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The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc CorpsCommunity Center, completed 2010

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The Affordable Care Act and Its Effects on BusinessBy: Jane Whittington

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) hasbeen hotly debated since the legislationwas first signed into law in 2009. Eventhough the Supreme Court upheld theACA earlier this summer, the debate con-tinues. At over 2,000 pages, the ACAdoesn’t make for an easy read, and thereare many questions as to how the ACAwill play out in the months and years tocome. Finding information that is notpartisan may be difficult. And, of course,November is coming, and the results ofthe elections will determine how the ACAproceeds (or doesn’t).

Barring repeal by Congress, many ofthe major changes will take effect onJanuary 1, 2014. At that time, everyone(with very few exceptions) will berequired to have healthcare insurance;there will be penalties for those withoutcoverage. Before January of 2014, indi-vidual states must set up health insur-ance exchanges where people can com-pare and buy coverage. If a state doesn’tset up these exchanges, the federal gov-ernment will provide them to the citizensof that state. All insurers are mandated tooffer coverage to anyone who applies,including those with pre-existing condi-tions, and must charge everyone compa-rable rates.

Governor Snyder has indicated thatMichigan will offer state health insuranceexchanges, and those in his administra-tion are working out the details.

For those who can’t afford insur-ance, the ACA expands Medicaid to coverpeople who are under 65 and earn incomeup to 133 percent of the federal povertylevel. For 2012, this would come to$30,657 for a family of four. Familieswho make between 100 and 400 percentof the federal poverty level (up to$92,200 for a family of four) will be eli-

gible for tax credits for plans purchasedthrough the state run exchanges. TheMedicaid expansion is an option forstates, not a requirement.

An interesting provision in the lawstates that health insurance companiesmust spend at least 80 cents of every pre-mium dollar on healthcare and qualityimprovements, not salaries or adminis-trative costs. If they fail to do so, policyholders will receive rebates. Some rebateshave already been mailed to consumers.

How will this affect businesses?According to The Henry Kaiser FamilyFoundation (KFF), there will likely besignificant effects on businesses andtheir employees. KFF reports that theACA gives employers the option of keep-ing the plan already in place. These“grand-fathered” plans are subject tofewer requirements under the ACA.

The ACA includes changes to insur-ance plans purchased by small business-es. Some changes apply only to new plansand others apply to all plans, includinggrand-fathered plans. By 2014, all healthinsurance must guarantee coverageregardless of health status. Premium rat-ing for new plans will only be allowed tovary by age, smoking status and whetherthe policy is for an individual or a family.Businesses can set up wellness programsand provide discounts for employees whoparticipate.

There will be a set of “minimumbenefits” which new plans must cover,and no plan will allow exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

Small businesses will be able to buyinsurance through the Small BusinessHealth Options Program (SHOP), designedto give small business employers an easyway to purchase health insurance foremployees. They may choose to buy insur-ance through other sources, provided itmeets the provisions of the ACA.

Businesses with fewer than 25employees may be eligible for tax creditsto help offset the cost of insurance.

The Congressional Budget Office, anon-partisan group, says that about 2.6million small business employees willreceive coverage through state exchangesin 2014 increasing to 3.7 million in 2017.

Priority Health is one of the leadingproviders of health care benefits in WestMichigan. They are a Michigan-basedprovider offering group health insuranceplans, HMO coverage and options forindividual and family medical plans.Through Priority Health GovernmentPrograms, Inc., they also provideMedicaid, Medicare, MIChild (coveragefor uninsured children of working par-ents) and other such programs.

According to Scott Norman, VicePresident of Sales and Client Services,Priority Health serves nearly 600,000people, 400,000 of whom get coveragethrough their employers. There are over15,000 healthcare providers offeringservices through Priority Health.

Norman reports that Priority Healthhas recently added three new programs totheir options for businesses. PriorityValueis a suite of health plans that offers com-prehensive health care coverage that isaffordable, easy to understand and focusedon business. HealthByChoice is a suite ofproducts designed to give employers arange of wellness integrated programsintended to help lower healthcare costs andimprove employee productivity.PriorityVision give comprehensive andaffordable vision coverage for either self-funded or fully funded health plans.

Norman says, “Many provisions ofthe ACA are already in place throughPriority Health. In fact, we have launchedwww.understandhealthcare.com to pro-vide employers with information and helpanswer any questions they may have.”

Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)Association, headquartered in Chicago, is afederation of 38 independent, community-based, locally operated business coveringover 100 million consumers in all 50 statesas well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico.Ninety-six percent of hospitals and ninety-two percent of healthcare providers arepart of the BCBS network.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan(BCBSM) serves 4.4 million Michiganresidents and has, for over 70 years, pro-vided a wide range of options to serve itsmembers.

According to Jeff Connolly, VicePresident for BCBSM and President ofWest Michigan Operations and ManagedCare, “We pride ourselves on offering avariety of products to meet the individualneeds of our consumers, whether they arecovered through their employers or pur-chasing insurance on their own. The vastmajority of our members are coveredthrough their workplaces. We work withemployers to set up plans that serve thebest interests of both employers andemployees. We aggressively pursue bothimprovements in current options and newproducts and services. ”

He continues, “We advocate for well-ness programs, preventive care and closerpartnerships between healthcare profes-sionals, patients, employers and BCBS. Webelieve that we must all be active partnersin improving consumer health.”

Connolly points to a new initiativefor employers, GlidePath, which offers away to manage spending and risk. WithGlidePath’s defined contribution, theemployer determines the company’shealth benefit budget and deposits pretaxdollars for each active or retired employ-ee into a GlidePath account and selectswhich grouping of healthcare plans tooffer.

Continued on page 2

Erhardt Construction; Fifty Years of Building a Better Community

By: Jeremy Martin

Students who attended what wasthen called Grand Valley State College in1962 may have memories of a single manworking to build the foundation for theschool’s water tower.

Fifty years ago Larry Erhardt Sr. wasthe owner and lone employee of Erhardtconstruction and it was he who was sole-ly responsible for completion of the com-pany’s first project.

“He estimated it, he did the layout,he tied the rebar and poured the con-crete,” Joe Erhardt, Larry’s son and cur-rent Chairmen and CEO of ErhardtConstruction said.

The Ada based firm which is nowcelebrating a half century in businessemploys 43 people and has drasticallyexpanded beyond its simple roots; some-thing that the company’s founder does-n’t take for granted.

“He reminds us once in a while thatthe average company only lasts twentythree or twenty four years. There aren’tvery many that make it to fifty,” JoeErhardt said.

After reviewing ErhardtConstruction’s sterling reputation whichis on display with such eye catching anddiverse projects as the Amway GrandPlaza Hotel, the newly remodeledLubbers Stadium at Grand Valley Stateand Rosa Parks Circle in downtownGrand Rapids it is easy to see why thefirm has more than doubled the expectantlifespan of most other companies.

“Our diverse experience and ourbroad skill set allow us to not get overlytied to one market. It really does allow usto go between markets and apply ourexpertise to each. It’s been very importantin our longevity especially in the last fiveyears in this up and down economy,” BenWickstrom, Erhardt’s President said.

Wickstrom-a Michigan Tech gradu-ate- joined the firm in 2011 after tirelesslyworking his way up the industry ladder.

Joe Erhardt who has been workingwith and for his father since 1975 whenhe was just 16 year old sees Erhardt notso much as a business operating in WestMichigan, but as a member of the com-

munity whose role is to ensure thegrowth and prosperity of the area.

“I think its one thing that makes usspecial and unique as a region and a cityis this sense of community,” Joe Erhardtsaid. “It’s important for us here, to just beinvolved and engaged and active in ourcommunity.”

One way Erhardt has done so is byturning what could have been a self serv-ing 50th birthday celebration into an areawide building project.

The Building Our CommunityContest-spearheaded by Wickstrom-putsErhardt’s knowledge, and resources towork in Grand Rapids and does so at thecompany’s own financial expense.

“We wanted to do something uniqueand different to celebrate our fifty years.We wanted to do something more thanjust throw a party and talk about our-selves, we wanted to do something thatwas giving back to our community,”Wickstrom said. “Our goal at the verybeginning was to find a non-profit thathad a construction need, and if we couldfill that need it would enhance their abil-ity to serve our community and accom-plish their mission.”

Taking the community aspect to thenext level Erhardt held a contest online

allowing citizens to vote for which chari-table organization most needed the work.

After several weeks of voting, thetop five finishers were announced at thecompany’s 50th anniversary celebrationwhich took place at the Ray and JoanKroc Community Center, a facilitydesigned and built by Erhardt.

Eventually the San Juan DiegoAcademy, a Catholic K-8 serving primari-ly immigrant families emerged as thewinner.

Work will begin soon at the schoollocated at 1650 Godfrey Ave. inWyoming. Erhardt will renovate the con-crete support columns on the schoolwhich are cracked and crumbling andneed to be reinforced to insure the struc-tural integrity of the building.

Wickstrom hopes to have the projectcompleted by the fall of 2013.

But there are other ongoing projectsthat Erhardt Construction is also proud of.One of which is the company’s FacilitiesSolutions Division which works to restoreand keep up existing structures.

“There is already a lot of real estateand property out there that is built thatpeople are renovating and improving butalso maintaining and servicing. We justsaw a need in the market; we saw a needfrom our clients. Once we build a project,if they have a need later on in the build-ing’s life cycle we wanted to be able toaddress that need,” Wickstrom said.

But the company isn’t all business-employees know how to cut loose a littlebit too-as was the case during the recent50/50 softball challenge; a game of ballthat took place between Erhardt andProgressive Architects and Engineers- acompany that also turned 50 this year.

“I’ve already challenged them to arematch next year because they took it tous, but we’re going to try to get themback next year,” Joe Erhardt said.

It seems natural that ErhardtConstruction would enjoy the great out-doors, as the company has been on theforefront of the green and LEED buildingmovement from its very inception.

An active member of the WestMichigan chapter of the U.S. GreenBuilding Council, all of the company’sproject management and estimating staffour LEED accredited professionals.

“We place a high level of importanceon it,” Joe Erhardt said.

The firm also places a high level ofimportance on making the greater GrandRapids community a better and more wel-coming place to live; a goal each employeestrives for every day they go to work.

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Publisher: Gary Kralapp

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

Contributing Writers:JaneWhittington, Eric Mills, Peg Cochran,Randy DeBoer, Josh Ladick,

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

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BusinessBusiness

upda teupdateu b l i c a t i o n

Review of ConsumptionEconomics

By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,getAbstract

The “Consumption Gap” is the differ-ence between what enterprise technology

companies deliver and what their corpo-rate customers actually use. Just as you’lllikely never understand – much less use –all the functions and features of yoursmartphone, computer or software, techfirms frustrate their corporate clients withunnecessary bells and whistles. Butchange is afoot, and tech companies mustprepare for a radical industry reworking.Tech consultants J. B. Wood, Todd Hewlinand Thomas Lah detail the transforma-tions wrought by recession, the cloud andconsumer electronics, and offer tech sup-pliers practical advice on adapting to thosechanges. getAbstract applauds this treatiseon how technology itself affects technolo-gy companies and recommends its long-term vision to all business managers.

J. B. Wood, Todd Hewlin, ThomasLah. Consumption Economics: The NewRules of Tech. Point B, 2011. 240 pages.ISBN-13: 9780984213030.

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

5

The Affordable Care Act and Its Effects on BusinessContinued from page 1

This is only one of many innovativeprograms BCBSM offers to manage costswhile still providing superlative health-care coverage. More information on thisprogram can be found athttp://www.bcbsm.com/group/products/glidepathhq/

Kirk Roy is the BCBSM VicePresident of National Health Reform andis working every day to bring BCBSM inline with provisions of the ACA. Roysays, “In terms of the ACA, let’s put itinto three categories. First, there havealready been dozens of changes that havegone into effect as part of the ACA. We’vechanged pretty much every one of ourcustomer’s coverage to come into compli-ance. We already offer preventive care atno cost sharing to the card holders, andwe allow coverage for young adults up tothe age of 26 on their parents’ plan. Wehave removed lifetime limits. There havebeen support programs for small busi-nesses to receive tax credits. We’vehelped businesses receive some sharedgovernment funds for retiree coverage.We’ve tried to get out in front of dead-lines for these changes and have helpedour companies through the process.”

He continues, “In the present, we areplanning for 2014 and figuring out howto help employers get from now to 2014.There are so many variables, and sortingthem out isn’t easy. We want the employ-ers with whom we work to have all the

information to make the best choicesmoving forward.”

Speaking of the future, Roy says,“Once everything is in place, businesswill be facing some hard choices.Exchanges should offer some flexibilityboth for employers and employees. Therewill be some big changes, and we willhelp guide them through that process.”

Connolly adds, “The dynamic in ourindustry is changing. Historically, we

have been business to business, sellingour products to employers. It’s clear to usgoing forward that it will be much morebusiness to consumer/member. The con-sumer will be making much more of theirown healthcare decisions.”

Blue Cross Blue Shield Associationoffers an extremely informative andinteractive website that can be useful forboth consumers and employers. It can beaccessed at www.askbluereform.com.

Consumers can also sign up on theBCBSM website for regular healthcarereform alerts.

Other helpful websites for those seekingfurther clarification include: www.priority-health.com; www.bcbsm.com; www.kff.org;w w w . h e a l t h c a r e . g o v ;w w w. h e a l t h c a r e . g o v / n e w s / f a c t -sheets/2011/08/small-business.html;www.healthreform.gov/reports/statehealthre-form/michigan.html

The Economic Iimpact of Grand ValleyState University’s Sustainability

Allendale - The economic impact ofGrand Valley State University’s sustain-ability efforts in the region is more than$900 million. Grand Valley broke downthe funds and resources that were savedat the university and in the region in itsfirst collective sustainability impact report.

The report, compiled by the univer-sity’s Sustainable CommunityDevelopment Initiative, uses 2010-2011data. It includes 11 sections that outlinepractices used by Grand Valley students,faculty and staff members to decreasethe university’s footprint and increasethe impact of sustainable activity oncampus and in the community. View thefull report here.

Grand Valley’s sustainability jour-ney continues to grow, as illustrated inan assessment report developed in 2005

and an indicator progress report devel-oped in 2008, said Norman Christopher,director of the Sustainable CommunityDevelopment Initiative. “This collectivesustainability impact report, however,represents a new way to view sustain-ability from a more in-depth and strate-gic perspective,” he said.

Some highlights from the reportinclude:

- The partnership with The Rapid,the Grand Rapids-based bus service,saved students more than $27 million,including $21 million in automotivecosts and $6 million in fuel costs;

- In the President’s 50-hour ServiceChallenge during the university’s 50thAnniversary Celebration, 655 volunteersprovided 25,733 hours to 930 communi-ty organizations, and had an economic

impact of $519,151;- 6,811 students participated in

internships, practica, and student teach-ing, which saved employers more than$25 million;

- Student credit hours in sustain-ability courses totaled 116,991 hours, or18.4 percent of all student credit hours;

- Grand Valley’s fiscal sustainabilityand economic impact on the regiontotaled more than $733.4 million.

Christopher explained that thePrinceton Review tracked college boundfreshman through surveys and foundnearly seven out of 10 are influenced bya school’s commitment to environmentalsustainability. “This report will be a greatway to share those messages withprospective students to show what we’redoing and what we plan to do,” he said.

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Be Proactive to Prevent Business Fraud By: Eric Mills

On average, organizations lose fivepercent of their annual revenue to fraudeach year. And small businesses aremore likely to be the target of fraud thanlarge and mid-size companies, accordingto a report from the Association ofCertified Fraud Examiners. The group’s2012 Report to the Nation onOccupational Fraud and Abuse showsthat the smallest businesses in the studysuffered the largest losses.

The report made the following con-clusion: “The cost of occupational fraud—both financially and to an organization’sreputation—can be acutely damaging.With nearly half of victim organizationsunable to recover their losses, proactivemeasures to prevent fraud are critical.”

The report from the Association ofCertified Fraud Examiners has it rightwhen they call on small businesses totake proactive measures to fight fraud –because simple steps can make a big dif-ference.

But convincing business owners toimplement anti-fraud measures, espe-cially those owners who have never

been the target of theft, takes someencouragement. Many believe they willnever be the victim of fraud. But thosethat have lost thousands, if not tens ofthousands of dollars to unscrupulousvendors, or dishonest employees, needlittle convincing. They want all the pro-tection that is available.

Many of us have seen the emailsfrom somebody claiming to be from aforeign country that is trying to set up anew business in the United States stat-ing that all they need to get their busi-ness off the ground is to transfer theirmillions of dollars to your bank account.The email typically ends with a requestfor your bank account number andonline password.

That’s an obvious business scam.But the not so obvious situation mightstart with a phone call from somebodyasking for the name of whoever in yourcompany is responsible for authorizingpurchases. If the receptionist providesthem a name, the scam artist immediate-ly calls back and asks to speak to the per-son whose name they now have. Thephone call then progresses into a web ofdeceit that could lead the unsuspecting

purchasing agent to buy goods and serv-ices they don’t need or that are neverdelivered.

I sometimes think that as hard assome of us work to make a living, peoplewho engage in fraud work twice as hard,which is all the more reason to protectyourself and your investment in yourbusiness.

Advancements in technology alsocreate security challenges for business-es. With high speed, multi-colored print-ers it’s very easy for somebody to createtheir own checks and try to pass themoff as legitimate.

The Security Suite we offer toHuntington business customers createsan instant verification of a transaction’svalidity. The customer lets us knowwhen they have written a check, so thebank already knows the check is validwhen it is deposited or cashed.

Our small business bankers atHuntington take the time to walk anentrepreneur through the steps they cantake to cut down on, or eliminate fraud.

We recommend small companiesdivide up the duties of those who comein contact with company money. If a per-

son is verifying receipt of payments,then somebody else needs to deposit thechecks. If one person is writing thechecks, another person should be sign-ing them. The segregation of duties iscommonplace in large companies, but isoften overlooked when a business hasjust a few employees.

A small business also needs a wayto track invoices. If you receive a bill forpencils and paper clips, have a systemthat verifies that the company that sentthe invoice actually delivered the prod-uct. Again, it’s a small step that mayseem intuitive, but is often overlookedwhen an entrepreneur is putting in longhours and working with only a fewemployees.

Anybody who owns a business, oris thinking of starting one, should talkto their banker about the proactive stepsthat will cut down on fraud and theft. Itcould save your company’s reputationand possibly save the business you’veworked so hard to build.

Eric Mills is the Market Manager ofbusiness banking for the NorthwestMichigan market at Huntington Bank.

Finance/Insurance BriefsGrand Rapids – Lake Michigan CreditUnion announced the hiring of StaceyCurtiss as Corporate Recruiter.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsOpportunities for Women began a threeyear initiative funded by a $360,000grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundationof Battle Creek to deepen its reach into thecity where women face multiple chal-lenges to help them achieve financial sta-bility by providing business training,mentorship, and financial resources.

Grand Rapids – Independent Bankannounced it created a new enterprise-wide risk management area that will beled by Stefanie M. Kimball, who willserve as the Executive Vice President andChief Risk Officer. Also, Jim Mack waspromoted from Senior Vice President toExecutive Vice President and ChiefLending Officer and will assume theresponsibility of managing IndependentBank’s commercial lending business.

Grand Rapids – Dan Stauch joinedLighthouse Group as a BusinessInsurance Account Executive having hisSeries 6 & 63 certifications for Health,Life, and Property & Casualty licenses.

Kalamazoo – Scott VanAvery joinedLighthouse Group as a BusinessInsurance Account Executive havingpreviously worked as Media Consultantfor a national advertising company andMarketing Director for a local homeimprovement company.

Grand Rapids – Lake Michigan CreditUnion announced hiring Dale Hamill asmortgage originator, with 16 years ofbanking expertise.

Caledonia – The Acrisure, LLC, the par-ent company of The Campbell Group,was named one of Insurance Journal’sTop 100 Property/Casualty Agencies in2012, which is the 3rd consecutive yearAcrisure ranked among the top 100.

Grand Rapids – Lake Michigan CreditUnion announced Vickie Smith, theirDirector of Business Development andCommunity Events, won the Excellencein Consumer Education Award from theMichigan Credit Union League.

Grand Rapids – Regal InvestmentAdvisors, LLC, announced RegalMutual Fund Strategies has officiallybeen trademarked. The Regal MutualFund Strategies offer four diverse portfo-lios consisting of four and five starMorningstar rated funds selected by theRegal Investment Committee.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsOpportunities for Women awarded twolocal business owners with microloans:Ebony Moore, owner of Emor ShoesLLC, an e-commerce retailer providingfootwear and accessories in extendedsizes for women specializing in sizes 8 to14; and Kathryn Snyder, owner of Well-Mannered Dog Center, a facilitydesigned to be used as a base for themany area dog training clubs, breedclubs, 4-H clubs, and citizens who enjoythe company of their canine companions.

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Challenges and Changes Facing Assisted Living Facilities

By: Peg Cochran

Mina Breuker, chief operating offi-cer of Holland Home, a Grand Rapidsnon-profit provider of services to seniorssince 1892, has seen a number ofchanges in the assisted living industry inher fourteen years in the business.

“People moving to assisted livingare less independent and (bring to us)greater needs, such as memory loss,than in the past.” Breuker said.

According to Chris Nicely, vice pres-ident of marketing for Holland Home, theeconomy has had an impact on the cen-sus of most assisted living facilities.

“Assisted living is all private pay,and it can be expensive. People areusing more affordable home-based serv-ices to allow them to stay independentand in their own home as long as possi-ble before moving into a facility. Forinstance, Holland Home offers Helpers ofHolland Home, and Helpers provides anarray of services to support individualsin their home. Services range from non-medical assistance to skilled nursing,”Nicely said.

Another change, according toBreuker, has been in the expectations ofthe consumer and their family.

Kitty Vydarney, executive director ofHolland Home’s Raybrook campus con-curs, “Consumers are savvy – especiallytheir children who often are the onesmaking the decisions,” Vydarney said.“The children of our residents are look-ing for high quality services.”

Care has become more patient-cen-tered,” Breuker said. Vydarney agrees.“The focus now is on the individual’spreferences and needs.”

ydarney has seen a rise in thedemand for amenities like fine dining.

We are in the process of updatingour pantries, adding things like platewarmers, training workers to providebetter service and improving the overalldining experience,” Vydarney said.

She has also seen a rise in the “uni-versal worker”— a staff person who per-forms multiple roles for the residentrather than a single set of tasks.

“They’re there to make the resident’sworld more comfortable,” She said.

“We recognize that people aren’tdone living, Breuker said. “Life doesn’tstop when you go to assisted living.”

To that end, Holland Home hasgiven residents a voice in choosing the

activities and programs they want sothat they have the opportunity to contin-ue to grow and learn. An active residentcouncil gives residents a voice in theday-to-day routines of the home addingto their quality of life.

Holland Home plans to expand itsMasterpiece Living program into itsassisted living facilities in 2013.Masterpiece Living is an initiative thatfocuses on all the components of suc-cessful aging—social, physical, spiritualand mental—and helps participants tolive better, longer.

“Masterpiece Living is more thanjust another wellness program,” Breukersaid. “It is based on cutting-edgeresearch on aging and creates an envi-ronment and a culture that believes olderadults can grow and achieve their life’sgoals even in the assisted living setting.”

Vydarney believes that assisted liv-ing facilities will place an increasedemphasis on memory care as the babyboomers age. She also sees an increase inthe use of technology like motion sensorsthat alert caregivers when a resident hasgotten out of bed or fallen. Being able tocheck on a resident less obtrusively helpsthe resident feel more independent.

One of the greatest challenges fac-ing both assisting living providers andconsumers is that there is no official def-inition of assisted living. Assisted livingcan be licensed by the state or offered inan unlicensed facility. The regulationsinvolved and the services provided varygreatly. It’s wise for the consumer to ask

questions such as, “what happens if I outlive my funds,” “how much medicalmanagement does the home provide”and “at what point would I be required tomove to a nursing facility?”

“At Holland Home we provide med-ical management and have an individu-alized service plan in place for each ofour residents,” Vydarney said. “That isnot the case in every assisted living facil-

ity. Consumers need to know the prod-uct they are purchasing before theymake the move.”

Peg Cochran is the Marketing andCommunications Manager for HollandHome. She can be reached at 616-235-8730, peg.cochran@hollandhome.org orby visiting hollandhome.org

7

Current Business Trends: Flat

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

The survey results are based ondata collected during the last two weeksof August. The survey’s index of busi-ness improvement, called new orders,returned to +0, up from -6. The produc-tion index flipped back to positive at +5,up from -5. The employment indexremained unchanged at +18.

“Our automotive parts suppliers arestill positive, but none are showing therapid expansion we have had for most ofthe last three years,” said Long. “Despitethe strong sales figures for autos, thereare still considerable questions about theautomotive production schedules for the

rest of the year.“Most major firms in the office fur-

niture business continue to be stable.Not up, not down, but stable. It‘s possi-ble the office furniture business will fin-ish the year a little stronger than the ear-lier industry projections. The industrialdistributors are also stable for themonth. The capital equipment firms aremore widely mixed, with some still up,but others fading.”

Long said some of the best news forthe month came from the housing sector.“The closely watched Case-Shiller priceindices were all up,” said Long. “The 10Cities Composite, 20 Cities Composite,and the all-important U.S. NationalComposite indices all turned positive forthe first time in more than two years. ForMichigan, year-to-date sales are up 10percent, and prices are up nearly 5 per-cent.”

8Cosmetic Surgery Today

By Jane Whittington

We all want to look our best. Itenhances our self-esteem and our senseof well-being. It may do even more. Infact, according to a recent book by DanielHamermesh, a noted economist whowrote Beauty Pays: Why AttractivePeople are More Successful, attractivepeople are more likely to receive betterpay, obtain more loan approvals, negoti-ate loans with better terms and havemore handsome and highly educatedspouses. And a study from RiceUniversity about employment interviewsstates, “The bottom line is that how youlook can significantly influence the suc-cess of an interview.”

Sometimes the desire to look our bestcauses us to consider plastic surgery.

Plastic surgery is nothing new. Infact, it has been reported that plastic sur-gery was being practiced as early as 800BC in India and also in ancient Rome andGreece. In fact, the word “plastic” comesfrom the Greek word “plastikï”, meaning“the art of modeling”. The earliest reportof such surgery in America was in 1827when John Mettauer performed a cleftpalate repair.

Today plastic surgery includes bothreconstructive surgery and cosmetic oraesthetic surgery with the two havingsome overlap. Reconstructive surgeryconcerns itself with returning the body toa “normal” state. This could include sur-gery after an accident or to correct a con-genital defeat. Cosmetic surgery’s goal isto maintain or enhance the appearance.Cosmetic surgery includes invasive sur-gery (like a facelift, tummy tuck or breastaugmentation or reduction) as well asminimally-invasive and non- invasiveprocedures like Botox to smooth wrin-kles, skin resurfacing or soft tissue fillersto add volume to cheeks and lips.

Whatever the reason for wanting toenhance our appearance, Grand Rapidscosmetic surgery physicians stand readyto help us achieve that goal. There areseveral practices in the area which spe-cialize in cosmetic surgery and a numberof board certified physicians with the

skill, expertise and experience necessaryto achieve the desired results. PlasticSurgery Associates and Centre for PlasticSurgery are two of the best.

Dr. Scott Brundage is with the Centrefor Plastic Surgery in Grand Rapids. Hegraduated from the Indiana UniversitySchool of Medicine and completed his res-idency at Butterworth Hospital. He hasbeen in practice for over 25 years.Brundage says, “In our practice, we per-form both reconstructive and cosmetic sur-gery and work with men and women,adults and children, but most of ourpatients are adults and we serve morewomen than men. As is true throughoutthe country, our most often performed pro-cedure is breast augmentation.“

He continues, “We find that oftenour patients want something quick andeffective. We do a lot of Botox, fillers—things like that. People can just walk inand walk out and see immediate changewith no recuperation time.”

Dr. Marguerite Aitken attended med-ical school at Northwestern Universityand completed a residency in the GrandRapids/Michigan State University PlasticSurgery Program. She is in practice withPlastic Surgery Associates.

Dr. Aitken says, “I’ve been in prac-tice for eight years and some of thoseyears have been concurrent with the reces-sion. I’ve found that the more expensiveprocedures have been less popular. Ibelieve that in our practice, the past fewyears have seen us doing more liposuctionthan anything else. However, as the econ-omy improves, that is changing.”

Healthcare insurance, in general,covers reconstructive surgery more con-sistently than cosmetic surgery. However,there’s often a fine line between the two,and it is important to discuss any plasticsurgery with one’s carrier. Over the years,there have been some changes in insur-ance coverage. For instance, before thelate 90’s, reconstructive breast surgeryafter a mastectomy was considered “cos-metic” and was not covered. Now, mosthealthcare insurance pays for this sur-gery.

Both practices perform most proce-

dures in fully-equipped treatment oroperating rooms within their offices.However, doctors in both practices alsowork at hospitals within SpectrumHealth’s system.

Brundage says, “We have a popularoption that we call ‘Mommy Makeovers’.We offer both surgical and non-surgicaloptions to help women restore theirappearances after they have children.”

It’s been said that the hands are thepart of the body that can give away a per-son’s age. But Dr. Aitken says, “We haveprocedures that can revitalize the appear-ance of the hands—removal of ‘agespots’, fillers to add to the hands’ youth-ful look; even surgical options are avail-able.”

Plastic Surgery Associates offers aseries of seminars and lectures on topicsin cosmetic surgery. All of the doctors inthe practice attend and are available forquestions during and after the event. InOctober, the practice will be hosting a

fashion show and informational event inconjunction with Breast CancerAwareness Month.

Both doctors emphasize the impor-tance of high quality service delivery.Brundage says, “We’re not a high-volumepractice. It’s more important to us that ourpatients feel a high degree of satisfactionin the work that we have done.”

Aitken agrees, “We don’t makeempty promises. We work with solid,proven products and procedures. Wewant our patients to feel that they havereceived the best care possible, and wewant them to be happy with the results.”

More information is available on thewebsites of both practices. They can befound at www.gr-cps.com for the Centrefor Plastic Surgery and www.psa-gr.comfor Plastic Surgery Associates.

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

Health Care BriefsGrandville – Dr. Jason Doublestein andDr. John Albrecht announced the addi-tion of Dr. Michael Wierenga, a gradu-ate of University of Michigan School ofDentistry, to their dental office.

Grand Rapids – Pine Rest Foundationannounced Samantha Howell, a busi-ness analyst at Amway, and AllenVanderLaan, retired from KentCompanies, as new members to the PineRest Foundation Board of Governors.

Grand Rapids – Holland Homeannounced Jacquie Karr-Zlotnicki,Director of Volunteer Services at HollandHome and Faith Hospice, was namedAdvisor to the Board of Directors of theMichigan Healthcare VolunteerResource Professionals to serve for the2012 – 2013 year.

Kalamazoo – For the 10th consecutiveyear, Bronson Methodist Hospitalreceived Practice Greenhealth’sEnvironmental Leadership Circle Award,which recognizes healthcare facilitiesthat exemplify environmental excellenceand are setting the highest standards forenvironmental practices in nationalhealthcare.

Holland – Holland Hospital was awardedPrimary Stroke Center Certification by the

accrediting organization DNVHealthcare. The designation meansHolland Hospital has met the rigorousstandards for treatment of stroke victimsas defined by the Guidelines of the BrainAttack Coalition and theRecommendations of the American StrokeAssociation.

Lansing – The Michigan Health &Hospital Association (MHA) and itsmember hospitals again received nation-al recognition for improving patient safe-ty and quality, winning the AmericanHospital Association’s prestigious topaward for improving health care. TheMHA Keystone Center received the DickDavidson Quality Milestone Award forAllied Association Leadership.

Grand Rapids – Grand Valley HealthPlan renewed its commitment to thehealth and well being of children by col-laborating with the Alliance for aHealthier Generation to provide theHealthier Generation Benefit for the pre-vention, assessment, and treatment ofchildhood obesity.

Kalamazoo – Bronson Breast Surgerywelcomed Nancy Kalinowski, MD., aboard certified general surgeon withextensive knowledge and experience inbreast surgery.

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Porter Hills is Continuing to Learn and ExpandBy: Jeremy Martin

An institution doesn’t last for morethan forty years without offering a highquality and trusted service. But it alsodoesn’t last that long without constantlylearning, growing and changing to meetthe needs of a client base that is alsoevolving.

Founded in 1970 Porter HillsRetirement Communities offers its clientsa sense of security and comfort that fewAssisted living centers can match; and itdoes so by offering a line of servicesnearly unparalleled within the industry.

“Porter Hills is always focused onquality improvement and evolving as anorganization, Ingrid Weaver VicePresident of operations for Porter Hillssaid. “We now have just about any typeof service to meet any need for seniors inthe greater Grand Rapids area.”

Services at Porter Hills range fromstandard in house care, to physical reha-bilitation, all the way to a brand new pro-gram called Avenues.

“Avenues is a great program. Thereare similar programs but not manythroughout the country,” Weaver said“Instead of asking folks to come live inour communities to receive services,we’re actually coming to them. They com-mit to have a relationship with us, folksare usually a younger age of a senior andwe agree to provide support for them forthe rest of their life with the intent andthe goal to help them live successfully inthe home they’re at now.”

This allows seniors who are still

quite independent to receive personalizedcare without having to disrupt their nor-mal everyday lives. They are able to trav-el, work, shop and do everything thatthey are used to doing, but with the peaceof mind to know that they’re health andwell being are taken care of.

“We do that by connecting themwith a wellness coordinator which helpsthem make sure they are taking care oftheir medical needs and any personalneeds they might have, and to someextent social needs as well. It’s not reallya new lifestyle for them, we’re helpingthem maintain their lifestyle and howthey want to live; in giving them the toolsand resources that they need in order todo so,” Weaver said.

But Avenue’s which was launchedearlier in the year and has yet to receivethe full publicity treatment is just one ina number of quality services offered.Though living from home is an attractiveoffer to many seniors, Sherman believesthat there is still plenty of folks whowould prefer to live in one of Porter Hillsonsite facilities.

“I think there is always going to be aplace for retirement communities, maybefor folks who aren’t driving as much any-more who like to have highly sociallifestyles, want that sense of securitywith their property and their home beingcared for them. And there is other folkswho feel very strongly that they want tostay in the home they’ve lived in for anumber of years. We want to be able toserve both of those seniors,” Weaversaid.

Currently Porter Hills serves over a1,000 clients and are able to do so thanksto a highly trained and educated staff.

“We’d like to service as many peopleas possible and will continue to grow ourstaff to meet that need,” Weaver said.

Much of Porter Hills client base tothe company based on referrals byfriends and family, and in some casesenrolls in the same services that helpedtheir own parents.

“I have the pleasure now of servingthe next generations, I may have takencare of their parents at some point andnow they are choosing Porter Hills astheir retirement option,” Weaver said.

Many people choose Porter Hillsbecause of that very thing; options.

And a way for the company to contin-ue offering a wide variety of services is toteam up with other institutions in the area.

“A lot of our focus right now has beenbased on collaborations with other likeminded organization,” Weaver said.“We’re working with another non-profitgroup to open a rehab and skilled nursingfacility. Our goal is to continue to growservices to seniors in their home, we feelthat is a trend that is going to continue andwe want to work with like minded busi-ness partners to expand our mission andtheirs.”

That’s something that current andfuture clients can certainly take to heart.

For more information on Porter hillsvisit: porterhills.org

9

Health Care BriefsWyoming – Metro Health Hospitalannounced Ruth Klingensmith is thehospital’s new Compliance Officer andwill be responsible for identifying andassessing areas of compliance risk forthe hospital.

Reed City – Spectrum Health Reed CityHospital announced that it will breakground this fall on the Susan P.Wheatlake Regional Cancer Center, an$8.9 million comprehensive regionalfacility. The new cancer center will belocated at the current Spectrum HealthCrossroads Radiation Therapy Center atUS10 and US131 in Osceola County.

Holland – Holland Hospital’s cardiologyprogram was awarded the ACTIONRegistry–GWTG Gold PerformanceAchievement Award for 2012 by theNational Cardiovascular Data Registry(NCDR) and American College ofCardiology Foundation for the third con-secutive year.

Grand Rapids – Pine Rest ChristianMental Health Services welcomed twopsychiatrists Jonathan Dargo, M.D. andShristi Shah, M.D., who will work in thePine Rest outpatient clinics with 16 loca-tions throughout West Michigan and twoin Iowa.

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12Construction/Real Estate BriefsSouthfield – Clark ConstructionCompany was selected ConstructionManager for a $3 million, two-phaseproject to relocate Central ProcessingDepartment (CPD) to the second floor on5West at Beaumont Hospital in Troy.A second Flash CT Project will update CTfacilities with patient lift system, controlroom, and mechanical and electricalequipment upgrades for the installationof a new Flash CT. Phase one of the CPDproject consists of building on the fourthfloor of the Critical Care Tower, whichwill be new office space for MedicalInformation Services Department staff.Phase two consists of building on thesecond floor for the new CPD location,which will include the installation of newCPD equipment, such as sterilizers and acart washer.

Battle Creek – Wolverine BuildingGroup announced the beginning of con-struction for phase II of the Silver Starapartment complex that will providehousing to homeless veterans.Wolverine Building Group and architectDesign Plus are working together on the110,000 square foot project that willinclude construction of 101 apartmentunits as well as community spacesincluding computer labs, craft rooms,workshops, library, gymnasium / multi-purpose room, and will be LEED certi-fied. This $11.5 Million project is sup-ported by a MSHDA Loan, HOME Funds,and Syndication of the Low IncomeHousing Tax Credits with the GreatLakes Capital Fund. It is also a Section 3project that promotes partnering withsubcontractors and suppliers whoemploy residents of low-income housingwho are local to the jobsite. Wolverinecurrently has 30% Section 3 and/or DBE(disadvantaged business enterprises)subcontractors and suppliers signed onfor this project, and are on track toexceed the owner’s 10% goal by a size-able margin. The project is scheduled forcompletion in the fall of 2013.

Lansing – Clark Constructionannounced hiring of three staff membersto assist in the company’s projects:Justin Bailey, Safety Manager at thenew Pack Assembly Plant for DowKokam in Midland; Jim Newberry,Superintendent in Fort Bragg, N.C. forconstruction In Processing Facility andHeadquarters Building renovation; andMitch Potter, Superintendent on theFitness Center project at Fort Riley, KS.

Lansing – Clark Construction Companywas selected as Construction Managerfor the new Bio Engineering researchfacility at Michigan State University(MSU). The $40 million facility will be amulti-disciplinary research facility andwill provide MSU with the opportunity tobring together research teams from engi-neering and biomedical research to pro-mote the development of bioengineeringand engineering health sciences at MSU.The project is tentatively scheduled tostart summer 2013, and be ready foroccupancy fall 2015.

Michigan and Cincinnati, OH –Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber,Inc., announced the following teammembers joined their Grand Rapidsoffice: Adam J. Nelson, Senior Designerin the Architectural Department; DavidS. Shaffer, Staff Architect in theArchitectural Department; Mark W.Maguire, Civil Engineer; Kyle M.Shaver, P.E., S.E., Structural Engineer;Andrew D. Howard, Staff Architect;Elizabeth A. Stek, LEED AP, StructuralEngineer; Heather M. Bowers, CivilEngineer; and Ryan M. LaReau, CivilEngineer.

Grand Rapids – First Companies negoti-ated a lease with landlord DavidWiener, for 13,400 feet of office space at62 Commerce Ave. SE, for tenantSpringthrough, Inc.

Grand Rapids – Real estate professionalChad Koster, CCIM, along with partnerNick Vander Wal, announced the open-ing of residential real estate brokerageParamount Realty Partners, a full-service residential real estate firm spe-cializing in the sale and purchase of realestate in the greater Grand Rapids area.

West Michigan - Signature Associateshas negotiated:• the lease of 1,500 square feet of stor-age space located at 477 Chicago Drive,Holland for the landlord, Hop Propertiesof Holland, LLC, and the tenant, Youthfor Christ.• the lease of 1,500 square feet of retailspace located at 6749-6751 Fulton StreetE, Ada for the landlord, 6751 FultonAssociates and the tenant, HerbertSchlichting. Mr. Schlichting will offerorthopedic physical therapy with a spe-cialty in sports medicine.• the lease of 13,359 square feet of officespace located at 500 Momany, St. Josephfor the tenant, GE Capital.• the sale of 3.46 acres of office landlocated at 404 W. Centerstone Court and301 Royal Park Drive, Zeeland for theseller, Red Enterprise, LLC, and thebuyer, Holt Properties.• the sale of 29.35 acres of industrialland located at 850 48th Street, Hollland,to G3 Holdings for the seller, QualityProperties Asset Management.

Lansing – Chad Riehl, ClarkConstruction, was appointed to theMichigan Building Code RulesCommittee and will assist in develop-ment of the 2012 Building Code for theState of Michigan Department ofLicensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Grand Rapids - Signature Associateshas negotiated the sale of 3,525 squarefeet of industrial space located at 37James Street, Holland for the seller,Consumers Concrete Corp., and thebuyer, Holland Switzer, LLC.

Grand Rapids – Progressive AEannounced David Shull, AIA, joined thefirm as a Senior Project Manager/ClientLeader. Shull is a Registered Architect inthe State of Michigan and a licensedmember of the National Council ofArchitectural Registration Boards.

Grand Rapids – Wolverine BuildingGroup announced the beginning of con-struction for the new production kitchenfor Senior Meals Program, Inc.. Therenovated facility will be Senior Meals’headquarters for food preparation, pack-aging, and delivery and will double theproduction capacity of the organizationfrom 750,000 to 1 million meals annual-ly. The project is scheduled for comple-tion in November 2012.

Final Next Michigan Development CorporationEstablished in West Michigan

Seven area municipalities inMuGrand Rapids The Right Place, Inc,Muskegon Area First, and the MichiganEconomic Development Corporation(MEDC) announce the approval ofMichigan's fifth and final Next MichiganDevelopment Corporation (NMDC), locat-ed in West Michigan. The new NMDC, tobe known as the "West MichiganEconomic Partnership," is being devel-oped as a partnership between seven areamunicipalities (Kent County, City ofGrand Rapids, City of Kentwood, City ofWyoming, Cascade Charter Township,City of Muskegon, Muskegon County),two economic development organizations(The Right Place, Muskegon Area First),and the Gerald R. Ford InternationalAirport.

Convened by The Right Place andMuskegon Area First in February 2011,the West Michigan Economic Partnershipwas created to market and spur thedevelopment of strategic real estate serv-iced by two or more modes of transporta-tion infrastructure in Muskegon and KentCounties. Participating communities andeligible companies may be able to utilize

additional property and investmentincentives under the new partnership.

"The increased level of intergovern-mental collaboration between countiesand municipalities in West Michigan isthe first of its kind in West Michigan,"said Ed Garner, President and CEO,Muskegon Area First. "This new partner-ship between Muskegon and KentCounties will open new doors for invest-ment, jobs, and growth throughout theregion."

Over the next several weeks, eachparticipating party will appoint a repre-sentative and an alternate to serve on thenewly created board. Regular monthlymeetings will then be held to support andmanage on-going efforts. Once seated,the board's next step will be to establisha funding model and begin identifyingstrategic multi-modal properties withinthe partnership's geographic region.

"As one of only five sanctionedNMDCs allowed under the current legisla-tion, these seven municipalities nowhave a unique set of marketing andincentive tools to support new investmentand the creation of jobs in their commu-

nities," said Rick Chapla, Vice President,Business Development, The Right Place,Inc., "Strategic transportation areas inWest Michigan, such as Muskegon'sdeep-water port and Wyoming's Site36location will be prime areas of focus."

Next Michigan DevelopmentCorporation Background

In December 2010, the MichiganLegislature passed and the Governorsigned into law P.A. 275 of 2010 (the"Next Michigan Development Act"), creat-ing a new economic development tool toadvance the marketing and developmentof certain kinds of real estate served bytwo or modes of transportation. Underthe new legislation, the act allows for thecreation of a separate legal and adminis-

trative entity formed by interlocal agree-ment among two (2) or more local gov-ernmental units, at least 1 of which shallbe a county, and at least one (1) of whichshall be a qualified local government unitfor the purpose of jointly exercising eco-nomic development powers and attract-ing business.

Once an interlocal agreement isestablished, the group can apply to theboard of the Michigan strategic fund fordesignation as a next Michigan develop-ment corporation. The board of theMichigan strategic fund may designateno more than five (5) Next MichiganDevelopment Corporations in the state.

13The Next Generation of Office Design

By: Randy DeBoer

Twelve years ago, the office furni-ture industry was enjoying a golden age.United States companies shipped over$13 billion worth of product in the year2000, following a boom of risingdemand, and it seemed as if the sky wasthe limit to our success.

But the next decade was not as kind:the industry saw steady declines of pro-duction throughout the first three years,enjoyed a slight reversal of that trendbetween 2004 and 2007, and then suf-fered its worst blow ever as the econom-ic downturn hit in 2008. U.S. office furni-ture production shipments fell a stagger-ing 29% in 2009 – bringing the marketvalue to roughly 60% of what it was atthe beginning of the decade – and sentcompanies running for the hills.

But what would a fall be without arise? The industry has begun a slow andsteady climb back to prominence, recoup-ing roughly half of the lost productionmarket throughout the last three years,and moving towards exciting and inno-vative frontiers.

As part of the central hub of the

office furniture industry, numerous WestMichigan companies have had big ques-tions to answer since the economic crisisbegan. How does an office furniture deal-er thrive in a world where the idea of an“office” is not a cubicle in some city high-rise, but a kitchen counter, a bedroomdesk, or a table at a wi-fi cafe? Whatfunction do the old ideas and ways ofdoing things have to a generation of kidsdestined to make their living from a widerange of talents and opportunities ratherthan a single focused skill set and asteady 9-5 job?

It turns out that the old ideas still dohave a place, but only when paired withinnovation, flexibility, and increased cus-tomer appreciation. Interphase Interiorshas recognized all aspects of this shift, andwe have seen that awareness reflected in asteady market share growth - even as therest of the industry has declined aroundus. 2012 is set to be another record-break-ing sales year for us, and that success hascome largely from understanding the gen-erational and technological shift in theworkplace and recognizing that each cus-tomer has a different idea of what a work-station should be.

For a lot of young people, the idea ofan office is almost obsolete. The need fora permanent workstation (or for commut-ing to a central location) is becoming lessand less common. Privacy is not the req-uisite factor it once was. Younger genera-tions prefer working in a more collabora-tive environment, with activity and noiseall around them. If they need a momentto themselves, they generate one by lis-tening to music through earbuds andusing it as a conduit for personal produc-tivity. Interphase and our partners atHaworth took these trends into account,developing our “MoDiv” space in down-town Grand Rapids to fit the kind ofcasual, residential ambiance that hasbecome so popular.

But beyond a youthful and boister-ous atmosphere, the most importantaspect of workplace design has becomethe incorporation of technology. Slick,fast and easy communication is anabsolute staple, whether through WebEx,teleconference, or simultaneously shar-ing multiple computer desktops on a sin-gle large screen. Files can be made avail-able, by one click of a mouse, on office-wide servers, and conference calls can be

executed through the web or over videochat clients like Skype and Google chat.And employees can work almost any-where, with office computers entirelyaccessible from an iPad, a Kindle, or aremote laptop.

All of this was almost unthinkable adecade ago. Even as recently as the 2008recession, the office furniture and designindustry had a completely different face.But with technological advancementmoving at a rapid pace, and with moreyoung people joining the workforce thanever before, adaptability, innovation, andadvancement have become pivotal keysto success. Our world is changing rapidly,but the office furniture companies thatcan help lead their customers throughthat maze of change will be the leaders oftomorrow!

Randy DeBoer is president and ownerof Interphase Interiors, the exclusiveHaworth dealer in West and NorthernMichigan for more than 30 years.Interphase is a 2012 Best in Class HaworthDealer. Further information at www.inter-phaseinc.com or 616-245-0800.

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14EPA Announces 2012 Great Lakes Restoration

Initiative GrantsChicago. IL – The U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency todayannounced seven Great LakesRestoration Initiative grants, totalingover $2.6 million, to improve water qual-ity at Great Lakes beaches in Michiganand Wisconsin.

The grants were announced by EPARegional Administrator and Great LakesNational Program Manager SusanHedman at Samuel Myers Park in Racine,Wisconsin, at one of the beaches targetedfor work under the grants.

Over the last three years, GLRI hasprovided more than $29 million for 78projects to protect and restore GreatLakes beaches. This funding has paid for

sanitary surveys at 400 beaches, allow-ing beach managers to identify contami-nation sources and to implement projectsthat reduce or eliminate pollution. TheGLRI has also funded eight projects tobetter forecast beach conditions and todevelop technologies such as Smartphoneapps to issue real-time alerts aboutswimming bans and beach closures.

Projects announced today include:• $1 million (two grants of $500,000

each) to the University of WisconsinOshkosh to redesign eight Wisconsinbeaches to reduce bacteria levels, result-ing in fewer swimming bans and beachclosures. The beaches are: Red ArrowPark Beach, Marinette; Crescent Beach,

Algoma; Red Arrow Park Beach,Manitowoc; Thompson West End Park,Washburn; Grant Park, SouthMilwaukee; Samuel Myers Park, Racine;and Simmons Island and EichelmanParks, Kenosha.

• $179,700 to the City of Marquette,Michigan, to lower health risks and toimprove water quality at two LakeSuperior beaches in Marquette by usinggreen management practices to reducecontamination.

• $500,000 to the City of Marysville,Michigan, to install rain gardens and othergreen infrastructure to reduce contaminat-ed stormwater runoff and to deter geese atChrysler Beach on the St. Clair River.

• $500,000 to the Huron-ClintonMetropolitan Authority for green infra-structure to reduce contaminatedstormwater runoff at Lake St. ClairMetropark (Metro Beach.)

• $217,015 to the MichiganDepartment of Environmental Quality toconstruct rain gardens, plant native grassand install a filtration system to improvewater quality and reduce health risks atSherman Park and Four Mile beaches inSault Ste. Marie.

• $263,188 to the MichiganDepartment of Environmental Quality tobuild a green stormwater infiltration sys-tem at New Buffalo City Beach to reducebacteria and nutrient levels.

The Statistics of International Business in West Michigan

By: Jeremy Martin with BrandtSiegel

It wasn’t long ago that the state ofMichigan was synonymous with exporta-tion. Companies from across the mittenwere sending automobiles and parts,office furniture, produce, medical suppliesand more to all four corners of the globe.

The recent recession and the down-turn in the automotive industry hasindeed put a damper on the State’sexports and in some cases all but endedthe lives of many leading companies, butit hasn’t extinguished the flame thatonce burnt so bright.

In fact in many cases we are current-ly seeing not only a rise in goods export-

ed but in dollars gained from the practice. What we are also seeing is a change

in where goods are shipped, and whatthose goods are.

It should come as no surprise withthe rising cost of fuel that exporting num-bers have been scrutinized closely andcost saving measures have been imple-mented across the board.

This is one reason we are seeing theexport of goods to locals closer to home.Shipments to countries such as Canadaand Mexico are rising sharply while theshipment of products to countries furtherafield like Korea and the Netherlands haveplateaued and in some cases dropped off.

According to The BrookingsInstitution real export growth rates from

West Michigan to Canada rose 22.8% dur-ing 2009-2010 and rates to Mexico rose22.4%. Contrasting that is data on exportsto the UK which rose only 2.1% and toKorea which actually dropped 5.7%.

Despite some favorable single coun-try exporting statistics we actually saw adip in West Michigan exporting between2007 and 2009. The beginning of ourdata set shows that Grand Rapids areacompanies made a combined $2.7 Billionfrom the exporting of goods in 2007, witha jump to an even $3Billion the next yearbefore falling off drastically in 2009, rack-ing in only $2.4 Billion.

According to the International TradeAdministration, the transportation equip-ment industry lost quite a bit of groundover those years. Export numbers for theindustry show that in 2007 over $703Million was made from exporting, but thattotal had dropped to $278 Million by2009; a dip of nearly 40%.

Chemical manufacturing saw steadygrowth between 2006-2008, raisingexport funds from $422 Million to $613Million before leveling off as of recently,taking in $458 Million in 2010.

We are also seeing industries such assporting goods, computers and businessservices rise slowly, filling the void leftfrom industries that have decreased insales.

What we are also seeing is that manylocal industries are making drastic postrecession improvements on their realexport growth rates.

Brookings tell us for example that

from 2008-2009 the chemical industrywas showing a negative growth rate of24.89% but then was able to reboundfrom 2009-2010 showing a muchimproved 28.61% growth.

Though that is an extreme example,the statistics show us that most of theGrand Rapids area industries participatingin international exportation of goods havean increased and positive real exportgrowth rate post recession.

This is all good news for an area ofthe country that was once seen as a majormanufacturing hub and is seeking toreclaim its place in the internationalexporting market.

The the New OnLine Finance BankingInsurance Publication brought to you byBusiness Update Publications and will bereleased the final Thursday of each month.Features, columns and press releases thatare industry related, current and timely.

To have your news included or to sub-mit articles for potential inclusion replyto prupdate@businessupdate.com. Forsponsorship and advertising contactdiane@businessupdate.com orjim@businessupdate.com.

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15The GSA’s New Demand Based Model and its EffectsBy: Josh Ladick

Steve Kempf, commissioner ofGeneral Services Administration (GSA)Federal Acquisition Service announcedin early July “The MAS program is per-petually open to qualified new offers andwhile vibrant markets exist in some ofthe schedules, we have reached the pointof saturation in others.” In English, thismeans that the GSA is fulfilling its pur-pose, but there are areas that are obso-lete and need to be evaluated.

The solution to the saturation prob-lem is called the Demand Based Model(DBM) which is intended to allow theGSA to align its resources with areas ofgreatest need. On July 23rd, the FederalRegister expanded on this, “GSA is pro-posing this operational change toenhance the performance of and mod-ernize the MAS program in three keyprogram areas: Small business viability,operational efficiency, and cost control.”Earlier, a service provider announced on

their company blog that the GSA will befreezing 5 Schedules for 1-3 years, andevaluating subcategories across theboard to freeze or drop. This was basedon a Congressional Subcommittee meet-ing on Contracting and Workforce, heldJune 7, 2012.

The chain of events that led to theDemand Based Model started with thedownturn in the economy, where manycompanies folded, and those with storedresources pursued the federal marketbecause the government was one of thelast big & stable spenders. This created arapid increase in GSA Contract submis-sions. Over the past 3 years, the numberof companies seeking Schedules con-tracts has roughly doubled and the vol-ume of contract modifications hasroughly tripled. GSA is confronting aserious staffing shortage of qualifiedcontracting professionals to react to thehigh demand.

Under the old GSA’s Administrator,Martha Johnson, major problems started

collecting in the Agency, and little wasdone to address or fix them. The GSA scan-dal caused her to resign, and DanTangherlini was appointed the role ofGSA’s Acting Administrator with a calcu-lated, business-like approach, and he start-ed drafting the GSA’s plan of salvation.

I can foresee 3 potential very posi-tive outcomes from the Demand BasedModel approach. First, these changes willsave the GSA a reported $24 million ayear in operating expenses. If managedproperly then federal buyers will onlyexperience a small drop in service whenbuying through the GSA, and there willbe a fresher group of contractors tochoose from. Second, establishedGovernment Contractors in frozen sched-ules will enjoy limited competition, and atrimming of the fat in their schedules willmake for quicker modification turn-around times. Third, low performers dosap GSA resources, and the agency as awhole will emerge from this in bettershape regarding acquisitions, whichhave doubled and tripled review timesover the past 2 years.

I can also foresee 2 potential verynegative outcomes from the DemandBased Model approach. GSA Schedule871 –Professional Engineering Services -offers many important solutions to fed-

eral buyers, especially DoD. These solu-tions change so fast, and new contrac-tors are always creating new solutionsfor the federal market. So, in my opinion,freezing Schedule 871 will slow theDoD’s R&D efforts, which poses anational security risk. So, this was not agood GSA Schedule to freeze, but theothers are very saturated, and can standto be frozen for a year or two. Second,there will be a huge push of submissionsbefore the deadline to freeze. The GSAwill either be deadlocked for years tryingto catch-up once the door closes, or theywill close the gate and many contractorswill be locked out for 1-3 years withoutthe opportunity to submit before theannouncement. In the Federal Register,the GSA says “It is highly likely thatnearly all of these offers will not gener-ate business,” so the GSA appears to beleaning towards closing the gate andrejecting all pending offers.

Josh Ladick is the President of GSAFocus, Inc. and has over 6 years of expe-rience acquiring and maintaining GSAContracts daily. GSA Focus works onGSA Contracts exclusively. Josh can bereached at (760) 550-9320 orjosh@gsafocus.com.

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Fuel Cells Providing Boostto U.S. Manufacturing

(Washington, DC – Tuesday, August28, 2012) With more than 74 MW offuel cells for stationary power and 1,700fuel cell-powered forklifts installed orpurchased in just over a year, the U.S. isexpanding its fuel cell footprint beyondthe two coasts. According to a newreport from Fuel Cells 2000, State of theStates: Fuel Cells in America 2012, theplaying field is widening, with multi-megawatt installations for Apple andeBay in North Carolina and Utah respec-tively, fuel cell forklifts deployed in morethan 19 states, and 25 fuel cell busesplaced or planned for transit servicearound the country, helping keep theU.S. at the forefront of the fuel cellindustry.

The U.S. has long been a leader infuel cell technology – home to many ofthe major fuel cell manufacturers andcomponent suppliers, the largest numberof installations and deployments in sev-eral market sectors, a commanding leadin patents, and cutting-edge universityresearch. As demonstrated in the report,this leadership is made possible by thestates, whose innovative policies andstrategies for business attraction havethrust the U.S. fuel cell industry forward,while bringing jobs and funding oppor-tunities back home.

“With support and demand for fuelcells growing rapidly in almost every cor-ner of the globe, there is tremendousopportunity for the U.S. to boost manu-facturing and exports to rebound andthrive in a competitive marketplace,”says Jennifer Gangi, program director,Fuel Cells 2000. “We are finding that inmany parts of the U.S., the fuel cellindustry offers great potential for jobgrowth, business attraction and econom-ic stimulus throughout the entire supplychain, and that’s on top of the environ-mental benefits and energy security fuelcells bring to the table.”

Fuel Cells 2000’s new report fea-tures the “2012 Fuel Cell PowerRankings” - nine separate Top 5 listsshowcasing all of the top activity in thedifferent states and market sectors,instead of choosing overall winners as inprevious reports. This allows new play-ers to shine and shows the hard num-bers to support the selection. The reportincludes individual state profiles cata-loging all of the past year’s progress inpolicy and deployments. It also featuresquotes from members of Congress andan appendices of additional resourcesincluding charts, maps and links.

16Education BriefsMuskegon – Baker College ofMuskegon will offer a new electricalengineering bachelor's degree programbeginning fall quarter. Electrical engi-neers design, develop, test and supervisethe manufacture of electrical equipment,including electric motors, control sys-tems, communications systems, radarand navigation systems, and focus onpower and energy transmission applica-tions, including renewable energysources and other green technologies.

Battle Creek – Kellogg CommunityCollege Board of Trustees unanimouslyapproved changes Wednesday, Aug. 15,to its office terms and upcoming electiondates to comply with Public Act 233,which requires school elections to occurin November of even-numbered years.Every member’s term was extended by18 months and dates of future electionswere adjusted in response to modifica-tions of State law.

Ann Arbor – A two-year grant from W.K.Kellogg Foundation will allowUniversity of Michigan ophthalmolo-gists and researchers, along with collab-orators around the state, to tackle dis-parities in children’s eye care that mayresult in delayed detection of eye diseaseor inadequate follow-up once a problemhas been identified. The $2 milliongrant, awarded to U-M W.K. Kellogg EyeCenter, will also support improved eyecare for premature babies and create afund to provide eye glasses for childrenin need.

Grand Rapids – Nexus Academy, newtuition-free, blended public high schoolsopening in Michigan that combine phys-ical, in-person high school settings withrigorous and comprehensive onlinelearning, announced Douglas Greer wasnamed Principal of the Grand Rapidscampus.

Muskegon – A series of new programs atGrand Valley State University’sMichigan Alternative and RenewableEnergy Center (MAREC) will provideassistance for energy and technologyentrepreneurs to develop and grow inany stage of business ownership. TheVirtual Tenant Program is designed forindividuals or groups of entrepreneurswho need business services, resourcesand meeting spaces, but are not readyfor a dedicated office space. MAREC pro-vides virtual tenants with access tomeeting spaces, business developmentopportunities, support services, andtraining programs.

Kalamazoo – The Sales EducationFoundation, which ranks programs andselects those that demonstrate a strongsales curriculum, university recognitionand support as well as the opportunityfor experiential learning such as intern-ships, ranked Western MichiganUniversity Sales and BusinessMarketing Program among the best inthe nation and awarded three WMU stu-dents national scholarships.

Grand Rapids – Princeton Review,Fiske Guide to Colleges, and Forbesgave Calvin College high marks in thisyear's edition of their annual collegeguides. Calvin College is included in the2013 edition of the Princeton Review'sannual college guide "The Best 373Colleges," which bases its selections oninstitutional data, school visits, studentfeedback, and opinions of both PrincetonReview staff and the 30-memberNational College Counselor AdvisoryBoard.

Big Rapids – Ferris State Universityannounced the appointment of Dr. BruceMorgan as Interim Dean of the MichiganCollege of Optometry. The appointment,announced by the Office of the Provostand Vice President for Academic Affairs,will be effective Friday, Aug. 24.

Kalamazoo – Western MichiganUniversity’s June 2012 aviation gradu-ates have the distinction of being firstfor the University to successfully com-plete Federal Aviation Administrationrequirements of Air Traffic CollegiateTraining Initiatives.

Kalamazoo – Western MichiganUniversity earned two awards: FacilitiesManagement Department won national2012 Effective and Innovative PracticesAward for its steam trap managementprogram which allows WMU to avoid$4.2 million in energy-related costs; andFacilities Management's landscape serv-ices unit achieved certification in theMichigan Turfgrass EnvironmentalStewardship Program designed to pre-vent pollution and reduce environmentalrisks on school grounds, in addition togolf and lawn care company properties,sports fields, and parks.

Kalamazoo – Western MichiganUniversity's Board of Trusteesapproved a new three-year contract withLocal 1668 of the American Federationof State, County and MunicipalEmployees Council 25 and Local 1668.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsCommunity College announced therecipient of their Excellence in Teachingby Adjunct Faculty Award as DawnCheikh, Adjunct Professor of French andArabic.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsCommunity College bestowed itsExcellence in Education Awards toProfessor Diane Sparks, and SecchiaInstitute for Culinary EducationOperations Manager Mike Kidder. Eachrecipient receives $1,000 cash award,and a matching award is given to GRCCFoundation in each recipient’s name.

Industrial BriefsGrand Rapids – Triple Quest, global dis-tributor of Hydraid® BioSand WaterFilter, announced an extensive fieldstudy conducted in rural Cambodia byresearchers at University of NorthCarolina-Chapel Hill and Georgia StateUniversity found the Hydraid® filtersignificantly improves water quality andreduces diarrheal disease, one of theleading causes of death in the develop-ing world. The results of the study werepublished in Environmental Science &Technology.

Allegan – Perrigo announced AvinashAshok Patil was hired as ApplicationsEngineer for the Information Technology &Services Team, at the Allegan site, workingin Advanced Business ApplicationProgramming to support the company’sSAP enterprise software system.

Lansing – TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®,the nation’s largest franchised movingcompany, promoted Chief OperatingOfficer Randy Shacka to President, aposition formerly held by CEO Brig Sorber.

Auburn Hills – ABB reports significantgrowth in orders for their industrialrobots, robot systems, parts and service.More than 100 employees have beenadded to the payroll and 20 more posi-tions will be added by year’s end.

Holland – Code Blue Corporationannounced hiring of Roberto Zanottaas its International Sales Manager, whowill oversee key relationships withnational dealers as well as expand CodeBlue’s emerging presence overseas.

Kalamazoo – Landscape Formsannounced the appointment of JamieMay as Vice President, Global Sales.

West Michigan – The West MichiganChapter of the Chemical CoatersAssociation International announcedDave Sharphorn from Chem-Quest ofMiddleville, was the recipient of the2012-2013 Vendor of the Year Award.

Kalamazoo – Landscape Forms, NorthAmerica’s leading designer and manu-facturer of site furniture and leading-edge LED Lighting, announced theappointment of Robb Smalldon asManager, Studio 431.

Kalamazoo – Landscape Forms intro-duced Parc Lounge, a new addition to theParc Centre collection, an all steel con-struction of movable outdoor furniture forparks, plazas and other public places. Sledbases provide stability on grass, gravel, orhard surfaces, and stacks for convenienceof moving and storage.

Legal/Accounting BriefsGrand Rapids – Plante & Moran, PLLCelected Robert Bondy to partner in thefirm's Grand Rapids office, and focuseson internal and external audits of com-munity banks and credit unions withextensive experience with companiesregistered with the Securities andExchange Commission.

Grand Rapids – BTI Consulting Grouprecognized Warner Norcross & Judd,LLP as a member of the Client Service A-Team for 2012, and is the sixth timeWarner Norcross has been on the list.

Grand Rapids – Foster Swift Collins &Smith, PC, announced the arrival of KarlW. Butterer as Senior Attorney for thelaw firm's Grand Rapids office and amember of the General LitigationPractice Group.

Norton Shores – Attorneys Eric Gielow,Brad Groom, Rachel Terpstra andKeith McEvoy announced the recentopening of a new law firm, GielowGroom Terpstra & McEvoy, April 18,2012, and are located on the secondfloor of the Michigan Commerce BankBuilding. The firm concentrates on therepresentation of businesses, businessowners and entrepreneurs.

Grand Rapids – Adamy ValuationAdvisors promoted Brian DeMaagd toDirector. DeMaagd provides businessesand their advisors with valuation servic-es for employee stock ownership plans,estate and gift taxation, succession plan-ning, and other financial transactions.

Grand Rapids – Miller Johnsonannounced Jeffrey S. Ammon is therecipient of the 2012 Stephen H.Schulman Outstanding Business LawyerAward given by the State Bar ofMichigan Business Section.

Lansing – Gallagher & AssociatesCPAs, PLC, accounting and litigationsupport firm, announced ownerMichelle F. Gallagher, CPA/ABV/CFFwas elected as a new board member atthe Troy-based Michigan Association ofCertified Public Accountants.

Grand Rapids – Smith Haughey Rice &Roegge announced the following attor-neys were selected for inclusion in TheBest Lawyers in America 2013 edition:Charles F. Behler; Carol D. Carlson;Albert J. Engel III; William W. Jack, Jr.;Brian J. Kilbane; John M. Kruis; E.Thomas McCarthy, Jr.; Craig S.Neckers; John C. O’Loughlin; John R.Oostema; and L.R. Roegge.

Grand Rapids – Ninety-three WarnerNorcross & Judd LLP attorneys wererated The Best Lawyers in America®2013 – a 35 percent increase over 2012.Attorneys representing more than 40different practice areas were selected forthe peer-review award, which denoteslegal excellence in specific practice areas.

Lansing – Attorney Byron “Pat”Gallagher, Gallagher Law Firm, wasselected to join the Defense ResearchInstitute’s Lawyers Professionalism andEthics Committee.

Grand Rapids – Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones announced the following attor-neys were selected for inclusion in the2013 edition of the Best Lawyers inAmerica: Scott S. Brinkmeyer; Scott D.Broekstra; James R. Brown; John M.DeVries; Douglas A. Donnell; Scott E.Dwyer; David R. Fernstrum; Larry J.Gardner; Fredric N. Goldberg; MichaelC. Haines; William A. Horn; Mark A.Kehoe; Neil L. Kimball; Daniel J.Kozera; Daniel R. Kubiak; Ross A.Leisman; Eric S. Richards; John T.Sperla; Timothy J. Tornga; Claude L.Vander Ploeg; and James K. White.

Grand Rapids – Warner Norcross &Judd LLP announced Charles Ash,Janet Ramsey and Jonathan Moorecontributed and co-authored “Discoveryof Electronic Evidence” to the secondedition of Michigan Civil Procedure.

Detroit – Miller Canfield announced 137of its lawyers were selected by theirpeers for inclusion in the pre-eminentlegal referral guide, Best Lawyers®2013. As the leading law firm inMichigan, Miller Canfield has 36 morelawyers earning this designation thanthe next most recognized Michigan firm.

Grand Rapids – Charles N. Ash, Jr.,partner with the law firm WarnerNorcross & Judd LLP, was elected toserve a 3-year term on the board of theCalvin Alumni Association.

Grand Rapids – Brian P. Lennon, attor-ney with Warner Norcross & Judd LLP,will receive a national award for hisinvestigative and trial work from theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco andFirearms.

17

Small businesses reportfilling nearly 10,000 jobsLansing/Grand Rapids – Since

January, small businesses acrossMichigan have filled close to 10,000jobs, according to the Michigan’s SmallBusiness Jobs Insight project(www.michiganjobs ins ight . com),designed to tally and report the growingnumber of small business jobs beingfilled in regions and industries across thestate. The project is a cooperative effortof the Small Business Association ofMichigan (SBAM), the Grand RapidsArea Chamber of Commerce (GRACC)and Issue Media Group.

“I believe that these thousands ofsmall business jobs highlight how smallbusiness owners are responding to theincentives created in 2012 by businesstax reform and improvements in theMichigan regulatory climate,” saidSBAM President and CEO Rob Fowler.“All job growth is positive, but jobs filledat small businesses are especially benefi-cial because they are more sustainable,they represent from-the-ground-up eco-nomic recovery and they support com-munity prosperity across the state.”

“Small businesses comprise morethan eighty percent of our Chambermembership and many report back to usthat they’re growing, hiring, or looking

to find the right talent,” said Rick Baker,President & CEO of the GRACC. “We’refocused on helping these employersattract and retain the talent that drivestheir business forward. We’re pleasedthat the Michigan Jobs Insight website ishelping us showcase the growth takingplace in West Michigan.”

The key elements ofMichiganJobsInsight.com include:• a ticker that displays jobs reported bygrowing small businesses in the currentmonth;• a pie chart that shows the percentageper Michigan region of the total jobsreported per month;• total jobs reported for the year to-date;• the top ten industries for small busi-ness growth; and• links to individual stories of regionalsmall business job growth.

MichiganJobsInsight.com is not ascientific count of every job filled in thesmall business community. “If anything,these totals under-report the employ-ment growth story going on across westMichigan and the rest of the state,”Fowler said. “I’m impressed by thebreadth of the growth across so manyindustry sectors, from hospitality to IT toretail.”

Communication & IT 18

Private Investments for Public IdeasBy: Jeremy MartinOn August 24th Start Garden, a

Grand Rapids based primarily onlineventure capital fund which prides itselfon ‘helping ideas become business,’made serious strides towards completingits mission statement when it invested$70,000 in five local projects.

Three of the five investments werefor $20,000 each while the other two

companies netted an investment of$5,000.

According to Start Garden “All$5,000 projects agree to return in 60-90days to give a public update on whatthey learned. Start Garden chooseswhether to continue funding at the$20,000 level or higher.”

The two companies to receive fund-ing at the $5,000 level were: New Lab

Notebook and Cerealize Custom Cereal.According to Start Garden “the New

Lab Notebook is a line of high-end tech-nical notebooks designed specifically fordifferent scientific and engineering prac-tices.”

The New Lab Notebook owner TylerJohn explains that his products are“designed around extensive research &experience in the sciences & engineering,so they better meet the specific needs ofindustry.”

Cerealize Custom Cereal on the otherhand is a company that allows customersto literally customize their own cereals,“down to the design of the box.”

Cerealize is the brainchild of ChrisBauman of Palo Alto, California. Baumansaid that “Cerealize will allow you tomake your very own custom cereal cre-ation. Not only will you get to choosethe ingredients, but you will also be ableto customize the box.”

Singsong Yoga, Design a Dream,and Reindeercam.com all received fund-ing at the $20,000 level.

Singsong Yoga is a Zeeland basedcompany founded by Deb Weiss-Gelmithat teaches yoga to children through thesong. The company creates, produces

and distributes dvds for children’s athome use.

Design a Dream allows brides to beto create and customize their own wed-ding dresses. Created by Shannon Galesof Grand Rapids, Design a Dream “allowsbrides to find the most flattering gownfor their body type, without the distrac-tions of fabrics and color, through theuse of prototype dress parts. These dressparts are mixed and matched to createvarious gown styles.”

Reindeercam.com provides a slight-ly less tangible product as the companyhas set up a web cam showing ‘Santa’sReindeer’ during the days leading up toChristmas. Drew Wesley of Dutton creat-ed the site which has now been featuredon various national media outlets includ-ing CNN.

This most recent round of invest-ments are part of a weekly investmentoffering from Start Garden. Each week,the company will invest $5,000 in a proj-ect that has been voted on by the publicthrough startgarden.com.

Projects seeking funding can visitthe website to submit an application tothe process.

Communication/IT BriefsHolland – Code Blue Corporationannounced it is partnering with theClery Center for Security On Campusto sponsor the 2012 National CampusSafety Awareness Month occurring inSeptember.

Grand Rapids – The Iserv Co., one of thelargest independent internet serviceproviders in the Midwest, announced itwas acquired by Boston-based 382Communications, which offers voice,data, and network services to communi-cations service providers and enterpriseclients in the U.S. and internationally,thus making the acquisition a natural fitwith the overall corporate strategy ofdeveloping emerging broadband marketsacross the country.

Grand Rapids – WOOD TV8 announcedhiring Casey Jones as a SportsAnchor/Reporter.

Grand Rapids – Erin Nemastil, ofHesperia, joined Sabo Public Relations,LLC as Senior Associate and LeadInstigator.

Grand Rapids – OST (Open SystemsTechnologies) announced the winnersof their most recent ‘Think Big’ cam-paign. The top three winners receiving$5,000 in technology services from OSTinclude: Doorganics, a farm-to-frontdoor food delivery service located inGrand Rapids; FoodCircles, a local startup encouraging those dining out to‘BOFO’ (buy one, feed one) throughtheir mobile application created in col-laboration with local restaurants in WestMichigan; and VN Barr from HumilityPublishing LLC, a publishing company inMinneapolis, Minnesota, interested indigitizing company’s’ historic documentsand data in order to create an accessibleweb library.

Grand Rapids – Clark Communicationsannounced promotion of Jenny Luthfrom Public Relations Associate to PublicRelations Senior Associate.

Traverse City – Mobile-shopping appOzmott announced the addition ofMidwest sporting goods retailer MCSports, with 74 stores nationwide, as thelatest member in their merchant lineup.

Boyne City – Charlevoix County is nowthe first “Connected” national certifiedcommunity under Connected Nation’sConnected Community EngagementProgram.

Grand Rapids – Steven Scharrer, gradu-ate student at University of Michigan,accepted a one-year Graphic DesignFellowship at Kantorwassink.

Grand Rapids – Service Express, Inc.hired Chad Botbyl, Purchasing Agent,along with Brittany Hageman, andKatie Spencer - Corporate Recruiters - tojoin their Grand Rapids team.

Grand Rapids – Gymco announced anew location opening in Northeast GrandRapids offering Discovery Preschool,Homeschool, Open Gym, Lunch Bunchprograms, and Birthday Parties.

Grand Rapids – A.K. Rikk’s, men’s andwomen’s luxury fashion, announcedgrand opening of its brand new storelocated at 6303 - 28th St., SE.

Holland – The Tulip Time Festivalannounced the addition of PhilNykamp, an Account Executive atLighthouse Group, as board memberwith more than 20 years experience inCommercial Insurance.

19Resort Completes Hotel Renovation

Acme - The 900-acre GrandTraverse Resort and Spa near TraverseCity, Mich. recently completed renovatingall guest rooms in its original six-storyHotel, and completed several multi-yearinfrastructure projects.

Hotel RenovationThe renovation of 237 guest rooms

in the Hotel included new carpet, bed-ding, furniture, 37-inch flat screen HDTVs, new telephones, iPod docking sta-tions, installation of digital in-roomHVAC controls, plus the addition of fire-suppression sprinklers in all guest roomsand service areas in the building, whichopened in 1980 before comprehensivesprinkler systems were required by localcodes. In addition, the 21,015-squarefoot roof of the Hotel was re-roofed in atwo-phase project with new flashinginstalled around the roof perimeter.

Multi-Year Infrastructure ProjectsGrand Traverse Resort and Spa

invested heavily in infrastructure andtechnology in several areas withupgrades that started in 2011 and werecompleted in 2012. The Resort’s mainparking lot for Tower and Hotel guestparking (432 parking spaces), and the

service vehicle parking lot, were com-pletely repaved with asphalt and newconcrete curbs, as well as updated trafficrouting and pedestrian sidewalks, land-scaping, and the addition of a lightedshuttle/bus stop pavilion. The parkinglot paving project was completed in twophases.

On the Resort’s iconic 17-storyTower, approximately 350 glass panelsthat make up the roof of AerieRestaurant & Lounge were resealed anda new gutter system was installed on theroof. Also, in-room technology in the186 Tower guest rooms was upgradedwith new telephones and flat-screenhigh definition TVs.

Other Infrastructure Projects Extensive technology and power

upgrades were also put in place. Overthree miles of new underground fiber-optic cable lines were installed by COLI,Inc. to the Clubhouse and to six condo-minium complexes connected by 26 opti-cal switches. Over 250 fusion spliceswere needed to complete the projectaround the property to expand band-width to improve high speed Wi-FiInternet access, and add 40 new access

points.Also, the Resort’s cable TV system

is being upgraded to allow guests to viewup to 65 high definition channels. Inaddition, Consumers Energy, one of twopower providers to the Resort, replacedthe over 30-year old main power cable tothe Hotel.

Other significant upgrades in 2011and 2012 include:• The addition of Dylan’s Candy Bar-Candy Café in the Gallery of Shops (acomplement Dylan’s Candy Bar whichopened in November 2010)• Renovation of the BusinessCenter/Cyber Café in partnership withNBS Commercial Interiors using a blendof contemporary furniture and designideas from Steelcase, Inc.• Purchase of new furniture for theGrand Lobby• Installation of a new permanent rest-room facility near the outdoor tenniscourts and Plaza• Purchase of two new Banquet Truckseach with a two-ton lift gate• Purchase of new 14-Passenger ShuttleBus and new 9-Passenger Shuttle Van • Miscellaneous Elevator Upgrades

• Purchase of miscellaneous new GolfCourse and Grounds maintenance equip-ment• Purchase of 32 sets of new Cobra golfclubs for rentals.• Purchase of miscellaneous new fur-nishings, fixtures, and equipmentthroughout the Resort.

About Grand Traverse Resort and SpaLocated along Lake Michigan’s

Grand Traverse Bay, the 900-acre prop-erty is “Michigan’s Premier ResortExperience” featuring nearly 600 rooms,suites and condominiums, full-servicespa, shopping gallery, diverse restau-rants and lounges, and year-round recre-ation.

86,500 square feet of meeting spacedistributed among 36 meeting rooms,plus outdoor venues, offers versatilityfor groups of 20 to 2000, and weddings.

The Resort boasts 54 holes of cham-pionship golf including The Bear - a JackNicklaus signature course, TheWolverine - a Gary Player signaturecourse, plus Spruce Run by WilliamNewcomb. The new Golf Academy fea-tures six-time Michigan Open ChampionScott Hebert.

General Business BriefsGrand Rapids – Cindy Locklin, Presidentof CEO of Busy Bea’s, a commercial jan-itorial service, announced they havebecome West Michigan’s first janitorialservice to use recycling services offeredby Organicycle - a local company special-

izing in compostable & organic wasteremoval to divert 90% of their wasteaway from landfills.

Ann Arbor – Northern United BrewingCompany (NUBC) will open a new

70,000-square-foot brewing facility inDexter. The move means that NUBC’s5600-square-foot facility on Old MissionPeninsula in Traverse City will be dedi-cated to production of Civilized Spiritsand North Peak’s Nomad Hard Cider.

NUBC also announced the hiring of TonyGrant as Chief Financial and ChiefOperating Officer.

Muskegon – Muskegon Brake & Tireadded a third auto service center to thefamily – Lakeside Service Center, locatedon M-104 in Spring Lake. Since 1966,Lakeside Service Center has offered acomplete line up of automotive service,repair and maintenance for imports,domestic and commercial vehicles. Theseservices will continue under new owner-ship of the Cutler Family – Bob and hiswife Jeanne, and their two sons, Andrewand Justin.

Grand Rapids – The Riverfront Hotelannounced hiring Bradi Mailand as newSales & Catering Manager with 4 yearsexperience in hospitality.

Grand Rapids – Lisa Perry was namedDivisional Development Director for theWestern Michigan Northern IndianaDivision of The Salvation Army. Forthe past 20 years, Lisa has worked invarious non-profit leadership roles.

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BC071213 Specialty BizUpdate F1.indd 1 8/16/12 11:11 AM