on Meat and PoultryInspection as the representative for theAssociation of Food and Drug Officialsfor 2010-2012.

Kalamazoo – The Texas TownshipFarmers’ Market Fresh on Q! hosted aLocal Food Month Celebration lastAugust featuring a variety of locally-sourced lunch options prepared by localchefs. The Texas Township Farmers’Market is open Saturdays throughOctober 23 and features all local vendorsand food businesses from within anaverage of 18 miles of the market.

Statewide – The Michigan Departmentof Transportation (MDOT) and theDepartment of Technology,Management & Budget have revampedthe Mi Drive Web site(www.michigan.gov/drive) to load fasterwith a new map that is easier to use tolocate lane closures and incidents onstate trunklines (US, Interstate and Mroutes).

Grand Rapids – The Grand RapidsPublic Museum was recently awarded aNational Endowment for theHumanities (NEH) grant for $222,390to be used toward the purchase andinstallation of a more advanced climatecontrol system at the 272 Pearl Streetlocation. The NEH grant monies, com-bined with the additional $180,000needed to complete the project, will beused to replace the Museum’s DirectorDigital Control System, an instrumentalstep toward the “greening” of theMuseum in tandem with on-going collec-tion preservation. The climate controlsystem will be phased in around sched-uled temporary exhibit installations andcompleted in late 2011.

Muskegon – Muskegon-based NicholsPaper and Supply has achieved LEEDEB Gold status, becoming the 7th LEEDfor Existing Building in the state ofMichigan and the first in their industryin the state.

Comstock Park – More than 200 volun-teers from Amway, the Comstock ParkRotary Foundation and York CreekApartments, organizers from KaBOOM!and residents of the community joinedforces last August to build a new play-ground at York Creek Apartments. Thenew playground’s design is based ondrawings created by children who partic-ipated in a Design Day event in July andwill provide more than 800 children inthe community with a safe place to play.

Lansing – The Greater LansingConvention & Visitors Bureau intro-duced the Greater Lansing mobile app,available for iPhone or Blackberry. Thefree app lets users discover listings forattractions, dining, events, accommoda-tions and shopping while allowing usersto plan a customized tour complete withinteractive mapping technology.

Grand Rapids – The Crowne Plaza hasbeen busy undergoing renovations andhas announcd the grand opening of itsnew restaurant and bar, “Aryana.” Thehotel is planning a grand opening and rib-bon cutting ceremony for early October.

Grand Rapids – Frederik MeijerGardens & Sculpture Park announcedplans to upgrade its outdoor amphithe-ater. The venue will increase capacity by200 guests, adding a 3,511 sq. ft. con-cession and merchandise building, addi-tional restrooms, an expanded plaza, newbox office window, and expanded park-ing. Construction will wrap up in spring2011 and is made possible through thegenerosity of Fred and Lena Meijer. CoxMedendorp Olson Architects,Progressive AE and Owen AmesKimball will be working on the project.

Ann Arbor – Ann Arbor AreaConvention and Visitors Bureau presi-dent Mary Kerr announced the additionof Patti Ingleson as a convention salesaccount executive. Ingleson will handlethe Union Market Segment includingIronworkers International and the NJATC.

Education BriefsLansing - Cooley Law School has hiredattorney and health-care consultant LisaDeMoss of Rochester, MI to lead its newMaster of Laws in Insurance Law pro-gram at the school’s Lansing campus.The program which begins in January2011 is part of a partnership programwith Olivet College. DeMoss will serveas director of the Graduate InsuranceProgram and as a visiting professor.

Grand Rapids – Aquinas College’s Fall2010 Professional Certificate Program inSustainable Business will offer businessowners and professionals an opportuni-ty to learn about sustainable businessperspectives, practices and changestrategies. Offered through the College'sCenter for Sustainability, the Programfeatures expert presenters who bring thelatest theories and practices in a formatready-made for busy business profes-sionals. The non-credit certificate iscomprised of six, three-hour sessions,including two core sessions (required)and four electives.

Grand Rapids – Calvin College has beenincluded in the 2011 edition of thePrinceton Review's annual collegeguide: "The Best 373 Colleges." Onlyabout 15 percent of the nation's four-year colleges are included in the guide.

Ann Arbor – University of MichiganSchool of Dentistry has signed anagreement with Interleukin GeneticsInc. to conduct what may be the largestclinical study to date using genetic test-ing to assess the risk for gum disease.William Giannobile, professor at U-Mdentistry and director of the MichiganCenter for Oral Health Research at theSchool of Dentistry, will lead the study.

Grand Rapids – Oliver H. Evans, presi-dent of Kendall College of Art andDesign of Ferris State University, hasannounced that the college is openingthe 2010-2011 academic year with anew administrative position in place;Max S. Shangle, former chair of theFurniture Design Program, has beennamed dean of the college. Shangle’snew role will focus on program develop-ment and program compliance whiledeveloping improvement in communica-tion between programs, academicdepartments and administration. He willalso be planning for future growth of thecollege and its facilities, classrooms andthe demands of such growth.

Flint – Baker College Online officialsannounced a 5.8 percent increase in 2010spring quarter online enrollment com-pared to the same period in 2009. A totalof 4,957 undergraduate students attend-ed online classes exclusively duringspring quarter 2010, with new studentenrollment up 10.1 percent over last year.

Grand Rapids – Grand Valley StateUniversity students will benefit from a$10 million early-stage venture fund tosupport life science and technology inWest Michigan. The venture capitalfund, called Michigan Accelerator Fund 1(MAF1), was announced by TheCharter Group. The new fund is madepossible through a $6 million awardfrom Michigan’s 21st Century Jobs Fund,a program of the Michigan EconomicDevelopment Corporation. In additionto providing early-stage capital for high-growth businesses, MAF1 will alsoinclude a number of programs aimed atenhancing support for emerging compa-nies. These include student internshipswhere as many as 10 Grand ValleySeidman School of Business studentswill be offered internships during thefund’s initial five years of operations.

Muskegon – The culinary arts associatedegree program at The CulinaryInstitute of Michigan at Baker Collegehas been granted renewed accreditationwith Exemplary status by the AmericanCulinary Federation (ACF) EducationFoundation Accrediting Commission.Approximately 2 percent of ACF-accred-ited programs receive exemplary status.The renewed accreditation is valid forseven years.

Big Rapids – Ferris State University'snew East Campus Suites were officiallyunveiled to the public last August. Thenew student residences represent theculmination of a 15-month buildingproject that began with the demolition ofexisting buildings in June 2009 and fea-ture 72 four-bedroom and six two-bed-room suites. This is Ferris' first LEED-certified building project.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsCommunity College will offer its 8thLean Champion Certification Program.The program is recognized for its uniqueapproach to bringing participants andmanagement commitment and focusingon a real project in their workplace.

Grand Rapids – U.S. News & WorldReport has ranked Calvin in their "BestColleges" 2011 edition. The school wasranked ninth nationally both in the "astrong commitment to teaching" categoryand in the "Up-and-Comer" categorywhich recognizes schools that have "madethe most promising and innovativechanges in the areas of academics, facul-ty, student life, campus or facilities."

Grand Rapids – Professor of English atCalvin College, Lew Klatt is the recipi-ent of the Iowa Poetry Prize, an awardbestowed on a poetry collection in itsunpublished form every two years.Klatt's most recent collection, "Cloud ofInk," won the 2010 Iowa Poetry Prizeand will be published by The Universityof Iowa Press. Klatt is one of two recip-ients of the 2010 award.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsCommunity College officially unveiledthe GRCC DeVos Campus on August 25during a reception and tour event. The7-acre campus was purchased by in June2009. During this past summer, majorrenovations were completed on bothfloors of the classroom building, includ-ing new infrastructure, HVAC, wi-fi,décor, furniture and new technology inthe 25 new classrooms. In addition toexpanded space for classrooms and stu-dent services, the DeVos Campus willease transportation and parking conges-tion providing 540 parking spaces tostudents who attend GRCC classes in thedensely populated downtown area.

12

13Health Care Reform: “Deja Vu All Over Again”

By Jane Cooper

January 2010 – the DecisionAs we remember, the 111th

Congress passed the Patient Protectionand Affordable Care Act (PPACA), itspurpose being to provide quality, afford-able health care for all Americans. TheDemocrats used every procedural strate-gy available to them to pass a billimpacting 16% of the entire US economywith no Republican support for the lawor its provisions. Every employer, payerand provider in the country and everyUS citizen is now trying to understandthe consequences and manage them.

Since many individuals and compa-nies currently find health care and insur-ance coverage very expensive – manypeople would say “unaffordable” – thestated goal of PPACA would seem to bereduced costs for individuals and compa-nies for their health care and insurance.Unfortunately, with this legislation(unless changes are made), the oppositewill occur. Costs will skyrocket andeveryone will have fewer choices ofphysicians and fewer choices of insur-ance plans.

September 2010 – the UncertaintyThere is a long list of new provi-

sions that can be implemented as earlyas September 23, 2010 and must beimplemented the first day of a compa-ny’s plan year following this date unlessyour plan is “grandfathered.”(Grandfathered plans are so namedwhen employers decide to make zerochanges in their plans in order to delayimplementation of some of the aboverequirements. It is a very short termstrategy).

This list of implimented provisionsincludes, but is not limited to:

• Covering dependent children toage 26

• Unlimited lifetime maximum• “Reasonable” annual limits on

“essential benefits”• No cost sharing for yet to be

defined preventive benefits

• Elimination of pre-existing condi-tion limitation for children up to age 26

• New internal and external appealsprocess for members

• Changes in payment for emer-gency room services

All of these seemingly generousnew provisions require a great deal ofregulation. For example, coveringdependents (still “children?”) up to age26 leaves us with some questions: If mychild is married with children of his/herown, is my company legally required toprovide coverage to his/her entire fami-ly? Am I legally required to pay for it?What if my child has coverage availablethrough his/her employer, who is obli-gated to provide coverage? What if Idon’t want to pay the employee contri-bution to cover my estranged 25-year-old daughter, but she legally insists onthis coverage through my company?What if my grandchild is 25 and he/shelives with me? Can he/she get coveragethrough this new law? What if my hus-band and I were divorced when our chil-dren were 2 years old? They are now 24and living on their own. Which of ouremployers is required to cover themunder this new law?

As you can see, the only way forcompanies to implement this newrequirement, and all of the other newrequirements, is with detailed and finalregulations. Unfortunately, all of theseregulations have not been written yet.The US Department of Health andHuman Services, the Treasury and theLabor Departments have released “inter-im final regulations” for many of theitems above. Webster’s dictionarydefines interim as “a temporary or pro-visional arrangement, stopgap,makeshift.” Webster’s defines final as“conclusive or decisive.” The FederalGovernment’s use of “interim” and“final” together to provide guidance forthese massive changes is curious at bestand destructive at worst.

September 2010 – 2014 – What toDo?

Given the political confusion andthe regulatory confusion, it would seemlikely that some of the “required by”dates will be pushed back. Pending theNovember 2011 elections, some ofPPACA’s provisions may change or notbe funded. But in the meantime, insur-ance companies are raising rates, layingoff employees by the hundreds and con-solidating. Provider groups are raisingprices, laying off employees by the hun-dreds and consolidating.

And, as in years past, employershave to profitably run a company. If youare an HR/Benefits leader in your organ-ization, you need to continue to providecompetitive benefits to attract qualifiedworkers. So, you make decisions basedon the choices that you have, whileanticipating the decisions you mighthave to make as time marches towards2014.

What to do? Here are three of themost important things you can do now:

• Help your employees understandthe changes and become better health-care consumers.

• Make sure everyone has a pri-mary care physician now, because thepool of primary care physicians will beshrinking very soon.

• Go to the polls in November if youreally want to provide affordable health-care to your employees.

Jane Cooper is founder, presidentand CEO of leading advocacy companyPatient Care based in Milwaukee, WI.Cooper has over 25 years experiencehaving started and led five health carecompanies since the early 1980s.Patient Care currently provides servicesfor over 1 million members across thecountry.

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14Health Care BriefsGrand Rapids – Lutheran SocialServices of Michigan has hired DollieGrant to be the community coordinatorat The Terraces at MapleCreek. Grantserves as concierge for residents, helpingthem find community resources that willenable them to age in place and maintaintheir independence. She also supervisesThe Terraces’ resident attendants.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum Healthannounced the formation of the FrederikMeijer Heart and Vascular Institutealong with a generous gift from Fred andLena Meijer to help support its develop-ment. Cardiologist Richard McNamara,MD and cardiothoracic surgeon LawrencePatzelt, MD, will serve as co-interim exec-utive medical directors while a nationalsearch is conducted to recruit a permanentcardiovascular physician to lead theInstitute. Suzette Jaskie will serve as theexecutive administrative director of theInstitute. The Institute’s emphasis onresearch includes partnering with VanAndel Institute and Michigan StateUniversity College of Human Medicine.Efforts will focus on translational researchthat begins in the lab and progresses toclinical trials for people with diseases suchas heart failure, acute coronary syn-dromes and heart arrhythmias. Steps alsowill be taken to implement a cardiovascu-lar education program for physicians,nurses, allied health professionals andtechnologists. Once the research programis established, a cardiovascular educationmedical director will be recruited to createa broad medical education program.

Muskegon – Generation Care and Dr.Rick Baszler of Grand Haven Bone andJoint are the sports medicine, athletictraining and physical therapy providersfor the new Muskegon CommunityCollege’s men’s hockey club, theJayhawks. Bringing nearly 30 years ofhockey injury management experienceto the team, Generation Care and Baszlerwill offer pre-season assessments, func-tional training programs, peak perform-ance testing, injury prevention and med-ical coverage for league events.

Grand Rapids – Pine Rest ChristianMental Health Services announcedthat psychiatrist Talal Khan, M.D. hasjoined the staff. Dr. Khan is located atthe Campus Clinic at 300 68th Street SE.He will see adult patients and special-izes in treating patients with substanceabuse issues.

Grand Rapids – Diabetes research con-ducted at Helen DeVos Children’sHospital and 29 other trial sites in theU.S. and Canada showed children andadults with Type 1 diabetes achieved bet-ter glucose control by using a sensor-augmented insulin pump compared tothe most common approach to care today– multiple daily insulin injections.Results from The Sensor-AugmentedPump Therapy for A1C Reduction (STAR3) trial were recently published online inThe New England Journal of Medicineand presented at the American DiabetesAssociation 70th Scientific Sessions. Thestudy was sponsored by Medtronic, Inc.with participation from 485 patients (329adult and 156 pediatric subjects) rangingin age from 7 to 70.

Grand Rapids – A specialist in pediatricorthopaedics from Helen DeVosChildren’s Hospital has opened practicein collaboration with SouthwestMichigan Center for Orthopaedic andSports Medicine and LakelandHealthCare. The monthly clinic will pro-vide orthopaedic care to children withcongenital, developmental, infectiousand traumatic disorders of the muscu-loskeletal system.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum Health’srequest to offer adult bone marrow trans-plants received final approval from theMichigan Department of CommunityHealth. This is the only adult program inthe western half of the state. SpectrumHealth plans on performing the first trans-plant within the next few months andhopes to perform approximately 12 withinthe first year. State approval requires thatSpectrum Health perform the first trans-plant within one year of final approval.

Grand Rapids – Yi Cai, MD, PhD, hasjoined Helen DeVos Children’s HospitalPhysicians, members of SpectrumHealth Medical group, as a pediatricnephrologist. Dr. Cai and his colleaguesprovide care to children with generalnephrology needs including hyperten-sion, kidney disease, chronic or acuterenal failure, dialysis-dependent renalfailure and renal transplantation.

Grand Rapids – Dr. Marsha Rappley, deanof the Michigan State University Collegeof Human Medicine, has been named theGrand Rapids Area Chamber ofCommerce’s 2010 ATHENA® Award recip-ient. The ATHENA Award honors an indi-vidual who has demonstrated leadershipin her/his field, mentored and openeddoors of opportunities for women and con-tributed time and talent to the community.

Grand Rapids – Priority Health hasgiven out their 2009 Quality Awards rec-ognizing excellence in health careamong individual physicians and grouppractices for superior performance, clini-cal quality measures and patient satis-faction based on national standards andsolid, evidence-based medicine. PriorityHealth has given nine offices awards forExceptional Patient Care, all of themwithin the Advantage HealthPhysician Network (AHPN): JenisonFamily Medicine, Northwest FamilyMedicine, Caledonia Family Medicine,Downtown OB/GYN, East BeltlineFamily Medicine and SouthwestCampus. Also part of the APHN,Rivertown Family Medicine andDowntown Family Medicine receivedOutstanding Health Care Value awards.Northeast Family Medicine, SoutheastFamily Medicine and Walker/StandaleFamily Medicine received both awards.

West Michigan – Mercy HealthPartners - Life Counseling announcedthe addition of Julie Golin, MA, LLP,CAAC to the staff. Julie’s experienceincludes substance abuse and mentalhealth treatment, child, adolescent andadult therapy and marriage counseling.Julie’s experience also includes playtherapy, art therapy and trauma work.

Grand Rapids – Lutheran SocialServices of Michigan has hired TomCurran to be marketing coordinator atThe Terraces at MapleCreek, whichfeatures catered independent livingapartments for seniors.

Kent County – Children’s AssessmentCenter was selected by the NationalChildren’s Alliance to receive $700 inTarget gift cards from the VerizonFoundation. Children’s AssessmentCenter is one of 145 National Children’sAlliance accredited Children’s AdvocacyCenters to receive this gift from theVerizon Foundation’s total donation of$100,000 in Target gift cards.

Allegan – Matthew J. Lappenga, DPM, hasjoined the Wound Healing Center atAllegan General Hospital. Dr. Lappengaspecializes in the treatment of chronicwounds and offers hospital-based outpa-tient wound care and hyperbaric oxygentherapy.

Flint – John Rogus of Grand Rapids hasjoined McLaren Health Plan as a salesexecutive. Rogus previously served as asales executive for Humana and bringsover 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry.

Grand Rapids – Pine Rest announcedthat clinician Sarah Muench, MA, LLP,has joined the staff at Pine Rest ChristianMental Health Services at the ZeelandClinic, 8333 Felch Street, Suite 201.

Grand Rapids – Blue Cross Blue Shieldof Michigan and Blue Care Networkhave designated Spectrum HealthBlodgett and Butterworth hospitals asBlue Distinction Centers for SpineSurgerySM and Blue Distinction Centersfor Knee and Hip Replacement.

Grand Rapids – Hyundai MotorAmerica and its dealers as part of theHyundai Hope on Wheels™ 2010 tourannounced a $25,000 grant to HelenDeVos Children’s Hospital. The 2010Hope on Wheels Tour is travelingnationwide to donate more than $2.1million pediatric to research institutions.Uli Duffner, MD, hematologist/oncolo-gist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospitalwas named a 2010 Hyundai Scholar, andwill use the funds to support bone mar-row transplant research at Helen DeVosChildren’s Hospital.

Grand Rapids – Dan Arndt, MD, a pedi-atric neurologist and epileptologist, andYaw Appiagyei, MD, a pediatricendocrinologist, have joined HelenDeVos Children’s Hospital Physicians,members of Spectrum Health MedicalGroup.

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15Health Care Reform - What’s Behind the Curtain?

By Roland Palmer

Many employers are currently con-fronted with the question, “How do Iaddress employee health care benefitsgiven the changes coming under PatientProtection and Affordability Care Act(PPACA)?” Well, I’m not sure that wehave seen many of the actual changesthat will be occurring, but we have seenand heard the proposed changes in theexpansion of insurance coverage for uni-versal populations. What we have notheard is how these changes affect 1) pay-ment to physicians and hospitals, 2) thehealth care delivery system which willneed to accommodate the influx of newgovernment funded patients or 3) howcurrently under-funded government pro-grams will continue to affect the cost ofemployer health insurance. Many“experts” suggest that it will be at least

ten years before we see the full impact ofthe Reform.

In addition to the proposed inclu-sion of approximately 40 million cur-rently uninsured people into the insuredpopulation (current estimates are that 20million of the 40 million will be insuredby the government through Medicaid),the over-65 population is also increas-ing, meaning the Government also ispaying for a larger Medicare population.Currently, Governmental health care pro-grams are paying 50% of every healthcare dollar spent in the United States.With the expansion of both the Medicaidand Medicare populations, theGovernment’s financial responsibility issure to increase even further. Theexpansion of Government health careprograms would not be a significantcause for concern, if the governmentwere currently paying for the cost of

these programs. Unfortunately, this isnot the case.

The current optimistic concern isthat Medicare is paying hospitals at abreak-even level operationally with noallowance for profit or expansion.Medicaid is paying at 85% of hospitalbreak-even levels. Under the PPACAproposal, there would be significant cutsin Medicare payments to doctors andhospitals and smaller but consistentcuts in Medicaid payments.

A reduction in reimbursement forthese two programs would necessitatehospitals and physicians charging high-er prices to other commercial payers thatwould exacerbate an already problemat-ic situation with some commercialinsurers paying up to 160% of hospitalcosts.

Unless the Government createssome type of payment reform, which isnot contained in the current federalreform law, an already disproportionateburden of payment on commercialinsurance carriers will get even worse.

The third issue is the health caredelivery system changes that will benecessary under reform. Having healthinsurance does not guarantee timelyaccess to physicians and hospitals. Inthe case of Massachusetts, the passageof universal health coverage increased

the number of people seeking healthcare services dramatically. Because thehealth care system was too inefficientand specialty oriented to respond to theneeds of the newly enrolled insuredpopulation, time to get an appointmentwith a physician increased from weeksto months and the use of the emergencyrooms increased dramatically, which inturn increased the cost of health careservices.

Any program that hopes to reducehealth care costs to serve a largerinsured population will require signifi-cant expansion of primary care servicesthat are easily accessible, personal med-ical homes for people with chronic ill-nesses and accountable care organiza-tions that fund efficient, effective waysof delivering care that optimizes qualityand reduces costs.

What is titled to be health carereform is currently insurance expansionwith a larger amount of how to’s stillhidden behind the curtain.

Roland Palmer is President & CEOof Grand Valley Health Plan – a locallyowned and operated West Michiganfamily healthcare provider and staff-model HMO.

Health Care BriefsNew York, NY – In recognition ofSeptember’s designation as National PainAwareness Month, the American Societyof Interventional Pain Physicians(ASIPP) announced that it is planning amonth-long educational campaign toimprove the quality of life for the approx-imately 75 million Americans sufferingfrom acute and chronic pain. As part ofthis outreach, ASIPP has developed a con-sumer section on its website(www.asip.org) that includes informationabout the latest diagnostic procedures andtechnologies, as well as an online directo-ry of interventional pain physicians whoare experts at both finding the cause ofpain and then treating it before it becomesa chronic or worsening problem.

Grand Rapids - Dr. Gwen Unzicker,family practice doctor at SpectrumHealth Medical Group, will join anotherdoctor and two medical students toaddress ongoing health needs in Haiti.The team will be part of a Medical TeamsInternational outreach for two weeks.The team will coordinate medical carefrom the Medical Teams Internationalfield office in Port-au-Prince whichopened after the disaster struck. Grand Rapids – Lutheran SocialServices of Michigan has hired LilahMiller as director of nursing at TheLodge at MapleCreek skilled nursingand rehabilitation center in southeastGrand Rapids.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum Health wasranked as the nation's fifth largestprovider of hip and knee replacements ina recent issue of Orthopedic NetworkNews (ONN). Blue Cross Blue Shield ofMichigan and Blue Care Network havealso designated Spectrum HealthBlodgett and Butterworth hospitals asBlue DistinctionCenters for SpineSurgery and BlueDistinction Centersfor Knee and HipReplacement.

Grand Rapids –Grand ValleyHealth Plan wel-comed NathanMann, D.O. totheir health careteam. Dr. Mannwill be seeingpatients at GrandValley’s BeckwithFamily HealthCenter and OBCenter ofExcellence locatedat 2680 LeonardNE in GrandRapids. Dr. Mannspecializes in fam-ily medicine, OBcare and acupunc-ture.

Local Firm Provides Expertise of European CounterpartGrand Rapids – You may know

West Michigan is on the forefront ofsustainable design, but you may be sur-prised to learn our local expertise isbeing exported.

Europe does not often come to theUnited States for help in sustainablebuilding techniques, but a local WestMichigan firm has opened that border.Roughly 290 miles from Perugia, Italy,

(Grand Rapids’ Sister City), Fishbeck,Thompson, Carr & Huber, Inc. (FTC&H)is providing their sustainable designknowledge to clients in Italy’s TrentinoProvince.

FTC&H’s professional relationshipwith the Michigan State UniversitySchool of Planning, Design, andConstruction led them to work on greenbuilding projects in Italy with the

University of Trento and DistrettoTecnologico Trentino (DTTN), a consor-tium committed to developing applica-tions and innovations in constructionwith low energy consumption, renewableenergy and intelligent land use. FTC&Hwas originally hired as a systems com-missioning authority for a new primaryschool being constructed in the Village ofArco. Relationships formed during thatproject led to more work for theMichigan-based firm, including systemscommissioning, LEED administrationand energy modeling services for multi-ple DTTN projects. One in particular, theITC Floriani, Riva del Garda (a tradeschool addition) was just awarded LEEDGold and was the first LEED-Schools cer-tification in Italy.

FTC&H teamed with another Italianclient, Habitech, on the world headquar-ters for the United Nations’ InternationalFund for Agricultural Development(IFAD) in Rome. This project wasawarded LEED Gold for ExistingBuildings: Operations and Management(EBOM). This was FTC&H’s first certifi-cation under LEED for ExistingBuildings and likely the first LEED forExisting Buildings in Italy. As in all

LEED systems, projects are awardedpoints for sustainable measures in site,water, energy, materials and indoorenvironmental quality. The LEED-EBOMsystem stresses performance in opera-tions and management rather thandesign and construction.

With its current European efforts,FTC&H is also exploring potential proj-ects that could take them to such loca-tions as Turkey, Spain, and Costa Rica.

By John W. Weiss

Design-Build continues to be avaluable project delivery system in theconstruction industry as building ownersand developers continue to use thismethod to design and construct projectsthroughout our area. Over the years,Design Plus has partnered with manyconstruction companies and buildingowners to provide projects on a Design-Build basis.

Design-build is one of the threemost common methods for designingand constructing projects, the othersbeing Design-Bid-Build andConstruction Management. These are alldelivery systems that are frequently usedin our area, and each has its own set ofadvantages and disadvantages. Still,many building owners believe that theDesign-Build approach provides severaladvantages to the more commonly usedapproaches. These include:

* enhanced communication* single point of responsibility* enhanced accountability for all

members of the team

* value-based decision making dur-ing design.

In the more traditional approach ofDesign-Bid-Build, the owner hires anarchitect who completes all of the plansand documentation of a project. Whenthe architect has finished their work,general contractors are invited to bid theproject based on the information provid-ed in the architect’s plans and then con-struct it accordingly.

Under a Construction Managementapproach, the owner hires an architect todevelop the construction documents andalso hires a construction manager who isresponsible for all the sub-contractors,cost estimates, budgeting, schedulingand insuring for the project. TheConstruction Management approachinvolves separate contracts with thearchitect and the construction manager.

With the Design-Build method theowner has only one contract and hires asingle design and construction team.This team composed of both design andconstruction professionals works togeth-er throughout the entire project. There isone contract and thus a single point of

responsibility for the successful comple-tion of the project.

Each of these delivery methods hasits advantages and disadvantages andoften the size, complexity, type of owneror other factors can determine the mostappropriate method for the design andconstruction of a project. For instance, inMichigan, many public projects requireclear checks and balances and clear sep-aration of design from construction andthus do not qualify for the Design-Buildapproach. At other times, a buildingowner may choose to construct the proj-ect based solely on the lowest bid andtherefore the design-bid-build approachmay be more appropriate.

If selecting the Design-Buildmethod, building owners must insurethat each member of the team under-stands their role and is willing to workcooperatively and always as a team. Notall contractors or architects have theexperience and collaborative nature towork together in this manner. Design-Build is truly a system of shared respon-sibility, accountability and requires firmswith the ability to put teamwork first.

In the future, Design-Build will con-tinue to grow as a construction deliverymethod. Teaming in this manner withthe contractor and architect working col-laboratively will be a favored approachby owners seeking a single contract fortheir construction project and a singlesource of responsibility insuring that theteam works together to achieve the goalsof the project. In addition, the future ofcreating teams that utilize BIM (BuildingInformation Modeling) software willbenefit greatly from the collaborativecontributions of Design-Build teammembers. All of the work at Design Plusutilizes BIM software and many of ourarea’s contractors and building ownersare seeking projects that utilize theDesign-Build approach to constructiondelivery.

John Weiss is president and CEO ofDesign Plus, Inc in Grand Rapids – afull-service architecture, engineering,interior design and landscape architec-ture firm. Weiss is also chairman of theKent County Road Commission.

16

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17Should Your Next Construction Project Be

Design/Build?By Chris Beckering

Selecting the appropriate deliverymethod for a construction project is a crit-ical first step for an owner. It is importantto understand the advantages and disad-vantages of the various delivery methods(General Contracting, ConstructionManagement, and Design/Build) to makethe best decision for your project.

The Design/Build delivery methodrequires a high level of trust between theowner and the Design/Build firm. The firmmay be a single company that offers botharchitectural and contracting services or anarchitect-contractor team with the contrac-tor holding the contract for the constructionand design. One obvious advantage for theowner of this delivery method is the singlesource of responsibility, rather than negoti-ating and contracting independently with acontractor and architect. Moreover, you getthe benefit of a collaborative teamapproach as opposed to the ‘balance ofpower’ approach often seen with theGeneral Contracting delivery method. Someclients see the Design/Build method result-ing in less “finger-pointing” and fasterdecision making.

When executed properly, aDesign/Build approach results in acceleratedprojects schedules, better overall value, andexceptional quality. A Design/Build teaminvolves the architect, project manager, andsuperintendent very early in the process.Therefore, potential concerns relating todesign-to-field implications are addressedearly and can be value-engineered quicklywithout wasted design effort and costlychange orders. The person responsible forbuilding can provide input and direction to

the person designing. This minimizes costlyredesign and change orders during con-struction. Moreover, design need not be100% completed before construction beginswith Design/Build. Certain aspects of design(such as foundations and structure) can becompleted early, allowing work to beginwhile other aspects such as finish selectiondecisions can be made while construction isunderway. The compressed schedule trans-lates to cost savings.

The primary advantage of a one-stopor contractor-led Design/Build team ischemistry and teamwork. The contractorwill select a project manager-superintend-ent team that is particularly well-suited forthe specific project and then pair this teamwith an architect to assemble a comprehen-sive Design/Build known to work welltogether. The team members’ selection pairscomplimentary skill sets of individuals andconsiders communication skills, profes-sionalism, creativity, attention to detail andproject specific requirements. Getting theright people on the team ensures a positiveexperience for the owner.

“If you need help determining whichdelivery method is best for you and for yourspecific project, it is best to speak with afirm that has a track record of successfullydelivering projects using each of the vari-ous delivery methods,” says TimSchowalter, president of PioneerConstruction. “This way, you can get anunbiased opinion as to the best method. Ifyou determine Design/Build to be right foryour project, the best method for evaluatinga Design/Build firm is to speak with indi-viduals who have worked with the team ona recent project. The only way to demon-strate success in Design/Build is to consis-

tently provide clients with exceptional facil-ities that function as intended and that aredelivered on time and within budget.”

If speed of delivery is a primary con-cern and you have a contractor or archi-tect you trust, Design/Build is an excellentconstruction delivery method.

Chris Beckering is director of busi-ness development at Pioneer Construction– a Grand Rapids- based design/build,construction management, general con-tracting, and LEED certified constructioncompany.

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18

In or Out? Pay or Not? - Floodplain & Flood InsuranceBy Donald De Groot, P.E.

As part of the National FloodInsurance Program, the FederalGovernment has assigned the FederalEmergency Management Agency(FEMA) the task of mapping the SpecialFlood Hazard Area (SFHA) (also referredto as the 100 year flood plain) over prac-tically the entire Country. While someareas that have been mapped previouslywill be updated, other areas will bemapped for the first time. Once thesemaps become effective, lending institu-tions will be notified of the map’s effec-tive date. These lending institutions

(either by Federal mandate for federallybacked loans or based on their own cri-teria) will require that all property that isdetermined to be in the SFHA carry floodinsurance. While this requirementapplies to all future mortgages, it alsoapplies to existing mortgages. Becausemaps are either being updated or createdfor the first time, your property may nowbe in the SFHA. Property that could beaffected may be located around lakes,rivers and tributaries. Property may beresidential, commercial or industrial.

FEMA develops its maps using thebest information it has available.Unfortunately, limitations in the infor-

mation FEMA uses may cause areas tobe shown in the SFHA even though theproperty is at or above the elevation ofthe 100 year floodplain.

If this is the case, in order to removeyour property from the SFHA so that youare no longer required to carry floodinsurance, FEMA has adopted a processreferred to as a Letter of Map Amendment(LOMA). This process requires accuratesurvey information and completion andcertification of LOMA forms by a profes-sional engineer or surveyor.

Filing a LOMA with FEMA often canbe completed for less than one year’spremium for flood insurance, and youshould contact a professional planning,engineering and surveying company toassist you. At Exxel Engineering, Inc.,our survey department can provideFEMA elevation certificates or LOMA

applications as required by lenders orflood insurance providers. We also areable to provide both small and large-scale cross-sections of rivers for floodplain analysis and determination by localauthorities or FEMA projects. If you havebeen notified by your lender that yourproperty is in the SFHA or if you haveany concerns or questions regarding howfloodplains may affect your property,please contact us at (616) 531-3660.

Donald De Groot, P.E. is engineeringdepartment manager and has been withthe Grand Rapids-based and employee-owned Exxel Engineering, Inc. since1989. He is registered as a ProfessionalEngineer in the state of Michigan andthe state of New Jersey.

Construction BriefsCaledonia – DVK Construction hasrecently completed the new medicaloffice for Lakeshore Dermatology at1550 3 Mile Road in Walker, MI. This isthe second location for the NortonShores-based dermatology, laser andmedical spa facility. LakeshoreDermatology is owned by Dr. JasonVanIttersum.

Grand Rapids – The U.S. Green BuildingCouncil of West Michigan will host aninaugural green buildings tour thisSeptember 10-11 as part of their FutureCities event. Grand Rapids currently hasthe fourth largest number (120) ofLEED-certified buildings in the nation.The tour will 40 buildings and homes,including health care, education, office,small project, manufacturing and non-profits. Tours will depart near theEberhard Center on Grand Valley StateUniversity's downtown Grand Rapidscampus. The Future Cities: ClimateStrategies for Sustainable Communitiesevent will be presented by GreenTownon September 10 and will feature presen-tations on community planning, greenbuilding, green jobs, energy, transporta-tion, green infrastructure, local food andnew strategies for reducing waste.

Caledonia – DVK Constructionannounced the completion of anotherCheckers Drive-In Restaurant. Thenew location at 1325 28th Street SW inWyoming, MI has been open for busi-ness since the 4th of July. This is thefifth location owned and operated byMike and Lisa Burkhardt in the GreaterGrand Rapids area.

Caledonia – DVK Construction hasbeen hired to expand the offices ofGourmet International at their corpo-rate headquarters on BroadmoorAvenue in Caledonia. GourmetInternational is a distributor of importedgourmet foods and chocolates. The newoffice will also provide additional spacefor a second business, Erika’s Travel, alocal travel agency.

Midland – Dow Corning Corp.announced that Saulo Rozendo hasbeen named the new global green build-ing marketer for the Dow CorningConstruction Industry. He will beresponsible for identifying and partner-ing with global building leaders to imple-ment innovative green building solutionsand increase energy efficiencies.

Grand Rapids – C.D. Barnes Associatesannounced that they have been awardedthe renovations to Notions Marketing -an 80 year old, Grand Rapids based, dis-tributor supplying the craft industry.Historical renovation work will includethe addition of new offices, restroomsand meeting rooms. This project willallow this family owned corporation tocontinue its path of exceptional growth.

Ann Arbor – Hobbs+Black recognizedNick Scarpone (Lansing) for his promo-tion to vice president. In addition,Hobbs+Black announced the followingfour promotions to the title of seniorassociate: Dan Kohler (Ann Arbor),Kristina Glusac (Ann Arbor), RussMeyer (Lansing) and Tom Dillenbeck(Ann Arbor).

19Construction BriefsGrand Rapids – Colliers International inWest Michigan announced the followingtransactions: 2004 Family Real Estatepurchased a 4,000 sq. ft. retail space at1965 W. Main Street, SE in Lowell fromLomi Properties, LLC. Wolverine GlassProducts Inc. purchased a 53,472 sq. ft.industrial space at 5801 Clay St. in GrandRapids from seller Gill Properties, LLC.Byron Bank sold a 49,926 sq. ft. com-mercial space at 102 54th St. in Wyomingto 54th Street Ventures, LLC.Mercantile Bank sold an 8,000 sq. ft.office space at 617 Douglas St. SW inGrand Rapids. Grand Rapids Investors,LLC purchased a 7,221 sq. ft. commercialspace at 245 N Division in Grand Rapidsfrom seller was Ben T Liu (and family).Landlord Letts Real Estate, LLC has cre-ated a 3-year lease for a 6,100 sq. ft.retail space at 5070 E. Main Street inKalamazoo for tenant Dave Ash ofRE/MAX Advantage. Cascade RoadBldg, LLC. has leased their 2,700 sq. ft.office space located at 5380 Cascade Rd.in Grand Rapids to Robert Strobel, DDS.McClure Tables, Inc., a manufacturer ofshuffleboard tables and accessories,leased an 18,000 sq. ft. space at 6661Roger Dr. in Jenison from P&KDevelopments, LLC. L&V Developmentleased a 12,936 sq. ft. industrial space at1515 Gezon Parkway in Wyoming; 38Commerce, LLC sold a 6,000 sq. ft.office space at 38 Commerce in GrandRapids to independent online advertisingnetwork Adtegrity; Elston Richards,LLC sold 529,202 sq. ft. of commercialspace at 3701 Patterson Ave in GrandRapids to 3703 Patterson, LLC; 3695-44th Street, LLC purchased a 34,060 sq.ft. commercial space in Grand Rapidsfrom Tool Ventues International;Arena Station, LLC leased their 3,400sq. ft. office space at 25 Ottawa in GrandRapids to Armour-Eckrich Meats, LLC;MS Partners, LLC leased their 10,048sq. ft. retail space at 7017 S WestnedgeAve in Portage to Carelinc MedicalEquipment & Supply Co., LLC; MirusCustom Cabinetry leased a 4,000 sq. ft.commercial space at 1506 E State Streetin Hastings from Dick and KathieZiegler; Customer Retention Solutionsleased an 8,600 sq. ft. commercial spaceat 2550 Millcork Road in Kalamazoo.

Plymouth – Soil and MaterialsEngineers, Inc. announced the additionof Brian S. Trent, PE, LEED® AP asproject engineer to their brownfield rede-velopment team in Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids – This month, C.D.Barnes Associates decided to honorsite manager Pete Heinen for his hardwork and commitment to the company.After 56 years in operation, C.D. BarnesAssociates itself has an average employ-ee tenure of 15 years.

Muskegon – Signature Associates hasnegotiated the following: The sale of a6,042 sq. ft. industrial building at 1619Marion Avenue in Grand Haven from sell-er Coastal Real Estate Holdings, LLC tobuyer Grand Haven Steel Products, Inc.;The lease of 9,792 sq. ft. of industrialspace at 2055 Oak Industrial Drive NE inGrand Rapids for landlord Grand RapidsLabel Co.; The lease of 18,000 sq. ft. ofindustrial space at 3520 Jefferson AvenueSE in Wyoming for landlord NorthtownCenter, Inc. and tenant CharterDistributing Company; The lease of3,500 sq. ft. of office space at 44Grandville Avenue SW, Suite 320 in GrandRapids for tenant Carnevale ID, LLC.

Detroit – The U.S. Department ofHousing and Urban Developmentannounced $1 million to the City of PortHuron for the conversion of the Sperry’sDepartment Store Building into newprofessional and retail space which willprovide over 15 business incubators andcreate and retain 195 jobs. The totalproject cost is $11,022,443 million.

Grand Rapids – Colliers Internationalhas announced the following transac-tions: Dadson Properties, LLC, renewedtheir 31,875 sq. ft. industrial space at2925 Remico St. SW in Grandville to ten-ant, K&M Tire, Inc.; Edward Jonesleased a 1,145 sq. ft. retail space at 6769Courtland Drive in Rockford from land-lord Stanton Real Estate, LLC; CascadeRoad Building Dveleopment LLCleased their 1,140 sq. ft. office space at5380 Cascade Road in Grand Rapids.

Kentwood – The City of Kentwoodannounced the completion of theKentwood District Library at 4950Breton Ave. Wolverine Building Groupwrapped up construction on the 43,000sq. ft. facility that will serve as theKentwood District Library’s new flagshiplocation. The $6.5 Million, two-storybuilding was designed by PostArchitects and an outdoor courtyardaddition was made possible through theefforts of The Kentwood Foundationand numerous private supporters.

Grand Rapids – In an effort to alleviatecongestion and gain revenue opportuni-ties, Van Andel Arena has begun a $1.2million project to expand the concoursearea. The construction will expand theconcourse by about 3,500 sq. ft..Designed by Southfield-based RossettiArchitects (the arena’s original archi-tects) the expansion is part of the GrandRapids-Kent County Convention/ArenaAuthority’s (CAA) capital improve-ments budget. General contractorRockford Construction Company, Inc.has sub-contracted to use all local firms,including minority-owned businesses, tocomplete the expansion.

Grand Rapids – The Grand RapidsAssociation of Realtors has announcedthat single family home prices were upfor the eighth consecutive month com-pared to the same months last year. Theaverage single family home price was$117,412, up 2.6 percent over July2009. Year-to-date, the average salesprice is up 10.9 percent compared to2009. The total number of single-familyhomes sold in July was 681, compared to1,040 from July 2009. The inventorylevel of homes for sale dropped to 8,148putting upward pressure on home prices.

Caledonia – DVK Construction hasrecently been awarded the contract foran entry way renovation for EastLeonard Christian Reform Church. Therenovation provides barrier free entranceinto the church including site concreteand a new canopy. The project architectis Century A&E and is scheduled to becomplete in September.

Grand Rapids – Colliers Internationalhas announced: Network 180 sold their24,260 sq. ft. office space located at 833Lake Dr in Grand Rapids; JerseyMarshall Inc. sold their 252,000 sq. ft.office space at 410 & 820 E Mann Rd. inMarshall to Golden Rule, LLC; SpicaProperties, LLC sold 1.29 acres ofvacant land at 5631 Byron Center Ave inWyoming to McDonald’s USA, LLC;Centerpoint Properties Trust leasedtheir 40,000 sq. ft. commercial space at4480-44th Street in Grand Rapids toSprinter Services, Inc.; Core RealtyHoldings leased their 30,000 sq. ft.commercial space at 509-76th Street inGrand Rapids to Bid-R-Done, an onlineauction company; Arena Station, LLCleased their 3,000 sq. ft. office space at25 Ottawa in downtown Grand Rapids toRedThread Communications.

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20Windemuller - Building Turbines and Building

Relationships in MI Wind PowerWayland - In this economy, most

electrical/mechanical manufacturers,installers and service companies havetaken hits as their clients have takenhits. Spending reluctance and an intenseneed for cost reduction has caused aslump in productivity that many busi-nesses are simply trying to weather out.Diversification has always been a goodstrategy for improving the bottom line,but these days, it’s becoming more andmore of a necessity. With traditionalprofit lines dwindling or becoming slug-gish, new innovation and expansion intopreviously untapped markets could bethe key to staying afloat or even prof-itable in this environment.

Wayland, Michigan-based companyWindemuller was established back in1954 as an electrical contractor, andsince then, they’ve diversified their line-up to include automation, outdoor utili-ty, communications and informationtechnology services and are still goingstrong today. One of their newest divi-sions tapped into the renewable energymarket back in 2001 when they wiredup their first wind turbine.

“Since then, the whole industrytook hold,” said Daryl Holwerda, abusiness development manager atWindemuller for the past 10 years. “Wedecided, whether it's solar or wind, thatwe had to put energy into this andmake it real, rather than just letting ithappen. We could have let thingsprogress on their own, taking whatcame to us. But putting a focus on it,

setting goals and targeting clients hasreally given us the kind of experience tobe leaders in the industry.”

With increased demand in the windindustry in recent years, Windemullerhas been picking up work not only inMichigan but around the country, biddingon jobs in Florida, Maine, Texas,Arizona, Ohio and Indiana among others.

“It comes from a lot of relationshipbuilding,” explains Holwerda. “These areconnections we’ve been establishingover years now, and the alliance we’vemade puts us way ahead of the game.We’ve been attending trade show semi-nars, networking and exchanging infor-mation. There are people I would haveseen years ago as competitors who I nowsee as teammates and allies.”

When dealing with wind power,these kind of networks are indispensable.Where a standard building might requirea relatively simple series of permits, windinstillations involve grant writing, citing,properly connecting to transmission linesand a slew of other entities and factorsthat need to be taken into considerationlike local and state laws regulating size,capacity and a myriad of other designand implementation facets.

“We've built a network of friends,”says Holwerda. “Different engineers,general contractors… even the guys thathaul the blades. You need the best peo-ple for the job, those who are experi-enced. For example, we've found a com-pany with a blade trailer in GrandRapids; To have that in our own back-

yard is a great thing. Now we know whoto talk to. Or take grant writing. I have agreat guy for grant writing in privateenterprises, but when I deal with amunicipality, I have a different one I use.Knowing this makes my batting averageof getting the grant a lot better and endsup getting the job done.”

The job for Windemuller is focusingon utility grade turbines. Wind technolo-gy can be divided into three basic levels– small, community and large or utilitygrade – and these divisions roughly cor-relate to size and capacity. Utility gradeis requested by individual investors,community scale is generally govern-ments, municipalities, schools, etc. andsmall scale is typically residential.However, these lines often bleed into oneanother. In many commercial applica-tions, for example, residential size tur-bines are often employed.

Wind isn’t the only thingWindemuller has its hands on; Theyoffer services for ethanol plants andsolar panels as well. “We do things likeMet [Meteorological] towers that collectwind data to determine good locationsfor wind installations too,” notesHolwerda. “I’m working on a projectright now that involves nearly sixty ofthem. Michigan has been blessed withfairly low electrical rates so far. As theyjump up, we’re going to see more ofthese along with more turbines goingup as well.”

Windemuller continues to expandits business even though the Michigan

market for wind may not be as strong asit is in other states; The Midwest hasseen projects of 100 turbine units andmore while Texas installed the mostnew wind power in this year’s secondquarter. Still, the Clean, Renewable, andEfficient Energy Act of 2008 (PA 295)has required that Michigan’s electricityproviders generate around ten percentof their electricity using renewablesources by 2015 and a large portion ofthis mandate is expected to be fulfilledusing wind power.

“We’re going to continue buildingon our connections and experience with-in this industry,” said Holwera. “Newtechnology is being tested at a wind farmthat we're working on here in Michigan,and we hope to share more excitinginformation on this very soon. It has thepotential of putting us at the forefront ofthis industry.”

Grand Rapids - AIA Grand Valleyand the Grand Rapids Community CollegeLibrary has agreed to be a study site forstudents and intern architects preparingto take their registration exams.

The Michigan Chapter of theAmerican Institute of Architects (AIA),has purchased and placed on reserve theentire set of the 2010 ArchitecturalRegistration Exam test preparationbooklets, study guides, and practicevignettes published by Kaplan.

This effort is spearheaded by theAIA Michigan Center for EmergingProfessional Resources. The availabilityof these study materials will be of greathelp to students and interns workingtowards licensure who find the cost andavailability of study materials formidable.

To take advantage of these freestudy materials, intern architects andstudents alike can come to the GrandRapids Community College Library tosign up either with their driver’s license,local public library card, or a GRCCLibrary card. Because of the expecteddemand, these materials are “library useonly” and are held at the library’s frontreference desk.

ArchitecturalRegistrationExam Study

21

“Greening” InfrastructureBy Thomas M. Doran andDennis Benoit

Something that is becoming moreprevalent in the design of water andwastewater infrastructure is greater sen-sitivity to the natural environment andthe desire to keep energy use to a mini-mum (especially high priorities in WestMichigan and the Great Lakes States). Anumber of different techniques andpractices are now being used to achievethese goals.

On a recent pumping station project

in the City of Grand Rapids, horizontaldirectional drilling – a technique thatminimizes surface disruption – was usedto install a sanitary sewage force main,in part, an effort to minimize the impactof construction on the environment. Insimilar fashion, many older sewers andwater mains can be lined, thus restoringthem to an almost-new condition andreducing or eliminating the need to exca-vate and replace pipe. There are now anumber of trenchless technologies thatmay be appropriate when installing orrehabilitating underground pipes.

At more and more wastewater treat-ment plants, biosystems are beingenhanced to reduce or eliminate the needto add chemicals to remove nutrientsfrom wastewater, and thereby precludethe sludge that is produced with chemi-cal treatment. Also, newer devices usedto add oxygen to biological systems aremuch more energy efficient than olderdevices, providing significant energysavings. At the Delhi Township waste-water treatment plant, waste solids aredigested to produce methane gas; Thisgas, in turn, powers microturbines thatproduce electricity. They even use sheepto maintain the landscape rather thanenergy using lawn equipment.

Increasingly, storm water is beingused to enhance local environmentsrather than being conveyed long dis-tances, thus reducing surges into riversand streams and reducing the correspon-

ding environmental impact. In manyMichigan communities including GrandRapids, some of the storm water in for-merly combined sewers is being removedto reduce the cost of treatment and toprevent untreated discharges duringextreme wet weather.

When considering the miles ofsewer and water main in west Michiganand the number of treatment facilities,these “greening” practices and tech-niques have the potential to have a bigimpact on the environment and energy.

Thomas M. Doran, P.E., is vice pres-ident and principal-in-charge of theGrand Rapids office location of Hubbell,Roth & Clark, Inc. – a full service profes-sional engineering firm. Dennis Benoit,P.E., is an associate and the GrandRapids office manager.

SETTING THE PACE FOR TOMORROW

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Industrial BriefsHolland – LeanLogistics has been recog-nized as a top preferred service providerwith the ‘Procurement Excellence Award’in a customer survey conducted by theproducers of the strategic procurementconference, ProcureCon.

Holland – GMB Architecture +Engineering announced that MaryBamborough, IIDA, has been named tothe Holland Museum board of trusteesfor 2010-2013. With over 20 years ofexperience, Bamborough joined GMB in2006 to serve as director of interiordesign.

Walker – Tubelite Inc. announced G.Bowie and Associates as its manufactur-er's representative in Alabama, Kentuckyand Tennessee. Drawing from more than30 years of experience in commercialbuilding products and services, the G.Bowie team works closely with architects,contractors, consultants, property man-agers, building owners and developersthroughout the Southeast region.

Taylor – Andrew McCune, PE, executivevice president of Wade Trim, wasnamed president of the AmericanCouncil of Engineering Companies ofMichigan (ACEC/M). ACEC is a nation-al professional association representingmore than 5,500 private-practice con-sulting engineering firms. The MichiganChapter represents more than 100 con-sulting engineering, surveying, architec-tural and related engineering compa-nies. Under McCune’s direction as presi-dent, ACEC/M will focus on increasingthe organization’s legislative involve-ment, becoming the “go to” engineeringassociation in Michigan and increasingmember involvement.

Walker – Contributing to environmentaland energy-efficiency goals, TubeliteInc. now offers Therml=Block™ doorproducts with thermal barriers. Theseinsulated doors and frames are manu-factured using EcoLuminum™, a highrecycled-content aluminum billet com-position featuring environmentally-friendly finishes.

Grand Rapids – Randy Rapp, registeredsanitarian, of Exxel Engineering, Inc.,has obtained the State of Michigan Typell (non-residential) Water Works SystemOperator certification. He is qualified toconduct routine tests on and maintainprivate Type ll water systems for facto-ries, churches, schools, offices, etc.

Holland – Trendway announced theintroduction of Sketch R, a new series ofoffice seating. Sleek, tailored and loadedwith features, Sketch R is a handsomechair at a very competitive price.

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22Biopharmaceutical Company Secures Funding from

West Michigan InvestorsKalamazoo – ProNAi Therapeutics

Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceuticalcompany based in Kalamazoo, MI, hassecured financing to advance the Phase Iclinical studies of its lead cancer drugPNT2258. ProNAi raised the capital froma group of Michigan investors, includingKalamazoo-based Apjohn Ventures,west Michigan angel investing groupGrand Angels and the MichiganEconomic Development Corporation. Atotal of $750,000 has been invested sofar, with rolling closes continuingthrough the remainder of the year.

ProNAi COO Robert Forgey said,“This investment was critical for ProNAito advance the development of this novelcancer treatment. Given the seriousnature of the disease, as many new com-pounds as possible need to be responsi-bly tested for clinical efficacy. The pre-

clinical data has been very compellingand we hope to see patient benefit as wemove into later stage development.”

Jody Vanderwel, president ofGrand Angels, said her group’s mem-bers have invested in all three roundsof ProNAi financings. “Those invest-ments reflect the confidence our mem-bers have in the skill and passion ofBob Forgey and his team, and thepotential they see for the drug candi-date to significantly improve the treat-ment outcomes for certain cancers.”

PNT2258 represents ProNAi’s firstdrug candidate, a novel oligodeoxynu-cleotide encapsulated in a proprietaryliposome formulation. PNT2258 isunder development for treatment ofmalignant solid tumors and lymphomas.ProNAi’s initial drug candidate PNT2258consists of the active ingredient

PNT100, a 24?base, single-strand,chemically unmodified (i.e., naturalphosphodiester backbone) oligonu-cleotide, encapsulated in a net-negative-ly charged liposome. The PNT100 wasdesigned to target genomic DNA (asopposed to antisense or RNAi which tar-get mRNA) and is complementary to asequence upstream of the promoterregion in the BCL2 oncogene which isover expressed in non-Hodgkin’s lym-phoma (NHL), malignant melanoma,prostate cancer and metastatic breastcancer, and other cancers. The mecha-nism of action of PNT2258 appears to bemultifactorial and may include regulato-ry effects on gene expression and apop-tosis induction as well as stimulation ofimmune responses and complementactivation. Further preclinical and clini-cal studies are planned to define the

contributions of the various mecha-nisms to antitumor efficacy and explorebiomarkers.

Importantly, ProNAi receivedapproval from the US FDA OncologyDivision in March 2008 for itsInvestigational New Drug (IND) applica-tion for initiation of clinical developmentof its lead drug PNT2258. This accom-plishment provides validation by theFDA that the efficacy and safety ofPNT2258 in preclinical models supportstesting in cancer patients. Furthermore,ProNAi has cGMP-compliant clinicaldrug supplies on-hand and the clinicaltrial site will begin to conduct the Phase1a human protocol. ProNAi is activelyseeking venture capital investment toclinically develop its first drug,PNT2258.

Businesses Respond to Toxic Chemical ReformWashington, DC – The American

Sustainable Business Council, whosemember organizations represent over50,000 business, applauded

Congressmen Bobby Rush (D-IL) andHenry Waxman (D-CA) as they intro-duced the “Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of2010 in the House Energy & Commerce

Committee in late July of this year.“Successful and responsible busi-

ness owners support a strong ToxicChemicals Safety Act of 2010 becausethey know that it will support innova-tion. Now more than ever, we need guar-antees that we have a marketplace withintegrity, transparency and safe prod-ucts. This gives U.S. businesses thecompetitive advantage,” says DavidLevine, Executive Director and co-founder of the American SustainableBusiness Council.

One of the key pieces of the legisla-tion would require chemical manufactur-ers to provide basic health and safetyinformation for all chemicals as a condi-tion for them remaining on or enteringthe market. Most manufacturers don’thave access to information about thechemicals used in the components theybuy from suppliers and whether or notthese are harmful to their customers.Most retailers do not have access to thechemical composition of the productsthey sell.

Many business leaders are con-cerned about the health and businessimpacts that could arise if the productsthey use or sell contain toxic chemicals,and many are encouraged that PersistentBioacumulative and Toxic substancesare to be dealt with by US E.P.A. withinthe year. This along with other measures

in the bill is expected to help businessmove towards the use of safer chemicalsas selling safer products can only bene-fit U.S. businesses, enabling them toopen up growing market opportunities.

Dave Rapaport, Senior Director ofCorporate Consciousness, SeventhGeneration says, “The introduction of theToxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 is animportant step forward and when passed,this legislation will place the burden onchemical manufacturers to produce chem-icals that are proven safe before they goon the market, will ensure that we haveaccess to the information we need to for-mulate products that protect human andenvironmental health, and will restoreconsumer confidence in the products theyuse every day. We'll be working hard withother members of the ASBC to letCongress and the Obama Administrationknow that fixing TSCA will be good forbusiness as well as consumers."

Introduced in the House, this bill issimilar to the one introduced in theSenate in April by Senator FrankLautenburg (D-NJ), the “Safe ChemicalsAct of 2010.” The American SustainableCouncil and many more businesses arestepping up to ensure that these reformswork to level the playing field anddemand transparency of ingredients sothat everyone knows what’s in the prod-ucts hitting the marketplace.

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Industrial BriefsHolland – Haworth’s global headquar-ters and the San Francisco and NewYork City showrooms recently achievedLEED Gold certification from the U.S.Green Building Council. The headquar-ters also earned the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGYSTAR®. Designed by Perkins + Will, thetotal renovation project of 300,000 sq.ft. has a three-story, glass atrium and a45,000 sq. ft. green roof. Although thebuilding size increased by 20 percent,overall energy usage decreased by 10percent. The project also represents thefirst time carbon credits from a renew-able energy project were used to achievegreen power credits for LEED Gold certi-fication instead of renewable energycredits. Haworth purchased the highquality carbon credits from TheCarbonNeutral Company, a world-leading carbon offset and carbon man-agement business.

Grand Rapids – The AmericanNational Standards Institute (ANSI)has approved the new edition ofANSI/BIFMA X5.6 Panel Systems-Testsstandard, and copies of the new editionare available from BIFMA immediately.The BIFMA Panel Subcommitteeworked diligently to harmonize thisnew edition of X5.6 Panel SystemsTests with other ANSI/BIFMAStandards such as ANSI/BIFMA X5.5-2008 Desk/Table Products,ANSI/BIFMA X5.9-2004 Storage Unitsand ANSI/SOHO S6.5-2008 SmallOffice/Home Office. The definitions, testset-ups, test procedures, load applica-tions, etc. have been modified for con-sistency among these standards.

Holland – LeanLogistics has releasedthe findings of a recent carrier procure-ment survey, documenting the shift tomore frequent procurement, coupled withthe growing need for technology to offsethours. A wide range of truckload and LTLshippers throughout North America weresurveyed. Of the 112 respondents, 71%indicated they have moved from anannual procurement to an on-going, asneeded process. Nearly 52% indicated ashift to a lane-by-lane or region-by-region analysis. Of the companies sur-veyed, 70% of executives believe tech-nology can improve and streamline theirtransportation procurement events whenused strategically as part of the process.Ironically, executives in this space areslow to adopt new applications, withmore than 80% indicating they still usemanual methods.

Grand Rapids – Supply Chain Solutionswelcomes new associate YvonneMorgan as international transportationmanager, licensed customs broker andimport specialist. Morgan has previouslyheld positions with CEVA Logistics, BDPInternational and Towne Air Freight.Morgan’s position with SCS will be todevelop international business strategy,operating processes and communicationbetween SCS, clients and internationaltransportation providers.

Three Rivers – Armstrong Internationalannounced that Patrick B. Armstronghas been named its corporate presidentand CEO. He succeeds David M.Armstrong who passed away on July 15,2010. Armstrong holds an engineeringdegree from Western Michigan

University and has more than 25 yearsexperience in engineering and manufac-turing. He most recently served the com-pany as its vice president of engineeringand manufacturing.

Luxembourg – SAF-HOLLAND S.A., aleading supplier for the global truck andtrailer industry, expects significant salesgrowth to over EUR 550 million in thecurrent fiscal year, after reaching EUR419.6 million in 2009. Earnings are pos-itively influenced by growing sales. TheGroup benefits from rising demand andits own efficiency improvements.Adjusted EBIT increased substantially toEUR 14.6 million in the first half of theyear. In the second quarter adjustedEBIT already doubled compared to theprevious quarter, while sales increasedby 29.4% from April to June.

Arcadia, IN – A process to generate ACpower from solar energy without requir-ing conversion equipment is a candidatefor General Electric’s EcomaginationChallenge, a competition that awardsfunding to projects designed to improveenergy use. Existing technologyrequires solar energy to be convertedfrom direct current to alternating currentbefore it is compatible with the powergrid. The AC solar generator seeks toachieve the same result at a lower costand with less energy loss by producingalternating current directly instead ofrelying on additional equipment. Theprocess was invented by Jason Oliver ofArcadia, IN. Oliver is a home inventorwith a background as an electrician anda master mechanic who began to exper-iment with electricity after developingan interest in the inventions andresearch of Nikola Tesla.

17 Energy Audits Awardedin Manistee County

Manistee – The Alliance forEconomic Success (AES) announced that17 free energy audits have been award-ed to successful Manistee County gov-ernment agency applicants. EnergyAudits are being funded by a grant fromthe Michigan Department of Energy,Labor and Economic Growth to reducethe energy costs of governmental facili-ties. The funding was provided througha state Energy Efficiency andConservation Block Grant program underthe American Recovery andReinvestment Act of 2009. The grant isbeing administered by the ManisteeCounty Alliance for Economic Success.

Approximately $75,000 in grantfunds were allocated to complete energyaudits of local government facilities inManistee County and to help local unitsimplement the audit findings to generateenergy and cost savings. All local gov-ernmental units were eligible to seeksupport under the grant program. Localgovernment facilities to be receivingenergy audits under the program are:

• Bear Lake Township Hall• City of Manistee Fire Department• City of Manistee Public Works

Garage• Manistee County Library• Manistee County Conversation

District Offices• Manistee County Airport Terminal

Building• Former school on Bridge Street,

Parkdale• Manistee Area Public Schools:

High School, Middle School, KennedySchool, Jefferson School, and theMadison School

• Manistee–Benzie CommunityMental Health Administrative Office onNorth Glocheski Rd. and the ClinicalCenter on Third St., Manistee

• Copemish Village Office• The Farr Center: Onekama Village

offices, library, and community room• Eastlake Village officesAll audits will be performed by

EnergyChek, a Michigan firm specializ-ing in energy efficiency audits for gov-ernment owned and commercial struc-tures. The firm is now in the process ofscheduling audits. All audits will becompleted by the end of 2010. Recipientof energy audits will receive a detailedreport describing energy saving actionsfor a facility.

Jim Draze, energy audit grant proj-ect manager, announced that the 17facilities to be audited comprise 418,000square feet of building area. The grantprogram can audit up to 500,000 squarefeet. Therefore, the AES will continue toaccept applications for audits for twomore weeks, to maximize benefits fromthis grant.

Anderson Brothers Steamatic Receives40-Year Longevity Award

By David Calkins

When Marc Anderson and his broth-er Dennis started working for theirfather's business to make a little cashwhile attending school, they had no ideait would end up becoming a lifelongcareer. "That was back in 1969" musesMarc Anderson. "We were just having funwith it, making $6 an hour when every-one else was making $3."

But the job stuck with them, and justlast July, both Anderson Brothersreceived the 40-Year Longevity Award forService during Steamatic Inc’s BiannualInternational Convention in ColoradoSprings, CO. The announcement wasmade by Bill Sims, president of Steamatic,Inc.

“We are very proud of Marc, Dennisand their team at Anderson BrothersSteamatic for their spirit to succeed andcan-do attitude,” said Sims. “Because ofowners like Marc and Dennis, we are ableto maintain Steamatic’s focus on continu-ous improvement of quality service.”

Steamatic offers both cleaning andrestoration services through more than270 franchise territories in the UnitedStates and in 25 countries around theworld. The company provides profession-al level carpet, hard surface cleaning,HVAC and air duct, furniture, area rugand drapery cleaning for residential andcommercial spaces. Steamatic’s highlytrained and certified technicians alsowork with insurance agents, adjustersand directly with the public to providerestoration services including fire and

smoke, water mitigation, mold remedia-tion and contents recovery.

The Anderson Brother's 40-yearrelationship with Steamatic is remark-able, especially considering that theircompany has only been a franchise itselffor 42 years. In all that time, "Thingshaven't changed too much," says Marc."Actually, more has occurred in the last 5years than the previous 35. But every-body is experiencing that. Our business isstill going, which is good especially con-sidering our franchise is in Michigan,which is a real different climate than whatother folks are experiencing right now.But you know, sometimes when a reces-

sion is going on, that's the best time forthe strong companies to move forwardand take more market share."

Marc says that one of the strong-points of his business is the very fact thatthey've remained stable all these years."We're not blowing in or out," Marcexplains. "We keep doing the same thing,keeping up with technology and provid-ing quality service. It's common to heartoday that people are simply looking forthe lowest price, but really what peoplewant is quality."

The Anderson Brothers rely on theirextensive 40 years of experience to keepahead in their industry. They've personal-

ly been involved with the evolving tech-niques and equipment of the industry forliterally decades.

"Looking back in the early 70s, weused to make our own equipment our-selves out of furnace blowers," says Marc."Now everything is plastic mold, prettyhigh tech. We might pay around fivegrand for a dehumidifier. Of course, youcould get one from the store for 50 to 100bucks, but those are nothing like the oneswe use. This is something that some peo-ple just don't understand. They mightbalk at a service charge, thinking 'hey, Ihave my own dehumidifiers.' And sure,they might take the moisture out of theair, but it's not going to take it out of thedrywall, the carpet, the furniture, etc. Weget the job done!"

And Anderson Brothers Steamaticcontinues to get the job done despite hardeconomic times for us all. "In a lot ofways, we are somewhat recession-proof,"notes Marc "as a lot of our work comesfrom natural occurrences. Still, with all ofthe people that have carpet cleaningmachines that are in our business now,they're not all going to survive this eco-nomic climate. It's more challenging thanit's ever been, and you can't take youreyes off the ball. As more young peoplecome into the industry while other com-panies are downsizing and reducingtraining, it means there will be moredemand for professional quality andproven service like ours. It will be inter-esting to see what the future will bring."

24

Enbridge Oil Disaster Sparks Evaluationof Michigan’s Pipline Infrastructure

Grand Rapids – The West MichiganEnvironmental Action Council (WMEAC)is calling on all Michigan lawmakers,environmentalists and concerned citi-zens to immediately begin investigatingthe hazardous material pipeline infra-structure and safety regulations withintheir communities and jurisdictions.

As has been widely reported, anunknown event caused an interstatepipeline owned and operated byEnbridge Inc. to rupture and spill anestimated 800,000 to 1 million gallonsof crude oil and associated chemicalsinto Tallmadge Creek near the boundaryof Marshall and Fredonia townships. Inaddition to being a valuable fishery andwatershed habitat, Tallmadge Creek is amajor tributary of the Kalamazoo River.Already one of the worst environmental

disasters in Michigan history, the spillcould very likely reach Lake Michigan,our region’s primary source of drinkingwater, largest recreational attraction andgreatest environmental asset.

Hood said the similarities emergingbetween the Enbridge and DeepwaterHorizon oil disasters were alarming:

· Multinational companies with ahistory of safety violations and fore-warning of a potential equipment failure.

· Inadequate safety procedures andequipment.

· Inadequate, if any, preparation orplanning for a disaster response.

· Inadequate oversight by govern-mental bodies with jurisdiction.

· Communities most affected by thedisaster have little or no jurisdiction.

· Outraged elected officials that

could have prevented the spill throughstronger regulation.

WMEAC is now in the process ofgathering information on hazardousmaterial pipeline infrastructure andsafety regulations in West Michigan, aswell as conducting outreach to privateand public partners to organize a region-al response. WMEAC, in partnershipwith the Lower Grand RiverOrganization of Watersheds and Clean

Water Action, has created theKalamazoo River & Enbridge DisasterResponse and Prevention Report. Thisworking document will be available atwmeac.org and will be updated withanswers, revisions and new questionson a daily basis.

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Grand Rapids – CU*Answersannounced that they will be providingcore processing services for its first WestVirginia-based credit union; WV UnitedFCU of Charleston will be upgrading tothe CU*BASE core data processing sys-tem during the fourth quarter of 2010.The CUSO has announced the launch ofits newest CU*BASE core processingsoftware upgrade with enhancementsdriven by approaching regulationchanges.

Manistee – In early August, members ofthe Great Lakes Fishery Trust (GLFT)board of trustees and attendees from thenational convention of the NationalAssociation of the PhysicallyHandicapped joined leaders fromManistee County in a ribbon cutting cer-emony for new facilities that will enablepeople of all ages, needs and abilities touse and enjoy Manistee Lake, LakeMichigan and the Big and LittleManistee Rivers. The site is part of anew initiative called Explore the Shores,aimed at making Manistee County a pre-mier destination for universal access tothe County’s waters, including LakeMichigan. The project was funded by theGLFT and the Michigan Department ofNatural Resources and Environment.

Grand Rapids – Representatives fromPREIT and Woodland Mall announcedthat The North Face will join the mall’sroster of more than 100 retailers andrestaurants. This 6,893 sq. ft. store willbe located across from Barnes & Noblein the Plaza wing and will celebrate itsgrand opening late October 2010.

Grand Rapids – WZZM 13 announcedthat it will be airing six Mid-AmericanFootball Conference games beginningSaturday, September 18, 2010. Thisschedule includes Western MichiganUniversity and Central MichiganUniversity games.

Grand Rapids – Larry’s Pizza, head-quarterd in Central Arkansas,announced the opening of a GrandRapids franchise. Located at the cornerof Plainfield and Fuller, the franchise isthe 22nd in the company’s 18-year his-tory and the first franchise location out-side the state of Arkansas. Larry’s Pizzais responsible for providing 35 full andpart time jobs to the West Michiganeconomy. The brainchild of franchisingLarry’s Pizza to Michigan was hatchedover a year ago by Michigan native andGrand Rapids resident Steve Nortier.

Grand Rapids – The Architectural RecordAdvertising Excellence Awards recog-nizing the most effective ads in thebuilding and design marketplace wereheld this year in Miami, FL. GrandRapids-based Stevens Advertisingtook home a Best in Class Award fortheir work with Dri-Design’s newOmbrae Architectural Wall Panels.

Grand Rapids – Service Express, Inc.received the “Total Economic ValueAward” at Amway’s 2010 SupplierConference held at the Amway Grand.This is the first time that an IT providerhas earned this award.

Grand Rapids – Woodland Mall recentlylaunched customer loyalty program,Exceptional Shopper Pass (ESP). As amember of ESP, shoppers receive a com-plimentary gift every month and are eli-gable for exclusive special discounts andoffers at various Woodland Mall retailers.

Grand Rapids – The Fair HousingCenter of West Michigan (FHCWM)recently entered into a settlement agree-ment with Hopson Flats to resolve alle-gations of familial status discriminationand to ensure equal housing opportuni-ty for students and families with chil-dren throughout West Michigan. TheFHCWM has undertaken multiple inves-tigations of non-university affiliatedstudent housing complexes in the WestMichigan area, including Hopson Flats,which illegally deny access to familieswith children. As a result of the agree-ment, Hopson Flats will amend its formsand policies, partner with the FHCWM tocreate a billboard promoting fair housingfor families with children and will paythe FHCWM $12,000 for investigationcosts, compliance testing and to furtherthe fair housing cause.

Holland – NOVO 1, a leading provider ofinbound and outbound customer inter-action solutions and a portfolio companyof the Glencoe Capital MichiganOpportunities Fund, has opened a new37,000 sq. ft. customer-service facility inHolland. With the opening of the newfacility, NOVO 1 will hire an additional300 personnel over the next severalyears. The new facility was opened withassistance from a $1 million grant fromthe Michigan Economic DevelopmentCorporation.

Paw Paw – Junior Achievement ofSouthwest Michigan will receive$5,000 in market research services asthe recipient of the 2010 Nonprofit

Research Assistance Program offered byPerspectives Consulting Group, Inc.The program, in its sixth year, wasdesigned to provide valuable informa-tion to a nonprofit organization that pos-itively impacts the community.

US – The International Chamber ofCommerce's (ICC) Incoterms 2010 ruleswill come into force on January 1, 2011.This is the eighth Incoterms revisionsince their inception in 1936. During its2.5 year revision process, internationalbusiness and legal experts consideredmore than two thousand recommenda-tions from many of the 130+ countrieswith which the ICC has a relationship.The result is a vastly improved version,tailored specifically to the needs of usersthroughout the world. The WisconsinCredit Association reports that the newrules are far more amendable to U.S.domestic use than any previous versionwith revisions considering post 9/11cargo security regulations and new insti-tute cargo insurance clauses.

Grand Rapids – After 14 seasons onNewsradio WOOD 1300, the GrandRapids Griffins’ radio broadcasts willmove to another member of the ClearChannel family this fall, joining TheNew ESPN 96.1 FM’s all-sports lineup.

Grand Rapids and Troy – Lambert,Edwards & Associates (LE&A)announced it has been ranked #2,799 byInc. magazine for its fourth annual Inc.5000 list. LE&A was named to the list ofthe nation’s fastest-growing private com-panies after a growth rate of 80 percentover the past three years. This is the com-pany’s second straight year on the list.

Zeeland – ISD Corporation announcedtheir upcoming ISD InSight 2011 UserConference to be held March 23-25,2011 at the Monte Carlo Hotel in LasVegas. ISD Insight educational sessionswill cover all areas of payments includ-ing current PCI updates, payment securi-ty, software and hardware trends, aswell as end-to-end encryption.

Kalamazoo – Commercial site furnituremanufacturer Landscape Forms willfeature elements from its Metro40 collec-tion at ASLA EXPO in Washington D.C.,September 10-13. Metro40 is the firstintegrated collection of site furnituredesigned specifically for the urbanstreetscape and transit core. It wasdesigned in collaboration with BMWGroup DesignworksUSA, a leadinginternational design consultancy withspecial expertise in products that supportpeople in motion.

Corporate Information 25

Review of Free

By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,getAbstract

Economists swear there is no suchthing as a free lunch. Someone alwayspays. That may be true in the “atoms”world of physical things, but ChrisAnderson explains why it does not applyin the “bits” world of the Internet, where“free” is the ruling paradigm. If, as

Stewart Brand (founder of the WholeEarth Catalogue and the Whole Earth’Lectronic Link) said, “Information wantsto be free,” now it is, at least in manyinstances, particularly online. While theidea of giving things away as a promotionor loss leader isn’t new, Anderson’s freshinsight is that giveaways are becoming abusiness imperative that companies aregoing to have to accept and use. Actually,companies online and off can becomeimmensely profitable when they giveproducts or services away for free to bringcustomers in and to create the need forfuture ancillary product sales (in otherwords, take the printer and buy the ink).Anderson, author of The Long Tail andeditor of Wired magazine, tells you how tomake money by providing most of yourofferings for free and charging for just afew of them. getAbstract recommends thisperceptive, innovative, idiosyncratic bookto all marketers.

Chris Anderson. Free: The Future of aRadical Price. Hyperion, 2009. Pages: 288,List Price: $26.99. ISBN-13: 978-1401322908.

getAbstract is the leading provider ofbusiness book summaries, with more than5,000 titles covered. www.getabstract.com

Proper Recycling of CFL BulbsKeeps Down Mercury Pollution

Grand Rapids – The West MichiganEnvironmental Action Council (WMEAC)has partnered with Kent County, theMichigan Public Service Commission,Michigan Energy Options and two dozenneighborhood partners to keep mercuryfrom used Compact Florescent Light(CFL) bulbs out of West Michigan’s airand groundwater. A simple and incredi-bly effective tool for residents to lowertheir utility bills and reduce energy con-

sumption, CFL bulbs contain a smallamount of mercury that can be releasedinto the environment if it is sent to thelandfill or waste incinerator.

“Many citizens in Grand Rapids areunaware that their trash is collected andtaken to a waste incinerator,” said AnnErhardt, WMEAC Energy ProgramsCoordinator. “Although the waste-to-energy process produces electricity fromthe refuse, incineration may result in

greater releases of the bulb’s mercurycontent than disposal in a landfill.”

Erhardt noted that due to the long-life of CFL bulbs, proper bulb disposalhas been an underpublicized issue. “Wewant to encourage residents of GrandRapids to recycle their CFLs and educatefamilies about why it is important totheir community that CFLs do not endup in the landfill or waste incinerator,”she said.

As part of its Project Light Changeinitiative to distribute free CFL bulbs toWest Michigan residents, WMEAC hasrecruited local businesses and neighbor-hood associations to serve as collectionpoints for used CFL bulbs in partnershipwith Kent County’s CFL recycling pro-gram and Michigan Energy Options at nocost to West Michigan residents. In addi-tion, Kent County operates CFL collectionpoints at four municipal recycling centersand all local Lowe’s and Home Depotstores accept CFLs from homeowners freeof charge. Visit wmeac.org for a map offree CFL bulb recycling points in West

Michigan. The map is also available forembedding through Google maps at thislink. Residents are also encouraged tocontact their neighborhood associationfor more information about how andwhere to recycle their burned out CFLs.

WMEAC’s Project Light Change pro-gram has been distributing free CFLbulbs to residents in the City of GrandRapids since June 2010. The bulbs arecomplemented with educationalresources about mercury, CFL bulb safetyand recycling as well as links to moreenergy efficiency tips. The more than20,000 CFL bulbs distributed in GrandRapids will save residents an estimated$940,000 in electric costs and preventemissions of more than 21 millionpounds of carbon dioxide equivalents, ameasure of greenhouse gas impact.

Project Light Change is funded bythe Michigan Public Service Commission.WMEAC is a non-profit, membershiporganization working to lead environ-mental protection in West Michigan byinspiring action.

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Economic Impact ofArtPrize

Grand Rapids – As the city gears upfor the second ArtPrize competition thisfall, researchers have found that roughly200,000 visitors generated an estimatedeconomic impact of as much as $7.6 mil-lion during the contest’s inaugural run.

This year’s ArtPrize competition runsSept. 22-Oct. 10. Two groups of senioreconomics students at Grand Valley StateUniversity under the guidance of econom-ics professor Paul Isely studied the eco-nomic impact of last year’s ArtPrize onKent County at the request of the GrandRapids Downtown DevelopmentAuthority. The students found that theestimated 150,000-200,000 visitors toGrand Rapids generated between $5 mil-lion and $7.6 million.

The results of these efforts were ini-tially presented to a group consisting ofrepresentatives from ArtPrize, theDowntown Development Authority andthe Grand Rapids/Kent CountyConvention and Visitors Bureau, whichhelped refine the results. They showed:

* Between 7,500 and 10,000 visitorscame from more than 160 miles away andlikely stayed overnight.

* 31,500-42,000 visitors came frombetween 30 and 160 miles away and werelikely day visitors who came to GrandRapids specifically for ArtPrize

* 111,000-148,000 visitors camefrom less than 30 miles away

* Direct spending by visitors travel-ing more than 30 miles is estimated to bebetween $2.8 million and $3.8 million ofwhich:

* $787,500 to $1.1 million was spenton food services.

* $212,500 to $283,333 was spenton lodging, assuming triple occupancy.

* $1.8 million to $2.3 million wasspent on entertainment, gasoline, retailitems, and other items accounted.

* The direct spending supportedbetween 206 and 274 full-time jobs inKent County during September andOctober of 2009.

The total effect on Kent County byvisitors traveling from more than 30miles away from Grand Rapids is estimat-ed to be between $5 million and $7.6 mil-lion supporting 415-550 full-time jobs inKent County during September andOctober 2009.

Grand Rapids – Veolia Energy NorthAmerica announced the promotion ofKeith Oldewurtel to regional vice presi-dent, central/west region. In this posi-tion, Oldewurtel will be responsible forVeolia Energy’s operations and develop-ment efforts in Grand Rapids, KansasCity, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portlandand St. Louis, along with all new opera-tions in the central and western USA.

Grand Rapids – Next GenerationEnrollment, Inc. has promoted threeemployees: Kristi Washbourn, fromlead eligibility specialist to manager ofeligibility services; JoDee Dunn, fromlead administrator to manager of flexiblespending accounts, or FSAs, and healthreimbursement accounts, or HRAs; JodiReynolds, from lead COBRA administra-tor to manager of COBRA services.

Grand Rapids – Andrea Dunne-Sosajoined the American Red Cross ofGreater Grand Rapids as the director ofhealth and safety services. Dunne-Sosawill lead the health and safety team ofstaff, volunteers and instructors in Barry,Ionia, Kent and Montcalm counties.

Grand Rapids – The 2010-2011 boardofficers have been appointed for theupcoming season of Interchange, theAssociation of West MichiganCommunication Professionals: presi-dent, Michelle Bennett; vice presidentand secretary, Juanita Vorel; treasurer,Tamara Bergstrom; communicationsdirector, John Elmore; program director,Holly Higginson; membership director,Carol-Ann Schaefer.

Troy – Dynamic Advisory Solutionsannounced that it will open its secondoffice in Ann Arbor. Experienced busi-ness professional and outdoor adventur-er Rob Marshall will serve as managingdirector.

Grand Rapids – Grand Rapids-based CQL,Incorporated announced the addition ofnew account executive Adam Clarke.Formerly a membership coordinator atLocal First, Clarke recently joined theorganization to assist with businessdevelopment and marketing activities.

Grand Rapids – The AmericanAdvertising Federation (AAF) of WestMichigan announced the following offi-cers and board members for 2010-11:Co-presidents, Allen Crater, StevensAdvertising, and Angie Dow, KendallCollege of Art & Design; vice president,Tim Mroz, The Right Place, Inc.; treas-urer, Brian Cole, SightLine Display;and directors Ben Bennett, GordonFood Service; Kristen Myers-Chatman,Xcipio; Nicole Corley, Grey MatterGroup; Matt Fouty, Aspen Surgical;Jennifer Johnston, kantorwassink;Steve Laninga, DVS; Brian Quist, KentCommunications, Inc.; Ken Stewart,Reagan Marketing + Design; KenThewes, Spartan Stores; and RobTrube, Superior Business Solutions.

Grand Rapids – Signature Associates,announced that Steve Burman has joinedthe West Michigan team as a sales associ-ate specializing in industrial brokerage.Burman has earned the designation ofBuilding Analyst Professional from theBuilding Performance Institute.

West Michigan – The EconomicDevelopment Foundation announcedits Board of Directors for 2010-2011.Officers are: chairman - DougKohlbeck, senior loan and chief admin-istrative officer at Macatawa Bank; vicepresident - Dan DeBaar, owner ofDanco Business Development; assis-tant vice president - Nancy Boese,business tools specialist at MI-SBTDC;secretary - Tom Lomonaco, marketmanager West Michigan business bank-ing at Bank of America; treasurer -Dennis Roudi, senior vice presidentcommercial real estate manager at FifthThird Bank; assistant secretary/treasur-er - Dan Oegema, CEcD, retired from theCity of Grand Rapids’ EconomicDevelopment Department.

Wyoming – Joseph Beland has beenhired as a contractor for a locally-ownedcompany through professional recruitingfirm JBL Resources. Appearing in anarticle on woodtv.com about how hesent out 130 resumes without a job in

sight, JBL founder Ross Engelkes for-warded the story to director of recruitingRegina Lungaro who helped Belandland the position.

Grand Rapids – National HeritageAcademies (NHA), a leading publiccharter school organization, announcedthat Robert J. Bellafiore has beennamed vice president of partner servicesand strategic initiatives. Bellafiore willbe responsible for managing relation-ships with boards that partner withNHA and have organization-wide over-sight of new school development andcharter renewal.

Grand Rapids – Lambert, Edwards &Associates announced that JeffLambert was named to PRWeek'snational list of the top 40 public relationsprofessionals under the age of 40. Theindustry benchmark list includes leadersfrom the biggest agencies and corpora-tions in the world.

Personnel Updates

CofCoffee of the Monthfee of the MonthPeru La Florida Fair Trade Organic

This coffee comes from a cooperative of small producing farmers in aremote area of northern Peru. It is fair trade certified and organicallyshade grown. The cup is mildly bittersweet, complimented by cocoa

notes, herbal-floral accents and perhaps some spices.

Stop by the roastery on Saturdays from 10:00am – 3:00pm at the corner of Hall & Godfrey. Enter off Hall Street and go to the back of

the building. Look for the South Entrance - Dock #4 sign and proceedup the wooden stairs to the 5th floor Suite S-530. There you will find us small-batch custom roasting premium beans from around the world.In addition, you are invited to look over our coffee & chocolate loversgift baskets, loose-leaf teas, milk chocolate covered blueberries, dark

chocolate covered espresso beans and other items for sale. We alwayshave fresh roasted brewed coffee to sample along with espresso shots

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Project Light ChangeSaved Holland $235,000Holland – An internal study estimates

that Project Light Change, an energy effi-ciency program of the West MichiganEnvironmental Action Council (WMEAC),has saved Holland residents approximately$235,000 since Spring 2009.

In partnership with the City ofHolland’s Our Street program, Heights ofHope, and the Holland Board of PublicWorks, Project Light Change last yeardelivered 5,000 Compact FluorescentLight (CFL) bulbs to homes in Holland.Numerous homes received a full CFL bulbswitch out and evaluation, with home-owners agreeing to allow Our Street andHeights of Hope to measure the impactbulbs had on their energy usage.

The Heights of Hope data shows thatin a sample of homes changing out up to

18 bulbs each, residents using more CFLbulbs saved an average of $6 per monthor $72 per year in electric costs. In the sixmonths prior to the CFLs being installedin the sample homes, average daily elec-tricity use was between 7.1 and 8.7 kWh.After the incandescent light bulbs wereswitched out with CFLs, there was aninstant decrease: In the six months fol-lowing, daily average consumption was4.7 to 5.6 kWh.

In total, WMEAC estimates approxi-mately $235,000 dollars saved via the5,000 bulbs shared with Holland resi-dents through community collaborations.In addition, the bulbs prevented approxi-mately 3.6 million lbs. of annual carbondioxide emissions.