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A Au ut to om mo ot t i i v ve e D De ea al l e er rs sh hi i p ps s
C Co om mm mu un ni i t t y y C Co ol l l l e eg ge e
R Re et t i i r re em me en nt t L Li i v vi i n ng g
C Co on ns st tr ru uc ct t i i o on n
F Fi i n na an nc ci i n ng g
July 2014 $2.00
2
Grand Rapids Community College Prepares
Students for Healthcare Careers
By Jane Whittington
Thinking of preparing for a career
in healthcare? A recent Bureau of Labor
Statistics report states, In career news,
healthcare is everywhere. Thats
because the healthcare industry is pro-
jected to add more jobsover four mil-
lionthan any other industry between
2012 and 2022. And it is projected to be
among the fastest-growing industries in
the economy.
The report goes on to say,
Employment in the healthcare industry
has been growing steadily for years. The
growth is due to people depending on
health services no matter what the eco-
nomic climate. Even when total US
employment fell during the 2007-2009
recession, healthcare employment con-
tinued to rise.
Grand Rapids Community College
(GRCC) is an excellent resource for edu-
cating healthcare professionals. Not only
does it provide top-quality programs, it
is affordable and practical for students
who want to enter the healthcare field.
GRCC offers an introductory class in
exploring healthcare careers for students
who think they may be interested in
pursuing a job in healthcare. Fiona Hert,
Dean of the School of Workforce
Development at GRCC, says, I would
also encourage students to shadow a
healthcare professional to see what the
job is like on a daily basis. Its not for
everybody, and students should find out
if they are suited to the career before
they make a decision about their
future.
The healthcare programs offered at
GRCC are:
Associate Degree in Nursing;
Dental Assisting;
Dental Hygiene;
Occupational Therapy
Assistant;
Practical Nursing Certificate;
Radiologic Technology;
Non-Credit Health Offerings.
A recent addition to the department
is the medical assistant program, which
is a non-credit program. Students com-
pleting this program can find employ-
ment in a physicians office. The medical
assistant program does not offer train-
ing for the same level of care as a
Certified Nursing Assistant.
The Practical Nursing Certificate is a
one-year program which leads to a
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) certificate.
Hert says, Our healthcare pro-
grams are very popular. Employers are
looking for well-trained professionals,
and the community knows that GRCC
graduates students who are ready for
the workplace. Right now, our two most
popular programs are nursing and radi-
ologic technology. Both do have waiting
lists for admission. While admission to
GRCC is open, getting into specific pro-
grams requires an application process,
and there are requirements for admis-
sion.
The associate degree in nursing is a
two-year plus program, depending on
prerequisites the student may have to
complete. Right now, there is about a
two-year waiting list for this degree.
Some other programs have waiting lists
as well.
According to Hert, When a student
completes his or her program, GRCC
offers job placement assistance.
Students may also choose to transfer to
a four-year institution.
Learning at GRCC isnt just in the
classroom. Students studying for health-
care jobs also spend time in profession-
al settings using hands-on learning
techniques. GRCC partners with numer-
ous clinical settings throughout the
community to provide those experiences
for students.
Hert says, The student of today
juggles many other priorities. Many of
them work, have families and lead busy
lives. But in order to succeed in a health-
care program at GRCC, our students
must have dedication and focus. We are
faced with the challenge of getting our
students through their programs in a
timely fashion while still being sympa-
thetic to the fact that they all have other
things going on in their lives. Our stu-
dents may have to make some sacrifices
to succeed in our programs, but the ben-
efits are certainly there.
Jane Whittington is a freelance
writer and editor who lives in Grand
Rapids.
Review of Blessing the
Hands That Feed Us
Provided by www.getabstract.com
Vicki Robin, a sustainable-living
activist, gave herself a month-long chal-
lenge. She would eat only locally farmed
food produced within 10 miles of her
house on Whidbey Island in Washington
state. Her experiment changed her. She
formed deep bonds with the neighbors
who gave or sold her fresh produce,
dairy, chicken and beef. Eating locally
knit her more closely to her community.
She rediscovered the flavors and taste of
fresh food. Robin bemoans that people
dont know where their food comes from
and rails against processed, packaged
food being cheap and convenient while
small farmers struggle. She shows how
to support local farmers and explains the
benefits of eating locally. Some will find
her activism inspirational and conta-
gious, while those less interested in sus-
tainability may be put off by her vehe-
mence. getAbstract recommends her
journey to those willing to examine the
choices they make about what to eat.
Vicki Robin. Blessing the Hands
That Feed Us: What Eating Closer to
Home Can Teach Us About Food,
Community, and Our Place on Earth.
Viking Press, 2014. 334 pages. ISBN-13:
978-0670025725.
getAbstract is the leading provider
of business book summaries, with thou-
sands of titles covered. www.getab-
stract.com
Current Business Trends:
Slow Growth Continues
Grand Rapids - Slow growth contin-
ues for the greater Grand Rapids industri-
al economy, according to results of a
monthly survey compiled by Brian G.
Long, director of Supply Management
Research in the Seidman College of
Business at Grand Valley State University.
The survey results are based on data
collected during the last two weeks of June.
The surveys index of business
improvement, called new orders, edged up
to +23, from +20, still down from Aprils
+40, but respectable. The production index
jumped back to +30 from +16, which cor-
responds to the June uptick recorded in
previous years. The employment index
remained in double digits at +15, up from
+14 and the index of purchases rose nice-
ly to +19 from +9.
The automotive components manu-
facturers remain strong, although a couple
firms seem to have been disappointed with
business that was supposed to materialize
but didnt, said Long. The office furni-
ture business remains stable but flat, and
contrary to some forecasts, is not vastly
exceeding last years performance. Smaller
office furniture firms are doing better than
their larger counterparts. Industrial dis-
tributors came in with a mixed perform-
ance and capital equipment firms are sta-
ble, but some are doing very well at this
stage in the business cycle.
Long said Kent County has the lowest
unemployment rate (5.2 percent) among
all 83 Michigan counties. Second place is
claimed jointly by Barry and Ottawa coun-
ties at 5.3 percent and Kalamazoo County
is in 11th place, posting a 6.1 percent
unemployment rate for May.
The Institute for Supply Management
survey is a monthly survey of business
conditions that includes 45 purchasing
managers in the greater Grand Rapids area
and 25 in Kalamazoo. The respondents are
from the regions major industrial manu-
facturers, distributors and industrial serv-
ice organizations.
Gerald R. Ford International Airport:
Flying High for Fifty Years
By Jane Whittington
At its current location for 50 years,
the Gerald R. Ford International Airport is
ready to celebrate! On July 19 from 9 am
to 2 pm, the airport is partnering with
Special Olympics to mark the occasion
with activities for the whole family.
Featured will be a Plane Pull which will
pit 25-person teams against the awesome
power of an A310, weighing in at a mere
220,000 pounds. In addition, the Airport
Day will include aircraft displays, sky-
divers, kids activities, giveaways and
low-cost hot dogs, chips and other foods.
The celebration will take place at the Air
Cargo and Trade Center located on the
east side of the airfield, accessible from
Thornapple River Drive. And its all free!
According to Tara Hernandez,
Marketing and Communications
Manager, The airport is administered by
the Kent County Department of
Aeronautics, which is responsible for the
management and operation of the airfield
and airport facilities. The Department of
Aeronautics has about 100 to 150
employees, depending on the season. We,
in turn, essentially lease space to the
airlines and vendors as tenants through-
out the airport. Our tenants include the
rental car companies, valet services, dif-
ferent stores and restaurants and the
Transportation Security Administration.
In total, there are about 1,500 employees
at the airport.
She continues, All the airlines pay
what are called landing fees, depending
on the size of their planes and how many
passengers they serve. Five airlines call
Grand Rapids home; they include
Allegiant, American, Delta, Southwest
and United. Since American and US
Airways merged, they are adding new
non-stop flights to Charlotte and
Philadelphia starting in September. From
Grand Rapids, travelers can fly to 24
major market destinations with 120 daily
scheduled non-stop flights.
In 2013, nearly three million people
traveled in and out of the Gerald R. Ford
International Airport, making it the sec-
ond busiest airport in Michigan. 2014 is
on track to beat those numbers. In addi-
tion, more than 80 million pounds of air
cargo passed through the airport in 2013.
The airport is always in the midst of
projects designed to improve the travel
experience for their customers. Hernandez
says, Concourse A has recently under-
gone renovations and has added a new
store, the Grand Rapids Travel Magazine
Store. Its very open, much larger than the
space was before. It sells a lot of Michigan
and Grand Rapids products. Concourse A
has also added new seating and new car-
peting. In Concourse B, we have just added
new restrooms and updated waiting areas.
Were opening two more gates there as
well.
She continues, In response to feed-
back from our customers, we are adding
the MI Tap Room, a place for travelers
and their families to dine on local food
and enjoy local craft beers. Another
restaurant that has opened downstairs is
Bells, headquartered in Kalamazoo,
which also features craft beer and food.
Both of these are pre-security so they are
open to the public.
She continues, In 2015, well be
starting construction on a consolidated
check point, which will make the whole
process easier and faster.
The Ford Airport makes an effort to
proudly represent West Michigan. In a
partnership with Kendall College of Art
and Design, Michigan-centric art is dis-
played throughout the facility. A kids
contest during ArtPrize brings in even
more art to the complex. In addition, the
ongoing renovation keeps the airport
fresh and inviting.
Our airport links us to the world
and, in turn, brings the world to Grand
Rapids. If you cant visit for the big birth-
day party, make an effort to drop in and
see whats up (besides airplanes) at the
Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
Jane Whittington is a freelance
writer and editor who lives in Grand
Rapids.
3
DECC Celebrates 50 Years of Meeting
Grand Rapids Coating Needs
By Jane Whittington
The DECC Company, family-owned
and operated, is celebrating an anniver-
sary. Fifty years of operating a successful
business gives them reason to celebrate.
DECC Company has evolved from a bicy-
cle repair shop in the basement of Evert
Mellemas home in 1964 to the 100,000
square foot facility which today is a lead-
ing industrial coating applicator provid-
ing coating excellence to a wide variety of
industries. They offer a range of coating
services including dry film lubricants,
chemical resistant coatings, high temper-
ature resistant coatings, rubber bonding
adhesives, corrosion protection coatings,
FDA approved coatings and others.
The business started when a friend
of Everts challenged him to figure out a
way to prevent the selector pin in juke-
boxes from sticking. His brother Don
suggested using a dry film lubricant not
in widespread use and devised a method
of applying the coating with a vibrating
machine and a $15 oven. Their customer
base grew, and the brothers bought a
facility and incorporated under the name
DECC, named after brothers Don and
Evert and Chet and their father, also
named Chet.
Today DECC, with Dons son Fred
Mellema serving as President and Owner,
serves a wide variety of markets includ-
ing aerospace/avionics, alternative ener-
gy/fuel cell, automotive, commercial
laundry, diesel, food processing, furni-
ture, industrial, medical, military and
remanufacturing. Essentially, what they
do is apply coating to other business
parts and then return them. Up to
300,000 duplicate pieces from a particu-
lar company may come in at one time.
According to Fred Mellema, When I
bought DECC ten years ago, the automo-
tive industry was 100 percent of our
business. We knew that we needed to
diversify, and that decision served us
well during the recession when the auto-
motive industry was so hard hit. Over the
past ten years, we were able to bring in
work for the military and the diesel
industry. These are two strong markets
for us. In fact, Caterpillar came in and
helped us in the diesel industry by help-
ing us buy a line of machines specifically
for them. Other than that, we were able
to modify our existing machines to do the
work that needed to be done for indus-
tries other than automotive. Automotive
now accounts for about 30 percent of our
business.
Currently DECC has 85 full-time
employees, some of whom have come in
with experience and others they train
onsite. Mellema says, We like it when
employees can be cross-trained in two or
three different areas, as this gives us and
our employees flexibility in work assign-
ments. Because we are a job shop, we
dont know whats going to hit the dock,
and we want to ready to move our
employees around different machines
according to the job were working on.
Mellema says, Once we get a cus-
tomer we keep them. We make sure qual-
ity and service are at 100 percent all the
time, so customers return again and
again and also refer other customers to
us. We are known as problem-solvers
who can work with a clients particular
needs.
A mutually beneficial relationship
with Hope Network started about 40
years ago. Mellema says, A neighbor of
my Uncle Evert had a special needs child,
and he asked if his son could come to the
shop and sweep up and do other tasks
that needed to be done. Evert agreed, and
the boy, Bill, came in to do his job.
While Bill wasnt able to perform com-
plex tasks, they found that he was very
proficient at repetitive work. Other work-
ers didnt like the monotony of these
tasks, but Bill enjoyed doing the work
and liked the sense of accomplishment it
gave him. At the end of the week, Bills
father said, Thanks so much for letting
Bill do this. I owe you. Evert said, No, I
owe you. Your son is a great worker.
And Bill continued to work at DECC.
Thats how it started. Today, DECC
employs about 40 Hope Network clients.
They are supervised by Hope Network
professionals who come to work with
them every day.
Mellema says, Its been a great
partnership for us and a win-win situa-
tion all the way around.
DECC has been at their present loca-
tion at 1266 Wallen Avenue in Grand
Rapids since the beginning although they
have expanded from 1,200 square feet in
1964 to their current 100,000 square
feet.
Mellema says, We emphasize our
problem-solving skills, open communica-
tion and team dynamics both with our
clients and our employees. Despite a
downturn during the recession, we are
growing strongly and steadily. We do
surveys with both our clients and our
employees, and they indicate a high level
of satisfaction.
Service, quality, open communica-
tion: it all adds up to 50 years of progress
and success with many more to come.
Jane Whittington is a freelance
writer and editor who lives in Grand
Rapids.
4
Publisher: Gary Kralapp
Business Development
Senior Vice President: Diane LaPreze
Senior Vice President: Jim Lroy
Circulation: Aubrey Day
Contributing Writers: Jane
Whittington, Remos Lenio, Timothy J.
Tornga, Ron Edinger, Forest
Himmelfarb, John Tschohl,
Associate Editor: Jeremy Martin
Printing/Distribution: News Web Printing
Accountant: Michael Tawney & Company
Legal: Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone
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Business Business
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Review of
Pitch Perfect
Provided by www.getabstract.com
People suffer three great fears: flying,
dying and public speaking. To help offset
the latter, Bill McGowan presents an enter-
taining, informative guide chock-full of
practical advice for anyone seeking to
communicate with greater relaxation and
effect. He cites examples and practical
advice based on his extensive experience
helping people speak in their business and
personal lives. This easy-to-read, original
self-help manual is tailor-made for speak-
ers who want to improve their oral com-
munications skills in a variety of business
and personal situations. getAbstract is all
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everyone who wants to overcome public
speaking anxiety.
Bill McGowan and Alisa Bowman.
Pitch Perfect: How to Say It Right the First
Time, Every Time. HarperBusiness, 2014.
264 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0062273222.
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5
Keys to Successful Capital Raises
By Remos
Lenio
At some
point almost
every company
requires exter-
nal financing.
While the
specifics of any
given financing
may differ, the
work preparato-
ry to obtaining
funding is similar in all cases. Whether a
company is seeking senior bank debt,
subordinated debt, or equity, it will need
to provide the same information to the
capital source to obtain funding. Without
exception, the success of the fundraising
effort will be dependent on the quality
and organization of the information pre-
sented. An organized and complete
fundraising package increases the proba-
bility of successfully obtaining capital.
Preparation
Success in raising capital depends
upon gathering and presenting all informa-
tion the capital provider will need to make
an informed decision on the risk and
potential investment returns. The approach
should be to try and answer questions
before they are even asked. Capital
providers will want to review historical
financial statements for the last 3 to 5
years (presumed to represent one business
cycle) along with an explanation of trends,
major changes and causes. They will want
to understand who the Company buys from
and sells to, and how the Company adds
value to the product chain. Additionally,
they will ask about the makeup of the
employee base and how easy the Company
meets labor needs.
A critical piece of information the
capital providers will need, and one that is
too often omitted, is how the capital will
be used. It is important to provide a
sources and use statement to show how
much capital is needed, its source, and
how it will be used by the Company.
Finally, capital providers expect defensible
financial projections, which include
income statements, balance sheets and
cash flow statements. The presentation
must be defensible and not wishful think-
ing. Overly optimistic projections without
clear support ruin the credibility of the
Company and severely handicap the abil-
ity to raise capital. The capital provider
will want to understand the new capitals
effect on the Companys future financial
performance relative to its historical num-
bers. New debt and new equity will affect
the Company in very different ways.
Presentation
Presentations should consist of a
written report and a verbal presentation
with visual aids. Significant time and
effort should be spent on both. The verbal
presentation allows the company to tailor
its information to a specific party or
venue. However, the written presentation
will need to be of fixed format and stand
on its own with complete detail as a
Company representative will not always
be present to explain the document.
The written report should start with a
narrative, explaining the Company, its
products and its business practices. It
should discuss the Companys vision and
highlight critical or monumental events in
its history. The report should guide the
reader through the historical financials
explaining significant events, whether
good or bad, their respective effects on the
Companys financial performance, and
what was done to enhance or correct the
event. The report should also include if fur-
ther changes are to be made and what
impact these will have on the Companys
performance. These elements need to be
explained to allow the potential capital
provider to understand not only the current
situation, but the anticipated future state.
In discussing the future, focus on
where the Company wants to go and the
reasons for that path. Highlight what is
driving these decisions and the perceived
probabilities. The future needs to be pre-
sented from managements viewpoint and
through projected financial statements.
All assumptions and changes relative to
historical performance need to be identi-
fied and explained. These questions will
be asked by the capital provider and will
immediately be followed by a question
regarding the reasonableness of the
assumptions. The credibility of the capital
request and its probability for success
hinge on how well these questions are
anticipated and answered. Do not forget
to clearly show the capital provider when
their money will be returned and what it
will earn. Along with risk assumption, the
return of the capital is a critical consider-
ation for all capital providers.
The verbal presentation typically
consists of speaking through a slide pres-
entation to the capital providers. This
should not be a speech that is read, but
instead an outline with prompts to ensure
the Companys story is told and the sup-
porting elements for the capital are pre-
sented in an organized and well thought
out way. The presentation should not
have more than 20 slides and should be
able to be presented in 15 to 20 minutes.
Conclusion
With the proper preparation, capital
providers should have a clear understand-
ing of the Company and its future. By pro-
viding the necessary information, in an
organized fashion, capital providers
understand the investment risk they are
assuming, how the Company is mitigating
those risks, and how they will get their
money back and earn a return. With both
a written and verbal presentation, the
Company is provided two platforms to
highlight opportunities and convince the
prospective financial stakeholders to
become a part of building the Company.
When successful preparation and a prop-
er presentation come together, a capital
provider will be confident in their decision
to be a part of the Company.
Remos Lenio has a background in
corporate finance where he has over 25
years of experience representing buyers
and sellers of businesses and clients
seeking financing. He currently serves as
a Managing Partner with DWH, a group of
highly accomplished financial and busi-
ness specialists helping small and mid-
size companies in many different indus-
tries maximize value, opportunities, and
business outcomes. For more information
visit www.dwhcorp.com or contact the
firm at 616-233-0020.
Remos Lenio
Finance/Insurance/Banking Briefs
Ionia Ionia County Economic Alliance
and The Right Place, Inc., in partnership
with City of Ionia and Michigan
Economic Development Corporation,
announced Ventra Ionia Main, LLC, a
subsidiary of Ventra Greenwich Holdings
Corp., plans to invest up to $8.5 million to
expand operations and create up to 144
jobs in the City of Ionia. Ventra will
receive $995,000 in state and local devel-
opment support with a $500,000 per-
formance-based grant from Michigan
Business Development Program. City of
Ionia is supportive of the expansion proj-
ect and is expected to approve a P.A. 198
local abatement valued at $495,000.
Grand Rapids Brian Hofstra, Vice
President of Commercial Lending at
Founders Bank & Trust, was selected by
Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis
for Affordable Housing Advisory
Councils 2014 Community Spirit Award.
Ottawa County Lakeshore Advantage,
in collaboration with Michigan
Economic Development Corp. and City
of Coopersville, announced support for
fairlife, LLC, a health and wellness com-
pany, to move forward with a $96.3 mil-
lion expansion, creating 100 new jobs in
two years. Facilitated by Lakeshore
Advantage, Michigan Strategic Fund
approved a performance-based incentive
package totaling $9.34 million, to be real-
ized over 12 years, enabling the company
to locate the expansion project at its
Coopersville site. As part of the total
incentive package, the City of Coopersville
was awarded $2.4 million in Community
Development Block Grant funds for need-
ed infrastructure improvements with the
City contributing $384,000 toward
improvement of wastewater collection
and transmission at the fairlife site.
Quality Office Furniture,
at a price you can afford!
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616-554-0200
billfeyen@exceloffice.com
6
Legal/Accounting/Consulting Briefs
Grand Rapids Attorney Mark Rysberg
was re-elected to Board of Directors for
American Institute of Architects Grand
Rapids Chapter, and will serve as
Professional Affiliates Director.
Grand Haven Varnum Attorney Dean
Reisner was appointed to Board of
Directors of Chamber of Commerce for
Grand Haven, Spring Lake and
Ferrysburg.
Grand Rapids Chambers USA 2014,
America's Leading Lawyers for Business,
again ranked Miller Johnson among
Michigans best in corporate/M&A,
employee benefits and executive compen-
sation, labor and employment, and gener-
al commercial litigation with these
lawyers featured as Leaders in their
Field: Jeffrey S. Ammon; Mary V.
Bauman; Frank E. Berrodin; James C.
Bruinsma; Peter J. Kok; Jon G. March;
and Jon R. Muth.
Grand Rapids For the third time, John J.
Bursch, partner with law firm Warner
Norcross & Judd LLP, was presented
with National Association of Attorneys
General Best Brief Award for U.S.
Supreme Court litigation.
Grand Rapids Attorney Rebecca L.
Strauss was elected to Membership of
Employment and Labor Litigation sec-
tions at Miller Johnson.
Grand Rapids Varnum Attorney Eric
Schneidewind was named President-
elect of AARP until 2016, when he will
assume role of President.
Grand Rapids Law firm Plachta,
Murphy & Associates announced their
3rd Annual Veteran Scholarships
Program - $500 scholarships dedicated to
our men and women who served in US
Armed Forces and are now dedicated to
their continued education.
Grand Rapids Connie R. Thacker was
appointed for a three year term to the
Judicial Candidate Review Committee by
the President of the Grand Rapids Bar
Association.
Grand Rapids Intellectual property law
firm Price Heneveld, LLP, announced
addition of former Administrative Patent
Judge, Stuart S. Levy, as Attorney with
their firm.
Grand Rapids John J. Bursch, partner
with law firm Warner Norcross & Judd
LLP, was recognized with a 2014
Distinguished Brief Award from Thomas
M. Cooley Law Review.
Grand Rapids Mark E. Nettleton, a mem-
ber of law firm Mika Meyers Beckett &
Jones, PLC, was elected
Secretary/Treasurer of State Bar of
Michigans Public Corporation Law Section.
Grand Rapids Advisory firm DWH hired
William Blanton as Director to help
expand the firms corporate leadership
and management capabilities.
East Lansing Gallagher Law Firm,
focuses on estate planning, probate, real
estate, business law and litigation,
opened a new office at 107 N Clinton Ave,
St. Johns.
Grand Rapids David R. Fernstrum, asso-
ciate with law firm Mika, Meyers, Beckett
& Jones, PLC, was elected a Fellow by
College of Labor and Employment
Lawyers, the highest recognition by ones
colleagues of sustained outstanding per-
formance in the profession.
Grand Rapids Attorney Ben Hammond
was re-elected to Board of Directors for
American Subcontractors Association of
Michigan for another three-year term.
ACA What Must a Small Employer Do? Part 7 IRS
Wake-up Call on HRAs
By: Timothy J. Tornga
The latest news from the IRS is
Lets penalize a common, small employ-
er practice. Of course, the announce-
ment was not that clear, but it was much
clearer than the usual jargon-filled IRS
communications. They presented it in an
attention-getting manner by stating that
the violation would result in a penalty of
$36,500/employee/year.
On May 13, 2014, the IRS issued an
FAQ that discussed a common practice of
small employers. Many small employers
dont want to go through the trouble of
sponsoring a comprehensive health insur-
ance plan. Instead they will simply offer
to reimburse some or all of their employ-
ees on a pre-tax basis for all or a portion
of the cost of health insurance that
employees purchase individually (non-
group coverage). The IRS stated that this
practice is a health reimbursement
arrangement (HRA) that does not satisfy
the ACA market reform requirements
(mandates). The IRS continued by saying
that an HRA cannot be integrated with
individual policies and therefore this prac-
tice violates the ACA. They then calculat-
ed the penalty for the violation ($100/per-
son/day) and came up with $36,500 for
each affected employee for a year of viola-
tion. Why did the IRS feel the need to do
the simple math and illustrate the penalty
for an entire year? Perhaps they wanted
to get our attention.
This is not a surprise to those pay-
ing careful attention for the last couple of
years. The IRS clarified how HRAs
would be treated under the ACA prohibi-
tion on annual limits on essential health
benefits and the requirement to provide
preventative care without cost sharing in
Notice 2013-54 issued in September
2013. See our articles HRA and FSA
Issues for 2014 and ACA What Must
a Small Employer Do? Part 6 Account-
based Plans (Medical FSAs and HRAs),
in which we discussed Notice 2013-54
and highlighted some common HRA
problems. If you find that you provide
this type of benefit to your employees,
there are some modest changes that can
return your plan to compliance.
Failure to make the correction will
force you to look at and possibly file the
dreaded IRS Form 5928 and pay these
penalties. See our article from January
2012 IRS Form 8928 The Health Care
Plan Form You Never Want to File. We
discussed a self-correction that violators
may be able to implement and avoid the
penalties.
Even if you dont engage in this
practice, the IRS FAQ is instructive.
HRAs come in many shapes and sizes.
Historically, they have provided pretax
reimbursement for health insurance or
reimbursement for specific or general
medical expenses. Some have allowed
carryover of unspent amounts to future
years and some have allowed no carry-
over. In general, they do not satisfy the
market reform requirements. However,
if a health reimbursement arrangement
or practice is integrated with a health
insurance plan that satisfies the prohibi-
tion on annual limits, preventative care
requirements and other market reform
requirements are satisfied within the
health insurance contract and the inte-
grated HRA may continue to operate.
We recommend that you review your
practices. Any practice that reimburses
the employee for an insurance policy pre-
mium other than the employers plan or
that reimburses an employee for medical
expenses not covered by the employers
insured or self-insured plan should be
closely examined. These reimbursement
practices do not satisfy the market
reforms (mandates) on their own. If not
integrated with another comprehensive
employer health plan, these practices will
likely result in violation of the ACA man-
dates and subject the employer to the
penalties discussed above.
One simple way to squeeze the ACA
and other violations out of your plans and
practices is to review and update (or ini-
tially adopt) your health care plan docu-
ments. By methodically reviewing an
employers practices, potential violations
can be spotted. Often, the adjustments
necessary to bring the plan and practices
into compliance are relatively modest.
Contact Tim Tornga at 616-632-
8090 or any other member of the labor
and employment practice group if you
have questions about your practices.
Timothy J. Tornga is a labor and
employment lawyer at Grand Rapids law
firm Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones.
Tornga received a bachelor of science
degree from Calvin College, a bachelor of
science degree in engineering from the
University of Michigan and a law degree
from the University of Michigan Law
School.
7
Clark Retirement Community: Home for Life
By Jane Whittington
Founded in 1906 as a retirement
home for Methodist ministers and their
spouses, Clark Retirement Community
has grown to offer a variety of residential
options and other services for the com-
munity at large. Its history is woven deep
into the fabric of Grand Rapids.
Melvin and Emma Clark moved into
a home at 1546 Sherman Street in 1874,
at that time part of a twenty acre farm.
(Their second home, on Lake Drive, is
now Mangiamos.) Melvin was a suc-
cessful entrepreneur and businessman
who was primarily involved in the lumber
business. Emily devoted herself to her
family and good works. She donated the
money for the first school at Starr
Commonwealth and was instrumental in
the formation of the D.A. Blodgett Home
for Children. She purchased the former
Pike Home on Fulton Street to serve as
the first Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Today the Clark Retirement
Community is home to some 550 resi-
dents, ably served by 420 employees.
There are two campuses, one at 1551
Franklin Street SE and the other at 2499
Forest Hill SE. Both facilities provide inde-
pendent living, assisted living, memory
care and skilled nursing care. Clark can
also provide hospice care within their facil-
ity. In addition, there is a rehabilitation
center that is designed for those who have
the need for short term care and appropri-
ate therapies because of illness or injury.
Another program is Clark at Home,
certified home health services for those
who need care following surgery or
because of an ongoing condition.
According to Melissa Bittenbender, Vice
President of Sales and Marketing, These
services can include personal care, help
with household chores like cooking, laun-
dry and cleaning, medication management,
transportation and companionship. Every
person is different and Clark at Home tai-
lors the services to individual needs.
She continues, We also offer respite
care, with a minimum of a week onsite.
This gives caregivers and other family
members the opportunity to take a break
from the very difficult work of caregiving.
Its also a chance for someone who is
considering coming to live at Clark to see
what becoming a resident would be like.
Brian Pangle serves as President and
CEO. He says, We provide what is called
continuum of care. That is, once someone
comes into one of our facilities, at what-
ever level, they can remain here for the
rest of their lives. As their needs change,
their level of care changes, but we remain
committed to serving them in whatever
stage of life they are. They and their fam-
ilies can be secure in knowing that they
can stay with us and continue to receive
the care they need.
As their website states: While our
hallmark is service excellence and endur-
ing relationships, one more thing makes
us distinctive. The Clark Commitment.
When you become a long-term resident,
we pledge to provide services for the rest
of your life. If longevity or care needs
deplete your resources, you continue to
receive the same excellent care no matter
where you are living at Clark.
Clark offers a wide range of activities
for its residents, both in house and out in
the community. Frequent trips for shop-
ping, eating out, attending cultural events
and other such experiences are part of the
services Clark offers. Within the facility,
there are special interest groups, lectures
and classes, church services and frequent
opportunities for fellowship. Recently,
Clark decided to get on the YouTube band-
wagon and produce its own lip dub! You
can watch them perform at
http://www.clarkretirement.org/lipdub.php
Clarks professional staff is augment-
ed by upwards of 200 volunteers who give
their time and talents to the residents,
doing everything from office work to read-
ing to residents to staffing the store and
coffee shop on Clarks Main Street.
Pangle says, We are always looking
ahead toward what comes next. We arent
interested in just putting up another build-
ing; we want to give people what they need
and what they want. We are interested in a
patient directed care model. This may
include some new building and/or renova-
tion projects, but, more than that, we are
looking to continue with our goals of
establishing and sustaining a vibrant com-
munity which gives our residents a good
quality of life. We realize that with an
aging population, facilities like ours are
going to be badly needed in the coming
years. We want Clark to be a model for a
home that will help people live fulfilling
and happy lives.
Jane Whittington is a freelance
writer and editor who lives in Grand
Rapids.
Michigans Top Health Information Exchanges
Join Forces to Form Great Lakes Health Connect
Mackinac Island - Michigan Health
Connect and Great Lakes Health
Information Exchange have merged to
form Great Lakes Health Connect, one of
the nations largest providers of health
information exchange, allowing hospitals,
physicians and other medical profession-
als to quickly and securely share the
health records of more than 5 million peo-
ple.
Organization officials announced
the merger here today, during a presen-
tation at the Michigan Health & Hospital
Associations annual conference.
The merger of these two leading
organizations means Great Lakes Health
Connect can provide unparalleled access
to electronic health records for partici-
pants in Michigan and beyond, said
Doug Dietzman, executive director of the
new organization and former executive
director of Michigan Health Connect.
Michigan Health Connect and the
Great Lakes Health Information
Exchange recognized that our missions
were essentially the same and that we
could better achieve our vision for a
healthier Michigan together, rather than
independently, said Brian McCardel,
M.D., orthopedic surgeon and chairman
of the Great Lakes Health Information
Exchange Board of Directors.
Patrick OHare, chairman of the
Michigan Health Connect Board of
Directors, added, We look forward to
advancing an integrated platform of
services across the state and making
Michigan a leader in the nationwide
move to health information exchange
and improved health status.
The efficient exchange of electronic
health records is key to the success of
hospitals and other medical providers
under national health care reform.
Participants of the newly merged organi-
zation cover more than 80 percent of the
hospital beds in the state and include
more than 20,000 independent and
employed providers serving over half the
states 10 million people, more than any
HIE in the state and more than most in
the country.
The depth and breadth of our net-
work means we have the experience,
resources and connections to initiate
industry-leading advances in health
information exchange on behalf of
Michigan citizens, Dietzman said.
Great Lakes Health Connect allows
hospitals and physicians to access a
patients health history across many dif-
ferent providers, including lab facilities,
allowing ready access to vital informa-
tion and eliminating the need to rely on
patient memory. This improves the
speed and quality of care provided.
Great Lakes Health Connect also
provides real-time notification to
providers for admissions and discharges
from hospitals to nursing homes and
other providers, to make sure complete
patient information is transferred and
the risk of readmission is lowered.
Ultimately, Great Lakes Health Connect is
focused on getting the right data to the
right place at the right time to support
the health and care of the people wher-
ever they may be.
Michigan Health Connect and Great
Lakes Health Information Exchange in
January announced a Letter of Intent to
pursue a merger. Their boards voted to
approve the merger in May and the
merger will be finalized July 1.
Curbside Trash & Waste Services:
Trash Cart Yard Waste Cart Recycle Cart
866-669 2047 Jenison, Michigan
88
Health Care Briefs
Muskegon West Michigan Power
Cleaning Equipment now offers online
solutions for purchase of consumer and
commercial power cleaning equipment
and accessories on their new website -
pressurewashermonkey.com.
Grand Rapids Construction firm Owen-
Ames-Kimball, Co., announced addition
of Joe LaFave as Assistant Project
Superintendent.
Grand Rapids Colliers
International/West Michigan will be
operating from a new location at
Bridgewater Place starting June 9, 2014.
Traverse City Wolverine Building
Group announced Cottage 36, a histori-
cal restoration project completed in late
2012, received a Tax Credit Award from
Michigan Historic Preservation Network.
Jenison Pleotint, LLC, will demonstrate
its Suntuitive glass technology as part
of Celebrity Builders entry, located on
Cedar Lake, for Grand Rapids 2014
Spring Parade of Homes.
Grand Rapidsn - Signature Associate
has negotiated:
the lease of 8,300 square feet of retail
space located at 2885 Lake Eastbrook,
Kentwood, Michigan for the tenant,
Action Industrial Supply.
the lease of 825 square feet of office
space located at 950 W. Norton Avenue,
Roosevelt Park, Michigan for the land-
lord, Park Rowe Building, LLC, and the
tenant, Shoreline Broadcasting.
Kalamazoo For the ninth consecutive
year, CSM Group was selected as one of
West Michigans 101 Best & Brightest
Companies to Work For.
Lansing Robert LaLonde, Vice President
of Clark Construction Company, was
selected as a board member of Ferris
Foundation; Ken Lawless, Executive Vice
President of Clark Construction Company,
previously served as a Ferris State
University board member.
Grand Rapids Custer exposed a new
streamlined management structure with
three basic, but major functions: Todd
Custer, Vice President of Sales and
Integration, to work with Corporate Sales,
Custer Market Development, Custer
HealthWorks, Custer Technology, Custer
Architectural Products and Marketing;
Lisa Hull to Vice President of Customer
Experience; Gregg Richardson, CFO, has
overall responsibility to record and
account for the activities.
Kalamazoo Bronson welcomed:
Natasha Koren, MD, to Bronson Family
Medicine; Edward Sternaman, MD, to
Bronson Internal Medicine Hospital
Specialists; Meg Irish-Pearson, DNP,
APRN-CNP, to Bronson Internal Medicine,
Fremont St., and Jennifer Freeman,
CNM, to Bronson Womens Service.
Grand Rapids Spectrum Health
announced Mary Kay VanDriel, FACHE,
as President of Spectrum Health Big
Rapids and Reed City hospitals when cur-
rent President Sam Daugherty retires June
30, 2014.
Detroit For the fourth consecutive year,
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is
the only company in Michigan to receive
top regional honors on DiversityIncs Top
10 Regional Companies list for diversity
management.
Kalamazoo Bronson Methodist
Hospital received Get With The
Guidelines-Stroke Silver-Plus Quality
Achievement Award for implementing
specific quality improvement measures
outlined by American Heart
Association/American Stroke Association
for treatment of stroke patients.
Grand Rapids Spectrum Health
Hospice is expanding its service area to
care for patients in Newaygo and Mecosta
counties.
Grand Rapids For the third consecutive
year, Spectrum Healths Helen DeVos
Childrens Hospital ranked among the
best in cancer, nephrology and urology in
U.S. News & World Reports 2014-2015
Best Childrens Hospital.
Allegan Allegan General Hospital
received MPROs 2014 Governors Award of
Excellence for outstanding inpatient clinical
achievement in the critical access hospital
setting excelling in patient safety and qual-
ity improvement in two inpatient clinical
areas - heart failure and pneumonia.
Grand Rapids Spectrum Health is the
first health system to successfully implant
FDA-approved NeuroPace Responsive
Neurostimulation (RNS) System that
uses electric stimulation of the brain to
treat adult epilepsy patients whose
seizures have not responded to medication.
Kalamazoo Laura Sova, FNP, previous
Nurse Practitioner at Southern Michigan
Orthopaedics, joined Neurosurgery of
Kalamazoo.
Grand Rapids Spectrum Health
announced a $24.5 million plan for new
construction and renovations at its Rehab
and Nursing Centers with plans for a new
116,800 sq. ft., two-story facility to serve
165 inpatients. Part of the original build-
ing will be renovated for outpatient use.
Grand Rapids Metro Health received
two awards from Michigan Peer Review
Organizations 2014 Governors Award of
Excellence for outstanding achievement
in reducing health care-associated infec-
tions in acute care hospital settings.
Grand Rapids Pine Rest Christian
Mental Health Services announced Bob
VandePol, MSW, was named Executive
Director of Employee and Church
Assistance Programs. VandePol previous-
ly worked at Pine Rest from 1985-2000
as a clinician in pre-adolescent inpatient
unit, founded Pine Rest Caledonia Clinic,
and served as Director of Pine Rest
Foundation.
Chicago American Medical
Association called for improvement of
the countrys medical education system
by creating a more consistent and stream-
lined process for students to move from
medical school to residency.
Grand Rapids Physician-scientists Peter
de Blank and Matthew R. Steensma,
MD, oncology orthopaedic surgeon from
Spectrum Health Medical Group and
Van Andel Institute, were both named
inaugural winners of Francis S. Collins
Scholars Program in Neurofibromatosis
Clinical and Translational Research, spon-
sored by Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic
Acceleration Program at Johns Hopkins
University.
Kalamazoo Borgess Surgical
Specialties added Scott Hockenberry,
MD, FACS, to its surgical team. Dr.
Hockenberry is board certified with
American Board of Surgery, and is
licensed with State Medical Board of
Ohio.
Grand Rapids Home Care Assistance,
private duty home care agency acquired
by Lutheran Social Services of
Michigan, held a grand opening celebra-
tion at their new LSSM Home Care loca-
tion in Centerpointe Mall, 3579 28th St.
Additionally, there are five other LSSM
Home Care agency locations in Michigan -
Midland, Saginaw, Grosse Pointe,
Birmingham and Monroe.
Grand Rapids Spectrum Healths blood
and marrow transplant program received
internationally-recognized accreditation
by Foundation for the Accreditation of
Cellular Therapy.
Grand Rapids Metro Health Nurse
Practitioner Mary Freund Wilson was
awarded American Diabetes Associations
2014 Healthcare Champion Award.
Grand Rapids Metro Health Hospital
named Shirley Brinks as 2014 Nurse
Exemplar, and Dr. Andrew
Michmerhuizen as 2014 Nursing-Chosen
Physician of the Year.
What is factoring and How can it
Benefit Your Samll Business?
By: Ron Edinger
The rough economic environment has
made it extremely difficult for struggling
small businesses to obtain loans these
days. In order to be considered for loan
candidacy, business owners must often
endure the tedious and time consuming
process of applying for loans at as many as
three or four different banks ---yet busi-
ness must go on. Companies still need to
buy goods, meet payroll, cover seasonal
adjustments and seize market opportuni-
ties to continue to grow. So how are small
businesses to stay afloat when capital gets
tied up in accounts receivable?
Many small to mid-size businesses
are turning to companies like Liquid
Capital to take advantage of factoring, an
alternative to bank lending that provides
business owners with cash advances when
capital is hard to come by. The factoring
line then grows as sales to credit-worthy
customers increases, giving the client an
opportunity to capitalize on market oppor-
tunities that help grow his or her business.
Below are some of the most frequent-
ly asked questions I am asked about fac-
toring along with answers that demon-
strate how business owners can benefit
from employing Liquid Capitals services.
Q: What is factoring?
A: Factoring is the purchase of cor-
porate accounts receivable. Its generally
used when a company is in its infancy or
experiences a growth spurt and gives that
company access to capital through non-
traditional means.
Q: How does factoring work?
A: A factor purchases a businesss
accounts receivable and gives them a large
percentage of the total creditworthy
accounts upfront, and then issues the
remainder when the receivables are collect-
ed. The factor handles all of the credit
checks, collects the accounts receivable,
and ledgers the payments so the client is
able to concentrate on growing their busi-
ness.
Q: How does factoring differ from
other types of financing?
A: Factoring differs from traditional
bank loans because the credit decision is
strictly based on receivables rather than
other criteria that would take into consid-
eration how long the company has been
in business, working capital and person-
al credit score, for example. Factoring dif-
fers from equity financing in that factors
dont take equity in the company. Since
contracts are short term, the client could
elect to stop factoring whenever they
choose.
Q: Who can benefit the most from
factoring?
A: Generally, any company owners
who have the ability to increase their sales
but are held back because of a lack of cap-
ital can benefit from factoring. The indus-
tries that tend to use factors now are serv-
ice-based because they have a high labor
component (must pay employees weekly).
Without factoring, they wouldnt be able to
expand. The transportation industry is big;
many trucking companies factor because
they have to pay employees and fuel costs
every week and with receivables collected
every 45 days, it would be impossible to
grow without factoring.
Q: What are some common miscon-
ceptions about factoring?
A: The biggest misconception is that
people believe factors are a lender of last
resort but thats not true. In addition to
providing financing, the factor will do
credit checking, receivables accounting
and reporting, and all the collection work,
thus saving the company the salary of
employees hired to handle these same
tasks.
In addition, most employees tasked
with these duties are a not trained credit
or collection professional which exposes
companies that want to offer payment
terms to customers to increased risk.
Trained employees are expensive and
hard to find. Some companies do not
offer credit terms for these reasons even
if it meant they could be doing more
business. Using a factor dramatically
reduces these risks. Most clients are
motivated to contact a factor for the
money, but they soon realize the services
and flexibility are equally as important.
Q: How do factors differ from one
another?
A: Small businesses in need of a fac-
tor have long had only two choices: they
could go to a large factoring company in a
far away city or to a smaller, local opera-
tion. At the larger companies, the client can
never talk to the decision maker like they
could with a smaller company. Conversely,
the smaller companies cant provide the
same sophisticated back office system the
larger company can offer. With the advent
of companies like Liquid Capital, the client
can have both the back office perks, assur-
ance of funding capacity and direct access
to the decision maker, who often is a mem-
ber of their own community.
Ron Edinger is a Principal at Liquid
Capital Corp., an international franchise
network with more than 60 offices across
North America. For more information,
visit www.liquidcapitalcorp.com.
9
Finance/Insurance/Banking
Grand Rapids Northpointe Bank
announced hiring Loan Officers Jeffery
Potter and Don Timlowski for residen-
tial lending in their Holland office.
Michigan Citizens Financial Group,
Inc. announced two new Bank Better
enhancements for Citizens Bank and
Charter One customers - mobile check
deposits that capture check images using
a mobile devices video camera, and a fast
balance feature to view account balances
without logging into a mobile app.
Grand Rapids Investment and wealth
management provider, Legacy Trust,
signed a long-term lease for new office
space - 14,000 sq. ft. on the sixth floor of
99 Monroe Ave. NW. Legacy expects to
move its 17-member team into the new
space by Sept. 1, 2014, just in time for
ArtPrize 2014.
Grand Rapids Lake Michigan Credit
Union announced Al Zelinski as Senior
Vice President of commercial loans at its
Traverse City office.
Grand Rapids Northpointe Bank
announced hiring Bill Clancy, Vice
President of Deposit Banking.
Newaygo ChoiceOne Bank supported
Newaygo County Museum and Heritage
Center with a donation of $2,500.
10
Construction Briefs
Standale The first Standale location of
Jakes Fireworks, leader in artillery shell
fireworks and consumer pyrotechnics,
officially opened for business. General
contractor Wolverine Building Group
and architect Jeffrey Hunt completed the
work necessary to prepare the 4,000 sq.
ft. building for its new occupant.
Grand Rapids Progressive AE was rec-
ognized by Engineering News-Record - a
weekly publication proving information
about the construction industry - on its
List of Top 500 Design Firms in the U.S.,
based on annual revenue.
Detroit American Institute of
Architects Michigan announced nine
buildings were singled out for design
excellence - Building Category: Rockford
Construction Office Complex, Grand
Rapids; Architect: Integrated
Architecture; Owner and Contractor:
Rockford Construction.
Southfield Signature Associates wel-
comed Executive Managing
Director/Principal David Draft, and Sales
Associates: Drew Nelson, Joe Rizqallah,
and Cameron Timmer to their West
Michigan team.
Muskegon - Signature Associates has
negotiated:
the lease of 1,200 square feet of office
space located at 1921 E. Apple Avenue,
Muskegon, Michigan for the landlord,
Thomas and Pam Palmer, and the ten-
ant, Progressive Organizing Solutions.
the sale of 12.85 acres of industri-
al land located at 414 Broadway,
Muskegon Heights, Michigan for the
buyer, PC Realty-Muskegon Heights,
LLC. PC Realty plans to redevelop the site
and construct an industrial building that
will expand operations for its related
company, Versatile Fabrication.
the sale of 0.50 acres of office land
located at 5890-5990 Commerce Centre
Drive, Muskegon, Michigan for the seller,
Coastal Real Estate Holdings, LLC, and
the buyer, West Bay Trading Company.
West Bay specializes in sales representa-
tion of sporting products for outdoor
enthusiasts.
the lease of 2,547 square feet of
office space located at 801 Broadway NW,
Grand Rapids, Michigan for the tenant,
Hormel Foods Sales.
the sale of an 8,200 square foot
office building located at 2330 44th Street
SE, Kentwood, Michigan for the seller,
Gone Fishing, LLC, and the buyer, 2330
44th Street, LLC.
Grand Rapids - RESULTS! Commercial
Real Estate handled the transaction:
The Purple East Building located at 250
Ionia was recently sold. While the build-
ing was purchased by a developer, the
business will continue, but in a smaller
space on the Northeast corner of the
building.
for seller, 5212 South Division Avenue
which is 7,700 square feet in Kentwood.
The time frame from contract to sale was
30 days, including an environmentally
challenged property which required Phase
1, Baseline Environmental Assessments,
and Due Care Plan. Healthy Ventures
LLC purchased the building.
for G & T Industries, the Lessor, Ally
Logistics who recently leased approxi-
mately 3,200 square feet of office space at
1001 76th Street, Byron Center. They
focus on supply chain/transportation
solutions for their customers.
for handled the lease transaction on
behalf of AFP,. Americans for Prosperity
recently moved into their new offices at
2030 Lake Michigan Drive, Grand Rapids.
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is com-
mitted to educating citizens about eco-
nomic policy.
Grand Rapids - Signature Associates has
negotiated:
the lease of 2,700 square feet of retail
space located at 6749-6751 Fulton Street,
Ada, Michigan for the landlord, 6751
Fulton Associates, and the tenant,
RoCole, LLC.
the sale of a 190,947 thousand square
foot industrial building located at 215 N.
Hill Brady Road, Battle Creek, Michigan
for the seller, Toyota Tsusho America,
Inc. and the buyer WKW Erbsloeh North
America, Inc. WKW Erbsloeh North
America purchased Bowers
Manufacturing of Kalamazoo and is fur-
ther expanding the operations of special-
ized aluminum extrusion, fabricating,
and anodizing.
Meridian Township Developer A&G,
LLC, general contractor Wolverine
Building Group, and architect BRR
Architecture announced construction
began on the new 36,000 sq. ft. Whole
Foods Market, located near corner of
Grand River and Hagadorn, with comple-
tion scheduled for last quarter of 2014.
Jenison Pleotint, LLC, announced com-
pletion of their 100th project featuring
Suntuitive glass, the first commercially
available self-tinting glass for window
applications.
Jenison Pleotint, LLC, announced a dis-
tribution partnership with Polar Seal
Windows Corp., enabling Polar Seal to
incorporate Suntuitive glass into its prod-
uct line. When paired with low-emissivity
glass in an insulating glass unit,
Suntuitive glass can produce visible light
transmittance, and reduce heating, cool-
ing and lighting-related energy costs.
Grand Rapids Progressive AE
announced Kendall Brandsen, LEED AP,
joined as Client Leader/Project Manager.
Grand Rapids Ramada Plaza Hotel,
3333 28th Street SE, is wrapping up an
extensive, top-to-bottom, $1.5 million ren-
ovation of its 181 guest room hotel with
new carpets, wall and window treatments,
bed coverings, furniture, 42-inch HD flat
screen TVs, and upgraded internet service.
Public areas also received new wall treat-
ment and carpeting. Outside improvements
include new asphalt and sealing of the
parking lot, new landscaping, and new
paint for the building exterior.
Lansing American Council of
Engineering Companies of Michigan
(ACEC/M) announced their 2014-2015
officers: President - Amy Trahey, PE;
President-Elect - Mark Kramer, PE;
Treasurer - Michael Cooper, PE; National
Director - Wally Alix, PE; and Past-
President - John Hiltz, PE. Additionally
ACEC/M announced their 2014-2015
Board of Directors: Leonard Becker, PE;
Chris Cook, PE; Thomas Deneau, PE;
Steve Gravlin, PE; Sean Kelley, PE;
Steve Nichols, PE; Stephen Pangori,
PE; Theresa Petko; Robert Rayl, PE;
and Jack Wheatley.
Kalamazoo CSM Group announced pro-
motion of team members Tara Nisenson,
SPHR to Director of Human Resources,
and Suzanne Otten to Budget Analyst.
Kalamazoo CSM Group hired new team
members: Project Managers - Chad
McDaniel, James Sabin, and Symon
Olenczuk Sr.; Construction Managers -
Robert Humker, John Mark Williams,
and Santos Torres; and Receptionist
Kara Weaver.
Bloomfield Hills Hubbell, Roth &
Clark, Inc., announced Derek Stratelak,
PWS, LLA, rejoined as Senior Project
Engineer in the firms Environmental
Engineering Department.
Review of
The Second Machine Age
Provided by www.getabstract.com
Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew
McAfee of the MIT Center for Digital
Business address the impact of digital
technologies, moving smoothly from broad
perspectives and historical syntheses to
specific examples from contemporary sci-
entific and business activity. The authors
describe the changes digital technologies
bring and show their historical roots, ana-
lyze their causes and explain their implica-
tions. They recognize the difficulties of
predicting technological change, though
their section on the future is not quite on
par with the brilliance of the rest of this
absorbing overview. getAbstract recom-
mends their insights to anyone seeking
greater understanding of the social and
economic impact of digital technologies.
Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew
McAfee. The Second Machine Age: Work,
Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of
Brilliant Technologies. W.W.Norton, 2014.
320 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0393239355.
getAbstract is the leading provider of
business book summaries, with thousands
of titles covered. www.getabstract.com
Pioneer Construction: Building Grand Rapids
By Jane Whittington
Its been four generations since Earl
Beckering, Sr. came to America from the
Netherlands hoping to make a good life
for himself and his family. The business
he created in 1933, then named Beckering
Construction, has stood the test of time
and continues today with the kind of suc-
cess only dreamed of in 1933. A carpen-
ter by trade, the original Beckering put his
skill to good use in the growing commu-
nity of Grand Rapids. And, as Grand
Rapids grew, the company flourished and
so did the family.
Earl Beckering, Jr. took over the busi-
ness in 1962, and the name was changed
to Pioneer Construction. In 1971, Tom
Beckering became CEO, and the company
grew to become one of the largest con-
struction companies in the Midwest.
Toms son-in-law Tim Schowalter now
heads up the business which, under his
leadership, has made a name for itself in
sustainable building while maintaining its
reputation as a quality builder that deliv-
ers on-time and in-budget.
Today Pioneer Construction has over
200 employees and a long and impressive
list of projects completed throughout the
area as well as many more in the process
of construction.
According to Director of Business
Development and Sales Chris Beckering,
We are general contractors in commercial
construction. We provide construction
management, general contracting,
design/build services, sustainable con-
struction for LEED certification, pre-con-
struction planning, construction equip-
ment services and rentals and profession-
al services in the areas of carpentry, gen-
eral trades, concrete, demolition and steel
and concrete erection.
He continues, We focus on West
Michigan, although we do sometimes
work on projects outside of the area.
During the recession, we continued to do
reasonably well because our clients know
that our quality and on-time delivery as
well as our commitment to coming in on-
budget are excellent. In fact, 90 percent of
our business is with repeat customers.
While we had to tighten our belts a bit
during 2008-2010, we are now seeing our
business rebound. In fact, last year was
one of our best ever.
Recently completed projects in the
Grand Rapids area include the Grand
Valley State University Mary Idema Pew
Library Learning and Information
Commons on the GVSU campus, the
Amway Aviation Hanger, construction
management on the Downtown Market,
the Seidman Center at GVSU, West
Michigan Aviation Academy (phase II),
the renovation of the former 1913 Bar
and Grill to Ruths Chris at the Amway
Grand and Thirty Eight, a mixed-use mid-
rise commercial and residential building
and parking structure.
Currently, they are working on the
Hampton Inn Hotel and Suites, the GVSU
Science Lab and several projects for Grand
Rapids Community College. They have
also been busy with both new construc-
tion and renovation of apartment and
mixed-use building throughout the area,
including those at 345 State Street and in
Creston Plaza.
In fact, Pioneer Construction is doing
so well that they are actively hiring skilled
professionals such as carpenters and iron
workers. According to Beckering, Many
construction tradespeople either left the
area or got into another line of work dur-
ing the recession. That, combined with
the retirement of many in the field, has
made for great opportunities in construc-
tion in Michigan. We are looking to hire
skilled workers who have a strong work
ethic and are detail oriented.
He continues, We have many
employees who have been here for many
years, including nine father and son
teams. We treat our employees well, and
they know that they will be treated fairly
and given every opportunity to succeed.
As part of their commitment to West
Michigan, they give back to the communi-
ty. Beckering says, We have been very
fortunate to thrive here in Grand Rapids,
and we want to help the community thrive
as well.
And while Earl Beckering, Sr. might
not recognize the Grand Rapids of 2014,
he would certainly recognize the tradition
of excellence that his children and his
childrens children have continued for the
past 81 years, a tradition that will contin-
ue for many years to come.
Jane Whittington is a freelance
writer and editor who lives in Grand
Rapids.
General Business
Michigan Michigan Craft Distillers
Association announced founding board
members: President - Rifino Valentine;
Vice President - Kent Rabish; Secretary -
Don Coe; Treasurer - Kris Berglund;
Director - Brett Vander Kamp; and
Dianna Stampfler of Promote Michigan
will serve as part-time Executive Director.
Lansing Center of Business
Innovation announced their partnership
with Intellinetics, a leading-edge technol-
ogy company focused on document man-
agement solutions, to offer Michigan
organizations with a cost-effective, docu-
ment centric workflow solution.
Grand Rapids Family Christian, a non-
profit ministry and Christian retail chain,
announced Charles Bengochea,
President and CEO of The Original
Honeybaked Ham Company of Georgia,
will be the new Family Christian President
and CEO effective June 30, 2014.
Lansing Small Business Association of
Michigan named Kevin Cuncannan as
Director, Small Business Services; and
hired Shannon North and Brittany
Smith as COBRA Coordinators.
Grand Rapids Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co. announced Bob Hetico
was named new Director of Sales.
Grand Haven Downtown is home to a
new yogurt bar, Pump House, offering
over 100 toppings and 14 yogurt pump-
ing stations.
Grand Rapids Peter Secchias family
donated $3 million toward development
of Meadows at Millennium Park.
Meadows will be located across from the
parks recreation core with several open
and versatile green spaces separated by
natural plantings, and a topography that
will allow it to host group events and
community gatherings.
11
12
How to Easily Achieve Efficient and
Compliant Hazmat Shipping
By: Forest Himmelfarb, Vice
President of Software and Services,
Labelmaster
For many businesses, the process of
shipping dangerous goods is often a time-
consuming, confusing and complex task.
Regulations are constantly changing, and
companies face significant risk of non-
compliance, which can lead to stiff fines
and penalties from enforcement agencies.
However, new technologies available
today can simplify the process, ensure
that goods are transported efficiently, and
help businesses maintain compliance.
Hazardous Materials History
When people hear the words haz-
ardous materials, they often think of
nuclear waste or highly toxic chemicals,
not items transported on a regular basis.
But the truth is quite the opposite. It is
estimated that between 5 and 15 percent
of goods transported globally fall under
hazardous material regulations. These
range from beauty products like nail pol-
ish and motor vehicle components such as
air bags to many common chemicals like
lubricants and adhesives. Almost every
industry involved in any type of manufac-
turing and distribution has some haz-
ardous material products.
Hazardous material transport regula-
tions have existed in the U.S. for nearly
150 years. In the United States, the first
law governing the transportation of dan-
gerous goods dates back to 1871. That
year, Congress passed legislation to
decrease the amount of dangerous goods
transported on ships. During the industri-
al revolution, hazardous materials such
as nitroglycerin, compressed gases and
other flammable products were transport-
ed by railroad and steamboat.
In 1970, Congress passed the
Hazardous Material Transportation
Control Act, which required the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT) to
gather and report information regarding
hazardous materials accidents and activi-
ties. In the mid-1990s, regulations inten-
sified after the crash of ValueJet flight
592, which had an onboard fire started by
chemical oxygen generators illegally
stored onboard. After this incident, the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
greatly increased dangerous goods com-
pliance enforcement.
Hazmat Regulations Today
In the U.S., both the DOT and the
FAA regulate hazardous material trans-
portation. These organizations and com-
panies such as ours can provide guidance
for identifying and shipping hazardous
materials. The specific DOT office respon-
sible for hazardous materials is called the
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (PHMSA). The regula-
tions in the U.S. are contained in a Code
of Federal Regulations with Title 49 cov-
ering Transportation commonly referred
to as 49CFR.
Internationally, air and maritime
transport are overseen by common regu-
lations developed by UN bodies.
Enforcement is managed by local agen-
cies, such as the Federal Aviation
Authority (FAA) and Coast Guard in the
U.S. In addition to these international reg-
ulations, many countries and transport
carriers have issued additional rules that
must be followed when shipping to or
from that country or with that carrier.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
Failing to comply with the proper
hazardous material regulations can result
in penalties ranging from a few thousand
dollars to more than one million dollars,
and repeat violations tend to cause penal-
ties to escalate dramatically. The most
common reasons shippers incur penalties
when shipping hazardous materials
include:
Failure to declare hazmat items
when shipping
Failure to properly train employees
Mislabeled packaging
Mistakes on hazmat shipping
papers
Failure to use UN specification
packaging
Evolution of Technology for
Hazmat Shipping
For many companies, hazardous
materials shipping is still a very manual
process. To be compliant, the shipper has
to understand not only the intrinsic prop-
erties of a particular chemical, for exam-
ple, and how to classify it, but also the
quantity limitations, packaging instruc-
tions, special provisions, carrier varia-
tions and state variations, if shipping
internationally. This often involves con-
sulting five or more different sections of
regulations to determine all the require-
ments that apply.
Many technologies available today
can ease this burden, including:
Electronic versions of the regula-
tions that allow easy navigation within
and between regulations.
Automated validation software
that checks shipping paper content
against the regulations to flag compliance
issues before shipment is completed.
Classification wizards that allow for
easy classification of hazmat products by
guiding users through a series of basic
questions.
Smart labels that use bar codes
linked to software to confirm that the
labels on the package match those that
are required, based on shipping docu-
ments.
Maintaining Efficient Shipping
Operations
By following certain guidelines, ship-
pers can ensure that strong compliance
standards go hand-in-hand with efficient
shipping operations. The first step is to
have a hazmat data strategy in place. By
clearly defining the process and responsi-
bility for classifying and storing danger-
ous goods data, one can speed up ship-
ment processing by always having the
right information when a shipment needs
to ship.
Integration also is key. If you are
using specialized software for processing
hazmat shipments, make sure it can easi-
ly integrate into other systems such as
your enterprise resource planning solu-
tion or manifest system.
Next, make sure any hazmat soft-
ware solution is recognized by your pri-
mary carriers. For example, FedEd and
UPS require use of pre-approved software
for hazmat shipping.
Finally, rely on tech support. Given
the complexity of the regulations, it is
critical that any technology solutions you
are using to process hazmat shipments
have robust tech support so issues can be
resolved quickly without delaying ship-
ments.
By establishing guidelines and utiliz-
ing new technologies, businesses can bet-
ter managing the shipment of hazardous
materials to meet current regulations and
ensure compliance.
Forest Himmelfarb is Vice President
of Software and Services at Labelmaster,
where he oversees the companys soft-
ware and consulting services business.
Forest is responsible for the development
and execution of strategy for these busi-
nesses, which focus on bringing advanced
technology and leading industry experts
to simplify dangerous goods shipping for
Labelmasters customers.
Industrial Briefs
Memphis, TN/Norcross, GA xpedx
announced they chose the name Veritiv
for the leading distribution solutions com-
pany created upon completion of their
merger.
Novi OPS Solutions, LLC, and Electro-
Matic Products announced they entered
into a Channel Partner Agreement taking
on the Light Guide Systems product line
for distribution and sales representation
throughout Michigan and Northern Ohio.
Plymouth ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc.,
developer of novel nucleic acid therapeu-
tics, announced closing an oversubscribed
$59.5 million Series D financing led by
investors: Vivo Capital of Palo Alto, CA,
Frazier Healthcare Ventures, OrbiMed
Advisors, Adams Street Partners, RA
Capital Management, Caxton Alternative
Management, Hopen Life Science
Ventures, Sectoral Asset Management,
Janus Capital Management LLC, Capital
Midwest Fund, Apjohn Ventures Fund,
Amherst Fund, and Grand Angels. For the
transaction, Jefferies, LLC, served as the
sole placement agent, and Honigman
Miller Schwartz and Cohn, LLP, served as
legal advisor to the company.
Belding Stahlin Non-Metallic
Enclosures, manufacturer of fiberglass
enclosure products, was chosen as one of
"West Michigan's 101 Best and Brightest
Companies to Work For" for the 11th con-
secutive year by Michigan's Business and
Professional Association.
13
Berger Chevrolet: Its Always Better at Berger!
By Jane Whittington
In Grand Rapids, the words Berger
and Chevrolet just automatically go
together. After all, since 1926, Berger
Chevrolet has been selling new and used
cars to the West Michigan market. While
its a rare family business that succeeds
past the second or third generation, Berger
Chevrolet has had a Berger behind the
wheel for close to 80 years and has been
serving the motoring public for nearly as
long as there have been cars on the road.
In the 1920s, Bill Berger, a farmer in
Jenison, took a job with a local Chevrolet
dealer. In 1926, he founded the W.H.
Berger Motor Dealership on Wealthy
Street in Grand Rapids. Although the
horse and buggy was still the primary
mode of transportation around town, and
the roads werent well suited for this new
invention, he managed to stay in busi-
ness, sometimes even foregoing his own
paycheck so that he could pay his staff.
During the Great Depression of the
30s, business was difficult, to say the
least. But he persevered and, in 1933,
moved to a new location on Lake Drive,
now the site of a U.S Post Office. Bills
oldest son, Dale, joined the business at
the new facility which boasted a four-car
showroom and 15 service stalls.
During the 30s, sales volume rose to
400 cars a year. With the threat of a World
War on the horizon, many consumers
rushed to buy new vehicles; they were
aware that soon the factories would be
dedicated to the manufacture of tanks,
planes and munitions.
With the advent of WW II, automo-
bile production came to a halt. Since sell-
ing new cars wasnt an option, Berger
Chevrolet began selling Hotpoint appli-
ances along with used cars, used parts
and car repair and services.
In 1944, Dale Berger took over the
dealership. With the end of the war, there
was a rush to buy cars and, as a result,
long waiting lists for new automobiles.
Business took off.
In 1953, the same year as the intro-
duction of the Corvette, Dale, Jr., then
aged 14, entered the family business. He
remembers, I started out washing cars
on the lot, winter and summer. It was
hard work. Cars were higher and longer
than they are now, and in the winter I
would just about freeze.
After Dale, Jr. graduated from high
school, he went on to General Motors
Institute (now Kettering University) in
Flint to learn more about the industry.
By the late 50s and early 60s,
Berger Chevrolet had 33 full-time employ-
ees and sold about 450 cars a year. In
1965, business had expanded to the point
where it was necessary to expand, and
they bought 5.2 acres on 28th Street, and
the new facility opened in 1966. Within
two months, Berger Chevrolet was the #1
Chevrolet dealer in West Michigan and, in
the first 90 days in the new facility, they
went from 40 to 75 employees. General
Motors recognized them as leaders and
created a training film based on their
parts operation. By the end of the 60s,
sales had tripled, including over 1,700
cars sold per year.
The late 70s saw records shattered
again, and more land adjacent to their
facility was purchased and became an
expanded used car center.
The recession of the early 80s meant
a decrease in sales volume for new cars,
so Berger concentrated on the used car
market and their services and parts busi-
ness. Dale Berger, Jr.s son Matt became
general manager in 1981, and, as the
recession ended in the late 80s, business
rebounded. With increased business came
a need for even more space, and an addi-
tional three acres was added to the com-
plex. By the 90s, the dealership was sell-
ing over 4,000 vehicles a year.
Dale Berger, Jr., though officially
retired still comes into the dealership on
a regular basis. His son Matthew contin-
ues as General Manager, and Matthews
son Tyler has stepped in as well. Tyler rep-
resents the fifth generation of Bergers in
the automobile business.
According to Dale, Jr., There are
always challenges in the car business.
Recessions hurt us just like everyone
else. But Chevy is a trusted product and
an economical one, and we weathered
this last recession better than most.
Business now is better than it was before
the recession hit.
He continues, Were right about 200
employees now, and our new car business
is strong. We sell about 60 percent new
cars and 40 percent used, and our parts
and services business continues to grow
at a steady pace. Were one of only two
Chevrolet dealerships in Grand Rapids,
and we are committed to this community.
Renovations, expansions, improve-
ments and changes over the years may
have brought a new look to Berger
Chevrolet, but what hasnt changed is qual-
ity, personalized service and a state-of-the-
art dealership that doesnt rest on its lau-
rels but re-commits to quality every day.
Jane Whittington is a freelance writer
and editor who lives in Grand Rapids.
Industrial Briefs
Walker Tim McMenamin joined
Tubelite, Inc. as Lean Champion, Jim
Flandreau as Director of Information
Technology Rene Buggs joined as
Director of Human Resources.
Holland Thermotron Industries,
announced appointment of Clint Peterson as
President to succeed outgoing President
Ron Lampen who retired.
Walker - The Right Place, Inc.
announced Cascade Die Casting Group,
Inc., and SolarBOS, Inc., will bring 100
new jobs and nearly $6.2 million to the
West Michigan region.
Grand Rapids Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company announced Bob
Hetico was named new Director of Sales.
Holland Advanced Furniture Testing
received Accreditation from American
Association for Laboratory Accreditation
for its testing lab in Jasper, Indiana
Wixom EY announced CEO Steven
Greenawalt of Alta Equipment
Company received 2014 Entrepreneur
Of The Year Award in Distribution &
Manufacturing category for Michigan and
Northwest Ohio region.
New York Wolverine Worldwide and
its Merrell brand were honored with pres-
tigious Advocate of the Year award, and
Merrell brand was honored with Brand
Focus award from Footwear Distributors
and Retailers of America.
Communications & IT
Lansing Martin Waymire announced
Senior Account Executive Andrea Poole
joined their staff, and student practitioner
Greg Rokisky joined as Assistant Account
Executive.
Grandville For the sixth consecutive
year, Trivalent Group, Inc., one of
Michigans largest IT solution providers,
was named Corp! Magazines Michigan
Economic Bright Spots.
Grand Rapids For the second consecu-
tive year, WGVU-FM 88.5/95.3 received
General Excellence Award by Michigan
Associated Press Media Editors
Association, in addition to the following
individual awards: Best Individual
Reporting - Patrick Center, and Caroline
MacGregor; Best Newscast - David
Moore; Best Enterprise/Investigative
Reporting - Patrick Center; Best Natural
Sound - Patrick Center; Best Feature
Story - Patrick Center; Best Spot News -
Patrick Center; Best Hard News - Patrick
Center; and Best News Documentary -
Patrick Center.
Grand Rapids Corporate Technologies,
LLC, announced it was named to 2014
Solution Provider 500 list by The Channel
Companys CRN, which ranks top rev-
enue-generating technology integrators in
the U.S. and Canada whose forward-
thinking approach helped them thrive in
todays cloud and services-driven IT era.
Troy iDashboards announced a distri-
bution agreement with Arrow Electronics
making iDashboards Enterprise Suite
available to customers through Arrow
Enterprise Computing Solutions.
Detroit Insight Direct USA, Inc., tech-
nology provider of hardware, software
and service solutions, announced Laura
Mills joined as Market Leader.
Communication & IT
14
Bending the Rules
By John Tschohl
There are rules for a reason: they
work for most people most of the time.
Often scientific evidence backs them up.
But as with almost any other endeavor in
society that doesnt involve criminal
activity, rules can sometime be broken
or at least bentwithout the world com-
ing to an end.
This is especially true in business.
Company owners and top executives give
a lot of thought to winning and keeping
customersand they spend a lot of time
and money on things like PR, leadership
training, social media campaigns etc. etc.
But, the real front lines of building a busi-
ness are in the daily interactions employ-
ees have with customers.
One of the major roadblocks to cus-
tomer service excellence are the policies
and procedures most companies have in
place to make sure that 1 percent of their
customers dont take advantage of them.
Meanwhile, the other 99 percent of their
customers are frustrated. When frontline
employees are restricted with ridiculous
policies and procedures, the process of
servicing customers is dramatically slowed
down and customers are essentially given
the boot and will soon be greeted with open
arms by the competition.
Get Rid of Stupid Rules. Sounds
simple but in reality, as the rules dont
always apply, make a decision to bend
some and for sure to break some. Look at
all the policies, procedures and systems
you have in placed that make life miser-
able for your customers, says John
Tschohl, president of Service Quality
Institute. You could have the nicest peo-
ple in the world, but you could have stu-
pid hours, stupid rules, stupid procedures
that just burn the customer. If you have
policies that slow down tasks or require
two or three sets of eyes and signatures
for approval, you are wasting time and
moneyspeed up the process and elimi-
nate time wasters.
Bend the rules. Rules stop employees
from thinking for themselves and for the
customer. In order to ensure customer sat-
isfaction and deliver against the very
demanding expectation of your customers,
you should try to widen your employees
customer service skills by teaching them
how to bend the rules. Its not about
breaking the rules, but bending them to
keep the customer happy, says Tschohl.
Put yourself in your customers place and
askdo you like to feel valued, listened to
and have your requests respected? How do
you feel when an organization solves your
problem without any hassle? How do you
feel when they cannot or will not fix your
problems at all?
Its critically important for business-
es to give employees the power to make
decisions on the spot because one policy
cant cover everything. There are too
many unexpected things that happen
every day.
Service Recovery. In all organizations
mistakes happen. Things go wrong.
Employees need to know they dont have to
follow a canned script. They are allowed to
think like owners of the company. They
need to know they should treat every cus-
tomer the way they would want to be treat-
ed, even if it means ignoring the official
company rulebook. Employees must bend
the rules and make empowered decisions to
save the customer.
The best news is that most decisions
will cost the company less than $50,
which is a pittance when you consider the
lifetime value of the customer, and the
good will that empowered decisions can
make. Every company has something it
can give to a customer who experiences a
problem. It doesnt have to cost a lot, but
its value as far as goodwill and customer
loyalty will be priceless. Identify 10 to 20
products your company has that have
value in the eyes of the customer but
wont cost you an arm and a leg when
used as compensation for a problem. For
an airline that might be a first-class
upgrade, while for a dentist it might be a
free cleaning. Redbox gives away two free
DVD rentals when there is a problem.
Customers will be pleasantly surprised
and delighted with your company if you
make things right and make things better.
It serves everyone to bend the rules.
Your customer gets what they need and
are happy. Your organization strengthens
a relationship with a client. The employ-
ee is recognized for solving a problem and
retaining business.
Remember, just good service doesnt
get anyone talking about you. Bend the
rules a bit and get them buzzing about you.
John Tschohl, an international serv-
ice strategist and speaker, is founder and
president of the Service Quality Institute
in Minneapolis,Minnesota. Described by
Time and Entrepreneur, and USA Today
magazines as a customer service guru, he
has written several books on customer
service. The Service Quality Institute
(http://www.customer-service.com) has
developed more than 26 customer service
training programs that have been distrib-
uted and presented throughout the world.
Johns bi-monthly strategic newsletter is
available online at no charge. He can also
be reached on Facebook, LinkedIn and
Twitter.
15
Education Briefs
Grand Rapids Kristin Roberts,
Professor at Grand Rapids Community
College Computer Information
Systems Department, was awarded an
international 2014 Blackboard Catalyst
Award for Exemplary Course for her C++
programming.
Grand Rapids Dr. Jason Duncan,
Professor of History at Aquinas College,
was chosen by Council of Independent
Colleges and Gilder Lehrman Institute of
American History to participate in a spe-
cial American history seminar about
Chicago.
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids
Community College and Grand Valley
State University formed a partnership
to make sure GRCC students have a
seamless transfer to GVSU.
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids
Community Colleges Secchia Institute
for Culinary Education was named one
of Americas Top 20 Culinary Schools by
FSR magazine.
Grand Rapids Grand Valley State
Universitys School of Public,
Nonprofit and Health Administration
will offer a new graduate degree pro-
gram, Master of Philanthropy and
Nonprofit Leadership, starting fall 2014.
Kalamazoo State-of-the-art, climate-
controlled Zhang Legacy Collections
Center at Western Michigan
University - houses WMUs archives
and regional history collections -
achieved silver certification under
Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design rating system.
Atlanta, GA Donald J. Green, Vice
President for Extended and International
Operations at Ferris State University,
was named President of Georgia
Highlands College by the Board of
Regents of the University System of
Georgia, and will assume his new post
Sept. 8, 2014.
Kalamazoo Western Michigan
University is offering a Master of
Science in aerospace engineering start-
ing fall 2014 semester. The only other
graduate program in aerospace engi-
neering offered in Michigan is University
of Michigan.
Grand Rapids Aquinas College part-
nered with Michigan Department of
Education to offer the only Deaf and
Hard of Hearing endorsement in
Michigan. Aquinas currently offers certi-
fications in two areas of special educa-
tion - Learning Disabilities, and Physical
or Other Health Impairment.
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids
Community College, Construction
Workforce Development Alliance and
Michigan Works! of Kent and Allegan
counties - received statewide recognition
this week for a program that builds skills
to fill high-demand construction jobs.
Grand Rapids Lisa Miller, Director of
Meijer Campus in Holland, and Carol
Sanchez, Professor of Management and
Director of International Business
Programs for Seidman College of
Business, were named Institutional
Representatives from Grand Valley
State University to Michigan American
Council on Education Womens Network.
Grand Rapids Deborah Bambini,
Associate Professor of Nursing at Grand
Valley State University, was inducted
into National League of Nursings
Academy of Nursing Education as a fellow.
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids
Community College launched a search
for a new Provost-Executive Vice
President for Academic and Student
Affairs after Gilda Gely stepped down in
May to become Provost at Aquinas
College. Patti Trepkowski, GRCC
Associate Provost and Dean of
Instructional Support and
Interdisciplinary Studies, is filling the
position on an interim basis.
Grand Rapids Cooley Law School stu-
dent Aaron Cook was recipient of
Taxation Section of State Bar of
Michigan's Tax Student Achievement
Award for his involvement with Cooleys
Volunteer Tax Assistance program which
offers free tax help to low income indi-
viduals, persons with disabilities, and
elderly who need assistance in preparing
their own tax returns.
Grand Rapids For the second consecu-
tive year, a Graphic Design student from
Ferris State Universitys Kendall
College of Art and Design won an award
from American Advertising Federations
American Advertising Awards. Amy
Johnson won a Gold award for Letters
Lost Then Found.
Grand Rapids Joel Westa,
Superintendent of NorthPointe
Christian Schools, was selected by Van
Lunen Center for Executive Management
in Christian Schools at Calvin College for
a 2014-2015 fellowship.
Grand Rapids Kendall College of Art
and Design of Ferris State University
announced Graphic Design Professor
Ron Riksen was named Interim Dean of
the College for a two-year appointment.
Waiting for Businesses to Invest Before
Buying In to Optimism
Atlanta, GA Strong job growth,
rising home prices and continued stock
market appreciation point to economic
health, but global tensions and lack of
business spending are cause for concern,
according to Rajeev Dhawan of the
Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia
State Universitys J. Mack Robinson
College of Business.
You might assume that we are back
in the late 1990s when we looked to the
future with great anticipation, but I see
quite a few differences between now and
then, Dhawan writes in his Forecast of
The Nation, released today.
Among the differences: Extremely
low interest rates and a disinflationary
environment. Executives and policymak-
ers want to know when rates will rise, as
evidenced by the questioning of Federal
Reserve chair Janet Yellen when she tes-
tified before the U.S. Congress Joint
Economic Committee earlier in May.
A sharp decline in export growth is
also contributing to the forecasters tem-
pered expectations. Exports represent
foreign demand for our goods, and as
such, they are a reflection of our trading
partners economic health, which is iffy to
say the least. Anxiety over Russias tus-
sle with Ukraine and Germanys depend-
ence on Russian energy sources have
unfortunately shorted growth prospects
for a European economic rebound this
year. Furthermore, Chinas continued
stagnation is impacting its suppliers in the
emerging markets. All this will ultimately
impact financial markets back at home.
That said, Dhawan asserts the news
is not all bad. Vehicle sales cracked the
16-million mark, housing starts are still
decent and home prices grew by double
digits in 2013. New home sales are ris-
ing, too, but sales of discretionary items
remain flat. Buyers are moving into
new homes with old furniture.
Dhawans concerns will be assuaged
when we witness consistent growth in
all GDP categories, including exports,
and that can happen only when our trad-
ing partners are back on their feet and
our businesses are investing, which
leads to sustained hiring. As for the
Fed, the forecaster says the nations cen-
tral bank wont move on interest rates
until it has concrete evidence that busi-
ness investment growth is here to stay.
Business investment will slowly
increase by years end, says Dhawan,
leading to enhanced growth prospects in
2015. And beyond that? 2016 will mark
a great year by the current recovery stan-
dard.
Highlights from the Economic
Forecasting Centers National Report
The weather-affected growth of
0.1% in the first quarter of 2014 will
recover to 3.7% in the second, but the
year will average 2.2%. Real GDP
expands at 2.5% in 2015 and 2.9% in
2016.
Investment will grow by 3.7%
in 2014, 5.1% in 2015 and 6.5% in
2016. Expect an average of 196,000 new
jobs per month in 2014, 186,000 per
month in 2015 and 203,000 per month
in 2016.
Housing starts will average
0.953 million units in 2014, rise sharply
to 1.223 million units in 2015, and
increase further to 1.323 million units in
2016. Auto sales will average 15.5 mil-
lion units in 2014, and increase slightly
to 15.6 million units in 2015 and 15.7
million units in 2016.
The 10-year bond rate will rise
to 3.6% by year-end of 2014 and not
cross 4.0% until mid-2016.
16

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