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Visit us online at: rockfordchamber.com■ online registration■ keynote speaker video clips ■ event photos ■ list of Chamber events

Questions? 815-987-8100

Join the Chamber’s LinkedIn Group www.linkedin.com/e/gis/2544

May 2015 | Volume 28 | No. 5

FORTY UNDER 40: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

PAGE 12

By Paul Anthony Arco

Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen envisions a day when the Rockford area can brag about a new sports museum and a career center for vocational training.

Those were just some of the plans he shared with a crowd of 400 at the Rockford Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the County luncheon, which was held at the Giovanni’s Restaurant & Convention Center, April 16.

The chairman dubbed this year’s presentation, “Positioning for Transformation,” which highlighted progress regarding development, jobs, public safety and quality of life. Mimi Murphy, WTVO news anchor, moderated the annual presentation.

Christiansen said it’s vital to reach chamber members with his message. “It’s important that the business community stay engaged,” he said. “We’re hearing them, and they’re hearing us, especially

as it relates to infrastructure, creating jobs and improving job skills. We also need to help the academic institutions understand the needs, so they can react to a rapidly-changing world.”

According to Christiansen, the county has 1.3 million square feet of retail and commercial investment and redevelopment in the works plus $560 million in new investments, which includes more than 3,000 jobs and another 1,700 construction jobs.

Continued on page 3

COMMUNITY-CONVERSATION:MENTAL HEALTH

PAGE 5

GOLFERS TO SURF, BIKE AT ELLIOT GOLF COURSE

GolfBoards and The Golf Bike soon will be available to rent at Elliot Golf Course, 888 S. Lyford Road, Cherry Valley. GolfBoard will allow golfers to ‘Surf the Earth’ in a way that feels similar to snowboarding, surfi ng or skateboarding. The Golf Bike combines golf and cycling, providing exercise and fun on the golf course. The Rockford Park District will have four of each available at Elliot Golf Course only during the 2015 season.

“GolfBoard will help improve speed of play, and allow golfers to experience the natural lay of the land,” said Duncan Geddes, director of golf operations. “We hope The Golf Bike will be a way to introduce the game of golf to cyclists. Until now, a golf course in Vail, Colo., was the only place to fi nd The Golf Bike.” Visit www.rockfordparkdistrict.org or 815-987-8800.

Rock Valley College soon will break ground on a new main campus building project — a Health Science Center — to help meet the growing demand for nurses and other health care workers in the region.

The new 117,000-sq.-ft., four-story building will provide world class learning facilities for students in the nursing and allied health fi elds. To provide a seamless way for nursing students to earn a four-year degree on the RVC campus, Saint Anthony College of Nursing will occupy almost two fl oors and offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in nursing.

“This is a very exciting collaboration for both institutions, the type that truly transforms a community,” said Mike Mastroianni, RVC president. “We know that there will be a shortage of nurses nationwide in less than fi ve years. This

is an opportunity for students in our region to participate in fully accredited programs in one of the newest, state-of-the-art facilities in the Midwest.”

Rock Valley College will occupy about 80,000 of the total square footage, with Saint Anthony College of Nursing in the remainder, located primarily on the third and fourth fl oors.

“Rockford and our region want to produce more college graduates and try to keep that valuable talent here,” said Paula Carynski, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center president. “I believe today we have taken a defi nitive and important step toward that ‘transformative’ end.”

Construction work on the Health Sciences Center is anticipated to begin in June, 2015, with classes beginning in the spring semester, January, 2017. The building will include 13 classrooms and 10 laboratories. theVoice

PHOTOS BY BRIAN THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY

Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen gave a presentation which highlighted progress in development, job growth, public safety and quality of life. Mimi Murphy, WTVO news anchor, moderated the presentation.

CORRECTION TO THE APRIL VOICE

Dr. Robert L. Head, Ph.D., president and CEO of Rockford University, will retire in June, 2016; not this year, as was published in the April Voice.

ROCK VALLEY COLLEGE HAS NEW LOCATION DOWNTOWN

Beginning with spring semester, 2016, RVC will off er classes at a new downtown facility on the second fl oor of the Rockford Register Star tower, 99 E. State St.

“This location is excellent – and will off er all the necessary classroom, computer lab and study space to serve our downtown students,” said Mike Mastroianni, RVC president. Renovation work will begin shortly and once completed, the site will include student services such as testing, advising and fi nancial aid counseling.

The RVC facility at the Rockford Register Star will encompass 14,000 square feet, an expansion from its original 10,000-square-foot location downtown at the Stewart Square building.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!Rockford Chamber

Golf ClassicMay 18

The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See ClubSPONSORED BY

For more info, see page 30

Rock Valley College to add Health Sciences Center

STATE OF THE COUNTY LUNCHEON

Successes and future plans

2 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Patti ThayerRockford Chamber Board Chairman

VIEWPOINTPresident’s Message

Einar K. ForsmanRockford Chamber

of Commerce

The Rockford Chamber: Leading Business GrowthWhenever we take the pulse of

our members as to how they value their membership with the Rockford Chamber, typically two things rise to the top: the strength in creating opportunities for putting businesses in front of each other; and, the importance of business news shared in our Voice publication.

Networking may be an outdated term, but whatever you may call it, meeting new businesses and business leaders is still critical to the growth and development of any business. Similarly, our members look forward to the monthly issue of The Voice to learn more about our members, the business issues of the day, and people in the business community.

Also, as part of taking the pulse, we find that members can be unaware of the numerous other ways, we, as a Chamber of Commerce, work to help businesses grow, as well as promote and encourage a healthy business climate. Our strategic plan is built around our tag line that supports our mission: Leading Business Growth. Under each of these areas we organize our priorities and activities to support our members.

Leading: The Chamber leads in addressing community and member needs for the support of business. We are the region’s leading business association advocating for our members and the growth of our regional economy. We are the source for developing leaders in Rockford.

Under this category are our efforts with business advocacy. We encourage and advocate for public policy matters that are good for business. Our Government Affairs Council, Public Education Council, and Public Safety Council work on specific issues of importance to the business community. We created the Rockford Chamber Advocacy Center to have a deeper impact on important issues with our government leaders. We partner with others to support regional growth and development.

We encourage leadership at all levels and use programs such as Leadership Rockford, Ignite Young Professionals, Candidate School, Lead 360 and PYSK to keep the pipeline flowing with great leaders.

Business: The Chamber is a business organization that provides valuable

resources and implements important initiatives that help members grow their business, thus ensuring the growth of our regional economy. We concentrate on key areas that are important components for business, workforce, alliances, money-saving partnerships, and business education programs. Workforce is a significant issue for many large communities and the Chamber works with its members to offer training programs, host tours and other programs to expand career awareness for students, and advocate for services, funding and other resources to grow workforce. In addition, we offer several services available to small businesses, to give them access to better prices and discounts that may normally be available only to larger businesses.

Growth: The Chamber focuses attention on critical issues that will have long-term impact and create a climate favorable to organizational, community and economic growth. If we don’t have a business climate that can foster continuous growth, then all of our businesses suffer. That is why our engagement in things like advancing the

regions public

education

system, seeking

worker’s

compensation

reform, and pushing for regional

infrastructure investment, including

AMTRAK, is so important to building

and maintaining a strong foundation

for our community. We also want

to ensure our entire community has

an opportunity to build and grow

a business. That is why the efforts

of our Business Women’s Council,

Multi-Cultural Business Council, and

our Expo’s and Resource Fairs are so

important.

We hope from this article you have

a fuller understanding of all that we do

at the Rockford Chamber to support

you. There is a lot going on with us and

our members and we want to ensure

we are a valued resource for you. If

you would like more information on

anything I have shared, please come

to one of our “Chamber 101s” for a full

orientation, or email me at eforsman@

rockfordchamber.com.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 3

The chairman referenced several devel-opment and infrastructure improvements during his presentation. The Interstate 90 corridor includes The Park 90 Corpo-rate Center, The Business Park at Spring Creek Lakes and SwedishAmerican’s Re-gional Cancer Center.

The Baxter Road/I-39 corridor business expansion includes Rock Valley College’s Aviation Maintenance Technology program, the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operation which also will be located at the airport, the FedEx expansion at Rock 39 Industrial Park and a new entrance to the airport. “The I-39 corridor is extremely active from Wisconsin to Missouri,” he said.

The Perryville corridor/Mulford Road business expansion includes ServiCom, Perryville Promenade, Woodward Rock Cut campus, Gymnastic Academy South and two Meijer stores that are expected to offer more than 500 jobs and will open May 19.

“It’s all very encouraging,” said Einar Forsman, president and CEO of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. “I like how he talked about economic development being both Rockford’s and the County’s responsibility. It’s easy for us to forget all that is going on in both the county and the city. He’s done a good job keeping those many projects front and center. It’s great to see.”

Christiansen also mentioned two other

initiatives: new scholarships for graduating high school seniors in conjunction with the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, which could be aided by funds that will become available once the Criminal Justice Center is paid off in 2024, and a summer manufacturing summit. “I think a manufacturing summit can be helpful to many people,” he said. “It would help them expand, reconfigure, buy new, buy existing and know what’s available in terms of financing and incentives.”

As for the future, county officials are looking at property in southeast Rockford near Beyer Stadium, where the Rockford Peaches played, for a sports museum that would celebrate not only the Peaches, but some of the best players in the 19th century — A.G Spaulding, Ross Barnes and Cap Anson — who also came from Rockford.

As part of the United Way’s Strong Neighborhood initiative, that is providing funds to increase programs and services in the Ellis Heights and Midtown District, the county is coordinating efforts to develop WestTech Career Center, a west side technical education program offering everything from soft skills and GED, to vocational training.

Christiansen is also considering pursuing a “Purpose Built Community” model as a way to collaborate with United Way, City of Rockford, Rockford Housing Authority, Winnebago County Housing Authority, Transform Rockford, and many others, to improve the historic areas on both sides of the Morgan St. Bridge, connecting Ellis Heights on the west side.

With all the projects ongoing throughout the area, Christiansen sees a synergy between the county’s successes and the work being done by the Transform Rockford effort. “Transform Rockford has done a terrific job when it comes to inclusion,” he said. “It’s important everyone is engaged and has input on transforming Rockford. They’ve done such a great job of laying plans going forward. It should come together nicely.”

Mike Schablaske, executive director of Transform Rockford, agrees. “I like how he’s looking forward, working with a vision, thinking about the opportunities that we have out there and looking to partner,” he said. “He inventoried many things going on that will create ripples that should lead to more success and more

opportunities.

“I think transforming Rockford is on

the minds of many people,” he added.

“People are learning how to aim high and

achieve great things with the opportunities

and assets that we have here. There is

potential around a lot of corners. We’re

getting better as a community at seeing

that and, hopefully, we’ll get better at

capturing those opportunities.” The State of the County was hosted

by the Chamber’s Government Affairs

Council. The luncheon’s presenting

sponsor was BMO Harris Bank. The

gold sponsors were AT&T, Humana,

and SwedishAmerican. Bronze sponsors

were Alpha Control & Services, Ballard

Companies, and Larson & Darby Group. theVoice

State of the County (continued from front page)

4 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

PROFILEBoard Profile

Dr. Robert HeadRockford University

Serve society with passionate commitmentSuccess comes through entrepreneurial strategies

What do you want to contribute as part of the Chamber board?

The chamber is a strong advocate for

the business community and Rockford. I

desire to lend my voice and experiences in

business and education to those currently

engaged.

Why do you think the chamber is important to business and the community?

By identifying and championing a

strategic agenda for a stronger business

community, the chamber is creating

an increasingly capable and vibrant

community overall.

What is the name/current purpose of your business/organization?

Rockford University is a 168-year-old

institution of higher learning committed

to preparing students for fulfilling lives,

careers and participating in a global

society.

What is your business background/responsibilities?

I serve as president and CEO of

Rockford University. My career includes

being president and CFO of two other

universities and vice president for trust

services at two banking institutions.

What trend is most strongly impacting your industry?

MOOCs (massive open online

courses), online programs, for-profit

competitors, increasing mergers and

increasing federal scrutiny have created a

more volatile environment. Success is now

accomplished through quality of services

and entrepreneurial strategies.

What advice would you give to those coming up in your field?

I cannot imagine a more fulfilling life’s

work than being a part of students’ learning

journeys and helping them accomplish

their goals. Recognize the privilege you

have in serving society in this fashion

and passionately

commit to it.

What in your career has had the greatest impact on you?

I had a mentor who advised that

when facing tough decisions, “always do

what’s right. It won’t always make you

popular, but it will be easy to sleep at

night.” It’s been the foundation of my

leadership philosophy.

What book, movie would you recommend right now and why?

The Art of the Long View challenges

us to tackle planning in an uncertain

world with commitment, flexibility and

imagination. It prepares us to expect

and react to the unexpected. I think of

this book as I contemplate initiatives

at Rockford University, Transform

Rockford and Alignment Rockford.

What’s your favorite thing to do for fun?

Spending time with family, traveling

abroad, playing golf, and working with

the young men in my Boy Scout troop

are on the top of my fun list.

What recent technology innovation has the greatest impact on your life?

While not a recent innovation, I

could not do without my iPod.

If you could be or do anything else - what?

I acknowledge that in my youth I

longed to be a professional baseball

pitcher. Since that dream was

unattainable, I am very content to serve

in my current field.

What are you most thankful for?The strong foundation provided by

my parents, a spouse who has been my

partner, children who have all found

their way in the world, and opportunities

to serve society.

The Rockford Chamber of Commerce welcomes and encourages submissions for The VOICE of the Rockford Business Community.

Deadline is the 15th of the month preceding publication. Send news releases and other items of interest to the business community to:

The VOICERockford Chamber of Commerce308 W. State St., Ste. 190Rockford, IL 61101For information about advertising contact

Customer Service at 815-987-8100. The VOICE of the Rockford Business

Community (USPS 784-120). ISSN number 1086-0630, is published monthly by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce, 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, Illinois 61101. Periodicals postage paid at Rockford, Ill.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The VOICE of the Rockford Business Community, 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, IL 61101.

Let your Voice be heard

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 5

By Kathryn Zenoff, Second District Appellate Court Justice

On May 12, the Kennedy Forum Illinois is encouraging businesses, groups and individuals to talk about mental health.

The project aims to generate more than 100 conversations around the state, in an effort to combat stigma against mental health and addictions and spur new ideas about how we can better serve employees and families experiencing these challenges.

Mental health directly impacts employers and the local economy. According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, absenteeism from workers diagnosed with depression costs U.S. workplaces an estimated $23 billion annually in lost productivity. That number, however, only calculates losses based on days employees miss, not on the lowered productivity on days they come in to work. In total, it is estimated nationally that mental illness and substance abuse cost employers an estimated $80 to $100

billion annually in indirect costs alone. The good news is that treatment

works. The majority (65 to 80 percent) of individuals with mental illness will improve with appropriate diagnosis, treatment and ongoing monitoring. Certainly, a mentally healthy workforce is good for business.

Combating Employment Discrimination

One of the key barriers to treatment — and the issue on which The Kennedy Forum is focused — is stigma and discrimination. People with mental illness identify employment discrimination as one of their most frequent stigma experiences. Research indicates, compared with individuals with physical disabilities, that twice as many people with mental disabilities expect to experience employment-related stigma. Yet new understandings, policy reforms and interventions have been developed to assist employers in creating a workplace where all employees thrive.

In Illinois, the Kennedy Forum is led by a diverse group of civic leaders who

have come together to accelerate progress on mental health and addiction in our state. As a member of the Organizing Committee, I recently reached out to Einar Forsman, president & CEO of the Rockford Chamber, to begin a dialogue about these important issues impacting the workplace. The chamber membership cordially is invited to join in the discussion by participating in The Kennedy Forum’s 100 Conversations project to raise awareness of the challenges and find solutions. We invite you to consider hosting one or more conversations on May 12 — in your workplace, your community or even your home. Talking about mental health is both a means and an end. Conversations themselves help to fight stigma by increasing understanding and acceptance. Discussions can help identify pathways to solutions and create new ideas and partnerships to drive progress.

To track and support these conversations, The Kennedy Forum is partnering with the Chicago Community Trust’s “On the Table” platform. Hosts can register at https://chicagotrust.

eventready.com/. When registering, enter the “outreach code” Kennedy Forum - 003. A follow up survey will gather anonymous feedback and provide us with valuable information about concerns and solutions.

Justice Kathryn Zenoff State of Illinois

COMMUNITYCommunity Conversations

Kennedy Forum Illinois: 100 conversations about mental health

NEED MORE INFORMATION?• For more resources and guidance about how to host a conversation on May 12, including a downloadable discussion guide, visit thekennedyforumillinois.org/100-conversations-about-mental-health/. • For more on the workplace impact of mental health and employer best practices, visit www.workplacementalhealth.org/. • For more on The Kennedy Forum Illinois, visit thekennedyforumillinois.org/learn-more-about-kennedy-forum-illinois-work/.

6 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

By Sherry Pritz, NIU EIGERlab Innovation Network

It’s hard to believe that this year’s event will be the ninth-annual FastPitch Competition on Wednesday, June 17 at NIU Rockford. An average of 48 people have competed each year, totaling nearly 400 presenters.

To inspire you for this summer’s event, we’re sharing comments from our 2014 FastPitch Competition winners.

Tracie Burress, first-place winner, said, “Competing in the EIGERlab’s FastPitch Competition has been truly invaluable to every aspect of my SockTABs business. When I first entered the EIGERlab, I only had an idea or concept in mind. After working closely with the engineers to perfect a prototype, we successfully competed in the FastPitch Competition against 34 would-be entrepreneurs. My husband and I took home top prize and won $5,000 that we used to launch our business. The amount of exposure that

our business received because of this victory is immeasurable. Not a week goes by without someone mentioning the media coverage we received from our FastPitch Competition victory.

“For any aspiring entrepreneur, I recommend you connect with the highly skilled people at EIGERlab immediately.

Get a jump start on key ideas for your product or service, and you’ll be ready to knock them dead in June!”

Stacy McCaskill, second-place winner, explained, “FastPitch was the first opportunity to pitch my idea of the website, Fishwithme.net -- helping everyday anglers find fishing buddies to share costs, learn tips and techniques and promote more fishing.

“Since FastPitch, I found a tech equity partner in Jason Todd, owner of Rockford’s premier web-tech firm, ThinkerProfit. Todd and I, along with our respective teams, have aggressively marketed the website in Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida. Fishwithme.net currently has more than 3,000 pre-registered users. Beta-testing begins in April, and the site’s full launch

is expected in May. “At the current rate of growth,

Fishwithme.net is anticipating more than 5,000 users to be pre-registered for the site at launch, providing a committed and eager group of anglers ready to find their next fishing buddy so that they can save, learn and fish more.”

EIGERlab is pleased that both businesses have grown exponentially. As our region’s one-stop business incubator, we can assist entrepreneurs and inventors through the daunting steps of taking their services or products to market -- and also celebrate and communicate their successes.

This year’s competitions will once again be a regional effort: Racine/Kenosha Counties’ FastPitch event is scheduled for Aug. 19. Let’s play ball!

Tracie Burress celebrates her first-place win at the EIGERlab’s FastPitch Competition with $5,000 to start her business. Burress says, “The amount of exposure that our business received because of this victory is immeasurable.”

IF YOU GOWhat: 2015 FastPitch Competition – “Shark Tank” Rockford styleWhen: Wednesday, June 17; open to the public at 5 p.m.Where: NIU Rockford, 8500 E. State St., RockfordWhy enter: To win cash prizes, feedback and exposureFor more information: Visit www.eigerlab.org/fastpitch-competition or call 815-316-6357.

‘Shark Tank,’ Rockford Style: 2015 FastPitch Competition

Join supplier symposium with Northrop GrummanBy Bea Miller, RAEDC

Congressman Adam Kinzinger will host a supplier symposium with Northrop Grumman, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on May 27 at Northern Illinois University’s Rockford campus, 8500 E. State St. Regional business leaders will have an opportunity to have brief, individual meetings with Northrop Grumman representatives; allowing them to potentially build a relationship as a supplier. Also featured will be a presentation about how to become a supplier.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global provider of products and services for applications on the sea, on the land, in the air and in space. Categories of business operations for the symposium will include aerospace, information systems, electronic systems and technical services for both the defense and non-defense sectors. More information about the company is available at www.northropgrumman.com.

This event is free, the third aerospace supplier symposium coordinated on behalf of Congressman Kinzinger by the Rockford Area Economic Development Council. The previous ones were in 2014, with Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

To register for the event, contact Bea Miller, RAEDC, 815-969-4255 or bmiller@rockfordil.com.

By Mark Podemski, RAEDC

Last year in The VOICE (see April, 2014 issue on the Rockford Chamber of Commerce website), I discussed the basic avenues our regional economy will grow:

■ Maximizing transactions with organizations and individuals that live outside of our region.

■ Increasing the number of transactions within our region through buying as much as possible locally.

■ Decreasing the amount we lose to purchases made outside our region or the amount we spend on negative social impacts.

As you can see, successful economic development is a real community effort; we all play a part! In this article, I will be more specific in the role you can play to assist our region’s economic development efforts.

Maximize Transactions Outside Our Region

There are many professionals who regularly interact with a robust network of entrepreneurs, business owners, executives and management teams across a broad range of industry sectors. Work with the RAEDC to educate yourself on tools available to help your clients and connect them to these resources. Or at a minimum, suggest they call the RAEDC

to better understand what assistance is available. The RAEDC website at www.rockfordil.com has many tools and programs to assist companies within the region. Helping companies accelerate their sales growth of products and services sold outside the region will lead to increased wealth at home!

Even if you don’t work in supporting industries (like accountants, attorneys or bankers), you can help companies find the talent they need to grow. This is the number one concern of employers in the region … where do they find the talent needed to increase sales? Keep your eyes and ears open; most opportunities are filled by effective networking activities.

Increase Transactions Within Our Region

Look for ways to buy from local retailers and service providers. The longer we can keep our money in the local economy, the more jobs we can support within the region. If you have a position on a local board of directors, challenge your organization to procure services and goods from local sources. There are many chances to improve the economic health of the region … keep your eyes open for any opportunity.

Decrease Outside Spending, Negative Social Impacts

Closely related to point B is the notion

of decreasing outside spends. Look at the

purchases and analyze spending that is

leaving the community. Ask if there are

any local suppliers that could provide

the goods or services. Challenge existing

local suppliers to provide more of what

you need. Spending your money close to

home will keep your neighbors employed!

The correlation between positive

educational achievement and economic

health is indisputable. Volunteering

with your school district to help children

achieve their full potential will pay

long-term economic dividends for our

community.

A region’s crime rate is a symptom

of some form of economic malaise. It is

also true that a higher than average crime

rate will deter investment. We can help

our economic development potential by

being vigilant in our neighborhoods and

working with law enforcement to report

all activities that just don’t seem right.

Crime reduction is a community effort

that will pay positive economic returns.

While there are many more

opportunities to become an economic

development partner, embracing a few

of the ideas presented here will improve

the economic vitality of our region. Just

keep asking yourself what you can do

to be the best economic development

partner possible. We all win when we

work together!

Be an economic development partner. It’s simple as

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 7

Manufacturing in the food industry provides a unique set of challenges that many industries are not burdened by. Heavy regulation, seasonal components and short shelf life – among other challenges – mean inefficiencies are exacerbated. The solutions provided by food manufacturers range from seasonal employees to the identification and sourcing of large-batch manufacturing equipment to handle the significant peaks and valleys in supply and demand.

A magic bullet does not exist to save millions or to significantly improve efficiencies. It takes careful and intentional planning and execution to generate even marginal returns. However, the intentional steps that you take can make significant changes in your organization.

Perhaps the best question to ask is why previous continuous improvement initiatives failed in the food industry. In many cases the source of failure can be traced back to company culture. Every company has a culture, whether it is two employees or 1,000. The culture of the organization will drive how receptive the improvement process is received.

The best example of company culture is Toyota. Toyota culture is not just Toyota manufacturing culture; it is the culture from senior management through the newly hired receptionist, to a maintenance foreman, or an operator. The culture has been developed for more than 50 years, but it is based inherently on respect, and the respect of each employee. Once the respect of every employee is in place, you can begin to build an environment that will sustain.

Food manufacturers are no different than other manufacturers in this regard.

What is Your Company Culture?Trust is the first step in exponentially

building improvement systems. An acid test is in order to challenge the current culture. The test is simple. Is the idea from every individual within the company held with value? If answered honestly, and the answer is “no,” then company culture

should be the first area to approach.Continuous improvement philosophy

has been consistently improving since the 1920s. One such philosophy, coined “Total Quality” or “Company-Wide Quality Control” in the 1960s (later identified as Total Quality Management or TQM), considered culture as one of the first steps in improvement.

The cultural pH of an organization is as sensitive as the true pH of soil and water. Too sensitive (acidic) or too insensitive (basic) will create problems of trust or effectiveness.

Using 5S for Early ImpactThe lean manufacturing journey is a

series of tools that can help break down barriers and re-establish the organization culture. This article will not present the entire series of lean manufacturing tools but rather one of the tools that will provide the most impact early in the initiative.

The 5S tool is specifically designed to involve every aspect of the organization and is a solution for food manufacturers looking to improve overall efficiencies. Often the best solutions are not costly solutions, but rather small, targeted changes. In the lean world, this is termed as Kaizen. Kaizen is the intentional small incremental improvements made for the benefit of continuous improvement. The 5S tool is often implemented as a kaizen event. The 5S tool represents the following:

Sort – Sort out and separate needed vs. not needed

Straighten – Arrange remaining items as easy to locate and use

Shine – Clean the workplace and equipment to maintain standards

Standardize – Using walkthroughs to ensure Sort, Straighten and Shine

Sustain – Self-discipline and maintenance

1. SORT. Initially, the first step is to determine the scope of the area. Remember kaizen, it is not recommended to attack an entire production, storage or administration area. Start with a machine, warehouse rack or file storage location.

Sorting is the key to 5S, as it involves overcoming separation anxiety. The introduction of a temporary area that will be disposed of in 30 days allows one to sort out items that are not used, but retrieve an item if it is needed within that timeframe. Food manufacturers will not only want to sort out tools, utensils and supplies, but to consider the ultimate resting location for what remains.

2. STRAIGHTEN. This step is focused on the use of visual management tools consisting of colors, storage areas and locations to ensure every item has a home. Limitations on horizontal surfaces are recommended. This is the design stage to determine what the new area will look like; considering the required tools from the Sort stage, and questioning when a tool may be needed. Food manufacturers should consider a utensil cleaning area, or personal protective equipment storage and display first, then involve the individuals who work in the area to capture ideas for improvement, whether it is located in manufacturing, warehouse and storage, or administration. The ability to locate a tool, product or file is key. Customers will not pay an extra $0.05 because it takes longer to find an item.

3. SHINE. Facility and equipment maintenance is a non-stop challenge in the food manufacturing industry. However, the Shine step is the key to identification of potential problem areas. If an order is received and does not follow a standard for processing, it can easily become misplaced. The intent of the Shine step is to help identify issues. Equipment that is maintained and cleaned is far easier to determine if something is wrong than equipment that is not maintained. The same is true for quality inspection areas and other administrative functions. Maintaining a clean house will ensure the work completed to Sort and Straighten is maintained. New tools or equipment that does not have a home or storage location will stand out and must be addressed.

4. STANDARDIZE. In developing a standard, only one question needs to

be asked when

a problem

arises: “Was

the standard

followed?” If the

answer is yes

and the problem

occurred, then the

standard comes into question. If the answer

is “no” then an investigation into deviation

from standard is needed. If the company

culture is receptive to improvements but

constantly questioning the standard, it

will result in many kaizen events. The

preference is to plan for a challenge to the

standard rather than to just make a change

on the spot.

5. SUSTAIN. The most difficult

stage of the 5S tool is to maintain the

improvements and monitor the system.

The changes from the 5S kaizen become

a standard. Sustaining change requires

discipline and communication. Only a

healthy culture can maintain and sustain

the 5S changes.

Keep in mind, any improvement — no

matter which tool is selected — requires

risk. However, careful consideration

of the company culture will allow for

communication and open the door to

improvement. Demonstration of targeted

improvement efforts becomes infectious.

Improving culture to remove fear will

generate dividends.

Establishment of a 5S system with

continuous improvement will be one of the

fastest solutions to prove that the company

culture — through communication and

visual management — demonstrates that

everyone can do better — even a food

manufacturer.

Ken Wunderlich is technical specialist at

IMEC.

The views expressed are those of Wunderlich’s

and do not necessarily represent those of the

Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Manufacturing News is sponsored by IMEC

Ken WunderlichIMEC

Culture and 5S Path of efficiency for food manufacturing and distribution

8 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

IGNITEYoung Professionals

Dr. Brenton B. Soltys

IGNITE Rockford

In my first article in The Voice in November, 2014, I detailed IGNITE’s newly re-vamped component, INVOLVE, which focuses on community outreach and volunteerism in the greater Rockford area. Prior to my November article, we held our first QUOTE event in September, 2014.

To update The Voice readers on our progress since November is exciting. We have held two successful QUOTE (Quarterly Update on Topics of Engagement) events and two small monthly events. Our November QUOTE informed young professionals about issues concerning veterans of our armed services as they re-integrate into society after active duty. The engagement component was gathering a team to participate in a 5K run where all of the proceeds directly benefitted the Veterans Drop-In Center in downtown Rockford.

In December at our annual Christmas party, we collected toys to donate to Mother House Crisis Nursery and clothing to donate to Goodwill. The total expected value of the toys was about $450. February’s QUOTE event focused on domestic violence awareness. Approximately 30 young professionals participated in a self-defense course held at the Excel Academy in Rockford. Following the course, speakers from both the Rockford Police Department and Remedies Renewing Lives discussed criminal activity in the area and domestic violence issues and avenues for help, respectively. During the month of March, young professionals working in all different facets of businesses in the area sold green and gold paper shamrocks to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). MDA allocates these funds to help children with muscle diseases attend summer camps and receive basic medical care such as vaccinations.

On Saturday, April 25, IGNITE assembled a team to participate in the Great American Clean-Up. As I am writing this article prior to April 25, I cannot provide details regarding the event.

What’s ComingOn May 20, the fourth QUOTE event

since our re-visioning process last summer will take place. The event will focus on the positive branding of Rockford and will be held at Rockford Art Deli. Vintage 501 will cater the refreshments. The goal of this informal “mixer” is to blend area young professionals with representatives

of non-profit organizations, to allow the

young professionals to explore volunteer

opportunities. The engagement portion

of this event will arise from what the

attendees do with the information they

learned. We are anticipating a great

turnout. We hope you can join us!

As many articles prior to mine have

discussed IGNITE Cup at length, I am

glad to be the first to report that the

combined Kick-Off Party/After 5 social

event held at Greenfire restaurant on

April 9 was a wonderful success. Even

the storms couldn’t dampen our party!

Last year 13 teams participated in the

first-annual, summer-long IGNITE Cup

competitive series. Prior to April 9 of this

year, 19 teams already were assembled,

and we are expecting a few more teams

will be formed.

This summer, we have kept most of

the same events as last year; however,

we have added one that I’m particularly

looking forward to, Frisbee golf at

Rockford University. The REACH

Team has done a tremendous job in

the off-season responding to feedback

from last year’s participants and made

the scoring and team rankings more

transparent. Not only can teams earn

points at the Cup-specific events, but also

all IGNITE-sponsored events, including

Lunch Outside the Box, Professional

Book Club, QUOTE events and monthly

activities. Furthermore, any volunteer,

cultural or community activities will be

worth points.

Remember IGNITE Cup is more

than a networking or social event. It is an

avenue to encourage young professionals

to get out and enjoy the community.

Whether it is going to Rockford City

Market, a show at Rock Valley College’s

Starlight Theater or Dinner on the Dock,

IGNITE Cup’s main goal is to get young

professionals out of their homes and

explore all that Rockford has to offer.

I think too many times when

young professionals are looking at job

opportunities, they do not give Rockford

a second thought because of what larger

nearby cities like Chicago or Madison

can offer. However, I believe our

great city has quite a lot of those same

opportunities to enjoy and a great quality

of life.

If you would like any information regarding

IGNITE Cup or any of the three committees

where you can become more involved, please

email info@igniterockford.com.

Continuing INVOLVE-mentMark your calendar for summer events to come

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 9

Balancing our budgetConsiderations in state funding

Rockford Public Schools finds itself in a tough position as I write this. We are finalizing our budget for fiscal year 2016 with only fuzzy ideas of what state revenue will look like.

This much we know: We are committed to balancing our budget. And, we will continue to keep at least 25 percent — or three months — of operating expenses in reserve.

To get there, however, has meant hard work in the last few months. We have had to make significant reductions in areas in which we have recently reinvested, such as information technology and facilities work. We have had to cut 102 staff positions. We will continue to do what’s necessary to live within our means.

We have respected the taxpayer. For three years, we did not take the revenue tied to the Consumer Price Index that districts are entitled to under state law. Combined with the money returned to taxpayers from the 58-cent “Kids Win” referendum, RPS

205 has given back nearly $23 million to the community since 2012. We have held the line despite four years of flat local tax revenue.

Holding the line got more complicated last month. That’s when the state told us it would cut our proration rate — per-pupil funding for the costs of education — by 2.25 percent. Although our reserve position is still healthy, the reduction meant we had to rely on reserves to cover the unexpected cut to the 2015 fiscal year budget.

It isn’t any way to run a business. It certainly isn’t any way to educate kids.

Important Action ItemsFortunately, there is a better way on

a couple of fronts:

■ We stand firmly in support of Senate Bill 1, the school funding reform measure pending in the Illinois legislature. Changing the state funding formula would go a long way to correct the disparity between spending in

high poverty districts and spending in low poverty districts. Given the fiscal crisis in Illinois, the Rev. K. Edward Copeland was right. He wrote in the April 12 Rockford Register Star that “it matters more than ever that we target what limited state education funds exist to our most disadvantaged students who, we know from research and our own instincts, need help to reach their full potential.”

■ We also are asking for state lawmakers to reverse a redistribution of federal Title I dollars. Increasing the state retirement contribution rate the district pays for Title I employees from 7 percent to 33 percent has been devastating. It is a strong disincentive to hire educators paid for with federal funds. It favors buying “stuff” instead. It’s not stuff our high-risk students need. It’s people to teach them.

Our fiscal situation is difficult and challenging, but there’s a simple thing you can do to help students. Please join me in advocating for more equitable

education in the state of Illinois. Call

your lawmaker and say you’d like

action on the items I’ve outlined here.

Here in the Rockford Public

Schools, we aspire to not let the zip

code of any child determine the quality

of education he or she receives. What

about that zip code as it relates to the

entire state of Illinois? When the state

does not have enough money to invest

in education, it’s especially unfair to

communities like Rockford, which pay

a disproportionate price.

It’s time to change the narrative on

school funding. We don’t expect you,

the local taxpayer, to be the answer.

But you can call the question by

demanding change in Springfield now.

Dr. Ehren Jarrett is superintendent of

Rockford Public Schools.

The views expressed are those of Dr. Jarrett’s

and do not necessarily represent those of the

Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

10 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

The Rockford area appears to go from one extreme to the next – it seems like yesterday I was talking to people who knew someone who was out of work, and now, I am talking to employers who are having a hard time filling vacant positions. Through Transform Rockford, we as a community are striving to be a top 25 city by 2025. In my opinion, in order to achieve this goal, we need a community where the majority is working, and not just at minimum wage jobs.

Whether you are unemployed, looking for another job, or wanting to change positions for a promotion, you can always improve your “marketability.” The same is true for managers in organizations looking for people – what are you doing to become more “marketable” to potential candidates?

There has been some great advice in past articles of The Voice about where to go for help. Here are a few more options. Karen Brown stated in her article in the April 2015 issue of The Voice, “Education, training are keys to a strong workforce,” there are several job training programs in the Rock River Valley, including the apprenticeship programs, certification programs, not to mention the aviation maintenance program that will be growing at Rock Valley College. I did an Internet search – “Job training programs in Rockford, IL,” and several websites came up.

The Rockford Chamber offers some great resources for improving your marketability. Some of these events are free to the public, like the People You Should Know (PYSK) talks. Events such as these allow you to develop yourself and to network -- all great ways to become more marketable in this area. The chamber has a list of events at www.rockfordchamber.com.

University OptionsRockford University offers a number

of programs to enhance people’s skills. Our Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program offers classes that teachers can take for an endorsement to make themselves more marketable, such as ESL/bilingual, reading teacher or reading specialist, LBS1 (special education endorsement).

You do not need to be a teacher to get started in the MAT program. If you are looking to start a teaching career, we can help with that also. Our MBA program develops present and future leaders through a practical, applied education, and the community-based Executive Development program caters to mid-upper level associates. The program offers a wide variety of topics including, communication for leaders, time

management and decision making, strategy and strategic planning.

Finally if your organization is looking for a customized development program, Rockford University’s Executive Development team can meet with you to formulate a training program designed specifically for your organization’s needs. Find out more at www.rockford.edu.

Mentoring a New GenerationIf you are an employer looking for

new employees, high schools are too often overlooked. I had the honor of being invited to talk to students at Roosevelt High School for its Career Day. I was very excited to see a group of young men and women who are trying to live successful lives. High school age students play an important role in any community: They are our next generation of leaders. With the proper guidance and direction, Rockford-area high school students are the young men and women that will help to better our community and become a large part of our workforce.

Here are some questions to ask yourself and your company:

■ Are you willing to be a mentor?

■ Can your company offer a job-shadow program for a day, or even a week, so someone can get a better feel for the job?

■ Can your company set up an internship program? For the intern, a paid internship would be ideal, realizing however, that monies may not be allotted for interns. Could you offer a stipend to cover basic travel costs for the student?

I have been blessed in my job to see success stories on a regular basis. I can tell you there is nothing more rewarding than to see someone who comes to our office nervous and unsure of themselves and watch them grow into a self-confident person because of the education and guidance they receive, and who come back and tell us they have been hired for their dream job!

I strongly invite you to develop yourself and your organizations. If you know someone who can benefit from additional courses or training, encourage them to do so. Finally, become a mentor or coach to someone who needs that distinct direction and watch them grow and reach their full potential!

Michele Mehren is assistant director of graduate programs at Rockford University.

The views expressed are those of Mehren’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Michele Mehren Rockford University

PERSPECTIVERockford University

How can you help yourself Improving your marketability

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 11

More than 70 percent of nonprofit executives have the potential to retire in the next few years. Do you have a plan?

When asked about succession planning, we envision a large corporation in the for-profit sector that grooms an heir-apparent over a period of two or more years. Most nonprofit organizations cannot support the expense of an additional executive for a long period of time. Besides, executives are too preoccupied with the numerous daily concerns to devote time and energy to the question of who will take their place, especially if they don’t plan to leave in the next year or two.

For most executives, we prefer to avoid the uncomfortable topic and volunteer board members feel disloyal broaching the subject of succession with the executive that may have recruited them to serve. In some cases, funders and other stakeholders have built trusted relationships with the executive and any word of his/her departure could raise concerns of the organization’s stability and jeopardize support. In general, succession planning implies change and change is often fraught with fear.

So … it’s no surprise that succession planning is not a top priority. But it should be. Without a transition plan, an

organization may find itself at serious risk

with the planned or unplanned departure

of their executive. Succession planning is a

sound risk management practice and every

board member should raise the question

about preparation for leadership transition.

Emergency Succession PlanNonprofits should consider two

approaches that ensure agency stability

and prepare an organization for a change

in leadership. An emergency succession

plan is essentially a “back up” plan for

filling key executive responsibilities due

to an unexpected departure or extended

absence. It answers the questions:

■ “Who will take the ED’s place?

■ Who will handle specific aspects of the

ED’s work?

■ Who is authorized to speak on behalf

of the organization?

■ What financial systems need to be

instituted?

■ At what point, and how, will the board

initiate a formal search for a new ED?”

Answers to these questions and others

will ensure that leadership functions will

continue without disruption.

Departure-Defined Succession PlanA departure-defined succession plan

is used when a leader announces his/her planned retirement/departure a year or more in advance. It includes leadership development efforts and planning activities that involve both board and staff.

This process requires the board to identify the nonprofit’s goals for the future, determine the skills sets necessary for the new executive, and build capacity of board, staff and organizational systems to sustain programs and funding beyond the tenure of the current executive.

For a leadership transition to succeed, it must be based on core values and or-ganizational culture. It must be consistent with mission, vision and existing strate-gies as expressed in a formal strategic plan. Organizations should plan for ex-ecutive transition as carefully as they plan for a capital campaign or a new initiative.

Who is responsible for executive transition? The board of directors.

When is the best time to begin planning for succession? NOW.

There is much that a board can do to create the right environment for a smooth transition:

■ Recognize

responsibility

in raising the

question.

■ Know your

ED’s professional and personal plan.

■ Create an emergency plan.

■ Build succession planning into your

strategic plan.

■ Engage the executive in the planning

processes.

Pam Clark Reidenbach is the director of the

Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence

at Rockford University.

The views expressed are those of Clark

Reidenbach’s and do not necessarily represent

those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Pam Clark Reidenbach

NICNE

INSIGHTGuest Perspective

Preparing for leadership transitions Two plans to consider

NICNE WORKSHOP, SEVEN STEPS TO LEADERSHIP TRANSITION PLANNING™

Friday, May 29Designed for a team of two (executive director and board chair), this workshop is applicable to any nonprofit regardless of mission, scale or history. Visit rockford.edu/community/nicne/programs.

12 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Where Are They Now?In 2008, the Rockford Chamber launched the 40 Leaders Under 40 awards program to honor those movers, shakers and up-and-comers who make things happen. Here’s a look at what some of them are doing now!

Dustin KaapWhere are you now? I still work at United

Technologies, and am now a system product team leader for the aircraft electric power systems we are supplying to China’s future aircraft, the COMAC C919. My wife and I recently moved near Winnebago and are busy raising our two children.

What would be the most valuable lesson you’ve learned during that time? I have learned that it is going to take more than leadership to reach the community goals that I think many of us have. I think the community is addressing this gap through grass root eff orts like those at Heartland Community Church and Transform Rockford.

What advice would you give to those coming up in your industry? Many times a year, reevaluate what you enjoy and where you want to make a diff erence. When you have a destination in mind, fi nd and use mentors who align with your values and who have traveled down a similar path.

Who is your role model and why? I think I am a casual Christ follower, but there aren’t many weeks that pass where I’m not asking myself what would Jesus Christ do. I admittedly have a lot of room for improvement, but having such a great role model has undoubtedly made me a better son, husband, father, employee, neighbor and community member.

Tonya ThayerWhere are you now? I am the Community

Engagement Manager for the Volunteer Center for United Way of Rock River Valley.

What did you take away by becoming an honoree? An opportunity to promote the good work Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity was doing in the community.

What would be the most valuable lesson you’ve learned during that time? We all are needy. We all have needs, (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) regardless of our socioeconomic situation. Those with access to resources can address their needs quickly. Those without resources, need greater support.

Who is your role model and why? Anyone who volunteers their time, talent and resources to support a mission that inspires them

Earl Dotson, Jr. Where are you now? I am the CCO (Chief

Communications Offi cer) for the Rockford Public School District.

What would be the most valuable lesson you’ve learned during that time? You don’t have to have all of the answers. It’s ok to rely on your team.

What advice would you give to those coming up in your industry? Continue to be a life-long learner. Grow in your profession.

Who is your role model and why? My mother.Any key turning points in your career or

family? Still married to my beautiful wife Diane. I have completed my continuing education coursework to maintain my PHR (professional in human resources) I will be taking the test for my APR (accreditation in public relations) in July.

(left) In 2008, Kaap was celebrating his 11th year at United Technologies Aerospace Systems designing aircraft emergency power systems, engaged in multiple community organizations and just starting a family.

(above, right) “As an honoree, I walked away feeling a greater obligation to collaborate with and support others. I would like to think that families are taking the challenge to develop our next 4,000 leaders under 40.”

(left) In 2008, Thayer was executive director of Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity.

(above, right) “Don’t be afraid to tackle something that scares you. Don’t think. Just do it,” Thayer advises to those coming up in their careers.

Name the adjective that best describes you. Organized. Dustin KaapRidiculous. Tonya ThayerHappy! Outgoing. Earl Dotson, Jr.

What do you like to do “off the clock”? Wisconsin Badger sports. Dustin KaapExercise. Tonya ThayerTime at the beach! Exercise, avid music listener, swimming, golfi ng. Earl Dotson, Jr.

What’s your hidden talent? Video editing. Dustin KaapChanging a bike tube. Tonya ThayerNot so hidden … public speaking. Earl Dotson, Jr.

If you weren’t doing what you are now, what job would you want? College teacher. Dustin KaapDietician. Tonya ThayerMovie star! Earl Dotson, Jr.

A FEW QUESTIONS FROM 2008 WE ASKED AGAIN …

(left) In 2008, Dotson was offi ce deputy administrator for the Winnebago County Board.

(above, right) “I was very grateful for the recognition and felt an awesome responsibility to continue to lead and serve.”

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 13

More than half, 51.5 percent, of U.S. homes have a prepared emergency evacuation kit. The level of preparedness varies, with about 70 percent of households in Miami and Tampa, Fla., having emergency supplies readily available in the event of an evacuation. The Austin (Texas), Chicago and Minneapolis had among the lowest rate of homes with an emergency preparedness kit.

The U.S. Census Bureau questioned how many households were prepared for emergency situations such as fire, terrorist attack or large-scale natural disaster in order to help policymakers determine if U.S. households have a critical plan in place for all members, including pets.

The survey found:

■ 48.4 percent of homes have a pet.

■ 54.3 percent have an emergency water supply.

■ 18.3 percent of single-family homes (excluding manufactured/mobile homes) have a generator.

Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; U.S. Census Bureau

Area Advice to Prepare for Emergencies

Winnebago County offers tips on its website, www.co.winnebago.wi.us, to help area residents prepare in the event of an emergency. Some advice …

1. Get a Kit.You may need to survive on your

own after an emergency, including providing your own food, water and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene, but it could take hours — or days, and basic services such as electricity, gas, water sewage treatment and telephones may be cut off for days.

■ Gather the items for your emergency supply kit in easy-to-carry containers or duffel bags. Put them within reach, near the exit you use most often.

■ Check and update your kit at least once a year. It should include a three- to 14-day supply of provisions.

■ Remember the 3 Ps: Pills, Pets, Purses

■ One gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation.

■ At least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.

■ Battery-powered or hand crank radio

and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both.

■ Flashlight and extra batteries.

■ First aid kit.

■ Whistle to signal for help.

■ Dust mask to help filter contaminated air, and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place.

■ Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation.

■ Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities.

■ Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food.)

■ Local maps.

■ Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger.

2. Form a Family Communications Plan

Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to make a family communications plan in advance: how you will contact one another; how you will get back together, and what you will do in different situations.

Identify an out-of town contact. It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.

Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has a cell phone, coins or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact. For a cell phone, program that person(s) as “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) in your phone. If you are in an accident, emergency personnel will often check your ICE listings in order to get a hold of someone you know. Make sure to tell your family and friends that you’ve listed them as emergency contacts.

Teach family members how to use text messaging, which often can get around network disruptions when a phone call might not be able to get through.

Subscribe to alert services, such as Winnebago County’s MyStateUSA Reverse 911 System to register your cell phone. (mystateusa.com/Signup/?region=21353). The AlertSense Severe Weather Notifications system will send you timely and automated messages based on notification preferences of your choosing. Your home and business phone number already is in the system.

Visit www.ready.gov for more information.

Miami, Tampa homes prepared for emergenciesMidwestern homes less prepared

14 Financial Fitness May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Michael Cyrs Savant Capital Management

INSIGHTGuest Perspective

Successful multi-generation business succession

The statistics are staggering. There are 17 million U.S. family businesses, representing 64 percent of the United States gross domestic product. Less than a third of those family businesses survive into the second generation, and only 12 percent continue to be family-controlled in the third generation. All this despite the fact that it is estimated that family businesses are more successful than non-family businesses, earning on average a 6.65 percent higher return on assets.

Successful family business succession planning requires a multidisciplinary estate planning approach, focusing on myriad issues. Complicated corporate and individual income tax issues must be addressed and alternative scenarios often modeled, further complicated by the estate and gift tax issues that come into play. More importantly, the transfer of a family business requires insight of family dynamics and the personal circumstances of individual family members. Without proper planning, the family business could be lost, and financial livelihoods and personal relationships could be damaged.

Navigating Tax LiabilitiesThe starting point in most business

succession is to appropriately consider and navigate applicable transfer taxes. Historically high transfer tax exemption levels provide an opportunity to transfer significant wealth to future generations with little or no estate tax to consider. Nonetheless, attention should be given to transferring business interests during lifetime rather than at death. Not only do such transfers avoid Illinois transfer tax, since Illinois has no Gift Tax, but such transfers can be accomplished at significant valuation discounts, such as those applicable to smaller minority interest transfers.

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts might also be considered to generate liquidity to pay tax liabilities from estate tax-free resources. This strategy can be implemented to “cash out” some members of the second generation so another may receive the family business interest without sibling involvement. Transfers during lifetime have the benefit of providing time to involve other generations in the family business while the first generation is still around to settle disputes.

Transfer of ControlAnother consideration to resolve is

the timetable and method for retaining and then releasing control. Transfers

can often be accomplished while maintaining control by recharacterizing stock and creating voting and non-voting interests, and transferring only the non-voting interests accordingly. The founding generation might also consider transferring the operating business, while maintaining building and equipment inside an LLC or similar entity and leasing those assets to the family business. In these cases, it is imperative to model cash flow accordingly, and to do so on an after-tax basis and consider alternative income tax scenarios to provide the optimal solution for the senior generation from both an income and estate tax perspective.

Transfers to future generations can also be made into Irrevocable Trusts to provide additional levels of asset protection for concerns that could arise among future generations, such as in the case of a divorce or an unexpected creditor scenarios. Attention should also be paid to the drafting of these trusts to account for the lack of diversification of these trusts, and to preserve the tax elections if necessary for the underlying business itself. Consideration should be given to implementing either a business advisory structure, a Voting Trust, or a Trust Protector to implement an appropriate mechanism for unified future voting of such family business interests.

Family business owners may also consider implementing philanthropic planning into their succession plan. There are a variety of options to consider. Owners might consider modeling gifts of a small portion of the family business during lifetime or at death to a Private Family Foundation, a Donor Advised Fund, or a Charitable Lead or Remainder Trust. Invoking these strategies often leads to minimizing income and estate taxes for the owners as well as for future generations.

Business succession planning is not for the faint of heart, and is easily complicated by both family dynamics and complicated tax rules. With proper advice and guidance, family business owners can leave a legacy, instill values, and secure a valuable resource for loved ones and generations to come.

For informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice.

Michael Cyrs, J.D., MBA, CFP®, is estate and wealth transfer advisor with Savant Capital Management.

The views expressed are those of Cyrs’ and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 Financial Fitness 15

William Geske Edward Jones

INSIGHTGuest Perspective

How can you become a “healthy” investor?Maintaining vigilance over your investments

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month; designed to encourage people to follow a healthy, active lifestyle. You can take steps toward this goal, of course, but why not carry the concept of improving health to other areas of your life — such as your investments? Toward that end, consider these suggestions:

Give Your Portfolio a Regular Check-Up

To maintain your fitness, it’s a good idea to visit a doctor for a check-up on a regular basis. And to help ensure the “health” of your portfolio, you may want to periodically review it with the assistance of a financial professional — someone who can point out gaps in your existing holdings or changes that may need to be made.

Follow a Balanced Investment Diet

As you know, nutrition experts recommend that we adopt a balanced

diet, drawing on all the major food groups. Too much of any one category — for example, an excess of meat or of dairy products — can lead to health concerns.

An analogous situation exists when you invest — if you own too much of one particular asset class, such as aggressive growth stocks, you might expose yourself to an “unhealthy” degree of risk, because you could take a big hit during a market downturn. But not all investments move in the same direction at the same time, so if you own a mix of stocks, bonds, government securities and other vehicles, you can lessen the impact of volatility on your portfolio. In investing, as in all walks of life, balance and moderation are important.

Don’t Let Investments Get Lazy Exercise is essential in staying fit

and healthy. Yet, exercise also can be hard work, causing many of us to put it off to “another day.” Some of your investments may also not be working

hard enough for you. To cite one possibility, you might

own quite a few certificates of deposit (CDs). There’s nothing “wrong” with CDs, and they do offer a high degree of preservation of principal, but they provide very little in the way of return, particularly in a low-interest-rate environment, such as we’ve had over the past few years. So, if you have a plethora of CDs, you might be depriving yourself of the opportunity to own other investments that “work harder” by offering you the growth potential you’ll need to make progress toward your long-term goals.

Avoid Unhealthy HabitsMany of us are guilty of unhealthy

habits, such as eating too much or failing to address stress. Taken together, these bad habits can harm the quality of our lives.

As an investor, you can also fall into some bad habits. To name just a couple, you could waste time and effort

by chasing

after “hot”

investments, which may already be

cooling off by the time you hear about

them, or you could decide to take a

“time out” from investing when the

markets are turbulent. Another bad

habit: Investing either too aggressively

or too conservatively for your goals

and risk tolerance. By avoiding these

and other negative habits, you can

help yourself stay on track toward your

objectives.

It takes diligence and vigilance to

stay physically fit and healthy. And these

same attributes are just as important

in keeping your investment strategy in

good shape.

William Geske is financial advisor for

Edward Jones.

The views expressed are those of Geske’s

and do not necessarily represent those of the

Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

16 Financial Fitness May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Jeff Huber The Morrissey Family

BusinessesSM

INSIGHTGuest Perspective

Managing the finances of your businessSome key concepts

Effective financial management is important to the success of any business. Business in in its simplest form is the process of investing cash to produce a product or service that the business owner can sell and receive cash in return. A successful business receives more cash at the end of this process than the owner was required to invest.

During my 33-year career in accounting and finance roles, I have worked for publicly traded companies and small private businesses in manufacturing and service industries. While each of these entities was unique, their ultimate goal was to increase the value of the owners’ investment.

Accounting and finance professionals use their skills and training to help business owners/entrepreneurs manage the finances of their business. This article is not intended to provide an in-depth analysis of effective financial management, but I hope to provide an overview of a few key concepts. This article focuses on three areas: cash management, risk management and forecasting.

Three Areas of FocusTo effectively manage cash, you

need to have a clear understanding of your cash flow requirements and the sources of cash readily available. Common uses of cash include funding operations and acquiring fixed assets. Your annual business cycle may include times when the business is generating sufficient cash to fund these uses of cash, and other times when you will need to access other available sources of cash, such as bank lines of credit. Developing a good relationship with a solid financial institution is very important for most small businesses. When the cost of borrowing is lower than your internal rate of return, using bank debt is likely to be your best source of funding. A lack of available cash will eventually lead to the demise of your business, so cash management is an important part of managing the finances of your business.

Along with cash management, it is important to have a clear understanding of your financial risks. By knowing and understanding your risks, you are in a better position to develop strategies that can mitigate their financial impact. Risks are unplanned events that reduce the value of your assets or increase the operating expenses of your business. Many risks can be mitigated using insurance products. Typical coverages include property and casualty, workers’ compensation, general liability, product liability, professional liability and employee crime. It is important that your business identify such risks and has adequate insurance coverage in place at all times.

There are other business risks that are not as easily insurable, including legal and regulatory changes, decreasing demand for your product or service or new competition to name a few. Understanding and mitigating your risks is another important part of managing the finances of your business.

Finally, it is important to know where you’re going and whether or not you are on track to get there. Developing a financial forecast involves looking into the future to identify things that will potentially impact your business. Your business can be impacted by economic factors, legal and legislative changes, technological advances or changes to the competitive landscape. Forecasting also includes things as simple as knowing when assets will need to be replaced or upgraded.

An awareness of these things will allow you to plan ahead and make decisions regarding what additional investments may be required. Developing a sound financial forecast will put you in better position to take advantage of opportunities and, if necessary, to establish contingency plans.

While managing the finances of your business involves many other factors, I believe that proper cash management, identifying and mitigating risk, and planning ahead are vital to long-term success. Regardless of the business or industry, these are things that deserve close attention.

Jeff Huber is vice president and chief financial officer for The Morrissey Family BusinessesSM

The views expressed are those of Huber’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

When the cost of borrowing is lower than your internal rate of return, using bank debt is likely to be your best source of funding.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 Financial Fitness 17

Anthony J. Pozzi Rockford

Bank & Trust

INSIGHTGuest Perspective

Cash balance retirement plansA win-win for business owners, employees

Employers seeking to fund much larger contributions than permitted under 401(k) and profit sharing plans should consider Cash Balance Retirement Plans. If you have never heard of them before, don’t worry, neither have many other people. But they are catching on with small businesses, especially as defined benefit plans or pension plans go away. Cash balance plans are incredibly user-friendly for small business owners, especially those with a single owner or between one and five owners. In most cases, the employer already has a 401(k) or profit sharing plan, and the cash balance plan is added on to it.

With cash balance plans being run in tandem with 401(k) or profit sharing plans, owners get the benefit of saving more for their own retirement, and the employees get additional dollars in the form of employer contributions. These plans allow for larger employer/owner contributions to be made on behalf of participants in need of catching up on retirement savings. Owners and executives receive greater contributions to their retirement accounts, while also helping all the non-highly compensated employees.

Accelerate SavingsBusiness owners and executives in

their 50s and 60s may only be deferring $53,000 a year because of limits to their defined contribution plan, 401(k). With the right demographics, contributions between $100,000 and $200,000 for owners or highly compensated employees can be contributed. This is a critical benefit to those who are projecting a shortfall in building a sufficient retirement nest egg. Many business owners spent the early years developing a successful business and have found themselves short of retirement savings. In the past, an owner’s business exit plan was his or her primary source of retirement income. But changes in the economy have drastically altered that way of thinking.

In these cases, a cash balance plan can be an alternative way to get a large retirement fund developed in a short window of time.

Maximize Tax DeductionsCash balance retirement plans also

provide tax savings. Rising federal and state tax rates have motivated many business owners to maximize tax-deferred retirement savings and

take advantage

of tax deductions for contributions

to employee retirement accounts.

Consistent profit patterns are one aspect

of an ideal business for a cash balance

plan. The downside of consistent profits

is consistent taxes. A cash balance plan

can provide significant tax savings since

all contributions to the plan are fully

deductible to the business for federal

income tax purposes.

How do cash balance plans work?

Typically, a participant’s account is

credited each year with a “pay credit”

and an “interest credit.” Increases

and decreases in the value of the

plan’s investments do not directly

affect the benefit amounts promised

to participants. When a participant

becomes entitled to receive benefits

under a cash balance plan, the benefits

that are received are defined in terms of

an “account balance.”

Traditional pension/defined benefit

plans define an employee benefit as

a series of monthly payments for life

that begins at retirement. Cash balance

plans define the benefit in terms of

stated account balance. These accounts

are often termed “hypothetical

accounts” because they do not reflect

actual contributions to an account or

actual gains and losses allocable to

the account. In cash balance plans, a

participant can receive a lump sum

distribution that can be rolled over into

an individual retirement account (IRA).

Cash balance retirement plans are

becoming an increasingly popular form

of retirement planning. This trend,

given current demographics and tax

policy is likely to continue for some

time. Cash balance plans require a

unique set of resources to develop an

optimal plan. They require a deeper

understanding of plan sponsor risk

tolerances, interest crediting rates,

and liquidity constraints, as well as

the quirks of accounting and funding

regulations. Always consult a qualified

legal, tax and investment advisory

professional to see if this option would

be right for your business.

Anthony J. Pozzi is the vice president at Rockford Bank & Trust and a financial advisor and branch manager with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.

The views expressed are those of Pozzi’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

18 Financial Fitness May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

You’ve heard it from a million places: Budget your money! Make a firm plan and stick with it. It’s the pathway to prosperity!

For many people, though, that advice just doesn’t resonate. They feel constricted by a budget. Keeping cash in separate envelopes makes them feel like they can’t have a life. It takes too much planning and too much rigid denial. They break their budget and sometimes wind up in serious financial trouble.

Other people have an inconsistent cash flow, making creating and keeping a budget difficult. Maybe they’re freelancers who work gig-to-gig. Maybe they’re in commissioned sales. Maybe their hours fluctuate month-to-month. Whatever the reason, it’s hard to make a detailed plan when your bottom line changes every month.

The answer isn’t to give up on budgeting. The collective wisdom, that monitoring your expenses and income streams is the way to stability, still holds true. It might just require a different approach to budgeting: cash flow focus.

Cash flow focus is the strategy used by most businesses. They pay their fixed costs, and whatever is left is used to

grow the business. You can manage your finances the same way.

Just follow these four steps:

1. Automate Your SavingsEven if you disregard everything else

in this article, implementing this one tip can be life changing. Figure out how much of your income you can save, then take that out as soon as you get paid. You can set up monthly transfers from your draft account to your savings account. You also can divide the money between the accounts on a per deposit basis. How you choose to do so is less important than doing so.

Like the saying goes, pay yourself first. This savings provides you the flexibility to cover big expenses or make major purchases on your schedule. It’s the single most important step in any budget, but it’s even more important with cash flow budgeting.

When you automate your savings, you remove the money you saved from consideration. You can’t spend it; you’ve already spent it on savings. The importance of this kind of savings will become clearer once you see this budget in action.

A fast, flexible way to fix your financesUsing a cash flow focus

2. Pay Your Needs and Your Priorities

Make a list of your essential expenses each month. Include your rent or house payment, your car loan and your utilities. Also include your student loan payments, your insurance and other necessary expenses. These are your “fixed costs.” They get paid after your savings contributions are made.

Next, make a list of your priorities. Include your charitable contributions, vacation savings and retirement account contributions. These are your “growth expenses.” They get paid after your fixed costs.

If you don’t have enough money to make these bills, you don’t need a better budget. You need to lower those bills or increase your income. No amount of spreadsheet magic will change that bottom line.

It’s helpful to automate savings for these expenses, too. That way, you never get caught short on these bills. Transferring this money to a check-only draft account can be a helpful way to ensure you don’t spend it.

3. Spend the LeftoversThis message may sound peculiar

for personal finance advice. Remember, though, that you’ve already automated your savings. What you’re spending here is the leftovers – the extra that’s left at the end of the month.

Spend this money however you like – don’t worry about putting this much in entertainment and that much in travel. Just keep track of how much you’ve spent so you don’t accidentally overdraft your account.

This approach allows you to go out or indulge in a latte. You don’t have to worry about including it in your budget. Your spending habits might change as the month goes on, just like a business. If you know there’s a big outing before you get paid again, you may want to save some money for that. You don’t need to say that you can’t go because you didn’t budget for it.

4. Roll Over What’s LeftIf you’ve worked in a big business,

you’ve seen departments desperately spending at the end of the fiscal year. Departments buy cases of pens and paper, knowing that they’ll lose whatever they don’t spend. Fortunately, you’re more flexible than a big business. You don’t have to spend it all. If you have money left over at the end of the month, then you have more to spend the next month.

If you have a month with slightly higher expenses, you can cover it from a previous month’s slightly lower expenses. Your spending will change from month to month, as might your income. So long as you keep the former smaller than the latter in the long run, you’ll be fine.

That’s what cash flow budgeting is about: flexibility. You don’t have to write your unbudgeted spending purposes in stone. You don’t have to mess with cash envelopes or other strategies. You can spend when you have money and save for when you don’t.

Source: MembersAlliance Credit Union

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 Financial Fitness 19

Chad HenryUpstream

Investment Partners

INSIGHTGuest Perspective

Developing good investment habitsSticking to your strategy

We all have many habits in our life. Some habits are good and some are bad. Every year, many of us make New Year’s resolutions to improve our habits or to kick a bad habit. I often give investors the advice to make a habit of “paying themselves fi rst.” I recommend that they treat their own retirement or savings goals with the same urgency of any other bill. I have helped people with their cash fl ow and budgeting only to fi nd that they have a habit of getting a $3 or $4 cup of specialty coffee everyday but they do not systematically invest in their own retirement accounts. Set good habits, lead by example with your kids and lifelong investment goals can be attained.

Often, the average investor is unable to stick with an investment strategy. They fall into an “instant gratifi cation, bad habit rut.” Good fi nancial advisors can help by encouraging a rational long-term outlook to fi nancial planning. Having a plan and systematically charting progress towards goals can empower one to stay on track.

You may have heard to “put time on your side” when it comes to compounding. Procrastination is the root of many habits never changing. Good saving and investing habits can put time on your side. It is important to evaluate your situation, time horizon and goals fi rst. Then you need to sit with a professional that will gather all of your information, develop a plan, help you implement the plan, and continuously monitor your plan. A fi nancial professional can be compared to a doctor who assesses your situation and develops a treatment to heal you and return you to good health. One of

the best ways to be in good fi nancial

health is by developing good fi nancial

habits.

Replace a bad habit with a good one

and look at the benefi t or reward for you.

Good habits can help investors achieve

their fi nancial goals. Bad investment

habits can include trading based on

short-term conditions, second guessing

every decision, underinvesting, trying

to catch-up through overly risky

investment vehicles.

There will likely be failures and

relapses back to old habits along the

way, but true failure only occurs when

the investors throws in the towel and

gives up. A good fi nancial advisor will

work hard with you to build the good

habits and reinforce the good habits to

reach your long-term fi nancial goals.

Chad Henry, CFP®, AAMS®, AIF®, is senior

vice president & fi nancial wealth consultant

with Upstream Investment Partners, 423

Financial Court, Rockford, IL, 815-315-

0107; 352-½ W. State St., Sycamore, IL,

815-895-8885; chenry@upstreamip.com,

www.HenryPWM.com.

Securities offered through Sigma Financial

Corporation; Member FINRA and SIPC.

Investment advisory services offered through

Sigma Planning Corporation, a registered

investment advisor. Upstream Investment

Partners is independent of Sigma Financial

Corporation and SPC.

The views expressed are those of Henry’s

and do not necessarily represent those of the

Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Illinois ranks high in personal fi nancial literacyWhat have we learned regarding

fi nancial literacy in the aftermath of the Great Recession? We’ve collectively racked up roughly $133 billion in new credit card debt since the beginning of 2012, unsurprising given that only two in fi ve adults have a budget. Yet good and bad personal fi nancial habits differ with

Illinois looking better overall than other areas of the country.

WalletHub in April released its report on the Most & Least Financially Literate States for 2015. Illinois ranked seventh best overall in fi nancial education programs and consumer habits in the 50 U.S. states and District of Columbia.

Illinois Financial Literacy Rankings (1 = best, 25 = avg.)

19th Percentage of people who spend more than they make5th Percentage of people with a rainy day fund11th Percentage of people borrowing from non-bank lenders14th Percentage paying only minimum on credit card7th Percentage comparing credit cards before applying8th Champlain University High School fi nancial literacy grade14th High school dropout rate14th Percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher

Top 10 States in Financial LiteracyState Knowledge Daily Habits1. New Hampshire 2 12. Utah 1 73. Massachusetts 21 24. Maryland 12 45. New Jersey 11 96. North Dakota 33 37. Illinois 14 88. Minnesota 8 139. Pennsylvania 30 410. Virginia 3 20

Source: wallethub.com

20 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Same old (tax) storyBy Alex Gary, Transform Rockford

Winnebago County number crunchers in early April completed a property owner’s least favorite math equation.

According to Winnebago County Clerk records, in 2014, for the fi fth straight year, the value of property in Winnebago County declined. But because the vast majority of area taxing bodies asked for more in property taxes or the same amount, property tax rates again soared.

The vast majority of people who own property in Rockford this year will pay a property tax rate of $14.98 per $100 of the property’s equalized assessed valuation. That’s a seven percent increase from last year’s $14.00 per $100 and a staggering 45.7 percent jump from tax rates in 2007 before the Great Recession devastated housing markets nationwide.

If there’s a silver lining, it is that most people in Rockford will pay essentially the same amount in taxes this year. In 2014, if you owned a home worth $100,000, you would have paid about $4,667 in property taxes. In 2015, that $100,000 home now is valued by assessors at about $93,100 and your tax bill with the $14.98 rate will be about $4,649.

Although Rockford homeowners by

far pay the highest rates in Winnebago County, no property owners in the county are likely to be happy with their property tax rates. The overall value of property dropped 4.9 percent county wide, according to township assessors. Of the 10 other incorporated cities and villages, property tax rates increased by fi ve percent or more in fi ve – Cherry Valley, Durand, Machesney Park, New Milford and Roscoe, meaning likely increases in the overall tax bill.

As late as 2012, Rockford property owners were the only ones in the county paying a property tax rate of more than $10 per $100 EAV. This year, residents in every municipality will be paying above that level.

Tough Issue to TackleOf all Rockford’s issues, high crime,

low education, crumbling infrastructure and high poverty rates, property taxes may be the most vexing to correct. Home prices in Winnebago County continue to be stagnant. According to Illinois Association of Realtors statistics, the median prices of homes sold in Winnebago County declined year over year in both the fi rst and second quarter

of 2014 before showing gains in the third and fourth quarter. Home prices peaked here in the fourth quarter of 2006 when the median price of the 1,616 homes sold that quarter hit $129,700. Median home prices haven’t topped $100,000 in any quarter in Winnebago County since the fourth quarter of 2010.

If prices don’t rise faster than the rate of infl ation then the only way property rates will fall in future years is if the area taxing bodies willingly ask for less from voters.

That’s tough to do for two reasons.

■ First, fi xing the area’s crumbling roads, improving the public schools and tackling the area’s crime problems take signifi cant tax dollars.

■ Second, unlike 1980 when 18 of the 20 top employers in Winnebago County were private or public companies, the area’s top 20 employers now include Winnebago County, the Rockford Park District, the Harlem and Belvidere school districts along with the city of Rockford and Rockford School District. Large cuts in property tax dollars would mean staff cuts in a region that can ill afford to lose any more jobs.

Economic development leaders

and developers though say the region’s high tax rates do cost the area jobs. Site selectors working for companies looking to expand usually use tax rates as one of the criteria, eliminating the area long before leaders here realized they were even in a competition.

In 2013, the Tax Policy Center, a Washington D.C.-based joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, culled through property tax data from the U.S. Census Bureau covering the years 2007 to 2011 and found that out of 3,143 counties in the United States, Winnebago County taxpayers ranked 24th in terms of amount of property taxes paid as a percentage of their home’s worth. Outside of New York, which had 21 of the top 24 counties, Winnebago County trailed only Shannon County, S.D.; Camden County, N.J.; and Menominee County, Wis.

Considering the average property tax rate in Winnebago County has increased more than 21 percent since 2011, it is highly unlikely Winnebago County will improve on that ranking if the Tax Policy Center decides to update its data.

Alex Gary is a Transform Rockford volunteer. He can be reached at alexgary87@gmail.com.

The chart below shows the tax rates of the “representative” tax codes in Winnebago County. For example, the vast majority of Rockford residents live in tax code #001. Residents in that tax code pay property taxes to Winnebago County, the Winnebago County Forest Preserve, Rockford Township, the city of Rockford, Rockford Park District, Rock River Water Reclamation, Rockford City Library, Greater Rockford Airport, Rockford School District and Rock Valley College.

As the chart shows, taxpayers in all Winnebago County cities have seen rates soar since the Great Recession. Only leaders in Pecatonica, which had the second highest property tax rate in 2007 and now has the second lowest from 2014, have done a good job in keeping battling the rising rates.

Winnebago County Tax code 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Cherry Valley #119 $8.02 $8.19 $8.34 $8.89 $9.58 $9.98 $10.82 $11.55

Durand #233 $7.96 $8.12 $8.35 $8.46 $9.00 $10.12 $10.87 $11.46

Loves Park #002 $8.25 $8.36 $8.43 $8.96 $9.42 $10.38 $11.56 $12.03

Machesney Park #144 $7.75 $7.95 $8.01 $8.49 $8.89 $9.76 $10.60 $11.22

New Milford #379 $7.42 $7.56 $7.82 $8.20 $8.81 $8.88 $9.59 $10.69

Pecatonica #286 $9.07 $9.07 $8.94 $9.30 $9.55 $9.63 $10.11 $10.32

Rockford #001 $10.28 $10.45 $10.64 $11.32 $12.18 $12.90 $14.00 $14.98

Rockton #197 $8.41 $8.03 $8.12 $8.55 $8.91 $9.25 $9.88 $10.24

Roscoe #149 $8.44 $8.55 $8.60 $9.13 $9.58 $10.50 $11.38 $12.02

South Beloit #190 $8.26 $8.21 $8.23 $8.61 $9.00 $9.91 $10.38 $10.65

Winnebago #325 $8.57 $8.87 $8.99 $9.16 $9.34 $10.22 $10.76 $11.12

Tax Rates Continue to Rise

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 21

By Paul Anthony Arco

For Jay Graham and Scott Spencer, being successful business owners means taking care of the client – no matter what it takes. The pair lead GrahamSpencer, a long-time, Rockford-based full-service strategic communications firm.

“What I care about is watching our clients succeed,” Graham said. “As a team, we’re smart, we adapt and we never think good is good enough. We’ll go through a wall for our clients. When you like the people you work for and respect their mission, it makes you want to do the best you can for them.”

Graham was running a sole proprietorship agency when he met Spencer through a mutual friend. The pair hit it off and opened GrahamSpencer in 1987. GrahamSpencer offers a wide range of services, including research, analysis, planning, design, web development, videography, environmental and exhibition design, offline and online advertising, social media and public relations.

“We’re a hybrid brand and content develop company,” Graham said. “When it’s appropriate and the client can afford it, we’re very strategic. We have a propriety research process that we’ve developed and used over the past 30 years that leads to strategic thinking, planning and positioning. We produce everything from identity, logo development, signage, video production, television commercials and fleet marketing.”

Expansion NationwideTen years ago, GrahamSpencer

expanded its reach, when it opened an office in Hoboken, N.J., and two years ago in Nashville, Tenn., where nearly 60 percent of the company’s revenue comes from today. “We had an eye on Nashville,” Graham said, “and it’s unbelievable how fast that town is growing. Nashville has been great for us. Business people care about brand down there. They get it.” GrahamSpencer is lean with just eight employees, but plans to add staff in Nashville in the near future.

Over the years, GrahamSpencer has worked with a variety of clients such as

hospitals, law firms, airports, nonprofit organizations and professional sports teams. One of its first major clients was AMCORE Bank. Some of its clients, such as the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (RACVB), have been with the firm since the beginning. Remember the RACVB’s highly publicized ‘Misery Loves Company’ media campaign a few years ago that poked fun at the Forbes study that labeled Rockford as the third “most miserable city” in the United States? That was the creative work of GrahamSpencer.

“We’re diversified in terms of the size of our clients,” Graham said. “We work just as hard for the ma and pa shops as we do the Fortune 500 companies. We place a high emphasis on quality. I put our portfolio up against anyone in the business, and I’m blessed to be a part of a really talented team.”

One of GrahamSpencer’s most memorable projects was “Rick’s Picks: A Lifelong Affair with Guitars & Music,” an exhibit that featured Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen’s guitar and ephemera collections at Burpee Museum of Natural History in 2012. The display included many of the Rockford resident’s guitars – as well as those of notable friends such as Dave Grohl, Todd Rundgren and Slash – a 40-minute documentary and other video content. GrahamSpencer created the exhibit and produced the documentary.

“It was one of the most fulfilling projects we’ve ever done,” said Graham, who hopes to open the exhibition again soon in other markets. “It was intense. We had 10 months from start to opening night. The best part was watching Rick mingle with the fans. He loves his guitars, he loves Rockford and he loves Cheap Trick’s fans. And they love him back.”

PROFILEMember Profile

GrahamSpencer: Telling stories and building brands

GRAHAMSPENCER Owners: Jay Graham and Scott Spencer 333 Locust St., Rockford 815-397-4949www.grahamspencer.com

Fans came from all over the country, and the world, to visit Burpee Museum of Natural History during Rick’s Picks: A Lifelong Affair With Guitars & Music, produced by GrahamSpencer in 2012.

22 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

SwedishAmerican recently embarked upon a new and exciting chapter in our 104-year history of community service. Through our now finalized merger with UW Health, I am pleased to update you about the extraordinary benefits I believe this will bring to our region.

The decision to merge with UW Health ultimately was a SwedishAmerican Board of Directors decision. We are blessed to have a local board comprised of accomplished and dedicated community leaders who approach their role with a passion for providing the best possible healthcare to our citizens.

As we contemplated the challenging role of continuing to provide outstanding healthcare and proactive

growth and leadership to our region, our board’s primary filter was finding a partner with common mission, vision, values and culture.

Equally important was identifying a partner that would allow SwedishAmerican to maintain administrative decision-making and oversight in areas such as budget, capital investment, personnel, strategy, quality and safety. Through our five years of affiliation with UW Health, we have affirmed these things to be true.

From the beginning of our relationship, our discussions were not focused on the business or transactional aspects of our integration, but rather were singularly directed toward providing the best possible, patient-

Dr. Bill Gorski SwedishAmerican

INSIGHTGuest Perspective

SwedishAmerican-UW Health merger promises extraordinary benefits

centric healthcare possible. In early 2010, we immediately began looking for ways to improve access to sub-specialty healthcare providers and services in our region.

In 2011 patients in SwedishAmerican’s Rockford and Belvidere Emergency Departments gained access to world-class stroke neurologists at UW through the introduction of telemedicine technology.

The following year, similar technology was used to link 30 critical care rooms at SwedishAmerican Hospital with a team of intensivist physicians and critical care nurses at UW.

The most visible example of our affiliation is the SwedishAmerican Regional Cancer Center. The facility, located in northeast Rockford, opened its doors in October, 2013 and is far exceeding patient service volume expectations. Many patients who otherwise would have had to travel are now receiving their care locally.

Strengthened CapabilitiesLate last year, we established the

UW Health Multispecialty Surgical Oncology Clinic directly within the Regional Cancer Center. The clinic was developed in partnership with UW Health and the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. It provides local cancer patients with convenient local access to UW Health specialists from disciplines such as endocrine surgery, thoracic surgical oncology, gastrointestinal surgical oncology, and head and neck surgical oncology.

In addition, we now have high-end pediatric subspecialists rotating through our Woodside clinic on North Mulford Road, giving our youngest patients access to services such as pediatric nephrology, plastic surgery, surgery, urology, pulmonology and rheumatology. In all, more than 20 UW Health physicians from different clinical areas are now coming to Rockford to provide direct patient care and consultative services.

General surgery is another area where UW is helping to strengthen our capabilities. Currently, three highly-skilled general surgeons from UW Health have relocated to our community, allowing us to establish a new clinic named UW Health Surgery at SwedishAmerican on our hospital campus.

Our surgeons provide comprehensive surgical care and offer diagnostic and interventional procedures, including laparoscopic and endoscopic surgeries, for many types of diseases and medical conditions. Additionally, their

capabilities

include

da Vinci

robotic surgery technology, which

means shorter hospital stays, fewer

complications and faster recoveries for

many patients.

Similar ValuesAs the examples I just shared

illustrate, from Day One we have agreed

that the best care is delivered locally.

UW has committed to expanding

and enhancing SwedishAmerican’s

capabilities to do so by supplying

physician resources to our community

that fill gaps in our region’s clinical

expertise.

We plan to continue to explore new

and innovative ways to bring the world-

class, academic expertise of UW Health

directly to our local citizens.

Beyond these many clinical

advancements, there also is a business

aspect to our merger, including a

significant financial commitment

for SwedishAmerican’s growth and

expansion. As we look to the future,

we are excited to bring additional

economic development to our region.

But again, our central focus

is dedication to our mission. At

SwedishAmerican, our mission

statement is: “Through excellence in

healthcare and compassionate service,

we care for our community.”

Our dedication to excellence

is evidenced by our distinctive

recognitions for clinical quality. Our

staff understands that through empathy

and connectedness with our patients,

we provide compassionate care. And

we are proud of our commitment to our

community as evidenced by our $150

million investment in our main campus

and surrounding neighborhoods over

the past decade.

In UW Health, we have found

a partner with the same values.

They respect the critical role that

SwedishAmerican plays in our

community’s health and wellbeing,

and are dedicated to supporting us as

we carry out our mission. Together, we

look forward to an exciting future.

Dr. Bill Gorski is president and CEO of

SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW

Health.

The views expressed are those of Dr. Gorski’s

and do not necessarily represent those of the

Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Our dedication to excellence is evidenced by our distinctive recognitions for clinical quality. Our staff understands that through empathy and connectedness with our patients, we provide compassionate care.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 23

MEMBERSNew Chamber Members

BANQUET FINANCIALGiving You the Financial Freedom You Deserve898 W. Riverside Blvd., Ste. 255, 61103Randy Crossno815-282-1600www.banquetfinancial.net

COUNTRY FINANCIAL - MATTHEW NICHOLSInvestments, Insurance2126 N. Perryville Road, 61107Matthew Nichols815-633-9313www.countryfinancial.com/ matt.nichols

COUNTRY FINANCIAL - RICK WANGInvestments, Insurance2126 N. Perryville Road, 61107Rick Wang815-633-9313www.countryfinancial. com/rick.wang

EDWARD JONES - WILLIAM GESKEHelping Families Have Financial Success 4021 N. Mulford Road, 61111Will Geske815-637-6850www.edwardjones.com

FOSS LANDSCAPES, INC.Complete Landscaping Services Commercial and Residential Projects1218 Shappert Dr.Machesney Park, IL 61115Ronald Foss815-636-4748

GRAYBARLeading Distributor of High- Quality Electrical Supplies, Communications and Data Networking Products 1463 S. Bell School Road, 61108Kelly McCallum815-397-6319www.graybar.com

GROWTH DIMENSIONSProviding a progressive and coopera-tive environment which improves quality of life by fostering economic opportunity and personal growth.401 Whitney Blvd.Belvidere, IL 61008Jarid Funderburg815-547-4252www.growthdimensions.org

HARLEM ROAD AUTOMOTIVEAuto and Light Truck Repair; Foreign and Domestic1501 Harlem RoadLoves Park, IL 61111Dan Tierney815-654-7171

ROCKFORD AUTO MUSEUMDisplay and Sales of Classic Cars from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Gift Shop and Consignments.518 Walnut St., 61104David Vikse815-977-3478www.rockfordautomuseum.com

SEGUIN RCARespite Weekend Camps and Summer Residence for Persons with Developmental Disabilities2567 Osborne RoadWinnebago, IL 61088Victoria Young708-788-5777www.campseguin.org

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF NURSING, ROCKFORD REGIONAL CAMPUSGraduate Program in Nursing - Master & Doctoral1601 Parkview Ave., 61107Pam Johnson815-395-5624www.nursing.uic.edu

US HEALTH ADVISORSUSHEALTH Advisors markets budget-friendly customizable health coverage and supplemental protection packages.2250 Point Blvd., Ste. 322Elgin, IL 60123Agnes Yecina773-733-6688

Welcome to new members who joined the Chamber in March, 2015.

May 2015 Member AnniversariesThank you to the members who celebrate their anniversaries with the

Rockford Chamber in May, 2015.40-YEAR MEMBERStenstrom Companies

35-YEAR MEMBERDays Inn Rockford

25-YEAR MEMBERCoyle-Varland Insurance Agency Inc.

15-YEAR MEMBERSChuck Brauer Trucking Inc.R. J. Bowers Distributors, Inc.

Rock River Tower ApartmentsShelter CareTicomix, Inc.Universal Die CastUniversal Feeder, Inc.

10-YEAR MEMBERSDeMuth Steel Products, Inc.Shelter Insurance Companies

5-YEAR MEMBERSHR Green Inc.Ipsen, Inc.

24 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Membership RenewalsThank you to members who renewed with the

Rockford Chamber of Commerce in March, 2015.

13 WREXAmerican Driveway Maintenance, Inc.American Precision Supply, Inc.APAC Customer Services Inc., an EGS Inc. CompanyAqua-Aerobic Systems, Inc.Arthritis Foundation, Heartland Region — Northwest Illinois OfficeAssociated BankBallard Companies, Inc.Barbara Olson Center of HopeBehr Iron & MetalBlount International (Parent Company of Woods Equipment)BMO Harris BankBMO Harris Bank CenterBNI Chicago West Suburbs N. Central & NW ILBroadmoor Agency, Inc.Carpenter’s Local 792Choice Furniture, Inc.Coca-Cola RefreshmentsComcast BusinessCOUNTRY Financial - Robert AndersonCOUNTRY Financial - Todd HarmsenCOUNTRY Financial - Keith WatsonDental Dreams LLC (Rockford)Dental Dreams LLC (Machesney Park)Dickerson & Nieman RealtorsDiversified Machining, Inc.Dixon Automatic Tool, Inc.Employers’ Coalition on Health (ECOH)Enders FlowersESCO Grinding & Supply CompanyFirst Evangelical Free ChurchFirst National BankFisher’s Ethan AllenFleet Lift Truck ServiceForward Equity Marketing GroupFour Corners Wellness CenterFurst Search LLCGambino Realtors Home Builders, Inc.Gemini Computer Systems, Inc.General Mitchell International AirportGlenwood Center Ltd.Goodwill Industries of Northern IllinoisGreater Rockford Airport Authority d/b/a Chicago Rockford International AirportGuler Appliance CompanyGuyer & Enichen, PCHoffman HouseHolmstromKennedy PCHooters of RockfordHR Green Inc.Interstate GraphicsIpsen, Inc.J.J. Paris, Inc.J.L.Clark, A CLARCOR CompanyKent Feeds, Inc.Klaas Financial, inc., Klaas Financial Asset Advisors, LLC, Registered Investment Advisor, A Registered Investment Advisory FirmKryder Wood ProductsLamar Outdoor Advertising of RockfordLaMonica Beverages, Inc.Larson & Darby GroupMacktown, A Living History Education CenterManey’s Lawnscape Inc.ManpowerMark Pack Inc.Martin GroupMegaFabMFG, LLC

MFG, LLC - Chris ZionMFG, LLC - Mary-Stuart CarruthersMidwest Scale Company, Inc.Modernspace Studio/Techline- RockfordMulford Park ApartmentsMutual Management ServicesMylan Institutional Inc.New Leaf RemodelingNorthpoint Benefit Group Inc.OSF Saint Anthony Medical CenterPaper Recovery Services Corp.Pathways EAPPepsi-Cola of RockfordPhantom RegimentPoliceman’s Benevolent & Protective Association Unit 6 - RockfordPreservation Pointe Condo AssociationProduction Tool and Supply CompanyQuimby & Co., P.C.Red Roof InnRegal Cutting ToolsResidence Inn by Marriott/RockfordRiver Valley Kitchens & Baths, Inc.Rock River Training Corp.Rock River Valley PantryRock Valley Packaging, Inc.Rockford Area Crime Stoppers, Inc.Rockford Area RealtorsRockford Career CollegeRockford Charter CoachRockford FirstRockford Health CouncilRockford Health SystemRockford Mass Transit DistrictRockford Mercantile Agency, Inc.Rockford Metal Polishing Co.Rockford Park DistrictRockford Register StarRockford Urological Associates, Ltd.Rosecrance Health NetworkSems and Specials Inc.Shogun Japanese Restaurant Izakaya 88Sikich LLPSjostrom & Sons, Inc.Specialty Screw CorporationSpring Ridge Senior HousingSprinkmann Sons CorporationStanley Steemer of RockfordState Farm Insurance - David ZierkeStenstrom CompaniesSuperior Joining Technologies, Inc.SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW HealthT K Group, Inc.Terra Creek ApartmentsThe Oliver Group Inc.TruGreenTyler’s LandscapingU.S. CellularV2 Marketing CommunicationsValley Expo and DisplaysVillage of Machesney ParkVoss Metals Company, Inc.Willett Hofmann & Associates, Inc.Williams-Manny Insurance GroupWinnebago County Board Chairman’s OfficeWomen of Today’s Manufacturing (WOTM)Wood CPA’s LtdWoodwardWQRF-TV/WTVO-TVX L Academics, Inc.Zuba and Associates, P.C.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 25

Did U Know?Membership: 101MEMBERSHIP 101

Contact Diane Navickis at dnavickis@rockfordchamber.com to fi nd out more

about member programs and opportunities!

The Rockford Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest chambers in the state of Illinois

Your Chamber represents WInnebago, Boone and Stephenson counties with more than 1,200 member companies from fi ve different states.

About 80% of the membership is small- to mid-size companies

The 1,200+ company members are comprised of 56,860 full-time and 9,043 part-time employees

The VOICE reaches over 30,000 readers per month

More than 3,200 members receive news releases and information about your businessin Business Direct, our bi-weekly e-newsletter

Consumers are 63% more likely to buy from you if they know your business is a chamber member

As a small business chamber member, your company enjoys a 49% increase in its consumer favorability rating

7 out of 10 consumers believe that your company being actively involved in the chamber is an eff ective strategy for enhancing your business reputation

Consumers are 73% more likely to be highly aware of your business if you are a chamber member!

26 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

New Illinois Laws for 2015 Here are some laws related to business, commerce, labor and licensure that have taken aff ect this year. For specifi c language of the laws, visit www.ilga.gov.

BUSINESS, COMMERCE,LABOR AND LICENSUREProvisional CPA Licensure HB 4707/PA 98-0730Allows the Department of Professional Regulation to grant a six-month provisional license for registered certifi ed public accountants in other states, who are awaiting Illinois licensure or may only be here temporarily.

Corporation DissolutionSB 1098/PA 98-0776Provides that the dissolution of a corporation shall not take away any civil liability at the time of or after such dissolution if action is commenced within fi ve years after the date of such dissolution. Clarifi es that this provision does not extend any applicable statute of limitations. Also provides standards of liability for directors when a corporation is dissolved.

Genetic Counselor Licensure SunsetSB 643/PA 98-0813Extends the Genetic Counselor Licensing Act to Jan. 1, 2025, and increases the fi nes for a violation to $10,000, and makes other standard defi nition changes.

Transfer of PropertySB 2656/PA 98-0821Makes it easier to transfer or sell certain types of property when an owner dies. Applies only to property with one to four units, condominiums or a single tract of agriculture land of 40 acres or less that contains a single-family residence.

Roofi ng LicensesSB 2999/PA 98-0838States an applicant for a roofi ng license must submit satisfactory evidence that he or she has an unemployment insurance employer account number and he or she is not delinquent in any payment under the Unemployment Insurance Act.

Small Estate ProbateSB 2985/PA 98-0836Clarifi es the information to be included on a small estate affi davit and requires that a small estate affi davit be notarized. The small estate affi davit, which applies to estates under $100,000, has not been updated in many years. This is intended to clarify the small estate affi davit form and reduce abuses.

Beer Defi nition ChangeSB 3103/PA 98-0843Adds to the defi nition of “beer” by adding beverages that are brewed or fermented wholly or in part from malt products.

Bus DriversHB 3685/PA 98-0884Allows for easier renewal of religious organization bus drivers, senior citizen transportation drivers and for-profi t ridesharing arrangement drivers. Provides that for a lapse in license renewal of 30 days or less, the applicant shall be eligible for renewal without a waiver from the Secretary of State. A waiver from the Secretary of State would be required for a lapse in excess of 30 days.

Workplace SafetySB 1103/PA 98-0874Repeals the Safety Inspection and Education Act and the Health and Safety Act and in its place creates the “Occupational Safety and Health Act” to be

administered by the Department of Labor.

Barbering LicensureHB 4790/PA 98-0911

Brings barbering as a profession to the same oversight standards as cosmetology.

Architecture & Engineering LicensureHB 4535/PA 98-0993

Allows architects, professional engineers and structural engineers to opt out of submitting certifi cation of the Test of English as a Foreign Language if they have earned an advanced degree from an accredited institution in the United States.

Intern ProtectionsHB 4157/PA 98-1037Adds unpaid interns to the Illinois Human Rights Act’s protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. Defi nes “unpaid intern” to correlate with the federal minimum wage test under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Good Moral Character” for LicensuresSB 232/PA 98-1047Streamlines disciplinary sanctions for licenses and certifi cates issued under the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. More clearly defi nes what constitutes “good moral character.” Provides

the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation the power to authorize disciplinary action if a licensee or registrant violates the continuing requirement of “good moral character.”

Equal Pay Act JurisdictionHB 5563/PA 98-1051Gives the Illinois Department of Human Rights jurisdiction to enforce the state Equal Pay Act. This duty is concurrent with the responsibilities of the Illinois Department of Labor. Allows the Department of Labor to refer a pay discrimination case back to the Department of Human Rights as long as the referral also includes potential Human Rights Act violations.

Pregnancy Accommodations HB 8/PA 98-1050Requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations”

for all working pregnant women unless the accommodation would

impose an “undue hardship” on the business.

Savings and LoansHB 5685/PA 98-1081Repeals the Illinois Savings and Loan Act of 1985. The last Savings and Loan Association (in Milford, Ill.) converted to a savings bank on April 1, 2013, so there are no longer any savings and loan associations in the state.

Resale Dealers ActSB 1778/PA 98-1096Regulates sales of precious and recyclable metals, collectable items and other goods, including assuring that accurate records are available so that items can be traced. “Resale dealers” buy, sell, take on consignment, or trade jewelry, stamps, electronic equipment, or precious metals that have been previously owned by a consumer. This would include swapshop operators, cash for gold operators, and jewelers that purchase and resell items from persons.

The term “resale dealer” does not include pawnbrokers, coin dealers, providers of commercial mobile services or their authorized dealers, or retail merchants that do not purchase previously-owned items directly from the public at the retail location.

Individuals must provide a driver’s license or State ID card, or two other forms of identifi cation that include their address. In Chicago, if the seller does not have an ID issued by the government with

their photo on it, the resale dealer must photograph the seller in color and record the seller’s name, address, date of birth, gender, height, and weight on the reverse side of

the photograph. Transaction records must be kept for three years.

Real Estate AnalysisSB 3044/PA 98-1109Allows comparative market analysis to be performed by real estate brokers.

Household Donated GoodsSB 3294/PA 98-1116Requires household goods donation bins (such as Goodwill) to have a permanent, written, printed label prominently displayed on the bin. The legislation also requires the label to contain the contact information of the owner or operator of the bin and whether the entity is a not-for-profi t or a for-profi t entity. Makes it an unlawful practice to violate the provisions.

Elevator SafetySB 641/PA 98-1090Brings Illinois law into compliance with new standards for elevator safety inspectors. As of Jan. 1, 2014, the responsibility for setting standards for elevator inspectors was transferred from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to the American National Standards Institute. The legislation adds generic language so the statute does not need to be changed each time certifi cation organizations change.

LEGISLATIVEIssues to Watch

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 27

Rockford Chamber members appear bolded. Thank you for your support of your fellow Chamber members.

Saturday, May 2Rockford Park District presents Building Your Butterfly-Friendly Garden (ages 16 and older), 1 to 2 p.m., at Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, 1354 N. 2nd St., Rockford. Participants receive a selection of butterfly-favorite seeds and a milkweed plant. Simply Spring: The Butterfly Exhibit runs through May 17. Register at 815-987-8858 or www.rockfordparkdistrict.org.

Judson University celebrates its 73rd Commencement featuring keynote speaker and preacher Efrem Smith in two separate ceremonies, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., in the Lindner Fitness Center, 1151 N. State St., Elgin, Ill.

Sunday, May 3Discovery Center Museum presents Fizzicks Fiesta – Tres De Mayo, 1 to 4 p.m., at Riverfront Museum Park, 711 N. Main St., Rockford. Celebrate Cinco De Mayo a little early and find out how physics can make you mighty. Call 815-963-6769 or visit www.discoverycentermuseum.org.

Monday, May 4Illinois Sen. Steve Stadelman hosts a Town Hall Meeting, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Rock Valley College, Woodward Technology Center, rooms 141-142, 3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford.

Tuesday, May 5Rockford University Department of Economics, Business and Accounting presents a luncheon, The Power of the Triple Bottom Line to Bolster Communities, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Regents Hall, Burpee Center, 5050 E. State St., Rockford. Guest speaker is Melissa Paulsen, Gigot Center for Entrepreneurship, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame. Contact 815-394-4384 or jsmith@rockford.edu.

Wednesday, May 6Edgebrook Farmers Market opens at 1639 N. Alpine Road, Rockford, and will run on Wednesdays, May through October, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit edgebrookshops.com.

Judson University presents its annual Community Prayer Breakfast, 7:30 to 9 a.m., in the Lindner Fitness Center, 1151 N. State St., Elgin, Ill. Keynote speaker is Illinois Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti. Register at www.judsonu.edu/prayerbreakfast.

Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau presents its 30th anniversary Annual Luncheon, noon at Giovanni’s Restaurant & Convention Center, 610 N. Bell School Road. Reserve at 815-963-8111, kpeterson@gorockford.com or

www.gorockford.com/annualluncheon by May 1.

Thursday, May 7Shelter Care Ministries’ Annual Spring Luncheon, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Prairie Street Brewhouse, 200 Prairie St., Rockford. Featured speaker is Bishop Jeffrey Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Contact Chris Howard Swan, 815-708-2650 or cswan@shelter-care.org.

The annual Rosecrance Flower Day will be held at Gensler Gardens, 8631 11th St., New Milford; and 102 Orth Road, Loves Park, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Proceeds will go to the Kinley Charity Care Fund, which provides financial assistance to youth, adults and families seeking treatment for substance abuse and mental health disorders. Visit www.rosecrance.org.

Friday, May 8Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 2715 S. Main St., Rockford, presents its annual Spring Plant Sale, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Preview Night is Friday, 5 to 8 p.m., for the best selection of annuals, perennials, herbs, wildflowers and unusual plants. Saturday and Sunday free. Friday $5, but free if you donate 10 plants. Visit www.klehm.org/2015-plant-sale.

Thursday, May 14Rockford Public Library presents Finding Grants for a Non-Profit Organization, 2 to 3:30 p.m., main library, second floor computer room, 215 N. Wyman St. Registration not required. Call 815-965-7606 for questions.

Women of Today’s Manufacturing presents Tour of Rockford Manufacturing-Testors, a Division of Rust-Oleum Group, 5:30 to 8 p.m., 440 Blackhawk Park Ave, Rockford. Dinner to follow at Prairie Street Brewhouse, 200 Prairie St., Rockford.

Weldstar presents a public Demo Day Open House, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at its Machesney Park branch, 9710 Forest Hills Road. Includes giveaways, a free pig roast lunch and chance to demo new products. Call 815-904-6950.

Next Rockford hosts a General Membership Meeting, 7:30 a.m., featuring Michael Dunn, Jr., new RMAP executive director and long-range transportation planning, at RMAP, 313 N. Main St. Interested generation X/Y welcome to attend. Contact Scott Anderson, sanderson@rustoleum.com or 815-904-2407.

Rosecrance presents Stairway to Heroin: A Community Conversation, 6 to 8:30 p.m., at Heartland Community Church, 1280 S. Alpine Road, Rockford. Discussion on the epidemic of heroin use in northern Illinois with Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten,

Winnebago County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Hintz, Winnebago County 17th Judicial Court Judge Janet Holmgren, Rosecrance McHenry County Director Chris Gleason and the Lybert family presenting “A Family’s Journey to Recovery.” Register at stairwayto heroinrockford.eventbrite.com.

Friday, May 15Comedian Jerry Seinfeld performs 7 p.m., at the Coronado Performing Arts Center, 314 N. Main St., Rockford. Tickets at CoronadoPAC.org, the Coronado box office or 815-968-5222.

The Kiwanis Club of Rockford will present the second-annual Budding Artists event, 6 to 9 p.m., at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club, 5151 Guilford Road, Rockford. Live auction of student artwork from the Rockford Public, Boylan, and Lutheran high schools. Live music and upscale hors d’oeuvres. Visit www.kiwanisclubofrockford.com.

Saturday, May 16 Rockford Public Library presents Fresh and Local-Where to Get It, 2 to 4 p.m., East Branch, Friends Community Room, 6685 E. State St. Registration required at 815-965-7606.

Kantorei, The Singing Boys of Rockford, presents Kantorei Spring Concert, 7 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, 821 N. Bell School Road, Rockford.

The 12th annual Rockford Football Training Camp takes place for boys and girls, 5 to 18, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Auburn High School Field House, 5110 Auburn St., Rockford. (Stadium opens at 8:15 a.m.) Guest speakers/instructors include Brock Vereen, Chicago Bears, and Gilbert Brown, former Green Bay Packer. Register at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org/youthsports or contact nflflag@rockfordparkdistrict.org, 815-987-8800 or 815-962-7469.

The Literacy Council presents its 26th foodie extravaganza, 100 Men Who Cook & Brew, at the BMO Harris Bank Center, Rockford. Craft brew tasting lounge opens at 6 p.m.; chef’s favorite recipes sampling area at 6:30 p.m. New this year is the Country Club Chef Challenge. Reservations only at www.theliteracycouncil.org or 815-963-7323, ext. 11.

Rockford Park District’s Atwood Center presents In the Outdoors featuring Real Life Twitter - Birdwatching, Birds of Prey show, 9 to 11 a.m., at 334-acre Seth B. Atwood Park, 2685 New Milford School Road. Visit a life-size eagle nest. Visit www.rockfordparkdistrict.org/atwood or call 815-987-8800.

Tuesday, May 19Rockford Health Council presents Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of People in the Criminal Justice System, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Giovanni’s Restaurant and Convention Center, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Visit www.rockfordhealthcouncil.org.

Wednesday, May 20UIC College of Pharmacy hosts an Information Session, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in its lobby, 1601 Parkview Ave., Rockford. Topics include admission requirements, timetable, interview process and career opportunities. Contact Rachel Van Den Broek, rachelv@uic.edu or 815-395-5749.

Thursday, May 21Rockford Public Library presents Genealogy on the Internet, 2 to 3:30 p.m., main library, second floor computer room, 215 N. Wyman St. Registration required at 815-965-7606.

Sam’s Club hosts a Business Member Orientation, 8 to 10 a.m., at Sam’s Club Café. RSVP with Theresa Rossman at tlrossm.s08297.us@samsclub.com or 815-399-1846.

Wednesday, May 27The Rockford Aviators hosts its annual Education Day at Aviators Stadium, 4503 Interstate Blvd., Loves Park. Game begins at 10:05 a.m. Visit www.facebook.com/Rockford Aviators.

Judson University’s School of Leadership and Business will host an Open House for undergraduate and graduate degrees, 5:30 to 7 p.m., 1055 Featherstone Road, Rockford. Online information meetings also are available by emailing Eric Downs at Eric.Downs@info.judsonu.edu. Visit www.judsonu.edu/adultprofessional.

Friday, May 29Kantorei, The Singing Boys of Rockford, hosts the Swanhills Golf Outing with shotgun start at 2 p.m., 2600 Gustafson Road, Belvidere. Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Call 815-963-2544, posborne@kantorei.com or visit www.kantorei.com.

Rockford University’s Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence (NICNE) presents a one-day workshop on leadership succession planning, The Seven Steps to Leadership Transition Planning™, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Contact 815-394-4384 or jsmith@rockford.edu.

Saturday, May 30Northern Illinois Rockford Heart Walk, 8 to 11 a.m., Rock Valley College, 3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford. Contact Shondra McLarty, 925-705-5287 or Shondra.McLarty@heart.org.

COMMUNITYCommunity Events

28 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Rockford Chamber members appear bolded. Thank you for your support of your fellow Chamber members.

OSF HealthCare is the largest health care system to partner in MATTER Chicago, a not-for-profit organization of entrepreneurs and industry leaders from health care IT, medical devices, diagnostics and biopharma, with a goal to create products and services that advance the health care industry. OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria will develop and operate a simulation space in Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, a Chicago-based incubator for healthcare companies.

WXRX, 104.9 The X, Rockford, won the America’s Blood Centers national “Most Creative Blood Drive” for 2014. Rock River Valley Blood Center nominated WXRX for its creative efforts in hosting the 15th annual Rock & Roll Up Your Sleeve Blood Drive.

Walmart Stores, Inc., recognized C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., with its first 3rd Party Logistical (3PL) Carrier of the Year award for 2014.

The Rockford Health System Lung Center of Excellence was designated a Lung Cancer Screening center by the American College of Radiology; accredited by the ACR in computed tomography in the chest module.

Rockford Park District Spring/Summer 2015 Youth and Adult Program Guide is available at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org/guides, and at park district facilities and customer service locations. Registration now is open.

Crusader Community Health recognized its physicians as part of National Doctor’s Day, March 30: 21 board certified/board eligible physicians with specialties in primary health care, eight physician assistants, seven nurse midwives,

17 advanced practice nurses and eight dentists.

Crusader Community Health was awarded a second-year grant of $95,299 by the Dr. Louis & Violet Rubin Fund of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. A full $200,000 from the CFNI helped to fund the Crusader Community Health Auburn Campus School Based Health Center, which opened in September, 2014.

SwedishAmerican, a division of UW Health, is partnering with A Silver Lining Foundation to offer free mammograms for women and men who can’t afford one at three locations: the Center for Women Breast Health Center, Stateline Clinic in Roscoe and SwedishAmerican Medical Center/Belvidere. Patients can call 877-924-1126 or visit www.asilverliningfoundation.org.

Edgebrook, 1639 N. Alpine Road, Rockford, announced a second farmers market weekly. In addition to a farmers market every Wednesday, May 6 to Oct. 28, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Edgebrook will have a second farmers market every Thursday, June 4 to Aug. 27, 3 to 6:30 p.m.

Marketing staff of Siena on Brendenwood, an independent senior living community, became nationally certified in senior relocation and transition. It is the only U.S. community that helps seniors with later-life moves through a nationally trademarked educational process called “NowSizing.”

SwedishAmerican is designated a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology, after becoming accredited in computed tomography in the chest module.

V2 Marketing Communications completed a marketing package including brand collateral materials and tradeshow display for Erisapedia, a complete study for

ERISA professionals working with defined contribution plans.

Judson University hosted a formal dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for its newly renovated Robert A. Hoffer Baseball Field in April for its baseball programs.

MELD announced its 2015 Mother’s Day cards and note cards with scenes of Bradley Nordlof Photography are available for sale. Visit www.rockfordmeld.org.

SwedishAmerican is reconnecting with its heritage with a guided tour of southern Sweden, Sept. 12 to 19, including Stockholm, Lidköping, Gothenburg, Varberg and Copenhagen. Deadline to register is July 15. Call 815-961-2496.

Students, families and staff in the Winnebago School District donated 3,400 books to Crusader Community Health as part of the “Inspire Change Week” project, which will be distributed to the pediatric departments at the five Crusader locations for children to take home.

YMCA of Rock River Valley celebrated the success of its Community Fundraising Campaign in March; raising $604,489 towards its $1 million dollar goal. Funds will support programming and services.

Financial-services firm Edward Jones ranked highest in a tie in investor satisfaction with full-service brokerage firms, according to the J.D. Power 2015 Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study. It also ranked highest in investor satisfaction in 2012, 2010 and 2009, from 2005 through 2007, and in a tie in 2002, when the study began.

Colorwave Graphics, LLC produced several 10- and 20-foot long stretch fabric displays for clients exhibiting during the 2015 spring trade show season. It produced a portable 20- x 10-foot fabric printed display for Chemtool, Inc., including a backlit graphic panel, storage closet and overhead

canopy, and a 17- x 5-foot polycarbonate backlit graphic for Miller Lite, installed above the scoreboard at the Rockford Speedway.

The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club and Forest Hills Country Club entered into a two-year alliance agreement offering complete reciprocity to members of both clubs. Benefits start with the Men’s Match Play Invitational at TheMauh-Nah-Tee-See Club on May 16 and 17. Forest Hills Country Club will host members of both clubs for its annual 4th of July celebration, including rides and fireworks.

Anam Campus, comprised of Anam Care and Anam Glen in Rockford, will host a food drive during in May, with all food collected to benefit Rockford-area seniors. Non-perishable foods can be dropped off at Anam Glen, 7978 Newburg Road, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Visit www.anamglen.com.

SwedishAmerican Medical Center/Belvidere introduced a new body composition analysis (body fat test) using an FDA-approved bone density machine (DEXA) that can accurately measure lean muscle, fat and bone mass for the entire body -- more accurate than body mass index for assessing health.

KMK Media Group developed a new website for the Rockford Art Museum at www.rockfordart museum.org with a searchable gallery of the museum’s full collection and past, present and upcoming exhibitions.

Sam’s Club offers, May 1 to 31, a $15 gift card and free groceries to those who join or renew their military membership.

BUSINESS BRIEFSBusiness Briefs

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 29

BOARD APPOINTMENTSKantorei, The Singing Boys of Rockford, welcomed two new board members: Susan Brabeck (1), UTAS and owner Fox Valley School of Music, and Gail Farr (2), BMO Harris Bank.

Karen Gill, Remedies Renewing Lives, was elected by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence to fill the North Collar Regional Member Seat on its board.

Janette Berry, Miniature Precision Components (MPC) Inc.; Jill Kaney, Wesley Willows Corporation, and Larry Pribyl, Trachte Building Systems, were elected to The Alliance board. Brad Olm, Gordon Flesch Co., was elected board chair, and Wendy Culver, Mead & Hunt, vice chair.

NEW HIRES, PROMOTIONS, RETIREMENTSThe contract of Rockford Aviators left-handed pitcher, Josh Smoker, was purchased by the New York Mets. Smoker was acquired by the Aviators with the second overall pick in the Frontier League Draft last season.

Comprehensive Community Solutions Inc., added two full-time AmeriCorps volunteers serving with the YouthBuild Rockford workforce development program for one year. Kyle Schwab has served as community partnership and volunteer coordinator, and Aries Caliph as a teacher’s aide.

Arc Design Resources, Inc., hired Dean Holeton (3) as a project engineer working with the commercial retail team and Tom Finley (4) as a project engineer working with the construction observation team.

First National Bank and Trust Company promoted Brittney Jacobs to a residential loan originator serving Clinton and Darien, Wis.

Randall W. Patterson (5) joined Judson University’s leadership team as the interim senior vice

president of business affairs and chief financial officer.

Kelce & Company promoted Chris Weeks to lead technician supervisor.

SwedishAmerican welcomed its new neurosurgeon, Martin Gryfinski, M.D. (6), FAANS.

Entré Computer Solutions hired Ross Vandehey (7) as set up and delivery and Chris Garrity (8) as service technician.

Rock Valley Credit Union hired Scott Leiser (9) as branch manager of its two new branches inside the Meijer retail stores, Jericka Vega (10) as the new lead member services representative for the Machesney Park branch, and Caleb Bryan as a lead member service representative for the Rockford branch.

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company hired Affie Tzemopoulos (11) as accounting clerk I, and Mike Wall (12) as director of research & development. Rockford Mutual promoted Randy Donaldson (13) as senior marketing representative and Sue LaVine (14) as accounts receivable coordinator.

Jim Corbett (15) joined Alpine Bank as senior vice president – human resources.

Annette Cruz joined The Alliance as health policy consultant.

River District Association hired Leah Tuneberg as its new director of business development.

EMPLOYEE/COMMUNITY RECOGNITIONS, AWARDSHeartland Hospice named Jobina Joe Haverly (16), associate professor of life sciences, was honored as the 27th recipient of the Rock Valley College Faculty of the Year award. Haverly for 14 years has taught courses ranging from anatomy & physiology to environmental science.

David Cyrs, (17) president/CEO, CYRS Wealth Advisors, Rockford, was recognized by Five Star Professional as a 2014 Five Star Wealth Manager in the Midwest region.

Meghan Scott (18), a senior at Oregon Community Unit School District, was named a Golden Apple Scholar of Illinois. Each year, 200 Illinois students going into education are picked.

Janice Funderburk (19), LPN, CHPLN, at Heartland Hospice passed the LPN certification exam for Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse.

The Natural Land Institute presented the George and Barbara Fell Award to Randy W. Nyboer (20), Morrison, Ill.

Comfort Keepers® of Northwest Illinois awarded caregivers Jennifer Beavers as Comfort Keeper of the Month for March, 2015; John Fishbach as Rookie of the First Quarter, 2015, and Jen Johnson as

Comfort Keeper of the First Quarter, 2015.

OF GENERAL INTEREST

Warren Zeigle (21), Spectrum Insurance Agency, attended a state-required ethics class by Alpine Body Shop for three continuing education credits and Bonnie Arrington (22) an “Insuring Personal Auto Exposures” class by Williams Manny for seven credits.

Adam Holder (23), a principal owner at Fehr Graham, spoke at the Illinois Section of the American Water Works Association in March in Springfield, Ill., on “Investing: How Improved Water Systems Pay Their Share.”

Kris Kieper, CEO of YWCA Rockford, was appointed by YWCA USA to speak during a congressional briefing on the importance of the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA) in April.

The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club hired Rich Hardman (24) as golf course superintendent and Andrew Schlupp (25) as PGA apprentice/assistant golf professional. It added membership development to Ed Slattery’s (26) title of PGA head golf professional.

IN THE NEWSMembers in the News

1. Susan Brabeck

2. Gail Farr 3. Dean Holeton 4. Tom Finley 5. Randall W. Patterson

6. Dr. Martin Gryfinski

7. Ross Vandehey

8. Chris Garrity

21. Warren Zeigle 22. Bonnie Arrington

23. Adam Holder 24. Rich Hardman

25. Andrew Schlupp

26. Ed Slattery

9. Scott Leiser 10. Jericka Vega 11. Affie Tzemopoulos

12. Mike Wall 13. Randy Donaldson

14. Su LaVine 15. Jim Corbett 16. Joe Haverly

17. David Cyrs 18. Meghan Scott

19. Janice Funderburk

20. Randy W. Nyboer

30 May 2015 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

MAY, 2015

Friday, May 1Leadership Rockford - Alumni Social, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Kryptonite, 308 W. State St., Ste. 110, Rockford. Gathering for current and alumni of Leadership Rockford classes.

Monday, May 4Ribbon Cutting, local office of Adam Kinzinger, 16th Congressional District of Illinois, 11:30 a.m. to noon, 725 N. Lyford Road, Ste. 3, Rockford.

Tuesday, May 5Business Women’s Council, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Rockford Country Club, 2500 Oxford St. Michele Petrie, BMO Harris Bank and Rockford Chamber board member, presents, “Joining a Board of Directors.” Sponsored by Siena on Brendenwood.

Wednesday, May 6PYSK Talks, noon to 1 p.m., Rockford University, 5100 E. State St., Rockford. Jim Derry, president, Field Fastener, presents “Culture.”

Manufacturers’ Council Meeting, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., Specialty Screw, 2801 Huffman Blvd., Rockford. Focus: Information/Communications.

Open House and Ribbon Cutting, Associated Bank, 3 to 5 p.m., 4400 Center Terrace, Rockford.

Friday, May 8Government Affairs Council, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., Stockholm Inn, 2420 Charles St., Rockford. For information on joining, contact Heidi Garner at 815-316-4312.

Tuesday, May 12

Advantage Club – Superstars, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Contact Nick Nelson, Harvard State Bank, 815-887-9013 or nnelson@thehsb.com.

Chamber 101 with Speed Networking, 4-5:30 p.m.,Kryptonite 308 W. State St., Ste. 110, Rockford (corner of State St. and Main St.) *special beer tasting to follow

Wednesday, May 13Advantage Power Network Club, 11:45 a.m., Franchesco’s, 7128 Spring Creek Road, Rockford. Contact Teri Watts, Key Realty, Commercial & Industrial, Teriw1214@gmail.com.

Advantage Club – Originals, 11:45 a.m., various locations. Contact Deanna Watts, 815-968-9881 or Deanna@rockfordcc.com.

Thursday, May 14IGNITE - Lunch Outside the Box, noon to 1 p.m., Prairie Street Brewhouse, 200 Prairie St., Rockford. Speaker is Rudy Valdez.

IGNITE After 5 at The Olympic Tavern, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., 2327 N. Main St., Rockford. Complimentary appetizers and cash bar.

Thursday, May 14 11:30 am - 1:15 pm Giovanni’s 610 N. Bell School Rd., Rockford

Celebration of Leadership Luncheon Speaker is Roberta “Bobbie” Holzwarth, partner, Holmstrom Kennedy PC, an area law firm more than a century old.

Sponsored by PNC Bank (presenting), and Associated Bank, Fehr Graham, McGladrey LLP, OSF Healthcare and SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW Health (graduation).

Monday, May 18Noon – Shotgun Start The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club 5151 Guilford Rd., Rockford

Rockford Chamber Golf Classic Last year was a sell-out, so register today! Sponsored by SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW Health (presenting); Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (gold); OSF Healthcare (photo); and The Alliance (greens).

Tuesday, May 19Ribbon Cutting, Meijer, 10:00 a.m., 2013 McFarland Rd, Rockford.

Wednesday, May 20Manufacturing Breakfast, 7:30 - 9:30 a.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Rd., Rockford. “Keeping your Organization Relevant: How Sustainable Manufacturers Thrive.” Sponsored by Wipfli LLP.

PYSK Talks, noon to 1 p.m., Rockford University, 5100 E. State St., Rockford. Caitlin Ludwig, Blackhawk Bank, presents “OH, the Places I Didn’t Go: War stories from my 20s.”

Thursday, May 21Ribbon Cutting, Rock Valley Credit Union, 10:00 a.m., 2013 McFarland Rd. (inside Meijer), Rockford.

Tuesday, May 26Advantage Club – Superstars, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Contact Nick Nelson, Harvard State Bank, 815-887-9013 or nnelson@thehsb.com.

Wednesday, May 27Advantage Power Network Club, 11:45 a.m., Franchesco’s, 7128 Spring Creek Road, Rockford. Contact Teri Watts, Key Realty, Commercial & Industrial, Teriw1214@gmail.com.

EVENTSUpcoming Chamber Events

Continued on page 31

ON DIGITALMembers Caught on Digital

Ceremonial ribbon donated by SERVPRO of Rockford.

DSW Shoe Warehouse held a ribbon cutting on April 23 at 6636 E. State St., Rockford.

N. Illinois Money Smart Week announced the winners of the Kid Essay Contest at its kickoff event on April 16 at Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Winners: Jackson Fumo, sixth grade, Thurgood Marshall (first place); Megan Schroeder, eighth grade, St. Peter Catholic School - South Beloit (second place), and Kodai Speich, sixth grade, Thurgood Marshall (third place).

Remedies Renewing Lives held a groundbreaking ceremony and celebration on April 8 at 220 Easton Pkwy., Rockford.

Edward Jones held a ribbon cutting and open house on April 17 at 2715 N. Main St., Rockford.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com May 2015 31

ADVERTISERSAdvertisers Index

Alpine Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 17Blackhawk Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Brian Thomas Photography . . . . . 21Broadmoor Agency, Inc. . . . . . . . . . 4Comcast Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Edward Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16HolmstromKennedyPC . . . . . . . . . 16First National Bank & Trust . . . . . . . 8The Forest Hills Country Club . . . . 19Illinois Bank & Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5IMEC / ILPEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Klaas Financial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club . . . . 19McGladrey LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10MembersAlliance Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Northern Public Radio

WNIJ WNIU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Rockford Bank & Trust . . . . . . . . . . 9Rockford Chamber of Commerce . . . . 13, 22, 23, 24, 25 Rockford Health System . . . . . . 3, 11Rockford University . . . . . . . . . . . . 8RegisterStar Media . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Savant Capital Management . . . . 17Sikich LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Stillman Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Thayer Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13UPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Upstream Investment Partners . . . 15Van Galder Bus Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Williams-Manny Insurance Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Chamber Staff / Call 815-987-8100 ............................................. Direct LineEinar K. Forsman, President & CEO ......................................... 815-316-4304Heidi M. Garner, Executive Assistant to the President ................... 815-316-4312Doug Hessong, Director of Publications & Technology .................. 815-316-4338Lynette Jacques, Vice President, Member Investment ................... 815-316-4317Vee Jevremovic, Manager of Education Programs and Events ......... 815-316-4337Crystal Larson, Financial Assistant/Administrative Support ............. 815-987-8100Joy Moriarty, Vice President, Finance ....................................... 815-316-4316Stacy Mullins, Director of Events ............................................. 815-316-4302Diane Navickis, Member Relations Manager ............................... 815-316-4315Mary Ann Suprenant, Membership Development Manager ............. 815-316-4336Joan Sundvall, Membership Contact Coordinator ........................ 815-316-4320

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEChairman of the Board Patti Thayer Thayer Lighting, Inc.

Vice Chair Richard ZumwaltSaint Anthony Medical Center Vice Chair Michele Petrie BMO Harris Bank

Treasurer Larry Bridgeland Mid-City Office Products

Immediate Past Chairman Richard Walsh Zimmerman & Walsh, LLP

DIRECTORSAndrew BensonBenson Stone Company, Inc.Jan Bowman TLC ConstructionJoe Castrogiovanni Giovanni’s, Inc.Dr. Rena Cotsones Northern Illinois University Rebecca Epperson Chartwell AgencyDarlene Furst FurstStaffingIra Grimmett UTC Aerospace SystemsDr. Robert Head Rockford UniversityTim Honquest Honquest Family Funeral HomeJeff Hultman Illinois Bank & Trust

Michael F. Iasparro Hinshaw & Culbertson LLPMike Mastroianni Rock Valley CollegePaul McCann Stanley Steemer of RockfordPatrick Morrow Alpine BankAmy Ott Chicago Rockford International AirportMike Paterson Mid-West Family BroadcastingMark Peterson CBL Associates Cherry ValeTim Rollins WilliamsMcCarthyDan Ross Williams-Manny Insurance Group

Henry Seybold Rockford Health SystemPatrick Shaw McGladrey LLPLaura Pigatti Williamson Rockford Park District

EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORSEinar K. Forsman President & CEO, Rockford Chamber of CommerceJohn Groh Rockford Area Convention & Visitors BureauMichael Nicholas Rockford Area Economic Development

Chamber Board of Directors & Officers

June 2015 Special Sections:

Spotlight on Women & Minority Business Leaders

For information on advertising,

call 815 987-8100

EVENTSUpcoming Chamber Events (cont.)

Advantage Club – Originals, 11:45 a.m., various locations. Contact Deanna Watts, 815-968-9881 or Deanna@rockfordcc.com.

Thursday, May 28Ribbon Cutting, Rockford Auto Museum, 4:00 p.m., 518 Walnut Street, Rockford.

JUNE, 2015Tuesday, June 2Business Women’s Council, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Rockford Country Club, 2500 Oxford St. Kathryn Pomerene, owner of Sugarjones Inc., will speak on “Running A Successful Business.” She will discuss how she started a home-based business that she grew into a store front. Sponsored by Siena on Brendenwood.

Wednesday, June 3PYSK Talks, noon to 1 p.m., Rockford University, 5100 E. State St., Rockford. Speaker is Matthew Simpson, United Way of Rock River Valley.

Tuesday, June 9Advantage Club – Superstars, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Contact Nick Nelson, Harvard State Bank, 815-887-9013 or nnelson@thehsb.com.

Wednesday, June 10Advantage Power Network Club, 11:45 a.m., Franchesco’s, 7128 Spring Creek Road, Rockford. Contact Teri Watts, Key Realty, Commercial & Industrial, Teriw1214@gmail.com.

Advantage Club – Originals, 11:45 a.m., various locations. Contact Deanna Watts, 815-968-9881 or Deanna@rockfordcc.com.

Friday, June 12Government Affairs Council, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., Stockholm Inn, 2420 Charles St., Rockford. For information on joining, contact Heidi Garner at 815-316-4312.

Wednesday, June 17PYSK Talks, noon to 1 p.m., Rockford University, 5100 E. State St., Rockford. Speaker is Kris Kieper, YWCA of Rockford.

Tuesday, June 23Advantage Club – Superstars, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Contact Nick Nelson, Harvard State Bank, 815-887-9013 or nnelson@thehsb.com.

Wednesday, June 24Advantage Power Network Club, 11:45 a.m., Franchesco’s, 7128 Spring Creek Road, Rockford. Contact Teri Watts, Key Realty, Commercial & Industrial, Teriw1214@gmail.com.

Advantage Club – Originals, 11:45 a.m., various locations. Contact Deanna Watts, 815-968-9881 or Deanna@rockfordcc.com.

Thursday, June 25 10 am - 1pm Cliffbreakers Conference Center 700 W. Riverside Blvd., Rockford

Women in Business Expo and Luncheon Fawn Germer, bestselling, Oprah-featured author, speaker and business consultant, presents “It’s Not About Balance. It’s About Choices.” Event concludes with the announcement of the 2015 award winners: Woman Business Leader of Tomorrow, Woman Manager of the Year, Woman Business Owner of the Year and AthenaPowerLink®.

Sponsored by Women’s Center - Rockford Health System (presenting), OSF Healthcare (gold), Northwest Bank of Rockford (Women-In-Business awards) and PNC Bank (AthenaPowerLink); V2 Marketing Communications (bronze).

Monday, June 29Ribbon Cutting, Mosaic, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 1111 S. Alpine Road, Rockford (inside the Fifth Third Bank building).

(Continued from page 30)

Get to Know Your AmbassadorsName: Janine IdsteinCompany: Heartland HospicePosition: Volunteer Coordinator How long have you been an Ambassador? Two monthsWhat do you like most about being an Ambassador? As the volunteer coordinator for Heartland Hospice, my main responsibility is

recruiting new volunteers, so I understand and appreciate all that goes into volunteering. Because of this, being an ambassador seemed like a perfect fit! I look forward to recognizing new businesses at ribbon cutting ceremonies and welcoming new members to the chamber. I also appreciate the networking opportunities that the chamber provides, and I feel being an ambassador will enrich my experience of building relationships with other professionals. I look forward to getting started!

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