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2 SBA Licenses First Nationwide Impact Investment Fund

Washington, DC The U.S. Small Business Administration today licensed the first nationally-focused Impact Investment Fund, SJF Ventures III, LP. The fund will make equity investments in cleantech and technology companies in communities nationwide as part of an impact investment initiative to invest up to $1.5 billion in high-growth small businesses. SJF Ventures III, LP is yet another important new ally in SBAs commitment to foster small business growth and job creation in emerging sectors, said Administrator Karen Mills. Theyre an experienced team that is well-positioned to drive more investment in high growth, positive impact companies. We will continue to grow this and other public-private partnerships by licensing more funds and putting more capital in the hands of small business owners to grow and create good jobs. SJF Ventures invests growth equity in companies with strong financial, community and environmental results. SJFs areas of focus include: efficiency and infrastructure; reuse and recycling; sustainable agriculture and food safety; and technology enhanced services. The third fund managed by SJF Ventures will build upon a successful track record of returns and impacts across 34 SJF portfolio companies from its first two funds. Citi Community Capital (Citi), the community development lending and investing group of Citi, is the lead investor in SJF Ventures III, LP, an unleveraged Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) fund. The fund is committing up to $75 million of investment capital over the next five years. The impact investment initiative is part of Startup America, a White House initiative to bring together public and private organizations to accelerate the growth of Americas entrepreneurs. The initiative uses the infrastructure of the SBAs SBIC program, an established and successful program that operates at no cost to taxpayers. The SBIC program began in 1958 to supplement the flow of private equity capital and long-term loan funds to small businesses. In FY 2011, the SBIC program provided $2.8 billion of financing to 1,339 U.S. small businesses. The announcement follows on a July, 2011 SBA licensing of InvestMichigan! Mezzanine Fund whose investment targets a state or region, primarily Michigan, in SBAs new impact investment initiative. The impact investment initiative will drive up to $1.5 billion into the hands of small businesses over the next five years. It provides funding for highgrowth companies that will generate not only a financial but also a social return by focusing on businesses located in underserved communities or communities facing barriers to capital. Through the initiative SBA will commit $1 billion to investment funds focused on investing in underserved markets or in sectors that have been defined as national priorities. Impact investments can be: Place-based, targeting small businesses located in or employing residents of low or moderate income areas or economically distressed areas; or Sector-based, targeting industry sectors that the Administration has identified as national priorities. Currently only clean energy and education have been identified as priority sectors. To serve these markets SBA will collaborate with private, institutional investors to identify impact investments and provide expedited licensing and capital to fund managers who qualify to organize and operate an Impact Investment SBIC. SBA will provide up to a 2:1 match to private capital raised by these funds, partnering with private investors to target impact investments. Continued on page 3

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SBA Recognizes Outstanding Michigan Lenders

Detroit The U.S. Small Business Administrations Michigan District Office presented its fiscal 2011 lender awards at SBAs 2012 Small Business Lending Conference, Michigans premier lending event, held in Dearborn on March 15. Huntington National Bank was named Michigan Lender of the Year, SBAs award for the best overall performance. Huntington National Bank approved 612 SBA loans worth more than 128 million in fiscal 2011. This is the third year in a row that Huntington has one this prestigious award. Although it was difficult to select only one lender, Huntington National Bank did an excellent job of using our loan programs to help Michigan lead the country in 7(a) loans, and come in second in the country for all SBA loan programs, said Gerald Moore, SBA Michigan District Director. Huntington National Bank also received awards for being the SBAExpress and 504 Lender of the Year. Other award winners included: SBAExpress Lender of the Year Huntington National Bank Award for the lender which had the most SBAExpress loans. Huntington National Bank approved 519 SBAExpress loans. Huntington National Bank has won this award for the last three years. PLP Lenders of the Year Lake Michigan Financial The most loans approved by a preferred lender, which enjoy full delegation of lending authority. Of their SBA portfolio, 35% of the loans were approved using their PLP authority. Business Development Lender of the Year Capital Bancorp and Chemical Bank This year there is a tie for Business Development Lender of the Year. It is the award for the lender with the largest increase in loan approvals. In fiscal 2011 Capital Bancorp approved 45 loans for more than $20 million and Chemical Bank approved 61 loans for more than $22 million. Community Lender of the Year Traverse City State Bank Best overall performance among Michigan-based, non-PLP lenders. Criteria include total volume, new market activity, and comparison with historical performance. Traverse City State Bank approved 46 SBA loans for more than $ 13 million. 504 Lender of the Year Huntington National Bank In recognition of the best overall support of SBAs 504 loan program, Huntington supported 25 504 deals for over $14 million last year. Diversity Lender of the Year Chase Best overall performance in supporting new markets businesses (minorities, women, and veterans), was awarded to Chase for its percentage of SBA loans that went to new markets and its support for the full diversity of the population in fiscal 2011. This is the fourth year in a row that Chase has won this award. In fiscal 2011, the Michigan District Office guaranteed 2303 loans worth more than $798 million. Over the past four years SBA has provided guaranties on 7382 loans worth more than $2 billion to small businesses in Michigan. I want to thank all of SBAs participating lenders for their outstanding support of our loan programs, said Moore.

Impact Investment Fund

Continued from page 2 High-growth firms are a small part of the small business community, but they create a large number of net new jobs each year. The initiative will help high-growth companies receive the funding they need to continue to expand and create jobs in Americas underserved communities and priority sectors. For more information on the impact investment initiative please visit http://www.sba.gov/content/impactinvestment-initiative.

United Bank of Michigan: The key to 125 years of success

No business survives for 125 years let alone succeeds without an enduring commitment to the right things. For United Bank of Michigan, since its founding in 1887 serving the stage coach stop of Wayland, that has taken the form of a philosophy that builds success on strong communities and longterm customer relationships. One of the things I think successful community banks have to bear in mind is that our company can be no more prosperous than our community is, said Art Johnson, CEO of United Bank. So we have to be devoted not only to our individual customers, but to the community as a whole. We have to be the place that is at the forefront of thinking about the success of our communities. A popular understanding of community support is that it starts with monetary donations. United Bank is generous in that area, but Johnson believes that is not the whole idea or even the most important part of it. We have to make sure those institutions that are foundations of communities are successful, and that means not only writing a check once in awhile, but also being personally involved, Johnson said. Where most community organizations fail is not because of lack of money. Its because of lack of leadership or involvement. The communities were in are models of success. The banks involvement in community organizations, especially schools, is built on personal involvement. From United Bankers who teach Junior Achievement to others who volunteer for Teach Children to Save Day in local schools the personal commitment typically goes much farther than a check, although the checks can certainly help in the right situation. These principles have been part of United Bank from the beginning, and remained as the bank has evolved and grown. The bank was first chartered in 1903 as Wayland State Bank. The family that serves as the banks primary present-day owners first arrived in 1940, when Arthur H. Johnson (late father of the current CEO) became the banks cashier its day-to-day manager in those days. He would eventually ascend to the leadership of the bank. In the 1950s and 1960s, under Johnsons leadership, the bank expanded with the opening of several other community branches setting the stage for its current-day role serving a variety of West Michigan communities through local branches. While the banks emphasis was largely agricultural for most of its first century an emphasis that fit the communities it served that began to change dramatically in the 1980s. A crucial milestone in that transition was United Banks designation in 1987 as a lender with Preferred status by the Small Business Administration. As a result, United Bank was in a stronger position than ever to help facilitate the economic growth of the local communities it served. But just because the bank had money to lend, Johnson says, did not automatically make it stand out. We have to add value to any relationship we have, Johnson said. Otherwise, why would anybody care to choose us over someone else? Every dollar we lend has 100 cents in it, just

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like every dollar that everyone else lends. Our dollars cant be differentiated from anyone elses, but what can be is our attention to detail, the service, the time we will take to understand you and your business and your needs. Its the desire to help you become successful. Maintaining such a philosophy, Johnson said, is easier for a closely held community bank that is not under constant pressure from shareholders to hit certain targets every quarter. Absent that pressure, a community bank can focus more on building relationships with pay off over the long term. And with local decision-making, customers can be confident that they are being served by professionals who know them well and understand their needs. Even during the recent Great Recession, United Bank has fared well every year. Johnson attributes that success to a longstanding belief that no customer is expendable. That shows in the nature of United Banks personal service. One customer recently described it as the equivalent of concierge service in a banking environment the type that makes customers realize how valued they are. United Bank achieves that with an approach thats described as high-tech, high-touch. Customers get access to full online banking service, mobile applications and other features of the modern era. But there is still a human being who answers the phone, and there are still bankers who know the customers personally and understand their needs. Its not too different, really, from the early days servicing that burgeoning stagecoach stop. A bank thats committed to building the community will likely succeed, and grow with it. That can lead to a lot of years of success. Maybe even another 125.

5 MI Credit Unions Strong Performance in 2011 Points to Improving Economy

Lansing Strong improvement across several key industry indicators demonstrate that the states economy continues its turnaround, with Michigan credit unions providing solid support for local businesses and consumers, the Michigan Credit Union League said today as it announced year-end results for 2011. Credit unions continue to step up and support both small businesses and local families, as other institutions are stepping back, said David Adams, CEO of the Michigan Credit Union League & Affiliates. Michigan still has a long way to go to recover from the recession, but our credit unions are demonstrating that they can be counted on to support local economic growth and development as we begin to turn the corner. Newly released data shows Michigan credit unions total assets rose to an all-time high in 2011, reaching $41.9 billion on Dec. 31, an increase of $383 million for the quarter and $1.9 billion for the year. Overall deposits at Michigan credit unions rose by 4.8 percent in 2011. Deposits continued to grow faster than lending, and the industrys loan-to-share ratio declined to 64.33 percent, down from 67.26 in 2010. Total loans by year-end 2011 reached $23.2 billion, and finished the year with annual growth of 0.2 percent over 2010, recouping all the decrease in total loans occurring in the first quarter. For the quarter, consumer lending grew by $130 million for first home mortgages, $55 million for unsecured credit cards, and $100 million for used cars. Credit union member business loans increased by 21.7 percent in 2011, a rate which is more than three times higher than the annual increase for all U.S. credit unions. The data showing increased small business support from Michigans credit unions comes as bank lending remains sluggish, a trend dating back to the 2008 recession. According to the FDIC, U.S. banks small business lending continued to decline in the fourth quarter of 2011 with a year-over-year bank decline in small business loans of 4.3 percent in 2011. New bankruptcy filings dropped 24.3 percent in 2011, with Michigan credit unions reporting 13,613 members filing for bankruptcy. Furthermore, the percentage of loans charged off due to bankruptcy in 2011 fell to 29.19 percent, down from 31.22 percent in 2010, representing a 6.5 percent improvement. In the wake of significant growth in several key areas last year, Michigan credit unions begin 2012 in a very strong position. Credit union savings and lending are growing at healthy rates, and are showing some of the strongest results in several quarters. Credit union membership also rose to 4.47 million as of Dec. 31. These are all trends which demonstrate the industrys and the states resilience, Adams said. According to MCULs analysis, Michigan credit unions added 24,751 new members and 87,209 new checking accounts in the fourth quarter of 2011, the strongest fourth quarter growth in at the past several years, despite continued declines in the states population. In all of 2011, the states credit unions added 87,209 new checking accounts. Our membership growth shows that more families across our state and all over the nation are embracing what credit unions offer in the way of great rates and lower fees and as they continue to look for ways to stretch every dollar.

Finance/Insurance Briefs
Grand Rapids - Price Heneveld LLP announced the addition of Peter A. Cummings as an associate of the firm. Cummings is a registered patent attorney with over two years of experience protecting and enforcing all areas of intellectual property law in a general practice setting, where he also practiced corporate and environmental law. Grand Rapids John V. Byl, a partner with the law firm Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, has been recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of its 2012 Leaders in the Law. Grand Rapids - Miller Johnson shares the news with you that Chambers USA 2012 will recognize seven attorneys as Leaders in their Field: Jeffrey S. Ammon, Mary V. Bauman, Frank E. Berrodin, James C. Bruinsma, Peter J. Kok, Jon G. March, and Jon R. Muth. Grand Rapids The law firm of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP has elected three partners to serve on its Management Committee. Susan Gell Meyers and Stephen C. Waterbury will each serve three-year terms on the law firms 10member Management Committee. Jonathan P. Kok, who was completing a one-year term on the committee, was elected to serve a three-year term. Grand Rapids - Steve Hallead has joined Independent Banks treasury management group as a vice president. Hallead joined Independent Bank in 2001 and most recently served as a commercial lender. Grand Rapids Warner Norcross & Judd LLP has welcomed Brian P. Lennon as a new attorney. Lennon brings more than 17 years of experience with the federal and U.S. Marine Corps courts to his new role as senior counsel in the firms Criminal Defense Practice. Grand Rapids Lake Michigan Insurance Agency (LMIA) announced Ken Jansen, vice president of LMIA, will be serving on the Grand Rapids Home and Builders Association (HBA) Board of Directors. Grand Rapids For the 10th consecutive year, Warner Norcross & Judd LLP has been recognized as one of the leading law firms in Michigan by Chambers USA 2012. Additionally, 10 attorneys were recognized individually for their work. The 10 attorneys are: James H. Breay; Douglas A. Dozeman; Richard A. Kay; Anthony J. Kolenic ; Mary Jo Larson; John H. McKendry, Jr.; Robert H. Skilton III; George L. Whitfield; Lisa B. Zimmer; Stephen C. Waterbury. Grand Rapids Randall J. Groendyk has been appointed to the Retail Lending Committee of the Michigan Bankers Association. Groendyk will assist in analyzing pending legislation and provide appropriate direction to legislators and regulators. Committee members serve a three year term. Lansing - Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC welcomes back Frederick D. Dilley as a shareholder for the law firm's Grand Rapids office and a member of the General Litigation Practice Group. Grand Rapids - Todd Setchfield has joined Independent Banks mortgage lending team at the East Beltline office. He is a mortgage loan officer serving customers in Kent County. The office is located at 4200 East Beltline. Grand Rapids - Miller Johnson shares the news with you that Mary V. Bauman is named as one of the Fifty Most Influential Women in West Michigan based on professional achievements and community contributions.

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6 Finance/Insurance Briefs
Grand Rapids - Miller Johnson shares the news with you that Mark Pendery has joined the firms litigation and tax groups. Detroit Phillip D. Torrence, the office managing partner for Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP in Kalamazoo and chair of the firms Financial Institutions Practice, has been named by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of its 25 Leaders in the Law for 2012. Grand Rapids - Price Heneveld LLP announced the addition of Peter A. Cummings as an associate of the firm. Cummings is a registered patent attorney and in addition, he has prior engineering experience related to industrial manufacturing and electromechanical technologies. Richland - Gayle Jenkins joined Independent Bank as a mortgage originator at the Richland office. Jenkins is serving customers in Allegan, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo and Saint Joseph counties. Lansing - Ray H. Littleton, an associate at Foster Swift Collins & Smith P.C. has been appointed into the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly in the 6th Circuit. The Representative Assembly is the final policy-making body of the State Bar of Michigan. Grandville Berends Hendricks Stuit was recently honored by the Insurance Journal as the Best Agency to Work For in the Midwest. Unbeknownst to management, many BHS employees nominated the agency helping it earn this award. The employees mentioned their strong feeling of being valued within the organization as their primary reason for nomination. Grand Rapids Lake Michigan Credit Union announced the promotion of Matt Cook to branch manager at the Jenison branch location. Cook previously held the assistant branch manager position. Richland - A.J. Harma has joined Independent Banks mortgage lending team as Senior Mortgage Loan Officer at the Richland office. Lansing - Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC welcomes back Frederick D. Dilley as a shareholder for the law firm's Grand Rapids office and a member of the General Litigation Practice Group. Grand Rapids - Miller Johnson announces that Rachel J. Foster and Sara G. Lachman have been elected to Membership at Miller Johnson. Foster is in the business/corporate section and Lachman is in the litigation section. Grand Rapids Rodney D. Martin, the Diversity Partner with the law firm of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, was appointed to serve on the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. Detroit J. Patrick Lennon, a partner in Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLPs Real Estate Department, was elected chair of the Urban Land Institute-Michigan (ULI), Western Region. He was also appointed to the ULI-Michigan Executive Committee, which is comprised of leaders in the real estate profession throughout the state. Midland Chemical Bank celebrated its 95th Anniversary, and 95 years in providing individualized banking solutions, and personalized customer service. Holland - Macatawa Bank Corporation announced its Consent Order with regulators was terminated. Macatawa Bank entered into a Consent Order with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation. Macatawa agreed to the terms of the negotiated Consent Order without admitting or denying any charges of unsafe or unsound banking practices. The Consent Order imposed no fines or penalties on the Bank. Grand Rapids For the 10th year in a row, the law firm of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP has been named one of West Michigans 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For. Detroit J. Patrick Lennon, a partner in Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLPs Real Estate Department, was recently elected chair of the newly formed Urban Land Institute-Michigan (ULI), Western Region. He was also appointed to the ULI-Michigan Executive Committee, which is comprised of leaders in the real estate profession throughout the state. Grand Rapids For the seventh consecutive year, Plante Moran, PLLC has been named one of West Michigans 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For. Grand Rapids - Dennis Echelbarger, CPA, CFF, the founder and chairman of the board for the accounting firm Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm & Co., P.C. in Grand Rapids has been appointed by Governor Rick Snyder to serve on the Commission for Community Action and Economic Opportunity. Grand Rapids Selma Jakupovic has joined Lighthouse Group as a Personal Lines Insurance Agent. She is licensed in Property and Causality Insurance and brings with her over 10 years of experience. Anna Constant has joined Lighthouse Group as Marketing Coordinator. Katie Furman has joined Lighthouse group in their Muskegon, Michigan office as a Personal Lines Insurance Agent. Grand Rapids Peter DeBoer has joined Legacy Trust as an investment operations associate. DeBoer will work closely with the operations team and senior investment managers to support portfolio management, securities trading and client communication activities. Grand Rapids Jonathan P. Kok has been named chair of the Labor and Employment Group of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP. Kok, a partner with the firm, will lead the 20-member practice group.

Michigans Entrepreneurial Climate

Michigan - The Small Business Foundation of Michigans eighth annual Entrepreneurship Score Card finds that Michigan has dramatically improved in the measure called Entrepreneurial Climate, rising to 15th in the nation in 2011 compared to 45th in 2010. We are especially pleased to see this improvement in Entrepreneurial Climate, because its a key measure of Michigans gains in the general business, capital access and technology/innovation qualities of our economy, says Rob Fowler, president and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan. This is a strong indicator of healthier conditions for future small business and entrepreneurial activity. Other Score Card measurements show little dramatic change but rather a slow continuation of positive economic trends. Notably, Michigans five-year business survival rate, which had been underperforming since 2003, is now at the U.S. average. The Score Card finds that Michigans economic assets remain postsecondary education and a highly skilled workforce. Science, engineering and graduate program output remains healthy and technology competitiveness is an asset, giving the state above average performance in the Research & Innovation metric. On the downside, Michigan remains challenged by such trends as the cost of doing business and regulatory/legal measures (although there are select tax, fiscal and regulatory policies and outcomes upon which the state is now scoring higher.) Fortunately, these negatives are all areas where public policies are currently being focused (for example, business tax reform took effect on Jan. 1, 2012.) These public policy efforts are vitally needed to help overcome low performing trends like the fundamentals of K-12, infrastructure and quality of life, says Fowler. Michigan needs to continue its efforts to further accelerate entrepreneurial growth if we are to reach our goal of being counted among the top five friendliest states in the nation for small business and entrepreneurship.

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7 Authentication Issues in Healthcare

By: Scott Montgomery After conducting more than 700 IT Security Assessments for dozens of healthcare providers over the last few years I have gained some insight into common security issues within the healthcare environment. System authentication continues to remain a problem within the healthcare industry. The problem arises with assuring that individual systems are only accessible by authorized individuals. In addition, the ability to audit system access is a growing concern. Application level security, primarily the security to the organizations core medical systems, is generally good. My focus has been the authentication security for desktops, servers and network. Maintaining a high level of authentication control and auditability to these components are essential to assure good IT security and the protection of Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). To remedy this problem, many organizations have implemented authentication aids such as proximity readers, smart card readers and biometric devices. These components generally provide quick access to network based systems, however the implementations can be costly and difficult to integrate. Many of the organizations that I have worked with are using traditional system access methods, such as account names and unique passwords. Simple and trivial passwords remain a big security risk to many healthcare organizations. To compound the issue, many organizations continue to get pushback from healthcare professionals when requests to improve passwords are mandated. The question of how to balance authentication strength with end-user convenience is not a simple one to solve. Auditability also remains a concern. Although not an acceptable practice, there are still organizations that access ePHI using generic, shared accounts and passwords. If an organization cant assign a set of fingers that were used to type on the keyboard, it may have an auditability problem. To compound this problem, Ive experienced numerous occurrences where uniquely assigned access credentials become commonly shared. Continual audit reviews will identify these issues and allow management to gain valuable insight. The first step in solving these common problems is managements acceptance of and a desire to heighten overall system level security. The second step is to develop and implement an acceptable practice that includes password strength and auditability controls. The probability of acceptance with this practice will increase if the organization takes multiple, small steps over a period of time. Overall security will increase as each step is completed. It is also important to train endusers on the practices you wish to see implemented. Well informed users will generally accept new security measures when they understand the risks with the current environment. Some Keys for system security include: Dont allow passwords to be the same as the account name. Dont allow the organizations name or acronym to be used as a password. Discourage common, weak and trivial passwords such as password1, summer12, nurse, doctor, welcome, etc. Increase the minimum length of a password that can be used. A length of 7 characters or more is generally acceptable as a means to reduce security risks. Do not authorize the use of generic account names, or accounts/passwords to be shared by multiple users. Train the users of the importance of not sharing passwords with others or using another persons account to access a system. Regularly audit the controls you already have in place. Determine what audit information is available and assign a review task to be completed on a regular basis. Scott Montgomery is the Manager of the OST Security Practice. He comes has over 25 years of IT and IT Security related experience. Scott has a Degree in Computer Information Service from Ferris State University.

Health Care Briefs

Grand Rapids Saint Marys Health Care announced three new members of their board of trustees: Mary Ellen Sullivan is the founder and managing member of Med-Law Consulting Services. Juan R. Olivarez, Ph.D. is the recently installed seventh President of Aquinas College. Julie M. Ridenour is the Trust Business Development Officer of Founders Bank and Trust and Treasurer of East Grand Rapids Board of Education. Grand Rapids Gerontology Network has hired on Jennifer Feuerstein as Director of Marketing, Communications and Development as part of their longrange strategic plan to develop new programs and expand existing programs within West Michigan to serve older adults. Holland - Holland Hospital is offering PET/CT scans in partnership with Alliance HNI mobile imaging. The mobile PET/CT imaging services are provided at the Holland Hospital Medical Building in Zeeland once weekly. Woodbury, NY and Grand Rapids, MI Learn360Health, a division of Learn360 and healthcares first singlesource digital content provider of Patient Education, Relaxation, Entertainment and Pediatric K-12 Education Services announced that it has partnered with Optimal Solutions eVideon Healthcare to bring the Classroom to the Hospital bedside. The partnership will integrate Learn360s highquality education video content with the eVideon Healthcare interactive patient TV system. Kalamazoo Bronson Methodist Hospital announced their Bronsons Clinical Pastoral Education program is considered highly regarded as a training program for religious leaders that are interested in learning how to provide spiritual care in a healthcare setting. This is an accredited program that trains individuals from all religious communities. Brighton Ross Medical Education Center is now open for students to enroll in their Pharmacy Technician program that will be offered in addition to Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. This program is an expansion of the Allied Health School. Additional programs will also include Medical Assisting, Dental Assisting and Medical Insurance Billing, and Office Administration. Ann Arbor - Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. developer for multicellular therapies used to treat chronic cardiovascular diseases, began patient enrollment for the REVIVE Phase 3 clinical trial to observe the efficacy and safety of ixmyelocel-T in the treatment of patients with critical limb ischemia. Grand Rapids Hope Network announces the following staff promotions: Tamera Kiger has been promoted to Executive Director of Behavioral Health West Michigan. Jamie BraggLovejoy has been promoted to Executive Director of Behavioral Health East Michigan. Josh Hagedorn has been promoted to Director of Informatics.

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8 New Report Finds Greater Use of Genetic Testing

Washington, DC A new report by UnitedHealth Groups Center for Health Reform & Modernization finds that a majority of physicians are utilizing genetic testing. The report, titled Personalized Medicine: Trends and prospects for the new science of genetic testing and molecular diagnostics, presents new findings on how genetic tests can help diagnose disease, target prevention, and ensure that patients receive the medicines that will best treat their conditions. Genetic testing is currently available for about 2,500 conditions, including cancers and communicable diseases, and it is estimated to be growing by double digits annually. Full genome sequencing, which maps an individuals entire genetic code, is also expected to become widely available, possibly beginning as soon as later this year. Genetic science offers unprecedented potential to prevent disease and improve diagnosis and treatment, ushering in an era of truly personalized care, said Simon Stevens, executive vice president, UnitedHealth Group, and chairman of the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization. But for patients to realize these practical benefits, we will also need new models of research and care delivery combined with informed choice and appropriate consumer safeguards. The report sheds new light on three important questions: - What do U.S. doctors and patients think about genetic testing and molecular diagnostics? How are these tests currently being used, and how might their use grow? What practical action can be taken to ensure proper safeguards while accelerating progress for patients? Report Includes New Survey Results on Patient and Physician Views on Genetic Testing Most American consumers are optimistic about the potential benefits from advances in genetic testing, according to a national survey of U.S. adults conducted by UnitedHealth Group/Harris Interactive, included in the report. About three-quarters of survey respondents agree that genetic tests help doctors diagnose preventable conditions and offer more personalized treatment options. Most consumers expect that five years from now the use of testing will have increased. However, the coding system used across the country to monitor medical tests offers few codes to describe genetic tests for specific diseases. The survey also finds that a majority of U.S. doctors say that genetic testing will improve care across a range of health problems in the future, allowing for more personalized medical decisions and more targeted choice of therapy. On average, physicians report having recommended genetic testing for 4 percent of their patients over the past year. Looking ahead five years, physicians on average feel that 14 percent of their patients will have had a genetic test; however, nearly three-in-five doctors say that they are very concerned about the cost of genetic tests. The mapping of the human genome and use of genetic testing in diagnosing and treating diseases are landmark breakthroughs in modern medicine, said Reed Tuckson, M.D., chief of medical affairs at UnitedHealth Group, and former chair of the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretarys Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society. It is now up to all of us to foster an environment that encourages innovation in these tests and related treatments, as well as their responsible use, so as to bring about real-world improvements in care. New Data on Current Usage and Expected Trends The report contains new analyses of the experience of individuals covered by UnitedHealthcare that show the cost of genetic and molecular diagnostic testing for UnitedHealthcare health plan participants in 2010 was approximately $500 million. Per-person spending on genetic testing for UnitedHealthcares Medicare and Medicaid members was higher than for UnitedHealthcares employer-sponsored and individually insured population by 16 percent and 24 percent, respectively. Extrapolating from these data, the report suggests that national spending on these services in 2010 may have reached around $5 billion. Looking forward, the report contains projections on how this spending may grow in the coming decade, potentially reaching between $15 billion and $25 billion annually in the United States by 2021. New Recommendations to Ensure Patients Benefit from Scientific Advances The report offers six recommendations to help ensure patients benefit from the new science. These include: protecting and supporting patients, through data confidentiality, nondiscrimination safeguards and decision support; strengthening clinical evidence to inform patients and their physicians about which tests work best, for specific conditions; better aligned reimbursement incentives to encourage innovation and appropriateness in test development and usage; improved care monitoring and more transparent test coding practices; ensuring lab tests are performed safely and accurately; and making it easier for health professionals to stay abreast of new developments in genetic science. Advancing genetic testing is one of the greatest contributions we can make to the future of personalized medicine. Doing it conscientiously requires taking a close look at the challenges ahead with a focus on bringing to consumers the full benefits that this new technology promises, said Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. I commend the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization for taking this initiative.

General Business
Grand Rapids The community built on entrepreneurship will host the national organization dedicated to teaching entrepreneurship to tomorrows leaders. Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes announced that Grand Rapids will host the JA 2012 National Leadership Conference on July 16-19, 2012 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and DeVos Convention Center. The fourday conference will host 400 JA staff members and other attendees and consists of three themed days focusing on leadership, innovation and impact. Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids-based art and disabilities non-profit VSA, changed the name of their organization to Artists Creating Together. The change is a recommitment of the organizations staff, volunteers and board members to focus energy on the West Michigan community. Southfield - Center for Business Innovations (CBI) Southfield office has moved from their previous location on Hilltop Street. CBIs new Southfield address is 29425 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 100 Southfield, MI 48034.

9 Re-developing Brownfield Legislation and Incentives

By: Jeremy Martin Michigans construction and redevelopment industries, like most other capital intensive lines of work rely to some degree on government incentives and legislation to help large projects get off the ground. In the case of Brownfield developments the way legislation and the appropriation of incentives are used is changing, both of which could potentially alter the construction and re-development fields drastically. Thomas Wackerman, the director of the Brownfield Restoration Group at ASTI Environmental explains that The new incentives are more focused and smaller. As a result, their impact on overall economic development will be less than what was anticipated under old programs that they replaced. Wackerman does suggest that some, primarily smaller developments will benefit from the changes, while larger industrial re-developments will most likely find it more difficult to survive in the new environment. The incentives will help some developments and hurt others. My perspective is that the developments that will be helped will be smaller, urban, mixed-use, rehab projects in areas that are very difficult to redevelop. With the small pool of money, and this urban mixed-use focus, the larger projects will probably not get the funding they need, which will, or course, hurt them by making it more difficult to develop, Wackerman said. When referring to the small pool of money, Wackeman references a decrease in government funded incentives for the coming business year. This past December Governor Synder signed into a law a five bill package which allocates $100 million in incentives for what have been deemed highly competitive projects. The moneys allocated however are only about 20% of the funds previously given on a yearly basis for construction and re-development projects, including those deemed as brownfield. According to epa.gov brownfield properties are project sites which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Needless to say, a brownfield site constitutes not only potentially more risk for the worker and eventual owner of the property but also inherently is more expensive to re-develop. The problem, which was originally addressed when Brownfield legislation began, is that the properties that need the most help are Brownfields. On these properties there is an additional cost to development that makes them unattractive, especially when compared to greenfields and grayfields, Wackerman said. Wackerman explains that the new incentives are targeted towards the smaller, urban based projects that dont possess the brownfield stigma, and are therefore cheaper and quicker to develop. They will not generally help those Brownfield properties that need it most, Wackerman said. My calculation is that it is only 10 percent of the needed funds. The rest is going to have to come from the developers, investors, or from complex, multi-layered financing. More realistically, it means that some projects will not be done until the economy changes. An argument has been made that the new legislation will create a hurdle in job creation making it tougher for the industry to create enough work for those who are currently unemployed. Wackerman on the other hand argues that incentive and legislation alone do little to create jobs anyway, so any changes to the structure would have a minimal impact on the states unemployment rate one way or the other. We cannot incentivize our way to jobs. To me, incentives imply unsustainability, Wackerman said. Jobs must come from business reinvestment in market areas that have good fundamentals. Businesses will invest in states that provide them with advantages, and those advantages include many, many items that are not incentives; trained workers, quality of life, cost of doing business, social equity, psychological return on investment, etc. All in all however, Wackerman believes that despite new legislation and fewer monetary incentives the industry will continue to move forward. We had real estate development in this state before the incentives, and we had real estate development in this state during the incentives that didn't use incentives. While the lost incentives will affect projects, a great project is still a great project, Wackerman said.

Construction Briefs
Lansing - John Clark, Board Chairman of Clark Construction, was selected to receive Michigan State Universitys 2012 Outstanding Alumnus award from the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Alumni Association. Grand Rapids - Baker-Wierenga, LLC, anounced the lease of 5,000 SF industrial space to the HelloLife. HelloLife will use the space to increase their output of production. Holland - Jill Smalldon was promoted to Marketing Representative for Lighthouse Title Group in its Holland location. Smalldon has both title and real estate experience and ties to the Holland community. Holland - Elzinga & Volkers hired Larry Wolters as a Field Manager. Wolters is responsible for scheduling, ordering, field supervision, quality control and production of all phases of construction. Grandville - JDH Engineering, Inc. announced Tim DenHartigh has joined their team as a Structural Engineer. Bringing 13 years of engineering experience with him. Grand Rapids - First Companies announced the Office Lease of 7,500 SF to tenant, Crisis Care Network, Inc. for landlord, Core Realty for an insurancecompany looking to continue expansion in West Michigan.

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10 New Construction For Inpatient Services

Grand Rapids Its the first new clinical construction in more than eight years. Construction on the Pine Rest main campus in Cutlerville started in January 2012 and will be completed by September 2012. The adult inpatient unit will become a new wing of the Van Andel Center hospital building at 300 68th Street. Located between the adult south and adult east inpatient units, the new wing will measure 20,417 square feet and includes 22 inpatient beds: four single barrier-free rooms, six single rooms and six semiprivate rooms. It will be dedicated to the treatment and care of patients with co-occurring disorders, making it one of only a couple of specialty treatment units in the country. Pine Rest has seen an increase in the incidence of co-occurring, substance abuse and mental illness, disorders in our current patients across our adult units. The new inpatient unit allows Pine Rest to further its model of care by creating a comfortable, state of the art, safe and therapeutic environment for patients under the duress of mental illness and substance abuse. Investments in new technology for mobile computers and phones allows staff members to be more integrated with patients and give them more efficient tools to do their job. This will be one of only a few units in the country focused on specialty-level treatment of co-occurring disorders. The completed 22-bed facility in the Van Andel Center will first be used as a staging unit during the 12-month construction and renovation of the Mulder Center units. This provides a strategic opportunity to expand the Pine Rest healing ministry without taking any patient beds off-line or displacing current staff in the process. The Mulder Center will undergo major construction. The Van Andel Cook Center for Dementia and Geriatric Behavioral Health, which will house the Older Adult 26-bed inpatient unit, and the Mulder West 22-bed inpatient unit will both be rebuilt. Once the Mulder Center units are completed, the Van Andel Center unit will open to co-occurring disorders patients in January 2014.

Construction Briefs
Muskegon - D L Morse and Associates, Inc. has promoted both Adam Morse and Nick Cadarette to Assistant Project Managers. They also welcome Kyle Siegert as Project Manager, Steven Moore as Superintendent and Jeff LeMieux and Tim Bonter as Team Leaders. D L Morse and Associates, Inc. has been providing General Contracting services nationally for over 35 years. Lansing - Clark Construction announces the hiring: Josh Pettijohn will serve as a Project Superintendent. He will initially begin at the Beaumont Hospital 7th Floor West Bed Tower renovations in Troy; Andy Richter has been hired as a Project Engineer by Clark Construction and will initially work on the St. Johns Public Schools 2010 Bond Program. Grand Rapids - Reverend John and Linda Grier announced construction on Delaware Manor. Delaware Manor currently houses 47 units, providing residents with a cafeteria, computer center, community gathering spaces, and an onsite service coordinator. The expansion includes the addition of 36 units to the senior community. Contractor Wolverine Building Group and architectural firm DTS Winkelmann lead the construction adjacent to the existing development. After planning and seeking assistance, the project received a fully-funded grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Grand Rapids/Lansing/Kalamazoo/Farmington Hills & Cincinnati, OH - The Board of Directors of Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber, Inc. announced the promotions of Kerri A. Miller, P.E., LEED AP BD+C and Kamran Qadeer, P.E. to Senior Associate and Vice President and the promotions of Anthony R. Kuhtz, P.E., LEED AP, Stephen J. MacDonald, P.E., and Timothy Platz, P.S. to Associate. Senior Associate and Associate are key management and leadership positions. Grand Rapids - C. D. Barnes Associates, Inc. was awarded the construction of the Houlihans Restaurant. The single-story restaurant features indoor and outdoor eating areas. Houlihans is a modern restaurant with an open kitchen design and prominent bar. Lansing - American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan awarded the following firms for engineering excellence: Soil & Materials Engineers; Ruby & Associates; Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber; Ghafari; NTH Consultants; Spicer Group; HNTB; Mannik&Smith Group; Abonmarche; Wightman & Associates; Prein&Newhof; NTH Consultant; HNTB; Johnson&Anderson; C2AE; in addition the Vernon B. Spalding Leadership Award was presented to David R. Matthews, PE, to honor outstanding leadership in community organizations. Kalamazoo - Signature Associates has negotiated: the lease of 10,524 square feet of industrial space located at 4570 Commercial Avenue, Portage for the landlord, IPTV-B-C31, and the tenant, US Xchange, LLC. the lease of 18,343 square feet of industrial space located at 4570 Commercial Avenue, Portage for the landlord, IPTV-B-C31, and the tenant, Lewis Paper International. the lease of 1,029 square feet of office space located at 77 Monroe Center, Grand Rapids for the tenant, State Farm Insurance. the lease of 3,100 square feet of office space located at 345 Fuller Avenue, Grand Rapids for the landlord, Four Jays Property, LLC, and the tenant, Michigan Democratic State Central Committee. the lease of 1,560 square feet of retail space located at 1144-1146 Wealthy Street, Grand Rapids for the landlord, Marogil Family, LLC, and the tenant, One Girls Treasure.

11 Changing the Way We Power Our Lives

By Daniel Schoonmaker Imagine a future in which we are able to adjust the heating and cooling of our home from the Internet. Or monitor how much electricity our homes and appliances are using in real time. And when we have to drive, its in vehicles powered by electricity generated through cost effective, abundant, environmentally responsible technology. If you would prefer that the cars also fly or that the appliances have arms, legs and odd accents, then youre imagining a fairly distant future. But everything else might be just around the corner. Some Michigan residents already have the ability to talk to their appliances about how much they cost during use, and how much energy they are consuming or CO2 they are generating at any moment. In Grand Rapids, Consumers Energy recently concluded a SmartStreet pilot program that introduced these concepts to the East Hills neighborhood. The utility installed smart meters at approximately 60 neighborhood homes and businesses, allowing participants to view their real time energy usage through web portals and home energy display units. People could literally see their electric usage rising and falling depending on how much electricity they used. This type of feedback is critical in discussions of energy efficiency and conservation. People behave differently when they are able to see the real costs of their activities or purchases. Its a bit like the difference between paying for everything in cash and paying a credit card bill at the end of the month. When you start seeing immediate spikes in energy usage associated with your activities, you start questioning whether its something you have to do. When you see the immediate cost of running the dishwasher, for instance, there is additional incentive to wait until the dishwasher has a full load before running it. A smarter electric grid can instantly detect when the power shuts off, and if not address the issue automatically, at the very least improve recovery time substantially. We will no longer have to rely on utility employees to manually read meters. And it will allow us to use and generate power more efficiently through peak loading strategies: There are certain seasons and times of day we use more and less power. Some power plants exist only to run during these peak times, maybe only a few weeks each year. With a smarter grid, we can reduce or eliminate these peaks, perhaps simply by providing consumers incentives to use appliances during different certain parts of the day, such as running the dishwasher at night. Renewable energy also has its peaks and valleysthe wind isnt always blowing and the sun isnt always shining. One possible solution to the peak loading issues might be for everyone to start driving electric cars, which can serve as both batteries and generators. Citizens can charge vehicles overnight when energy is cheap and abundant, drive to work or school and then plug in. When demand reaches its peak, parked cars could serve as a back up to the grid. Parking lots are ideal places to install small scale renewable energy generation and could supplement vehicle charging. So heres a future in which we could substantially reduce our use of energy in general and costly fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline. Practically everything is cleaner, cheaper, more environmentally friendly and well, smarter. Certain local businesses are already experiencing some of these benefits, if youre not one of them, you should contact your utility to discuss what programs they might have available for you. Daniel Schoonmaker is the Member Services Director for the West Michigan Environmental Action Council, West Michigan's preeminent resource for environmental education and advocacy since 1968. Learn more at wmeac.org.

Estimate Value of Green Infrastructure

West Michigan - The West Michigan Strategic Alliance (WMSA) was awarded a grant from the Meijer Corporation in order to improve their Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Service Tools (INVEST) and to demonstrate their capabilities using the Owasippe Reservation (located in Blue Lake Township) as a trial run. WMSA and Grand Valley State University (GVSU) have teamed up to work on developing and ecosystem calculator whose purpose will be to estimate the environmentally friendly value a parcel has under varying conditions. The ecosystem calculator is set to be part of the online tool INVEST, that will put a dollar value on ecosystem services. WMSA developed INVEST alongside GVSU as part of their Green Infrastructure Initiative in 2007. Once the green project is completed and online, the ecosystem calculator will help users adapt their own ecosystem system inputs for both actual and prospective uses of parcels. It is estimated that if Owasippe was protected with stable conservation methods that the value of its parcel would increase from an estimated $600,000 to approximately $970,000. To learn more about green infrastructure in West Michigan you can visit WMSAs website: www.wm-alliance.org.

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12 Michigans Top Engineering and Surveying Projects

Lansing The American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan (ACEC/M) honored 13 firms for engineering and surveying excellence during the associations annual awards ceremony. Since 1965, firms have competed to receive ACEC/Ms top honor the prestigious Eminent Conceptor Award. This years engineering Eminent Conceptor winner was Ruby+Associates, Farmington Hills, for the Conversion of the Ottawa Street Power Station Project in Lansing, MI. The project converted an abandoned vintage power station into the corporate headquarters for Accident Fund Holdings, Inc. in downtown Lansing. The project involved building a nine-story steel-framed office building inside of an existing masonry structure, while preserving and supporting the historic brick. This project is the largest power station conversion in the United States. The surveying Eminent Conceptor winner was Wightman & Associates, Inc., Benton Harbor, for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi 2011 inventory project. This surveying project involved the creation of a Geographic Information System(GIS) to inventory their road system. The result was nearly doubling the existing inventory and obtaining 25% additional road funding. Seven firms were honored with the Honorable Conceptor Award, the secondhighest award of achievement: Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber for the Coldwater WWTP Improvements, (Coldwater, MI) and the GVSU Storm Water Wetland Complex (Allendale, MI); Ghafari for the Lithium Ion Battery Manufacturing Facility project (Holland, MI); NTH Consultants for the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority Public Dock and Terminal (Detroit, MI); Spicer Group for the Lake Shore Drain #285 project (Chikaming/New Buffalo Twps.); HNTB for the Michigan State Rail Plan (statewide); and a surveying award to Abonmarche for the Woodside Cemetery project (Gun Plain Twp., MI). Engineering Merit Awards were presented to: The Mannik & Smith Group for the Frenchtown Township Seawall Rehabilitation Project (Monroe, MI); Abonmarche for Harbor Shores Development (Benton Harbor, MI); Wightman & Associates, Inc. for the Hickory Creek Interceptor Rehabilitation (Lincoln/St. Joseph Counties); Prein&Newhof for the M-57 Pedestrian Tunnel (Greenville, MI); NTH Consultants for the Oakland Macomb Interceptor Drain Repair Program (Sterling Heights and Warren, MI): HNTB for the MDOT Design-BuildFinance Delivery System (Capac and Flint, MI); Johnson&Anderson for the Village of Sparta Iron/Manganese Filtration (Village of Sparta, MI), and a surveying merit award to C2AE for the Bath Township Life Station Force Main Extension (Bath, MI). The Judges Choice Award for Board Design was given to Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber for the project board designed to tell the story of the GVSU Storm Water Wetland Complex project in Allendale, MI. This years ACEC Vernon B. Spalding Leadership Award was presented to David R. Matthews, PE, former Senior Vice President of McNamee, Porter & Seeley, Inc. (now Tetra Tech) and President of Professional Management Solutions LCC, to honor his outstanding leadership roles in ACEC and community organizations. Lansing The American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan (ACEC/M) recently presented the 2012 FIRM OF THE YEAR award, its highest firm honor, to Soil and Materials Engineers (SME), headquartered in Plymouth, MI. This is the only award program instituted to recognize ACEC/M member firms for their leadership in professional and community service. Recognition is based on actions taken by a member firm to progressively develop its management practices and for assuming leadership roles in community outreach activities and ACEC/M programs that strengthen the profession for all ACEC/M members.

General Business
St. Joseph - Williamson Employment Services, Inc., celebrating its 20th anniversary, with new owners, Judee and Jeff Hopwood, daughter and sonin-law of Williamson Employment Founder Margaret Williamson. Ann Arbor - The Betty Brigade, a fullservice concierge company based in Ann Arbor, is expanding its Lansing services to include contracting with large employers, such as Michigan State University. Peshawbestown - Grand Traverse Resort & Casinos announced that Timothy Norman will be the new General Manager of Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme. Normans experience in hotels and resorts spans over 20 years. Grand Rapids Denise R. Kolesar, president and owner of Kohler Expos, Inc., was recognized by The Grand Rapids Business Journal as one of the Most Influential Women in West Michigan. Grand Rapids - Harvey Schaefer was hired as Associate Copywriter at Kantorwassink. Schaefer's work has received ADDY Awards, Higher Education Marketing Awards and has been recognized in Print Magazine. Schaefer is a product of West Michigan and a recent graduate of Colorado College. Grand Rapids - Alexander Marketing has named Chris Ehrlich its Director of Public Relations and Social Media. Ehrlich will direct the strategy and implementation of PR and social engagement programs for both owned and earned media channels. Rockford The Wolverine Company Store opened just last September in downtown Grand Rapids is already being recognized as a Top Retail Store Design by Chain Store Age magazine in the Up to 5,000 Square Feet category. Additionally, the concept was awarded a Gold ADDY by the American Advertising Federation of West Michigan and recently received a design award from the Association of Retail Environments. Grand Rapids - Modern RV center of Grand Rapids has announced that Kyle Reurink has completed the Dometic Corporation product training seminar on Air Conditioners, Refrigerators and awnings and has received a Certificate of Completion from the Dometic Corporation. Dowagiac - Pokagon Band Chairman Matthew Wesaw has been selected by the Native American Financial Officers Association to receive the Tribal Leader of the Year Award. Out of more than 550 tribes in the United states.

Construction Briefs
Washington, DC Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced Wolverine Building Groups work of the Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital has earned them a Pyramid Award, a category of ABCs Excellence in Construction Awards. Grand Rapids First Companies, Inc. and Colliers International negotiated the lease of 7600 SF industrial space to the tenant DMR Transportation, LLC for the landlord Core Realty Holdings Management, LLC. West Michigan - Signature Associates negotiated the lease of: 6,300 square feet industrial space located in Muskegon to CMN Enterprises, LLC for the landlord, J. Crew Partnership; the long term lease of 3,175 square feet office space located in Portage for the tenant, Farmers Insurance. Grand Rapids - Signature Associates has negotiated: the sale of 29,245 square feet of office space located at 1 Ionia Avenue SW, Grand Rapids for the seller Bernard Ainslie, LLC and the buyer, Ionia Ventures, LLC. the lease of 1,214 square feet of office space located at 2922 Fuller Avenue NE, Grand Rapids to Real Life Living Services for the landlord, Northtown Center, Inc. the sale of 6,380 square feet of office space located at 123 S. Westnedge Avenue, Kalamazoo for the seller, Bowser, Moser & Gemrich and the buyer, Munzer Abdulhak, MD an Ophthalmologist, Cornea Specialist offering suture-less cataract surgery, cornea transplant, macular degeneration, and retina procedures.

13 The West Michigan Metal Finishing Industry

By: Jeremy Martin Since the first settlers arrived in West Michigan in the early 1800s, the area has been known around the Midwest as a productive and industrious region. Originally a highly productive agricultural center of the Great Lakes basin, the area soon gave way to logging, manufacturing, education and healthcare. Despite the constantly re-inventing itself, West Michigan continues to be a hard working and productive area of the country. Known for a time as the furniture capital of the United States, the area has also created well known musical instruments, carriages and automobiles. And though the auto industry has begun to lose its grip on the state, West Michigan none the less continues to provide it with expertise, parts and service that are unmatched in quality. One area of the auto industry where West Michigan continues to excel is the metal finishing sector. Though not all finishers work exclusively with cars and trucks, the industry as a whole is relied on to deliver constant, high quality products to the States automobile manufactures and beyond. Below are capsulated biographies of many of West Michigans metal finishers. Metal Finishing Technology 2652 Hoyt Street Muskegon MI 49444 231-733-9736 mft2652@yahoo.com Company History: David and Dianne Bernd bought the company in 2001. Target Market: Metal Finishing Technology works primarily with tool and die and machine shops. Whats New: 2010 saw a building expansion. Moving Forward: Future product expansion is a possibility. Magnum Powder Coating 5500 West River Dr NE Grand Rapids MI 49321 616-785-3155 www.magnumpowdercoating.com Company History: Steve Couturier Created Magnum Powder Coating in 1992 in his garage. Now owned by Nancy Couturier and operating from a 12,000 square foot facility in Comstock Park, MPC specializes in both high volume production coating and custom/residential coating. Target Market: Metal or aluminum fabricators, often focusing on outdoor railings, staircases and furniture. Whats New: added 3,000 square feet to facility in 2008 and now in the process of adding 6,000 more feet to building. Meeting with township to finalize construction which should be completed by August. Moving Forward: As Mangum is at capacity customer wise, the company will be looking to better serve its current customer base in a more effeciant way. Beyond its final building expansion, Magnum does not intend to grow the business any larger at this time. Expert Coatings 2855 Martin Court NW Grand Rapids MI 49544 616-453-8261 www.expertcoating.net Company History: Privately held since its formation in 1951 on the west side of Grand Rapids. Services the auto and home industry by functioning as a coater for some of Michigans largest plating companies and has done so from the citys west side since its move in 1974. Target Market: Expert Coatings serves platers, painters and powder coaters who work within the automobile and housing hardware industry. Moving Forward: Expert Coatings will look to continue serving its current customers as it seeks to keep a foot hold in the industry. Master Finish 245-1228 2020 Nelson S.E. P.O Box 7505 Grand Rapids, MI 49510 www.masterfinishco.com Company History: Independently owned member of the Grand Rapids community since1959. Target Market: US and Canadian OEM manufacturers of steel, brass, zinc die-cast, and stainless steel parts for the automotive, appliance, plumbing, and hardware industries. Whats New: Master Finishing Co. is now an authorized chrome plating applicator for MacDermid Fashion Finishes. The companys Rack plating line has recently been upgraded with new computer programmable hoists allowing for tighter process control and reduced scrap.

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14 Industrial Briefs
Rockford - Wolverine Worldwide has been named one of the "Best Companies for Leaders," according to an independent study conducted by Chief Executive magazine and management consulting firm Chally Group Worldwide. Wolverine Worldwide ranked 27th among 40 other global companies, several of which are members of the Fortune 50. Grand Rapids - Arden Swisher, Jr. of Vans Delivery Service Inc. Named MTAs Driver of the Year. Arden has worked for Vans Delivery Service, Inc. for over 13 years with 1.5 million safe driving miles. He has been a professional truck driver for 32 years, covering more than 3.5 million miles and earning numerous safety awards and certificates along the way. Grand Rapids - Walker Custom Sheet Metal, a company who specializes in custom sheet metal fabrications from hoppers and carts to industrial platforms and tanks, received national certification as a Womens Business Enterprise by the Women Business Enterprise Council Great Lakes, a regional certifying partner of the Womens Business Enterprise National Council. Walker Custom Sheet Metal is 100% women-owned. Grand Rapids - Valley City Linen, announced the expantion of its Culinary Arts Scholarship Program now awarding $3000 in scholarships to students enrolled in the Culinary Arts Programs at: Baker College; Grand Rapids Community College; Henry Ford Community College; Ferris State University. Lansing - Randolph Kremm, Service Manager with Super Service, LLC sas named Michigan's 2012 Maintenance Man of the Year. Kremm has been with Super Service (formerly Gainey Transportation) for 15 years and was selected from a panel of 12 finalists. Lansing - Michelle LaVon-Paddock with Northfield Trucking Company, was named Michigan's 2012 Safety Professional of the Year. LaVon-Paddock has been Safety Director with Northfield Trucking for the past six years. Lansing - Arden Swisher, Jr., professional truck driver for Van's Delivery Service, Inc. was named Michigan's 2012 Truck Driver of the Year, Michigan Trucking Association's (MTA) top driving award. Grand Rapids - Gerald R. Ford International Airport Board announced the partnership between parking vendor Standard Parking and auto detailing service Crystal Clean for the Fly n Shine Detail Service. This service allows valet customers to choose to have their car detailed while they travel. Customers simply add the auto detailing charges to their parking fee. Grand Rapids The Right Place, in collaboration with The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Cascade Charter Township, announced the approval of a $350,000 Michigan Business Development Program incentive from the Michigan Strategic Fund that will enable Lacks to move forward on a $31.9 million expansion that could generate 120 new jobs for the area. Allegan - Perrigo announced that John Halford has been promoted to Director of Global Indirect Procurement. In this position, Halford will be responsible for expanding strategic, global purchasing practices while reviewing and consolidating purchasing in the US. He will also be working to develop purchasing policy for future Perrigo locations. Allegan - Perrigo announced that Susan Dalton-Akers has been hired as Senior Operations Financial Analyst for the Cost Accounting team. Dalton-Akers is responsible for providing leadership and coordination of financial planning, budgeting and forecasting for the companys tablet production. Wyoming The Wyoming City Council approved a 12-year tax abatement request for Michigan Turkey Producers during its March 19 meeting. The Hall Street location is slated to receive a personal property investment of $2.3 million and is estimated to add 25 new jobs. The Chicago Drive location is scheduled to receive a personal property investment of $1.44 million and a real property investment of $9.2 million, as well as add 10 new jobs. Dearborn, Pleasanat Lake - The SME Education Foundation has provided a $25,000 grant to the Shop Rat Foundation for the development and implementation of a Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education in Jackson County, with companion programs to be added to the Jackson County Community College campus.

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15 Industrial Briefs
Washington, DC - The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. recently named the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor a recipient of the prestigious Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award for the 2011 navigation season. This annual award is presented to U.S. Great Lakes ports that register an increase in international cargo tonnage shipped through the Seaway during the previous navigation season. The port has earned this award nine times, previously winning in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2010. Wakaruas, IN Utilimaster Corporation, a subsidiary of Spartan Motors, Inc. announced that it has partnered with Bi-Phase Technologies, LLC to sell and market propane conversions for Isuzu N-Series gasoline vehicles. Additionally, Utilimaster Corporation announced that it has partnered with Smith Electric Vehicles Corp. to produce and market the all-electric zeroemission Newton Step Van. Grand Rapids - Steelcase Inc. was recognized as one of FORTUNE magazine's 2012 "Most Admired Companies" in the Home Equipment, Furnishings industry sector. Steelcase has also received recognition in the following categories: Information Week 500 for technology innovation; American Society for Training and Development's BEST Awards for employee development; Inforum Board Access Award for women in leadership; iF Design Awards for product design and innovation. Allegan - Perrigo announced that Janna Muller was promoted as Lead Operations Supervisor of the companys Michigan Plant manufacturing facility. Muller is responsible for supervising manufacturing operations and ensuring efficient tablet production practices. In addition, Rebecca Pearson was promoted as Dispensing Manager for operations in the companys manufacturing facilities. Pearson is responsible managing the dispensing process at Plant 4 and Plant 5 in Allegan. Holland Chef Container, LLC announces a new agreement for the collection of single stream recycling with Fruitland Township & Dalton Township in Muskegon County. Each township received two large (8W x 24 L) recycling containers on Monday to kick off a new Single Stream residential drop off program at their transfer stations. Grand Rapids WaterSolve, LLC has been recognized as one of the 2012 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch, an awards program sponsored by the Edward Lowe Foundation and presented by Michigan Celebrates Small Business. WaterSolve LLC provides a full service solution in dewatering operations by combining highly technical environmental remediation treatment products and services for customized client solutions.

The West Michigan Metal Finishing Industry

Pro Finish Powder Coating 616-245-7550 1000 Ken-o-sha Industrial Dr. SE Grand Rapids, MI 49508 Pro-finish.net 616-292-7460 Company History: Pro Finish boasts over 25 years experience serving West Michigan. With expertise in: custom applications, tool design, assembly, packaging and more Pro Finish is nearly a one stop shop when it comes to your metal finishing needs. Target Market: The automotive industry and as well as individuals seeking custom work. Whats new: A recently built 18,000 square foot facility offers Pro Finish the option of working on a conveyorized line or assembling products manually in small batches. Moving Forward: Pro Finish seeks continued growth within the West Michigan market. Dyna Plate 616-452-6763 344 Mart SW Wyoming, MI 49548 Dynaplate.com Company History: In Business for nearly a quarter of a century, Dyna-Plate is now an automated zinc barrel plating company. Operating from a 40,000 square foot facility in Wyoming, MI, Dyna-Plate produces three state of the art plating lines by Jessup Engineering, and features an on-site wastewater treatment system. Target Market: Dyna Plate focuses its attention primarily on the automotive and hardware industries Whats New: Recently activated onsite waste water treatment facility complies with all local, state and federal policies and regulations. Moving Forward: Dyna Plate looks to continue supplying its customer base with exceptional, defect free plating that meets or exceeds expectations.

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16 Education Briefs
Big Rapids Ferris State Universitys Sandra Burns, an associate professor of Dental Hygiene in the College of Allied Health Sciences, has been honored for her dedication to service learning by the Michigan Campus Compact. Burns, a member of the Ferris Academic Service Learning Steering Committee, was recognized for her contributions to service learning at the university. Kalamazoo - William D. Johnston of Portage, and Jeanne Carlson of Novi, have been elected to serve for 2012 as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees. Johnston is president and chairman of Greenleaf Companies. Carlson is retired from the post of president and chief executive officer of Blue Care Network of Michigan. Kalamazoo - Western Michigan University students won over $30,000 in micro grants and awards in the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge, a competition that provides student teams interested in clean energy entrepreneurship, education, mentorship and resources needed to accelerate their ideas. In addition to gaining experience, connections and feedback, participants compete for micro grants and other prizes totaling more than $100,000. Grand Rapids Davenport University announced plans for a new athletic complex to be developed on 17 acres donated by the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies. The complex will include baseball and softball stadiums, tennis facilities and more. Lighting that will permit night competition is planned for the facilities, which will also include a concession area, public restrooms, locker rooms and press boxes. Artificial turf will be utilized for both the baseball and softball stadiums, which will seat 300 and 200 spectators respectively. Dimensions for the baseball field are 330' to left and right field and 400' to center, while dimensions for the softball field are 200' to left and right, and 210 to center. The new athletic complex will also include eight tennis courts. Grand Rapids Ferris State Universitys Digital Animation and Game Design program was recognized in a Princeton Review study of the nations premier schools for video game design. Ferris was listed in Honorable Mention as part of a study that concluded with an announcement of the Princeton Reviews third annual rankings. Ferris DAGD program, with about 150 students, ranked among the nations best. Grand Rapids - Ian Ramirez, Executive Chef for Calvin College and Creative Dining Services, won the Taste of Elegance competition, gaining the title of Chef Par Excellence. This Culinary competition was put on by the Michigan Pork Producers Association in Lansing. Cadillac Baker College of Cadillac and Anthony Luurtsema Truck Lines celebrated the grand opening of a training facility in Zeeland. The new venture, called Baker College Trucking and Logistics, is a partnership between Baker College of Cadillac and ALTL, a provider of transportation and supply chain management services. Big Rapids - Michigan College of Optometry for Collaborative Health Education at Ferris State University received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Grand Rapids - Residents of Kentwood and Wyoming now receive benefits from Pathways to Prosperity a program offered through Grand Rapids Community College. Formerly, only residents of Grand Rapids qualified. This change will make more people eligible to receive training through Grand Rapids Community College. Grand Rapids - Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University was awarded a grant to help local children. The grant from the Wallace Foundation helps area nonprofit organizations that serve underprivileged youth by increasing quality after-school care. The Community Research, division of Johnson Center, compiles data, and provides the information to community partners that allow them to use their resources to help underprivileged.

Enhance Recycling and Waste Collection

Grand Rapids, Cincinnat, OH - The cities of Cincinnati and Grand Rapids, Mich. have implemented an RFID-based recycling system from the duo of UPM RFID and Cascade Engineering. The two municipalities are using RFID technology to optimize waste management processes and to motivate citizen behavioral change with incentive-based recycling programs and pay-as-you-throw pricing. Cascade Engineerings RFID system for the waste management consists of recycling and trash containers mounted with RFID xtreme tags from Xtreme RFID, which are powered by UPM ShortDipole ultra-high frequency inlays from UPM RFID. When sanitation crews collect consumers garbage and recycling, the trucks on-board data collection system capture tag data, recording the time and GPS coordinates as well as weight of the pickup. This information can be used to automate data collection and billing, while also providing municipalities with insights they can use to enhance service, from answering customer queries about pickups to fine-tuning driving routes. In Cincinnati, since installing the RFID system, citizen recycling participation has increased 79% and lead to a cost savings of $930,000 in waste disposal and labor costs. The city of Grand Rapids is extending RFID technology to waste collection, implementing usage-based pricing, in addition to using GPS and RFID data to plan sanitation crew driving routes for optimal operational and fuel efficiency.

17 An Obligation for Safety

by Carl Potter, CSP and Deb Potter, PhD What is the Obligation? Organizations have an obligation to make sure that they do not injure employees while in pursuit of profit. Likewise, employees are obligated to do everything they can to make sure that they do everything they can to not get hurt, create a work environment where others do not get hurt, and participate in the safety process. The opposite of these actions is to be part of the problem. There is no middle ground you are either part of the solution, or you are part of the problem. Management consultant Price Pritchett, said, "The factory of the future will have two employees, a security guard and a watch dog. The guard is there to feed and water the dog and the dog is there to bite the guard if he tries to touch the machines. Workplaces are full of inherent risks for injury, but the intention is that apparent risks have a consequent mitigation. The logical path to mitigation For an employer to mitigate risk, first the hazards must be recognized. Although that sounds simple, decades of experience clearly demonstrate that people see what they want to see. In high-risk industries, this applies to both employees and employers. During a walk-through at a plant prior to conducting our work, it is apparent that employees, supervisors, managers and owners tend to overlook obvious hazards that can cause serious injury. "Wow! How did we miss that on our inspections?" is a common statement during the walk-throughs. Interestingly, this individual will walk by without correcting or guarding the hazard. It is not unusual to find that this person has a high expectation for employees and supervisors to make a demonstrated commitment to safety. Before we get too far in the walkthrough, the question becomes, "So why are you leaving this in the same condition?" There is a gap between observation and mitigation that we must overcome. To handle the day in and day out hazards that show up in the workplace, the organization must have a process much like the one OSHA uses after an inspection to ensure that cited (unsafe) conditions are taken care of within a set amount of time. This process must be one where every recognized workplace hazard is corrected and documented. Further, the safety management process (SMP) should include a root cause analysis to determine the source of the hazard. In the best SMP, there will be a constant mechanism for improving the situation. OSHA supports this type of process through ANSI Z10 and the Voluntary Protection Program. One of the key factors of the process is to conduct an (FHA) Formal Hazard Assessment. Making the Effort to Identify Heres why such a specific, validated hazard assessment is an essential part of an SMP. Imagine building a fence around your entire plant. Whether you work in a manufacturer, service industry, or laboratory, the fence (even if it is imaginary) defines the boundary or scope of where to look for hazards. Once the assessment is completed, you can begin a systematic process to evaluate the hazards identified for the risk level and in turn make conscious decisions to mitigate the risk. The challenge is that many employees, supervisors, managers and owners do not see the hazards. Conducting an FHA properly involves a significant number of people in the process to reduce the chances of missing hazards. The good news is that it is a black and white assessment or one might say, "The hazard exists, or it doesn't." Contrary to a perception survey, this type of survey is not a cause for alarm by employees; they become the providers of information about the hazards they face in doing their jobs. The Result: Injury Prevention The important concept to keep in mind with the FHA is that you now have specific information to use in preventing hazards from causing injury in your workplace. In addition, when OSHA comes knocking on your door, you will impress them with your process. Because of the inherent risks that are involved with workplaces, targeting zero injuries is a tough job. Nevertheless, if organizations continue to just throw "safety stuff" at a perceived problem, they will never know how to prevent injuries. Each organization must be obliged to have an SMP that seeks to be specific in identifying hazards that are inherent to the workplace as well as those that pop-up daily so that everyone can go home every day without injury. For more information about conducting an FHA that includes documentation that your organization can use in their SMP and have ready to show OSHA your due diligence for creating a workplace free of recognized hazards, contact Deb Potter, PhD or Carl Potter, CSP at 800-259-6209 to set up a conference call.

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Communication & IT
Increase Traffic to Your Website: Pay-Per-Click vs. Search Engine Optimization
By: Jeff Wendland You might have the best website in the world, but if no one can find it then what good is it? More businesses are realizing that it is necessary to invest resources into Internet marketing if they want to increase the visibility of their website. There are two main techniques that businesses can utilize to increase traffic to their websites: pay-per-click (PPC) networks or search engine optimization (SEO). The following will give an overview of both techniques to help determine which form of traffic generation is best for your business. Advantages and Disadvantages of PPC The most popular PPC platform is through Google Adwords, which are the sponsored links that you see on Google search results. This platform also provides the advertisements on certain websites. One of the key benefits of PPC advertising is that it can bring targeted traffic to your website as soon as the ads go live. You can manage your budget per day and you can set the maximum amount that you want to pay out per click. The higher the price you set for your max PPC, the better placement your ad will have on the search results. You also get to choose the keywords that you want to bid on, which helps ensure that the traffic you get is targeted to the niche and specialty of your products or services. However, there are some disadvantages of PPC advertising too. If you choose keywords that are too broad, you may not be getting the most targeted traffic. Its critical that you thoroughly research the keywords that you wish to bid on. Moreover, the cost of PPC advertising continues to rise. The most prized keywords can be pretty expensive. There is also a significant amount of click fraud that occurs. Your competitors may see your ad and click it just to charge your account to use up your budget, or a webmaster could click the ads to increase their own earnings from the Adwords program. Advantages and Disadvantages of SEO SEO helps your website show up in the organic rankings. This is separate from the sponsored links on the search results page of Google. For proper SEO, your site should be built in a way that is easy for the search engines to navigate. It needs quality content that relates to your products or services and a strong profile of related websites that link to your website (known as backlinks). One of the biggest advantages of ranking high in search results is that people have much more trust in results that are not sponsored. SEO is a long term solution to targeted Web traffic. Once your site is well optimized and you have a strong backlink profile, you

18

should continue to rank well for the keyword over time. The main disadvantage of SEO is that it takes more time and effort. Some markets are so competitive that it may be almost impossible to rank for certain keywords. Its also important to update your website regularly with good content and to make sure that your site continues to attract quality backlinks. Finding the Balance Its important to find that balance that works for your business. Some start out using both techniques and then cut back on their PPC budget as their website climbs the rankings. Others focus solely on SEO to get the best ranking in the search results. If you would like to learn more about PPC and SEO and how they can help your business succeed, contact Blue Fire Media Group today at 269-4921000 or visit them online at http://www.bluefiremediagroup.com.

Communications & IT
Grandville Trivalent Group, Inc. was recognized as one of West Michigans 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For for the third consecutive year by the Michigan Business and Professional Association. Additionally, Trivalent Group has been named to CRNs second annual Tech Elite 250. Trivalent Group ranked 54 on Nine Lives Media Inc.s fifth annual MSPmentor 100 Global Edition. Finally, Trivalent Group recently announced the appointment of Candace Dugan and the re-election of Jack Robinson to the Trivalent Board of Directors. Grand Rapids i3 Business Solutions, llc announced it won first place in a Microsoft national contest by selling the greatest number of Office 365 SMB seats by program tier. Microsofts award to i3 Business Solutions recognizes its leadership in the SMB Tier. Grand Rapids CEO Sid Miedema and COO Scott Miedema added an additional company to their auction fold. Rangerbid.com, an online auction company, allows businesses to sell directly from their facilities to other businesses or end users internationally. Grandville Companies on the 2012 Tech Elite 250 list represent an elite group of IT solution providers that have invested in training and education needed to earn the most technical certifications in the IT Channel. Grand Rapids Summit announced its new DVD program, NFPA 70E: Control the Charge, which will ensure an electrically safe working area in response to rising frequency of reported arc flash accidents. Grand Rapids WZZM 13 has won two National Press Photographers Association awards. Andy Sugden placed third in the country in Best News Feature Photography. Lakeshore multimedia journalist, Jon Mills received an Honorable Mention in the Solo Video Journalist category for a breaking news report about a house fire called What Brandi Saw Grand Rapids - The Factory expanded an additional 5,000 SF in downtown. Owners Aaron Schaap, and Craig Hall plan to create a West Michigan entrepreneurial hub, focused on technology startups. Lansing Phil Harwood, Pro-Motion Consulting/Pro-Motion Marketing and Rochelle Rizzi, Rizzi Designs, LLC, have successfully aligned in a business partnership benefitting both firms. Rizzi Designs will purchase Pro-Motion Marketings book of business in exchange for Pro-Motion Consulting to use Rizzi Designs for their marketing and design needs as well as recommending Rizzi Designs to their clients. Grand Rapids - WGVU Radio has been named Station of the Year 2011 by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. WGVU Radio and Television received a total of 14 awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters at the annual MAB Broadcast Excellence Awards ceremony held on Wednesday, March 14 in Lansing.

19 Time to celebrate; April is Michigan Wine Month

By: Jeremy Martin In 2006 the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the state of Michigans marketing arm creating the Pure Michigan brand. In the past six years, the campaign has spread across the country and has become a widely known symbol for Michigans tourism industry. Seeking ways to continue helping the states tourism effort as well as ways to spin Pure Michigan that would benefit local business, Governor Rick Snyder recently declared April to be Michigan Wine Month. This first ever celebration of the states vineyards will take place just before the unofficial start of tourism season. "April is a great time to kick off winery touring. Not only can travelers benefit from off-season rates and overnight packages at hotels and B&Bs near wine country, but tasting rooms are less busy in the spring, and staff are delighted to provide visitors with extra attention," Linda Jones, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Developments Grape & Wine Program Manager said. Patrons of Wine Month will have 81 state wide wineries to choose from, many like Lemon Creek Winery of Berrien Springs began their lives a century or more ago as fruit orchards. Tracing its fruit growing roots back to 1834 the Lemon family have been walking the rolling lake side hills of West Michigan, tending its orchards for going on four generations. 150 years after settling in Michigan, the Lemon family began producing high quality Michigan wines, a practice that Lemon Creek Winery takes quite seriously. So inclined are they to spread their wares across the state, the family opened an off-vineyard tasting room in the Lake Michigan town of Grand Haven last November. According to the rooms co-manager Lisa Paulus, Lemon Creeks overall sales have increased and some of that can be attributed to reaching a larger customer base, one that perhaps stops in for a tasting while vacationing on the lakeshore. By judging our November, January and February sales I think that were up, but thats just by the feedback from people coming in. We see a lot of repeat customers and a lot of new people discovering us, Paulus said. The past couple of years have seen a growth in Lemon Creeks business that mirrors the overall uptick in the states wine industry. According to the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Michigan wine sales were up nearly 12% in 2010 while nation-wide wine sales lagged behind at only a 4% increase. Some of that may be attributed to the Pure Michigan campaign as well as other pro local industry advertisements coming from the state-wide level. But Paulus said there is no efficient way of actually knowing how Lemon Creeks business is affected by the States desire to push Michigan tourism. Even when we do our own thing and do our own advertising its hard to track, Paulus said. We see a lot of tourists in general and I dont know if that is because of Pure Michigan Its hard to track specifically without asking every person how they found out. Paulus isnt sure how Michigan wine month will effect business, at least not from a purely numbers based viewpoint, but she is confident that it will help to raise the industrys profile as a whole and spur people to think on a more localized level. When things arent being shipped across the country and were doing it all locally were helping everything out. Were helping the environment, were helping small businesses out, were helping keep jobs here and keep people in business, Paulus said. Though the Lemon Creek tasting room doesnt have anything specific planned to coincide with Wine Month, it does have an Earth Day celebration that Paulus and her staff have been working on. In honor of Earth Day weekend weve invited different gourmet Michigan business to come by, Paulus said. Theyre all going to come and offer their products for free tastings. Lemon Creek will also have live music, wine industry and eco-friendly literature and of course wine for sale and for taste. State-wide the Department of Agriculture has helped arrange several wine related events during the month of April and beyond. To find out whats happening, the State of Michigan invites people to check out www.michiganwines.com

Lodging & Entertainment

Grand Rapids - Civic Theatre welcomed new President Appointee, Jennifer Wilson, to the Board of Directors. Jennifer Wilson is CEO, Grand Development Associates | Editor-inChief, Women's Lifestyle Magazine | Do Good Editor, Rapid Growth Media. Grand Rapids The Grand Rapids Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced a five-year extension of their affiliation agreement, ensuring that the relationship between Michigans premier hockey teams will continue through at least the 2016-17 season. Grand Rapids - Kelly LeCoy, owner of Uptown Kitchen, announced its Grand Opening. Uptown Kitchen is an incubator kitchen and event space open 24/7 and will be available for rent hourly or by contract. It includes a prep kitchen, catering kitchen, pastry kitchen, and cool and dry storage. Grand Rapids The Country Inn East Beltline was presented with the 2011 Country Inns & Suites Presidents Award. This property has been awarded the achievement, four years in a row, having earned the highest scores in guest satisfaction for cleanliness as well as for exceeding the brands product quality standards. Grandville RiverTown Crossings announces the grand opening of new national retailer, Torrid, to the merchandise mix. Torrid is the destination for stylish young women who love fashion and wear sizes 12 and up. Grand Rapids Foliage Design Systems of West Michigan is changing its name to Integrated Plantscapes. The new name reflects the 26-year-old companys expansion into the design of large gardens and water features in corporate facilities and hospitals. Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids has a new full-service hotel, Riverfront HotelGrand Rapids, to serve its central business district from one of the most prominent lodging locations, the former Radisson Hotel on Ann Street. Local entrepreneur Bob Sullivan, owner of the 162room hotel visible from US-131 North at the Ann Street exit, said the name change reflects that he will be operating the lodging as an independent hotelier. Holland LEED Gold Certified CityFlatsHotel was presented with the Good Earth Keeping Award at the Stars of the Industry Awards Dinner. This awards dinner was part of the Pure Michigan Governors Conference on Tourism that took place March 25th 27th. Grand Rapids - Jeff Hoag, co-owner and operator of the Scott Lake Country Club, was named Seasonal Operator of the Year by the Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association. Grand Rapids - Ryan Slusarzyk of Amway Hotel Corporation, was named Sales and Marketing Star of the Year by the Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association. Ann Arbor - The Michigan Recreation & Parks Association honored the City of Petoskey with a Design Award for the Bear River Valley Recreation Area project. Beckett & Raeder, Inc. of Ann Arbor, with offices in Petoskey and Traverse City, was the lead consultant on the project. New Buffalo Four Winds New Buffalo announces its new, nine-story, 250 room hotel tower, will open on Friday, June 29. The new hotel tower contains a mix of standard rooms and suites furnished in the same exquisite style as Four Winds New Buffalos existing 165 rooms.

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