Business June 2011

update
$2.00

1993-2011 ublication

Features:
Travel
Business Insurance
Tool & Die
Real Estate
Health Electronic Networking

Rediscovering Business Travel
by Mike Malaney
Since the worldwide economic
recession began, businesses large and
small have scrutinized their travel budg-
ets. According to the Global Business
Travel Association, about 85 percent of
companies economized by decreasing
travel budgets not long after the eco-
nomic downturn in the fall of 2008.
However, many businesses, includ-
ing those in West Michigan, have been
rethinking that strategy. While taking
fewer business trips may save money in
the short term, the long-term benefits of
meeting face-to-face with clients are com-
promised. In fact, at a time when some
competitors are cutting back on in-person
meetings, a growing number of business-
es are increasing their travel budgets,
seizing the opportunity to maintain a
stronger presence with their clients.
Whether a business is shrinking,
maintaining or increasing their travel
budgets, road warriors can make the
most of each dollar spent on business
travel. For example:
Before scheduling a trip, ask: Is the
trip justified? Is there a potential return
on investment? What is the potential
cost to the company of not making the
trip? If a trip can cement a client rela-
tionship, win a large order or secure a
lower price from a supplier, the travel
expense may be justified.
For better cost-effectiveness, take
one trip that covers various destinations,
instead of taking multiple, separate trips.
Call on your co-worker’s clients in the
same area, if permitted. You may spend
more consecutive days on the road, but
the financial results will be worth it.
Schedule your meetings carefully.
Compressing four days of meetings into
three will result in lower hotel and meal
expenses. If you have only one meeting
and can arrange to fly in and out the
same day, you can avoid hotel costs alto-
gether.
Consider all possible agendas before
each trip. Your trip may have one main
objective, but what else can you accom-
plish while on site with your client?
Take advantage of incentives from
2
travel companies. For example, West
Michigan’s Travel Leaders offers a
Corporate Frequent Flier program, 24-
hour grace periods after ticketing to
allow for changes in appointments, a 24-
hour emergency service, and guaranteed
car rental programs.
In today’s financial times, every dol-
lar counts! Utilize your resources and
those of others. And remember:
Experienced travel experts can also help
make business travel productive and
company-affordable.
Mike Malaney is the owner of Travel
Leaders in West Michigan and has been
handling corporate travel for over 31
years.

Kidnapping for Ransom:

A Fateful International Growth Industry
by Frank Zuccarello
A global economy offers enormous-
ly rich rewards, along with more than
enough disturbing and dangerous risks.
Although accurate statistics are difficult
to come by, its estimates indicate there
are anywhere from 12,500 to 25,000
kidnappings a year, world-wide. Then,
depending on the source, that figure is
up 100% in the last half-dozen years.
That’s not all. There’s one estimate
that only 11% of kidnapping victims are
freed without a ransom payment. On the
flip side, another source maintains that
40% of all victims are unharmed and
safe after a ransom has been paid.
Yet, all this is only part of the kid-
napping and ransom story worldwide. It
appears that reported kidnappings could
account for about only 10% of those that
occur. Such a low figure may help to
explain why many potential victims ignore
warnings, particularly about traveling in
well-known international “K&R hot
spots.”
With so few kidnappings hitting the
news, it’s easy to explain why the risks
may appear rather insignificant, really
not much to worry about.
There’s another factor that serves to
mitigate concern. While anyone traveling
in high-risk areas is a potential victim,
high-visibility celebrities, athletes, corpo-
rate executives and entrprenuers can be
prime targets.
Even so, it’s often difficult to con-
vince entrepreneurs, for example, that
they need to take K&R risks seriously,
particularly when their minds are
focused on the objective of their travel,
whether it’s opening a new plant, acquir-
ing a new business unit or closing a deal.
Without question, the kidnapping
“hot spots” in the world deserve special
attention. Although Latin America has
only 8% of the world’s population, there
has been a 66% increase in kidnapping
for ransom -- a staggering figure. After a
10-year decline, kidnappings are again
on the rise in Columbia. Unfortunately,
incidents in other South American
nations are also increasing.
Nearest to home, kidnappings in
Mexico are a huge growth business
starting right on the U.S. Border. The fig-
ures range from 8,000 to 12,500 a year.
Griffin Underwriting, Ltd., in
Guernsey indicates that kidnappings in
Mexico have jumped 317% in the last
five years. But that may be just the tip of
the iceberg, since they estimate that 75%
of the cases go unreported. It’s also
worth noting that the victims aren’t just
wealthy executives. Many of whom are
held for ransom are employees with
salaries from $2,400 to $6,500 per
month
But the problem is also nearer to
home. “Phoenix, Arizona has become
the kidnapping capital of America, with
more incidents than any other city in the
world outside of Mexico City,” states
Griffin Underwriting. Investigated kid-
nappings in Phoenix are estimated to
have topped out at 200 in 2010. And,
because of its proximity to Tijuana, the eling. The goal for such a plan is to raise
danger in Southern California may be awareness and to become sensitive to
escalating. the potential dangers associated with
While there are conflicts in the esti- your itinerary. Because the U.S. is not a
mated figures and some sources remain “hot spot,” many travelers tend to feel
unclear, there’s consensus that the prob- kidnapping is not a critical issue for
lem is enormous –– and increasing. them, no matter if they are traveling in
War zones are extremely dangerous, the local U.S. or in a foreign country.
particularly Iraq and Afghanistan, as well • Become familiar with the “hot
as nearby Pakistan and, of course, the spots.” Although some locations have
notorious Yemen, where commandeering long qualified for the “hot spot” list, new
ships and their crews for ransom is legion. ones can appear overnight. However, it’s
In just about every region of the important to remember that kidnappings
world, kidnappings can and do occur, can occur anywhere.
including Africa where they often • Take the right precautions. To help
involve humanitarian workers. avoid being abducted (just the sound of
To highlight the potential for danger the word is more than a little sobering),
even more, the statistics indicate that move about in well-lit areas and never
where there is political and social unrest, go anywhere alone.
the possibility of becoming a kidnap vic- Always be with those you trust. In
tim is present. the same way, stay in close contact with
Given such serious conditions, the your host and don’t deviate from the
following guidelines can help traveling destination itinerary without clearing it
professionals avoid becoming a kidnap with your host, since this person “knows
victim. They apply to anyone traveling or the territory.”
working outside the U.S., but they are
particularly relevant to corporate execu- Continued on page 25
tives and other high profile individuals:
• Perform a risk review before trav-
Does Your Travel Agent Pr ovide Your Company :
A company Frequent Flier program that compliments personal frequent fliers plans.
A 24 hour grace period after tickets have been issued to avoid the airline penalty of $150
A corporate car rental program that guarantees a car even when locations are sold out
An evening and weekend emergency center staffed 24 hours.
A corporate rate hotel program with over 120,000 properties.
If not call Mike Malaney at Travel Leaders 616-942-2860.
 Building Envelope Firm Celebrates 20th Anniversary 4
by Amy Cygan
Twenty years ago, StructureTec
Corporation had a vision: To become an
industry leader in providing professional
consulting and engineering services.
Today, after 20 years of professional
success, StructureTec stands at the fore-
front of technology in the field of con-
sulting services for the remediation of
building structures in the industrial,
institutional, commercial, and service
marketplace.
Driven by the concept of Total
Quality Management – a process through
which clients are ensured the best possi-
ble service – StructureTec has seen an
average growth of 20% per year since
inception. The company’s business pro-
file has grown to encompass 50% corpo-
rations (including Fortune 2000 compa-
nies), 30% institutions (schools, univer-
sities, hospitals), and 20% other entities
(municipalities, developers, commercial).
“We have structured our businesses
Business
update
ublication
Publisher: Gary Kralapp
Business Development
Senior Vice President: Jim Lroy
Senior Vice President: Diane LaPreze
Circulation: Anna Friesen, David Granger
Contributing Writers: Mike Malaney,
Frank Zuccarello, Russ Manz, Jeffrey E.
Kaufman, Alex Berman, Ronald W.
Ryan, Greg Brown, Donald De Groot,
Rolf Dobelli, Joe Takash, John Minahan,
Krystal Carter
Managing Editor: Carol M. Kralapp
Editor: Amy Cygan
Associate Editor: David Calkins
Printing/Distribution: News Web Printing
Accountant: Michael Tawney & Company
Legal: Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone
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for growth,” says Jeffrey Brittan,
President and C.E.O of StructureTec. “In
the near future – and in parallel with our
service expansions in construction and
products -- we will grow each of our
existing and new businesses in an effort
to maximize their individual and collec-
tive potential.”
StructureTec’s progressive history
certainly reflects an ambitious personal-
ity. In 1998, StructureTec expanded from
two divisions -- Roofing and
StructureScan -- to six divisions –
adding Data Management Services, The
Restoration Group, Construction
Services Group (CSG), and Warranty
Audit Program. The divisions comple-
mented the company’s goal of meeting
client needs as a full-service provider.
In 2002, StructureTec divested divi-
sions into three separate companies, cre-
ating StructureTec Group – which was
comprised of StructureTec, CSG, and
Maintenance Service Financial
Corporation. The amalgamation afforded
a total package of higher-level services
and capabilities, such as providing both
project management and construction
capabilities, along with warranty and
maintenance considerations down stream.
StructureTec introduced the
Platinum Program in 2007, further
enhancing its Construction Management
services by offering a “turnkey”
approach to Construction Management –
providing projects with both profession-
al liability insurance and construction-
related insurance.
While StructureTec combines the
expertise of engineers, consultants, and
administrators to deliver a phase
approach at solving building envelope
issues, the company also provides paving
solutions and structural recommendations
based on environmental concerns.
“We have a solid portfolio, due large-
ly in part to our “Total Building Envelope
Management Solution” program, which
has allowed our customers to achieve
more for less and allowed them to remain
“sustainable,” despite economic volatility.
We are able to provide greater value to our
clients and offer more solutions to their
problems,” says Brittan.
Some of the projects StructureTec
has worked on are as spotlighted:
Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital -
consultant - building envelope
Meijer Corporation - roof asset
management program
The Dow Chemical Company - world
headquarters- building envelope remedi-
ation, masonry restoration, and green
roof technology
Whirlpool – roof and building enve-
lope asset management program
But while StructureTec appreciates
and applauds all of the achievements,
clients, and innovations that have
brought pride and success to their busi-
ness, its eyes are on the horizon.
“In the future,” Brittan says, “we
may engage in additional “Blue Sky”
opportunities, such as solar capabilities
and other energy management opportu-
nities. Continued national growth is key
to our vision, so we will also continue to
market our broad array of specialty serv-
ices to each of our niche markets.”
Brittan highlights: “Both brand recogni-
tion and the development of a national
and North American presence, are two of
StructureTec’s proudest accomplish-
ments.”
In 2012, StructureTec Group will
become a holding company with the
addition of the Building Products Group
and all other companies becoming sub-
sidiaries of StructureTec Group to allow
greater flexibility and accommodate
future growth.
Although striving for growth
remains a constant objective of
StructureTec, the business also invests
its efforts elsewhere -- embracing its fel-
low community members and organiza-
tions by contributing significant support
to the following: the Salvation Army, the
Gospel Mission and 30 other ministries,
institutions and non-profit organiza-
tions, globally; the CBMC (Connecting
Business Men to Christ); the CBRT
(Christian Business Round Table) – “C-
Suite Strategies” for executives; and the
Chamber of Commerce (E-Net entrepre-
neurial efforts). StructureTec also works
with Western Michigan University to
provide hands-on experience and train-
ing through an internship program, as
well as supports the community through
the Building Construction Technology
Education Center, which keeps facility
professionals abreast of industry stan-
dards.
Whether through lending communi-
ty support or being a pioneer in building
envelope systems, StructureTec’s core
values of integrity, quality, relationships,
responsibility, and expertise, have con-
tributed greatly to the business’ person-
al and professional prosperity. In addi-
tion, those core values -- which have
helped to foster a clearly-defined corpo-
rate culture that promotes communica-
tion, education and opportunity -- have
allowed StructureTec to build a founda-
tion that has weathered the harshest of
economies and the toughest of industry
challenges.
And of course, those core values –
which have escorted StructureTec to its
20th year celebration -- are easily spot-
ted in Brittan’s parting words: “We cred-
it our continuing success to our faith,
and to our people and their overriding
commitment to the company.”
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 China to Lose Edge Over US by 2016
Rockford, IL – Dr. Chris Kuehl, a That is just for the average worker’s
leading economic analyst for the wage,” he stresses.
Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, “If one looks at the managerial lev-
International (FMA), asserts that the els and among skilled workers, the rate
Chinese will stand to lose significant mar- of Chinese wage growth is about 135
ket share in the years to come and will not percent per year. In the U.S. that same
have a cost advantage over U.S. manufac- group is seeing a wage growth of 3.7
turing by the year 2016. percent. The Chinese pay scale is still far
In the FMA’s current, economic less than in the U.S., but that gap is clos-
update newsletter Fabrinomics, Kuehl ing very fast.”
points out that in 1990, the Chinese In terms of productivity, Kuehl
share of world manufacturing output admits China has seen improvement 10
was a paltry 3 percent. Today, its share is times over in the last 20 years. Yet, he
19.8 percent; the U.S. is slightly behind claims, this still leaves China at a third of
at 19.4 percent. the productivity of the U.S. -- which is
“The Chinese built quickly on a base seeing productivity gains of almost 8
of low-wage workers and significant percent per year.
government assistance, as well as a very “The amazing observation from all
low-valued currency that has allowed the this is that China is not going to have a
growth of the export economy,” Kuehl cost advantage over the U.S. after 2015,”
says. “The future is not looking so posi- he says. “If, as expected, the Chinese are
tive for the Chinese, however. Wages are forced by inflation threats to start push-
growing at 17 percent annually, while in ing the value of their currency higher,
the U.S. they are growing at 3 percent. the balance could shift pretty quickly.
Then there is the potential for much
higher transportation costs as the price
of oil rises. None of this will cause the
U.S. manufacturer to shed a tear.”
In the newsletter article, Kuehl notes
the U.S. currently competes with the
Germans, in terms of the value of their
manufacturing, as these nations together
cover almost 80 percent of global value.
“These two countries supply the
high-value manufactured goods, while the
Chinese are still focused on the cheaper
consumer goods,” he explains. “The U.S.
will see that lead expand, but there will be
competition from China, for they will see
these more expensive goods as the only
way to retain some competitive edge.”
Kuehl believes that, for both
nations, future emphasis will be on the
domestic market, which could be signifi-
cant for the U.S. manufacturer in a vari-
ety of ways.
“If China shifts its attention to its
own domestic market and away from
5
exports, U.S. producers will be able to
recapture domestic market share,” he
says. “As the U.S. manufacturing com-
pany looks to its own market, it will be
generally better positioned than the
Chinese competitor, as the distribution
infrastructure in the U.S. is better suited
than China’s.”
According to Kuehl, most every-
thing in China’s transportation network
currently points out of the country to
service export and its internal trans-
portation system is often inferior. China
will need some infrastructure work to be
able to service its domestic markets as
effectively as U.S. suppliers are able to
service American customers.
Kuehl ends, “This is not to say that
China will cease to exist as a global com-
petitor, but it does suggest that the same
patterns that affected other fast-growing
nations have started to impact them.”

Rising Costs Affects Workers' Compensation

By Russ Manz
Lindsay Lohan and healthcare get all
the press these days. If it’s not about
ObamaCare and the political drama, it’s
about the huge increase in healthcare and
insurance premiums. Workers' compensa-
tion and Rodney Dangerfield, God bless
his soul, get no respect. No one is talking
about the effect healthcare costs are hav-
ing on the workers’ compensation system.
In 1980, 40% of the total workers’
compensation costs were medical bills.
Today it is 60%! While employers are
doing a much better job of managing
safety issues and getting injured
employees back to work – yielding fewer
claims per hours worked, and shorter
durations – workers’ compensation costs
continue to rise because of the cost of
medical care. The State of Michigan has
instituted provider reimbursement
schedules, and insurance companies are
using PPO networks to help control it.
But as the availability and utilization of
expensive services and tests continue to
increase, the cost of claims will too.
Worker injuries have a very long
“tail,” meaning that medical bills associ-
ated with many injuries go on for years,
sometimes for the life of the individual
(referred to as “permanent partial dis-
abilities”). Insurance company reserving
practices – the statutory setting aside of
monies for future medical bills – require
predicting medical treatment and proce-
dures, and the rate of medical inflation
for 10 to 30 years! Those reserves are a
large part of the total cost of a claim and
affect experience modification and work-
ers’ compensation premiums.
Related to the reserving concept is
the art of negotiating a settlement with
the injured worker. As one can imagine,
an injured worker wants the insurance
company to pay his/her medical bills for-
ever. On the contrary, insurance compa-
nies want to cap their liability and
attempt to enter into a financial agree-
ment/settlement with the injured
employee. One can imagine how these
settlements (normally negotiated by
attorneys and the workers’ compensa-
tion mediators) become so huge, espe-
cially when the employee may not have
medical insurance if they’re out of work.
To the employers out there: As of
late, have you increased the amount
your employees pay for their health
plan? Have you changed the deductibles
and out-of-pocket costs in the plan?
What effect do you think that has had on
the mental and financial state of your
employees? The employee that might
have treated their bad back or sore
shoulder through the company health
plan may think twice and claim it is
work-related because they can’t afford
the cost of the treatment. Currently I
have a claim where the worker told the
doctor he could not afford his deductible.
His disability insurance with the compa-
ny is not enough to live on, so he has to
make it a workers’ compensation claim
(too bad for him this occupational spe-
cialist took notes).
Providers like workers’ compensa-
tion cases because they get paid faster,
and at a higher reimbursement level,
than Medicare and other health plans.
They also don’t have to bill the employee
for deductibles and co-pays, and try to
collect it. Not having an HMO looking
over their shoulder when they are order-
ing MRIs and other defensive tests
seems to make their life a bit easier as
well. When the patient tells the doc it’s
work related, why wouldn’t they believe
them? This type of “cost shifting” is
going on more than we think.
Continued on page 8

Finance/Insurance Briefs
Lansing – Byron P. Gallagher, Jr., an
attorney with Gallagher Law Firm, was
re-appointed Ingham County public
administrator by Michigan attorney gen-
eral Bill Schuette and Michigan state
public administrator, Rebecca Mason
Visconti.
Grand Rapids - Echelbarger,
Himebaugh, Tamm & Co. PC has
announced that in-charge accountant,
Margie S. Gerencer has been elected to
serve as a trustee on the Board of
Directors for Kent Medical Foundation.
Grand Rapids - Varnum Consulting
welcomed its new relationship manager,
Kristen L. Ridings. The 17-year, com-
munity-partnership expert last served as
a territory manager in business-to-busi-
ness sales for InHealth Systems &
Services.
Holland - Jeff Timmer joined Macatawa
Bank’s East Beltline branch as a mort-
gage loan officer, while 9-year mortgage
loan officer, Tim McAleece, joined the
Grandville branch.
Grand Rapids - Chambers USA, 2011—
America's Leading Lawyers for
Business—will feature the following
Miller Johnson attorneys as “Leaders in
their Field”: Jeffrey Ammon,
Corporate/M&A; Mary Bauman, Frank
Berrodin, and James Bruinsma,
Employee Benefits & Executive
Compensation; Peter Kok and Jon
March, Labor & Employment; and Jon
Muth, Litigation: General, Commercial.
Grand Rapids - Beene Garter welcomed
new partner Daniel Lynn, who joins the
firm after many years as a partner for
national and regional firms.
Kalamazoo - Phillip B. Slot has joined
the law firm of Kreis, Enderle, Hudgins
& Borsos, P.C. at the Battle Creek office.
Slot specializes in real estate transac-
tions, estate planning, and long-term
care planning.
Grand Rapids – Law students Jessica
Warren and Joshua Garcia have been
chosen as the 2011 recipients of
Varnum's Diversity and Inclusion
Scholarships of $4,000 each.
Grand Rapids - Amicus Management
Inc. has named property-management
specialist, Dom Groenveld, as new proj-
ect manager, and William M. Kaluske,
Sr. -- career banker and independent
financial consultant in western Michigan
-- as Director of Client Development.
Kalamazoo – Miller Canfield principal
Matthew B. Van Dyk has been re-elect-
ed to a one-year term as chair of the
board of directors of the Kalamazoo
County Economic Development
Corporation.
Grand Rapids - Varnum’s litigation and
trial partner, Mark Allard, has been re-
appointed as a member of the Oregon
State Bar House of Delegates for the
third consecutive term.
Holland – Macatawa Bank welcomes
Andrea M. Spagnuolo as assistant vice
president, branch manager, Hudsonville
office and Jeff Martin as commercial
loan workout specialist and part of the
Banks Special Assets Group, Grand
Rapids office.
Ionia - Independent Bank has been rec-
ognized by the Michigan Bankers
Association with the 2011 MBA
Financial Literacy Award, highlighting
the bank’s 2010 financial literacy
efforts.
Kalamazoo - Miller Johnson attorney
Craig H. Lubben has been named pres-
ident of the Kalamazoo Symphony
Orchestra's Board of Directors. He has
served on the board as a community vol-
unteer for nine years.
Detroit - Robin Asher, David Ford, and
Mark Maki have joined the Miller
Canfield law firm’s Intellectual Property
Group, which handles patent, trademark,
copyright, technology transfer and
trade-secret counseling and litigation.
6
Holland - Macatawa Bank has selected
Todd Mulder to Vice President of
Commercial Banking in the Clyde Park
location in Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids – Blackford Capital
announced the acquisition of the largest,
specialized, healthcare finance company
and national purchaser of medical debt -
- Key Health Medical Solutions, Inc.
Holland – Macatawa Bank welcomed
32-year business banking expert, Pat
Meinel, as treasury management repre-
sentative, to serve the Grand Haven
Branch.
Columbus, OH - Huntington will now be
open on Saturdays from 9am – 2pm, in
nearly all branches across its six-state
service area.
Grand Rapids – Mika Meyers Beckett &
Jones PLC welcomes paralegal Kimberly
J. Melendez, to the firm's Business and
Litigation Practice Groups.
Holland - Macatawa Bank welcomes
Jan Cornelius as mortgage loan officer,
Breton Village branch, and Russell
Darter as mortgage loan officer, Byron
Center office.
New Berlin, WI – Regulus Advisors,
LLC. welcomed Brian Kurth, who tran-
sitioned from MML Investors on April
26, 2011.
Detroit – The U.S. Small Business
Administration announced Gerald L.
Moore as the new Michigan district direc-
tor responsible for the delivery of all SBA
programs and services in the state.
Columbus, OH – Huntington
Bancshares, Incorporated has
announced the expansion of its
Michigan auto dealer financing busi-
ness. Brad Norman accepted the posi-
tion of Michigan regional manager for
the auto finance business.
Dallas, TX – Mutual of Omaha Bank
has promoted Christi Wells to central
region sales manager for its Community
Association Banking division.
Detroit – Shore Mortgage announced
the launch of its “Fly SOLO” program
and is currently hiring 100 loan officers
in Michigan and 200 more virtual loan
officers in states across the U.S.

Why You Should Treat Injured Employees Better
By Alex Berman and Jeffrey E.
Kaufman
"If you have a legal problem, guess
how you determine whether or not you
need a lawyer? ... You see a lawyer. Isn't
that weird?" - George Carlin
One may be surprised to learn that
the number of workers' compensation
cases in Michigan have decreased more
than 50 percent over the last 10 years.
This is probably welcome news for most
businesses, since the average rate for a
defense lawyer in a workers' compensa-
tion case is $124 per hour. But are people
getting hurt less, or is something else
happening?
One of the major reasons for the
drop in workers' compensation cases is
the fact that the Michigan economy is
changing; manufacturing jobs are leaving
the state. However, another cause to con-
sider is that employers are realizing that
they can actually save money by treating
their injured employees better.
As workers' compensation lawyers,
we are not the people that employers
Elevated Oil Price the Biggest Challenge to
Recovery...Among Others
Atlanta, GA – The elevated price of
oil is the biggest challenge facing the
nation’s economic recovery, said Rajeev
Dhawan, director of the Economic
Forecasting Center at Georgia State
University’s J. Mack Robinson College of
Business.
In his quarterly Forecast of the
Nation, Dhawan addresses three stages in
which high oil prices impact the economy.
In the first stage, consumers spend less on
discretionary items; in the second, busi-
nesses raise prices, resulting in a drop in
demand; and in the third stage, the Fed
raises interest rates to curb inflation.
That first stage, according to
Dhawan, has been somewhat ameliorated
by the two percent payroll tax cut that
has put about $100 per month in the
pocket of the average American.
“However,” he notes, “that money has
gone to the gas tank and, if gasoline
prices linger above $3.50 per gallon, the
second stage will begin.”
In the second stage, businesses do
raise prices resulting in a drop in
demand. Dhawan says that airline and
other transportation-related industries
have been the first movers in this regard
by passing on higher fuel prices as sur-
want to see when one of their employees
suffers an injury at work. When we show
up, it's because workers' compensation
benefits have been disputed and the case
has gone into litigation. Our job is to
maximize the amount of recovery that
the employee receives from workers'
compensation; this means potentially
larger payouts for medical and wage loss
benefits. Whether a business is self-
insured or has workers' compensation
insurance, this is going to cost business
owners more money in the long run.
Some employers have figured out
that it's cheaper to pay workers' compen-
sation benefits voluntarily rather than
dispute an arguable claim and fight it out
in court. Most of my clients simply want
to recover from their injury and get back
to work. If employees are provided with
prompt medical care and any restrictions
are honored, then litigation can often be
avoided. Employers may also find them-
selves with better company morale and
harder working employees.
The sooner employees return to
work after an injury, the less likely they
charges. For example, he adds, “Delta,
the world’s largest airline, has already
announced capacity cutbacks along with
voluntary and early retirement programs
because they know the demand for air
travel will drop with higher prices.”
Although he thinks a Fed rate
increase—the third stage of the oil price
impact—is a bad idea, Dhawan will not rule
it out if high oil prices ultimately show up
in “core” inflation. Core inflation excludes
certain volatile items such as food and
energy. The forecaster says that if the Fed
becomes aggressive in raising rates in this
stage, then “a recession could be possible.”
He adds, “I hope the Fed learned from the
mistake after the oil shock of 1973 when it
tightened credit excessively in response to
a rise in input prices.”
Dhawan notes that QE3 (a third
phase of the federal government’s quan-
titative easing strategy) is unlikely, but
QE2 did contribute to the recent decline
in the dollar, “which has helped with our
superb export growth.”
Other positive news involves invest-
ment in equipment and software -- a pre-
cursor of private job growth, which has
been strong for the past 18 months.
However, says the Georgia State forecast-
will be to file a workers' compensation
case for extended benefits.
Employers need to understand that
the most important benefit under workers'
compensation is access to medical care.
Employers are required by law to provide
all reasonable and necessary medical treat-
ment for a work-related injury. They are
given sole authority to select the medical
provider during the first 10 days after an
injury. This control should be used wisely
and always for the benefit of the employ-
ees. Employers should file the required
accident report and provide immediate
access to medical care. They should not
ignore workplace injuries or refuse to let
employees see a doctor.
The law also requires that wage loss
benefits be paid if an employee is dis-
abled and cannot do his or her job. To
avoid paying wage loss benefits, employ-
ers should consider offering "reasonable
employment" – work (within the employ-
ee's restrictions) that poses no threat to
health and safety. Reasonable employ-
ment should not be a demeaning job that
involves little more than staring at an
er, this investment rate is slowing. As a
result, says Dhawan, “the job gains pace
will slow in the coming quarters and will
be in the 150,000 range per month for
the next few years.” Dhawan also notes
that the CEO Confidence Index has risen
since the 2010 elections. “However,” he
adds, “it can turn for the worse with the
looming battles in Congress over renewal
of the debt ceiling, fiscal cutbacks and
entitlement reform.”
Other uncertainties, according to
Dhawan, include the status of the
Gadhafi regime in Libya and the ability of
Japan to recover from its earthquake and
nuclear crisis.
Highlights from the Economic
Forecasting Center’s National Report:
• After growing by 2.9% in 2010,
real GDP growth will be 2.2% in 2011,
J J ack S nyder I nc
25 years & over 400 M&A Transactions.
S Specializing in small manufacturing,
distributors and service business.
I 616-889-8974
7
empty parking lot. The employee should
be given the chance to be productive,
despite his or her limitations, and
shouldn’t be fired just because he or she
can't do the previous specific job for a
period of time.
Many of the work comp cases that
we have filed could have been avoided if
the employer had provided access to
medical care and temporary work accom-
modations. There will always be those
who will try to exploit the system for
financial gain and those claims should be
fought. But employers should remember
that work injuries are going to happen,
and taking responsibility under workers'
compensation can be a smart business
decision.
Alex Berman and Jeffrey E. Kaufman
are attorneys with the Law offices of Alex
Berman, P.C. in Farmington Hills,
Michigan. Alex Berman P.C. has been
helping injured workers throughout the
state for more than 35 years. For more
information, visit www.workerscom-
plawyerhelp.com.
rising to a 2.5% in 2012 and 2.8% in
2013.
• For 2011, the CPI inflation rate will
average 2.9%. In 2012, the inflation rate
will be 2.4%, decreasing to 2.0% in 2013.
Meanwhile, the core CPI inflation rate will
average 1.5% in 2011; will rise to 2.1%
in 2012, and will be 2.0% in 2013.
Private fixed investment will grow
6.6% in 2011, expanding by 7.0% in
2012 and 7.5% in 2013.
• In 2011, the job creation rate will
hover around 150,000 jobs per month or
1.8 million jobs for the year. In 2012,
growth will slow to 144,000 jobs per
month and again in 2013 to 125,000 per
month. The unemployment rate will aver-
age 8.9% in 2011, 8.6% in 2012 and
8.1% in 2013.
M
&
A

So Why Have Worker’s Compensation at all?
By Ronald W. Ryan
Depending on the industry, worker’s
compensation insurance can be a signifi-
cant expense. So, why is it mandatory?
What if there was no workers’ compensa-
tion insurance at all? There was a time,
just over 100 years ago, when this was a
reality. As you will discover, employers
and employees are far better off with it,
than without it.
Worker’s Compensation insurance is
a product of the industrial revolution.
Before its existence, there were gross dis-
parities between the amount that an
injured worker recovered and the amount
that employers had to pay for those
injuries. Let’s look at an example.
Anyone growing up in Michigan
knows that during the late 1800s, copper
was heavily mined out of Michigan’s
Upper Peninsula. Workers and their fam-
ilies migrated from Europe to work the
mines. It was a dangerous work environ-
ment; explosions and cave-ins were com-
mon. From 1905 through 1911, the
mines in the United States killed an aver-
age of sixty-one men per year, or more
than one per week. At the end of this
unfortunate run, one out of every ten
2011 Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Grand Rapids - Ross Timyan, owner
of Crystal Clean Auto Detailing, was
awarded the 2011 Young Entrepreneur
of the Year by the Grand Rapids Area
Chamber of Commerce on May 18, at the
Entrepreneurial, Progressive, Innovative
and Collaborative (EPIC) awards ceremo-
ny. The event recognized businesses and
individuals who support the community,
demonstrate growth, are innovative, and
have worked with others as mentors and
collaborators.
Crystal Clean Auto Detailing began
when Ross started selling vehicles on
eBay at age 15, although it was official-
ly established as a company in 2007
when it opened at its first location off
28th Street in a two-stall garage. During
the three and a half years, Crystal Clean
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AWNEY
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men killed in the United States mining
industry, died on the Keweenaw
Peninsula.1 Prior to the advent of work-
er’s compensation insurance in Michigan,
in 1912, an injured miner could sue his
employer for injuries incurred on the job,
but the employer could defend the case
with the defenses of assumption of the
risk, contributory negligence and the fel-
low servant rule.
Pursuant to the assumption of the
risk doctrine, for example, the employer
did not force the miner into the mine, and
the miner understood the dangers associ-
ated with the work. Therefore, the miner
could not sue the mine owner.
On the other hand, explosions and
cave-ins left widows and children with-
out fathers. Savvy attorneys then entered
the scene. Coupled with sympathetic
judges and juries, the widows and chil-
dren began to see significant recoveries.
Recoveries so large, and unpredictable,
employers were negatively affected.
Some miners, or the families that were
left behind, would experience significant
recoveries. Others would get nothing. It
became exceedingly difficult for mine
owners to budget and turn a profit. The
same disparities were experienced
has grown and expanded into a thriving
organization servicing over 30 automo-
tive dealership accounts, as well as thou-
sands of retail customers in the local
Grand Rapids area. They have moved
twice since opening; the latest expansion
was roughly one year ago, at 3413
Eastern Ave SE, when they moved into a
40,000 SF former factory that had been
renovated into a detailing warehouse.
Crystal Clean currently employs 40 peo-
ple and had revenue in 2010 of over
$900,000.
The vehicle photography studio was
one of the first of its kind, and repre-
sented a breakthrough with dealer cus-
tomers because it put used cars into a
studio-like environment, versus the
crowded and sometimes weather-affect-
throughout all industries, especially
those involving heavy manual labor or
extremely dangerous activities.
The answer, of course, was the
advent of mandatory workmen’s com-
pensation insurance. (It was not until
1969 that the legislature changed the title
from “workmen’s” to “worker’s”.) Next
year marks Michigan’s 100th year
anniversary of mandatory worker’s com-
pensation insurance. The law is really a
tradeoff between the rights and duties of
the employer and employee. No longer
can the employer defend on the basis that
the injury was due to the employee’s own
negligence, or by a co-worker, or by an
assumption of the risk. In exchange
thereof, the employee receives weekly
wage loss benefits that equate to his
weekly take-home pay. Further, the
employee is not entitled to pain and suf-
fering damages. All he can recover for his
injury are wage loss, medical and voca-
tional rehabilitation (re-training) bene-
fits. For amputations, employers are to
pay a specific number of weeks for the
limb that is lost. The most that a fully
dependent widow(er) may recover is 500
weeks of wage-loss benefits.
In 2010, 24,097 Michigan workers
ed setting of a car lot, where such photos
often are normally taken. “It’s very con-
venient for the dealership customers
because before the car gets back on the
lot, the photos of it are already online,”
said Timyan.
Their innovative “Airport Valet
Service” has given customers a conven-
ient option to have their vehicle detailed
Workers' Compensation
Continued from page 5
We all know these days that we are
using prescription drugs to treat the ill-
ness almost more than treating the
symptoms. Managing RX costs on work-
ers’ compensation claims is a business in
itself and the cost of prescriptions is ris-
ing faster than general care. It is really
hard to take an injured worker off pain
killers when they are free! And not to be
too cynical, but maybe you have heard
that re-selling prescription drugs is
rather lucrative…just saying.
So what can you do?
Make sure you, your insurance
8
were injured on the job and experienced
loss time of 7 days or more. In the year
2000, that number was 54,207. Last
year, the average litigated case settled for
$65,868.14. Michigan is presently served
by 17 Worker’s Compensation
Magistrates.2 Clearly the employment
environment is more predictable and rea-
sonable with it, than without it.
KEWEENAW NATIONAL HISTORI-
CAL PARK, Historic Resource Study by
Larry Lankton, Department of Social
Sciences, Michigan Technological
University, For the National Park Service,
United States Department of the Interior,
2005
2010 ANNUAL REPORT, Michigan
Workers Compensation Agency.
Ronald W. Ryan is an attorney at
Lewis, Reed & Allen P.C and practices in
the areas of civil and commercial litiga-
tion, workers' compensation, social secu-
rity disability, insurance law, insurance
defense, and disabilities law. He is also a
member of the Workers Compensation
Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.
He can be reached at (269) 388-7600.
while they are away on a trip. With no
parking fees, “sometimes the savings in
parking costs can cover a big chunk of
the detailing cost. This unique service
gives us a competitive advantage over
our competition and has lifted the repu-
tation and awareness of our detailing
services to the general public.”
company and your agent are all pro-
actively managing workers’ compensa-
tion claims – even the small ones.
Use occupational specialists instead
of the worker’s family doctor.
Investigate each claim to make cer-
tain it’s work-related.
Return the employee back to work
as quickly as possible.
Hold the workers’ compensation
claims adjuster accountable to do all they
can to stay on top of the claim.
Russ Manz is a principal at
Pinnacle Insurance Partners LLC. He can
be reached at russm@pipgrmi.com.

Greening Your Mail Can Keep You in the Black
By Greg Brown
A recent Aperture Research Institute
study reported upwards of 70 percent of
organizations have adopted a green ini-
tiative of some kind. While those compa-
nies should be lauded for their efforts at
environmental stewardship, bad days on
Wall Street, and for the economy, have
seen some companies abandon or scale
back their green initiatives as they tight-
ened their belts. Now is the time to take a
realistic look at your company’s green
initiatives and ask whether or not the
practices undertaken are “evergreen” –
promoting not only environmental sus-
tainability, but also sound business prac-
tices and solid return on investment so as
to be sustainable in good economic con-
ditions, as well as bad.
For instance, over six million trees
and more than 300 million pounds of
paper are wasted each year on undeliver-
able-as-addressed Standard class mail,
as reported by UAA Clearinghouse. It
costs the Post Office over 2 billion dollars
annually to process this true “junk mail.”
And the cost to mailers is even more dra-
matic – undeliverable mail costs direct
mailers over $6 billion dollars a year.
So, is Postmaster General Jack
Potter’s call to reduce UAA mail by 50
percent, by 2010, a green initiative
designed to decrease global warming and
unnecessary environmental waste?
Absolutely. But it’s also a common sense
business initiative that will save both the
USPS® and mailers a tremendous
amount of money – money better spent
on job creation, product development,
Communication & IT
and effective marketing.
Here are 5 tips you can easily imple-
ment to save money as you green your
mailings to reduce waste, while improv-
ing deliverability, effectiveness and
response, to ensure you stay in the black,
even as the economy sees red:
1) Correct your mailings. With the
postage and cost increases, bad address-
es have become more costly than ever. As
such, it is important for companies to cor-
rect and standardize addresses before
they enter a database or CRM to help
ensure they don’t waste money later on
sending mail to incorrect and undeliver-
able addresses. Thankfully, cleaning up
addresses is easy these days. Mail prepa-
ration software is available that will
reduce errors due to missing or incorrect
directionals, incorrect street names, miss-
ing or incorrect suffixes, incorrect ZIP®
codes, and more. Also, make sure that
the mailing software you purchase is
CASS Certified.
2) Update your mailings.
Customers are a constantly moving tar-
get. An estimated 43 million Americans
pick up and move every year. That means
up to 20 percent of the people or compa-
nies in any database could have a new
address. The USPS provides postal dis-
counts for mailers that meet Move Update
standards by keeping their lists up-to-
date with current addresses. Authorized
methods to meet Move Update standards
include NCOALink® processing,
FASTforward® processing (letter mail
only) and Address Change of Service
(ACS™).
3) Dedupe your mailings. While
receiving duplicate mailings annoys
recipients, the problems it causes sending
organizations are even more signifi-
cant—especially considering the average
customer database contains 10 percent
duplicate records. One way to tackle
duplicate records is to provide customer
incentives, such as a discount on their
next purchase, for notifying the company
of duplicate mailings they have received.
In addition, there are easy-to-use
merge/purge software programs avail-
able, as well as data hygiene services,
which can quickly dedupe your mailing
list – or multiple lists.
4) TransPromo your mailings. With
the rising cost of postage and production,
many companies are beginning to com-
bine promotional materials with must-
send/must-read documents like bills,
statements and invoices. Marketing
departments nationwide are starting to
claim the unused “white space” on these
documents for self-promotion, trans-
forming communications into ongoing
customer dialogues. Use of transpromo-
tional documents is not just about
increasing sales of a product or service, it
can be used to spread information and
help customers understand an offering or
new product feature. It can also be used
9
to generate cross-sell/up-sell opportuni-
ties or adopt a trail period of usage (e.g.
a no obligation 14-day trial period).
5) Downsize your mailings. Many
financial institutions that used to send
statements and performance reports in 9”
x 12” envelopes are now folding these
documents in half and using a 6” x 9”
envelope, which classifies the piece as a
letter instead of a flat. Under the new
pricing structure, this change can reduce
postage costs by up to $0.41 per piece, a
50 percent savings. Some mailers have
begun switching from flat-shaped cata-
logs to slim jims to put themselves in the
less-expensive letter category. Fulfillment
companies and media distributors that
mail DVDs, books, and similar items can
reap savings by changing from padded
mailers -- classified as parcels, because
they require hand processing by the
USPS -- to plastic or paperboard
envelopes that qualify as flats.
Greg Brown is Director of Marketing
for Melissa Data, a quality-focused firm
that provides powerful yet affordable
data quality and address management
solutions to customers in a wide range of
industries.

Jobless Rates Down

Lansing - Seasonally unadjusted
unemployment rates fell in all of
Michigan’s 17 major labor market areas
in April, according to the Michigan
Department of Technology, Management
& Budget. Total employment levels
advanced moderately in the majority of
regions over the month, while labor force
levels declined in all areas.
Between April 2010 and April 2011,
unemployment rates fell in all of the
state’s 17 regions, with declines ranging
from 1.9 to 3.9 percentage points; the
largest, jobless rate drops over this peri-
od occurred in the Muskegon-Norton
Shores, Jackson, Holland-Grand Haven,
and Flint Metropolitan Statistical Areas
(MSAs). Over the year, labor force levels
declined in 12 regions and advanced in
five; in April 2011 alone, the levels
declined in 17 regions by an average of
nearly 1.0 percent.
From April 2010 to April 2011, sea-
sonally unadjusted payroll jobs increased
statewide by 57,000, or 1.5 percent.
Professional and business services
(+32,000), manufacturing (+24,000),
and education and health services
(+17,000) led the over-the-year job
advances, while government (-18,000)
and leisure and hospitality services (-
8,000) recorded the only job losses since
April 2010.
Over the year, overall job gains were
registered in ten of Michigan’s 14 metro-
politan regions.

Communications & IT
Fort Wayne, IN - Boyden & Youngblutt
Advertising and Marketing (B&Y)
won best-of-show print in the local
ADDY® Awards competition for their,
"To Some This is a Blanket" B&Y
Christmas card.
Southfield – Secure-24 Inc., an SAP
hosting partner and SAP-certified
provider of cloud services, announced
the addition of Ellen Baldwin as west-
ern regional sales director.
Okemos - Integrated Strategies has
been awarded the annual 2010 Lansing
Regional Chamber of Commerce
Outstanding Small Business Award --
presented to a local small business,
which has demonstrated stability, inno-
vation, and commitment to community
and diversity.
Grand Rapids – Professional
Marketing’s 30-year industry veteran
and former owner, Diane Carnevale
Jones, has sold the firm to longtime
employees and new firm partners,
Jillian Lambert and Gwen Vryhof.
Communication & IT
Grand Rapids - WESCO Net, a leading
network solutions integrator and divi-
sion of CU*Answers, has partnered
with Cisco WebEx to deliver a new
secure Support Center service to their
client base. The platform provides a
broader feature-set for improved remote
support capabilities along with robust
session security, auditing, and report-
ing. WESCO Net has also expanded its
data storage offerings in partnership
with Dell Compellent storage area net-
works (SAN), which feature a single-
model architecture designed to scale
from 6 to 1,008 disks in a single foot-
print and support iSCSI, Fibre Channel,
and NAS connectivity with an intermix
of Fibre Channel, SAS, and SSD drives.
Lastly, WESCO Net has launched a com-
prehensive Security Education series,
which covers topics such as computer
security awareness, social engineering
awareness and avoidance, using net-
work tools security, and business conti-
nuity planning.
Grand Rapids - WZZM 13 took home
seven Emmy Awards at the 33rd
Annual Michigan Chapter of National
Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences. Andy Sugden, chief photo-
journalist, three Emmys and a third
award; Sara Sell, general assignment
reporter, two Emmys; Peter Ross, veter-
an newsman, one Emmy; Jon Mills,
Lakeshore multi-media journalist, one
Emmy.
Grand Rapids - GR Marketing Match
ceased operations on May 18, after part-
nering with online, work-portfolio serv-
ice Parnunu, in an effort to provide job-
seeker subscribers with a better plat-
form for connecting with potential
employers.
10
Okemos - Integrated Strategies has
been recognized as one of the 2011
“Michigan 50 Companies to Watch.”
Madison, WI - TDS
Telecommunications Corp. has
announced two high-profile executive
leadership changes. William Megan,
executive vice president of finance and
chief financial officer for TDS
Telecommunications Corp., has been
named to lead TDS’ Hosted and
Managed Services (HMS) operation as
president of HMS Operations, LLC. Vicki
Villacrez, who currently serves as
assistant treasurer for Telephone and
Data Systems, Inc., will become TDS
Telecommunications Corp.’s vice presi-
dent of Finance and CFO on an interim
basis.

Take Precautions When

Using ATMs
Ionia – There are more than
400,000 ATMs in the United States and
that number is growing rapidly.
Independent Bank has 113 ATMs across
the state and is dedicated to keeping its
customers safe at those locations.
“We believe that even one incident
of ATM crime is too many,” said Sandy
Dine, deposit operations manager.
“Customer safety is our top priority
when it comes to ATM use.”
In addition, the bank has taken pre-
ventative measures to enhance con-
sumer safety, including installation of
surveillance cameras, increased lighting
and withdrawal limits.
Independent Bank takes a number
of precautions to ensure that its cus-
tomers have a safe environment, but
there is no substitute for good, cautious
behavior on the part of the customer.
Independent Bank recommends
that customers follow these safety tips
when using any ATM:
• Keep your PIN number a secret.
Never write it down or share it with any-
one – not even family members.
• Be aware of your surroundings,
particularly at night. Make sure the ATM
is free of sight-obstructions. If you
observe suspicious persons or circum-
stances, do not use the machine.
• Bring someone with you when
using an ATM at night. If you can’t, use
an ATM that is located in a public area,
like a convenience or grocery store.
• Have your ATM card ready and in
your hand as you approach the ATM.
• Use your body to “shield” the
ATM keyboard as you enter your PIN.
• Always take your receipts or
transaction records with you.
• Do not count or visually display
any money you received from the ATM.
Immediately put your money into your
pocket or purse and count it later.
• If you are using a drive-up ATM,
be sure passenger windows are rolled up
and all doors are locked. If you leave
your car and walk to the ATM, lock your
car.

Nutritional Labeling Work to Help Grow
Michigan’s Food Processing Industry
East Lansing – Robin Green knows
that nutrition labels are not legally
required for a business her size. But as
the brain power behind Midge’s
Muffins, she is smart enough to realize
that if she wants to play in the big
leagues, she has to look like she
belongs there. And that means having
clear, concise and accurate nutrition
labels on her packaging.
“We are still a relatively small com-
pany,” Green says about her business
selling gluten-, egg- and dairy-free
muffins that are edging their way into
retailers’ markets throughout West
Michigan. The FDA doesn’t require
nutrition labeling until a company’s
sales reach an excess of $500,000.
“But,” explains Green, “customers
want to know what they are eating.
Anything you sell has to have a nutri-
tion label to be taken seriously.”
Cue Janice Harte, an associate pro-
fessor in the Department of Food
Science and Human Nutrition at
Michigan State University. Harte con-
siders nutrition labeling serious busi-
ness.
“There is a big trend toward spe-
cialty local foods, and small businesses
can help fill that niche,” Harte says.
“People like food with a story – a farm
family who raises dairy cows may now
create artisan cheeses. We can help
them take their idea to the next level.”
Nutrition labels are only one part of
a successful business, and Dianne
Novak says it’s an important part.
Novak, a registered dietician, is an
innovations counselor for the Michigan
State University (MSU) Product Center.
She says nutrition labels are imperative
for small businesses who want to get
their foot in the door with large retail-
ers.
“Consumers are becoming more
aware of nutrition and how the things
they eat affect their health and how
they feel,” Novak says. “Our clients
interpret this as a good marketing
approach because consumers want it
and retailers expect it. It’s hard to get a
retailer to carry your product if your
product doesn’t look as professional as
the other products on the shelves.”
Though other food labs in
Michigan do regular nutritional analysis
for businesses, their fees can throw
small businesses out of the game.
“Analytical laboratories charge
about $600, just for the nutrition analy-
sis,” Harte says. “And then you still
have to generate appropriate labels.”
Harte and her team of undergradu-
ate students generate labels using nutri-
tional labeling software with extensive
databases that are approved by the Food
and Drug Administration for label gener-
ation. Costs for the first product are $100
and $75 for subsequent products from
the same company. Novak works closely
with clients guiding them through deci-
sions and the requirements for the label-
ing issues with an initial one-hour con-
sultation fee. And business is booming.
“Four years ago we did maybe 15
labels,” Harte says. “Right now we have
more than 70 in the queue.”
She credits the upswing to a poor
economy that is encouraging people to
look for new business opportunities.
But Becca Watts thinks Harte is being
modest. The MSU food science senior
conducts much of the day-to-day nutri-
tion labeling work in Harte’s lab. She
says much of their business comes from
referrals and repeat customers.
“People are happy with our service
11
and are being successful with their prod-
ucts,” she says. “That makes me feel
good and tells me that we’re doing a
good job.”
Harte, who also heads up the food
sensory and product development work
at MSU and has taught more than a
dozen food science and dietetics classes
at MSU since the 1980s, says this and
other entrepreneurial-focused work
wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the
investment Project GREEEN
(Generating Research and Extension to
meet Economic and Environmental
Needs) makes in the Department of
Food Science and Human Nutrition.
“They fund a majority of my salary
and helped provide the software neces-
sary to do accurate nutritional labels,”
she says. “Without their investment,
my students and I wouldn’t be able to
help food entrepreneurs.”

Rich DeVos Announces

Challenge Grant
Grand Rapids - Rich and Helen
DeVos, honorary general chairpersons
for the Shaping Our Future comprehen-
sive campaign, announced a challenge
grant at today’s groundbreaking ceremo-
ny for Grand Valley State University’s L.
William Seidman Center.
The DeVoses, who provided the lead
gift for the L. William Seidman Center
campaign, have established a dollar-for-
dollar match for all new and additional
gifts made to the Seidman Center from
now until June 30, 2011. Nearly $23 mil-
lion of the $25 million in private funds
needed for the Seidman Center has been
raised. The total cost of the project is $40
million.
The Seidman Center, to be built at
38 Front Ave. in downtown Grand
Rapids, is scheduled to be completed in
spring 2013, with classes scheduled to
begin in fall 2013.
• The four-story center will be
110,000 square feet
• A multi-purpose room with capac-
ity for more than 200 people will house
lectures and other events for the college
• A state-of-the-art trading room
will accommodate 42 students and simu-
late an actual trading room environment
for students to learn about investment
and portfolio analyses
• Student collaboration and study
spaces include rooms that can be
reserved utilizing web-based technology
for group work
• The college’s many outreach pro-
grams will be located on the first floor of
the building for easier access by local
businesses.

Education Briefs
Kenosha, WI - Rosebud Institute, at
Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, will
host “Media and the Moving Image.”
The introductory program will be offered
June 20-24 and July 5-9.
Battle Creek – The Aspen Institute
College Excellence Program has
ranked Kellogg Community College as
one of the nation’s 120 best community
colleges, challenging it to compete
against the other 119 colleges for $1
million in prize funds (to be apportioned
this December).
Kalamazoo - Two students from
Western Michigan University,
Christopher Mulcahy (Livonia) and
Cameron Tew (Rochester), each
received a Richter Scholarship awarded
by the Richter Foundation and the
Institute for Supply Management's
Richter Scholarship Fund prize that
includes: tuition assistance of up to
$5,000; a dual mentorship with an
established executive and the former
Richter Scholar; and other benefits.
Review of
Learning from Catastrophes
By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,
getAbstract
In terms of insurance payouts, two-
thirds of the 25 most expensive disasters
in the last 40 years have taken place since
Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids
Community College has named NJCAA
Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Wells as
its new athletic director. GRCC’s long-
time AD, Doug Wabeke, decided to step
down from the position to pursue out-
side interests, which may relate to base-
ball administrating or coaching.
Big Rapids - Danielle Balmer will become
the new president of Ferris State
University’s Student Government organi-
zation in the fall of 2011. Balmer served
as the Student Government’s vice presi-
dent during the 2010-11 academic year.
Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids
Community College is $750,000 closer
to reaching their $15 million capital
campaign goal thanks to the Frey
Foundation. The Frey contribution will
go to the "GRCC Works...Ask Anyone"
Capital Campaign -- an integral part of
the $34 million expansion and renova-
tion efforts that will target renovations
to the Main Building, to the Peter & Pat
Cook Academic Hall, and to the arena
within the Gerald R. Ford Field House.
2001. As the global climate changes and
more people move to overbuilt and hence
more vulnerable cities, the pace of cata-
clysmic “extreme events” is liable to
increase. From the costs related to
Iceland’s volcano to the impact of the cat-
astrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, far
too many organizations already face
extreme problems. Authors and editors
Howard Kunreuther and Michael Useem,
both Wharton School professors, join 20
other experts to examine risk assessment
and management. Although their book is
made up of scholarly essays, getAbstract
finds it pertinent and useful. Leaders can
apply the directives in this intelligent,
informative, thought-provoking volume to
develop strategic planning for major catas-
trophes.
Howard Kunreuther and Michael
Useem. Learning from Catastrophes:
Strategies for Reaction and Response.
Wharton School Publishing, 2009. 352
pages. List Price: $37.99. ISBN-13: 978-
0137044856.
getAbstract is the leading provider of
business book summaries, with more than
6,000 titles covered.
www.getabstract.com
Michigan - U.S. Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan has announced that
Michigan will receive $20 million to help
lower-achieving schools through the
School Improvement Grants (SIG) pro-
gram. The funds are part of $546 million
available to states for the School
Improvement Grant program in fiscal
year 2010.
Grand Rapids - Andrew Monroe, a
2001 graduate of Traverse City Central
High School, is the recipient of Grand
Rapids Community College*s Arthur
Andrews Cup, an award given annually
to the student with the highest grade
point average and highest number of
honor points of his/her class.
Grand Rapids – A sub-committee of
Grand Rapids Community College’s
Academic Governing Council has grant-
ed sabbaticals for the 2011-12 academic
year to three faculty members: Katrina
Kalisz, English Department; Laurie
Arnswald, Nursing; and Kay Ramer,
Nursing.
Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids
Community College has tapped Lisa
Freiburger, current Deputy
Superintendent of Finance
Operation for Grand Rapids Public
and
Schools, as their new vice president of
Finance and Administration. She will
begin her new position on July 1, 2011.
Kalamazoo - Peter Strazdas, Western
Michigan University's associate vice
president of facilities management, has
been elected to serve a 3-year term as
secretary-treasurer for the Association
of Higher Education Facility Officers—an
international organization which repre-
sents educational facilities.
Battle Creek - Emily Horsman—Kellogg
Community College Academic Advisor
and 20-year member of the National
Associate for Search and Rescue—will
undergo training in Maryland, then trav-
el with other volunteers to a disaster-
area to help people in need.
Battle Creek - Five Kellogg Community
College employees were presented with
Starfish Awards. The 2011 winners were
professors: Kimberly Barnes-
Kalkowski; Dr. Ray DeBrueler; John
Hoye; Dr. Gene McKay, and
Publications Coordinator, Penny Rose.
12
Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids
Community College has named
Marilyn Smidt as Emeritus
Faculty/Administrator for 2011. The
award honors a retiree for their out-
standing work while at the college.
Grand Rapids - Juan Olivarez, Ph.D has
accepted the position as president of
Aquinas College. He succeeds C.
Edward Balog, Ph.D, who will retire in
June. Dr. Olivarez had served for nine
years as the president of Grand Rapids
Community College.
Grand Rapids - The University Club of
Grand Rapids has granted scholarships
to three West Michigan high school stu-
dents: Corinthious Bowen, Brenda
Garcia, and Jaedah Pickens. The schol-
arships are designed to encourage the
recipients to remain in West MI, or to
return after college, in order to con-
tribute their talents locally.
Boyne City – The team from Secchia
Institute for Culinary Education at
Grand Rapids Community College was
named winner of the 2011 Chefs
Challenge during an “Iron Chef” inspired
competition that was held at Boyne
Mountain Resort on April 30.
Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids
Community College has named
Thomas John Carnegie - the former
Grand Rapids Catholic Central and
Albion College basketball standout - as
its next men’s basketball coach, effective
July 1.
Big Rapids - For the eighth consecutive
year, summer enrollment has risen at
Ferris State University, with 6,245
summer-enrolled students -- up 220
from summer 2010.
Big Rapids – This spring, Ferris State
University’s Information Security and
Intelligence (ISI) program officially
earned certification as a Center of
Academic Excellence in Information
Assurance; the ISI courseware was certi-
fied by the National Information
Assurance Education and Training
Program of the National Security
Agency after meeting the six national
standards established by the Committee
on National Security Systems.

Electronic Health Record Technology
Yields Greater Patient Safety
Muskegon - In late February, under
the Genesis initiative, Mercy Health
Partners (MHP) officially switched to a
single electronic record. According to
Greg Loomis -- MHP chief operating offi-
cer and leader of the implementation
process for Genesis -- the transition posi-
tions MHP as a leader in Electronic
Health Record (EHR) technology. Loomis
adds, "Having all of MHP's clinical,
financial and administrative data togeth-
er is going to be better for our patients
and our providers."
28 of the 41 Trinity Health (MHP's
parent organization) hospitals nation-
wide have gone “live.” Says Colleen
Flynn, director of clinical informatics:
“The first Trinity site that went “live”
with Genesis was Port Huron in May
2002, followed by the Mercy and
Muskegon General campuses in July
2004. We hope to have the remaining
hospitals utilizing some portion of the
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) by
Trinity’s fiscal year 15.”
On March 1, Trinity Health reported
that the implementation of EHR systems
at their hospitals resulted in the follow-
ing improved outcomes:
• Emergent medications – adminis-
tered 40% faster
• Potential adverse drug events
avoided - 14,000
• Pressure ulcers - reduced 45%
• Patient falls with injury - reduced
31%
Dubbed Genesis, the EHR initiative
includes implementing medication admin-
istration scanning, Computerized
Physician Order Entry, and an Adverse
Drug Event alert system, in an attempt to
minimize order-entry errors; minimize
Online Patient Portal for
Physician Practices
Brecksville, Ohio - MedData, a lead-
ing provider of medical billing services,
introduced its new online patient portal
on April 29, 2011.
The patient portal provides
MedData’s clients and their patients
(which includes over 2,000 physicians
and 5,000,000 patients) online access to
the information used in generating
patients’ medical statements. Upon regis-
tering, the patients can view statements,
insurance information, demographic
details and billing history as it relates to
13
adverse drug-related risks through con- tively small percentage of hospitals uti- “for some of the other systems and inde-
flict-detection processes; and allow for lizing the EHR technology to the level pendent physician practices to catch up.
faster patient-information exchange that we are,” says Flynn. So naturally, The transition is going to take several
between the various medical departments. after the implementation and effective years, but then again – look how quickly
"Another benefit [of EHR technology] use of the technology, comes the waiting technology makes things move!”
is the EMR, the online version of a patient
chart," says Remington Sprague, M.D. and
chief medical officer. "It displays active
orders, allergies, demographics, and docu-
mented problems. Other screens in the
EMR are integrated with the patient's clin-
ical file and provide real-time notification
of new information, orders, consult
requests, and test results. The EMR is not
only available in the hospital, but physi-
cians will be able to access their patients'
results securely at home or office.”
Touching on security issues, Flynn
assures: “Trinity, obviously being one of
the largest healthcare systems in the U.S.,
takes very seriously the whole safety and
security of the system and of the protected
health information. There is a rigorous
technical infrastructure in place; continu-
ous system audits which look at the data-
base for vulnerable, potential, intrusion
spots; continuous traffic-monitoring; and
a rigorous process regarding new-user
access, and the appropriateness of access
as it relates to specific job duties.”
The next step beyond the implemen-
tation of the EMR systems revolves
around the phrase, “Meaningful Use.”
Flynn says: “The facilities with imple-
mented EMR systems are now being
asked: Are the systems delivering on
what was anticipated to be improvements
in the quality of care for the patient; in
other words, are the EMR systems being
used to their full potential and in a mean-
ingful way?
“We are very fortunate to be a rela-
their medical visits.
Additionally, through the portal,
patients can update their demographic
and insurance information as well as pay
any open invoices -- ultimately stream-
lining the reimbursement timeframe.
MedData’s online service also features a
live chat program that allows for real-
time communication between client
patients and MedData’s Patient Services
team.
The secure site can be accessed at
https://serviceportal.meddata.com.

Health Care Briefs
Holland - Society of Hospital Medicine
has announced that Bart D. Sak, MD of
Holland has earned the Fellow in
Hospital Medicine designation. Dr. Sak
practices at Holland Hospital, as part of
Lakeshore Health Partners - Adult
Hospitalists.
Grand Rapids – Initially made possible
by a nearly $25,000 grant from Ronald
McDonald House Charities of Outstate
Michigan, and utilized by the Gerber
Foundation Neonatal Center at Helen
DeVos Children’s Hospital, the program
My Baby View employs six software and
video monitor systems to facilitate rela-
tionships between parents and new-
borns who are separated by distance.
Essentially, a parent calls the Neonatal
Center and receives an emailed user-
name, password and website link from
his/her baby’s nurse. A monitor is then
positioned in front of the infant -- con-
necting parent with child, once appropri-
ate web access has been granted.
Grand Rapids – Spectrum Health is
expanding the number of Spectrum
Health Medical Group physicians located
at its West Pavilion facility on Wilson
Ave SW: J. Todd Bolthouse, MD –
Urology; Brian Buchanan, DPM – Foot
and Ankle; Anthony Foster, MD –
General Surgery; John Harris, DPM –
Foot and Ankle; Francis Hart, MD –
Otolaryngology; Nancy Bender
Hausman, MD – Sleep Medicine; Don
Kim, MD – Colorectal Surgery; Jeffry
Knibbe, MD – Internal Medicine; Robert
Kobiela, MD – Internal Medicine; Kurt
Koepnick, MD – Internal Medicine; Lee
Marmion, MD – Sleep Medicine;
Kenneth Minks, MD – General Surgery;
Keith Postma, MD – Otolaryngology;
Thomas Rupp, MD – Gastroenterology;
James Samuelson, MD – Internal
Medicine; Heather Slay, MD – Colorectal
Surgery; Jason Squires, DO –
Orthopaedics; Eric Weinman, MD –
Otolaryngology; Sue West, MD –
Obstetrics and Gynecology; Robert
Wolyn, MD - Cardiology.
Quality Office Furniture,
at a price you can afford!
Grand Rapids – The Metro Health
Hospital Foundation has approved more
than $75,000 in grants to support pro-
grams and services provided by the
Hospital. Eight grants ranging from
$2,500 to $25,000 will support a wide
variety of initiatives, including new
equipment purchases, research and con-
tinuing-education programs and a new
community-wide health-screening event
to raise awareness of high-risk health
conditions. The 2011 spring grants
include: the purchase of three laptops and
projectors that will be used by diabetic
educators working with patients off site;
a free health-screening community event
to raise awareness of high-risk condi-
tions; and an electrical stimulation unit
for physical therapy services offered at
Metro Health Hudsonville.
Wyoming – Board-certified Dr. Paul
Brown has joined Metro Health
Hospital as an ophthalmologist. After
May 16, Brown will be practicing at
Metro Health Village.
Pinckney - Joshua Tree Skin Care
recently named Bryan Pappas its
national sales manager. Pappas has
nearly two decades of sales leadership
experience and will focus on national
grocery and retail department store
chains, as well as national outdoor
retailers.
Holland - Holland Hospital welcomes
certified adult nurse practitioner, Anne
M. McKay to the lakeshore area. McKay
will offer consultation and patient man-
agement services for Holland Hospital’s
osteoporosis and bone health program.
Grand Rapids - The Spectrum Health
Frederik Meijer Heart & Vascular
Institute (HVI) announced that it has
received advanced certification for ven-
tricular assist devices (VADs) from the
Joint Commission -- the national quality
organization that accredits hospitals in
the U.S. Surgically implanted VADs help
the heart pump blood from the left ven-
Bill Feyen
616-554-0200
billfeyen@exceloffice.com
tricle to the rest of the body. The certifi-
cation allows HVI physicians to use
VADs in two ways: as a “bridge” to
assist the circulation of a patient await-
ing a heart transplant, or as a “destina-
tion” device to improve the circulation
and quality of life for a patient who
doesn’t meet the criteria for a heart
transplant.
Ann Arbor - Nancy Jennings has been
named CEO of the Women's Caring
Program. She most recently served as
development director of NEW (Nonprofit
Enterprise at Work) in Ann Arbor.
Chicago – The Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ) reported
a 35 percent decrease in central line-asso-
ciated bloodstream infections among
adult ICUs from over 350 hospitals that
participate in the national On the CUSP:
Stop BSI project—an AHRQ-funded initia-
tive which aims to prevent healthcare-
associated infections and which is slotted
to continue to 2012.
Wyoming - Metro Health Hospital has
received one of the top awards from 101
Best & Brightest Companies to Work For;
this is the first year it has applied for the
recognition program.
Racial and Ethnic
Healthcare Disparities
Grand Rapids - According to 2010
Census Data, Kent County experienced a
45% increase in their Hispanic/Latino
population in the years between 2000
and 2010; Ottawa County saw a 36%
increase. To help address the medical
needs of a rising West Michigan minori-
ty population, Saint Mary’s Health Care
has been selected to participate in the
year-long Disparities Leadership
Program, which aims to tackle racial and
ethnic disparities in healthcare.
The first program of its kind in the
nation, the Disparities Leadership
Program is designed for leaders from
hospitals, health insurance plans, and
other healthcare organizations. Led by
the Disparities Solutions Center at
Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston, Massachusetts, the goal of the
Disparities Leadership Program is to cre-
ate a cadre of healthcare leaders who
have:
14
Detroit - The Michigan Health &
Hospital Association (MHA)
announced this year’s winners of its
MHA Keystone Center for Patient Safety
& Quality Leadership Award during the
2011 MHA Patient Safety and Quality
Symposium. The 2011 award was pre-
sented to Sara Atwell, chief quality and
safety officer - Oakwood Healthcare
Inc., Dearborn; Susan Hawkins, senior
vice president of performance manage-
ment - Henry Ford Health System,
Detroit; and Beth Smith, director,
Quality Resource Management -
Allegiance Health, Jackson.
Detroit - The Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Michigan Board of Directors has re-
elected Gladstone’s Gregory Sudderth
to his tenth year as board chairman; re-
elected Spencer Johnson of Okemos to
his fourth year as board vice chairman;
and appointed Joseph Ashton and Bob
King to board seats.
Grand Rapids - Metro Health Hospital
has named Carol Jones its 2011 Nurse
Exemplar. The award is given annually
to recognize a registered nurse involved
in direct patient care.
• In-depth knowledge of the
research, and causes, of healthcare dis-
parities
• Skills and cutting-edge, quality
improvement strategies to address dis-
parities
• Leadership skills to implement
solutions in order to transform individual
organizations
“Participating in the Disparities
Leadership Program,” said John Collins,
MD and vice president of Clinical Quality,
“will assist Saint Mary's Health Care
and its partnering physicians with
understanding the needs of the popula-
tions we serve. Together with physicians,
we hope to improve the health status of
racial and ethnic groups of people living
in the Grand Rapids area by offering
and providing services that are equitable
and consistent with the highest stan-
dards of quality care.”

When Caring For an Aging Parent,
Family Conflict Often Occurs
Grand Rapids – As the population
becomes increasingly elderly, family
communication about care options and
other lifestyle changes are critical. To
ensure that deliberate—not emer-
gency—decisions are made reflecting the
well-being of the parent, families must
confront sometimes difficult discussions
as early as possible.
These discussions can range from
deciding how to keep an impaired parent
from driving, to choosing between in-
home care and nursing institutions.
However, denial, fear, and sibling rival-
ry can throw cold water on a rational
planning process.
60% of families experience conflict
when trying to make decisions about the
care of an aging parent (Journal of
Palliative Medicine.) One survey found
that families are more willing to talk
about safe sex and drugs with their kids
than to discuss long-term care planning
with their parents (National Hospice &
Palliative Care Organization.) Stressful
disagreement, both with parents as well
as siblings, is common. Unsuccessful
attempts to agreeably plan for care
needs can have a negative impact on the
parent, as well as on relationships
between family members.
Research shows that most family
members wait too long to have impor-
tant discussions with aging adults and
are often unsure how to go about hold-
ing such a discussion.
Homewatch CareGivers has created
“Let’s Talk: A Guide to Navigating
Difficult Discussions about Helping your
Loved One Age Comfortably.” This
handy 20-page resource is free and pro-
vides:
• Coping tips for families struggling
to help an aging loved one
• Signs to recognize that it’s time to
talk about your loved ones’ wants as
they age
• Important considerations of
things to discuss, and how to broach
sensitive subjects
• Tips to organize family efforts to
assist an aging loved one at home
“Providing educational resources
for our clients and for all family care-
givers is an integral part of our mis-
sion,” said Jeff Swain, President of
Homewatch CareGivers of West
Michigan. “To this end, the Homewatch
International team has researched and
assembled this useful guide to help fam-
ilies navigate the emotional issues faced
with aging loved ones. It offers tips on
how to have ‘the conversation’ about the
type of help needed and how to organize
the family around a common goal.”
As part of its ongoing effort to help
families by providing information they
need to make informed decisions,
Homewatch CareGivers of West
Michigan has made “Let’s Talk” avail-
able for free.
15
For a free download of this guide,
or others developed by the experts at
Homewatch CareGivers, visit the compa-
ny website at www.homewatchcare-
givers.com/grand-rapids (“Senior Care
Resources” tab). The hardcopy guide
can be obtained by e-mailing
jfswain1@homewatchcaregivers.com or
by calling the Homewatch CareGivers
office (616-975-1980).
Homewatch Caregivers of West
Michigan, located in Cascade Township,
provides in-home assistance and per-
sonal care for older adults and those
who are disabled or rehabilitating. In its
eighth year and with clients throughout
Kent County, Homewatch CareGivers’
team of caregivers seeks to empower
independence for their clients, wherever
they live.

Nutrition Initiative to
Combat Obesity
Lansing - Michigan hospitals have
launched the statewide Healthy Food
Hospital initiative, aimed at combating
the state’s obesity crisis by improving
the nutrition of hospital food.
The program was created by the
Michigan Health & Hospital Association
(MHA), after the success of two previ-
ous MHA-launched health and wellness
initiatives that resulted in 93% of
Michigan’s community hospitals volun-
tarily adopting smoke-free campus poli-
cies, and 89% voluntarily eliminating
foods containing trans fats from their
cafeterias, vending machines, and
patient’s diets.
First introduced at Lansing’s
Sparrow Hospital, more than 53
Michigan hospitals have voluntarily
signed up for the Healthy Food Hospital
program.
The initiative focuses on improving
hospital menus for children and adults
by utilizing a “four-star” approach. The
first two stars are accomplished when
hospitals adopt default menus for pedi-
atric patients, aged 2 to 18, and meet
the American Heart Association guide-
line for serving milk without the recom-
binant bovine growth hormone. The
third and fourth stars are achieved
respectively, when hospitals label food
nutritional content in their cafeterias
and commit to purchasing at least 20%
of Michigan-grown, produced and
processed foods.
The four-star approach was created
by the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center
and the MHA, with the Healthy Food
Work Group guiding the campaign as
well. Special recognition is also given to
those who helped develop the Michigan
Good Food Charter (the central compo-
nent of star four): C.S. Mott Group,
Michigan Food Policy Council, Food
Bank Council of Michigan, and the
many people involved statewide.
Michigan, the 10th most over-
weight state, has a vested interest in
combating childhood obesity; one in
three U.S. children are overweight or
obese. According to the Healthy Kids,
Healthy Michigan initiative, Michigan’s
annual medical costs associated with
obesity total more than $3 billion—
almost a fourth of the annual $14 bil-
lion, U.S. healthcare cost.

Healthcare Initiatives Herald Optimistic Results
Michigan – A group of statewide
collaboratives between Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Michigan and the University of
Michigan Health System has demon-
strated measurable improvements in
patient safety and reduced health care
costs significantly, the partners assert in
a paper published recently in the profes-
sional journal Health Affairs.
Launched in 2006 as a partnership
between Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Michigan and other statewide hospitals,
Health Care Briefs
Grand Rapids - Grand Valley Health
Plan opened a new Family Health
Center at 5445 32nd Ave, in
Hudsonville.
Grand Rapids - The Epilepsy
Foundation has elected Brien J. Smith,
MD, as chair of its board of directors.
Smith is chief of neurology for the
Spectrum Health Medical Group.
Grand Rapids - CompHealth has
increased staff by 13 percent in the past
eight months and expects an additional
10 to 15 percent staff increase by the
end of 2011. Additionally, CompHealth
was named one of West Michigan’s “101
Best and Brightest Companies to Work
For,” for the sixth consecutive year.
Spectrum Offers Expanded
Online Health Services
Grand Rapids - Spectrum Health
patients can now receive greater access
to health information via the online
patient portal, MySpectrum. Users of the
free service, available through
www.spectrumhealth.org, can view
health data after obtaining a personal
identification number (PIN).
MySpectrum originally offered
patients the ability to: View lab results,
e-mail messages to doctors’ offices,
renew prescriptions, request appoint-
ments, pre-register and obtain pricing for
some procedures, pay hospital bills,
track health-related conditions and
access information on specific health
topics.
This year, expanded capabilities will
allow users to: Set up a family account,
access benefits and eligibility informa-
tion from Priority Health, view growth
the Value Partnerships program is com-
prised of 8 initiatives, called the
Collaborative Quality Initiatives (CQI).
The individual programs center around
decreasing medical-related and surgical
complication rates – in turn, decreasing
overall healthcare costs – while boost-
ing the quality of patient care.
The CQI maximizes results through
collaborative data sharing and analysis
among physicians, hospitals and insur-
ers. The primary goal: reduce surgically-
Kalamazoo – Bronson Maternal-Fetal
Medicine welcomed to its practice Giani
Cazan-London, M.D. She joins Robert
Austin, M.D.; David Ding, M.D., PhD;
Lori Kennedy C.N.M.; and Gwenn
Kozlow, M.S., C.G.C.
Grand Rapids - Pine Rest has begun
scheduling all new outpatient services
through a central access department.
Grand Rapids - In April, The
Comprehensive Breast Center at Saint
Mary’s Health Care received its third
prestigious award since November,
2010: a three-year/full accreditation
designation by the National
Accreditation Program for Breast
Centers.
charts for children and view immuniza-
tion records.
With family accounts, MySpectrum
users can access health information for
other patients, such as for children,
spouses or parents. Users can request to
view information for children younger
than 12 years, or for adult patients 18
years or older by completing the
MySpectrum Proxy Access request form.
State and federal patient privacy regula-
tions limit the amount of information
that can be released for patients between
the ages of 12 and 17.
Spectrum Health is additionally
offering a free smartphone application --
also called MySpectrum -- that features
lab test results and appointments, urgent
care wait times, Spectrum Health loca-
tions, physician information, and a med-
ical symptoms checklist.
related risk-factors, implement preven-
tative methods, improve patient quality-
care and drive down medical costs.
According to the Health Affairs
publication, the initiatives are being
met with success: 30-day post-surgical
complication rates have dropped from
13.1% to 10.5%; bariatric surgery
complication rates fell from 8.7% to
6.6% during 2007 to 2009; and
healthcare costs have plummeted by
$20 million annually.
Big Rapids - Derek Quinn has been
appointed to serve on the Michigan
Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee,
a board that advises the Department of
Community Health on prescription drug
coverage and various healthcare pro-
gram issues.
Grand Rapids – Ross Medical
Education Center welcomes Wayne
Downing, campus director, 20+ years
management experience; and Matt
Christensen, assistant campus director,
7 years mgmt. experience.
Kalamazoo - Heather A. Oestrike has
been appointed executive director of the
Bronson Lifestyle Improvement &
Research Center, located at 6789 Elm
Valley Drive in Oshtemo. Oestrike was
service line administrator for the neuro-
sciences program at Bronson.
Grand Rapids - Spectrum Health was
named one of the nation’s Top 10 health
systems in an annual study, which ana-
lyzed clinical and financial performance.
Spectrum Health was Michigan’s only
health system to receive the “Thomson
Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: Health
System Benchmarks” honor. Among the
Top 10, Spectrum Health also scored the
highest on the patient satisfaction sur-
vey, Medicare’s Hospital Consumer
Assessment of Healthcare Providers and
Systems.
16
The CQI model is expected to gain
relevance as the nation moves toward
“population-level” health management
and accountable-care organizations.
The collaborative initiatives maintain
that hospitals and providers can suc-
cessfully work together to collect, dis-
seminate and utilize medical informa-
tion in a way that will drive down
healthcare costs and improve overall
patient quality-care.
Lansing - The Comprehensive Unit-
based Safety Program, an initiative
funded in part by the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality, was
implemented through the Keystone
Intensive Care Unit Project in Michigan
hospitals. A recent study, reported in the
Archives of Internal Medicine, found that
hospital ICUs eliminated central line-
associated bloodstream infections for up
to 2 years or more. 60 percent of the 80
ICUs evaluated went 1 year or more
without an infection, and 26 percent
achieved 2 years or more. Also, smaller
hospitals sustained zero infections
longer than larger hospitals.
Kalamazoo - Traumasoft has opened an
office located at 4664 Campus Drive in
WMU's Business Technology and
Research Park. Operating in a 4,000
square foot space, the fast-growing com-
pany is already in hiring mode and has
added four new positions in recent
weeks, bringing its employee base to 12.
Traumasoft officials expect to at least
double the size of the company within
two years. The company was founded in
2006 by President Brian Balow. He has
spent more than 25 years in the emer-
gency medical services industry in
southwest Michigan. Frustrated by the
lack of automation in EMS operations,
Balow started building EMS applications
on a small scale during his spare time, in
1998.
Toll Free 800-968-8608
Fax 616-997-7263
modernofficeinteriors.com
 17
Food Industry Feeds Economic Growth
Grand Rapids – The Right Place, in latest expansion announcement." employees in Michigan, 270 of which MBT credits approved for the original
collaboration with the Michigan Gordon Food Service, Inc. (GFS) are retail positions. site in August 2010.
Economic Development Corporation – 127 jobs, $56.5 million in capital In June 2010, The Right Place and According to MEDC's economic
(MEDC) and local partners, announced investment the MEDC announced a MEGA tax cred- analysis, it is estimated that this
two new West Michigan business GFS provides food service products it for a Canadian back-office support amendment will generate a total of 252
expansions that are designed to create and solutions to businesses and retail consolidation project in the city of jobs in the state, and state government
429 new jobs and invest $74 million in customers. Founded over a century ago Wyoming. The scope of the initial proj- revenues will increase by $2.3 million
the cities of Wyoming, Kentwood and as a butter-and-egg business, today ect was recently modified to include the (current dollars) net of MEGA costs, for
Grand Rapids. GFS is the largest family-owned broad- addition of 127 jobs to support a high- a combined total of 644 jobs in the state
Hearthside Food Solutions, LLC – line food service distributor in North tech initiative. Additionally, due to and an increase of $6.9 million in total
302 jobs, $17.4 million in capital America. Headquartered in Wyoming, space limitations, GFS plans to change state government revenues by the year
investment Michigan with retail stores, distribution the project location and invest $56.5 2014.
Hearthside, the largest privately centers and warehouses throughout the million in the development of a
held bakery in the U.S., provides con- U.S. and Canada, GFS and its affiliated Greenfield site in the city of Wyoming.
tract food manufacturing services to companies currently have 2,592 The company plans to forgo Brownfield
leading global food brands and is the
largest producer of breakfast bars in the
country, operating 12 manufacturing
plants in seven states. Four facilities are “We serve your needs with quality & innovation.”
located in Michigan with a workforce of
1,129 employees.
The company plans to expand its Property Assessments
facilities in the cities of Kentwood and
Grand Rapids to support customer Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
demand for additional food manufac-
turing capacity of granola bars and BEAs and Due Care Plans
other baked snacks. The majority of the
investment and job creation will occur
Permits & Regulations
at the company's Shaffer Avenue facili-
ty in Kentwood. The $17.4 million
expansion project is planned to create
195 jobs the first year, with a 5-year
total of 302 new jobs in West Michigan.
Environmental Process
According to the economic analysis
done by the Michigan Economic
& Treatment Design
Development Corporation utilizing Underground Storage Tank
Regional Economic Models, Inc. soft-
ware, it is estimated that this facility Management
will generate a total of 662 jobs in the
state by the year 2016. Total state gov- Stormwater Management Plans
ernment revenues through the year
2016, net of Michigan Economic Growth
Authority (MEGA) costs, would be
increased by $9.8 million (current dol-
Field Engineering &
lars) due to the presence of this facility.
Hearthside had considered several
Technical Support
other existing locations outside of
Michigan for the expansion project.
Regulatory Reporting
Working with the MEDC and cities of
Grand Rapids and Kentwood, The Right
Place led the development of an incen-
tive package to support Hearthside's
growth plans, keeping the company and
the new jobs in West Michigan.
"West Michigan's food processing 616.791.7100
and agribusiness cluster has great
www.rosewestra.com
potential for growth in West Michigan,"
noted Susan Jackson, Vice President,
Business Development, The Right Place, 4328 Three Mile Rd., NW, Ste. 200 • Grand Rapids, MI
Inc. "We're seeing continued growth and
investment in the sector such as this

Construction Briefs
Grand Rapids - Van Andel Institute’s
240,000 SF Phase II building is the sec-
ond structure to be awarded Platinum
LEED for New Construction in Michigan
by the United States Green Building
Council for its demonstrated leadership
in the field of sustainable development.
The Medical Mile’s eight-story, $178
million, green facility anticipates a $125
million annual research operation that
will double the amount of laboratories
and create 550 additional jobs.
Grand Rapids – Rockford Construction
announced that Dan Bailey has joined
the company as project executive. As
such, Bailey will use his work in the
Food & Beverage and Healthcare con-
struction markets to provide additional
opportunities and expertise to clients.
Wayland, Martin & Charlotte - Atlanta-
headquartered Apartment Realty
Advisors has announced the sale of
three REO assets for Berkadia
Commercial Mortgage, LLC. Included
in the transaction were Country
Meadows, Maple Knoll and Rabbit River.
The three assets, all located between
Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Lansing,
and which total 217 sites spread over
83.38 acres, were purchased together as
a portfolio by a regional owner/operator
out of California.
Lansing - C2AE welcomes Tobi Lyon to
the position of business development
manager; her portfolio spans healthcare
philanthropy, association management,
finance, and sales.
Michigan - Driesenga & Associates,
Inc. welcomes: Rob Huff - senior engi-
neering technician in the Material
Testing and Construction Inspection
Group; Scott Grove - business develop-
ment manager, responsible for new busi-
ness development, sales, and marketing
in the Grand Rapids Market; and Lisa
Luckey - business development manag-
er, servicing the Lakeshore Market. The
firm also congratulates Travis Krentz on
obtaining his license from the State of
Michigan as a professional surveyor.
Wyoming - The Wyoming City Council
approved a tax abatement request for
Benteler Automotive Corporation, for
a near-$5 million redevelopment project
that will create 30 new jobs and retain
580 jobs.
Grand Rapids – The Association of
Professional Design Firms (APDF)
appointed Kevin Budelmann, of
Peopledesign’s, to president.
Budelmann plans to position the organi-
zation as a key player in defining the
future of the design profession.
Kalamazoo - CSM Group welcomed
Andrew Dobbs as a Monroe-Brown
Scholarship Intern and Marcus Jackson
as project engineer. Jackson will be
responsible for trade-contractor prequal-
ification, review of project documents,
scheduling, bid documentation prepara-
tion, submittal approval and tracking
bulletin/field order pricing.
Athens - The Nottawaseppi Huron
Band of the Potawatomi, the owners of
FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek,
announced the start of the FireKeepers
Casino expansion, which will showcase
a 242-room, resort-style hotel complete
with an indoor pool, exercise facility,
full-service restaurant, business center,
and multi-purpose event center. The
facility’s concert-setting will accommo-
date 2,000+ guests. Bingo operations
will expand to 10,000 SF of gaming
space, doubling the capacity from 250
players to 500, per session.
Grand Rapids – Colliers International
has earned certification as an Accredited
Management Organization from the
Institute of Real Estate Management.
The accreditation is awarded to real
estate firms that adhere to a profession-
al ethics code; have a certified property
manager supervising the real estate
management team; and have a track
record of high performance, experience,
stability and financial accountability.
West Michigan - Allen Edwin Homes
has charted the national, “Builder 100”
list as the 70th largest home builder;
received the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s Energy Star
Leadership Housing Award; and was
one of three builders in Michigan to
receive Guild Quality’s Guildmaster
Award, for exceptional customer experi-
ence and energy conservation.
Grand Rapids, MI – Progressive AE has
announced the addition of Scott
Thompson, electrical engineering disci-
pline leader; David Bell, senior mechan-
ical engineer; and Jeffrey Green -
mechanical engineering technician.
Greenville - Clark Construction has
been selected as construction manager
for the Greenville Public Schools dis-
trict improvements. The project will be
funded by a $14.6 million bond and will
provide updates to every school, includ-
ing enhanced building security, new car-
peting, improved parking areas and
enhanced wireless technology.
Kalamazoo - Phoenix Properties has
announced its plans for a signature
mixed-use office, retail and residential
development, at the southeast corner of
West Michigan Avenue and Rose Street,
in downtown Kalamazoo. Phoenix will
partner with TowerPinkster and
Skanska USA.
Grand Rapids – The team at Deksia has
relocated to 100 Sevens Street in Grand
Rapids, and will share space with Bek
Ekkel during the summer.
Kalamazoo – Kalamazoo-headquartered
Imperial Beverage plans to relocate to a
recently purchased, 605,000 SF build-
ing, located at 3825 Emerald Drive,
Kalamazoo. The company plans to occu-
py about 200,000 SF and lease the
remaining space to other businesses.
Kent County - The Kent County
Aeronautics Board has granted approval
for Rothbury Executive Air’s Fixed Base
Operation (FBO). The FBO plans to yield a
$5 million world-class facility with
28,000 SF of hangar space, and the first
onsite, commercial catering service. A fall
commencement and a summer 2012
grand opening are expected.
Holland - Driesenga & Associates, Inc.
welcomes the following engineering
technicians to the firm’s Material Testing
and Construction Inspection Groups:
David Holthaus, Chris Sobeck, Rich
Morris, Jeff Freel and Matt Collins --
Detroit; Jaime Richards, Nathan Stader
and Jesse Reed -- Grand Rapids; Doug
Miller -- Kalamazoo.
Curbside Trash & Waste Services:
Trash Cart • Yard Waste Cart • Recycle Cart
866-669 2047 Jenison, Michigan
18
Grand Rapids - Owen-Ames-Kimball
Co. has announced it will be providing
Construction Management Services for
John Ball Zoo's Funicular and Tree
House projects. Construction will begin
in the summer of 2011, to be completed
by May 2012. Progressive AE will offer
architectural services; Moore &
Bruggink, Inc. will provide Construction
Management for Site Work.
Grand Rapids – Integrated Architecture
is expanding its educational services by
formally entering the K-12 market and
establishing a public school education
division. Architects Dan Hill and Bret
Kronlein bring 40 years of combined
experience to the niche market.
Lansing - James J. Minster has joined
C2AE as its director of Southern
Municipal Infrastructure team. Jim will
oversee the team’s design, site planning,
and water & wastewater projects.
Grand Rapids - C.D. Barnes Associates,
together with the Grand Rapids
Chamber of Commerce and its repre-
sentatives, held a ribbon-cutting event
on June 6, to celebrate the completion of
the Eastown Veterinary Clinic, located
at 1350 Lake Dr.
Grand Rapids - C. D. Barnes Associates,
Inc., in partnership with AMDG
Architects, will oversee the Grand
Rapids Public Schools’ Creston High
School Cafeteria’s renovation project.
Grand Rapids - The Salvation Army
Adult Rehabilitation Center held a rib-
bon-cutting ceremony at the new
Salvation Army Thrift Store, located at
3900 Alpine Avenue NW. The facility
will occupy 22,500 SF, in a portion of the
former Best Buy electronics store. When
open, the store will employ approximate-
ly 30 individuals.

$38,800 Incentive for
Energy Efficiency Projects through DTE
Novi. – Grand Valley State
University (GVSU) has received a
$38,800 incentive payment from DTE
Energy for making energy efficiency
improvements on its main campus in
Allendale and at three satellite campus-
es in Holland, Muskegon and Grand
Rapids.
In a ceremony today at the 2011
Energy Conference and Exhibition DTE
Energy’s John Lobbia, marketing pro-
gram manager, presented a $38,800
check to Terry Pahl, GVSU facilities engi-
Q & A with Exxel Engineering
Question: “My neighborhood has
been steadily filling in with homes over
the past few years. As more homes are
being constructed, backyard drainage
seems to be a more frequent concern. Is
there a concept on how the overall
drainage of the development should be
handled that would avoid these con-
cerns?”
Gary; Byron Center, Michigan
Answer: Most developments, espe-
cially those 15 to 20 years and newer,
are designed with an overall grading and
stormwater management plan. These
plans typically illustrate how the front
and backyards drain, direction of flow,
location of detention facilities with
appropriate easement and minimum
NAR Chief Economist Sees Sluggish
but Improving Commercial Outlook
Washington, DC – The commercial
real estate market continues a slow pace
toward recovery with occupancy rates
rising in the office and industrial proper-
ties in most major cities across the U.S.
supported by rising employment and
restocking of wholesale inventory,
according to National Association of
Realtors® Chief Economist Lawrence
Yun. At the “Economics Issues and
Commercial Business Trends Forum,”
Yun identified bright spots and chal-
lenges within the commercial sector.
In the second half of 2010,
Realtors® reported seeing more move-
ment in the commercial market.
According to Yun, this movement is
occurring as property of falling prices
neer. The incentive payment is an ele-
ment of DTE Energy’s Your Energy
Savings initiative, a program designed
to help DTE Energy customers improve
the energy efficiency of their homes and
businesses. DTE Energy and the
Engineering Society of Detroit jointly
hosted the 2011 Energy Conference and
Exhibition, which was held at the
Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
GVSU received the funds for multi-
ple projects completed throughout 2010
that will save energy, including boiler
building openings if necessary, to ensure
protection of homes from intense rain-
falls.
If the development is a traditional
platted subdivision, the State Plat Act
requires the County Drain Commission to
review and approve the overall grading
and stormwater management plan. A
majority of the stormwater system would
be under the authority of the Drain
Commissioner’s office. The Drain
Commission office would be responsible
for its maintenance with costs assessed
to those within the drain district estab-
lished as part of the recording of the plat.
Other developments such as single
family site condominiums or traditional
volume condominiums (2-4 units or
more per building), typically have a pri-
providing attractive returns on invest-
ment. However, tightened lending stan-
dards continue to pose a challenge
because national banks are still hesitant
to lend.
“Lending from regional banks has
become an important source of funds.
The lending from big banks remained
sluggish," said Yun. “Investment funds
through private equity and real estate
investment trusts will play a bigger role
as the commercial mortgage-backed
securities market struggles to recover.”
However, movement in the commer-
cial sector hasn’t translated into
increased prices as the properties values
are being dragged by the existence of
distressed properties. Yun said it could
tune-ups, steam traps, and custom
HVAC controls projects.
Your Energy Savings
(dteenergy.com/saveenergy) was
launched in 2009 to help DTE Energy
customers save money by using less
energy. The program offers customers a
wide array of energy efficiency ideas
and incentives. Customers can earn
incentives if they make improvements
from a list of qualified efficiency
upgrades for both gas and electric tech-
nologies, including energy-efficient
vate stormwater management system
that gets maintained by the established
Condominium Association. The condo-
minium’s Master Deed should refer to
the Association’s authority and respon-
sibility in maintaining and monitoring
the stormwater management system.
Regardless of what type of develop-
ment in which a home is built, the
builder, architect and homeowner should
become familiar with and follow the
approved grading plan and stormwater
management plan prior to establishing
the wall height of the home, minimum
openings (this may be established on the
grading plan and/or recorded restric-
tions) and final drainage pattern of the
homesite so that drainage from the site
being developed does not negatively
be several years before commercial prop-
erty prices rise in any meaningful way,
though some prime class-A properties in
sought-after markets like Washington
and New York have already started
showing price recovery.
The apartment sector remains the
strongest, with solid net absorption and
rents expected to increase 4 percent
nationally in 2011 and 5 percent in
2012. In metropolitan areas like
Washington, rents could rise close to
double digit rate of appreciation.
The federal deficit and rising gas
prices weigh heavily on the overall eco-
nomic outlook. Interest rates are current-
ly, artificially low and unsustainable, and
Yun expects the rate of inflation to
19
lighting, motors and drives, controls,
heating ventilation and air conditioning
and more. Customers also can earn
incentives for projects that don’t fall
under that prescriptive program, such as
exhaust heat recovery or process
improvements. Incentives also are avail-
able for new construction and major
remodeling projects.
impact existing and future neighboring
homes and buildings.
-Donald De Groot
Donald De Groot is a professional
engineer in Michigan and New Jersey. He
has been working as a civil engineer for
29 years. Exxel Engineering, Inc. is a
civil engineering/land survey firm at
5252 Clyde Park Ave., S.W.; Grand
Rapids, MI 49509 and has 39 years
experience in the area. Phone: (616)
531-3660.
Please contact Exxel or the publish-
er to have your question answered here
next month!
increase to 3 or 4 percent by the end of
2011 and up to 5 percent by 2012 if gas
prices do not retreat.
During the session, Yun was joined
by commercial broker David Murphy of
CB Richard Ellis in Orlando, Fla. Murphy
was named top overall commercial pro-
ducer for the company in 2009. Murphy
echoed Yun’s sentiments about the out-
look for commercial real estate.
“We are in the early months of a
cyclical recovery,” said Murphy. “Leasing
velocity is improving, investment sales
are expected to continue to improve at
higher than normal rates, and leasing
growth rates should continue to
improve.”
 West Michigan Strategic Alliance
Launches Regional Service Delivery Project
Grand Rapids - The West Michigan ing boundaries for local service provi-
Strategic Alliance (WMSA) has sion none of which match the natural
announced the launch of a new project economic region. Over time, each of
designed to increase effective use of fed- these geographies was defined based on
eral and state resources in local service some rationale that made sense to each
delivery in an eight county region in part of the puzzle at that time, but with-
West Michigan. The project will concen- out considering the interconnectedness
trate on services that affect jobs, such as of the economic region.”
workforce development, economic The work will be guided by a
development, and adult education. It will regional advisory committee. Committee
test the hypothesis that aligning service chair, Steve Heacock commented, “As
delivery to match natural economic we look to reinvent our state, it’s smart
regions will maximize limited resources to examine the basis for resource alloca-
through increased collaboration and tion and to test the idea that a regional
service sharing. perspective could maximize the impact
WMSA president, Greg Northrup of limited resources. I’m happy to be a
said, “An initial scan of local jurisdic- part of this diverse advisory group rep-
tions receiving federal and state resenting the interests of the region.”
resources showed more than 20 differ- The project will focus on services
related to job creation, retention and
expansion. It will identify barriers to
regional collaboration and identify best
practices that can be shared with other
regions of the state. Research will be
conducted in partnership with Michigan
State’s Land Policy Institute with sup-
port from the Business Leaders for
Michigan. Business Leaders for
Michigan is also undertaking an effort to
identify the needs of Michigan’s urban
areas and strategies to help them with
their redevelopment efforts. “WMSA’s
strong regional perspective will serve
this investigation well and the project
compliments the work we are doing to
help our urban areas. We look forward
to the recommendations generated from
this project,” stated Doug Rothwell pres-
20
ident and CEO of Business Leaders for
Michigan.
WMSA’s Regional Service Delivery
project is the first phase in a long-term
plan to investigate, analyze, recom-
mend, and implement a beneficial align-
ment of service delivery that can be
more effectively coordinated at a region-
al level. Recommendations will include
the identification of specific changes to
statutory, regulatory, policy or manage-
ment practices that will enable for suc-
cessful service sharing agreements.
Research will take place over the sum-
mer. Findings will be shared with stake-
holders in the fall and a report will be
issued in December.

At Least 2,200 Premature Deaths and

$17.8 Billion in 2010
Boston, MA - New research by the
Harvard Center for Risk Analysis
(HCRA) at the School of Public Health
estimates that the additional fine partic-
ulate matter emissions that can be
traced back to traffic congestion in the
nation’s 83 largest urban areas lead to
more than 2,200 premature deaths in
the U.S. last year. The related public
health cost, researchers say, was, con-
servatively, at least $18 billion.
The study, “The Public Health
Costs of Traffic Congestion: A Health
Risk Assessment,” was published in the
scientific journal Environmental Health.
It is the first to attempt to quantify the
public health implications of growing
traffic congestion in America.
“Our estimates of the total public
health costs of traffic congestion in the
U.S. are likely conservative,” the
study’s authors write. They point out
their research considers “only the
impacts in 83 urban areas and only the
cost of related mortality and not the
costs that could be associated with
related morbidity, healthcare, insur-
ance, accidents, and other factors.”
As might be expected, the public
health toll of traffic congestion was esti-
mated to be highest in some of the
nation’s largest urban areas. The Los
Angeles/Long Beach/Santa Ana,
California, area was first, with an esti-
mated additional 426 premature deaths
and $3.3 billion in public health costs. It
was followed by: New York
City/Newark, New Jersey (+337 prema-
ture deaths, +$2.6 billion in costs);
Chicago/Northern Indiana (+251 pre-
mature deaths, $2 billion costs); and
San Francisco/Oakland, California
(+124 premature deaths, +$1 billion in
costs).
In conducting the study, the
Harvard researchers projected the esti-
mated growth of traffic congestion—
and resulting emissions—from the
baseline year 2000 through 2030, if no
additional transportation infrastructure
capacity is provided in the 83 urban
areas to accommodate projected popula-
tion growth.
They forecast traffic congestion will
rise more than 30 percent over the peri-
od 2000 to 2030 in 18 urban areas:
Raleigh, North Carolina (54 percent);
Oxnard, California (47 percent); Las
Vegas, Nevada (46 percent); Salt Lake
City, Utah (45 percent);
Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida (45 per-
cent); San Antonio, Texas (42 percent);
Orlando, Florida (41 percent); Laredo,
Texas (38 percent); Richmond, Virginia
(36 percent); Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona
(33 percent); Pensacola, Florida (31
percent); Riverside/San Bernardino,
California (31 percent); San Diego,
California (31 percent); and Spokane,
Washington (30 percent).
While the study was not designed
to address traffic congestion-reducing
strategies, researchers said solutions
would likely vary from community to
community. Potential strategies range
from better traffic management through
congestion pricing, traffic light synchro-
nization and more efficient response to
traffic incidents, to adding new highway
and public transit capacity. More refined
models of traffic dynamics specific to
each urban area, linked to the public
health models developed in the study,
could be used to explore the impacts of
proposed strategies.
The research did offer one piece of
good news: The number of additional
premature deaths and public health
costs due to traffic congestion has been
declining over the past 10 years and will
continue to decline until about 2030,
when it would again begin to rise. The
reason: an ever emissions cleaner fleet
of U.S. motor vehicles -- as older, more
polluting vehicles are replaced with
today’s low emission vehicles.
The public health cost of traffic
congestion in 2000, the Harvard
researchers estimated, included approx-
imately 4,000 premature deaths, with a
monetized public health cost of approx-
imately $31 billion. They forecast that
the toll in 2030 -- absent remedial
actions to significantly reduce traffic
congestion in the U.S. -- will be 1,900
premature deaths and $17 billion in
social costs.
The study was conducted by a team
that included: Jonathan I. Levy, an asso-
ciate professor at the Harvard School of
Public Health at the time the work was
completed and current professor of
environmental health at Boston
University’s School of Public Health;
Jonathan Buonocore, a doctoral student
in the Environmental Science & Risk
Management program at the
Department of Environmental Health at
the Harvard School of Public Health;
and Katherine von Stackelberg, HCRA
research manager and principal at E.
Risk Sciences, LLP. It was supported
through a grant underwritten by the
Transportation Construction Coalition
(TCC) that included 29 national associ-
ations and labor unions with an interest
in federal transportation policy. The TCC
is co-chaired by the American Road &
Transportation Builders Association
and the Associated General Contractors
of America.

From an Autodie LLC. Perspective
by Amy Cygan
When Autodie International (found-
ed in 1962 as Autodie Corporation) was
bought from Comau-Pico by Daimler-
Chrysler in November 2006—then becom-
ing MBtech Autodie—the change in own-
ership conditioned a movement away
from conventional “tried-and-true” tool
and die ideology. That subsequent ideolo-
gy, modeled on Japanese TPS principles,
would survive yet another ownership
change when, in 2007, MBtech Autodie
became the presently recognized Autodie
LLC. Now four years later—after a number
of successes resulting from the company’s
overarching vision—Autodie is benefiting
from a $24 million dollar, Fiat-Chrysler
investment aimed at facility-infrastructure
modernizations, as well as machinery and
technological upgrades.
“We’re owned by a multi-million
dollar conglomerate,” says David
Darling, VP and Chief Operating Officer
of Autodie LLC. As a result, and in light
of the recent investment, “we are lucky
to not have the financial stress that other
Tool & Die companies at the mercy of
local lending institutions have.”
The newest investment allows
Autodie to continue nurturing lean princi-
ples, with the World Class Manufacturing
(WCM) system now serving as Autodie’s
philosophical mentor. Expounding upon
the Japanese-based, principle-driven
Toyota Production System—which
attempts to increase workplace and prod-
uct efficiency by eliminating waste cata-
lysts through standardized procedures—
the WCM additionally deploys in-depth
financial analyses to determine, prioritize
and measure improvements while also
advancing environment-nurturing causes.
Autodie’s concerted efforts at reduc-
ing environmental issues have resulted
in drinkable anti-freeze in their hi-lo’s,
the Green Ride carpooling program,
lighting and compressor upgrades, an
ISO 14001 environmental certification,
and recognition as a Zero-to-Landfill
location. Over the last five years, the
company’s lean-focused implementa-
tions have also generated higher prod-
uct-quality levels, improved lead-times,
cost-reductions, and a sales-revenue
increase to roughly $55 million.
While the latest funds target the
modernization of thirty-year old CNC
apparatus and the strengthening of engi-
neering and design capacities, the bene-
fit comes on the heels of two previous
investments. Between 2006 and 2008,
Autodie poured 7-figures plus into
restoring inherited equipment and two
million into employee training.
CAD/CAM technology and other engi-
neering and design modes also profited
from financial gains.
As a complement to WCM opera-
tional improvements and equipment
modernizations, Darling also observes
that a shift in employee mentality direct-
ly influences the possibility for achieving
world-class lead-times and speed-to-
market ratios.
“I think if you talk to any other die
builder, they’ll tell you every die is
unique; we vehemently disagree. We
have trained our people to look at the
business differently—literally, to not
look at the business from a die builder’s
perspective, meaning every piece of work
is not a work of art. There’s always a
better, faster way to do things. We can
standardize, document, and embed a
process, and then use that process for
reevaluation purposes in order to
improve future production cycles and
product-quality output.”
From an engineering standpoint,
Darling explains a second belief-vari-
ance: “We do not believe that engineer-
ing and machining are commodities
which can be bought from anybody on a
low-cost basis. To me, our business is
won or lost in engineering and machin-
ing. So in 2007, we decided to alter our
perspective: Engineering is not a com-
modity—we’re going to own it, and not
only are we going to own it, we are going
to be spectacular at it!
“I can tell you that the biggest
source of interest that companies have
with us is what we’re doing in the engi-
neering field. We are very unique, espe-
cially when you compare us to other
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Non Profit Co.’s
Office Space Leasing
Electrical Control
Construction/
Expansion
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Travel
To be involved call
616-583-1577
21
companies of similar size, meaning peo- desirable outcome for our employees. So a
ple who produce these types of big dies— huge goal is to try to steady out; natural-
we’re doing things that no one else is ly, revenue will have to grow to accom-
doing right now. So between the disci- plish that steady state. The $55 million is
pline of process and our engineering probably going to be good enough, how-
capabilities, I would argue that these two ever, a consistent, $70-80 million in rev-
characteristics are why we’ve continued enue would be a very comfortable place
to grow and attract customers.” for us, based on our size.”
As a specialist in automotive outer- Considering that the number of spe-
body panels and advanced high-strength cial die and tool, die set, jig, and fixture
steels, Autodie serves Volkswagon, GM, manufacturing (NAISC 333514) estab-
BMW, and Nissan clients. But the stamp- lishments dropped 17% between 2002
ing and metal-forming company is eager and 2007, and considering Michigan has
to expand that client base and diversify its the highest number of T&D establish-
portfolio to include defense, aerospace, ments of all the states (as reported for
and/or alternative energy supplements. both by the U.S. Census Bureau),
“At the end of the day, I’d like the Autodie LLC. serves to remind the indus-
overwhelming bulk of our business to try that although external tools—like
include four or five consistent automotive infrastructure upgrades and investment
customers with some additional industries packages—can help build business pros-
mixed in. Right now, our dealings are perity, often the internal catalysts—like
skewed heavily toward our parent co- passion, integrity, ingenuity, and com-
related business, but in the future, we mitment—are what spark innovation
don’t want them to be more than 50% or and drive the momentum for success.
so of everything that we do.” Darling’s enthusiastic quote, “Coming to
Responding to the automotive indus- work here is not a job— it’s an adven-
try’s work wave-pattern, Darling says: “To ture,” or his inspirational mantra, “We’re
ignorantly try to predict the future would trying to rewrite an industry that’s at
be difficult, but what I wish for is a steady death’s door and prove that it can be suc-
book of work. Our industry is typically cessful,” are the audible manifestations
very cyclical—the work goes up and of an internal catalyst—a motivated
down—and, to me, this is a less than vision that’s ready to see its future.
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Industrial Briefs
Jenison - Hard Topix Precast Concrete
now provides 3,400 color options
(including 615 shades of green) for its
sustainable-green countertops.
Grand Rapids - With over 20 years expe-
rience in customer relations, Cathy
Szekely was selected as Praxis
Packaging’s new customer service man-
ager.
Walker - Tubelite Inc. has named AZ-
based Glaz-Tech Industries, Inc. as dis-
tributor for the company’s architectural
aluminum products, to serve Idaho and
Utah clients.
Grand Rapids - Sixarp LLC, Praxis
Packaging has announced the selection
of Grand Valley State University grad-
uate, Mia Goeddeke, as marketing and
customer service representative.
SETTING THE PACE
FOR TOMORROW
Lacks Trim Systems
Lacks Wheel Trim Systems
Plastic-Plate, Inc.
Manufacturer of plastic components for the Automotive,
Business Machine, Electronics, and Telecommunications Industries.
5460 Cascade Road • Grand Rapids, MI 49546 • 616-949-6570
Zeeland - Gentex Corporation has
announced it will supply auto-dimming
mirrors with its SmartBeam® high-beam
headlamp assist technology for the all-
new 2011 Dodge Durango and Dodge
Charger.
Three Rivers - Jim Smith and John
Shelley of Armstrong International
have been inducted into the Black Liquor
Boiler Advisory Committee for the North
American Pulp and Paper Industry.
Smith will serve as a primary member;
Shelley, as an alternate member.
Allegan - Perrigo has hired Ray Kunkel
as director of sales and operations plan-
ning. Kunkel will lead the sales and
operations planning process and
Demand Forecasting, Supply Planning
and Inventory Management team.
Grand Rapids – Proos Manufacturing
welcomes new manufacturing engineer,
Kevin Callaghan, and quality engineer,
Randy Hilliker. Callaghan has 20 years
experience as a manufacturing engineer
in the automotive, aerospace, office fur-
niture, and medical industries. Hilliker
totes an extensive education and 14+
years engineering experience, primarily
in the automotive industry.
Grand Rapids - Guilford of Maine and
Peopledesign have redefined the
Guilford of Maine brand as industry-
specific performance textiles, with collec-
tions focused on the office, education,
and healthcare markets. The tagline
“The New Black” employs black as a
brand color, and speaks to the need for
simplicity, efficiency, and performance in
said markets.
Zeeland - Gentex Corporation provided
an update on the capabilities of the
Company's Rear Camera Display Mirrors,
which exceed certain requirements of the
December 7, 2010, Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking by the U.S. National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
promulgated related to the Kids
Transportation Safety Act (KTSA).
Traverse City - CPM Century Extrusion
has announced that Marc Delplace is
now an agent for eastern Canada and the
upper New England states.
Linear Michigan
Consolidates Operations
Grand Rapids – Continued growth
and a quest for providing better cus-
tomer service and additional capacity
has prompted Linear Michigan to consol-
idate its manufacturing operations into a
new, single site, the company announced
at a ribbon cutting ceremony today.
Linear is a major supplier of wire-
less residential security systems, access
control, intercoms, garage door opera-
tors, gate operators, short- and long-
range radio remote controls, and med-
ical/emergency reporting systems,
among other products.
A Grand Rapids Area Chamber of
Commerce member, Linear Michigan
invited Chamber representatives to be on
hand as it officially recognized the open-
22
Lansing - Citadel Defense
Technologies has instituted a Testing &
Evaluation Program designed to assist
law enforcement departments as they
implement the new lifesaving technology
of Cide Shields. The program allows each
police department a one-time opportuni-
ty to purchase up to six Cide Shields at a
25 percent cost-reduction. Cide Shields
are light-weight, transparent personal
protective devices that provide an
increased light source for uniformed law
enforcement, security and military per-
sonnel. Designed to replace the current
flashlight with a dual, high-intensity
flood light system, Cide Shields also pro-
vide protection from ballistic, edged
weapon, explosive, chemical and incen-
diary device attacks from injury to the
head, face and neck.
Zeeland - Gentex Corporation will ship
interior auto-dimming rearview mirrors
for Nissan's 2011 Leaf. The Leaf is avail-
able in the U.S. with auto-dimming mir-
rors on both the SV and SL trim levels.
Grand Haven & Rockford - Both Atlas
Ergonomics and Ege WorkSmart
Solutions (EWSS) have announced that
Atlas will offer EWSS’s Stretch It Out!
product line. The program is designed to
reduce musculoskeletal disorders, as
well as common workplace injuries.
ing of the larger manufacturing facility
at 2547 Three Mile Road.
After functioning in four nearby
buildings since 1975, the consolidation
nearly doubles Linear’s service, manufac-
turing and warehouse capacity from
47,000 square feet to 88,500 square feet.
“We simply outgrew our old sites,”
says Paul Stevens, General Manager.
“The addition of assembling products for
Linear’s security product brands IEI and
Aigis, as well as our existing gate opera-
tors and commercial garage door opera-
tors, made this move essential.”
Linear Michigan not only grew its
footprint, it also added head count, grow-
ing from 47 to 61 full-time employees.

Manufacturing Driving Michigan's Recovery
Lansing - The Consensus Revenue
Estimating Conference report released
yesterday showed positive news about
the Michigan economy with manufactur-
ing leading the recovery in employment
growth, primarily due to the auto indus-
try. Manufacturing posted a job growth
rate of 6.3 percent from March 2010 to
March 2011, more than double the rate
of any other sector. Manufacturing has
led job growth in Michigan, creating 38
percent of all new jobs in the state and is
outpacing national manufacturing
growth. The House Fiscal Agency fore-
casts manufacturing employment to
increase 5.5 percent in 2011, while non-
manufacturing industries are expected to
CMU Online MBA Offers
Logistics Concentrations
Mount Pleasant – Central Michigan
University’s College of Business
Administration and CMU’s Off-Campus
and Online Programs is offering an
online MBA degree program with three
different concentrations: 1) SAP, the
world’s leading enterprise resource plan-
ning (ERP) software system, 2) Logistics
Management and 3) a professional pro-
gram in Value-Driven Organization.
SAP is currently used by over
38,000 firms in more than 120 countries
to manage all aspects of their business.
CMU has been a member of the SAP
University Alliance since 1997, ensuring
that the curriculum will be constantly
updated and that the content is always on
the leading edge of SAP technology.
Included as part of the program is the SAP
Academy, which offers students the
opportunity to earn TERP10 – mySAP ERP
Integrated Business Processes certifica-
tion and inclusion in a SAP database. The
aim of this program is to help students
become the potential “go to” person in
their organization for optimizing response
to dynamic market conditions.
Logistics is one of the fastest grow-
ing industries in the United States. It is a
grow at a rate of just 2.2 percent.
Of the total 79,000 new jobs from
March 2010 to March 2011, 30,000 of
those were from the manufacturing sec-
tor. Michigan posted the fifth highest
percentage year-over-year job gain in the
nation. For Mitch Bean, director of the
House Fiscal Agency this is not surpris-
ing. “I am not surprised that manufac-
turing is leading the recovery. Michigan
is a manufacturing state.”
“Manufacturing is what is advanc-
ing Michigan’s future. There is a myth
that manufacturing is a dying industry,
that it is a dinosaur, but that just isn’t
true. Manufacturing is what is driving
growth; not just in Michigan, but nation-
vital part of supply chain management
and deals with the movement and storage
of materials. Summed up simply, logistics
is the process of making sure materials
are in the right place, at the right time,
with the correct number needed, without
damage, and all done with the lowest
impact on the environment and at the
lowest cost possible. This complex system
is made possible by employing tactics in
lean principles, avoiding risk and fore-
casting – all of which are covered exten-
sively in this MBA concentration.
CMU’s professional MBA, the Value
Driven Organization program, is
designed for the contemporary business
world and addresses corporate gover-
nance and social responsibility. Students
will participate in an in-depth examina-
tion of the marketing research method-
ologies utilized to capture the “voice of
the customer” in a competitive market-
place. They will also gain advanced
knowledge in process improvement as it
relates to organizations, which is the key
to creating efficiencies and ultimately
profits. Completion of this program will
allow graduates to add immediate value
to their organizations.
23
ally,” says Mike Johnston, vice president done everything they need to do to real-
of government affairs for the Michigan ly hit the ground running.”
Manufacturers Association. Manufacturing has a stronger job-
The auto industry has been a driv- multiplier effect than other business sec-
ing force in manufacturing growth. tors, meaning manufacturers will spur
Twenty-four percent of the national auto further growth. According to Bean,
industry is located in Michigan between “Every job at an auto assembly plant
the Big 3 and its suppliers. affects six to seven other jobs. The auto
Bean believes the domestic auto industry has a very high multiplier
industry has made great changes. “They effect. The average multiplier effect for
are able to be profitable making fewer manufacturing is to have four to six jobs
vehicles and are able to actually compete. outside the sector relating to each job.”
It’s been a very big change in the indus- As for manufacturing being a
try. It used to be that they had to turn out dinosaur, Bean says, “Those aren’t the
a whole lot more vehicles to be prof- indicators from the numbers we’re see-
itable, and that meant they needed a ing. Production, new-orders, exports and
larger market share. Now that’s turned employment are all strong.”
around.” The Michigan auto industry “Michigan is a manufacturing state.
has streamlined production, lowered We have been for decades. It’s not any-
costs and simultaneously increased
quality.
thing new. I don’t see any reason that is
going to change any time soon.”
This isn’t growth that is expected to
end. Bean predicts, “When they are prof-
itable, then they can expand, which we
are beginning to see.” Business
The House Fiscal Agency forecast
for Michigan manufacturing employment
indicates an increase of 5.5 percent for
2011, 2.2 percent for 2012 and 3.1 per-
update ublication
cent in 2013.
Bean believes those who have sur- Have your
vived the economic downturn are posi-
tioned for success. “Manufacturers have
fr ee copy
demonstrated themselves in terms of
productivity and being able to weather
E-mailed
one of the worst storms and most pro-
longed economic downturns we’ve had
monthly
since the Depression. Those that have
been able to weather this and come out prupdate@businessupdate.com
on the other side are going to be well
positioned to take advantage of the
improving economy. Manufacturers have
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 What’s in a Name? Everything!
By Joe Takash
How are you at remembering peo-
ple’s names?
A) Fantastic
B) Not so hot
C) Embarrassingly bad
If you are like most people, you’ve
checked off either B or C.
When it comes to remembering
people’s names, the typical excuses
include, “I’m good with faces, but not
names,” or “I just have a block and I’ll
never be good.”
Yet, why is it that you can meet
someone, learn his or her name, and four
seconds later, smile at them while think-
ing to yourself, “I have no idea what
your name is?”
Or why is it that you’d rather yell
out a random nickname like “Hey Big
Shooter!” instead of asking “I’m sorry,
please tell me your name again” when
you forget a person’s name?
There are a plethora of reasons why
we forget names, but truth is, none of
By John Tschohl
Service recovery. Those two words
can make the difference between success
and failure. And yet most people in man-
agement positions don’t know what the
term means, let alone how to use service
recovery to establish a loyal customer
base and increase sales.
Let me give you two examples of
customers who had a problem with a
business. Mary meets a friend for dinner
at ABC Restaurant; a few blocks away,
Frank is dining with a coworker at XYZ
Restaurant. Mary had made a reserva-
tion for 7 p.m. and waited for 45 minutes
before being seated. Down the street,
Frank’s steak was under-cooked and
was sent back to the kitchen.
When Mary complained about the
long wait for a table, the hostess simply
said, “We’re very busy tonight” and
went on her way. When Frank com-
plained about his steak, his waiter apol-
ogized, immediately returned it to the
kitchen, and offered Frank and his din-
ner companion free desserts.
Which restaurant would you
patronize? I think the answer is evident.
The waiter at XYZ Restaurant apologized
for the problem and compensated Frank
for the mistake, sending the message
that the restaurant values Frank and his
business.
them matter. Your connection with the
people whose names you can’t recall are
far weaker than with those whose names
you do remember.
The following are five tips to help
you remember names. They are simple in
theory, but require practice, commitment
and repetition. The results are well worth
it for your business and your career.
Rule #1: Ask people for names.
How many times have you been to
the same church, bar or gym, see the
same people and never bother to intro-
duce yourself? Think of the personal
connections and professional opportuni-
ties you could be passing up! When it
comes to asking people’s names, simply
think, “Jump in the water -- it’s not that
cold.” Be an initiator and approach oth-
ers with courage on the outside, no mat-
ter how you feel inside.
Rule #2: Spell and pronounce names
correctly.
These are paired together because
they require similar efforts in clarifying
(not assuming) for accuracy. I was once
Service Recovery:
A Powerful Tool for Success
Every organization, no matter how
good it is or how awesome its service,
makes mistakes. It’s how employees
handle those mistakes that determines
the level of service the organization pro-
vides and the loyalty that service instills
in its customers.
Service recovery means doing what-
ever it takes to solve a customer’s prob-
lem—and doing it quickly. Most compa-
nies, not only in the United States but
throughout the world, don’t know what
service recovery is, or the impact it can
have on their bottom lines. Federal
Express is one of those companies.
My company spends $5,000 to
$10,000 a month with Federal Express
but, when it lost customized, printed
material I had shipped to Ethiopian
Airlines, it offered no help, so I had to
reprint the material and re-ship it.
Federal Express located the misplaced
shipment two weeks later and denied my
claim for the original printing and ship-
ping costs. What it should have done
was apologize for the mistake, waive the
extra shipping charge, and given me a
credit for the extra printing costs against
a future invoice. There was no service
recovery here.
Service recovery means providing
service that is so amazing that the cus-
tomer tells everyone she knows about it.
That word-of-mouth advertising is cheap
introduced to speak to five hundred peo-
ple in the following manner: “Ladies and
gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Joe
Takass” (instead of Takash). This is not
a lie. Taking time to assure the correct
spelling and pronunciation is something
to attend to in fine detail.
Rule #3: Ask again when you forget.
This may be the best, but most
underused tool. Chances are, all of us
immediately forget names, 80 percent of
the time. By asking people again and
again, you are simply informing them
that you want to value them, and their
name is an attachment to that value. If
the person gets upset, simply tell him or
her, “I’m very sorry, I just want to respect
you by getting your name correctly.” It’s
hard to argue with that.
Rule #4: Remember!
To lock names into your mental hard
drive, use all tools possible. This can
include rhymes like “Dan the Man” or
associations like “Rhonda from Reno.”
Remembering requires an eclectic effort.
Write names down, repeat them out loud,
and powerful and will bring more cus-
tomers—and their money—through your
doors.
If you’d like to grow your business,
without having to spend millions of dol-
lars in advertising, focus on service
recovery by taking these four steps:
1. Act quickly. If you can solve a
customer’s problem quickly, in 60 sec-
onds or less, you not only maintain that
customer’s loyalty, you save your organ-
ization money. How? The cost to move a
complaint up the ladder takes more time
and increases the cost of resolving the
situation by getting others involved. The
real magic happens when a frontline
employee handles the situation.
2. Take responsibility. Most employ-
ees, when faced with a complaining cus-
tomer, take the attitude, “I didn’t cause
the problem, so why should I apolo-
gize?” They take complaints personally
rather than merely apologizing for the
situation and then work quickly to
resolve it. Instead of running for cover,
you should simply say, “I’m so sorry for
the problem; let me take care of this for
you.”
3. Be empowered. In order to put
service recovery into practice, it’s imper-
ative that managers and supervisors
empower their employees. That means
giving them the authority to do whatev-
er is necessary to take care of the cus-
24
repeat them to yourself. Work hard and
you will get in better “name” shape.
Rule #5: Use them or lose them.
In writing, on the phone or in person,
use people’s names. When your name is
called as someone who contributed to the
success of a great team effort, it feels
great. When your child’s name is on the
Dean’s List, it looks like a work of art.
Knowing names increases your confi-
dence, makes others feel great and is a
competitive advantage in business.
So, what’s in a name? Everything!
Joe Takash is the author of the
newly released “Results Through
Relationships: Building Trust,
Performance and Profit Through People,”
as well as a sought-after media resource
and keynote speaker. As the founder of
performance management firm Victory
Consulting, Joe has worked with clients
like American Express, Prudential,
Century 21 and General Motors.
tomer.
4. Compensate the customer. Every
organization has something of low cost
but high value that it can give a customer
as compensation for a problem. A hotel
can upgrade a guest’s room to a suite, a
cell phone company can give a client
1,000 free minutes, and a computer com-
pany can extend a warranty for a year. In
each of these cases, the cost to the com-
pany is virtually zero.
There is a distinction between cus-
tomer service and service recovery. If I
buy a bag of apples, discover that half of
them are rotten, and the store gives me a
new bag of apples, that’s customer serv-
ice. If, however, the store replaces that
bag of apples and gives me another at no
charge, that’s service recovery.
When you practice—and perfect—
service recovery, your customers will
sing your praises to anyone who will lis-
ten. That word-of-mouth advertising will
bring in new customers and strengthen
your bottom line. Service recovery is a
powerful tool for success that you can’t
afford to ignore.
John Tschohl, the internationally
recognized service strategist, is founder
and president of the Service Quality
Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
John’s monthly strategic newsletter is
available online.

Delta’s Programs Reward Business Travelers
by Krystal Carter
According to the Grand Rapids Area
Chamber of Commerce, “sixty percent of all
Michigan trade – $44 billion a year – is
with Canada. One in seven Grand Rapids
area jobs are tied to trade with Canada,
and a significant number of West Michigan
companies do business with Canada every
day.” So how does Canada accommodate
the Michigan business traveler?
Delta Hotel and Resorts operates 46
properties across Canada, offering busi-
ness travelers a variety of cost-effective
incentives, services and programs, while
simultaneously catering to their different
needs. For example, through the Delta
Meeting Maestros program, Delta pairs
businesses with a team of on-site
experts, providing them with the tools
needed to coordinate the perfect meeting.
For travelers wishing to blend their work
life with their family life, Delta provides
the chain-wide Family Program, which
features various children’s activities,
indoor pools, and restaurant discounts
that allow guests 6 years and under to eat
Hotels/Restrauants Briefs
Holland - Angie K Anderson, executive
chef and co-owner of Blue House Bistro
in Holland, has been named a national
finalist for the National Restaurant
Association (NRA) 2011 American
Dream Award, which honors individuals
from a diverse background who, through
hard work and determination, have real-
ized the American dream. The award is
one of two Faces of Diversity awards,
created by the NRA and PepsiCo
Foodservice to recognize the restaurant
industry's commitment to diversity and
to celebrate individuals in the restaurant
industry who are achieving the
American dream.
Boyne Falls - BOYNE has expanded its
northern Michigan golf offerings adding
Hidden River Golf & Casting Club of
Brutus, Michigan through a new man-
agement deal. Hidden River becomes
the ninth course in BOYNE’s notable col-
lection of championship golf courses.
Grand Rapids - Founders Brewing Co.
vice president/director of marketing,
Dave Engbers, announced that this
summer, his Grand Rapids brewery will
begin selling 750ml bottles of specialty
beers dubbed the Backstage Series.
25
free while guests 7-12 eat half priced. with members to better understand what New to Delta Privilege
Delta Privilege benefits were most important to them. Delta recently partnered with Avis to
Business travelers can expect to The highest-rated benefits were those offer members exclusive benefits and
receive a distinguishable, increased level associated with room upgrades, followed rewards on Avis car rentals. Members
of hotel service from Delta Hotel and by room, dining and meeting credits. enjoy association discounts between 5-
Resort’s premier, complimentary, guest Members of the Platinum and Platinum 25% on Avis bookings in the U.S.,
loyalty and recognition program – Delta Plus+ tiers also revered the 48-hour Canada and International destinations,
Privilege. The program began in 1989, guaranteed room, along with free Internet access to Free Preferred Service and the
but gained popularity in 1992 when Delta access. Every tier ranked extended check- ability to take advantage of standard
became the first to deliver the “One- out and early check-in provisions as Avis/Aeroplan offers. Gold, Platinum and
Minute Check-In, Or Your Room is Free” important features. Platinum Plus+ members also garner
guarantee. Currently, all Delta Privilege mem- Bonus Aeroplan Miles; Platinum and
Unlike other hotel programs which bers receive free, in-room, high-speed Platinum Plus+ can choose between
are points driven, Delta Privilege recog- Internet access, Aeroplan® credits with bonus miles or a free car upgrade with
nizes members with enhanced treatment each stay, complimentary phone services, every booking.
and services based on their program sta- separate concierge lines and a separate
tus. Free to join, the program is multi- check-in desk with the One-Minute guar- Krystal Carter is the Public Relations
tiered, including Base, Gold, Platinum antee -- plus extended check-out and Coordinator for Delta Hotels and Resorts,
and Platinum Plus+ levels, each offering early check-in services. As members which operates and franchises 46, full-
correlative benefits. Unique to the pro- graduate to higher tiers, they receive service, city centre and airport hotels and
gram are credits given in the form of advanced benefits. Additionally, Delta resorts across Canada. Visit www.delta-
$200, $300 and $500 increments to be Privilege offers exclusive partnerships hotels.com/privilege .for more informa-
used as the guest wishes toward room, with Avis and Air Canada. tion on Delta’s Privilege program.
dining and meeting room charges.
Incentives and Luxuries
Delta, through market research firm
Brand Matters, conducted 5,663 surveys Plan The Ultimate Event.
We have many r esour ces to make
Acme - Grand Traverse Resort & Spa’s
Green Team, led by Resort employees
your event one to r emember.
Martha Duby and Shaina O'Dwyer,
received the Business of the Year Award
from the Northern Michigan
Environmental Action Council during
its 31st annual Environmentalist of the
Year awards event.
Ann Arbor – Wolverine State Brewing
Company has posted a 500% sales
increase since opening its brewery and
Tap Room doors in Nov 2010, and
expects to boost its 150-200 barrel/year
sales goal to 800 for 2011. Marketing
Director, E.T. Crowe, also anticipates the
relaunching of the Wolverine Beer brand
with Kent Beverage and Imperial
Beverage in early summer.
• State of the art Boardroom
• Ballroom capacity for up to 400 guests
Grand Rapids – The 6th Annual Great
Lakes Cider & Perry Competition has
• Complimentary wireless internet access
become the second largest cider and • Discounted rates for 10 or more guestrooms per night
perry competition in the English-speak-
ing world. 2011 Michigan winners
• Personalized service and packages for all types of events
include: Robinette Cellars in Grand • Convenient location to expressways and the airport
Rapids -- three bronze, one silver; and
Uncle John’s Fruit House Winery in St. www.grandrapids.hilton.com
John's -- five gold, five silver, two
bronze. 4747 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids
Contact the Sales Department at 616-957-0100

Kidnapping for Ransom:
A Fateful International Growth Industry
Continued from page 2
• Limit the access to your travel
plans to a trusted few. If you don’t know
someone well, don’t let it be known
where you are traveling, or even that
you’re planning a trip. Kidnapping is a
business in many parts of the world; the
perpetrators are organized and can often
gather intelligence on possible victims,
simply by overhearing a conversation.
Although Americans often grow up
placing their implicit trust in the police, in
many locales, going to the police can be a
major mistake, since they may be corrupt
and party to abductions.
Kidnap & Ransom insurance is
another step to take when traveling to
locations where U.S. companies have
employed expatriates, or destinations
where corporate executives and celebri-
ties are visiting.
While there are insurance policies
that provide reimbursement, there are
Hotels/Restrauants Briefs
Grand Rapids - In the April 2011 edition of
Pollstar Magazine’s Top 50 Arena
Venues of all sizes Worldwide, Van Andel
Arena ranked #38 for first quarter 2011
ticket sales. Based solely on U.S. ticket
sales, the arena ranked # 16. The DeVos
Performance Hall ranked #40 in Pollstar’s
Top 50 Theatre Venues Worldwide.
Acme – Grand Traverse Resort & Spa
has appointed Chef Guillermo Valencia
to the position of executive chef. He
excels at contemporary American
regional, and European cuisine, reflect-
ing a Latin Fusion focus.
Lansing – For the 8th consecutive quar-
ter, the social media efforts of
Michigan.org have been judged to be
the most effective of the 50 U.S. state
tourism offices, according to the United
States Tourism Office.
Curbside Trash & Waste Services:
Trash Cart • Yard Waste Cart • Recycle Cart
866-669 2047 Jenison, Michigan
other considerations that deserve an
equal amount of attention. For example,
credible Kidnap and Ransom insurance
policies cover unlimited expenses for the
services of experienced crisis manage-
ment teams, which include highly skilled
professionals, such as former CIA and
Secret agents and ex-Military Police per-
sonnel. Its purpose is to negotiate the
safe release of kidnap victims. If a ran-
som is required, they are skilled at nego-
tiating as little payout as possible, with
safety as the top priority.
Anyone buying Kidnap & Ransom
insurance should keep the purchase
strictly confidential; potential kidnappers
may view such insurance as a source of
ransom funds.
Since Kidnap & Ransom insurance is
typically purchased from Property &
Casualty insurance brokers, they must
have adequate information to make sure
the coverage is appropriate. Here are
examples of the information that’s neces-
Grand Haven - June 25 - 26, 2011 will
mark the 50th anniversary of Grand
Haven’s summer art event. Family Fun
Day will take place on June 25, hosted by
The Chamber of Commerce of Grand
Haven - Spring Lake – Ferrysburg, in
partnerships with the Main Street DDA
and local merchants.
Boyne City - The team from Secchia
Institute for Culinary Education at Grand
Rapids Community College won the
2011 Chefs Challenge Competition, hosted
by Boyne Mountain Resort. “People’s
Choice” awards were also presented to the
following victors: Beverage Division:
Short's Brewery (Artisan Brew); Grand
Traverse Distillery (Spirits); Bowers
Harbor Winery and Good Harbor
Vineyards, tied (Wine). Culinary
Division: Odawa Casino & Resort
(Northwest MI); St. Mary's Healthcare
(Southwest MI; also named “Overall
sary to properly underwrite a policy:
• What’s the person’s travel plans
over the coming 12 months? This helps
determine patterns and possible expo-
sures.
• How does the individual typically
go about developing new business? Since
many top executives, for example, are so
keenly focused on the goal of their travel,
it’s important to understand what that
entails.
• How familiar are travelers with
their destinations and how well are they
known in those locations, particularly the
“hot spots?”
Such information is not only helpful
in the underwriting process, but for a
Crisis Management Team as well.
It’s also worth pointing out that the
cost of Kidnap & Ransom insurance is
modest. For example, a $5 million dollar
policy for one year, with non-hazardous
travel that includes the services of a cri-
sis management team, is about $2,000.
People’s Choice Winner”). The northern
MI culinary event -- inspired by the cult
sensation, Iron Chef America, and the
famous “Secret Ingredient” -- showcased
Michigan food and drink products in cre-
ative meal-applications, while MI estab-
lishments raised funds for Challenge
Mountain.
Grand Rapids - The former Corez wine
bar in East Hills will become the third
dining establishment of Essence
Restaurant Group -- owner of The
Green Well Gastro Pub and Bistro
Bella Vita. The Grove, slated to open in
late August, will feature modern,
authentic cuisine with fresh, natural
sauces and a tilt towards sustainable
seafood. Essence Restaurant Group
intends on adding 35 new associates.
Benton Harbor - The Anna Russo-Sieber
Gallery is offering 5 weeks of summer art
camp titled "A Summer Arts Quest." Camp
will run from June 20-August 5.
Muskegon - Now in its 72nd season, the
West Michigan Symphony has
unveiled its 2011-12 concert lineup --
with music director, Scott Speck, return-
ing for his 10th season; Speck will kick-
off an eight-concert series Sept. 16 that
will conclude June 2, 2012.
26
If travel is to high-risk areas, such
as Columbia, Venezuela, and certain
other South American countries, there
are additional premium costs. Coverage is
available for individuals and their family
members, as well as corporations and
their employees.
The possibility of a kidnapping is
one of the bigger challenges faced by a
growing number of U.S. travelers,
whether vacationing or on business. If
the current pattern persists, we can
expect that there will be more kidnap vic-
tims and payouts in the years ahead,
even though many of these incidents
never make the news.
Frank Zuccarello is Executive Vice
President and a partner of Exceptional
Risk Advisors, LLC. Zuccarello under-
writes and places Kidnap and Ransom
policies for corporate executives. Contact:
frank.zuccarello@exceptionalriskadvi-
sors.com.
Grand Rapids – The Grand Rapids
Public Museum announced that it will
host the popular Titanic: The Artifact
Exhibition during 2012, the 100th
anniversary year of the ship’s sinking.
Grand Rapids – Experience Grand
Rapids, the convention and visitors
bureau, announced the launch of its new
summer tourism marketing promotion,
designed to celebrate Grand Rapids as a
Pure Michigan destination, while high-
lighting area art and food.
Ada – Grand River Grocery changed its
signature to Ninth Bridge Market and
unveiled three, newly-created specialty-
establishments, each located in the
downtown Ada village: Ninth Bridge
Catering; the staff-expanding Ninth
Bridge Bakery; and Ninth Bridge
Coffee, in partnership with Grand
Rapids’ MadCap Coffee Company and
the last to open on May16.
Douglas - Saugatuck Brewing
Company has announced a major dis-
tribution expansion into the Detroit
Metro, Tri Cities, and mid-Michigan mar-
kets, after partnering with Powers
Distributing, O & W Distributing,
Eastown Distributors and John P.
O’Sullivan Distributing.
 Corporate Information
Grand Rapids – Land & Co. was pre-
sented with the Organization that has
Furthered Fair Housing Award from the
Fair Housing Center of West
Michigan.
Lansing – Lansing-area print and design
company, Foresight Group, relocated to
2822 Martin Luther King Blvd. in May.
With more than 30,000 square feet of
manufacturing and office space, the
move offers increased production, new
programs, better turn-around times and
more cutting-edge technology for cus-
tomers. Foresight Group also added a
new four-color Heidelberg and a state-
of-the-art 40 inch, six-color Mitsubishi
press to their ranks, expanding printing
capabilities.
Traverse City – Sleep Specialists,
Margaret Moen, MD has moved into a
newly-renovated building at 457
Munson Avenue, in Traverse City.
Grandville - The Michigan Business
and Professional Association has rec-
ognized Group, Inc. for the second con-
secutive year as one of “West Michigan’s
101 Best and Brightest Companies to
Work For.”
Muskegon - The Muskegon Area
Chamber of Commerce's Entrepreneur
Award was recently presented to Next
I.T. owner, Eric Ringelberg. Orchard
View H.S. junior, Joe Bourgoin, seized
the Young Entrepreneur Award. The
chamber's annual event also honored
the life and business career of Russ
Strong, 55, who passed in January.
Grand Rapids - West Michigan retailer
Horizen Hydroponics has opened
Growers Outlet at 7720 Clyde Park Ave.
SW.
Gaithersburg, MD – The National
Association for Female Executives
has named Sodexo, Inc. to the 2011
“Top 50 Companies and 10 Nonprofits
for Executive Women” for its initiative in
promoting gender equality in the work-
place.
Minneapolis, MN - Grocery Shopping
Network has announced the launch of
newly-enhanced consumer websites for
Pick ’n Save, Rainbow Foods, Copps
Food Centers, Metro Market and
Mariano’s Fresh Market – 5 stores ban-
nered under Milwaukee-based
Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc.
Holland - Two new businesses have
opened in Downtown Holland: Silver
Fox Jewelry of Traverse City; and the
debuting Spring Sweet. Together, they
join Premovation Audio and Visual,
the Bag Lady Purse Store, and the
Wellness Spa as the latest additions to
Downtown Holland.
Grand Rapids - Kevin Stotts, Grand
Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce,
announced that he will leave his posi-
tions at the Chamber to become presi-
dent of Talent 2025—a new initiative to
increase educational attainment
throughout West Michigan.
Grand Rapids - Goodwill Industries of
Greater Grand Rapids, Inc. celebrated
the grand opening of its second LEED
Certified retail store located at 8390
Belmont Avenue, 10 Mile Road in
Rockford.
Grand Rapids - The Community
Foundation has launched a new fund-
ing program that provides $5,000 grants
to nonprofits that have great ideas for
tapping the skills of Encore Teams: small
groups of community volunteers who
are 50+.
Grand Rapids - Inforum West Michigan
recently honored Melissa N. Collar and
Janet P. Knaus with Inner Circle awards.
The two will be among 27 women exec-
utives to be recognized by Inforum, on
June 15.
Norton Shores – Lakeshore Document
Services in Norton Shores is now utiliz-
ing the faster scanning technology of the
FlexScan 2-in-1 Scanner for Roll Film
and Microfiche, by nextScan.
Wyoming - The City of Wyoming’s
Clean Water Plant accepted the Clean
Corporate Citizen award from the
Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality -- the first
Michigan municipal treatment facility to
be accepted as a Clean Corporate Citizen.
The award recognizes overall excellence
in operations and environmental pro-
grams.
Grand Rapids - The following were elect-
ed to The Employers’ Association’s
2011 - 2012 Board of Directors: Cindy
Elenbaas, Jay Dunwell, and Bob Roth.
Tom Bradford and Sam Ojo were
appointed directors. Elected officers
include: Karen McPhee - chairperson,
Scott McLean - vice chair and Jay
Dunwell - treasurer.
Grand Rapids - Advantage Sign Supply
has announced a tenth branch location
in St. Paul, Minnesota, and welcomes
new sales representatives, Lyle Hanzal
and Roger Olson. Estimated to open
June 15th, the branch will serve North
and South Dakota, Minnesota, and select
accounts in Wisconsin.
Grand Rapids - Spartan Stores Family
Fare Supermarkets introduced a pro-
gram to help families earn free gas based
on grocery purchases. Shoppers can save
from $.02 up to $.10 cents per gallon,
per product item, by shopping at any of
the three Family Fare Supermarkets in
the Holland and Zeeland area.
Customers receive a printed, bar-coded
fuel reward to be redeemed at the Quick
Stop Fuel Centers for up to 20 gallons
of gas. Offer ends June 30, 2011.
Rockford - This spring, Wolverine
Worldwide opened a new Merrell
Concept Store at Mall of America in
Bloomington, Minnesota. The store
design was recently awarded First Place,
2010 Store of the Year from Chain Store
Age, and was also recognized with an
Award of Merit in Store Design from the
Retail Design Institute.
Review of How to Instantly
Connect with Anyone
By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,
getAbstract
Is it manipulative to speak to others
in a way you know will please them?
Purists of the to-thine-own-self-be-true
school may think so, but the people on the
27
Holland – Tiara Yachts has appointed
Grande Yachts International as its
newest dealer. Grande Yachts will service
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia locales.
Fort Wayne, IN - Boyden & Youngblutt
Advertising and Marketing took home
two gold awards and one silver at the
2011 Aster Awards, an elite competition
for advertising and marketing efforts in
the healthcare field.
Grand Rapids - Frey Foundation has
announced that Milt Rohwer will retire
at the end of this year after 13 years as
foundation president. Rohwer played an
integral role in the Frey Foundation’s
efforts to galvanize support for quality
parks and greenways, improved water
stewardship, vibrant community arts
and early childhood development.
Grand Rapids - The Grand Rapids
Griffins promoted Chad Erwin to director
of ticket operations and hired Jamie Law
as a corporate sales account manager.
receiving end of your courtesy, deference
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sultant Leil Lowndes has assembled 96
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Although you may not choose to follow
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Leil Lowndes. How to Instantly
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Tricks for Big Success in Relationships.
McGraw-Hill, 2009. 336 pages. List Price:
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