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August 2011 $2.00

50 Years inHeating • Air Conditioning • Refrigeration

Financial Boost Provided for Small Businesses

By Ted Booker

Small businesses vary widely insize, ranging anywhere from a couple ofentrepreneurs to companies with morethan 100 employees. But when thesebusinesses are ready to expand—addingmore employees or investing in new proj-ects—strict lending requirements frombanks often stand in the way.

This is where the Small BusinessAssociation (SBA) steps in to help, part-nering with banks and credit unions tooffer affordable loans that can meet abusiness’ financial needs. By providinggovernment-backed guarantees, SBAloans offer more money and lower pay-ments than those traditionally offered bylending institutions, said Brian Picarazzi,senior area manager for the SBA’s WestMichigan regional office in Grand Rapids.

Because lenders participating in theprogram are guaranteed repayment forup to 90 percent of SBA loans, Picarazzisaid, they are often able to extend thetime for repayment, sometimes up to tenyears. Loans traditionally offered for 20years, for example, are often stretched to25 years, and the qualifying require-ments are relaxed so that businesses can

apply for more funding.While banks don’t usually offer

annual loans totaling more than 75 per-cent of a business’ last year’s profit, theSBA frequently grants loans for the fullamount.

SBA programs “allow access to cap-ital that’s not conventionally available,”said Picarazzi, adding that Michigan’sSBA program now leads the country inthe number of loans that have beenoffered to businesses this year.

Depending on a small business’ sizeand cash flow, the SBA has an array ofprograms to meet a wide range of needs,Picarazzi said.

The SBA’s 7(a) lending programoffers loans that serve multiple businesspurposes, from adding personnel andpurchasing real estate or equipment, toacquiring more working capital to shoreup financial losses. The maximum size ofthese loans is $5 million, which wasincreased from $2 million by the SmallBusiness Jobs Act of 2010.

The 504 fixed asset financing pro-gram, by contrast, only offers loans forreal estate purchases or large construc-tion equipment. Based on the projectcost, a lender provides 50 percent of the

loan, a certified development companyprovides up to 40 percent through anagreement backed by the SBA, and theapplicant provides 10 percent. The maxi-mum amount for these loans is $5 mil-lion for any business and $5.5 million formanufacturers.

While manufacturers use the 504program to purchase equipment, Picarazzimaintained the program is mainly gearedtoward small business owners who areseeking to own their own buildings.

Through the SBA’s microloan pro-gram, with loan amounts of up to$50,000, certified microloan lenders inWest Michigan—such as CornerstoneAlliance of Benton Harbor and NorthernInitiatives of Traverse City—are able toassist entrepreneurs with their startupbusiness endeavors. The loans—offeredby non-profit financial intermediaries—often provide a solution for those startupsthat cannot acquire credit from financialinstitutions, perhaps because of bruisedcredit or lack of collateral, said Picarazzi.

To help businesses recover fromnatural disasters, the SBA also offerslow-interest loans through its directassistance program, which subsidizesprojects to repair damaged property. To

be approved for these loans, the SBA firstevaluates the cost of rebuilding the prop-erty, then the applicant’s repayment abil-ity, and finally, whether the applicantcould instead qualify for a loan in thecommercial market. If the criteria aremet, the loans are usually approvedwithin a month.

The uptick in SBA loan volume, thisyear, indicates a growing economy inWest Michigan, Picarazzi said, addingthat participation from area banks andcredit unions has similarly climbed.

“I think we’re seeing a turnaround,”Picarazzi concluded. “Customers areusing our loans to grow and expand theirbusinesses, and lenders are approvingthem. We’re seeing more participationfrom lenders across the board.”

For more information about SBAloan programs, Brian Picarazzi can bereached at (616) 456-5512.

Freelance reporter, Ted Booker, haspublished articles for The HollandSentinel, Business Update Publicationand The St. Ignace News.

2

Seaman’s Sails Fifty Years with Family and Core Values on Deck

By Amy Cygan

Don Seaman could not have predict-ed that his Grand Rapids-based company,founded in 1961 as Seaman’s AirConditioning and Refrigeration, wouldsail to its 5oth anniversary—let alone, onsecond-generation waters. RandySeaman, the son to whom Don passed thecompany oars in 1988, aims to preservethe integrity of his father’s business bycontinuing to provide high quality heat-ing, ventilation, and airconditioning/refrigeration (HVAC/R)services to residential and commercialcustomers, but also strives to nurture acompany-wide “forward thinking” men-tality. Yet even beyond journeying thewaves of the future—Randy realizes thatwithout his dedicated employees, therecould be no sea to sail.

For Seaman’s, “employee” and“family” are interchangeable words.

Whether you’re third-generation Kim orJacob Seaman, or you’re Rick Walker-director of business development, DaveGalbreath-operations manager, orPatricia Van Kuiken-assistant generalmanager—“You’re not a number whatso-ever,” as Patti points out, “but a part ofthe culture of this company.” Indeed,Randy insists upon the voice of his “fam-ily” being heard:

Patti’s Voice – “Family”“When I was hired by Don Seaman,

I noticed he treated me as an equal. Itdidn’t matter that I was sitting in theback room doing the typing; I was just asimportant to him as anybody else.

“Back then, we had the triplicateforms with the carbon copy, the uprighttypewriters, and the old dispatch system,”Patti laughs, “and there were only aboutten employees. Those were great times!

“But there was also this ‘unspokenetiquette’ that existed. When Don wouldgo out to quote a large service repair, itwas his handshake that meant something.Companies today, still connect us withbeing part of that ‘good old boy’ group.

“The core values instilled in thiscompany, like honesty and integrity, havenever been compromised, despite thereins passing from father to son. Thefocus and direction of the company shift-ed, however, as Randy took control. Fromthe beginning, we were primarily all serv-ice, but when Randy was in sales, wesecured larger projects and moved towardthe commercial and industrial side.

“Over the last ten years, Randy devel-oped his middle management and leader-ship teams; he was always thinking aboutthe future. He knew there would be a gapbetween where he was at and where hischildren would come through, if they evenchose to join Seaman’s.

“When the third generation beganshowing interest, I was excited! After acollective 20+ years working for Seaman’s,I now have the opportunity to assist andwatch Kim grow in her area, and Dave andRick will help Jake in his area. Randy alsochose for them to work, for now, under allof us—recognizing the importance of beingtreated on equal terms, as every otheremployee. And Kim and Jake have beenvery respectful of that ideology.

“It isn’t a political game here: It iswhat you see. From the time you walkinto Seaman’s, you want to be a part ofit—I love this company.”

Dave’s Voice – “The Industry”“Commercial and industrial type

sales grew quickly for us in the 90s dur-ing the building boom, and even thoughthe process presented some challenges,we hired many employees and focused onthe education and training of our fieldtechnicians—all while maintaining thatquality standard, which we simply don’tdeviate from. To hold your values andyour quality, and still make a living iscertainly tough when the economy back-slides, but we’ve successfully managed.

“The communication and interactionbetween our field technicians and ourcustomers is one area that has evolvedfor us. Today’s customers are moreinvolved, so we’ve concentrated heavilyon in-house customer service training.

“The Internet and computerizedtechnology, naturally, have affected theHVAC/R industry. Now, rather inexpen-sively, we can install equipment that willallow for the temperature in one’s busi-ness to be modified from a web-basedphone, from anywhere in the world.

“But traveling back, Don started hisrepair and installation business becausehe recognized a need for air conditioningcontractors. At the time, businesses werejust beginning to utilize the equipment,and most residences did not have them.

Rick’s Voice – “Business” “The fact is that between the gov-

ernment’s regulations on the manufac-turing of HVAC/R equipment and thedesire to be competitive, manufacturersare trying to differentiate their productfrom the next.

“In business, “better, faster, cheap-er” are the three mantras; often times,you can’t do all three. The pressure is ondoing things cheaper. Well, doing thingscheaper by pulling quality out of whatyou do has a long-term impact on reputa-tion, so that’s something we just won’tdo.

“Our mission statement is what wecall our “three-legged stool,” whichfocuses on our people, our financials, andour customers. As an example, being a

financially strong company not onlymeans bringing in revenue, but relates tohow we treat our vendors. We have astrong reputation with our vendors,because Seaman’s pays—through thegood times and the bad.

“When the economy dropped off in2008, it caused us to sharpen our pencil.We already had a fantastic culture—Pattyhad been instrumental in keeping thatculture alive—and the tremendous focuson quality, not taking shortcuts, was ahallmark of the company, but the markethad changed. The economy had createdmore cost-conscious customers, andmore intense competition. Consequently,we shifted from being a high-qualityprovider of equipment and installation tobeing a business-solutions company.

“That shift has driven us to do ener-gy audits and to focus on indoor air-qual-ity, which has become a huge issue in themedical market and office environments.

“As a team, one of our charges wasto elevate our project management pro-fessionalism. When the economy is lushand margins are higher, some variationdoesn’t mean much, but when biddingwith low margins, precision is key. Thethree of us have collaborated to create aprofessional project mgmt. process thathas significantly impacted the company’sprogress.

“Another huge shift that we’ve seencorresponds to education. In Don’s era,our field technicians were mostly highschool graduates. Randy has an associ-ate’s from Ferris and has developed hisnetworking skills on national and localplatforms. Today, 74 percent of our tech-nical people have college training, so thefocus for the next generation will be ontechnical and business knowledge anddegrees, in addition to the HVAC college,because we have a more sophisticated setof customers whose language we need tospeak.

“Having retired from CorporateAmerica, I see the difference betweenrunning a large organization within a bigbureaucratic company, and running asmall org. in a fast-moving co. that iscohesive. I’m excited to be working for asmall, dynamic business like Seaman’s.

Randy – “Closing Words”“The industry is excellent,” said

Randy. “As a close friend of mine oncesaid: ‘Nobody does more to benefitmankind than those who keep one warmin the winter and cool in the summer,install refrigeration to help provide onewith fresh food for three square meals,365 days a year, and keeps one healthyand happy—who else in the world gets toaccomplish that much?’”

4

Publisher: Gary Kralapp

Business DevelopmentSenior Vice President: Diane LaPrezeSenior Vice President: Jim LroyCirculation: David Calkins

Contributing Writers: Ted Booker,Brian Van Haren, Mindy Koschmann,Scott Perry, Andreas Fein

Managing Editor: Carol M. KralappAssociate Editor: Amy CyganPrinting/Distribution: News Web PrintingAccountant: Michael Tawney & CompanyLegal: Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone

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Aviation Program Maps its TerritoryBy Amy Cygan

Since 1939—for 72 years—WesternMichigan University (WMU) has takenunder its wings, students who wantnothing more than to fly, repair, or man-age those wings. Of course, I’m talkingabout those long, metal angulations thatprotrude from the sides of planes.

With the third largest aviation pro-gram in the U.S., WMU’s 20-acre Collegeof Aviation, located at the W.K. KelloggAirport in Battle Creek, offers three dif-ferent bachelor degree programsdesigned around three aviation careerpaths: Piloting, business management,and maintenance and technology.

A Bachelor’s in Aviation FlightScience prepares students for a profes-sional career in piloting; not surprisingly,many graduates of this program continuebuilding flight experience as enlistees inthe military. (Although a military flightslot is not guaranteed, graduates of theprogram have a significant competitiveadvantage by completing all of their civil-ian flight ratings ahead of their enlist-ment) In addition to becoming a tradi-tional airline pilot, an aviator can alsosecure a career working as a corporatepilot, flying freight or air cargo, or shar-ing his or her passion for flying as a cer-tified flight instructor.

According to the U.S. Labor ofStatistics Bureau’s Occupational OutlookHandbook, 2010-2011 Edition, “Civilianaircraft pilots and flight engineers heldabout 116,000 jobs in 2008, [with]employment … projected to grow 12 per-cent from 2008 to 2018.” Air travel,expected to increase with an economyupswing and the mandatory retirementof commercial pilots aged 65, is expectedto increase pilot demand.

If pursuing the Flight Science degree,undergraduates have the opportunity tostart flying as early as their freshmanyear, although first, they’ll need to passthe Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) medical inspection. As a profes-sional pilot, one needs a first class (asopposed to second or third class, as withrecreational pilots) medical certificationfrom an Aviation Medical Examiner – aphysician that has been certified or sanc-tioned by the FAA to perform pilot certifi-cations. (The FAA.gov website lists all theAMEs in the U.S.) WMU encourages stu-dents to obtain a first class certification, soas to ensure (before graduation) an appro-priate career path.

The Aviation Science andAdministration program prepares stu-dents for the business side of aviation;graduates might enter the fields of avia-tion sales, airport or airline management,

or even aviation law (well-served along-side a WMU pre-law major).

Lastly, enrollees seeking to fine-scale the structural systems of an aircraftwill benefit from a Bachelor’s degree inAviation Maintenance Technology, whichallows them to qualify for their Airframe

and Powerplant license. In addition tohaving the opportunity to ensure theproper working order of aircraft, somegraduates find work on amusement parkroller coasters, or on alternative energysources, like wind turbines.

“Collegiate aviation programs

haven’t really changed much in the lastfifty years, but about eight years ago,WMU wanted to elevate its program towhere the industry was going,”explained Recruitment and OutreachManager at WMU, Tom Thinnes.

Continued on page 13

5

Finance/Insurance BriefsGrandville - Berends Hendricks StuitInsurance Agency, Inc. welcomesProperty & Casualty and EmployeeBenefits Account Executive KenKeuning, who specializes in the materi-al transportation and constructionindustries.

Grand Rapids – Janet Ramsey, a partnerwith the law firm of Warner Norcross &Judd LLP, will serve a three-year termon the Board of Directors of the FrederikMeijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Herpractice will concentrate on litigation.

Grand Rapids - Bruce A. Courtade,Rhoades McKee attorney and share-holder, has been appointed to serve asan honorary advisor to The ImagineFund. Courtade is vice president of the41,000-member State Bar of Michigan.

Kentwood - Regal InvestmentAdvisors has announced that AnthonyBurek is the new money manager forthe Strategic Core holdings in Regal’sdiscretionary portfolio, Regalfolios.Burek’s duties will include providinginvestment analysis reporting, rebalanc-ing, handling case construction for all ofRegal’s affiliates, heading a newly-formed investment committee, and cre-ating a new portfolio that will be a tacti-cal model offered to Regal’s affiliates andtheir clients.

Washington – Over four years, the U.S.Small Business Administration’sPatriot Express Pilot Loan GuaranteeInitiative has provided more than $633million in SBA-guaranteed loans to help7,650 veterans start or expand theirsmall businesses.

Kentwood - Regulus Advisors wel-comed Peter Starr (Wilmington, NC)and Brent Rhoades (Midland, MI) onJuly 1, 2011.

Grand Rapids – Intervention Insightshas announced the close of $7.2 millionin Series B financing. The deal was co-led by Beringea and ChrysalisVentures, who were joined by HopenLife Sciences, Michigan AcceleratorFund I, and other existing investors. Inconjunction with the financing, BeringeaManaging Director, Michael Gross, andChrysalis Managing Director, KolemanKarleski, have joined the company’sBoard of Directors. The investment willenable the company to expand the com-mercialization of its OncInsights productplatform, while furthering strategic rela-tionships in the cancer care industry.

Grand Rapids - Varnum Partner DavidKhorey is one of four Michigan attor-neys to become a newly-elected fellow ofthe prestigious College of Labor andEmployment Lawyers.

Holland - Emily Newhouse joinsMacatawa Bank as relationship manag-er and investment representative at theZeeland State Street branch. Newhousewill assist clients with their retirementplanning, investments, insurance, andbanking and lending needs.

Detroit - Brad Sysol (principal, MillerCanfield; adjunct professor of environ-mental law, Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool) recently spoke on “GlobalClimate Change: Environmental andClimate Law” at the Battle Creek AreaMath and Science Center.

Chicago, IL - BDO USA, LLP announcedthat Doug Bekker has been admitted tothe assurance partnership. Doug hasmore than 15 years of experience serv-ing as a technical resource in the C-cor-poration, merger and acquisition, insur-ance, and banking areas for the nationaltax group.

Battle Creek - James Lance is an asso-ciate attorney with Kreis, Enderle,Hudgins & Borsos P.C. and has beenappointed to the Board of Real EstateBrokers and Salespersons.

Grand Rapids – Blackford Capital LLCwelcomes Cason Green as an analyst.Green’s role will include conductingfinancial and operational reviews of newinvestment opportunities as well asmonitoring current portfolio companies.

Kentwood - Regal InvestmentAdvisors has introduced the RegalfoliosTactical Model. Managed by AnthonyBurek, the model takes advantage ofshort-term market anomalies and mar-ket sector strength or weakness byproactively adjusting asset allocationsand defending against unfavorable mar-ket trends and valuations. Investorsshould expect a higher turnover rate andhigher frequency of trading, compared toa strategic-core portfolio.

Grand Rapids – Chosen from 5,000+submissions, the quote from Plante &Moran, PLLC Partner Kelly Springer,“Find your leadership style by allowingyour values and vision to set yourcourse,” will be included in the 2012Woman’s Advantage Shared WisdomCalendar.

Lansing - Accident Fund Holdings, Inc.has announced that the constructionteam members responsible for the steelwork on its completed corporate head-quarters—Accident Fund Holdings;Ruby & Associates, Inc.; DouglasSteel Fabricating Corporation; HOK;ARUP; Quinn Evans Architects; andThe Christman Company—have beennationally recognized with theAmerican Institute of SteelConstruction IDEAS2 2011 PresidentialAward of Excellence.

Ann Arbor - Baker Strategy Group(BSG) has relocated to 214 S. Main St.,Suite 212, Ann Arbor, allowing moreaccessibility to local clientele. BSG con-centrates on China business develop-ment, education, non-profit associationsand advanced manufacturing.

Washington - The U.S. Department ofthe Treasury announced that HuronValley State Bank (Milford, MI)received $2.6 million through the SmallBusiness Lending Fund, which as part ofthe Small Business Jobs Act thatPresident Obama signed into law,encourages community banks toincrease lending to small businesses.

Grand Rapids – Plante & Moran, PLLChas promoted Laura Pettinga andAdam Stevenson, who both work in theaudit department; Jeremy Tollas, afinancial consultant with Plante MoranFinancial Advisors; and Brian Greko,CPA, to associate.

West Michigan - Fifth Third Bank hasrecognized Michael Nagelvoort asinvestment executive and assistant vicepresident. With 13 years of industryexperience, he will serve customers inthe Holland, Zeeland and Hamiltonareas.

Grand Rapids - Patrick Ellis has joinedRhoades McKee as an associate; hispractice will focus on general litigationand medical malpractice.

Grand Rapids - Nikole Canute, an asso-ciate of the law firm of Mika MeyersBeckett & Jones PLC, was recentlyelected as secretary of the Grand RapidsBar Association. Canute practices in theareas of civil litigation, labor andemployment law, fraud investigation,fraud litigation, and securities litigation.

6

7SBA Loan Helps Doctor Transition to New Building

Kalamazoo – Women's Health CareSpecialists, PC has moved into a customdesigned building in Kalamazoo andadded seven new staff positions.

Through the Small BusinessAdministration 504 loan program,Economic Development Foundationoffered a low down payment and fixedrate financing to Dr. Roger Beyer,enabling him to grow his practice andexpand his commitment to his patients.

In 1984, Dr. Beyer started his prac-tice—Women's Health Care Specialists,PC—with a specialization in urogyno-cology and pelvic floor disorders. Later,two facilities in Paw Paw andKalamazoo were leased to accommodatethe thriving practice. When the timecame for Dr. Beyer to consolidate hisfacilities and build a state-of-the-artmedical building with a focus onincreased patient care, EconomicDevelopment Foundation was able tohelp Dr. Beyer transition his operationsto 7110 Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo.

Sandy Bloem, EDF president said,"We are proud to help doctors, like Dr.

Beyer, find how best to use theirresources, so that they can concentrateon serving the needs of their patients.The SBA 504 program is a perfect fit forany small business that wants to ownits own building."

The SBA 504 loan is designed to

finance the purchase of land, buildings,or equipment with a low down paymentand a low fixed rate for up to 20 years.Economic Development Foundation is anon-profit that formed in 1981, andthat works with small businesses andpartner financial institutions to walk

them through the process of getting aU.S. Small Business Administration 504loan.

For further information, visitwww.growmichigan.com or call 616-459-4825.

Signs of Improvement in Tough EconomyLansing - While the economy

remains sluggish across the state, agrowing number of Michigan’s small-and mid-sized business owners believethings are beginning to move in the rightdirection, according to the semi-annualFuture Business Index study. Six-hun-dred Michigan business owners, opera-tors, officers, and managers participatedin the study, commissioned by Lansing-based Accident Fund Insurance Companyof America and conducted in June 2011by Marketing Resource Group, Inc.

The most significant change notedwas with regard to investments goingback into business, specifically invest-ments in facilities and equipment, mov-

ing up to 20 percent from the immediate-ly preceding survey reading of 12 percentin October 2010. Additionally, 12 per-cent of businesses said they increasedthe number of employees, while 14 per-cent said they raised employee wages (upfour percent from last year’s surveytally).

Other positive survey results:Six-month business outlook. Fifty-

four percent of respondents said thatthe business outlook for the next sixmonths was good, with 38 percent say-ing it was “somewhat good.” Forty-three percent of small business ownerssaid they expected boosted sales overthe next six months—a nine percent

swell from October 2010. Six-month “bottom line” expecta-

tions. Thirty-eight percent of thosesurveyed said they expected their prof-its to increase over the next six months,a six percent step-up from the 2010survey.

Hiring and layoffs. The studyshowed a slight, but steady, improve-ment in the number of new jobs project-ed to become available in the next sixmonths, with 16 percent saying theyplanned to hire more employees in thenext six months. Additionally, 20 per-cent of those surveyed said theyplanned to increase wages.

8Award Presented to GRCC Board of Trustees for

Energy-Saving EffortsGrand Rapids - The faculty and

staff at Grand Rapids CommunityCollege (GRCC) have helped GRCCachieve, through energy-efficient prac-tices, approximately $2.2 million in costsavings over the past 35 months sinceforming a strategic alliance with EnergyEducation. The national energy conser-vation company recently presented GRCCwith its second Energy ExcellenceAward; the college received its first in2009.

"Grand Rapids Community Collegehas achieved success by consistently

implementing the people-orientedapproach to energy conservation, and bymaintaining productive efforts at all lev-els of the organization," said Dr. WilliamSpears, chairman and founder of EnergyEducation. "The president and board,along with other administration, facultyand staff members are to be commendedfor being good stewards of the taxpayers'money and the environment."

"Together we've worked on heatingand cooling strategies; made classroomuse more efficient; and changed how wehandle travel reimbursements, recycling,

purchases and design spaces," said GRCCPresident, Steven Ender. "And all theseefforts are paying off—literally."

According to Energy Manager,Dorothy Sadony, Energy Education pro-grams are distinctive because they helpassist the college in developing a "cultureof conservation."

As part of the program, she com-piles data using a database calledEnergyCAP. She enters the college'smonthly utility bills, daily temperaturedata, and other building information.The program uses a 2007 baseline to cal-

culate the college's savings. She com-pares current energy use to a baselineperiod, and calculates the amount ofenergy that would have been used hadconservation and management practicesnot been implemented.

"We're just asking everyone to bebetter stewards of our environment,"said Sadony. "In a world of constrainednatural resources, the case for reducingpollution and greenhouse gases is simplythe right thing to do."

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Finance/Insurance BriefsWest Michigan - Olga HallstedtCommercial Real Estate Services, P.C.facilitated Wade Trim’s (Detroit, MI-based) relocation to Centennial Plaza,located at 2851 Charlevoix Dr. SE, GrandRapids, MI; and Weller Truck Partsleasing of an approximate 45,000-square-foot space at 7377 ExpresswayDrive.

Lansing – Fitch Ratings has revised theState of Michigan’s Rating Outlook forall bonds to Positive from Stable, andaffirmed Michigan’s General ObligationCredit Rating “AA-.”

Grand Rapids - The Center forCommunity Leadership welcomed fivenew members to its ManagementCouncil, each serving a three-year termthat began July 1, 2011: Tracy Brame,assistant dean, Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool; Randy Locke, consumer evalu-ation R&D manager, Amway Corp.;Shelby Reno, senior vicepresident/director of marketing commu-nications, Independent Bank; CarlosSanchez, executive director, WestMichigan Hispanic Chamber ofCommerce; Greg Schmidt, partner,Warner Norcross & Judd LLP.

Fremont - Fremont MichiganInsuraCorp, Inc. has hired KathyReglin as a commercial lines productionunderwriter. With 25-plus years ofindustry experience, Fremont previouslyserved as a commercial underwriter forMichigan Insurance Company.

Kalamazoo - An internationally recog-nized legal authority on the ForeignCorrupt Practices Act and the U.K.Bribery Act, Stuart Deming is aWashington lawyer and former federalprosecutor with the Justice Departmentand SEC, who practices at both theWashington, D.C. and Kalamazoo officesof Deming pllc.

Grand Rapids - Lake Michigan CreditUnion (LMCU) announced the hiring ofPeter Dann as the new director of fundsmanagement for their corporate head-quarters in Grand Rapids. Dann comes toLMCU from Steelcase, with 16 years offinance experience.

Milwaukee, WI - John Folkert, a repre-sentative with Grand Rapids-basedWestern Michigan Group, will receivethe Top 20 award from NorthwesternMutual, based on his efforts at helpingclients achieve financial security.

Grand Rapids - Adam Banninga hasjoined Independent Bank as a mortgageloan officer to serve customers in Kent,Allegan and Ottawa Counties from theStandale office, located at 4525 LakeMichigan Drive, Walker.

Lansing - Accident Fund InsuranceCompany of America recently donated$5,000 to Phoenix Society of BurnSurvivors, and $5,000 to help sponsorDisability Advocates’ fifth annual“Invest in Ability” fundraising event, tobe held held at Frederik Meijer Gardensand Sculpture Park on October 24, 2011.

Grand Rapids – Baird, an internationalwealth management, investment bank-ing, asset management and private equi-ty firm, has added Jeffrey Walsh as afinancial advisor at its Grand Rapidswealth management office. Walsh willwork with The Braun Walsh Group.Prior to joining Baird, Walsh worked forJohn Hancock as a retirement plan salesassociate.

Grand Rapids - Lisa Raniga has joinedIndependent Bank, at the East Beltlineoffice in Grand Rapids, as a sales repre-sentative with Independent TitleServices. Raniga brings over seven yearsof experience to the position.

Worth Investment GroupAcquires Shane’s Group

Jackson – Finalized June 30, 2011,Worth Investment Group acquired ShaneGroup Capital Corp., a Michigan-baseddiversified family of 15 companies with165 employees. The management teamat each subsidiary will remain in place,as will the existing employees.

Worth Investment Group now ownsthe following subsidiaries: AmericanCopper and Brass (Hillsdale, MI andWaukesha, WI); The Curtis MarketingCorp (Hillsdale, MI and Mayodan, N.C.);

Recreation and Industrial ProductsCorp.( Ontario); Biological MediationsSystems (Fort Collins, CO); and the fol-lowing Hillsdale subsidiaries: RecreationCreations; Qualite Sports Lighting; ShaneGroup Capital Corp; Athletic andRecreation Products; Site and ParkAmenities; Innovative PlaySystems;International Technology andEngineering Corp; Paramount FinancialConsulting Services; and UniqueProducts Corp.

“Furniture City” College Offers Furniture/Industrial Design Degrees

By Amy Cygan

With its abundant lumber supply,Grand Rapids quickly became a world-renowned residential furniture manufac-turer in the latter half of the 1800s, earn-ing it the monikor, “Furniture City.” Fastforward to the present day, and the city’stalents haven’t fallen far from the tree.Thanks to manufacturers like Steelcase,Herman Miller, Haworth, Knoll, andAmerican Seating, Grand Rapids hasemerged as a current world leader inoffice furniture, and become a focal cityfor students eyeing an education in bothfurniture and industrial design.

Ferris State University, through theKendall College of Art and Design depart-ment, is the only Michigan campus col-lege to offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts(BFA) in both traditional FurnitureDesign and Industrial Design.

“Our furniture program is focusedand successful—almost exclusively con-centrated on wood reproduction residen-tial furniture, also period-inspired furni-ture,” said Tom Edwards, chair ofKendall’s industrial design department.

“Many of our Kendall graduates go on tofind success in North Carolina’s furnituremarket, as High Point, N.C. is known asthe “furniture capital of the world.”

Students enrolled in Kendall’s furni-ture program—one of the oldest in thecountry—benefit from the FurnitureDesign Studio and the Furniture DetailingStudio (work spaces designed to meldtraditional and technological skills), theResource Room (abundant with 1,500reference catalogues), and the BakerFurniture Collection (a 1,500-square-footshowroom that spans three centuries ofperiod furniture).

Alternatively, a student might optfor the industrial design program, eagerto follow in the footsteps of Bill Stumpfand Don Chadwick, whose collaborationsyielded Herman Miller such office chairsas the Ergon (out of which morphedEqua) and the Aeron. Or, perhaps, onemight aim for the heights reached byiconic industrial designer, HenryDreyfuss, who pioneered anthropometricand ergonomic design influences—human-form standards that are still ref-erenced today.

“The office furniture industry,” saidEdwards, “tends to use industrial design-ers, as opposed to traditional furnituredesigners, for its design source, since thecontract market’s interest is in ergonom-ics, problem-solving, and higher func-tional features—in addition to style.”

The former Herman Miller designerreflects: “In the past, people were sitting incubicles for eight hours of the day. Butnow, people are in meetings, they’re col-laborating, they’re mobile—and the tech-nology is mobile, smaller. As a designerand a professor of 20 years, it has beeninteresting to watch the evolution of officefurniture in response to technology.”

Aside from ergonomic and techno-logical considerations, contract furniturefirms also celebrate sustainable designprinciples. Even within the traditionalclasses of fairly sustainable materials—like wood—Edwards has observed “amove to certain species of woods that aremore sustainable than others, such as theuse of bamboo in furniture.”

Being able to analyze, contemplate,and manage the properties of design mate-rials is an important aspect to both furni-

ture degree programs. From Kendall’scampus academic materials library, stu-dents can explore the world’s largest mate-rials library, licensed through MaterialConnexion; information on over 4,500material characteristics is fingertip-acces-sible. The comprehensive online inventoryallows students to keyword-search aplethora of materials based on attributeslike sustainability, textual quality, andpost-consumer product content.

Kendall’s materials library, which iscurrently housed in an existing gallerylocation, will expand to an apportionedspace in the recently acquired FederalBuilding, once renovations are completedby the proposed date of 2012.

Having access to material data is stillonly one part of the industrial program’ssuccessful equation.

“The interesting thing about ourindustrial design program is that we arereally teaching a process, one that is usedin the design of every commercial con-sumer product developed, whether it’s atoothbrush or an automobile,” saidEdwards.

Continued on page 11

9

Communication & IT 10

Communications & ITGrandville – Trivalent Group was recog-nized by Everything Channel as part ofCRN’s 2011 VAR500 list, which ranksthe largest value-added resellers, solu-tion providers, and highest producingtechnology integrators in North Americaby revenue size and sales earnings.

Kalamazoo – On May 18, WesternMichigan University went live with theBroncoland Tour—an interactive virtualtour, created using video game technolo-gy, where prospective students can nav-igate through a 3D replica of the maincampus. Kevin Abbott, project lead for3D and interactive media in the Office ofInformation Technology, and a team ofeight student employees and interns,spearheaded the project.

Grand Rapids - C/D/H has acquired thePlante & Moran WebDevelopment/SharePoint team basedin Southfield, MI. The Plante & Moranteam completed its transition to C/D/HRoyal Oak offices on July 15. JohnBissa, former Plante & Moran partner,has become practice director for C/D/Hsoutheast Michigan.

Madison, WI - Gina Carson has joinedTDS Telecommunications Corp. as thenew associate manager of market man-agement in Michigan. She will beresponsible for developing businessrelations throughout Michigan, includ-ing Grand Rapids, metro-Detroit,Kalamazoo, and Lansing.

Grand Rapids - i3 Business Solutionscontinues to be part of HTG PeerGroups. The peer group consists of up to12 companies that collaborate toenhance each other’s professional andpersonal development.

Bellevue, WA - T-Mobile USA, Inc. hasannounced its new Value plans, whichare available with a two-year agreementfor new and existing customers. Theplans offer single-line and multi-lineoptions with a range of price points fortalk, unlimited text, and unlimited datawith 2 GB, 5 GB or 10 GB of high-speeddata — with no data overage charges.Customers can choose from variousmonthly plans, and only pay for thehigh-speed data they need.

Grand Rapids - i3 Business Solutionshas moved its operating facilities to thehistoric Grand Rapids Furniture Campuson the West side of downtown GrandRapids. i3 has hired Ian Kindig, accountrepresentative; Brian Abraham, seniornetwork technician; Brian Patterson,accounting intern; and McCann Beeland Ryan Grutter, support technicians.

Madison, WI - TDSTelecommunications Corp. (TDS) hasselected Phil LaForge as chief operatingofficer of TDS Hosted & ManagedServices LLC. Prior to this role, Forgewas vice president, general manager atNimsoft in California.

Large Gift Kicks Off 125th Year Celebration

Grand Rapids – A $2 million dona-tion from the family of Peter Secchiaserved as the lead gift to kick offAquinas College’s Family LegacyScholarship fund. Aquinas’ 125thanniversary goal is to establish 125 newendowed scholarships by June 30, 2012.

"It is our hope that half of the pro-ceeds will be directed to provide perma-nent support for Aquinas' new ‘Study inRome’ program, a city dear to our fami-ly," said Joan Secchia.

"This is a historic beginning for theFamily Scholarship Campaign which will

provide a sustainable source of fundingfor scholarships," said CeciliaCunningham, director of Major Gifts atAquinas College. "Endowed scholarshipsprovide a unique opportunity to ensurethat a scholarship reflects the spirit andintent of the donor. Naming an endowedscholarship also offers the possibility tohonor an individual, family or organiza-tion important to the donor.”

Approximately 23 percent ofAquinas College students are recipientsof endowed scholarships.

New 3G Laptop and iPad®Data Service

Los Angeles, CA - TruConnect offersa breakthrough-pricing alternative whereusers pay only for the data they con-sume. With this flexible and simple serv-ice, an entrepreneur or business profes-sional pays $4.99 a month plus 3.9 centsa megabyte for their wireless data. Nocontract, no activation fees, no monthlybill. No bundled data plans, no expira-tion, no overage charges.

Business professionals and entre-preneurs know the difficult tradeoffs thatcome with mobile Internet data service.They already pay for smartphone dataand office WiFi connections. And most ofthe time that’s enough, but occasionallythey need wireless data access for lap-tops or iPad® to stay in touch when outof the office. Does that mean subscribingto yet another $50-$80 mobile dataplan? Not now! With TruConnect’s serv-ice, users are always connected, but onlypay when they use the service!

TruConnect is the “ultimate unbun-dle”—perfect for the business profes-sional who needs occasional wirelessaccess. TruConnect runs on the nation-

wide Sprint network, covering 97 percentof the U.S., and is available using eithera USB device for your laptop, or the MiFithat wirelessly connects up to five com-puters, iPads, and other WiFi devices.

The average businessperson cansave up to $600 over a standard two-year contract with major carriers. Withbottom line profitability so important, it’sfrustrating to pay for wireless servicethat is only used occasionally, and thento watch unused megabytes disappear atthe end of the month.

Today’s other low-cost connectionalternative is to use free WiFi in local cof-fee shops and restaurants. But increas-ingly, public WiFi is not a secure way tosend data.

TruConnect provides a completelysafe data connection with a disruptivenew pricing model that fits the lifestyle ofthe sporadic mobile Internet user.Business professionals can be connectedwhenever they need, without wastingmoney on unused service.

11Program Addition to Medical Mile

By Amy Cygan

On December 17, 2010, the FerrisState University Board of Trusteesauthorized the purchase of space onGrand Rapids’ Medical Mile to houseFerris’ College of Pharmacy program. The

25,000-square-foot space of the seventhfloor of 25 Michigan Street will beginaccommodating 150 third-year Doctor ofPharmacy students, and fourth-year stu-dents assigned to practice sites in theGrand Rapids area, for the 2012 springsemester.

The initiative, supported by a $6.6million capital outlay from the MichiganLegislature, was designed “to providestate-of-the-art instructional facilities andinterprofessional educational opportuni-ties, and to accommodate a higher level ofclinical involvement for our students,”said Interim Dean, Stephen Durst.

“We feel that the College of Pharmacyis a complementary addition to all of theother educational programs in operationwithin the Medical Mile area—providingresources that include not only our stu-dents, but also our faculty,” said Durst.

Essentially, students benefit from anopportune medical hub, with SpectrumHealth, Michigan State University’sCollege of Human Medicine, and VanAndel Research Institute all within walk-ing distance from the new location.

“A great step forward has been takenwith the Medical Mile’s acquisition of

another prominent profession,” saidDurst. “We feel that this opportunity willcreate a level of collaboration that we oth-erwise wouldn’t experience if we weren’tso close to everything.”

The space will primarily supportthird-year students, as fourth year stu-dents tend to be on clerk-ships through-out the state, and will provide classroomsand various labs, and will support interac-tive distance learning. The first- and sec-ond-years of the program will remain oncampus in Big Rapids.

Ferris’ College of Pharmacy has thelargest program enrollment in the state,and is one of three well-established phar-macy programs; the other two programsare those offered by the University ofMichigan and Wayne State University.

“Furniture City” College Continued from page 9

“And as a way of exploring theprocess, we collaborate with local compa-nies on real projects, some of those beingfurniture projects.”

Edwards notes that many of the col-laborative class-projects, in turn, gener-ate internships, which then lead to full-time employment, as was the case withtwo Kendall students who were hiredafter graduation by WolverineWorldwide.

One of the advantages that Michiganholds with regard to industry employ-ment is “the area need for designresources,” as Edwards stated. “There’s anice manufacturing belt between Detroitand Chicago where multiple manufactur-ing company headquarters—Bissel,Whirlpool, furniture companies, automo-

tive suppliers—exist, which are utilizingdesign resources.”

W.E. Upjohn Institute’s June 2011Business Outlook for West Michigan sim-ilarly highlights that “Allegan, Kent,Ottawa, and Muskegon house a well-known office furniture cluster,” to thepoint that the area “could be labeled aregion,” by some definitions of the word.

The historical rapport of GrandRapids as a furniture industry staplecomplemented by Kendall’s nationally-recognized educational rapport have gar-nered recognition from Kendall graduatesfor years. With BIFMA anticipating a 14percent increase in U.S. office furnitureproduction by the end of 2011 and an 8.4percent by 2012’s end, Kendall’senrollees and graduates can look for thedesign of a forward momentum.

Post 9/11 Veterans Encouraged to Use GI Bill

Lansing - Jason Allen, the seniordeputy director of Michigan's VeteransAffairs (VA) Directorate, encouragesMichigan's post-9/11 veterans to explorethe opportunities available to themthrough VA education benefits.

"Many of Michigan's veterans whohave served since 9/11 don't realize theymay be eligible for education benefits. Toreceive assistance in applying for suchbenefits, veterans can contact a countyveterans' affairs office or a veteran’sservice organization," said Allen.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill, signed intolaw just over 3 years ago, vastly expandsopportunities for post-9/11 veterans. Notonly do benefits cover traditionalavenues of higher education, but effec-tive October 2011, those veterans mayutilize their benefits to pursue vocationaleducation. While other students are see-ing the cost of higher education continueto rise, Congress has made educationmore attainable for those men and

women who have spent the last 10 yearsserving in the Gulf. The GI Bill can coverup to the highest in-state tuition for aveteran, and include both a book andhousing allowance.

"In 2010, according to the VA,13,759 veterans in Michigan werereceiving educational benefits. This isgreat news, but we want to see more.The generation after WWII significantlyutilized their GI benefits, launched theircareers, and changed our country; infact, Gerald R. Ford, the only President tohail from Michigan, was a product of theGI Bill. These young men and womenhave that same opportunity, and we wantto help them seize it," said Allen.

For more information on how tocontact a county counselor, please visitthe Michigan Veterans Affairs website atwww.michigan.gov/veterans. To contactthe state’s Veterans Affairs Directorate,email: [email protected] or call(517) 335-6523.

12Education BriefsBig Rapids – The Ferris State UniversityBoard of Trustees has voted to extendDavid Eisler’s contract as universitypresident through June 30, 2016, and toincrease Eisler’s base compensation by2.25%; he turned down offered increasesin 2009 and 2010. Eisler has served asFerris president since July 2003.

Big Rapids - The Ferris State UniversityBoard of Trustees has restrained tuitiongrowth to 5.14% for undergraduate and

first professional students for the 2011-12 academic year, and 5.11% for gradu-ate students. Ferris reduced its budget by$8 million to help minimize a studenttuition increase.

Kalamazoo - The Haworth College ofBusiness at Western MichiganUniversity has appointed Dr. SatishDeshpande as associate dean for oper-ations and graduate programs, and Dr.Christina Stamper as associate dean

for undergraduate programs.Deshpande will oversee graduate pro-grams; staff development; researchsupport; computing technologies;Association to Advance CollegiateSchools of Business accreditation; spaceallocation; global programs; and vari-ous centers within the college. Stamperwill oversee undergraduate programsand enrollment; the academic advisingoffice; and the career center.

West Michigan - The West MichiganInternship Initiative has been award-ed a $10,000 grant from the GrandRapids Community Foundation tosupport outreach to nonprofit employ-ers in Kent County. The 2009 goal ofthe West Michigan Internship Initiativewas to create 3,000 new internshipopportunities in the region by the endof 2011, of which 1,500 internshipshave been established. Currently, at25.9%, West Michigan’s EducationalAttainment (the percentage of the pop-ulation ages 25 to 34 with B.A. degreesor higher) is lower than the nationaland state percentages.

Big Rapids – Ferris State University isparticipating in the Google Maps Street

View PartnerProgram, which

provides interactive 360-degreeground-level photos of special attrac-tions around the world. A Google StreetView team visited Ferris campus, cap-turing images from a “Street ViewTrike,” a 250-pound, three-wheel pedi-cab with a camera system on top. Theimages will be stitched into panoramicviews and viewable on Google Maps inthe coming months.

Baltimore, MD – In a historic action,Maryland has become the first state inthe country to require its high schoolseniors be environmentally literate inorder to graduate. Forty eight otherstates are in various stages of their ownenvironmental literacy plans.

Big Rapids – Ferris State University’sBoard of Trustees has approved twonew programs: Bachelor of Fine Artsin Collaborative Design and aBachelor of Fine Arts in MedicalIllustration for Kendall; enrollmentbegins with the fall 2012 semester. TheBFA in Collaborative Design will beamong the first of its kind nationally,for undergraduate students.

Master’s ProgramApproved by MDE

Big Rapids - Ferris StateUniversity’s School of Education wasstrengthened as its Master of Science inEducational Leadership was approved bythe Michigan Department of Education,allowing program graduates to apply forkindergarten through 12th grade admin-istrative certification in the state ofMichigan.

A team of faculty, staff and formeradministrators collaborated to developan innovative master’s degree programthat would examine K-12 administrative

issues through four lenses: Leadership,management, risk management, and thefuture.

Ferris’ Master of Science inEducational Leadership includes a struc-tured six-credit internship that studentscomplete in two semesters. As part ofthis internship, students will apply theadministrative concepts and skills thatthey have acquired through their course-work, at their local district under thesupervision of both local administratorsand a university supervisor.

Semester inLondon

Battle Creek – Kellogg Community College (KCC) willpilot a study-abroad semester in London, England during thespring 2012 semester, which begins January 17, 2012. Up to24 registered students will stay in London for a total of 12weeks.

The semester in London program, developed by MichelleWright, KCC history professor, will be the first of its kind fora Michigan community college. The students will take KelloggCommunity College courses at the University of London andstay in the Kensington, London area.

Seven different courses, designed to meet the12-credit-hour minimum and transferrable to most four-year schoolsneighboring KCC, will be offered through the program.

The cost of the trip per student will approximate$11,250, but will depend on the final number of studentsparticipating in the program.

The cost includes accommodations, insurance, liability,field trips, the deposit on accommodations, a pre-departureorientation, a trip to Paris, books, airfare, transportationaround London, theater tickers, cultural excursions, supportservices, Internet access, tuition (at KCC rates), and supplies.Passport fees, transportation to and from the airport in theU.S., meals, and spending money are not included.

13

Community Partnership Funds Scholarships

Grand Rapids - The Great StartCollaborative—in partnership with FirstSteps, the Heart of West Michigan UnitedWay, and Kent Regional 4C—hasannounced an $800,000 Great Start EarlyChildhood Scholarship Fund, which willprovide scholarships to three-year-oldchildren so that they may attend a high-quality child care center or preschool.

The scholarship fund is made possi-ble by a $400,000 grant from the EarlyChildhood Investment Corporation(ECIC), which awarded a total of $3 mil-lion in scholarship funds to Great StartCollaboratives across the state. Eachcommunity is required to secure a dollar-for-dollar match in private investment.In Kent County, that commitment is ledby a $300,000 grant from the W.K.Kellogg Foundation. The Heart of West

Michigan United Way and several localfoundations also are contributing to thescholarship fund.

The initial $400,000 from ECIC willbe used in the 2011-2012 school year,providing scholarships to approximately100 three-year-olds from low-incomefamilies. The remaining $400,000 will beused to serve another group of three-year-olds in 2012-2013. During thattime, partners will evaluate the impact ofthe scholarship program.

The child care centers andpreschools that will participate have beenselected already. They all are in, or near,underserved neighborhoods of KentCounty, and meet the scholarship pro-gram’s quality standards. Kent Regional4C is recruiting families for the program.Visit www.greatstartkent.org.

Aviation Program Maps its TerritoryContinued from page 5

“We became one of the first collegiateaviation programs to adopt what’s knownas ‘glass cockpits’—these are the ‘avion-ics’ used to fly the plane, which basicallylook like two, 10-inch computer screens.”

Students can expect to amass awealth of system-interfacing experience,regardless of one’s career direction, withthe recent introduction of the AvidyneR9—synonymous with FMS, or “FlightManagement System.”

“The FMS system itself is the closest

you can get in general aviation aircraft tothe avionics in the 737 or the regionaljet, such as a CRJ200,” said Thinnes.“With most companies trending towardglass cockpits now, our aviation studentsare at a significant advantage throughtheir ability to interface with the R9-equipped aircraft, such that when they goto fly a CRJ200 for Pinnacle Airlines,they’re not looking at foreign systems.”

WMU’s aircraft fleet consists of:Twenty-six Cirrus SR20s (all equippedwith the R9); and a twin-engine fleet of sixPiper Seminoles, two Piper Arrows, and

one Piper Super Cub on amphibious float.Maintenance students perform on variousnon-flying planes, like the King Air, theCessna 172, or the Merlin. This September,the College will also accept a FedEx 727,donated by the Organization of BlackAerospace Professionals. “The opportunitywill equip our maintenance technologystudents with a better understanding ofaircraft systems integrated throughout acommercial airliner,” said Thinnes.

Another highlight to the aviation pro-gram is that last year, WMU was one ofonly 36 colleges—and the only Michigancollege—selected to host the 1990-launched Federal AviationAdministration’s Air Traffic CollegiateTraining Initiative (AT-CTI) program. Theelective courses essentially “piggybackonto one of our degree programs, primari-ly, either Flight Science, or Science andAdministration,” said Thinnes. “By cou-pling a bachelor’s degree in Flight Science,or Science and Administration, with com-pleted AT-CTI courses, one is then quali-fied to apply to the air traffic controlschool through the FAA.” WMU’s first AT-CTI classes will begin in Fall 2011.

While an aviation career can bequite exciting and lucrative, Thinnes hasobserved that the industry is unfortu-nately one-sided and lacking in diversity.To address this, the role of women andminorities in aviation is something WMUis dedicated to increasing.

Thinnes: “Unfortunately, the face ofaviation since 1903 has been that of thewhite male, but now we have an indus-try-wide push and emphasis for diversi-fication. In our programs, about 10 per-cent are women; ultimately, with thestrategic plan that we’ve put in place, wewant to be reflective of the community atlarge.”

Working alongside international andnational organizations, like OBAP andWomen in Aviation International,Thinnes intimates the university’s con-certed effort to increasing the role ofunderrepresented groups in the industryby bringing a much-needed awareness ofopportunities in the aviation industry,not only to career-minded adults, but tothe younger generation as well.

Thinnes works with different agegroups at schools like Davis Aerospace(Detroit), Washington Writers’ Academy(Kalamazoo) and Battle Creek PublicSchools, “to use aviation as a catalyst toencourage excitement about learning theSTEM subject areas—science, technolo-gy, engineering, and math—which arethe key subjects on which an aviationcareer is founded,” said Thinnes.

He continued, “What we see in avi-ation is that you almost have to be bittenby the bug early, and be exposed to it—itbecomes a passion.” From there, thesky’s the limit!

Fund Invests $3.8 MillionKalamazoo - The Michigan Strategic

Fund will invest $3.8 million in aWestern Michigan University initiativeaimed at further development of life sci-ence-startups in Michigan.

The recipient of the award is WMU'sBiosciences Research andCommercialization Center (BRCC), aseven-year-old entity that has beenplaced under the auspices of theUniversity's new School of Medicine.Managed by the medical school's Office ofResearch, the new fund will further its

support in commercializing novel tech-nologies in the life sciences throughoutthe state of Michigan.

Established in 2003 with an initialcash infusion of $10 million from theMichigan Economic Development Corp.,the BRCC has helped create 30 Michigancompanies and more than 200 high-pay-ing jobs. With every dollar of the original$10 million invested in startup compa-nies, new funding will help the centertransition to a new fund, dubbed BRCC-II.

Ferris/Rapid CommuteBig Rapids – Ferris State University is

collaborating with The Rapid to launch anew service that will provide bus trans-portation between Grand Rapids and BigRapids, beginning Aug. 29, 2011.

The service, approved by both theFerris Board of Trustees and The RapidBoard of Directors, will run Mondaythrough Friday from 6:25 a.m. to 9:05p.m. during the fall and spring semesters.

The Rapid shuttle service is primarilyintended for current and prospective Ferrisstudents who permanently reside in KentCounty and who are already enrolled, orintend to enroll, in classes on the universi-ty’s Big Rapids campus. Students who arerequired to live on the Big Rapids campusfor the fall/spring semesters, and who

want to enroll in the ridership program,will be released from their housing obliga-tion if they meet eligibility requirements,and if their student accounts show theyhave purchased a shuttle bus card for eachsemester.

The daily shuttle bus route originatesat 250 Grandville Ave. SW. The trip to andfrom Ferris’ main campus in Big Rapidsincludes one scheduled stop at the Meijerstore in Cedar Springs, located at 3700 17Mile Road.

Students, faculty and staff can pur-chase a shuttle bus card, similar to Ferris’Bulldog Card, for unlimited use for $700per semester. Financial Aid award pack-ages do include commuter cost for stu-dents who do not live on campus.

14

First Michigan Hospital to Offer Guided Spine SurgeryWyoming – Metro Health Hospital

has become the first and only hospital inMichigan to utilize the advanced technol-ogy of Renaissance™ for computer-guid-ed complex spine surgeries.

Metro Health began usingRenaissance in May, in a move to expandits robotic surgery options for patients—following the 2008 implementation ofthe da Vinci® Surgical System, a roboticsystem that allows surgeons to performminimally invasive kidney, prostate, andgynecological procedures.

Renaissance features a surgicaldevice that is mounted on the patient’sback, allowing for greater precision inthe placement of spinal implants duringsurgery. The robotic system also reducesthe need for X-rays and decreases theamount of radiation that patients areexposed to.

Renaissance can be used for tradi-tional open/invasive or minimally inva-sive surgeries. The device allows sur-geons more precise initial placement,reducing the need for future surgeries (to

make adjustments) and improvingpatient recovery times.

“Robotic systems allow surgeons tooperate with better visualization, preci-sion, dexterity, and control than is possi-ble using traditional approaches andtechnology,” says Dr. John F. Keller, aMetro Health surgeon who specializes inbrain and spine disorders. “We are verypleased to be the first hospital in thestate to utilize Renaissance.

“Renaissance allows surgeons tomap out the surgery beforehand and

then, to be very particular and controlledwhile placing implants in the spine.Surgery with Renaissance is faster, soless time is spent in the OR. The devicealso helps minimize trauma to the spinalmuscular structure, so that patients canheal faster and more comfortably.”

Surgeons use a standard computer-ized tomography scan, prior to the sur-gery, to map out the entire procedure.They then use Renaissance to pinpointthe implant locations before operating.

PROPRIO FOOT® Flexes Prosthetic RealismBy Amy Cygan

Many of us are oblivious to thecountless muscles and brain signalsinvolved in the lifting and stepping ofour feet. We take for granted our seem-ingly natural and easy ability to step offa curb, climb a few stairs, or strollthrough a park. But imagine you are awar veteran or an accident victim whohas lost a foot. How do you physicallyand mentally adjust to the change?

Mercy Health Partners’ LeslieSwanker, manager - Orthotics &Prosthetics, and Darrell White, pros-thetist, have been helping transtibialamputees acclimate to an ambulatory

lifestyle with the modernized PROPRIOFOOT®—a prosthetic solution thatOssur, a global developer of scientifical-ly-designed orthopedic prosthetics,launched in September 2006, althoughthe foot had been in circulation amongstmilitary amputees for a short while.

The durable, corrosion-resistant,aluminum-framed, carbon fiber PRO-PRIO FOOT weighs 2.2 lbs., and accom-modates a weight limit up to 255 lbs. Arechargeable, lithium ion battery actu-ates internal sensory components thatutilize the patented artificial intelligence,Terrain Logic. Through the reading ofground elevations and depressions,Ossur’s Bionic technology allows for

smoother gait symmetry and cadence,replicated foot spring action, fuller anklerange-of-motion, and less stress on theresidual limbs, hips, knees, and back.

“Unlike the non-computerized feet,today’s higher performance, lightweight,carbon fiber feet can flex, recoil, andstore and release energy as the step isarticulated,” said White. “Additionally,the PROPRIO FOOT has an internal com-puter with a mind of its own that readsthe terrain as you walk with it, allowingone to seamlessly adjust to inclines anddeclines.”

“The non-computerized foot goesfrom a heel strike to your foot floppingdown,” added Swanker. “The PROPRIOFOOT allows for more customary heel-to-toe articulation.” She also notes that“squaring off from the socket” (ashelped, for example, by certain, fittedcomputerized knees for above-kneeamputees), better influences normalambulation.

While White points out that thePROPRIO FOOT is not the most cosmet-ically appealing and that some patientsfind the device a bit bulky and weighty,one of the foot’s more appealing featuresis its Flex Foot Split Toe design. The footallows adjustment to uneven terrains,and by allowing for toe-lift each time thefoot swings forward, the feature opti-mizes balance and stability; in turn cre-ating user confidence and faster ambu-latory speeds. The design also helpsreduce bodily impact when loading(when the user’s body weight is shiftingto the prosthetic limb).

Other characteristics of the PRO-PRIO FOOT include:

Carbon-X Active Heel: Absorbsshock associated with heel-strike

Energy Vector Optimization tech-

nology: Mimics the energy-drivenmotion of a human foot

Accelerometers and ankle sensors:Directed at ankle angulation, for easierstair-stepping and sit-stands

Tight-knit Flex Foot Socks: Protectsmodule from dust and grit; available insmall, junior, and large sizes

Heel-height adjustment: Allowsusers to more easily transition to differ-ent heel-sized shoes

One significant drawback to thePROPRIO FOOT is explained bySwanker: “It’s an expensive, costly item.We have fit a few PROPRIO FOOT, a fewcomputerized knees, but not every per-son out there fits the model for it—eitherdue to criteria or cost.” And costs havenot tapered off much in the last fiveyears.

“Because one is an amputee, doesnot mean one automatically qualifies fora PROPRIO FOOT,” continues Swanker.“There are certain functional levelswhich one must be at, in order to justifyto insurance providers that one meetsthe necessary physical requirements toreceive a PROPRIO FOOT.” The levelsrange from K0-K4, with K4 representingthe most active individual; generally, themore active the individual, the highertheir chance in qualifying for the FOOT.

White returns to the more impor-tant desire of the amputee: “For thepatient—they want what they lost. Theywant the closest thing to the function oftheir natural ankle and foot. They wantthe smooth roll from the heel to toe, anda comfortable fit with the socket.”

Essentially, the PROPRIO FOOT—through its functional interpretation of ahuman foot—is able to answer the activeindividual, with a certain level oflifestyle normalcy.

Architectural EngineeringFirm Selected

Kalamazoo - The S/L/A/MCollaborative, a nationally known,Connecticut-based architectural andengineering firm with an extensive port-folio in medical and health science facili-ties, has been selected as the design firmfor the Western Michigan UniversitySchool of Medicine.

The firm was selected from anational field of companies seeking therole, according to officials on the medicalschool's facilities committee. That com-mittee screened the original 25 applicantfirms, narrowed the list to a field of final-ists and made a final recommendation tothe school's steering committee for finaldecision.

The new medical school is a part-nership involving WMU andKalamazoo's two teaching hospitals,Borgess Health and Bronson Healthcare.

The WMU president, hospital CEOs andmedical school dean comprise the steer-ing committee.

Based in Glastonbury, Conn., the150-member SLAM also has offices inAtlanta, Boston and Syracuse, N.Y. Forthe WMU School of Medicine work,SLAM will partner with a well-knownKalamazoo-area firm, Diekema HamannArchitecture and Engineering, which hasextensive experience in the medical facil-ity arena as well.

SLAM also will work with a con-struction management firm, the selectionof which is now under way. The name ofthe construction firm will be announcedthis fall. SLAM and the constructionmanager are expected to work togetherto provide feedback on such high-priori-ty issues as site selection.

1515

Mental Health Education through Live Laugh LoveGrand Rapids - The Mental Health

Foundation (MHF) was created in 1990by Touchstone innovare, the largest casemanagement agency in Kent Countyserving the mentally ill population. TheFoundation was created in order toestablish a compassionate, educated,and involved community regardingmental health awareness. One majorgoal of MHF has always been to reducethe demoralizing stigma associated withmental illness; stigma is the primarybarrier to people seeking treatment.

In 2004, Kent County SuicideCoalition studies showed an increase indeath by suicide among Kent Countyteenagers between the ages of 14 and24. The numbers prompted ExecutiveDirector Christy Buck, and her staff, totake action! In line with MHF’s mission“to create and sustain a community

which supports and understands peoplewith mental illness,” the Live LaughLove: Educating Youth about MentalHealth Program was born.

In 2006, MHF received a FederalBlock Grant to pilot the Live Laugh Loveprogram. The block grant ended in2007; consequently, the sustainability ofthe program has depended upon fundingfrom grants, foundations, fundraisingefforts, and private donations. Nowentering its seventh year, the educationprogram has not only managed to sus-tain itself, but has expanded as well.

Early childhood years are the mostimportant time to prevent mental healthdisorders and promote healthy behavior.While childhood suicide is very uncom-mon, death from suicide is the secondleading cause of death among highschool students in Kent County.

The Live Laugh Love Programincludes a variety of interactive lessonsthat help students, parents and teachersrecognize the symptoms of depression,and the warning signs of suicide inthemselves, a friend or family member.The educational program also encour-ages students to set aside stereotypes; togive fellow classmates understanding,compassion and acceptance; and to seektreatment if they are personally affectedby mental illness, despite any associatedstigma.

Sadly, only 10 percent of schoolsystems across America have a compre-hensive mental health program in theirschools. This year, the Live Laugh LoveProgram was taught in Grandville,Grand Rapids, Wyoming, and ForestHills Public School Districts; the programhas been presented to more than 10,000

students throughout Kent County. In addition to bringing the Live

Laugh Love Program to schools, theMHF has developed presentations aboutmental illness for companies and com-munities since, according to theAmerican Psychiatric Association, onein four adults suffers from a diagnosablemental health disorder in a given year.The World Health Organization alsocited depression as the leading cause ofdisability in the United States—aboveback problems, heart disease and liverfailure. Armed with such facts, theMental Health Foundation believes itsprogram can enrich every company andcivic organization, and every personregardless of age.

For more information on MHF, visitwww.themhf.org.

Serving Senior Needs in a Pilgrim MannerBy Amy Cygan

Located on the northeast side ofGrand Rapids, Michigan, Pilgrim ManorRetirement Community—affiliated withthe United Church of Christ—has deliv-ered short term rehab, assisted living,and long-term care services to area sen-iors since 1963. In response to a peak-ing baby-boomer sector, a risingdemand for memory-care support serv-ices, and a desire from seniors to remainin their homes for as long as possible,Pilgrim Manor is pursuing options toenhance their existing service lines.According to Pilgrim Manor’s Director ofMarketing & Admissions, Brian Mack,the organization’s goal is “to push ourexpertise out into the community, basedon the needs in the market.”

“Pilgrim Manor,” explained Mack“needs to be positioned to operate in a‘post-Affordable Care Act’ world, whichwill require the development of skilledsettings—external to the hospital envi-ronment—capable of handling more

specialized and complex care needs.Proactively developing our capacity andskill sets to handle these needs are ofcritical importance to us and the peoplewe serve.”

Data gathered by Pilgrim Manor,from sources including the WestMichigan Chapter of the Alzheimer’sAssociation and the Area Agency onAging of Kent County, indicates a grow-ing need for dementia care options.

“Something in the neighborhood of30 percent of adults over the age of 65 inKent County, are coping with some formof dementia,” said Mack. “Pilgrim Manorand all the other providers put togethercannot currently meet all the needs ofthis growing population. Our intention isto do more to address this need.”

Pilgrim Manor plans to bolster itsmission to provide programs targetedspecifically at memory care, by expand-ing its focus on residential dementiaservices as well as community-baseddelivery models, through their home caresubsidiary, Pilgrim Care Home Services.

“This is an area where PilgrimManor possesses a great deal of expert-ise,” explained Mack. “It makes sensethat we leverage that capability to servea larger population.”

Pilgrim Manor has also introducedthe community to available educationalresources. According to Mack, “Thelearning curve for seniors, who needcare services, and their families, is oftensteep, fast and urgent.” Mack common-ly finds himself talking with the adultchildren of seniors who are not onlytasked with the job of educating them-selves about a parent’s medical condi-tion, but who also face the burden ofseeking out health care solutions undervery tight time constraints.

To assist in delivering this impor-tant information, Pilgrim Manor haslaunched an educational publicationcalled Journey GR. The quarterlylifestyle magazine debuted in June2011. Feature writers include expertsfrom across West Michigan who repre-sent a broad cross-section of profes-

sions. The magazine’s content attemptsto bridge the information gap by recog-nizing, discussing, and problem-solvingthe issues surrounding senior lifestylesand care needs. An e-version of JourneyGR and an interactive website areplanned for the near future.

“We want to shift the focus awayfrom the ‘come stay with us’ mentality, todeliver a broad range of services whereand when senior adults need and wantthem,” said Mack. “We recognize thatmost people prefer to be at home for aslong as possible. We want to unite withtheir families in supporting that desire.”

Battling his greatest fear “thatinevitably there’s going to be someonewho just isn’t willing to be served, can’tbe served, or can’t afford to be served,”Pilgrim Manor continues to nurture itsvision to be an integrated healthcaresystem for seniors.

“We need to aid as many people aswe can. If we can move the needle, evenjust a little bit, it will have a positiveimpact on our community.”

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16Health Care BriefsLansing – At the Annual MembershipMeeting of the Michigan Health &Hospital Association (MHA), severalindividuals who have greatly influencedhealth care across the state were hon-ored. Receiving the 2011 MeritoriousService Award were Burton Parks, pres-ident, West Shore Medical Center; andBruce Traverse, president, Carson CityHospital. Jerry Welsh, president andchief executive officer of HPS, receivedthe 2011 Special Recognition Award.Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley receivedthe Special Recognition Award whileMichigan Secretary of State, RuthJohnson, was heralded for her leader-ship in improving organ and tissuedonation.

Lansing - Gov. Rick Snyder hasappointed to the Michigan Board ofPharmacy: Patricia Harney, businessdevelopment and legislative affairs man-ager - Hospice of Michigan; NicholePenny, district pharmacy supervisor -Walgreens; Suit Hing Moy-Sandusky,psychiatry clinical pharmacist specialist -Veterans Affairs Hospital, and presi-dent - Drug Therapy Consultants Inc.;and Patricia Smeelink, owner - EastParis Pharmacy, and adjunct facultymember - Ferris State University.

Grand Rapids - Elias Neujahr has beennamed vice president, operations,Spectrum Health Medical Group andHelen DeVos Children’s Hospital.Neujahr will manage medical group andhospital operations.

Allegan - Amanda Haverdink hasjoined Allegan General Hospital as thenew chief risk and compliance officer.Previously, Amanda had served atBattle Creek Health System as themanager of legal services, integrity, andrisk management.

Grand Rapids - Pine Rest ChristianMental Health Services has selectedJane Konyndyk as the new director ofoperations for community and residen-tial services, to be part of the seniorleadership team and to oversee the clin-ical operations of the community andresidential services division of Pine Rest.

Grand Rapids - Steve Swanson hasbeen appointed president and COO ofImperial, and CEO of DAC PatientRecruitment Services. Swanson previ-ously served as Imperial’s vice presidentand COO, a position he held since joiningthe executive team in 2006.

Grand Rapids – Veteran dentist KennethWeddell D.D.S. joins Partners inDental Care (Grand Rapids). Weddellleaves Fremont Dental Associates, apractice he owned, operated, and wasemployed at for 17 years.

Kalamazoo - Borgess VNA HomeHealth & Hospice programs haveachieved Home Care accreditation fromThe Joint Commission (JRC) for demon-strating compliance with both the JRC,and the Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services Conditions ofParticipation requirements.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum Healthreceived recognition in three categoriesin the U.S. News Media & World 2011-12 Best Hospitals Rankings: Nationallyranked among the top 50 hospitals indiabetes and endocrinology care; recog-nized as the top healthcare provider inGrand Rapids; and listed as high per-forming in 10 specialty categories (can-cer; cardiology and heart surgery; ear,nose and throat; nephrology; urology;gastroenterology; geriatrics; gynecology;orthopedics; and pulmonology).

Grand Rapids - Pine Rest ChristianMental Health Services welcomes to itshospital based services, PatriciaKennedy as the new director of quality,and psychiatrist Raed Yousif, M.D.,who works as an inpatient physician.

Muskegon – Muskegon CommunityHealth Project, the Community BenefitOffice of Mercy Health Partners wasawarded a grant from the March ofDimes Michigan Chapter to provide riskeducation and services to low-income,high-risk pregnant women. The grantsupports utilizing a U.S. Dept. of Health& Human Services, Agency forHealthcare Research and Quality“National Innovation” model to reducethe risk of low-birth-weight babies byimproving access to adequate medicalcare, social services and education.

Holland – Holland Hospital welcomesHospitalists Corie Eklov, MD; LaurenBuckles, D.O.; and Matthew Fletcher,D.O. A.

Kalamazoo - Borgess HealthAdministration welcomes Dr. RobertHill, vice president of medical affairs;and Stacey Watson, vice president ofclinical care integration.

Grand Rapids - Grand RapidsOphthalmology welcomes Dr. RosannePruis, its new laser vision coordinator,and Dr. Annessa Dix, who will servepatients in the Walker, Grandville andEast Beltline locations.

Big Rapids – Dr. Matthew Maki assumedthe role of president of the MichiganOptometric Association Board ofDirectors in July. Maki will oversee allofficers and trustees as the organization’s2011-12 board now is set.

Grand Rapids – Spectrum Health is par-ticipating in the Medtronic CoreValveU.S. Clinical Trial to evaluate a tran-scatheter alternative to open-heart sur-gery for patients with severe aorticstenosis who are at high risk or are inel-igible for open-heart surgery. The trial,expected to last five years, is underwayat the Fred and Lena Meijer HeartCenter.

Gaylord - Otsego Memorial Hospital(OMH) in Gaylord has joined HelenDeVos Children’s Hospital’s Partnersin Children’s Health, becoming one of 31affiliated hospitals. The affiliation pro-vides for pediatric-specific continuingmedical education programming, andadvocacy for children’s health and safe-ty in Gaylord, among other allowances.

Michigan’s First Minimally Invasive Treatment for Esophageal Cancer

Grand Rapids - In June 2011, twoof West Michigan’s leading surgeonscollaborated together to performMichigan’s first laparoscopic transhiatalesophagectomy. The minimally invasiveprocedure was performed laparoscopi-cally, meaning only small incisions wereutilized.

Larry McCahill, MD, medical directorof Surgical Oncology and assistant direc-tor at The Lacks Cancer Center at SaintMary’s, led an initiative that combinedhis skills with those of Paul Kemmeter,MD, medical director of Bariatric Surgeryat Saint Mary’s Health Care. McCahill hasroutinely performed esophageal surgery

to treat cancer, while leading bariatricsurgeon, Kemmeter, has utilized hisskills in minimally invasive stomach sur-gery to form a new esophagus out of thestomach to reestablish intestinal continu-ity.

“Dr. McCahill is quite an extraordi-nary visionary to be able to integratethe fields of cancer surgery withbariatric surgery for the benefit ofpatient care,” said Kemmeter.

Although marking his first totallaparoscopic transhiatal esophagectomy,McCahill is a renowned surgical oncolo-gist who has performed laparoscopic-assisted esophagectomies over the past

10 years, previously at the University ofVermont and now, at The Lacks CancerCenter.

“I have been pursuing a minimallyinvasive approach for a full decadenow,” said McCahill. “I have come close,but always needed to have an openabdominal incision to complete the pro-cedure. In teaming with Dr. Kemmeter,we cleared this last hurdle.”

The laparoscopic surgery is per-formed through several small incisions,each about an inch long. Using a videocamera and laparoscopic instruments,the esophagus is removed and replacedwith the stomach, avoiding the large

abdominal and chest incisions that areoften a part of esophageal resection.

Although this type of cancer has agrim prognosis—according to theAmerican Cancer Society, 16,500 peoplewere diagnosed with esophageal cancerin 2010, and more than 14,300 died fromthis cancer that same year—Saint Mary’sis hoping that the laparoscopic surgerywill improve outcomes for patients,shorten surgery times and recovery peri-ods, lessen pain, and prompt a return towork as well as a return to diet withinthree days of surgery.

17Illuminating the Future

By Brian Van Haren

We are on the threshold of some rev-olutionary changes in the lighting indus-try. Two developing technologies willunfold over the next few years: The firstwill utilize computer chips to produce thelight for the general illumination of build-ings, roadways, and parking lots; and thesecond will take advantage of wirelesscommunication capabilities.

The First: LED LightingLight emitting diodes (LEDs) are

electronic devices made from the semi-conductor materials that are in the samefamily as the micro chips in your cellphone or computer. Red light emittingdiodes were first introduced in the earlysixties, and were widely used as indicat-ing lights. Other colors—blue, yellow,amber and white—emerged in thenineties. Many in the electrical and elec-tronic industries remember LEDs servingas the light source in the early headlamp-style flash lights, and later, in flat screenTVs and monitors.

The challenge has been to developmanufacturing processes that cost-effec-tively produce LEDs. The recent develop-ment of using a phosphor coating (a sim-ilar coating used for fluorescent lamps)for LEDs is the latest technique that hasboth enhanced the lighting output andreduced the cost of production—drivingsignificant change in the lamp and lightfixture industry.

Look at the lamp section the nexttime you are in a big box store (Lowe’s,Home Depot, Menards) and you will findLED replacement lamps are already avail-able. The cost is still fairly high, but there

are applications that are already viable—maybe that 20’ ceiling in your home. LEDfixtures are now commonly specified andapplied in commercial projects for park-ing lot lighting, for display lighting, andas replacements for incandescent,recessed fixtures. Most of the major fix-ture manufacturers are expanding theirLED offerings into fixtures of differentshapes and styles.

Advantages of LEDs:High efficiency: Similar to fluores-

cent; increasing with new technologiesLong lamp life: Up to 100,000 hours,

although usually published at 50,000hours, as compared to 750-2,000 hrs. forincandescent, and 8,000-20,000 hrs. formost fluorescent

Compact size: Can be integrated intovery small light fixtures

Precise beam control: Perfect for dis-play lighting; fixture optics can bedesigned for even illumination at lowerlevels (for parking lots and parkingdecks)

Instant “on” operation, and no lossin lamp life from multiple on-off cycles:Perfect for multi-level operations

Good color rendering: ColorRendering Index of 80 out of a possible100; similar to most fluorescent

DimmableColor: Multiple colors available; color

changing ability available (although at apremium cost)

Absence of mercury Limitations of LEDs:Cost premium over other sources:

Costs are coming down, howeverLimited temperature tolerance: At

higher temperatures, life is reduced and

efficiency drops; these issues are key toproper lamp and fixture design, andapplication

New lamp and fixture options with avariety of performance characteristics:Engage a contractor or consultant whenconsidering what to purchase, as technol-ogy is developing, and poor applicationcould result in unsatisfactory lighting,premature lamp failure, or expensiverelamping, to name a few

The Second: Lighting ControlsEach year, numerous features are

added to lighting control systems, andthe cost of systems continues to drop.The combination of advancements inwireless data communication, and elec-tronic ballasts and LED power supplieswill soon yield extreme flexibility in light-ing control.

You are probably already familiarwith wireless communication—used foryour iPad and smart phone, and for theWi-Fi connection to your laptop. Whatyou may not know is that most light fix-tures have a ballast—a “black box” thatallows them to work properly. Over thelast 10 years, the components of that“black box” have changed to electroniccomputer chips. Add the wireless circuit-ry to the electronic chip in the “blackbox” and viola—something brand new!

Imagine pulling up on your iPad, agraphic display of the light fixtures inyour facility, and reconfiguring the wayeach individual light fixture is controlled.Picture dimmed lights turning on at 6:00

a.m. over one worker’s desk, and brighterlights turning on at 8:00 a.m. over anoth-er worker’s desk. Then imagine changingthe light level, the on/off schedule, oreven the light switch that controls eachfixture, by simply touching the graphicfixture icons on your iPad. Sound like agreat way to satisfy the different lightingdesires of your workforce to improvetheir satisfaction and productivity?Sound like a great way to save electricalenergy costs and reduce your carbonfootprint?

This technology is more of a realitythan you might imagine. Some facilities(Michigan State University’s new MedicalSchool on Michigan Street, to name one)have already installed this capability—except for the iPad interface—but it’s nothard to imagine that somewhere, aninterface app is being developed. Whilethe technology is currently not wide-spread enough to be cost effective formost applications, watch for costs tocreep down, and for this technology tobecome more readily available and wide-ly used over the next few years.

Brian Van Haren is president of VanHaren Electric, a local electrical contract-ing firm. Van Haren is unique, in that heis both an electrical engineer and a mas-ter electrician, with a combined 30+years of industry experience. Contact himat 616-878-3000 or email: [email protected].

LEDdynamics and ilumisysAnnounce Partnership

Troy - ilumisys, Inc., developer andproducer of next-generation solid-statelighting technology, has partnered withVermont-based LEDdynamics, Inc. Thepartnership includes a license for Altair’spatents on light-emitting diode (LED)fluorescent tube replacements.

“LEDdynamics is an establishedindustry leader in solid-state lighting, andwe look forward to working together toaddress the growing market demand forLED lighting solutions,” said Dave Simon,president of ilumisys. “We are excited atthe growth prospects for both organiza-tions as ilumisys ramps up our Michigan-based manufacturing operations.”

“We have been committed to 100

percent U.S. manufacturing for over 10years,” said William McGrath, presidentand CTO of LEDdynamics. “We believethat this partnership will result inincreased market share, and strengthenthe ability of both companies to developand manufacture the most innovative,high quality LED products and technolo-gies available.”

ilumisys, formed in 2007, is a spin-off of Altair, a global software and tech-nology company with a presence in theenergy market. With the backing ofAltair, its majority owner, ilumisysinvestments in research and developmentinclude more than 50 patent applicationsfiled to date.

Current Business Trends:Growth Rate Turns Modest

Grand Rapids - The greater GrandRapids industrial economy is experienc-ing modest growth, according to theresults of a monthly survey compiled byBrian G. Long, director of SupplyManagement Research in the SeidmanCollege of Business at Grand Valley StateUniversity.

The survey results are based on datacollected in the last two weeks of July. Thesurvey’s index of business improvement,called new orders, edged lower to +17 from+23. The production index eased to +21from +26. The index of purchases back-tracked to +23 from +29. The only modestuptick this month came from the employ-ment index, which rose to +37 from +34.

“Overall, local statistics are actuallystronger than the rest of the country andwe are still on track for continued eco-nomic growth,” said Long, “however, the

second half of the year is now growingmore questionable.”

Long said the uptick for the 2012model year is well underway for automo-tive parts producers but productionschedules for the rest of the year are notas optimistic as they were a few monthsago. He said the office furniture marketremains positive and for the third monthin a row, industrial distributors came infairly positive.

Long added: “Congress has passed aframework for a modest deficit reductionpackage along with an extension of thedebt ceiling. A promise for $6 trillionworth of reductions that was touted a fewweeks ago was downgraded to a smallfraction. As expected, creditors aroundthe world were also expecting a morerobust package and their displeasure hasbeen reflected in the financial markets.”

18

Speed Media On Track & Eyeing the Open RoadBy Amy Cygan

How do you connect designing racecars on paper as a child, with designingdigitalized graphics for all sorts of vehi-cles as an adult? Kurt Dietrich linked thetwo with his early-day NASCAR involve-ment, a Bachelor’s in VisualCommunications from Kendall College ofArt and Design, and his 2001 founding ofSpeed Media—a motor vehicle marketingand design firm based in Cedar Springs.

Speed Media’s professional servicesrange from installing vehicle wraps, fleetlettering and boat wraps to creating logoidentity packages, herocards, customwallpapers, and race car graphics.

Some portfolio contributionsevolved out of the firm’s on-going spon-sorship with the Championship RacingAssociation (CRA). Having been involvedsince the 2002 season, Speed Mediadesigned the CRA Official Pace Vehicle,

the CRA Tech Trailer, and the CRA BackDrop Board used for driver introductionsand victory lane photos. For this season,Speed media will also award a completegraphics package for the 2011 CRA SuperSeries and JEGS/CRA All-Stars TourChampion’s racecar.

The CRA fit appears a natural one,given that Dietrich worked for a NASCARteam right out of high school. Hisresponsibilities included handling thegraphics for a 17-car fleet.

“Each car had its letter that neededto be taken care of; materials had to beordered—I was always involved,” saidDietrich. “Deciding that I liked the busi-ness and marketing side of it better waswhat drove me to Kendall. The next tran-sition was in applying the elements ofthe racing side to the commercial side.”

Speed Media has since profited fromthat alluring commercial industry, which“in the last year, has picked up tremen-

dously,” said Dietrich. “I think people arestarting to find us, but I also think thatvehicle wraps are starting to hit the mar-ket a bit more.”

And why wouldn’t they? The TrafficAudit Bureau reports that up to 16 millionimpressions a year can stem from transitadvertising, and according to the OutdoorAdvertising Association of America: “Outof home advertising revenue rose 4.2 per-cent in the first quarter of 2011 comparedto the same period in 2010, accounting fornearly $1.4 billion. The increase in rev-enue has signaled steady, positive year-over-year revenue growth since the secondquarter of 2010.” Another industry mar-keting report from IBISWorld suggests that“despite strong competition from otheradvertising methods, the ability to reach alarge audience will drive demand for . . .outdoor displays over the next five years.”

As one of five sub-categories com-prising outdoor advertising, transit

advertising provides a cost-efficientbranding-awareness business-solutionalternative—one that has been aroundfor a century.

“Race cars have used advertising ontheir vehicles since the early 1900s,” saidDietrich, “so a lot of what you take offNASCAR—if properly executed—can betaken back to a commercial vehicle wrap.”

While Speed Media continues to pur-sue a larger pie-share of the commercialarena, maintaining its reputation fordelivering quality design, production, andinstallation work remains a core priority.

“We didn’t just go out and buy allthis equipment and go into business oneday. We understand the marketing andadvertising side of it as well,” saidDietrich. “But the next part is getting peo-ple to trust and believe in what we do.”

Construction BriefsKalamazoo – Judith Poll-Droste joinsCSM Group as an administrative assistantat the Grand Rapids office. CSM also pro-moted Jim Feltch to project director. Feltchjoined CSM in 2005 and most recentlyserved as senior project manager.

Lansing – The American Council ofEngineering Companies of Michiganhas announced its following 2011-2012Officers: President, Kirk Branson;President-Elect, Keith Swaffar;Treasurer, Amy Trahey; NationalDirector, James Escamilla; and Past-President, Andrew McCune. 2011-2012ACEC/M Board of Directors include:Wally Alix, Jim Cook, Michael Cooper,Thomas Deneau, John Hiltz, SeanKelley, Mark Kramer, Steve Nichols,Stephen Pangori, and Robert Rayl.

Bloomfield Hills - Hubbell, Roth & Clark,Inc. (HRC) welcomes TrevorWagenmaker as Mid-Michigan processmanager. Wagenmaker will bring his tech-nical expertise to HRC’s Delhi and Howelloffice locations.

Grand Rapids – Tracy Sianta has joinedProgressive AE as vice president of mar-keting and business development.Sianta brings over 25 years of experiencein market planning, brand development,and entrepreneurial marketing methods.

Grand Rapids - Owen-Ames-KimballCo. has hired Tracy Ezell for their GrandRapids office. As staff architect, he willdesign and detail construction projectsfrom conception to completion.

Bloomfield Hills - Hubbell, Roth &Clark, Inc. (HRC) has promoted NancyFaught to vice president/partner andmember of its Board of Directors. Ms.Faught joined HRC in 1987, and hasserved as manager and technical directorof HRC’s Civil/Road Design departmentfor 10 years.

Grand Ledge – Demolition work hasbegun on the remodeling of SundanceChevrolet in Grand Ledge to be complet-ed in September 2011. WolverineBuilding Group has teamed with thearchitectural firm Design Plus on theremodel and expansion project, whichwill expand the service lanes by 4,300square feet, and provide renovations fora new car showroom, service write-uparea, car-delivery area, and customerwaiting lounge.

Rochester - RE/MAX Defined hasannounced the Real Estate equivalent:Jeanne MacKellar. Ranked in the top 1%of agents nationwide and recognized as atop producer for the past nine years,MacKellar joins the team with the 16-year-career highlight of $175 million in sales.

Grand Rapids - Vos Glass, Inc. welcomesArmy Veteran Mitchell VanderArk toits Contract Glazing Team. VanderArkbrings 10 years of construction experi-ence and holds a construction manage-ment degree from Ferris StateUniversity.

Lansing – C2AE has hired MelanieJoyner as human resources director, andScott Floyd as electrical engineer withover 13 years of design experience.

Kalamazoo – Skanska USA's buildingbusiness unit has hired Robert Skinneras vice president for its Michigan opera-tions. With 25 years of experience,Skinner will help create business oppor-tunities across the Midwest, and willoversee the regional Skanska health careconstruction projects.

Kalamazoo - Alex Sadovskiy has joinedCSM Group as project engineer workingon the Marshall Public Schools projectdelivery team.

Grand Rapids - Amy Jo Feliciano,Central Station manager of EngineeredProtection Systems, Inc., has beennamed 2010 Central Station Manager ofthe Year by the Central Station AlarmAssociation. Feliciano was chosen froma field that included 48 of the nation’slargest security companies.

Grand Rapids - C. D. Barnes Associates,Inc. has completed the construction ofthe Metro Dental Office in Wyoming.The office will house the practices of Dr.Jason Dew, DDS, and Dr. Curtis Hahn,DDS, in addition to servicing severalother outside practices.

Grand Rapids - Kathie Rademacherjoins Colliers International | WestMichigan as marketing manager.Rademacher will lead day-to-day mar-keting activities through advertising andpublic relations.

Kalamazoo - David Weingart has joinedCSM Group as a Construction Managerworking on the Food & Beverage deliveryteam. He will be responsible for directingand verifying contract compliance by thetrade contractors.

Denver, Co – In this year’s study, The J.D.Power and Associates 2011 HomeBuyer/Seller StudySM, home buyers andsellers rated RE/MAX as the highest inproviding overall consumer satisfaction.

Traverse City - The Builders LicenseTraining Institute, a Michigan licensedand EPA Accredited Proprietary Schoolnow offers online, and in cities through-out Michigan, both the 60-hours ofstate-approved prelicensure educationand the continuing competency courses.

19A New Alternative for Commercial Fleets

By Scott Perry

High oil prices, fuel supply volatility,and an overall heightened interest in sus-tainable business practices are drivingmarket demand for clean transportationsolutions. The New AlternativeTransportation to Give AmericansSolutions (NAT GAS) Act of 2011, intro-duced to support incentives for the use ofnatural gas vehicles, is helping natural gasto emerge as a front runner in the cleantransportation arena. In fact, theInternational Association of Natural GasVehicles estimates that there will be morethan 50 million natural gas vehiclesworldwide within the next ten years, orabout nine percent of the world trans-portation fleets. While the NAT GAS Acthas not yet passed, heightened awarenessof natural gas as a commercial transportfuel has many companies reassessingtheir long-term fleet strategies.

It’s no surprise that commercialfleets are considering natural gasbecause of its low emissions, low cost,and high performance. Increasing con-cerns over energy security, changingemissions regulations, and fuel costsmake natural gas an attractive alterna-tive to diesel fuel. Natural gas, based oncurrent diesel fuel prices, costs as muchas 42 percent less per equivalent gallonof diesel, and that gap is expected towiden as diesel fuel prices continue toclimb. Natural gas also contains less car-bon than any other fossil fuel and thus,produces lower carbon dioxide or green-house gas emissions.

However, a higher initial invest-

ment, a lack of an established fuelinginfrastructure, and the general risksassociated with implementing a newvehicle technology are all challenges thatbusiness owners face when looking toconvert their fleets to natural gas. As aresult, some companies are turning tooutsourced providers, such as Ryder,where they can tap into existing invest-ments in technology, people, safety, fuel-ing, and maintenance infrastructure.

For example: Ryder has partneredwith the U.S. Department of Energy,California Energy Commission, and theSan Bernardino Associated Governmentsto deploy natural gas vehicles into itscommercial truck rental and leasing oper-ation in Southern California. The projectincludes 202, heavy-duty natural gasvehicles, the construction of two, new,natural gas refueling stations, and threevehicle maintenance facilities in theregion. Ryder is planning to leverage itsexpertise from this project to expand intoother markets, including Michigan, asdemand for natural gas vehicles contin-ues to grow.

Working with an established fleetpartner can make alternative fuel vehi-cles more accessible and affordable forbusinesses. When deciding how to incor-porate natural gas vehicles into a fleet,there are a number of factors to consider:Vehicle type, fueling infrastructure, vehi-cle maintenance requirements, and natu-ral gas laws and incentives.

First, fleet owners must determinewhat type of vehicle is most appropriatefor their operations. The best applicationsare those with local or regional delivery

models, and predictable delivery routes.Two types of natural gas vehicles areavailable to fleets: Compressed natural gas(CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).CNG is stored as a high-pressure gas inonboard storage cylinders. CNG, becauseof its lower energy density, is not practicalfor long-distance applications; however, itis used successfully in shorter-range,heavy-duty operations, such as pick-upand delivery refuse trucks, concrete mix-ers, straight trucks, and municipal buses.LNG is stored in onboard, stainless steel,insulated containers. LNG requires lessspace to transport when compared to CNG,so it is often used to support longer-rangedelivery applications.

Second, fleet operators need to beaware of the available fueling infrastruc-ture. Detroit Edison publishes a map ofnatural gas fueling stations in Michigan,on its website atwww.dteenergy.com/pdfs/fuelingStations.pdf.

Third, businesses should considerthe maintenance requirements of naturalgas vehicles. Traditional shops must gothrough a modification process to meetstringent industry and government safetystandards for natural gas vehicle mainte-nance; this includes upgrades to electricaland ventilation systems, and the installa-tion of methane detection systems.Furthermore, professional techniciansmust receive extensive, specialized train-ing on the maintenance and repair ofheavy-duty natural gas vehicles, as wellas safety protocols that must be followedwhen natural gas vehicles are in theshops. Current maintenance providers willknow whether they have the necessarykind of expertise and infrastructure tosupport a natural gas fleet.

Fourth, fleet managers shouldbecome familiar with government incen-tives and laws related to natural gas. TheU.S. Department of Energy has detailedinformation on its Alternative Fuels &Advanced Vehicles Data Center website.Visit www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/laws/and click on the “Incentives & Laws” tabto search for information by state.

Companies that want to try naturalgas, but don’t want to take on the risk,should consider a lease or rental optionthat enables them to try the new technolo-gy without making a significant long-termcommitment or investment. There are alsoa number of good resources for Michiganbusinesses that are interested in learningmore about natural gas vehicles:

Clean Energy Coalition: www.cec-mi.org

The West Michigan StrategicAlliance: www.wm-alliance.org

Detroit Edison: www.dteenergy.comRyder: www.ryder.com/fleet_alter-

native-fuels.shtml Tremendous benefits can come from

incorporating natural gas vehicles into acommercial fleet; however, fleet ownersshould do their research or considerengaging an experienced fleet partner,before jumping in with both feet.

Scott Perry is the Group Director ofVehicle Supply Management for RyderSystem, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 trans-portation and supply chain managementsolutions company. In this position, Mr.Perry is responsible for managing vehicleand parts procurement, inventory plan-ning and management, new vehicle tech-nologies, as well as overseeing Ryder’salternative fuel program. Carbon Composite

Manufacturer Expands Grand Rapids – The Right Place, in

collaboration with the MichiganEconomic Development Corporation(MEDC) and local partners, hasannounced a new manufacturing expan-sion in the City of Walker. The MEDCapproved the amendment to an existingHigh Technology MEGA tax credit forVermont-based Plasan CarbonComposites, clearing the way for a newmanufacturing facility that is expected togenerate over $18 million in capitalinvestment and create 202 jobs over thenext three years.

Plasan Carbon Composites is anautomotive tier-one manufacturer of car-bon composite components—such as

hoods, roofs, and fenders—for low vol-ume luxury vehicles. The new high-vol-ume production facility, located at 3195N. Wilson Drive, Grand Rapids,Michigan, will host Plasan’s new manu-facturing process, which will enable thecompany to pursue high-volume, auto-motive component opportunities.

The expansion project began inDecember 2010 with an initial meetingwith The Right Place. Bosnjak led thebusiness case for West Michigan until afacility was chosen, then, led the coordina-tion with the MEDC, the City of Walker,and Plasan to determine possible econom-ic incentives for the expansion, to ensurethe project stayed in West Michigan.

Industrial BriefsAllegan – Perrigo has hired Gregg Powellas associate sourcing manager, packag-ing, for the Global Procurement team.Powell will negotiate and manage supplyagreements with vendors.

Grand Rapids - Amy Engelsman, ProosManufacturing president and CEO,received the 2011 Enterprising Women ofthe Year Award from EnterprisingWomen, a magazine that chronicles thepower of entrepreneurial women.

Rockford - For the second quarter endedJune 18, 2011, Wolverine Worldwidereported double-digit growth in both rev-enue and earnings per share. Secondquarter highlights: Revenue of $310.1million, growth of 20.1% vs. the prioryear; diluted earnings per share of $0.48,growth of 23.1% vs. adjusted fully dilut-ed earnings per share for the prior year;double-digit revenue growth for all brandgroups, consumer direct business, andmajor geographic regions; operatingexpenses of 28.6% as a percentage of rev-enue versus an adjusted 29.7% in theprior year; record operating margin of10.8%; company reaffirmation of full yearrevenue and earnings guidance.

Zeeland - Gentex Corporation has beenrecognized by Chrysler Group LLC asone of only 11 suppliers to win an awardfor outstanding performance. The Detroithonorary event was the first of its kindheld, since Chrysler Group and Fiatformed a strategic global alliance in 2009.

Zeeland - Gentex Corporation hasannounced that its SmartBeam® high-beam assist system is now available in theEuropean markets on the new 2011 AudiA7. SmartBeam uses a miniature camera-on-a-chip to automatically operate a vehi-cle's high beams according to surroundingtraffic conditions. The system maximizesforward lighting while eliminating themanual turning on and off of high beams.

Allegan – Perrigo has hired Jeff Pirroneas procurement operations buyer for thepackaging team. With 15 years of expe-rience in packaging, purchasing andlogistics, Pirrone will oversee the strate-gic, day-to-day packaging componentoperations.

Rockford - Wolverine Worldwide hasappointed Nicholas Long to the compa-ny's Board of Directors. Long, 52, is thechief executive officer of MillerCoors.

Waterloo, Canada - Descartes SystemsGroup has announced that SouthwestAirlines has deployed Descartes’ cloud-based Air Messaging Service to its cargocustomers. Descartes shipment statusmessaging allows Southwest Airlinescargo to deliver real-time alerts to itsfreight forwarders and direct-shippercustomers.

Walker - Tubelite Inc. has opened twooffices in South Carolina and Texas, andadded six personnel. Tubelite alreadyserves in Virginia, Texas, Georgia, and theCarolinas.

20Report Shows Economic Benefits of Strong MPG

Boston, MA – As President Obamaannounces the next round of a coordi-nated national program to improve fuelefficiency for model year 2017-2025 carsand light-duty trucks, Ceres, a nationalcoalition of investors and public-interestorganizations, has released “More JobsPer Gallon,” an economic analysis by theindependent firm ManagementInformation Services, Inc. that quantifieswhat stronger fuel economy/GHG stan-dards would mean for the U.S. economy.

Ceres’ new report evaluated differentregulatory scenarios under considerationfor CAFE mileage and GHG emissionsimprovements – specifically, improve-ments of three, four, five and six percentper year for model years 2017-25.

Among the report’s key findings:

1. The six percent scenario (roughly60 MPG) would generate an estimated$152 billion in fuel savings for con-sumers in 2030 compared to business asusual; of that, $59 billion would likely bespent in the auto industry. The remain-ing $93 billion would be spent across therest of the economy.

2. Nearly 700,000 full-time jobswould be created under the six percentscenario; 350,000 jobs created under thethree percent (roughly 47 MPG) sce-nario. 63,000 new, full-time domesticauto industry jobs would be created in2030 under the six percent scenario,more than double the 31,000 jobs underthe three percent scenario.

States seeing the biggest gains, interms of relative impact on their job mar-

kets, also have some of the largest autoindustry sectors. The top 12 states interms of percentage job increasesinclude: Indiana, Michigan, Alabama,Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, NorthCarolina, New Hampshire, Vermont,Oregon, New York and Missouri.

Effects on state GDPs would beoverwhelmingly positive. States seeingthe biggest percentage GDP gains underthe strongest fuel efficiency standardhave large auto industry sectors. The

biggest gainers would be Michigan andIndiana, followed by Kentucky, SouthCarolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Iowa,Ohio, Alabama and Oregon. Compared tothe three percent scenario, the six per-cent scenario would bring 382,000 morejobs, a $15.7 billion increase in grosseconomic output (sales), $10.3 billionmore in personal income, and $9.5 billonmore in tax revenue for cash strappedfederal, state and local governments.

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Michigan: Home to ElectricVehicle Production?

By Amy Cygan

According to the Michigan League ofConservation Voters, panel experts from arecent discussion on electric vehicle pro-duction, held in July at the DetroitEconomic Club, concluded Michigan to bea key player in the electric vehicle push.

Dan Galves, panel member, and vicepresident and auto industry analyst forDeutsche Bank, suggested, “The U.S.has about 30 percent of the capacity tobuild electric car batteries, and Michiganrepresents about two-thirds of that, so20 percent of the world’s capacity oflithium-ion batteries, we think, will be inMichigan.”

By 2014, the market for electricvehicles is expected to be a $14-billionindustry. Because of Michigan’s automo-tive staple, and the tendency for manu-facturers to build their automotive plantsnear battery assembly plants (minimiz-ing shipping costs), the state has posi-

tioned itself as a frontrunner to meet thedemands involved with electric vehicleand lithium-ion battery production.

"Look at the Chevy Volt,” Galvessaid. “The batteries are produced inMichigan, and the Volt is produced inMichigan. The more capacity for thesebatteries, the more market shareMichigan will take for these vehicles.”

David Vieau, president and CEO ofMassachusetts-based battery manufac-turer A123 Systems, has already relocat-ed his co.’s production operations toMichigan—employing 2,000 people inthe process—with the assumption thatMichigan manufacturing will advance toan entirely different level as the lithium-ion battery market expands and electricvehicle innovation develops.

If Michigan can capitalize on its bat-tery production capabilities, the demandfor electric vehicles will likely increase,spurring job creation and ballooning thehealth of Michigan’s automotive industry.

21Fleet Management Trends in Europe –

Green, Lean, and GrowingBy Andreas Fein

Vehicle fleets mean big business forEurope, despite the fleet business havingendured some big challenges. In recentyears, new-car sales to businessesshrank to 32 percent of the market, whilethe Cash for Clunkers program boostedsales to private buyers in Germany to 68percent. But with the economic recoveryin 2010, the share of B2B climbed backup to 57 percent, putting fleet businessback on track.

Trend to LeaseThere are two, major “standard seg-

ments” of the fleet vehicle market inEurope: Car fleets—consisting of compa-ny cars for individuals, as well as poolcars—and commercial vehicle fleets,which range from trucking companies,parcel services, and manufacturers, onup to distributors.

As in the U.S., company cars aretypically used by executives, field sales-persons, and service mechanics, withother employees using vehicles (if neces-sary) from the corporate car pool. For thecars used by the privileged, the so-named “corporate vehicle guidelines”usually restrict the selection of certainvehicle categories—excluding or favoringcertain brands, binding size, enginepower, and vehicle price, with regard tothe hierarchy level of a company car ben-eficial. Yet, in recent times, the “referencecost system” used by leasing companieshas provided more flexibility to salesmenand managers, allowing them to addpayments onto the purchase price orlease rate, in order to secure a higher

class vehicle for their personal usage, orto add optional accessories to a preferredvehicle. Other cost management alterna-tives include longer leasing contracts andlimitations on mileage per year.

The bigger the fleet, the more likelyfleet owners are to lease vehicles or tooutsource the management of their carparks, thus taking advantage of theknow-how, staff, and IT-infrastructure ofspecialized service providers, whose full-service packages include not only theprovision of vehicles, accounting andbudget-control administrative work, carinsurance, and repair and damage man-agement, but also tank card and tiremanagement. (Winter tires are mostlymandatory!) And mergers of fleet mgmt.firms—like the one betweenFleetCompany and Belgic FleetLogistics,which jointly manages 100,000 vehi-cles—are showing the trend to offer suchservices Europe-wide.

Greener, More Compact Luxury Cars The Volkswagen, traditionally, is a

brand leader in fleet car sales—togetherwith Ford, with its special emphasis onfleet sales in Europe. In many instances,the number of cars per fleet hasincreased, but the economic crisis in2009 steered the former trend of bigger-size sedans and uncountable cylinders(especially for the top level) in the oppo-site direction. Nowadays, many corpora-tions see a Mercedes E-Class as beingroomy enough to replace an S-Class, andwith a well-equipped Audi A6, there’sless of a need for an A8.

Besides image fad-drivers and thedownsizing of model size, vehicles are

realizing the cost-effective trends oflower fuel consumption and green tech-nologies. Volkswagen offers environ-mentally-sensitive fleet managers thecompetitive "Fleet Competence eCO2"program, which is built upon the lowemission BlueMotion editions of theirfleet’s model range. The three-step pro-gram consists of optimized vehicle hard-ware, attractive leasing rates for lowemission packages, and optimized "soft-ware" that provides training on fuel-effi-cient driving, and which sponsors select-ed climate-protection projects.

Younger TrucksIn the truck fleet market, one sees a

number of structural changes occurring.In previous years, better planning soft-ware helped logistic providers to increasetheir routing efficiency; consequently,the number of truck fleet vehicles shrank10 to 30 percent in the post-crisis era.And, while in the past, corporate fleetmanagers have operated their trucksover six to eight years, four to five years(350K to 400K miles, on average) is nowthe norm—with the tendency being threeyears.

The reason for this? The road tollsfor trucks above 12 tons (In Europe, anoverall weight of 12 tons or more consti-tutes the class of heavy trucks.) arebound to the emission class of a truck;thus, only the new models meeting

EURO NORM 5 or EURO NORM 6 emis-sion standards help to lower the operat-ing costs for road transporters.

Formerly, used trucks had been soldto Eastern Europe for a good price.However, demand for used trucksdeclined as truckers from Poland andRomania, who regularly transport loadsto and from Western Europe, began run-ning the new Mercedes, MAN, Volvo andScania trucks—which met the new emis-sion standards—in order to keep tollrates low. In summary, the so-caused runon new trucks caused falling prices forused commercial vehicles and stimulatedthe leasing of new trucks (with a fixedused vehicle price at the end of the term).

So across the Atlantic, truck fleetsare getting smaller and younger, execu-tive cars are being put on a diet, andeverything is becoming a little moregreen—yet overall, the fleet businesscontinues to grow bigger and bigger!

Based in Stuttgart, Germany,although a frequent traveller to WestMichigan, Andreas Fein specializes inhelping U.S. firms in the automotive andmachine building industry enter theEuropean market. For more than 202years, his consulting firm has workedwith multiple West Michigan companies.E: [email protected].

First Ever TomographicMotion Detection System

Salt Lake City - Xandem’s new syn-ergistic sensing technology, created byWilson and Patwari at the University ofUtah, has led to the first available-for-purchase tomographic motion detectionsystem. The product offers a new way todetect movement and is easily integratedinto standard panel equipment.

“Xandem’s tomographic motiondetection techology is a new way todetect movement within a defined area.The system can be completely hidden byembedding the devices in walls or behindobjects, and is much more robust to falsealarms than traditional microwave orinfrared sensors,” claimed Joey Wilson,Xandem founder.

Unlike traditional microwave sen-sors, Xandem sensors do not depend onradio wave reflections. The tomographicsensing comes from communicatingnodes in the mesh network that sense

wave disruptions as they pass throughthe defined area—a synergistic architec-ture that increases robustness.

In security systems, Xandem sen-sors can penetrate solid walls and objectsso that an entire area can be coveredwithout gaps in the sensing. Also, inbuilding automation and energy efficien-cy applications, Xandem’s system ismore aesthetically pleasing than tradi-tional motion sensors.

Wilson further recognized a capabil-ity for non-traditional usages: “Our sys-tems, because they can quantify motion,can detect the difference between a sin-gle intruder and a crowd of people. Whenparents leave their kids at home, theycan be notified if a party is occurring—one example of how Xandem is enablingpowerful new applications.”

22

Hotel/Restaurant BriefsNew Buffalo - The Pokagon Band ofPotawatomi Indians announced the fol-lowing: An early buy-out of its agree-ment with Lakes Entertainment, Inc.;the opening of its newest casino, FourWinds Hartford, in Hartford, Michigan,slated Aug. 2011; an expansion of theFour Winds Casino Resort – currentconstruction to be completed in summer2012; and the closing on a $410 millionrefinancing, to be used for payment ofoutstanding bonds and loans used forthe development and operation of FourWinds Casino Resort.

Grand Rapids – Experience GrandRapids, the Greater Grand Rapids AreaConvention and Visitors Bureau,announced the appointment of Daniel

Jonkman as its director of finance andadministration. Jonkman previouslyserved 15 years as vice president forfinance and human resources at theGrand Rapids Symphony. ExperienceGrand Rapids has also been awardedaccreditation from the DestinationMarketing Accreditation Program.

Bellaire – Shanty Creek Resorts hasselected Pete Bigford of Niles, MI as itsnew chief operating officer and generalmanager .

Grand Rapids - Frederik MeijerGardens & Sculpture Park welcomeseight members to its Board of Directors:Keith Brophy, Linda Chamberlain,Cate Jansma, Mark Mossing, Craig

Mutch, Janet Ramsey, LuisaSchumacher, and Matt Wey. Officers ofthe Board: Chairperson - Brian Cloyd;Vice Chairperson - John Schaff;Secretary - Ping Liang; Treasurer -Michael Gaudino.

Holland - A second CityFlats Hotel at83 Monroe Center in downtown Grand

Rapids, MI is now open. The project wascompleted by two Holland-based compa-nies: GDK Construction (contractor)and GMB Architecture andEngineering (architect).

Get Ready for the Largest Car Event in Western Michigan

Grand Rapids – On Friday andSaturday, August 26 and 27, 2011,Foremost Insurance and the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commercewill present the 7th Annual ForemostInsurance 28th Street Metro Cruise.Encompassing 15 miles of historic 28thStreet, the Metro Cruise is WesternMichigan’s largest car event—annuallyattracting 300,000 visitors and 15,000classic cars, including hot rods, musclecars, low riders, and antiques.

The annual Foremost Insurance28th Street Metro Cruise celebrates clas-sic roadsters and invites car lovers of allages, from all over the United States, to

enjoy the bonanza of classic cars whilethey “camp out” on lawn chairs along28th Street.

In addition to the cars, this year’sevent will include a NASCAR simulator,Friday and Saturday DJ entertainmentwith valuable giveaways (sponsored bySouthland Auto Wash), the MetroMillion High End Car Display (sponsoredby Great Clips), and the AutomotiveSwap Meet and Car Corral (for sellingvehicles).

New this year will be the Sock Hopsponsored by Humana, the Pin-Up GirlContest hosted by Relix Car & MotorcycleClub, the Motor Build Stage sponsored

by C-tech Performance, the Judged CarShow sponsored by Meijer, and theGreen Zone featuring a Chevy Volt, a1910 Baker Electric and an electric dragracing car. Any individual that has arestored, modified, or unusual show caris welcomed to submit an online entryfor the Judged Car Show.

Especially new to the event will bethe unique Car-Toon Truck, sponsored byMarge’s Donut Den and HomewoodSuites. The vehicle visually documentsthe history of comics from 1896 to thepresent. Over 2,800 hours of brush andairbrush art were invested on the 1928Ford Model AR Roadster Pickup.

Media Partners, CitadelBroadcasting, WZZM 13, and WGVU willpromote the event and communicate thelatest updates.

As Western Michigan’s car-attrac-tion classic, the Foremost Insurance 28thStreet Metro Cruise generates a wel-comed injection of tourist dollars into thecommunity, and represents a huge mar-keting/promotional opportunity for localand regional businesses.

Volunteers for the event are stillneeded. Registration is available onlineat www.28thstreetmetrocruise.com.

Big City Experience at Local CityFlatsBy Mindy Koschmann

Grand Rapids, Michigan’s mostanticipated eco-friendly hotel is nowopen. Located in the heart of GrandRapids at 83 Monroe Center, CityFlatsinhabits what was once the legendaryFox Jewelers Building. The five-storyhotel was designed to achieve LEED*Gold Certification, allowing guests to sat-isfy their eco-conscience without offend-ing their sense of style. The hotel wasdesigned and manufactured with artfullyselected green materials, technologies,and practices, to reduce negative impactson the environment. Over 30 percent ofthe materials used to construct the hotel

were acquired from local sources, and amajority of all seating and décor itemswere manufactured in Holland,Michigan—a mere 30 miles away fromthe Grand Rapids hotel site.

CityFlats Grand Rapids has 28 con-ceptually unique guest rooms, eachboasting a variety of environmentallyfriendly elements. These features includelow-flow faucets and toilets using 30percent less water than standard fix-tures, hypo-allergenic linens from sus-tainable bamboo, high-efficiency heatingand cooling units, cork flooring, andLow-VOC paints. Guest rooms also fea-ture a number of luxury and high-techaccommodations, including complimen-

tary high-speed wireless internet, iPod®docking stations, HDTV and DIRECTV®,custom tile walk-in showers, and plat-form beds with Michigan-made CityDremmattresses.

CityFlats’ street-level lounge,CitySïn, offers a full bar with local brews,wine, and creative cocktails, as well asan intriguing array of small plates.CitySen also hosts a daily Happy Hourand a weekly half-price offer on selectbottles of wine. For coffee lovers, thehotel's CityBru fuel stop serves fair tradecoffee 24 hours a day. Hassle-free park-ing is available in the Monroe CenterParking Garage, which features a cov-ered walkway to CityFlats Hotel.

CityFlats Grand Rapids is the idealhotel for travelers seeking a big cityexperience without big city headaches.Located in downtown Grand Rapids’bustling epicenter, CityFlats GrandRapids is in walking distance from manyof the city’s 92 downtown restaurants,bars, clubs, and coffee shops. A numberof downtown meeting facilities, eventlocations, museums, and parks are alsoonly a quick stroll from the hotel.

Mindy Koschmann is a freelancewriter and can be contacted at260.417.7364.

Does YDoes Your Tour Travel Agent Prravel Agent Provide Yovide Your Company :our Company :A company Frequent Flier program that compliments personal frequent fliers plans.

A 24 hour grace period after tickets have been issued to avoid the airline penalty of $150

A corporate car rental program that guarantees a car even when locations are sold out

An evening and weekend emergency center staffed 24 hours.

A corporate rate hotel program with over 120,000 properties.

If not call Mike Malaney at Travel Leaders 616-942-2860.

Holland - Anne B. Saliers has beenappointed to the Holland Board ofPublic Works (HBPW) as conservationprograms manager; Julie Thompson hasbeen promoted to manager of customerservice. Saliers will oversee, plan andimplement utility-sponsored conserva-tion and efficiency programs, and serveas HBPW's liaison to the HollandCommunity Sustainability Committee.

Lansing - Michigan Department ofAgriculture & Rural Development hasannounced the selection of Dr. JamesAverill - animal industry division;Directors Kevin Besey - food and dairydivision; Gina Alessandri - pesticideand plant pest management division;and Bonnie Moon - laboratory division.

Grand Rapids - Andrew Page transi-tioned into the role of executive directorof the David D. Hunting Facility for theYMCA of Greater Grand Rapids. Andyhas led the Boys and Girls Club ofHolland for eight years.

Byron Center - lia sophia has awardedtop honors for its Excellent BeginningsProgram Achievers; Paula Dixon wasrecognized for her professionalism andsales accomplishments.

Grandville - Sheryl Blair, Grandville,and Melissa Landon, Middleville, havebecome independent consultants withTastefully Simple Inc. The businessowners offer food samples, along witheasy ideas for everyday meals, recipes,and serving suggestions.

Grand Rapids - Marcia Warner, directorof the Grand Rapids Public Library, wasinaugurated on June 28, as the 2011-2012 president of the Public LibraryAssociation—a division of the oldest andlargest library association in the world:American Library Association.

Grand Rapids - Goodwill Industries ofGreater Grand Rapids is relocating itsGoodwill Outlet Center from 3075 30thStreet SW, to 3035 Prairie Street.

Grand Rapids – Guiding Light Missionannounced the addition of BradfordMathis, director of Community BenefitMinistry at Saint Mary’s Health Care inGrand Rapids; Jessica Manfrin, devel-opment associate; and CliffordWashington, coordination manager forthe MPRI pilot site that covers Kent &Allegan Counties.

Columbus, OH - Big Lots celebrated itsgrand opening on July 29 at theKentwood Towne Centre (4254 28thStreet SE, Kentwood), and donated$2,500 to Crestwood Middle School.

Grand Rapids - Chad Cornell (CrystalClean Automotive Detailing) wasrecently named “2011 Most ValuableCarwasher” by Professional Carwashing& Detailing magazine.

Grand Rapids - Lambert, Edwards &Associates has added Chea Tyrrell asan associate in the firm’s health carepractice. Tyrrell leaves the MichiganTownships Association, where sheworked as communications coordinator,advertising manager, and expo director.

Dorr - Independent consultant withTastefully Simple, Inc., Lisa Fennema,has become team manager. Fennemaearned the promotion by adding newconsultants to the team and through hersales achievements.

Ferndale – TheFiftyBest.com hasawarded Michigan-made ValentineVodka with a Double-Gold during its2011 “Best Domestic Vodka” tasting, asone of the first distilleries in the world to

use a triple-grain recipe: a unique blendof barley, red Michigan wheat, and corn.Grand Rapids – The Rotary Club ofGrand Rapids has appointed DawnSmith as executive director. Smith willlead Club operations, while encouragingthe organization’s mission of goodwilland peace through the fellowship ofbusiness, professional, and communityleaders.

Muskegon - Goodwill Industries ofWest Michigan hired Rick Roberts asindustrial services manager. With over30 years of senior leadership roles inmanufacturing environments, Roberts’knowledge includes product engineer-ing, work floor organization, time stud-ies, project management, and quality ini-tiatives such as ISO 9001, 5S, and leanmanufacturing.

Corporate Information 23

BL2ENDMarks Fifth AnniversaryGrand Rapids - Business Leaders

Linked to Encourage New Directions(BL2END) will celebrate its fifth anniver-sary next month. The innovative net-working group was originally created tomeet the needs of 21-to-35-year-old pro-fessionals of color in the Greater GrandRapids area, but has grown to attractprofessionals of all ages, races and back-grounds.

Mercedes Barragan, fifth anniver-sary committee member and board mem-ber, said: “We all have grown up with thepowerful stories of generations past.BL2END leaders continue the work ofgenerations that have followed the CivilRights Era, taking up our responsibilityto continue the progress they began.”

Three event partners will host thecelebration under the theme of Passion.Leadership. Legacy. As the Leadership

partner for the event, Warner, Norcross& Judd, LLP will introduce Ms. IngridJacobs—the diversity and inclusion man-ager at Whirlpool Corporation--who willdeliver the keynote address. As theLegacy partner, Varnum, LLP represen-tatives will present awards based on theevent’s theme, while the Passion part-ner, Priority Health, will host the pre-event VIP reception.

In an effort to promote an atmos-phere for networking, TablePartnerships, designed to acquaint tablepartner guests with BL2END partici-pants, will be available at three levels:Access, Success, and Excellence. EachTable Partnership includes event ticketsand at least one ticket to the VIP recep-tion.

Visit www.grblend.org/five forgala details.

Art Prize Secures Grant and Anticipates SpectatorGrand Rapids - To fund its 2011 out-

door event, ArtPrize will receive a$100,000 Our Town grant from theNational Endowment for the Arts (NEA),one of only 51 grants awarded nationwide.

Our Town is the NEA’s latest invest-ment in creative place making—partner-ing public and private sectors together tostrategically shape the social, physicaland economic character of a localearound cultural activities and the arts.

ArtPrize aims to connect artists andcommunities, and to provide them with aplatform for broadening the dialog

around the arts. Inspired by such compe-titions as the X-Prize and large-scaleevents like the Sundance Film Festival,ArtPrize is among the most unique com-petitions in the art world. It has no for-mal jury, curator or judge, asking thepublic to vote and decide winners usingmobile devices and the web.

And while the primary goal ofArtPrize has not been economic develop-ment, the impact of the event has result-ed in more than $7 million in consumerspending at downtown businesses andlodging, compared to the same period

before ArtPrize began, as reported bybusiness owners in a recent Grand ValleyState University study.

During its 2009 inaugural season,more than 200,000 people attendedArtPrize and more than 334,000 voteswere cast. Numbers swelled in 2010 tomore than 400,000 people and 465,000votes cast. More than 500,000 peopleare predicted to attend and vote duringthe 19-day event, beginning Sept. 21-Oct. 9, 2011.

Created as part-arts festival, part-social experiment, ArtPrize is the only

international contest for public art that issolely decided by public vote, and offersthe world’s largest prize for art. ArtPrizeannually distributes nearly $500,000 inprize money.

1,582 artists from 36 countries and43 states will show their work in 164venues within three-square miles ofdowntown Grand Rapids. Canada, with23 artists, has the greatest number ofparticipants from outside the U.S.

The period when artists can official-ly secure a venue and participate inArtPrize 2011 has been closed.

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