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November 2011 $2.00

PrPresidentesidentJuan OlivarJuan Olivarezez

2Gifts to Family Can Lower Estate Taxes,

Save Family WealthBy Claude A. Titche III

While the estate tax is in a currentstate of flux, we need to recognize thatcurrent planning relative to intergenera-tional gifts, which minimize possibleestate taxes, is important and can savefamilies a substantial amount of theirwealth. Current gifts also allow theolder generation the pleasure of educat-ing and assisting their beneficiaries onhow best to use the assets during theirlifetimes.

The Tax Relief, UnemploymentInsurance Reauthorization, and JobCreation Act of 2010—the 2010 TaxRelief Act (Act)—broadly changed thetaxation of estates. Through December31, 2012, the exemption for estates wasraised to $5 million for 2011, to beincreased in 2012 by an inflation factor

yet to be determined, with a top tax rateof 35%. If the Act is not extended ormade permanent, the exemption in2013 will be $1 million, with a top rateof 55%. While everyone hopes thatCongress will agree on a long-termsolution, we cannot be lulled into doingnothing and, therefore, must develop aplan using the existing law.

The Act also reunifies the estateand gift tax exemptions for 2011 and2012, allowing for lifetime gifts of up to$5 million. Lifetime gifts had been lim-ited to $1 million before a gift tax wasimposed under the prior law. This $5million exemption is in addition to theannual exclusion gifts of $13,000 perbeneficiary, per year.

The Act also changes how the estatetax will be calculated for lifetime taxablegifts. The amount of gift tax that would

have been paid will be calculated basedon tax rates in effect at the time of death,ensuring that the credit against the estatetax will be computed using consistent taxrates, regardless of when the gifts weremade. It is unclear whether additionalgift taxes would be assessed on giftsmade during this period, if exemptionlevels are decreased. If they wereassessed at death (which may not occurfor many years), the time value of moneyand the removal of future appreciationwould be beneficial to the estate. Again,Congress may change the estate tax lawand exemption amounts at any time.

The Congressional Super Committeehas been rumored to have looked at theestate tax area in their discussion. Thisleads to the decision to continue currentplanning and making lifetime gifts in anattempt to maximize alternatives for tax-payers.

Gifts of property can take manyforms. The easiest items to transfer arecash and marketable securities, as thesehave easily identifiable fair market val-ues and cost basis. The recipient of thegift steps into the shoes of the grantorand retains the historical cost basis.Other gifts can be interests in partner-ships, or closely held stock and realestate. These gifts can be the entireinterest or a partial ownership interest.If less than an entire interest is trans-ferred, a discount for lack of mar-ketability and lack of control can betaken to lower the amount of the gift,for estate and gift tax purposes. Anappraisal of the property would berequired to both determine the fair mar-ket value as well as any allowable dis-count. For example, if a 25% interest ina commercial building is transferredfrom father to son, and the building isappraised for $1 million, the gift would

be $250,000 without a discount.However, if a qualified appraiser deter-mined that a 20% discount was war-ranted, then the gift would amount toonly $200,000. The IRS dislikes the useof discounts because they reduce theultimate tax owed, so great care must betaken with these types of gifts.

Most people believe that intergen-erational gifts are an effective methodof saving estate taxes. However, manyalso worry that the gifts may sour theyounger generation’s work ethic. Ibelieve these gifts provide an excellentopportunity for teaching beneficiarieshow to understand the benefits andresponsibilities associated with wealth.One cannot expect all beneficiaries tounderstand these benefits without adiscussion on the responsibilitiesinvolved with managing such wealth, towhich the older can play a significantteaching role. There will always be thatbeneficiary who spends the gift on whatothers have deemed as “foolish” items,but early education may prevent suchan outcome.

Most people don’t throw their chil-dren into a pool and force them to learnhow to swim. You should not leave yourwealth transfers until death and thenhope your beneficiaries know how touse their new found wealth.

Claude A. Titche III is a partner atBeene Garter, with over 25 years ofexperience serving clients in a widevariety of industries. His expertiseincludes tax planning and compliance,mergers and acquisitions, divestitures,business succession planning, businesscoaching and IRS representation.Claude can be contacted atctitche@beenegarter.com.

Pursues Small Commercial Growth

Pewaukee, WI – Indiana Insurance,a Liberty Mutual Agency Corporationregional company, announces the addi-tion of six new internet retailer classesand a Limited Cyber Liability endorse-ment for its Commercial Protector®(BOP) product. These latest offeringssupport the company’s push to grow itssmall and mid-sized commercial busi-ness.

The new internet classes are forretailers engaged in the online sales ofbooks and compact discs, clothing,crafts and gifts, electronic goods, homefurnishings, and paper or party goods.The Limited Cyber Liability endorsementis available for all qualified CommercialProtector business classes at no addi-

tional cost. The company has alsoexpanded limit options for itsEmployment Related Practices endorse-ment.

Commercial Protector is a competi-tively-priced, package product that pro-vides broad property and liability cover-ages in a single policy for small businessaccounts with receipts up to $8.5 millionper location. Commercial Protector isquoted in real-time and issues onenhanced Commercial Lines IQ®(eCLIQ), Indiana Insurance’s new policyadministration system that provides abroad product set, expanded appetiteand fast, user-friendly interfaces foragents.

Aquinas College Celebrates 125 Yearsby Gary Eberle

Though people often think of the“ivory tower” as a place removed fromthe pressures of business, colleges anduniversities have to adapt to changingconditions and learn to roll with the eco-nomic times or they cease to exist. Thisyear, Aquinas College is celebrating its125th anniversary. Though primarily aliberal arts college, Aquinas has beeninvolved in preparing students for careerssince its beginning, and has evolved toprepare its graduates to enter the workforce as qualified professionals who havethe value-added advantage of a back-ground in the liberal arts.

Aquinas College has its roots in anormal school founded by Dominican sis-ters in 1886 in Traverse City to trainmembers of their order in the “norms” ofeducation so they could carry out theirprimary mission of teaching in the grow-

ing number of Catholic schools inMichigan. Over the next 36 years, hun-dreds of young women were trained asteaching sisters and staffed schoolsthroughout the northern and westernpart of the state from Bay City to BeaverIsland. After moving their NovitiateNormal School to Grand Rapids in 1910,their teaching mission expanded in 1921to include women not studying to benuns. They began Sacred Heart College,which was located on East Fulton Streetin the same building that housed SacredHeart Academy and the Marywood moth-erhouse of the Dominican nuns. In 1931,the opportunity for expanding the mis-sion of the college presented itself againwhen the sisters partnered with theCatholic diocese of Grand Rapids totransform their women’s college intoCatholic Junior College, the first Catholicco-educational college in the country tobe run by a congregation of religiouswomen.

During the 1930’s, the school laidplans to evolve into a four-year liberalarts college, and so, in 1940, CatholicJunior College evolved into AquinasCollege. The school was located in down-

town Grand Rapids, on the corner ofRansom Avenue and Fountain Street, thecurrent site of the Grand Rapids PublicLibrary’s parking lot. In 1945, the collegewas able to purchase the former Loweestate and in 1955 consolidated its moveto Southeast Grand Rapids when it soldthe last of its downtown properties.

In the late 1960’s, Aquinas Collegebecame a national leader in offering pro-grams to niche markets of people whopreviously had not been considered “col-lege students.” In these years of entre-preneurship, Aquinas began the EncoreProgram, one of the first programs in thecountry to reach out to mature womenwho had either never gone to college orwho had started school in the 1950’s,then put their educations on hold to raisetheir families. For the next fifteen years,graduation exercises were punctuatedwith cries of “Yay, Mom,” as proudwomen gathered their diplomas and pro-fessional credentials. In response to mar-ket needs, Dr. R.J. Bennett, professor ofeconomics, worked with local businessesto create the Career Action Program, andAquinas’s extensive ContinuingEducation offerings, which allowed adult

degree seekers to complete their academ-ic work in evening and weekend formats.Another underserved group of potentialstudents was the elderly. In the mid-1970’s, the college launched its EmeritusCollege for people 55 and older whowished to engage their minds in lifelonglearning. The Emeritus College pre-datedthe internationally known Elderhostelprogram by one year. Aquinas Collegebecame known locally as the little collegethat did not sleep, its parking lot full frommorning to night with commuting stu-dents taking advantage of the expandedformat course offerings.

In the early 1990’s, Aquinas contin-ued its tradition of innovation, adding itsMaster of Management Program to meetthe needs of working professionals whorequired education beyond the bachelor’sdegree, but whose jobs relied more onpeople management skills than the kindof numbers-crunching required in mostMBA programs. As the world moved intothe new millennium, Aquinas againinnovated by beginning the first bache-lor’s degree in sustainable business inthe country in 2003 and adding a mas-ter’s degree in that field in 2010.

In addition to fine career prepara-tion, Aquinas College prides itself on theliberal arts education it offers all its stu-dents.

A grounding in the liberal arts pro-duces graduates who are articulate, well-rounded, curious people with good com-munication and analytical reasoningskills. One hundred and twenty-fiveyears after its humble beginnings,Aquinas College has become a permanentfeature of west Michigan’s higher educa-tion community.

Gary Eberle, M.A., is professor ofEnglish and chairman of the Englishdepartment, Aquinas College.

4

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Contributing Writers: Claude A. TitcheIII, Gary Eberle, Brenda K. Pavlak, W.Scott Montgomery, Jennifer FitzPatrick,Del Williams, Katie Hurst, DaveHoogterpManaging Editor: Carol M. KralappAssociate Editor: Any CyganPrinting/Distribution: News Web PrintingAccountant: Michael Tawney & CompanyLegal: Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone

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Class of 2015

Michigan Recognized for Technology Lansing – The State of Michigan was

honored with multiple awards for excel-lence in information technology at theannual awards ceremony for the NationalAssociation of State Chief InformationOfficers in Denver, Colorado. Michigan’saward-winning programs included:

1. In the category of Data Informationand Knowledge Management, Michiganwon for the “Department of HumanServices (DHS) Decision Support System”.The system enables nightly extraction ofcaseload information from the DHS eligibil-ity determination and benefit issuance sys-tem, and Michigan’s children services sys-tems.

2. In the category of DigitalGovernment (Government to Business),Michigan won for “USAHerds CattleTracking - Protecting our Food Supply”.The Michigan Department of Agricultureand Rural Development (MDARD) formeda multi-disciplined team to develop anaggressive strategy that includes informa-tion, communication and technology (ICT)solutions to help track down, contain, erad-icate and prevent outbreaks of bovine TB inMichigan’s cattle industry.

3. In the category of Enterprise ITManagement, Michigan won for“Optimizing Government TechnologyValue: Establishing Enterprise Metrics to

Ensure Operational Readiness andBusiness Availability”.

4. In the category of Fast TrackSolutions, Michigan won for the “MiCloudAutomated Hosting Service”.

5. In the category of InformationCommunications Technology Innovations,Michigan won for the “Michigan BuildingIntelligence System”. The MichiganBuilding Intelligence System (MI-BIS) isan innovative infrastructure for buildingoperations, energy controls, and two-waycommunication.

5Estate Tax Legislation: Gearing Up for Another Round

By Brenda K. Pavlak

As we approach another electionyear, will Congress again push off mak-ing permanent changes to estate and gifttaxes until the last possible moment? InDecember 2010, after months of debateregarding estate and gift taxes, PresidentObama signed into law the Tax Relief,Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization,and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the 2010 TaxRelief Act). The bill contained favorable, buttemporary, changes to estate and gift taxes.It provided rules with two options fordeaths in 2010, another set of rules for2011 and 2012, and a sunset provision for2013 to revert back to the 2001 law.

Bush-era tax cuts repealed estatetaxes for 2010. However, the December17, 2010 enactment of the 2010 TaxRelief Act made further changes to estatetax law:

The Act reinstated the estate tax fordeaths in 2010, but offered an exemp-tion amount of $5 million with a top 35%tax rate. It required the basis of property

acquired from a decedent to be steppedup or stepped down to fair market valuebased on the date of death.

The executor of a decedent's estatecould elect to not pay the estate tax and,instead, step up the basis of the assets by$1.3 million for assets passing to any indi-vidual, and step up the basis of the assetspassing to the surviving spouse by $3 mil-lion. Executors selecting this option wouldbe required to file Form 8939 to report theproperty transfers. Once the election wasmade, it would be irrevocable.

As of January 1, 2011 (through toDecember 31, 2012), new estate taxrules took effect, allowing only for theoption to exempt up to $5 million fromestate taxes with the application of a toptax rate of 35%. In addition, the exemp-tion amount of $5 million becameportable, meaning a surviving spousecould also use the unused exemptionamount of the last deceased spouse.

Advantages of portability include: • Simple estate planning; no more

complicated trust required to maximize

exemptions • No income or principal restrictions

to the surviving spouse on the assetsheld in the bypass trust

• Step up in basis of the assets inthe surviving spouse's estate, even theassets remaining from the deceasedspouse

• Potential limitations of portableexemptions include:

• Executors need to file an estate taxreturn on time to make the election

• Portability is only availablethrough December 31, 2012

• Portability does not account forappreciation of the assets in the hands ofthe surviving spouse

• It is only available at the federaltax level

• Portability only applies to theestate and gift tax exemption—not to aspouse's unused Generation SkippingTransfer tax exemption

Beyond 2012, the estate tax is set toreturn to the 2001 top tax rate of 55%with an exemption amount of $1 million:

the level and rate of the pre-Bush tax cuts. The estate tax argument for perma-

nent repeal has been going on for sever-al years, and with another election yeardrawing near, it comes as no surprisethat the estate tax is back on the table.Since January 2011, we have seen a sig-nificant push to completely repeal theestate tax. It is unclear if Congress willmake a permanent decision regardingthe estate tax and, if they do, what willbecome of portability?

Here are some possible directionsCongress could take regarding the futureof the estate tax:

Congress could allow for the sunsetof the current law and return to the 2001exemption amount of $1 million and atop tax rate of 55%, effective January2013. This would result in more individ-uals being required to pay the estate tax.

Congress could extend the 2010 lawthrough 2013 and beyond, keeping theestate exemption at $5 million with a toptax rate of 35%.

Continued on page 6

Finance/Insurance BriefsIonia - Independent Bank announcesthat it is working with Freddie Mac for athird year in an effort to expand out-reach and education to potential home-owners. Freddie Mac will be providingan operating grant and educationalcounseling materials while IndependentBank associates will donate additionalsupport for two counseling initiativessupported by Freddie Mac

Lansing - Katlyn Nicolai is the new ClientDevelopment Director at the GallagherLaw Firm. Nicolai facilitates client devel-opment through marketing, client servicesprograms, and special events.

Grand Rapids - Price Heneveld® LLPannounced the addition of Rebecca A.Becker as a patent agent and GregoryA. Lewis as an associate of the firm.Becker is a registered patent agent withfour years of experience in intellectualproperty law and eight years of experi-ence in the automotive industry. Lewis isa registered patent attorney with fiveyears of patent litigation experience andover nine years of engineering experi-ence in medical device and high temper-ature materials development.

Brighton – LifeSecure InsuranceCompany announced that it released itsPersonal Accident Insurance (PAI) cov-erage, a new product that reimbursespolicyholders for expenses resultingfrom an accidental injury regardless oftheir traditional insurance coverage. Theproduct also includes the DisappearingDeductible feature, which eliminates thedeductible after five claim-free years.The new product will be available inmany states and is pending approval inothers.

Grand Rapids – Vernon P. Saper, a part-ner with Warner Norcross & Judd LLP,has been elected to the Grand RapidsDowntown Alliance Board of Directors.The Grand Rapids Downtown Allianceconsists of representatives from down-town businesses, schools, professionalfirms, non-profits and governmentalunits.

Cedar Springs – ChoiceOne BankDirector Gary Gust of GustConstruction was honored as he wasselected as the Grand Marshall of theCedar Springs Red Flannel Festivalwhich took place Saturday, October 1.

Grand Rapids – A total of 48 Varnumattorneys were recently selected by theirpeers for inclusion in The Best Lawyersin America® 2012

Park Ridge, IL – Barbara A. Pietrangelo,CFP, ChFC, of Ada, Mich., has been namedthe 2011–2012 Million Dollar RoundTable (MDRT) Foundation President.Pietrangelo is a 13-year MDRT memberwith seven Court of the Table honors. Shewill be the 46th MDRT FoundationPresident. The MDRT Foundation is thephilanthropic arm of MDRT, an associa-tion of nearly 36,000 financial profes-sionals from 78 countries.

New York, NT - American Banker andAmerican Banker Magazine havereleased the 2011 Most Powerful Womenin Banking and Finance rankings.Among the top ranked women wasGrand Rapids executive Michelle VanDyke, Regional President, Fifth ThirdBank (#13 on The Women to Watch).

Troy – Rob Agnello has joined RE/MAXCrown Properties as the newest mem-ber of this dynamic office. Agenllobrings to the office 17 years of experi-ence in real estate and was formerly withCentury 21.

Lansing – Martha Denning Moore,assistant dean and professor at ThomasM. Cooley Law School’s Ann Arborcampus, and David Porteous, graduateof Cooley and principal of the law firm ofMcCurdy Wotila & Porteous, have bothbeen re-appointed to the AttorneyGrievance Commission (AGC) by theMichigan Supreme Court.

Michigan - The Economic DevelopmentFoundation works with the U.S. SmallBusiness Administration to offer loanswith low rates, longer amortizations,and low equity requirements. The esti-mated effective rates published thisweek have been reduced to 4.69% on a20-year loan and 3.75% on a 10-yearloan – including all servicing fees.

West MiWest Michigan - SkylineExhibits West Michigan utilizes SBA504 loan from the EconomicDevelopment Foundation to purchasetheir commercial office building. SkylineExhibits West Michigan moved into theirexpanded building in 2009 but by 2011they wanted to purchase the propertybecause of advantageous prices and thelow rates offered by the SBA 504 loanprogram. Mercantile Bank broughtEconomic Development Foundation intothe picture to take on 40% of the loanpackage, while the bank contributed 50%and the borrower only needed to commit10% down to the purchase thus freeingup capital for other growth opportunities.

West Michigan - EconomicDevelopment Foundation assists JohnH. Tapper Automotive in freeing upcapital for other projects by refinancingexisting real estate loans. In late 2007,Tapper Automotive worked withKeystone Community Bank and con-structed a new dealership in Paw Paw,Michigan. While the location has provento be successful for the company, thedealership recently recognized the SBA’sdebt refinancing program as an excellentmeans to create more flexibility in theuse of capital for the future needs of thecompany. The Economic DevelopmentFoundation was the first in Michigan touse the temporary SBA refinance pro-gram allowing Tapper Automotive torefinance existing eligible fixed assets inits 504 program without the requirementof an expansion as is the case with typi-cal 504 loans.

Grand Rapids - Law Weathersannounces that three of the firm’s attor-neys have been selected for inclusion inthe Best Lawyers of America® 2012.The attorneys are listed below with theirpractice areas: Brian Fleetham – Healthand Business Law; William Hineline –Employee Benefits, Health Care,Business and Professional CorporationsLaw; John Huff – Public Sector Law,Estate Planning, Business Law.

6

Estate Tax LegislationContinued from page 5

Congress could pass an estate taxcompromise with a lower exemption anda higher tax rate. Perhaps they woulddecide on something similar to 2009,with a $3.5 million exemption and a toprate of 45%, which might or might notinclude portability of the exemptionbetween spouses.

Congress could completely repealthe estate tax—a valid option consider-ing the Republicans are in control of theHouse and gaining ground in the Senate;there has already been one bill for fullrepeal with bipartisan support.

It’s important to recognize there are

many more laws and legislative propos-als that can affect an individual’s overallestate planning, including the exemptionamount for Generating SkippingTransfers, the use of Family LimitedPartnerships, and the Grantor RetainedAnnuity Trust (GRAT). Most laws aretransient, which makes estate planningall the more important.

Brenda K. Pavlak, CPA, Echelbarger,Himebaugh, Tamm & Co PC, providesconsulting on estate, gift, and trustissues, and is an expert in handlingestate, gift, and trust tax returns. Contacther at 616-575-3482 orbrendap@ehtc.com.

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7Finance/Insurance BriefsGrand Rapids – Five attorneys with thelaw firm Warner Norcross & Judd LLPhave been named Lawyer of the Year inGrand Rapids for their respective prac-tice areas by Best Lawyers inAmerica® 2012. The attorneys recog-nized are: Hugh H. Makens, securitiesand capital markets law; Charles E.McCallum, international trade andfinance law; Richard A. Roane, familylaw; Eugene E. Smary, environmentallaw; Stephen C. Waterbury, mergersand acquisitions law.

Grand Rapids – Varnum has been select-ed to serve as legal counsel to the pro-ducers of Michigan-based film MickeyMatson and the CopperheadConspiracy, being filmed this month.The family-friendly, action adventure isbeing shot at 10 West Studios inManistee, Mich. and will include scenesfrom Manistee and Ludington.

Grand Rapids – Varnum attorney Carl E.Ver Beek has been re-appointed by theMichigan Supreme Court to a three-year term on the Attorney DisciplineBoard. The Board consists of six attor-neys and three laypersons appointed bythe Michigan Supreme Court. The mem-bers serve three-year terms.

Grand Rapids – Varnum attorneyLawrence P. Burns was recentlyappointed to serve on the MichiganHealth and Hospital Association'sLegislative Policy Panel.

Grand Rapids – The State Bar ofMichigan Board of Commissioners andthe Pro Bono Initiative have selectedVarnum attorney Joy Fossel as recipientof the 2011 John W. Cummiskey award.

Chicago - The U.S. Department ofHousing and Urban Developmentrecently awarded nearly $1.3 million toMichigan organizations to assist peoplewho believe they have been victims ofhousing discrimination.

Ada - Ryan P Smith, partner of ArgusFinancial Consultants has been author-ized by the Certified Financial PlannerBoard of Standards (CFP Board) to usethe certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIEDFINANCIAL PLANNER ™, and CFP (withflame design)® in accordance with CFPBoard certification and renewal require-ments.

Grand Rapids – The Right Place, Inc.and the Ionia County EconomicAlliance (ICEA) announced the forma-tion of a strategic partnership to supporteconomic growth in Ionia County andencourage more regional marketingefforts in West Michigan. Under theterms of the three-year contract, TheRight Place and ICEA will provide com-prehensive economic development serv-ices including business retention,expansion and attraction support toIonia county businesses. Additionally,The Right Place will provide marketingsupport to promote Ionia County assets.

Grand Rapids - Randall S. Goble hasjoined the law firm Warner Norcross &Judd LLP as director of marketing. Goblewill be responsible for marketing, adver-tising, public relations, branding, socialmedia, community relations and thefirm’s web site, as well as supportingclient development initiatives

Marne - Finn Law Group announcedthe addition of Kimberlee D. Lee as aparalegal in their Marne Michigan office.Lee has more than six years of experi-ence as a paralegal and office managerspecializing in family law.

Michigan - PNC will be the lead sponsorfor the 2012 Michigan CelebratesSmall Business awards program, thestate’s premier awards ceremony forentrepreneurs and supporters of smallbusiness.

Grand Rapids - Elizabeth K.Bransdorfer, a member of the law firmMika Meyers Beckett & Jones PI.C,was recently honored by MichiganLawyers Weekly as one of its 20 Womenin the Law 2011 for her meaningful andinspiring contributions to the legal com-munity.

Holland – Mark K. Harder, a partnerwith Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, hasbeen elected chair-elect of the State Barof Michigan's Probate and EstatePlanning Section. Harder, who concen-trates his practice in trusts and estateslaw, will serve a one-year term as chair-elect of the section.

Grand Rapids - The CFA West MichiganSociety announced the new officers andmembers of its Board of Directors toserve through June 30, 2012. The Board

and officers for fiscal 2012 are: MartinAxelrod, CFA –President and Chairman;Jeff Tryka, CFA – Vice President andVice Chairman; Greg Bosch, CFA – VicePresident; L Leonard Harrison, CFA –Vice President; David Hodge, CFA –Secretary; Ryan Allen, CFA – Treasurer;Andrew Mason, CFA – Board Memberand Past President; Theodore H. Fuger,Jr., CFA – Board Member.

Wyoming – The Right Place, in collabo-ration with The Michigan EconomicDevelopment Corporation (MEDC) andthe City of Wyoming, announced theplanned expansion of The PricelineGroup’s operations in Wyoming, addinganother 562 jobs in the project.ThePriceline Group is a leader in globalonline hotel reservations, with over190,000 participating hotels worldwide.The Group is composed of four primarybrands – Booking.com, priceline.com,Agoda.com and TravelJigsaw – and sev-eral ancillary brands. The Group pro-vides online travel services in over 110countries in Europe, North America,South America, the Asia-Pacific region,the Middle East and Africa.

Grand Rapids - Rhoades McKeeannounces that Molly Kuras has joinedthe law firm as an associate. She willfocus her practice in the areas of envi-ronmental and real estate law.

Kalamazoo – Peter Livingston has beenappointed chair of the Corporate PracticeGroup at Varnum. Livingston, whoworks at Varnum’s Kalamazoo office, isa partner in the corporate and estateplanning practice groups.

Grand Rapids – Lake Michigan CreditUnion announced the hiring of MarkMohr as a senior mortgage originator.Mohr has over 12 years of experience inthe mortgage industry with a specializa-tion in new home purchase utilizingFHA, Conventional, Rural Developmentand MSHDA programs.

Holland - The Society of CertifiedInsurance Counselors honored MikeWaalkes for 10 years of successfullymaintaining the Certified InsuranceCounselor designation, denoting signifi-cant commitment to advanced knowl-edge and customer service.

Grand Rapids - Rhoades McKeeannounces that Molly Kuras has joinedthe law firm as an associate. She willfocus her practice in the areas of envi-ronmental and real estate law.

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Communication & IT 8

Banking – ITSecurity Safety and Soundness

By W. Scott Montgomery

The practice of assessment the ITSecurity of a financial institution isunique. With assessments being requiredby the federal government, experts in thefield have been able to identify a coupleof concerns that are almost always repre-sented from our initial assessment.System patching of vendor supportedsystems leads the list of security con-cerns. This issue is followed closely bysimple and trivial account passwords.

When a vendor communicates thatno system under their support responsi-bility is to be updated or patched, a riskshould be recognized. Keeping a systemup to date with the system and operatingmanufacturer’s publicized updates is crit-

ical to limit IT security risk. However, ifthe financial organization is restricted orprohibited from performing this updateprocess, then the vendor should – regu-larly. Experts have identified situationswhere the financial organization hasunderstood that the vendor has thisresponsibility, but the process was nottaking place. Out of date systems operat-ing systems and hardware platforms canoften be breached, even with adequateaccess security and/or antivirus software.

Financial organizations haveworked hard to implement policies, prac-tices and operational environments thatare designed to protect the financial dataunder their control. But if vendors do notproperly secure the systems they areresponsible for, then the data is potential-

ly at risk of unauthorized access.Adding additional risk to computing

environments to financial organizationsis the use of weak and/or trivial pass-words within the environment. Anassessment processes quickly bring thisconcern to the client’s attention. Buy reg-ularly assessing password strength,employees can learn and organization’scan gain awareness to this security issue.Financial organizations have set policiesfor password strength. But these policiesare often not enough. Train the staff, byexample, on how to establish a strongpassword. In addition, regularly assesspassword strength by analyzing existingpasswords as compared to the internalpolicies. Require that all accounts thathave weak, or trivial passwords, as iden-

tified by the assessment process, bechanged immediately by the user.

Up to date, patched computer sys-tems and strong passwords throughoutthe environment are necessary to reducethe risk of unauthorized access and sys-tem breach that lead to data disclosure.

Become aware as to where your ITSecurity risk is, and what you can do toreduce that risk.

W. Scott Montgomery is SecurityPractice Manager for OST. Scott has aDegree in Computer Information Servicefrom Ferris State University. Scott's arti-cles and quotes often appear in tradepublications and he is regularly invited tospeak publicly about Computer Security,Identify Theft and Technology Trends.

Communications & ITTroy - Syntel, Inc., a global InformationTechnology services and KnowledgeProcess Outsourcing firm, announced ithas developed a solution that enablesclients in the Exchange TradedDerivatives market to employ TLMproducts from SmartStream, the finan-cial Transaction Lifecycle Managementspecialist. Syntel will serve as the pre-ferred implementation partner for newproduct rollouts.

Lansing - The information technologyattorneys at Foster Swift havelaunched a blog about the latest issuesrelated to information technology. Suchissues include trademark protection,intellectual property, e-discovery, e-com-merce, the taxation of e-commerce andcloud-computing, and IT contracts. Theblog focuses on providing practicalinsight and relevant news to IT usersand non-IT users that encounter issuesrelated to information technology.

Michigan - Center for BusinessInnovation has partnered withAerohive Networks to provide theirpartners with cloud-based managedwireless solutions. Cloud-based man-aged wireless solutions eliminate thechances for single-points of failure. Italso eliminates the need for physicalwireless controllers, making this a costeffective wireless solution for any sizeorganization.

Grand Rapids - WGVU Public Mediahas received one of only 41 nation- wideawarded “American Graduate” grantsfrom the Corporation for PublicBroadcasting through the NationalCenter for Media Engagement as part oftheir national initiative focusing on thehigh school dropout crisis. As part ofthis grant, WGVU Engage and its localpartners have launched “Get YourDiploma. Get Your Dream.” From nowthrough December, this project will useon-air messages, programming, andcommunity events to increase theawareness of the causes and ramifica-tions of a high dropout rate, and to pro-mote local resources available to helpstudents stay in school.

Holland – Worksighted announced thatco-founders, Mat Nguyen and MikeHarris, have been selected by theHolland Area Chamber of Commerce asthe 2011 Holland Chamber SmallBusiness Person of the Year.Worksighted has been on a growth trendfor the last five years, doubling revenueevery two years and expanding into newgeographic markets and adding newservices related to the core IT manage-ment and support business.

Grand Rapids - CU*Answers announcedthat two (2) credit union’s had investedin its Class A Stock offering to becomenew CU*Answers Owners. CommunityDriven Credit Union (Ypsilanti, MI) and

Public Services Credit Union (Ft.Wayne, IN) having invested, the cooper-ative CUSO now included 94 credit unionOwners - with 11 added during the pre-vious year.

Grand Rapids - Xtend, Inc. announcedthat two credit union partners have pur-chased stock during the past month.Onaway Community Federal CreditUnion ($71M, 10,000 members) basedin Onaway, Michigan, and North CentralArea Credit Union ($81M, 14,600 mem-bers) based in Houghton Lake, Michigan,each purchased an ownership block of200 shares in the cooperative.

Grand Rapids - Kantorwassink receivedrecognition at the Creativity 41stInternational Awards for their work forAmway on the International Starter KitGuide.

Holland - NET(net) Global HoldingsLtd., a provider of comprehensive ITInvestment Optimization Services,announced that Raul Villares has joinedthe international organization as VicePresident of Client Services, Europebased in Madrid, Spain.

9What You Should Know About Hospice Care

Grand Rapids – Spectrum HealthHospice knows that most people don’tthink about hospice care until they or aloved one is in need of this special healthservice. There is confusion about whathospice care involves, where the service isdelivered and how much it costs.

“People often don’t seek informationabout hospice until there is a crisis andthey have an immediate need,” said LisaVanderwel, director, business develop-ment, Spectrum Health Hospice. “Wewant patients and families to know themany truths about this service that isavailable to them often much earlier thanone might think. We work with ourpatients and families to ensure good qual-ity to each and every day.”

Vanderwel outlines the common“myths” about hospice care.Myth: Hospice is for people in their lastdays of life

Fact: Hospice is about living life to thefullest and bringing peace and contentmentto each day. The goal of hospice care isoptimal symptom control and physical,emotional and spiritual well being. Pain,nausea, shortness of breath and anxietycan interfere with ones quality of life. Ourefforts enable a person to enjoy what’sreally important to them and spend timewith those who matter most.

“A person usually qualifies for hos-pice care much earlier than they think andfamilies frequently comment that theywish they had called sooner,” saidVanderwel.Myth: Hospice is a place.

Fact: The goal of hospice care is thatyou are cared for and kept comfortable inthe environment you choose and we areproud to provide excellent care whereverthat might be. Hospice care usually takesplace in the comfort of your home, but canbe provided in any environment in whichyou live, including nursing homes, assist-ed living facilities or even the hospital.Myth: Not all hospices provide for thespiritual care of the patient.

Fact: Spiritual care is an importantaspect of care in all hospice programs.Federal regulations require chaplains tobe an integral part of the hospice interdis-ciplinary team.

The chaplains at Spectrum HealthHospice are trained to address end of lifequestions in a gentle, affirming, non-threatening manner.

“The conversations our hospicechaplains facilitate help instill hope intimes of turmoil, restore healing in brokenrelationships with people or God andmaintain peace in all circumstances at allstages of life,” said Vanderwel.Myth: Families have to pay for hospicecare.

Fact: Hospice care is covered at 100%by Medicare, Medicaid and most otherinsurance policies. The benefit covers visitsfrom the nurse and all other members ofthe interdisciplinary team, equipment thatmight be needed, medications related to thehospice diagnosis, even home visits fromour physicians. Through its charity carepolicies, Spectrum Health Hospice is com-mitted to caring for all patients, regardlessof an individual’s ability to pay or insur-ance status. Myth: Patients can only receive hospicecare for a limited amount of time.

Fact: Medicare and Medicaid as wellas most private insurances pay for hos-pice care as long as the patient continuesto meet the necessary criteria. Patients aresometimes discharged from hospice whenthey are doing better and are much morecomfortable and may later re-enroll inhospice care if needed.Myth: Hospice shortens a person’s life

Fact: Some studies have shown thata person can live longer with adequatesupport and comfort care that our expertteam provides. When symptoms of dis-comfort and pain are better managed, oneoften experiences increased appetite,renewed energy and sense of well beingand purpose. Myth: Hospice is only for cancerpatients.

Fact: Hospice care is helpful for per-sons living with a wide range of diagnosesincluding heart disease, cancer,Alzheimer’s and lung disease. Hospice careis open to all persons diagnosed with a life-limiting illness. It is appropriate to obtaininformation on hospice when:

• Curative treatment is no longerbeing sought

• There is an increase in pain, nausea,difficulty breathing or other symptoms

• An individual is tired of frequenthospitalizations or trips to the ER andwants to be home and comfortable

• An individual is sleeping a lot, less

alert and more emotionally withdrawnMyth: Hospice is just for the patient.

Fact: Hospice focuses on comfort,dignity and emotional support. The quali-ty of life for the patient, family membersand caregivers is the highest priority.

Toll Free 800-968-8608

Fax 616-997-7263

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10Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease In The Workplace

By Jennifer FitzPatrick

Joanne, a 54-year-old sales manag-er, was fired last week because of herdeclining performance over the past 18months. She was arriving late to meet-ings with clients, missing report dead-lines and misplacing confidential compa-ny data. Prior to these issues, Joanne hada superior track record with the companyso her boss was especially disappointedin these changes. During her 15 yeartenure with the organization Joanne hadwon two awards, been promoted threetimes and was one of the highest earnersin the organization. What happened tothis star?

Unbeknownst to anyone, includingJoanne, she was suffering from earlyonset Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’sdisease is generally considered an olderperson’s illness, and usually that is true.But approximately 200,000 Americanssuffer with the early onset type. Earlyonset Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, bydefinition, manifest in patients before age65, and can occur as early as the thirties

and forties but are most typically diag-nosed during the fifties.

What Is Early Onset Alzheimer’sDisease?

Early onset Alzheimer’s disease is atype of permanent dementia for whichthere is currently no cure. Dementiasymptoms consist of short term memoryloss, confusion, personality changes,poor judgment and getting lost withfamiliar tasks and in familiar places.Those suffering with early onsetAlzheimer’s disease usually have beenexperiencing symptoms for a year ormore by the time they seek a doctor’sadvice. Since dementia symptoms can becaused by a number of temporary condi-tions, many physicians correctly considerthose first, particularly for those underage 65. Temporary causes of dementiacan include significant stress, dehydra-tion, infection, medication side effectsand drug or alcohol abuse.

Joanne may have assumed her prob-lems were simply because she was get-ting older. Although everyone haschanges in the brain including shorter

reflex and reaction times, increased tip ofthe tongue moments and mild forgetful-ness, dementia symptoms are never partof the normal aging process. If Joannehad known about her condition, perhapsshe would have remained employed.With a proper diagnosis, she may havehad access to medications like Ariceptand Namenda that could have had mini-mized symptoms impeding her job per-formance. While these drugs are not acure, they have certainly improved quali-ty of life for many suffering with perma-nent dementia. Joanne also would havehad the luxury of processing the diagno-sis and preparing personally and profes-sionally instead of facing the humiliationand stress of a dismissal.

How Should An Employee HandleAn Early Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis?

Since Joanne had enjoyed over adecade of success with her company, per-haps she may have had a candid discus-sion with her manager about her diagno-sis if she had known. Maybe togetherthey would have determined a way forher to remain in her sales managementposition. If not, perhaps she could havebeen offered her another opportunity atthe company which would be better suit-ed to her health changes. If continuingwith the company would not have beenan option, Joanne most likely would havebeen eligible for some type of disabilitybenefit. This would have protected herfrom immediately using her savings andretirement account for daily livingexpenses. Protecting those assets for aslong as possible with an early onsetAlzheimer’s disease diagnosis is criticalsince Joanne will most likely need tospend that on care expenses when herdisease progresses. It is especially impor-tant to delay accessing the retirementaccount due to hefty early withdrawalpenalties since she is still only 54-years-old.

What can employees do to avoidJoanne’s plight? Everyone should beaware of their risk factors related to earlyonset Alzheimer’s disease but theyshould also keep in mind that it is aninfrequent condition. Only 5% of allAlzheimer’s disease cases diagnosed areof the early onset nature. What are therisk factors for early onset Alzheimer’sdisease? Clinical studies have determinedthat there are some genes associated withearly onset Alzheimer’s disease so familyhistory is a factor. Major head injuries,diabetes and heart disease are also linkedwith increased Alzheimer’s disease diag-noses so these conditions should be

avoided or properly managed if theyoccur.

What Can Employers Do?First, an organization can facilitate a

climate of trust about issues, health orotherwise, that may impact work per-formance. It is also important to investi-gate when a star employee like Joannefails to meet expectations. Successfulemployees generally don’t start fallingoff, especially after 15 years, unlesssomething is very wrong. Joanne likelyknew something was wrong with her asmost Alzheimer’s disease sufferers dorecognize changes in themselves, butmay have been in denial. When peopleare experiencing these symptoms indenial, a compassionate manager orhuman resources professional may beable to encourage the employee to seekhelp through Employee AssistancePrograms or their group health insur-ance. If Joanne was suffering from a tem-porary dementia that could be cured orreversed, the company would haveretained an excellent worker. Even inJoanne’s case of suffering from perma-nent early onset Alzheimer’s disease, theorganization is in a better position todefend against a wrongful terminationsuit when they give an employee theopportunity to seek help when a decliningjob performance may be the result of anillness or disability.

If the employee is not in denial, anda trusting corporate culture exists, Joannemight have sought out her manager withher concerns about her ability to do herjob. Patients experiencing such symp-toms often appropriately begin by con-sulting with their primary care physician.But if the symptoms persist and a causeis not determined, it is important toencourage the employee to confer with aspecialist such as a neurologist, geriatri-cian or geriatric psychiatrist with experi-ence in dementia. Also, memory clinicsand assessment centers are available inmost major cities to assess and evaluatesymptoms.

While early onset Alzheimer’s dis-ease can create havoc in the workplacefor both employers and employees, it isfortunately a rare condition. When every-one in the workplace understands whatto look for, it is easier to guide coworkersand subordinates who need help.

Jennifer FitzPatrick, MSW, LCSW-Cis an author, speaker and educator.Founder of Jenerations Health Education.For more information please visitwww.jenerationshealth.com

Review of The China Strategy

By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,getAbstract

Perhaps Frank Sinatra’s familiarrefrain needs a slight alteration to reflectthe current reality: “If I can make it there,I’ll make it anywhere. It’s up toyou”...China, China. No firm can afford to

ignore China as a market, manufacturingbase or source of competition.Management consultant Edward Tse’swide-ranging viewpoint (Tse was born inHong Kong but educated in the US) offersanxious businesspeople clarity and direc-tion. He lucidly describes the forces hethinks will shape China’s future and illus-trates how your business can prepare forthis transformation. Although the book’scall to action – plan now for an unknownfuture – may overwhelm some readers,getAbstact recommends this overview ofChina’s shifting commercial climate tomanagers considering moving to China,those who are already active there, andthose who realize the degree of China’simminent influence and want to preparefor the turmoil ahead.

Edward Tse. The China Strategy:Harnessing the Power of the World'sFastest-Growing Economy. Basic Books,2010. 256 pages. List Price: $26.95. ISBN-13: 978-0465018253

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

12Families, Businesses Must Plan Ahead to Meet

the Growing Demand of Long-Term CareBy Lisa Wendt

November is Long-Term CareAwareness Month in Michigan, a timewhen advocates like myself strive to edu-cate families and businesses alike aboutthe demands of long-term care and theimportance of proper long-term careplanning.

Providing care for a loved one orfriend is truly a full-time job, as care-givers play a number of roles – fromhands-on health provider and friend tosurrogate decision-maker and advocate.When these roles are assumed in addi-tion to typical workplace and familyduties, they can prove very costly to bothindividuals and their employers. But untilpeople experience it firsthand, most of usdon’t realize the dramatic impact it canhave on our finances, career, health andfamily. I certainly didn’t.

Planning for Long-Term CareActing on my sense of duty and with

limited information, I moved my fatherinto my home when he was 83-years old.As his health declined, I missed morecritical work time and it started costingmore and more to support him. My hus-band and I worked extensive hours to

provide for his growing need for care andother costs inevitably altered our plansfor retirement. Looking back years later,complete with battle scars and learn-as-you-go frustrations, I understand hownot being fully prepared to provide carecan impact a family. I’m also convincedthat planning for my own later years is amust for me and my family.

Unfortunately, many caregiversunderestimate the need to plan aheadand they only begin exploring long-termcare options when care is needed by aloved one. This approach causes many ofthe challenges associated with long-termcare, which can have a significant finan-cial, physical and emotional impact onthe caregiver and their family.

A hard truth that families often failto realize is that government programslike Medicare and Medicaid will not fullymeet their long-term care needs. It’simportant to understand that long-termcare is very different from health care.The general intent of health care is toreturn a person to good health, so itsfocus is on restoring health. In contrast,long-term care focuses more on caringthan on curing. Generally, long-term careprovides custodial care. An easy way to

remember is “Care vs. Cure.”Medicare only covers limited skilled

care if it improves a person’s health con-dition and no coverage is available forcustodial care. Medicaid covers nursinghome stays for poor and low-income citi-zens, which often requires a person todeplete his or her assets before qualifyingfor coverage. The proposed federal long-term care program, which was includedin the national health care reforms, wasrecently eliminated.

With the demand for long-term careon the rise, it’s important for individualsto recognize that they will be responsiblefor their long-term care needs. The num-ber of adults providing care to a parentmore than tripled over the past 15 years(17 percent of men and 28 percent ofwomen). And as baby boomers continueto age, the need for long-term care willsoon reach unprecedented levels.

Just as long-term care demands areaffecting families, they’re affecting busi-nesses as well. It would also be wise foremployers to research and consider long-term care insurance (LTCI) options fortheir workforce.

A Wise Buy for EmployersAbout 42 percent of U.S. workers

have provided elder care in the past fiveyears, which requires them to juggle theircaregiving role with work and other fam-ily responsibilities. For an overwhelmingmajority of workers, this can result inarriving to work late or leaving early, tak-ing additional time off, cutting workhours or stopping work entirely, all ofwhich can be costly to employers. Recentstudies have shown that:

Businesses lose up to $33.6 billioneach year in lost productivity from full-time caregiving employees.

Employers pay 8 percent more forthe health care of employees with elder-care responsibilities, which can cost anadditional $13.4 billion per year.

The average annual cost to employersper full-time caregiver is more than$2,100.

Offering LTCI can not only help offset

some of these costs, but it can also serveas a recruitment and retention tool. Withmore workers falling into the “sandwichgeneration” – adults caught in the middleof caring for both their children and theirparents – they will find value in the oppor-tunity to plan ahead and prepare for theirlong-term care needs.

To get the maximum benefit, howev-er, it’s important for businesses to do theirhomework and find a flexible, customiz-able LTCI plan that best suits their needs.There are both fully and partially paidemployer offerings, as well as voluntaryprograms in which the employee pays forthe entire premium. Other important con-siderations include administrative supportavailable to participating companies andadditional support such as care advisorservices, which offer the additional benefitof supporting, educating and advocatingfor caregivers and their families to furtherprotect their well-being.

With the demand for long-term careon the rise and the high cost of beingunprepared for both individuals andbusinesses, now is the right time foremployers to properly research theiroptions and find a reliable, well-designedLTCI program that will provide the bestvalue for its workers and its bottom line.

Lisa Wendt, FLMI, is the presidentand CEO of LifeSecure InsuranceCompany, based in Brighton, Mich.LifeSecure is dedicated to providinguncomplicated insurance and non-insur-ance solutions to help people protectthemselves from unforeseen health-relat-ed risks and expenses. Additional infor-mation is available atwww.YourLifeSecure.com.

MetLife Mature Market Institute.Planning Tips: Financial Considerations forFamily Caregivers. Westport, CT 2011.

AARP. Valuing the Invaluable: 2011Update – The Economic Value of FamilyCaregiving in 2009. Washington, DC 2011.

Quality Office Furniture, at a price you can afford!

Bill Feyen616-554-0200

billfeyen@exceloffice.com

12

13Health Care BriefsWyoming – Metro Health Hospitalannounced that Darcy Millon has joinedits Chest Pain Center. Millon will serve inthe new position of coordinator, whereshe will be responsible for managingcare of patients from the pre-hospitalsetting through discharge.

Grand Rapids - Lutheran SocialServices of Michigan has hired JayPrince, most recently of San Diego,California, to be the new executive direc-tor of MapleCreek, a full continuum ofcare senior living community, 200032nd Street SE, Grand Rapids.

Muskegon - Shoreline Visionannounces the addition of Dr. Nathan P.Reed to its medical staff. Dr. Reed is cer-tified by the American OsteopathicBoard of Ophthalmology andOtolaryngology and is a member ofState, Local Medical and OphthalmologySocieties.

Kalamazoo - Bronson Orthopedics &Sports Medicine, Spine & ScoliosisCenter, welcomes Dr. Joshua Ellwitz totheir team. He is board eligible in ortho-pedic surgery and received his medicaldegree from the Medical College ofWisconsin.

Wyoming – Metro Health announcedtoday that Dr. Randall J. Duthler hasjoined its Family Medicine Practice.Duthler will practice at Metro HealthSouthwest. He will also serve as theschool physician for Jenison’s sportsteams.

Muskegon – Mercy Health Partnersannounced it has agreed to collaboratewith The International GenomicsConsortium (IGC) in Phoenix, Ariz., toserve as a critical network Tissue SourceSite (TSS) to provide cancer tissue sam-ples for analysis in the NationalInstitutes of Health’s (NIH’s) historicproject The Cancer Genome Atlas project(TCGA).

Grand Rapids – Joe Eisenmann, PhD,has joined the Helen DeVos Children’sHospital Healthy Weight Center as apediatric obesity researcher. He will col-laborate with and mentor physicians andmedical students conducting research.Eisenmann will maintain his establishedcollaborative research efforts with state,national and international organiza-tions.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospitalannounced that Dr. Mykola J. Bartkiwhas joined as a hand and an orthopedicsurgeon. Bartkiw will focus his practiceon hand and upper extremity surgery,treating conditions from the “shoulder tofingertips.” He will be based in theCascade Neighborhood OutpatientCenter, but will also practice at theSouthwest Neighborhood OutpatientCenter.

Grand Rapids – The Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention has selectedKent County as the recipient of a $1million grant to develop a CommunityTransformation Implementation Plan.The three-year development grant willbring multiple organizations together tocreate a strategic approach to reducethree health measures by 5 percent:Death and disability due to tobacco use;Death and disability due to heart diseaseand stroke; Obesity rates.

Wyoming – Metro Health announcedthat Dr. Azra S. Ayubi has joined itsgrowing practice in obstetrics and gyne-cology.Ayubi comes to Metro Health withmore than a decade of experience inobstetrics and gynecology and will prac-tice in the Southwest NeighborhoodOutpatient Center.

Grand Rapids – Pediatric orthopaedicspecialist Lisa Maskill, MD, has joinedthe Spectrum Health Medical Group.She provides care on an outpatient basisat her 35 Michigan Street office and atHelen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

Kalamzoo – Bronson MethodistHospital’s Adult Critical Care teamwelcomes Melissa Zaccheo, DNP.Zaccheo received her Doctor of NursingPractice from Chatham University, aPost-Master Certificate – Acute CareNurse Practitioner – from Seton HallUniversity, and Master of Science –Family Nurse Practitioner from DeSalesUniversity.

Kalamazoo - Bronson MethodistHospital has added five new healthcareproviders to their Internal MedicineHospital Specialists team. Dr. Jose DeLeon is board certified in InternalMedicine. Dr. Shadi Jibawi is board eli-gible in Internal Medicine. Dr. MarcosMadeiro is board eligible in InternalMedicine. Dr. Jennifer Passini is boardcertified in Internal Medicine. PhysicianAssistant, Tara O’Neill, PA-C, also joinstheir team.

Wyoming – Metro Health announcedthat Dr. Stephanie Dublis has joinedthe Cancer Center at Metro HealthVillage. Board certified in internal medi-cine, she will be joining the medicaloncology and hematology practice.

Kalamazoo – Bronson MethodistHospital welcomes Jelanie Bush, MD,to their pediatric hospitalist team. Sheis board eligible in pediatrics andreceived her medical degree fromMichigan State University College ofHuman Medicine.

Grand Rapids – Darci R. Luyk hasreturned to Mary Free Bed Hospital asthe manager of physician relations andnetwork development. Luyk will beresponsible for developing relations withphysicians throughout the state.

Toll Free 800-968-8608

Fax 616-997-7263

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14Education BriefsGrand Rapids - Elaine Van Doren,associate dean for KCON undergraduateprograms, received a $773,837 grantfrom the U.S. Department of Healthand Human Services to establishADVANCE and increase diversity withinthe RN-BSN program. Grand Valleypartnered with Grand RapidsCommunity College and MuskegonCommunity College for the three-yearprogram. ADVANCE students must havean associate’s degree in nursing and beeconomically or educationally disadvan-taged. Victoria Hecksel-Lantz, programcoordinator, said a cohort of 20 studentswill be enrolled for the winter semester.

Grand Rapids - Grand RapidsCommunity College has received a sig-nificant grant award of nearly $2 millionfrom the U. S. Department ofEducation Title III program to increasethe number of students who stay in col-lege and graduate with a degree. Theprogram will focus on helping develop-mental education students who enroll incollege without the skills necessary to besuccessful college students. The fundswill be distributed over five years.

Big Rapids – The National Institute ofHealth has awarded Ferris StateUniversity a research fellowship grantthat has provided funding to recruitAlexandria Casillas to campus as anintern to further develop studies ofmelanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Casillas, originally from Antioch, Calif.,will be working for a full year underFerris Professor of Biology James D.Hoerter, who received the grant to fundthis NIH research fellowship.

Holland – Hope College has launched thelargest single fundraising effort in the col-lege’s history, a $175 million comprehen-sive campaign that will add several newbuildings and provide major boosts to thecollege’s endowment with emphasis onscholarship aid and faculty-student col-laborative research. More than $132 mil-lion has been raised so far. The totalincludes three $10 million lead gifts: onefor collaborative research from Dr. A.Paul and Carol Schaap of Grosse PointePark; one for a concert hall and musicfacility, from the Richard and HelenDeVos Foundation of Grand Rapids; andanother for a student center, from the Bob

and Cheri VanderWeide family of Ada.The college also announced that the stu-dent center will be named the Jim andMartie Bultman Student Center in honorof Hope President Dr. James E. Bultmanand his wife Martie, who are retiring atthe end of June 2012.

Kalamazoo - Citing a record of "out-standing leadership and commitment tothe University, the community andbeyond," the Western MichiganUniversity Board of Trustees demon-strated its support for President John M.Dunn at its Sept. 28 meeting by enactinga two-year extension to his contractthrough June 30, 2016.

Grand Rapids – Davenport Universityis proud to name its new downtownlocation for the late Peter C. Cook, adevoted alumnus, supporter and cham-pion of the University. The Peter C.Cook Center, located at 45 Ottawa NW,opened for the fall 2011 semester offer-ing MBA programs in accounting,finance, health care and strategic man-agement.

Lansing – Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool and the University of Münster’slaw school, the largest law school inGermany, have entered into an agreementto allow students and faculty the opportu-nity to learn and teach as part of a studentexchange program. The initial agreementbetween the two schools is for threeyears. The University of Münster, inMünster, Germany, is located in the stateof North Rhine-Westphalia.

Grand Rapids - Grand Valley StateUniversity’s Seidman College ofBusiness has been named by thePrinceton Review as one of the ‘Best 294Business Schools’ for 2012. The rankingsare based on a survey of business schoolstudents conducted during the 2010-11,2009-10 and 2008-09 academic years.

Grand Rapids - Grand RapidsCommunity College has established aBusiness Professionals of America(BPA) chapter, a move that will givetheir students the opportunity to developsolid business skills through state andnational competitions, and give themaccess to scholarships.

Finding the After School BalanceMichigan - The start of the school

year brings on more than just home-work, new notebooks, and waking upearly. It is a time for children to growwithin their community and experiencenew opportunities outside of school. Dr.Mari E. Douma, DO, an osteopathic pedi-atrician from Fowler, MI gives her adviceon how to have well balanced afterschool activities for your children andavoid burn-out.

“It is important for children to beinvolved in extracurricular activities,”says Dr. Douma. “This is where they pickup lifelong skills such as leadership,sense of community, healthy habits anddiscipline.”

Like many parents, you may strug-gle with pulling your kids away from thelatest video game or from the comfort-able confines of the family home. Dr.Douma has a few tips to help get yourchildren off the couch and involved afterschool:

1. Do things together. Expose themto a few activities that you can do togeth-er. Kick a soccer ball, have a family mathcontest, or go to a humane society. Thisway you can see what they are interest-

ed in before you make the commitment.2. Check out the community center.

There are a lot of different activities thatthey can explore on their own, fromsports to homework help. At a communi-ty center, your children have the oppor-tunity to meet with other children withshared interests and possibly join a teamor activity together.

3. Listen to them. If your childrenshow interest in something that couldturn into an activity, research it to findout how they can get involved. Evenvideogamers have clubs to join.

While extracurricular activities are agood way for children to exercise boththeir bodies and minds, develop healthyhabits and stay out of trouble, it isimportant to remember a balance. “Whenchildren become overwhelmed, they mayexhibit signs of stress, like depressionand anxiety. Stress can lead to loss ofsleep, missed meals, falling behind onschoolwork, and separation from friendsand family,” says Dr. Douma.

Once involved in an activity or mul-tiple activities, check in with your chil-dren to make sure they are still enjoyingthemselves. “After an activity, children

should be tired, but not exhausted. Ifyou find that your

child is exhausted, start to reevalu-ate the activities she is involved in andadjust if necessary,” says Dr. Douma.

Dr. Douma has ways to preventoverloading activities:

1. Have a test period. Come up witha chart to log which activity your childfavors the most and if it is manageable tohave more than one activity.

2. Don’t force them to do an activityjust because you enjoy it. Doing an activ-ity to only please someone else defeatsthe whole purpose. If they are into some-thing, let them shine.

3. Encourage open communication.“If you are worried about sending thewrong message about quitting beingokay, make sure they realize that priori-tizing is not quitting and commitment toone activity they really enjoy is betterthan giving a half-hearted commitmentto a multitude of activities” says Dr.Douma.

Being involved after school is one ofthe best ways for your child to growwithin the community, learn disciplineand create relationships with others.

However, finding a balance in activitiesis important. “Running your childrenfrom activity to activity is a sure-fire wayto exhaust them and you,” says Dr.Douma. “Once you find the right bal-ance, things like down time, homework,being with friends and family, and read-ing a book will be that much more enjoy-able,” she adds.

Preventive medicine is just oneaspect of care osteopathic physiciansprovide. DOs are fully licensed to pre-scribe medicine and practice in all spe-cialty areas, including surgery. DOs aretrained to consider the health of thewhole person and use their hands to helpdiagnose and treat their patients.

The Michigan OsteopathicAssociation represents more than 7,000osteopathic physicians and students andpromotes osteopathic medicine inMichigan by shaping the health caredelivery system to better serve the com-munity. To learn more about the MOAand osteopathic medicine, visit the MOAwebsite at www.mi-osteopathic.org.

15

Division Park Avenue and Serrano LoftsGrand Rapids – After successfully

restoring 101 South Division buildinginto one of the first mixed-use LEEDbuildings in Historic Heartside businessdistrict, Brookstone Capital LLC onceagain contributes to the revitalization ofthe South Division Avenue corridor.Project partners MSHDA, PNC Bank, TheCity of Grand Rapids CommunityDevelopment, Downtown DevelopmentAuthority, Economic Development officehave teamed with the historic renovationof three buildings in the two hundredblock of South Division Avenue intoaffordable workforce housing.

General contractor WolverineBuilding Group, architectural firmConcept Design Studio, historic consult-ant Past Perfect and sustainable consult-ant Catalyst Partners led the extensiverehabilitations of the unoccupied build-ings at 209 and 217 South Division havebeen combined and rehabilitated intoDivision Park Avenue Apartments. Theproject entailed a total of 47,000 square

feet of major renovations. Notable his-toric features such as a skylight-toppedatrium, store front bay windows, customwood-workings, and exterior masonryarchitectural features were carefully pre-served. Division Park AvenueApartments feature Thirty (30) one- two-bedroom apartments; including sixstreet level live-work units, as well as

secured below-grade parking. ThePalantine Building built by John E. Peckin 1911 began as rooming house fortravelling furniture buyers for semiannual furniture shows, was built at acost of $40,000.

17 Williams Building was built in1917 as a Burch warehouse Most recent-ly a tire warehouse, the 94 year old

building at 17 Williams SW has beentransformed into urban-style loft apart-ments. Now named Serrano Lofts, thefour story building contains 15 one- totwo-bedroom units. The rehabilitationproject included 16,000 square feet ofmajor renovations, masonry, triplepane energy-efficient windows and con-crete floors.

Wolverine Building Group, ConceptDesign Studio, and sustainable consult-ant Catalyst Partners constructed bothprojects to target LEED GoldCertification. Both projects utilizedFederal Historic Tax Credits, MichiganState Historic Tax Credits, MSHDA LowIncome Housing Tax Credits, andBrownfield Tax Credits. PNC Real Estateprovided the construction financing,local financial support from The City ofGrand Rapids Community Developmentoffice HOME Funds and City of GrandRapids DDA through the BRIP Grantreuse program.

2011 ABC/WMC Construction Awards WinnersAward Winner ProjectConcrete Kent Companies, Inc. ITP The Rapid

Precast Kerkstra Precast, Inc. Kent County Recycle Center

Roofing - Membrane Langerak Roof Systems Farmers Insurance

Green Roof Frederick Construction Sault Saint Marie US Land Port of Entry

Glazing Vos Glass, Inc. Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Podium Curtainwall

Low Voltage Systems Feyen Zylstra LLC Helen DeVos Children's Hospital

Electrical - Feyen-Zlystra LLC Reserve Wine BarUnder $1 Million

Electrical - Buist Electric Helen DeVos Children's Over $1 Million Hospital

HVAC Quality Air Heating Salvation Army Ray & Joan& Cooling Kroc Community Center

Mechanical Pleune Service Company MSU College of Human Medicine Secchia Center

Fire Protection Brigade Fire Protection Farmers Insurance

Interior Finishing The Bouma Corporation Helen DeVos Children's

Hospital Renovation - Rockford Construction Aquinas College SturrusUnder $10 Million Sports & Fitness Center

Renovation - The Christman Company Spectrum Health BlodgettOver $10 Million Inpatient Facility

Historical Renovation Rockford Construction Reserve Wine Bar

Construction- Elzinga & Volkers StoneWater Banquet Under $2 Million Construction Facility

Construction - Wolverine Building Group Bissell Corporate Hangar$3 - $10 Million

Construction - Rockford Construction Beacon Hill at Eastgate$10-$30 Million

Construction - The Christman Company MSU College of Human $30-$50 Million Medicine Secchia Center

Construction- Wolverine Building Group Helen DeVos Children's Over $50 Million Hospital

Green Building - Wolverine Building Group M Retail SolutionsRenovation & Catalyst Partners

Green Building The Christman Company MSU College of Human Medicine Secchia Center

Safety Parkway Electric & Communcation

16Construction BriefsKalamazoo - KDC Real EstateDevelopment and Investments will bethe master developer of East Campus andWMU's private-sector partner in theeffort. The company has its nationalheadquarters in Dallas, but the EastCampus work will be the focus of KDC'sDetroit-area office in Dearborn. The KDCteam is led by Randall W. Doran, a sen-ior vice president with the firm and a1983 WMU alumnus. The KDC teamincludes two lead partners: UrbanCampus Communities--UCC--a state-of-the-art residential developer that hasworked in three university communities;and Lodgeco Management, a multi-brand hospitality management firm withassets in 12 Michigan locations. Otherparts of the KDC team include a numberof well-known firms based in or withoffices in Kalamazoo. Among them areTower Pinkster Architects andEngineers; Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr& Huber, a civil engineering firm; andthe Signature Associates and Cushman& Wakefield Alliance, commercial realestate firms.

Holland - Elzinga & Volkers announcesthat Julie DeNooyer has joined the com-pany as Marketing Coordinator.DeNooyer is responsible for coordinatingall marketing activities and reinforcingthe Elzinga & Volkers brand.

Ada - Erhardt Construction announcedthat Marc Felt, LEED-AP has been pro-moted to Project Manager. Since joiningErhardt in 2006, Marc has been involvedin many projects that draw on his man-agement expertise and broad construc-tion knowledge base. Marc holds aBachelor of Science

Kalamazoo - Signature Associatesannounces the following:Negotiated the sale of a 9,934 square footretail building located at 414 WalbridgeStreet, Kalamazoo to Kelly Schultz fromseller Norm’s Electric Motor.Negotiated the lease of 11,792 squarefeet located at 624 28th Street SW,Wyoming to the tenant, CrusaderMarital Arts, Inc.Negotiated the lease of 134,079 squarefeet of industrial space located at 13370Barry Street, Holland. The tennet, HNDHoldings, LLC will expand its greentechnologies company into the newHolland location.Negotiated the sale of a 40,000 squarefoot office building located at 801 IoniaAvenue NW, Grand Rapids. The seller,Irish Twins Group III, LLC and thebuyer, 801 Ionia, LLC.Negotiated the sale of a 10,147 squarefoot medical office building located at505 Keefer Drive, Albion to NarcononFreedom Center, Inc from the seller,Albion Community Medical. Negotiated the sale of 5.57 acres ofindustrial land located at 8229 ClydePark Avenue, Byron Center, Michigan.The seller was RL & DG Investments,LLC and the is buyer, DM8187, LLC.

Ann Arbor - Hobbs+Black Architectsannounced the promotions. Tim Andres,AIA has been promoted to Senior VicePresident. Ben Jessup has been promot-ed to Marketing Manager. The Ann Arboroffice announced the promotions ofClaude Faro, LEED AP BD+C, EricWard, AIA, LEED AP BD+C and WaltWyderko, AIA to Associate.

Grand Rapids - Pioneer Constructionhas hired a new full-time Director ofSafety. Seth Wehner has been a safetydirector since 2003 with a proven trackrecord of erformance in commercial con-struction safety.

Lansing - C2AE, the architectural andengineering firm responsible for thedesign of the interior renovations of theInpatient Mental Health Clinic at the AnnArbor Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center ispleased to announce the project hasreceived an AIA Grand Valley award.

Grand Rapids - C. D. Barnes Associates,Inc. announces Curt G. Petersen hasjoined the company as Vice President ofOperations. Petersen will be responsiblefor broadening C.D. Barnes Associates’construction market capabilities and reach.

Grand Rapids - DornerWorks was hon-ored to make the Inc. magazine list of5000 fastest growing private companiesin the US. DornerWorks was ranked 44thamong engineering companies for hav-ing a 3-year growth rate of 76%.DornerWorks placed first among engi-neering companies in Michigan.

Grand Rapids – Progressive AEannounced that Louis G. Hill, P.E., CPD,has joined the firm as Senior MechanicalEngineer. Hill has 16 years of experiencein HVAC, plumbing, and fire protectiondesign.

Grand Rapids – Land & Companyreceived the Outstanding CorporateAward for 2011 from the CrimePrevention Association of Michigan.

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Current Business Trends:Growth slows

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

The survey results are based ondata collected during the last two weeksof October. The survey’s index of busi-ness improvement, called new orders,retreated to +9 from +25. In a similarmove, the production index edged lowerto +8 from +25. The index of purchasesbacktracked to +6 from +14. Theemployment index fell to +15 from +27.

“Slow growth by any measure isstill better that no growth at all,” saidLong. “Our local statistics continue to bestronger than the rest of the country, andeven the rest of the world. We hope thatthis trend will continue.”

Long said the automotive parts pro-ducers are keeping local statistics posi-

tive; in October auto sales for the indus-try were up by 8 percent. He said theoffice furniture firms are still holdingsteady, but the slowdown in the worldeconomy is starting to erode the prospectfor future performance. He also saidindustrial distributors are steady, but theslowing of the local economy has causedtheir sales to moderate.

“Despite the modestly positive num-bers in this local survey, caution stillremains that the world economy is stillslowing and many countries may soonslide into a technical recession,” saidLong. “For us, the big question remainsabout how much we will be drawn in ifthe economy for most of the rest of theworld turns slightly negative. Barring animmediate collapse of the Euro, we stillexpect to see the current pattern of slowgrowth to continue in West Michigan forthe next few months. If we do slide intoanother recession, chances are this timewe can blame it on the Europeans.”

17Construction BriefsGrand Rapids – Colliers International |West Michigan welcomes BenjaminSietsema to the Industrial group as SalesAssociate. In his new role, Sietsema’skey roles and responsibilities will be toassist the industrial group at Colliers.

Lansing – The ASCE Michigan Sectionhas selected Mike Guter, PE, as its 2011-2012 President and has elected new offi-cers for the coming year. 2011-2012ASCE Michigan Section Officers:President: Mike Guter, PE, GrandRapids; President-Elect: D a n i e lLewis, PE, Kalamazoo; Vice President:Ronald Goldie, PE, Detroit; Treasurer:Carey Suhan, PE, Troy; Secretary:Therese Kline, PE, Lansing; PastPresident: Michael Thelen, PE, Lansing.

Grand Rapids – Colliers International inWest Michigan announced the followingreal estate transactions. Women at RiskInternational completed the purchase of20,960 square feet of retail and officespace located at 2790 44th Street SW inWyoming. Tranquil Road, LLC completed the pur-chase of 13,800 square feet of industrialspace located at 2892 Blue Star Highwayin Douglas and the seller wasSaugatuck Storage Company.Patten Services, LLC completed the pur-chase of 55,500 square feet of industrial

space located at 10845 Chicago Drive inZeeland.West Michigan Community Bank com-pleted the purchase of .96 acres of landlocated at 5 E Washington in Zeeland.Rockford Development Group, LLCcompleted the purchase of 89,765 squarefeet of industrial space located at 601First Street NW in Grand Rapids fromComerica Bank.Victory Clinical Services completed thepurchase of 6,600 square feet of officespace located at 401 Howard Street inKalamazoo from the seller, HopeNetwork.Paul Mitchell Pro, Inc. completed thepurchase of 34,410 square feet of indus-trial space located at 3498 Kraft AvenueSE in Grand Rapids.KALSEE Credit Union completed thepurchase of .72 acres of land located at4418 Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo.Internet and Computer Service, LLCleased 2,057 square feet of retail spacelocated at 6095 28th Street SE, in GrandRapids.Ricoh Americas Corporation leased of4,040 square feet of industrial spacelocated at 3420 Broadmoor Avenue SE,in Kentwood.R.L. Adams Plastics, Inc. leased of94,900 square feet of industrial spacelocated at 7377 Expressway Drive SW inGrand Rapids.

Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. lease of40,000 square feet of industrial spacelocated at 725 Ionia Avenue SW in GrandRapids. Johnson Controls, Inc. leased of165,000 square feet of industrial spacelocated at 1451Lincoln Avenue inHolland. VanderLugt, Mulder, DeVries andElders lease of 5,000 square feet ofindustrial space located at 13055 RileyStreet in Holland.Advantage Mechanical leased 5,810square feet of industrial space located at4870 West River Drive NE in ComstockPark.Northern Logistics, Inc. leased 25,000square feet of industrial space located at555 76th Street in Byron Center. West Shore Counseling, LLC. leasd2,450 square feet of office space locatedat 426 Century Land in Holland.Guran Lucow Miller, PC leased 7,691

square feet of office space located at 300Ottawa Avenue in Grand Rapids.Bierling Entities, LLC lease of 9,600square feet of retail space located at 3510Plainfield avenue NE in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids - EPS Security announcedSteve Sabatino, EPS Security engineer,received his Level 4 Certification from theNational Institute for Certification inEngineering Technologies (NICET). Thislevel of certification represents the high-est qualification within the fire alarmprofession.

Grand Rapids - Progressive AEannounced that Bryan Koehn, AIA,Director of Design, has joined the A.R.E.(Associate for Retail Environments)Dream Team. The A.R.E. Dream Teamconsists of some of the industry's great-est design and branding minds.

Q & A With ExxelBy Eric P. Uitvlugt

Question: In the future, I am plan-ning on developing a parcel of land, forcommercial office use. I have used yourfirm in the past for site design, andwould like to know how to find the bestgeneral contractor for my project. Whatdo you suggest?

Robert S., Walker

Answer: We have worked with avariety of general contractors over theyears. Fortunately, in our area, we areblessed with many excellent firms.

One way to identify the appropriatecompany to meet your needs would be tocontact the West Michigan Chapter ofAssociated Builders and Contractors, Inc.ABC will be able to recommend a varietyof general contractors to meet yourneeds, and work with you, to narrow thelist of companies to contact, for designideas and pricing.

Another option would be to workwith the Commercial Alliance of Realtorsof West Michigan. Many CAR membersare involved with commercial office realestate development and also will be ableto help you with design/build recom-mendations.

Always seek out professionaladvice, before investing time and moneyinto your project, and you will find theresults will be well worth the initialinvestment of working with an expert.

Eric P. Uitvlugt, P.S. is a profession-al surveyor, as well as CEO of ExxelEngineering, Inc., a planning, engineer-ing and surveying firm, located in GrandRapids, Michigan. Eric has worked invarious aspects of project developmentsince 1973. He can be reached at (616)531-3660.

Please contact Exxel or the publish-er to have your question answered in afuture publication.

18More Than a Temporary Corrosion Covering:

Chemically Bonded Phosphate Ceramicsby Del Williams

Corrosion of steel, aluminum, andother structural metals erodes the safetyand financial stability of industries andcountries alike. Fighting corrosion inships, tanks, planes and equipment coststhe Pentagon $22.9 billion a year.Corrosion costs advanced industrializednations about 3.5% of GDP to replacedamaged material and components, plusa similar amount due to lost production,environmental impact, disrupted trans-portation, injuries, and fatalities.

While traditional corrosion protec-tion has relied mostly on short-livedphysically-bonded coverings of substratesurfaces, a new category of ChemicallyBonded Phosphate Ceramics (CBPCs) cancreate a long-lived passivation layer thatstops corrosion. This is further protectedby a tough ceramic outer layer.

The Limits of Traditional CorrosionProtection

For generations, polymer paintshave acted as a physical barrier to keepcorrosion promoters such as salt waterand oxygen away from steel and alu-minum substrates. This works until thepaint is scratched, chipped, or breachedand corrosion promoters enter the gapbetween the substrate and polymer coat-ing. Then the coating can act like agreenhouse—trapping water, oxygen andother corrosion promoters—allowing cor-rosion to spread.

Placing sacrificial, reactive elementsnext to steel that will corrode first, suchas zinc and galvanized coatings, isanother strategy. This works until thesacrificial elements are used up andrecoating must be done, usually after afew years.

Cathodic protection, where a nega-tive voltage is imposed on steel, can limitcorrosion on pipelines or other stationary,continuous metal structures where volt-age can be attached. But this can fail ifit’s not properly insulated and voltagegoes to ground.

For assets that demand long-termcorrosion protection, stainless steel alloyswork. But with stainless steel costing upto six times more than mild steel, thisoption is often cost prohibitive.

A New Approach to CorrosionProtection

Ideally, engineers, facility managers,and industrial paint contractors wouldwant the long-term corrosion-resistanceof a stainless steel part with the lower

cost of coating application. A new cate-gory of CBPCs is now basically makingthis possible.

Unlike polymer paints that simplycover a substrate, CBPCs essentially‘alloy’ the surface.

Dr. Arun Wagh, a former materialsengineer at Argonne National Lab,explains it like this:

“When a dual-component spray gunmixes an acid phosphate with base min-erals and metal oxides in a water slurry,a chemical reaction occurs on the surfaceof the steel substrate,” says Wagh. “Ahand-held thermometer indicates a 10-12°F temperature rise, as iron becomes acorrosion-resistant passivation layer ofiron oxy hydroxide. Because the passi-vation layer is electrochemically stable,like gold and platinum, it does not reactwith corrosion promoters such as waterand oxygen.”

Scanning electron microscopy indi-cates this passivation layer is about 20microns thick. X-ray diffraction indicatesthis passivation layer is about 60% ironwith components of phosphate, magne-sium, silicon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

“History suggests that the newCBPCs passivation layer may resist corro-sion indefinitely, as demonstrated by theIron Pillar of Delhi,” says Wagh. “TheIron Pillar, a 7-meter high, 6-ton Indianartifact that has resisted corrosion for1600 years with its original inscriptionsstill legible, has a virtually identical pas-sivation layer to that of the new CBPC.”

In contrast to typical paint polymercoatings which sit on top of the substrate,the new ceramic coating bonds through achemical reaction with the substrate, soslight surface oxidation actuallyimproves the reaction. This makes it vir-

tually impossiblefor corrosion pro-moters like oxygenand humidity toget behind thecoating the waythey can with ordi-nary paints.

The corrosion-resistant passiva-tion layer is furtherprotected by a trueceramic outer shell.This dense ceramicouter shell isimpermeable towater, and resistsimpact, abrasion,

chemicals, and fire. The ceramic outershell forms simultaneously with the pas-sivation layer and chemically bonds withit, after acid and base materials mix inthe spray gun nozzle then react with thesubstrate surface. The dual-layer ceram-ic coating can be used both as a primerand a topcoat, and can be applied in asingle pass that’s dry to the touch in aminute, hard dry in 15 minutes, and canbe returned to service in an hour.

Though CBPCs such as these haveproven themselves in the laboratory andin examples such as the Iron Pillar, TonyCollins knew that the effectiveness of thenew material had to be compared to thatof traditional anti-corrosion coatings.

Duplicating a NASA corrosion test,these new CBPCs have been put to thetest against 19 leading anti-corrosioncoatings in a live corrosion test, viewableto the public by webcam. Coated sampleswere scribed, then exposed to 12 hours of

sea spray, followed by 12 hours of sun-light (or the UV light equivalent). After45 days, every other high-performancecoating tested failed. Except for the ruston its scribe (gouge) line, the EonCoatsample looked the same as day one.

To monitor another ongoing corro-sion test modeled on NASA’s sea spraytest, the public can view, zoom, and con-trol a live webcam at www.eoncoat.com.In the latest test, which has passed 120days and includes brand names matchedto numbers, 20 Q panels coated with apopular primer, topcoat, or the new CBPCare sprayed daily with corrosive seawa-ter.

There’s nothing like seeing resultswith your own eyes. The product hasgone more than 10,000 hours with nocorrosion in a salt spray ASTM B117 test,but it is believed that engineers, facilitymanagers, and industrial contractors willsee value in comparing its effectivenesswith leading brands. New CBPCs are anew approach to corrosion protection thatshould be looked into as aging plants,equipment, and infrastructure need to besafely maintained as long as possible.

For more info, call Tony Collins,President, EonCoat 252-360-3110 oremail TonyC@EonCoat.com; visitwww.eoncoat.com; or write to EonCoat,4000 Airport Drive, Wilson, NC 27896.

Del Williams is a technical writerbased in Torrance, California. He writesabout health, business, technology, andeducational issues, and has an M.A. inEnglish from C.S.U. Dominguez Hills.

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Industrial BriefsHolland - Request Foods has officiallybegun co-packing skillet meal bags,heralding an important extension of thecompany’s entrée and side dish frozenfood processing capabilities. A leadingco-packer of national, club store and pri-vate brands, Request Foods designedand built the new state-of-the-art facili-ty to complement the company’s existingpan and tray packing space. The230,000 sq. ft. Greenly Street Facility isadjacent to Request Food’s main facility.

Tucson, AZ – Graybar, a leading distrib-utor of electrical, communications anddata networking products and providerof related supply chain management andlogistics services, recently broke groundon a new facility in Tucson, Ariz., that isexpected to be built to Leadership inEnergy and Environmental Design(LEED) specifications after completion inthe spring of 2012. The building will beGraybar’s first-ever LEED certified facili-ty and will house its Tucson operations.

Grand Rapids – Summit TrainingSource is the recipient of theOccupational Health and SafetyMagazine New Product of the YearAward for the revolutionary distracteddriving video training program entitled,“Forever & Ever: The LastingConsequences of Distracted Driving”.Summit is honored to be recognized byOHS for the second year in a row;Summit received the prestigious NewProduct of the Year Award for SummitElements in 2010.

St. Louis, MO – Graybar, a leading dis-tributor of electrical, communicationsand data networking products andprovider of related supply chain man-agement and logistics services, hasappointed Steven Horst as its VicePresident, Service and Administration.Horst is a 16-year Graybar veteran whomost recently served as National MarketManager for construction.

Wyoming –The Wyoming City Councilapproved tax-abatement requests forAgropur and Lee Steel Corporation atthe Sept. 19 council meeting. Agropur, adairy producer, received a personal prop-erty tax-abatement for facility improve-ments to its 5252 Clay Avenue locationvalued at $4,500,000. The companyanticipates adding 25 new full-timeequivalent positions and maintaining 75existing jobs on site. Lee SteelCorporation, a family owned, flat rolledsteel provider, received an industrialfacilities tax-abatement for propertyimprovements at its 5875 Weller CourtS.W. facility, an investment of no lessthan $6,085,000. $4,550,000 will beinvested in personal property and$1,535,000 will be invested in real prop-erty. Five new jobs will be created as aresult of the investment and 18 jobs willbe retained.

Holland – LeanLogistics, a global solu-tions provider of transportation manage-ment system (TMS) applications andsupply chain services, and TopcoAssociates LLC will present “LeveragingTechnology to Expand TransportationServices” at the CSCMP Annual GlobalConference 2011 in Philadelphia.

Holland – LeanLogistics, a global solu-tions provider of transportation manage-ment system (TMS) applications andsupply chain services, and TopcoAssociates LLC will present“Leveraging Technology to ExpandTransportation Services” at the CSCMPAnnual Global Conference 2011 inPhiladelphia.

Grand Haven, MI and Dedham, MA -Atlas Ergonomics and AliMed, Inc.have joined forces to reduce the highrisk of on-the-job injury among healthcare workers who handle patients. Thealliance combines Atlas's proven riskassessment and ergonomic technologywith AliMed's vast inventory of safepatient handling equipment and tools.

Lansing - Gov. Rick Snyder announcedthe appointment of Alex Declercq andthe re-appointment of Gary Marowsketo the Michigan State WaterwaysCommission. The commission is respon-sible for the acquisition, constructionand maintenance of recreational har-bors, channels, and docking and launch-ing facilities.

19

Manufacturers & Health & Wellness

Lansing - Members of the MichiganManufacturers Association (MMA) inattendance at a seminar on 10/4/11 wereprovided an in-depth look at the findingsfrom the 9th Annual MetLife Study ofEmployee Benefit Trends. The study ishighly anticipated each year by HR man-agers and those in the insurance indus-try.

The survey reports that 72 percentof employers said health and wellnessprograms are effective at reducing med-ical costs and lead to more productiveworkers. Health and wellness programsadd a new dimension to benefits busi-nesses are able to offer, but also providea means for cost savings.

MetLife’s online benchmarking toolindicates that mid-west manufacturershave the largest percentage of manufac-turers across the country offering healthand wellness programs, but also arehigher than all other industries. Healthand wellness programs are programsoffered above traditional health insur-ance to encourage healthy lifestyles.

“The fact that Michigan manufac-turers are more likely than any other pri-vate sector employers to provide healthand wellness programs isn’t surprising,”says Vice President of Government

Affairs Mike Johnston. “Manufacturersare faced with a lot of costs that are out-side of their control. Workers’ compensa-tion insurance, unemployment insur-ance, personal property taxes — all ofthose things contribute to the bottom lineand to how competitive a manufacturercan be. Health and wellness programshave a track record of providing health-care savings; this is an area that manu-facturers can control and they do.”

The study surveyed 1, 508 employ-ers from a variety of industries andregions and 1,412 full time employees.Findings indicated that economicchanges have decreased employee loyal-ty, job satisfaction and increased frustra-tion. Findings also suggest that benefits,particularly those which allow theemployee to have choice and customiza-tion, are key drivers in developingemployee loyalty.

“This is critical information to deliv-er to our members who are focused oncompetitiveness and quality,” said MMAChief Executive Officer Chuck Hadden.“Looking at what benefits are valued canmake all the difference for Michiganmanufacturers not only for recruiting butretaining the most highly skilled work-force.”

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Industrial BriefsRockford - Wolverine Worldwidereported record financial results for thethird quarter ended September 10, 2011,with double-digit growth in both rev-enue and earnings per share and recordoperating margin.

Lansing - Gov. Rick Snyder appointedJohn D. Quackenbush to serve as chairof the three-member Michigan PublicService Commission.The commissionprovides regulatory oversight ofMichigan's utilities and works to ensurecommunities have safe and reliableenergy, telecommunication and trans-portation services at reasonable prices.

Kalamazoo - Bill Main, President andCEO of Landscape Forms, announcedhis planned retirement from the compa-ny at the end of 2014 and namedRichard E. Heriford, former VP of Salesand Marketing, to succeed him as presi-dent, effective immediately. Main, whohas led Landscape Forms since 1994,will become Executive Chairman. In hisnew role, Main will chair the Board ofDirectors and maintain a direct reportingrelationship with the new president dur-ing a three-year transition designed toensure seamless continuity in culture,strategy and operations. During thatperiod he will remain active in investorrelations, special projects, and companyrepresentation to customers and thelandscape architecture profession.

Manschester - Amcor Rigid Plastics, theworld's leading producer of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) packaging, is ready tounseat glass as the dominant material in24oz wide mouth food containers. Theindustry leader in hot fill technology seesmajor market opportunities for its newlyintroduced 24oz round, wide mouth PETjar for the food industry. The stock hot fillcontainer is a lightweight replacement forglass for pasta sauces, apple sauce, sal-sas, jams and jellies, and other food prod-ucts filled at temperatures up to 205 F.

Holland- Jason Mulder is the newPower Deck Sales Manager at HD SafetySystems. The Power Deck is a cargo andpallet positioning system designed forMercedes and Freightliner Sprinter vans,Ford E-Series, Chevy Express, NissanNV and other delivery vehicles.

Zeeland - Gentex Corporation hasannounced that its auto-dimmingrearview mirrors are available on theOPEL/Vauxhall 2012 Astra GTC, ZafiraTourer, and Ampera. The Astra GTC andZafira Tourer also offer the SmartBeam®high-beam assist system. The vehiclesare available in the European markets.

Auburn Hills - United Solar announcesthe largest installation of solar photo-voltaics (PV) on a waste landfill in theworld. The one megawatt installation islocated at the Hickory Ridge Solid WasteLandfill in Conley, Georgia and is view-able during take-off and landing atAtlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson InternationalAirport. The closed landfill is owned andmaintained by Republic Services ofPhoenix, Arizona. The integrated systemconsisting of nearly 7,000 UNI-SOLARPVL-144 modules over 10-acres of land-fill cover is a complete geomembrane capclosure system. The project is expectedto provide a carbon offset of 1,374 met-ric tons per year. In addition, the annualenergy generation is enough to supplyover 200 households with electricityeach year.

Arlington Heights, IL – ITW Muller, aleading manufacturer of both innovativestretch wrap equipment and high qualitystretch wrap film, has won this year’sEnvironmental Impact Award fromGreener Package™. ITW Muller’sOctoMAX™ monitoring system, used onthe Octopus 303 rotary ring stretch-wrapping machine, won the award in thePackaging Machinery Category for itsconsistent optimized use of stretch wrap.The Greener Package Award honors topinnovations in five categories relating tosustainable packaging.

South Bend, IN - The St. Joseph CountyAirport Authority announced that theSouth Bend Airport (SBN) has beenawarded a grant in the amount of$750,000 under the US Department ofTransportation Small Community AirService Development Program (SCAS-DP). The airport was among 29 airportsacross the nation to receive grantsawarded through the $15 Million, 2011program.

St Louis, MO – Graybar, a leading dis-tributor of electrical, communicationsand data networking products andprovider of related supply chain man-agement and logistics services,announced that on September 28, 2011it entered into a $500 million, five yearunsecured revolving line of credit.Bank of America Merrill Lynch was thelead institution in the transaction, with

PNC, U.S. Bank, SunTrust Bank and J.P.Morgan acting as joint lead arrangers.Commerce Bank, Regions Bank, WellsFargo, Fifth Third Bank, Comerica andUMB also participated in the transaction. The deal was marketed and priced with-out requiring Graybar to encumber anyof its assets.

Grand Rapids - Steelcase Incannounced that the company wasincluded among the top 10 organizationshonored by the American Society forTraining and Development's BESTawards competition. This honor recog-nizes Steelcase's success driving innova-tion through employee training, specifi-cally in the development of the node™chair.

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21

Ten Tips for Planning a Successful Catered EventBy Katie Hurst

Do you anticipate planning a cateredevent at some point in your career?Whether you happily volunteer to planthe company retreat or draw the shortstick and get stuck planning the officeholiday party, here are some simple rulesthat you can follow to make your event asuccess.

Book dates as early as possible.Many weddings and large businessevents are booked a year or two inadvance, especially if the event will beheld on a weekend. Become familiar withthe facility’s policies on deposits, con-tracts, and cancellations. Make sure theevent planner has all of your contactinformation, and that you have theirs.

Ask for the square footage of thespace you are renting, not just aboutcapacity limits. To increase their profits,many facilities will try to fit way toomany people into a room. Each guestshould have at least two feet of tablespace, so they are not bumping elbowswhile eating.

Reserve hotel rooms if attendees willbe coming from out of town. Many hotelsset up room blocks for large events, withno obligation. If rooms are not reserved,they are released back into inventory,and you are not charged for them. It isalways better to reserve a hotel room andcancel the reservation (before the cance-lation deadline, of course) than to try toreserve a room at the last minute, only todiscover every hotel in town is booked.

Know what you want, but be open to

the expert’s opinions. It’s your event, butthe expert knows what works and whatdoesn’t. For example, your event plannerwill likely tell you that allowing guests tochoose between five entrée choices willmake for very slow service. Believethem! Guests would rather have limitedchoices than wait 45 minutes to beserved.

Keep dietary needs in mind whenplanning the menu. A good rule ofthumb, when planning a large event, is tooffer a vegetarian option. Be sure to askguests if they have food allergies, thenmake the necessary accommodations forthose who do. Also, keep the age of yourguests in mind when choosing menuoptions and portion sizes.

Schedule a tasting with the chef soyou know exactly what to expect with themenu. An arranged meeting provides agreat opportunity for you to ask for thechef’s input on what will be in seasonduring your event. The local food move-ment is very big right now, and manycaterers prefer to use fresh produce overfrozen items packaged half way aroundthe world. Be sure to ask the chef if themeal you have chosen would be betterserved plated, family style, or on a buffet.

Consider all beverage options. Manyfacilities will offer you the option of pay-ing for each individual drink or purchas-ing a beverage package. This goes forsoft drinks, beer and wine, or full liquoroptions. If you presume your attendeeswill drink heavily, then purchasing a bev-erage package and paying a set amountper person might be more cost-effective.

Serving alcohol at business events hasbecome very common, but it can also beproblematic. If you are worried aboutattendees drinking too much, considerissuing drink tickets to limit each per-son’s consumption.

Collect RSVPs early. You will berequired to provide an estimated attendeecount when booking, and a guaranteedcount about a week before the event.Every facility has different rules on guar-anteed counts, so be sure to ask. It maynot seem like a big deal if the count is offby a few people, but the count is used toschedule staff and order food, so it needsto be exact. Be aware that you may becharged for guests who do not show up.

Know your event budget and stick toit. Remember to include tax and gratuityin your event budget. An automatic serv-ice charge is added for all banquets; besure to ask what the percentage is. If youare using an offsite caterer, a delivery or

set up fee might be required. Ask for apre-invoice, including all charges, toavoid surprises on the final bill.

Keep communication lines open. Ifyou need to access the event room early,to setup or decorate, inform the eventplanner and take measures to ensure thatthe room will be accessible. Also, whenyou arrive at the facility, introduce your-self to the banquet coordinator or server,so they know who to go to with anyquestions.

Then, the only thing left to do is tosit back, relax, and enjoy the event youworked so hard to coordinate!

Katie Hurst is the sales and market-ing coordinator for Boulevard Inn &Bistro. She can be reached at: (269) 983-6600 ext. 4715, or catherinehurst@the-boulevardinn.com.

Plan The Ultimate Event.Plan The Ultimate Event.

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• State of the art Boardroom• Ballroom capacity for up to 400 guests• Complimentary wireless internet access• Discounted rates for 10 or more guestrooms per night• Personalized service and packages for all types of events• Convenient location to expressways and the airport

www.grandrapids.hilton.com4747 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids

Contact the Sales Department at 616-957-0100

Hotels/Restaurants BriefsLansing – Michigan craft breweries wereawarded five medals at the 30th AnnualGreat American Beer Festival (GABF)Competition. Michigan Brewers Guildmember received the following awards:GOLD: Expedition Stout – Bell’sBrewery, Comstock. Category: AgedBeer; Mangalista Pig Porter – RightBrain Brewery, Traverse City, Category:Experimental Beer; SILVER: Blue Sunday– New Holland Brewing Company,Holland. Category: Belgian Style Lambicor Sour Ale; Cream Stout – RedwoodBrewing Company, Flint. Category:Sweet Stout; BRONZE: Pin Up Blonde –Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak, Category:Belgian & French Style Ale. In additionto the individual beer medals presented,Short’s Brewing Company out of

Bellaire was recognized for the “BestBooth” at this year’s festival.

Traverse City - The Grand TraverseResort & Spa reports that Director ofSales, Colleen Brzozowski has beenselected by the Traverse City BusinessNews as one of this year’s “40 Under40,” an annual list highlighting the fortymost influential individuals in the regionunder age 40.

Mackinac Island - Mission Point Resortannounces the transition of ZoannAndress from her current role asWedding Sales Manager to the new posi-tion of Sales Manager. Andress will bebased out of the resort's SoutheastMichigan offices.

22

Solar Panels Generate Energy at the Green Well Gastro Pub

Grand Rapids - The Green WellGastro Pub is now generating energyfrom a solar panel array, as part of theConsumers Energy endeavor,SmartStreet™. The year-long pilot proj-ect, centered in Grand Rapids' East Hillscommunity, was initiated in December2010 to preview the ways ConsumersEnergy would meet growing energydemands with smart meter technology,energy efficiency programs, and renew-able energy options.

The Green Well site at 924 CherryStreet combines the synergy of smartmeter technology, energy efficiency, andenergy generation. Inside the establish-

ment, customers can view a short videoabout SmartStreet and watch a displaythat shows how much energy is beinggenerated by the new solar panels onthe roof (1.44 kW at peak output).

Cascade Renewable Energy, a divi-sion of Grand Rapids-based CascadeEngineering, provided engineering anddesign services for the system installa-tion. UNI-SOLAR served as the primaryequipment provider of the solar panelsystem.

"The Green Well's culture and com-mitment to sustainability, as well as itsroof-access to the sun, made it an idealsite for the solar demonstration," said

Kristin van Reesema, SmartStreet proj-ect manager.

The Green Well is among 60 homesand commercial properties participatingin the SmartStreet program. Participantshave received energy audits, energy-efficient lighting, energy-efficient smart

appliances (installed in selected homes),and smart meters (to replace all electricmeters). With the use of web portals anddisplay units, participants can track andactively control their energy usage innear-real time, making it possible tosave energy and save money.

How to Hire a CatererBy Dave Hoogterp

A company celebrating an importantevent like an open house for a new facil-ity or an awards banquet for employees,often hires a caterer to help make suchoccasions a success. These specialmoments in the life of a company need torun as smoothly as possible, from keep-ing overhead costs low to having a punc-tual caterer who can deliver exceptionalservice and sumptuous cuisine.

Because the catering can largelyinfluence the mood of an event, a greatdeal of care should go into selecting theright caterer. The following suggestions

will help you assess caterers when plan-ning your next event:

Request references from recentevents and ask about awards. If thecaterer is not willing to provide you withreferences, watch for the red flag. If theycan provide testimonials from recentclients, wonderful!—but then again, whoisn’t going to present you with their“happy customer” list? To skirt the clientlist provided by the caterer, ask the cater-er if they have won any awards. Awardsare a great way to find out if the catererprovides a consistent level of high quali-ty service. Did they win any awards forcatering specifically? You might even ask

if they have won awards related to out-standing customer service.

Get information in writing. Whenworking with the caterer to determinethe items which would work best foryour event, ask for a written proposal.Does the quote include china or dispos-able dinnerware? Linens? Service staff?Set-up? Look for a proposal that is all-inclusive with no hidden fees. If you arecomparison shopping, make sure you arecomparing apples to apples. For example,one proposal for bar catering servicesmight be less expensive than another,but items like mixers for the bar, servertrays, etc., might not have been includedin the estimate. By the time any addi-tional necessary items are tacked on,what was the cheaper “better” proposalnow may ring 30 percent higher than theother all-inclusive quote.

Feel comfortable with your caterer.

To help settle your uneasiness aboutwhether a certain caterer will meet theexpectations for your event, consider afew things beforehand:

*Did the caterer answer the phoneduring business hours? If not, did theyreturn the call within an acceptable timeframe? If they are poor at communicatingright out of the gate, it might be indica-tive of how the planning process will go.

*Is the caterer open to meeting withyou in person to discuss possibilities foryour event? You want someone that isjust as excited about your special occa-sion.

*Ask for a tasting to determine whattype of food will make your event a suc-cess. A corporate BBQ is very differentfrom a service awards dinner.

*Question how long the manage-ment team has been with the cateringcompany, and if they use their own staffor contracted labor. This will tell you a lotabout the commitment they will have tochampioning your event.

In the end, it all boils down to thecomfort level between you and yourcaterer. A little research up front will helpyou find that distinctive caterer—thatone who can focus entirely on the cater-ing aspect of the event, so that you canmake sure every other detail is perfectlyin place.

Dave Hoogterp is sales manager ofAbove & Beyond Catering with offices inNorton Shores, Holland and GrandRapids. He can be reached at616.558.6518 or by email:dhoogterp@above-beyond.com.

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

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

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

An evening and weekend emergency center staffed 24 hours.

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

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

Hotels/Restaurants BriefsSouthfield - Diversified RestaurantHoldings announced its recent hiring ofLupita Distaso as Vice President ofPurchasing. She will be responsible forall purchasing functions for DFRH with aconcentration on the company's fast-growing concept Bagger Dave'sLegendary Burger Tavern(TM).

Peshawbeston - The EconomicDevelopment Corporation of the GrandTraverse Band of Ottawa and ChippewaIndians announced the appointment ofRichard Bailey as Chief Executive Officer.Bailey, a Tribal Member of the Grand TraverseBand of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, hasbeen a valued employee of Grand TraverseResort & Casinos for 15 years, and bringsover 20 years of professional experience ingaming industry operations.

Grand Rapids – Suburban Inns promot-ed David Schroeder as its new directorof operations. Schroeder will be respon-sible for the day-to-day operations of thecompany and all of its holdings.

Grand Rapids – Locally owned EssenceRestaurant Group, owner of The GreenWell Gastro Pub and Bistro Bella Vita,announces that its newest establishmentGrove, opened September 20. The menufocuses on three- and four-course mealswith first courses ranging from $5-13and artisan snacks in the $6 range. Maincourses range from $17-29 and feature“center-of-plate” proteins with in-sea-son accompaniments, mainly from sus-tainable sources.

Next Month Topics

Family Owned BusinessContinuing Education

FinancingPlastics/Steel Supply

Interior DesignIndependant Living

To be involved call 616-583-1577

Lansing - Gov. Rick Snyder appointedJohn Enkemann, Donald Hicks, RalphHodek, Richard Miller, KassandraRenneberg and Leslie Rodwell to theState Fire Safety Board.

Lansing - Gov. Rick Snyder appointedJames Barrett to the Michigan CivilService Commission. Duties of the four-member commission include regulatingthe conditions of employment in classi-fied service and determining compensa-tion rates.

Lansing - Gov. Rick Snyder announcedthe re-appointments of RichardJanssens and Herbert Miller to theMichigan Soybean PromotionCommittee. The committee oversees thesoybean marketing program.

Lansing. - Gov. Rick Snyder appointedNorma Huizar to the Hispanic/LatinoCommission of Michigan.

Grand Rapids – The W.K. KelloggFoundation has committed a $4.5 mil-lion grant to Strong Beginnings to con-tinue reducing infant mortality and lowbirth weight among African Americans.Funding will also help address structur-al racism in the community which isthought to be a leading factor in healthdisparities among African-Americans.The W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant willenable up to 800 women to be servedannually and will expand efforts toengage the community by addressingracial equity.

Grand Rapids - Lambert, Edwards &Associates announced it has promotedBrad Van Houte to associate within thefirm's Financial CommunicationsPractice. Van Houte will support theaccount teams for several of the firm'skey investor relations clients.

Grand Rapids - The Grand RapidsSymphony and its musicians, membersof the Grand Rapids Federation ofMusicians Local 56, have agreed to afour-year labor contract. The contractcontinues a wage freeze followed bymodest increases over the life of theagreement.

Grand Rapids - The Grand RapidsPublic Library announced that itseBook collection is now compatible withAmazon Kindle. Patrons can now down-load popular and classic eBooks to aKindle device or any mobile device run-ning the free Kindle app, such as iPhone,iPad, Android, and more.

Battle Creek – Paula Young, marketingcoordinator for Battle Creek Unlimited,was awarded the prestigious “CatherineDurda Advertising Award” at the annu-al meeting of the National Association ofForeign-Trade Zones, in New Orleans,LA. The award recognized Young formerit in Foreign-Trade Zone advertising.

Grand Rapids - Kantorwassink is beingrecognized in the 2011 Print MagazineRegional Design Annual - a collection ofart and design that represents the pinna-cle of design accomplishment - for theirwork with Steelcase and the 2011 ADDYAwards collateral for the AAFWM.

Grand Rapids -The Better BusinessBureau of Western Michigan welcomesnew President/CEO Phil Catlett. Catlettserved as Vice-President and GeneralManager of area radio stations for morethan 20 years, and recently has workedwith public media development projects.

Lansing - Gov. Rick Snyder announcedappointments to the Michigan Citizen-Community Emergency ResponseCoordinating Council which supportsand enhances Michigan’s homelandsecurity, community health, public safe-ty and all hazard preparedness withresponsible planning and leadership.Marc Breckenridge is appointed. CrimeVictim Services Commission works toincrease and enhance victim assistancein communities throughout Michigan.Donald Condit and Victor Fitz areappointed.

ST Joseph - Gary Tipton, president andcreative director of Perry BallardIncorporated, was recently elected pres-ident of The Agency Group (TAG), anational consortium for owners of mid-size advertising agencies from non-com-peting markets. Tipton brings more than33 years of design and creative leader-ship to his new role.

Grand Rapids - LEAD Marketing Agencyhas recently negotiated and secured anendorsement agreement between DetroitLions star receiver Calvin Johnson(#81), and their client, Brann’s SizzlingSteaks & Sports Grille.

Grand Rapids - WOOD TV announcedthe hiring of Marlee Ginter. She joins24 Hour News 8 from Seattle, WA whereshe worked as an anchor/reporter at theABC Affiliate, KOMO TV. Ginter is set toco-anchor 24 Hour News 8 at 10pm onWXSP alongside Brian Sterling.

Lansing -Motion Marketing & Media(M3) has hired three full-time teammembers to expand one of their two cre-ative teams. Ryan Knott (The Jammer),Mary McElgunn (Design Chica) andSamskee deBourbon (InternetExplorer) join the ranks at one ofLansing’s fastest growing full-serviceadvertising, marketing, public relationsand social media agencies.

Fort Wayne, IN - Boyden & YoungbluttAdvertising and Marketing (B&Y) hasannounced that it's taken an equity posi-tion in King + Knight (K+K), a leadingdigital shop that specializes in web,mobile and business application devel-opment. K+K was founded by Mike Kingin 2011. King cut his teeth in the digitalworld by leading the business develop-ment efforts for Aptera, a Fort Wayne-based web and software developmentcompany.

Grand Rapids – Goodwill Industries ofGreater Grand Rapids, Inc. recently elect-ed new board officers and announcednew board inductees for its Board ofDirectors. Board Member Kurt V. Lacks,

Lacks Enterprises, Inc, Secretary of theBoard of Directors. Ginny Seyferth,Seyferth & Associates, Inc, Member atLarge. New Board of Directors inducteeswho will serve two 3-year terms includeSteve Harney, Full Circle Marketingand Design; Karen Morris, Meijer, Inc.;D. Wade McConnell, Schnelker, Rassi& McConnell, PLC; and ReneeWilliams, Huntington National Bank.Goodwill Industries of Greater GrandRapids, Inc. also recently announcedDenise Sherwood as Chief DevelopmentOfficer.

Grand Rapids - The Grand RapidsPublic Library spent the week ofOctober 16-22, 2011 celebrating itsFriends of the Library group as part ofthe fifth annual celebration of NationalFriends of Libraries Week. In the pastyear, the Friends have granted $33,221to support library materials and pro-grams. The money is raised solelythrough sales in the Friends Book Store.

Corporate Information 23

Review of The Next Boom

By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,getAbstract

Corporate adviser Jack W. Plunkettcompiles and publishes almanacs, such asthe Engineering & Research Almanac andthe Telecommunications Almanac. Hislong career of generating such overviewsuniquely qualifies him as a specialist on

the big picture. He mines his vast knowl-edge of how the world works now to sug-gest how it might work in 2025. Plunkettdescribes current conditions in research,education, nanotechnology, communica-tions and demographics, and links them tounderscore his belief that sustained eco-nomic growth awaits just over the horizon.However strong his argument, his grasp ofthe present sometimes dominates his ideaof the future, and he may rely on factoidswhen a more unified narrative would beextra convincing. An optimist, Plunkettsees opportunity everywhere. Some mightregard this as willful blindness, others asa precise guide to the next new thing.getAbstract recommends this far-reachingpanorama to anyone deciding where toinvest and wondering about the shape ofthings to come.

Jack W. Plunkett. The Next Boom:What You Absolutely, Positively Have toKnow About the World Between Now and2025. Plunkett Research, 2011. 274pages. List Price: $29.99. ISBN-13: 978-1608799992

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