2022 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

CHANGES

The calendar year 2022 saw change in the world and in Lenawee County. Both the long-time serving Executive Director, Jim Van Doren, and the longtime serving Chair of the Board, Doug Kapnick retired. The current Board of Directors hired Patrick Farver as the Lenawee Now Executive Director. Mindy Bradish-Orta from Consumers Energy was elected Chair of the Board. The mission of Lenawee Now will remain the same under the new leadership. Lenawee Now will continue working hard to attract new business, assist in the growth of established business and support entrepreneurial endeavors in Lenawee County. Lenawee Now will continue to collaborate with state and regional partners. Lenawee Now will continue to connect employees with employers through career events, helping students learn more about local career opportunities and provide resources for employers to connect with educators and other workforce organizations.

As I look back at my twelve years at Lenawee Now, I am proud of the great work the staff and Board of Directors have done.

Thanks, it was fun.

Douglas Kapnick Chair of the Board of Directors, Retired

Douglas Kapnick Chairman of the Board

DONORS

Chairman’s Club

President’s Club

Pacesetters

Adrian Insurance

Adrian Mechanical Services

Adrian Steel

Ann Arbor Spark

Charter Township of Adrian Charter Township of Madison City of Morenci

Clift Buick GMC

Dailey Engineering, Inc.

Dempsey & Dempsey, P.C.

Donna Baker & Associates

Douglas Kapnick

Frank and Shirley S. Dick Endowment Fund

Greater Ann Arbor Region (GAAR)

Greg Bell Automotive

Gurdjian Insurance Group, Inc.

HB Steele

ITC Holdings

Krieghoff Lenawee Company

Lenawee Christian Ministries

Meredith A. Francis, CPA*

Midwest Energy and Communications

Rima Manufacturing Company

Rudolph/Libbe Companies

Sage Foundation

Sayre Group

Sedco, Inc. (division of Primore)

Spectrum Printers

TLC Community Credit Union

Village of Clinton

*In kind donation

Successes

Daejin Advance Materials, USA

Daejin Advanced Materials USA, Inc., a subsidiary of South Korean firm Daejin Advanced Materials, has renovated an existing facility in Adrian where it will further develop and produce materials that support EV battery cells. The $12.8 million project is expected to create 111 jobs.

Midwest Energy and Communications

MEC’s new 38,000 square foot service center in Raisin Charter Township replaces their existing southeast service center to help them further expand internet service to more homes, businesses, and institutions across southern Michigan.

Ross Design & Engineering

Ross Design in Woodstock Township has an extensive history in the manufacture of material handling components, and currently supplies the global industry with top-of-the-line Casters and Material handling Forks. This project consists of adding an additional 14,250 sq ft of manufacturing space.

Square One Competition

The Square One Pitch Competition hosted 6 contestants, giving them 5 minutes to pitch their ideas. The Idea Genius award winner was De’Angelo Boone, creator of the Pantry App, which improves access to food pantries. Ryan Waggoner received the Audience Choice award for Salsa Bliss, which provides smallbatched, locally produced salsa.

$14M | 6 Projects Utility $15M | 1 Project Services

$404k | 5 Projects

$50k | 2 Projects

Year in Social

Year in Social

475,278 Total Impressions

414.5K Total Impressions

1,035 Posts Published

904 Posts Published

4,303 Total Followers

23,249 Total Engagements

191 New Followers

18.8K

Total Engagements

Tink & The Frog

Michelle Beechler never imagined she would one day be running her own yarn shop. She simply loved knitting and was looking for a career change. She bought and then rebranded Ann’s By Design in downtown Adrian. Tink & The Frog offers a full range of knit and crochet supplies, classes and events while promoting the benefits and enjoyment of acrafting.

B Hive Childcare

The B Hive, an Adrian childcare center that opened during the pandemic, is expanding in a new location in the City of Adrian. The new building will allow up to 100 children to be enrolled. The project was primarily funded through the County Revolving Loan Fund.

Awards

Workforce & Talent recognition from MidAmerica Economic Development Council

Recognition was presented to Lenawee Now in the Workforce & Talent category, for our Align Talent Consortium’s Industry Collaboratives.

Align

Marshall Plan Grant

We saw our biggest push to develop curriculum for middle and high school students and adults under the Marshall Plan Grant in 2022. Through this grant, we were able to use experts and higher education partners to develop and test curriculum to be rolled out in middle and high school, and also created adult certification. The areas of focus for this work was in: Accounting, Cybersecurity, Digital Marketing, Early Childhood Education, Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, IT/Data Management, Project Management and Future Teachers.

Elements of Collaboration

Early in 2022, Align held an Elements of Collaboration event. This event was to showcase the work of our Chemical Manufacturer’s Collaboration. Held at the Adrian Armory, the event hosted more than 100 community members to learn about outcomes of this collaborative and the benefits of collaborations, in general. Following this event, we received requests from employers in different industries who wanted to be part of a collaborative.

Lenawee

LMS Launch

In the Fall of 2022, Align Lenawee Talent Consortium launched its Learning Management System (LMS). The asynchronous and self-paced training system has more than 150 courses for professional skills, leadership and technical skills. Another 150 courses are offerings from our affiliates. Employers pay a low monthly fee for their employees to take the various training. Additionally, we offer customized course development so organizations can utilize the LMS for their onboarding and other proprietary training as well.

Career Connections

In March, 2022, Align held its first ever Career Connections job fair event for high school and college students. The event was a great success, providing the opportunity to meet with employers for more than 125 students. There were 25 employers in attendance and the event received high scores from both employers and job seekers in postevent evaluations. The event was held on Adrian College’s campus and offered students campus tours and the ability to sit in on certain courses as well.

Staff

James E. Van Doren

Executive Director – Retired

Tim Robinson Director of Operations

Randy Yagiela Director of Development

Dottie Grzebik

Administrative Assistant

Sky Ely Marketing Specialist

Gary Clemetson

Director of Entrepreneurial Services

Erica Raymond

Accounting Manager

Sheila Blair Align Talent System Manager

Board of Directors

Douglas Kapnick Chairperson

Kapnick Insurance Group

Jason Hess Vice Chair

Krieghoff Lenawee Company

Kathryn M. Mohr

Secretary/Treasurer

Mohr Budds Law, PLLC

Patricia J. Clark

Midwest Energy and Communications (MEC)

Pat Farver

BMC Global

Mark Haag

Lenawee Intermediate School District

Ken Prior Ervin Industries, Inc.

Jim Williams

Premier Bank

Julie Yaroch, D.O.

ProMedica

Mindy Bradish-Orta

Consumer Energy

Dr. James Colman

Lenawee Christian Ministries

Rick Gurdijan

Gurdijan Insurance Group, Inc.

Jim Kapnick

Kapnick Insurance Group

Jim Sayre Convergent L3C

Workforce Development

Joe Williams

Lenawee Community Foundation