GLBM November 2014

BUSINESS MONTHLY GR E ATER LANS ING

NOVEMBER 2014

10 over the next ten In this issue •

10 OVER THE NEXT TEN WINNERS SHARE THEIR VISION

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POWERFUL FORCES: AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

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NOVEMBER 2014

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NOVEMBER 2014

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BUSINESS MONTHLY

BUSINESS MONTHLY G REATER L A N S I N G

News Food Processing and Innovation Center Fuels Food Entrepreneurship......................... 6

NOVEMBER 2014

Igniting Innovation Event Propels Ideas Out of the Box ........................................................8 Redeveloping Detroit Important to Lansing Companies .....................................................10

Features Powerful Forces .......................................................................................................................................12

10 over the next ten In this issue •

10 OVER THE NEXT TEN WINNERS SHARE THEIR VISION

•

POWERFUL FORCES: AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

•

LANSING MAKER WEEK ALLOWS RESIDENTS TO FIND THE MAKER IN THEM

Cover photography by Mark Warner

The Greater Lansing Business Monthly (Volume 27, Issue 11) The Greater Lansing Business Monthly is published monthly by M3 Group at 614 Seymour Street, Lansing, MI 48933. Periodicals postage paid at Lansing, Michigan USPO. USPS number 020w807.

Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available at $22 per year for postage and handling or $38 for two years.

Call (517) 203-0123 or visit www.lansingbusinessnews. com to subscribe.

Postmaster: Send address changes to The Greater Lansing Business Monthly, 614 Seymour Ave., Lansing, MI 48933. Send additional subscription requests and address changes to The Greater Lansing Business Monthly, Inc., 614 Seymour Street, Lansing, MI 48933.

Copyright © 2014 The Greater Lansing Business Monthly, Inc. All rights reserved.

Editorial Office: 614 Seymour Street, Lansing, MI 48933 www.lansingbusinessmonthly.com

Lansing Maker Week ............................................................................................................................18 10 Over the Next Ten ............................................................................................................................20

Departments Commentary.................................................................................................................................................. 4 He Said/She Said ......................................................................................................................................24 GLBM List ................................................................................................................................................... 26 Man on the Street ................................................................................................................................... 28 On the Road................................................................................................................................................ 32 Regional Rotation .................................................................................................................................... 34 Around Town............................................................................................................................................... 36 Financial Advisor .....................................................................................................................................38 Investments ...............................................................................................................................................40 Legislative Update ..................................................................................................................................42 Real Estate ..................................................................................................................................................44 Business Calender .................................................................................................................................46 Notable News ...........................................................................................................................................48

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NOVEMBER 2014

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BUSINESS MONTHLY Publisher: Tiffany Dowling tiffany@m3group.biz Editor: Emily Caswell emily@m3group.biz Sales Manager: Jennifer Hodges jhodges@m3group.biz Media Specialist: Jill Bailey Account Managers: Manny Garcia Penny Meadows Production Director: Kelly Ritter Art Director: Brooke Erwin Graphic Artist: Mike France Web Manager: Skylar Kohagen Event Calendar Manager: Jaime Hardesty

GLBM Editorial Board: April Clobes - Executive Vice President, MSU Federal Credit Union Trish Foster - Senior Managing Director & COO, CBRE|Martin Lisa Parker - Director of Alumni Career and Business Services, Michigan State University Alumni Association Deb Muchmore - Partner, Kandler Reed Khoury & Muchmore Tom Ruis - Vice President, Fifth Third Bank Doug Klein - Executive Director, Mason Area Chamber of Commerce Mark Hooper - Partner, Andrews Hopper Pavlik Diontrae Hayes - Legislative Director for State Senator Coleman Young, II Correction: The October Greater Lansing Business Monthly List titled Marketing and Public Relations Firms should have included: • Stony Point Communications. (517) 339-0123. P.O. Box 640 Haslett, 48840. stonypoint-pr.com • Redhead Design Studio. (517) 8533681. 1135 N. Washington Avenue Lansing, 48906. virtualredhead.com 4

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The Only Constant is Change

“M

y name is consistency. I am related to success. We should hang out more.”

– Anonymous

While wasting a little time on Facebook catching up with friends, I noticed that particular quote. It definitely caught my attention. There is a lot of truth in that statement. Many of us find ourselves striving for consistency in many things. But, consistency is hard. Okay, so behaviors like checking Facebook or other activities that are not always productive can be easy.

But, providing consistency is hard in areas like delivery of service, product quality, customer relationships, leadership, positivity, helpfulness, focus and always doing the right thing. In these cases, I believe that consistency is related to success.

Watching some of the 10 over the next Ten recipients, it’s clear that they subscribe to many leadership qualities consistently. It will be exciting and interesting to watch their reach grow, and with that, make a huge difference in our greater Lansing community.

I also like to adhere to the message in the quote below. Hopefully, our future leaders can relate to this as well.

“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” – Oscar Wilde Utilizing your imagination to review your situation and try to make it more productive, profitable, and in the end, better for the company and its people is the way to go. Sometimes, you don’t have a choice in how things change. Just when you think circumstances are going to stay consistent and in a groove, it shifts.

At the time your world changes, it may feel like disaster, but in most situations, it’s an opportunity. A key member of the GLBM team is leaving the organization and at first there is so much fear because inevitably things will be different. And, change is difficult. However, this is also an opportunity to do things differently, give other team members new tasks and see where the position can go.

By the time you’re reading this, Emily Caswell, our managing editor will have moved on to a new position in Lapeer. She will take on new challenges and undoubtedly have an amazing adventure. Emily was instrumental in bringing together the vision for GLBM over the last year. She has been a consistent leader in my organization and will definitely be missed around our offices. I would like to wish her the best in this life because she definitely deserves it.

If you want to meet the rest of the GLBM team and our new magazine editor, please don’t hesitate to attend this month’s Connections and Coffee on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 8 a.m. at the University Club in Lansing. I hope to see you there. It’s a great way to get some information about area companies and also network with great people. I’m so thankful to be a part of the greater Lansing business community.

Be dynamic in all you do,

Tiffany Dowling | Publisher NOVEMBER 2014

In this season of gratitude, Dart Development would like to thank all of our tenants and partners for a wonderful year.

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NEWS

Food Processing and Innovation Center Fuels Food Entrepreneurship

BY MICKEY HIRTEN

T

here are many things about the food business that attract entrepreneurs.

Visit any farmers market or walk through a crafts fair and they are everywhere, selling breads, poultry, relishes, salad dressings and specialty vegetables. And few places are better suited to these small businesses than Michigan.

The diversity of products grown in Michigan is second only to California. The state Rendering of MSU Food Processing and Innovation center has a rich entrepreneurial history. And as home to Michigan State University (MSU), one of the nation’s agricultural utilities. The business-park location already has some food research giants, expert help is available through programs like related operations and the FPIC could be the catalyst for other its new Food Processing and Innovation Center (FPIC). operations to cluster nearby, he said.

The $5.3 million project, funded with a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Center, and matched with a $1 million grant from the state of Michigan and $1.6 million from MSU, will help businesses commercialize food products and production processes.

The FPIC will allow existing businesses that are already established — business that may have come out of regional incubators — to try and develop a new recipe or take an existing recipe and revamp it or revise it to make larger quantities,” Melcher said.

Assisting in developing the FPIC is MSU’s Center for Economic and Community Development. “We look for economic innovation here,” said John Melcher, CECD’s associate director, who helped secure financing for the project.

Businesses will lease time and services at FPIC. The ability to draw on MSU experts in food service, agriculture, packaging and marketing, is expected to nurture what the university defines as “high-potential growth oriented companies to innovate, scale up and commercialize new food products and processes.”

The plan, approved in June by the university’s board of trustees, called the FPIC “Michigan’s ‘Real Time’ place for high-potential growth-oriented companies to grow. This state-of-the-art USDA/ FDA-certified food processing facility would permit clients to do applied research and development while marketing finished products directly from the FPIC facility.”

It will be located in a 7,000-square-foot building on Hulett Road, south of Jolly Road. According to Melcher, the facility is the former Hobie’s Cafe and Pub restaurants’ commissary, and comes with industrial grade food preparation and packaging equipment: coolers, freezers, ovens, fillers, loading docks and 6

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Initially, the FPIC will hire four people and expects to grow as the businesses using the facility expand. It has the potential to be a real job creator. When she announced the federal grant in September, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, who chairs the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, estimated that the project would create 327 jobs and leverage $273 million in private investment.

She called the FIPC a “critical step to help small businesses in Michigan get their products on the market. When we grow things here and make things here, we create jobs here. Building

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NEWS

Igniting Innovation Event Propels Ideas Out of the Box

BY MICKEY HIRTEN

M

ichigan State University, founded in 1855, has a tradition that blends practical knowledge with academic inquiry. It stems from its Land Grant origins. Honoring this heritage, but shaping it for the 21st Century, Michigan State is transforming, embracing the mission and vision of a “World Grant” university.

The shift in perspective is reflected in the university’s broadly constructed MSU Global initiative, and was acknowledged in a rapid-fire work setting at its fourth annual Igniting Innovation event in October. The program, which cuts across academic disciplines, brought together experts from inside and outside of the university.

“It was our most successful event yet.

One of the things we try to do is keep track of what came out of this. Did we make connections in moving someone to the next level?” Geith said. “This sparked more ideas than any event we have done.

Many of the projects are out of the box.”

The university’s global vision, she said, is built on a foundation of teaching, learning, research and outreach. The Igniting Innovation event attracted about 100 participants, all moving freely through a conference room at the Kellogg Center. The grab bag of programs, often handled in 15 minute “fire sessions,” were designed to provoke inquiry.

John Spink, a member of the College of Veterinary Medicine and an MSU Global Innovation fellow, explored in 8

Speakers at MSU’s Igniting Innovation event. his 15-minute sessions the economic and public health challenges related to detecting and deterring food fraud — truly a global problem. MSU has positioned itself as an international expert in this field, addressing issues like adulteration, misbranding, tampering, licensee fraud, theft, diversion and counterfeiting.

Another quick hit program dealt with PhotosynQ, a field of study that seeks Christine Geith, Assistant Provost and Executive better understanding of the deeper mysteries Director of MSU Global. of photosynthesis. The session, hosted by Greg Austic, also by promoting open source hardware an MSU Global Faculty Innovation and crowd sourcing relationships to Fellow, is advancing this field of inquiry interconnect experts.

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PH OTO S BY MARK WAR NE R

“We try to get new ways of doing things; to spread around knowledge,” said Christine Geith, Assistant Provost and Executive Director of MSU Global.

NEWS

There were two longer panel discussions: Innovation with Knowledge Clouds and MOOCs and Innovative Approaches Affecting Community Change.

MOOCs is shorthand for Massive Open Online Courses, an education niche that large universities are using to broaden enrollments and build their brands. Because they are free, they attract hundreds, sometimes, thousands of students, many outside the United States.

Mickey Hirten is an award winning writer and editor. He has been executive editor of the Lansing State Journal, the Burlington Free Press in Vermont, and was the financial editor and a columnist for the Baltimore Evening Sun. He is the current president of the Michigan Press Association. His wife, Maureen Hirten, is director of the Capital Area District Library.

THE PROGRAM EXPLORES THE FACTORS DRIVING COMMUNITY CHANGES AND CHALLENGES. IT COMBINES THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS LIKE RESEARCH, INFORMATION PLATFORMS

Design

AND COLLABORATION WITH SOCIAL PROCESSES. Spink, for example, has been using MOOCs as a successful extension to his food fraud programs, which MSU boasts has resulted in “expanded global corporate outreach and doubled corporate engagement contacts.”

It cited the example of WalMart, which paid $10,000 to have overview MOOC materials translated to Mandarin for use with its partners in Asia.

The panel on community change was moderated by William Heinrich, a MSU Global Researcher and Assessment specialist.

“We hosted this panel to illustrate in lots of ways why we do research at MSU and how MSU Global works with researches to advance innovative ideas,” Heinrich explained. The program explores the factors driving community changes and challenges.

It combines the technical aspects like research, information platforms and collaboration with social processes.

“We need to imbed these in ways that get them (solutions) used,” Heinrich said.

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NEWS

Redeveloping Detroit Important to Lansing Companies

BY KRIS TINE RICHM O N D

Editor’s note: The question of can Lansing truly succeed and recover without a successful Detroit is one that has many answers. It is a question many people would like to weigh in on. It is a question that is vitally important to the business community here in greater Lansing.

With that in mind, The Greater Lansing Business Monthly is continuing the conversation this month in our third “Detroit” piece. Check back for updates on this topic. Have an opinion you’d like to share? Please contact Publisher Tiffany Dowling at tiffany@m3group.biz.

Development Finance Group. DMI finances commercial real estate projects that will have a meaningful impact on the communities these projects are located in through revitalization, placemaking or job creation.

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DMI is collaborating with Capitol Park Partnership as one of its permanent lenders for the Capitol Park Development Project, an $80 million plus project involving the complete renovation of three vacant buildings (1212 Griswold, 1145 Griswold, 1249 Griswold) that face Capitol Park in downtown Detroit.

Detroit is Michigan’s largest city and largely determines how the entire state is judged and perceived by the rest of the world.

Two Lansing-based companies believe that by investing in Detroit’s resurgence, they are helping the entire state improve its identity.

“The 1145 Griswold project is a poster child development that is contributing to the successful redevelopment of Detroit’s Downtown. Not only will it restore and revitalize a historic building in the Capitol Park District, it will serve as a catalyst for additional development in both that area and surrounding blocks and bring in new residents to the community to further spur economic growth,” said Rick Laber, president of Develop Michigan.

Develop Michigan (DMI), headquartered in Lansing, is one of those companies. That’s why they have allocated 40 percent of their assets to be used for projects in those areas.

Redevelopment is not an easy process says Laber. It takes multiple participants and creative financing to structure a program that works for all parties.

DMI is a not-for-profit development finance organization formed through a partnership between Great Lakes Capital Fund, the Michigan Strategic Fund and the

Richard Karp, principal of Lansing-based Karp + Associates is one of the developers on the project. His firm has offices in Toledo, Flint and downtown Detroit.

Rendering of the redevelopment. f you’ve followed the news lately, you’ve probably heard about the amount of investment that’s happening in the Detroit region. Investors from across the state want to be a part of the rebirth and revitalization of Detroit because they know that “so goes Detroit, so goes the rest of the state.”

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Born and raised in Detroit, Karp has always had a passion and desire to rehabilitate downtown Detroit’s unparalleled portfolio of commercial historic structures.

“While our firm has been seriously looking at downtown Detroit since 2005, the economic crash and an unfriendly political environment had previously been obstacles to our full-scale deployment in that market,” said Karp. “The national trend toward urban core residential rental, the massive interest and investment by a panoply of key stakeholders, the economic improvement and return of commercial banks to real estate investment, all combined as a confluence of factors creating a perfect storm for an experienced historic rehab development team.”

Karp says that the Detroit Savings Bank building at 1212 Griswold is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Demolition and abatement began last month at the Capitol Park Building at 1145 Griswold.

“As Detroit improves its capital assets and reputation and becomes a larger destination for business and tourism, other cities within the state, both large and small, can capitalize on their own personalities and benefit from this increased traffic,” added Laber.

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F E AT U R E

Powerful Forces An In-Depth Look at How the State Continues to Grow the Clean Energy Economy

BY MICKEY HIRTEN

O

n a drive noted for its natural beauty, the passage between Lansing and points far north features its most majestic offering along the flats of Gratiot County.

Wind turbines. Scores of them stand majestically in corn fields, spinning gracefully, each a powerful new source of electricity for the state’s utilities.

Wind turbines in Michigan provide enough electricity to power more than 100,000 homes. The state identifies 21 wind farms currently operating or under construction, providing 1,116 megawatts of power. Michigan, in fact, is one of the leading adopters of wind alternative energy with hundreds of turbines clustered on the Thumb and in mid Michigan’s Gratiot County.

In many ways, the county north of Lansing is an unlikely locale for sprawling wind turbine farms. Unlike Michigan’s Thumb, where 12 miles-per-hour and higher coastal winds are among the strongest in the nation, Gratiot County, where winds average in the modest 6-to-7 mph range, is an energy powerhouse as the result of strategic business development planning.

Officials with Greater Gratiot Development Inc., the county’s economic development agency, early on recognized the benefits in adapting to the burgeoning alternative energy market and staked out their territory. They were not alone in harnessing this fast-growing economic engine. While in many ways alternative energy is in its infancy, it already provides a significant share of electricity from likely and unlikely sources.

In the heart of Lansing there are large photo voltaic arrays pumping power into the electric grid. In the region’s two large Granger landfills, methane gas power generators produce 11.2 megawatts of base-load power. On the Michigan State University campus, a large commercial anaerobic digester breaks down animal waste and organic materials, producing gas fuel to make electricity. Small scale experiments use soups of algae to breakdown into ethanol, a substitute for petroleum.

Such is the energy revolution that will shape the 21st Century.

A just-published analysis of alternative energy advances from The Pew Charitable Trust’s clean energy initiative highlighted the economic and environmental benefits to the state.

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“Michigan’s unique portfolio of renewable resources and skilled technical workers positions the state well to keep growing its clean energy economy. Ongoing investment in the state’s strengths of manufacturing, innovation and collaborative research will allow Michigan to capitalize fully on the discovery, deployment and production of clean energy technologies,” stated the report, which was released in October.

It credited Michigan’s 2008 Clean, Renewable and Efficient Energy Act for prompting the state’s utilities to adapt alternative energy sources into their production mix. And it cited the tax incentives the state offers for renewable energy renaissance zones, tax credits and other energy savings incentives for propelling the state to the forefront of clean energy.

“Michigan’s clean energy helps power the state’s economic recovery.

Total capital investment in renewable energy from 2009 to 2013 topped $2 billion and is expected to grow in the state to $3.5 billion by 2015. From 2009 to 2013, more than 1 gigawatt of new wind

NOVEMBER 2014

F E AT U R E

capacity was installed, almost 95 percent of the total clean energy added in those five years. Most new clean generation came from wind, but solar, methane digester and other technologies also grew,” Pew reported.

Like all utilities in the state, the Lansing Board of Water and Light is required by 2015 to produce 10 percent of its total electricity using alternative energy. It boasts a strategic mix of clean energy initiatives: photo voltaic arrays, hydroelectric, fuel cells and power from methane gas produced at Granger landfills. The region’s other electric utility, Consumers, reports that it uses hydroelectric and waste wood to produce most of its renewable power.

It includes wind and biomass in its clean energy mix.

BWL, in its most ambitious alternative energy initiative, has contracted for electricity from eight wind turbines operated by Exelon in Gratiot County. The company has 34 turbines spread over 11 square, producing 81.6 megawatts of power and is adding another 21 by year end. This will be BWL’s first wind power agreement.

Other utilities in Michigan, notably DTE Energy Co., already powers 50,000 homes from its Gratiot County Wind Project, according to the Pew study.

year. But it addresses the alternative energy requirement and helps reduce its power costs, said George Stojic, BWL’s Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Development.

BWL expects its turbines, each of which cost about $4.5 million, to produce approximately 60,000 megawatts of electricity annually, enough to power about 6,000 homes. It’s just a small share of the 2.2 million megawatt hours the utility needs for its customers each

Similarly, BWL’s investments in solar power — fields of photovoltaic cells — meshes with its summer power needs.

It has an array of 817 solar panels along Cedar Street, opposite its water treatment plant. It also has panels and fuel cells on the roof of its REO Town headquarters.

“The wind is strongest in late winter through spring and late in the fall,” Stojic said, which is when natural gas prices tend to be particularly volatile. He said adding wind power to the power generation mix helps hedge against higher energy costs.

Harnessing the Power of the Wind To stand near one of Exelon’s wind turbines is to feel the power.

They are simultaneously simple — they are, after all, windmills — and engineering marvels.

The size alone is breathtaking. Each tower is 299 feet tall, about the size of the Boji Tower in downtown Lansing. The blade tip height tops out at 491 feet. And this is what you see from the outside.

The heart of the turbine is a 2.4 megawatt Winergy Generator that over the course of a year will produce an estimated 155,000 Megawatt hours of electricity. Power from Exelon turbines is routed through 24 miles of cabling where it is tied into a transmission network that sends power to BWL and other state utilities.

A completed turbine weighs 760,000 pounds and sits on a foundation formed from 480 cubic feet of concrete and 40 tons of rebar.

Each of the three blades is 192 feet long and weighs 22,000 pounds. When attached to the tower they sweep an area equal to 2.7 acres. And what looks graceful from a distance is dizzingly fast up close; the tip of the blade travels at speeds up to 202 miles per hour.

The turbines are a manufacturing hybrid, according to Exelon.

Some components are built in Arkansas. The blades are produced in Germany; the towers in Indonesia. Both are brought into the Muskegon Port on four 454-foot cargo ships.

Exelon is the largest owner-operator of wind farms in Michigan, and operates 34 turbines in the Gratiot County Wind Project and will add another 21 by the end of the year. The company has 187 turbines in the state, able to generate 535.6 megawatts of power.

The Pew report lauded the state’s approach to energy noting, that “Michigan’s wind capacity is among the fastest growing in the nation. In 2010, the state’s Public Service Commission identified wind energy resource zones — areas most viable for commercial energy generation — as mandated by the state’s 2008 Clean, Renewable and Efficient Energy Act. This designation streamlines development of wind energy projects and has been a significant factor in the industry’s growth.

With 1.2 GW of installed wind capacity, Michigan ranks 16th nationwide in wind energy capacity. The commission estimates the state will top 1.4 GW by the end of 2014.”

The efficiency of turbines like those planned for BWL has improved dramatically, according to the U.S. Dept. of Energy.

“Research efforts have helped to increase the average capacity factor (a measure of power plant productivity) from 22 percent for wind turbines installed before 1998 to 32 percent for turbines installed between 2006 and 2013.”

It added that the economics also are favorable. “Wind energy costs have been reduced from over 55 cents (current dollars) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 1980 to under 2.5 cents/kWh in some regions of the country today.”

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The Cedar Street PV field produces about 158 kilowatts of power, said Stojic. A display adjacent to the array provides realtime tracking.

BWL recently added panels to Cedar Street solar field with more than double the output of the original 120 watt collectors. These new PV cells reflect two trends: higher output and lower prices. PV panels are now priced low enough to provide off-thegrid power for lighting, communications equipment, highway safety and traffic control, even TVs at tailgates. The solar panels installed by BWL in 2008 were about 6 percent efficient. The more modern panels are closer to 20 percent efficient.

“The cost on our lot averages about $3.25 a watt. I expect the larger solar array to be in the $2.25 range,” Stojic said.

BWL is preparing to add 5,000 kilowatts of solar power to its clean energy mix and has solicited bids for the project. Michigan’s weather makes it one of the worst areas

in the country for solar power, but the sun shines when utilities need power the most.

“My need is in the summer,” Stojic said.

“Most of our generating resource need is that summer peak. Solar correlates with that.”

Tax credits for wind and solar power helped BWL and other utilities to invest in alternative energies. For the most part, clean energy costs more than dirty, thermal energy. Stojic said BWL was able to use now-expired credits for its wind turbine project, which lowered its costs.

Solar projects still are eligible for credits, but they accrue only to private business, which is why BWL is seeking a contractor rather than owning the PV system.

A smaller, though more familiar component in BWL’s alternative energy mix are hydroelectric plants. Its generation station at the Moores River Dam opened in 1908 and continues to produce power today — about 500 kilowatts. Away from

Lansing, the utility has an agreement with Tower/Kleber Hydro which operates a northern Michigan hydroelectric unit near Cheboygan. Stojic said there is little incremental cost associated with producing power from the Grand River facility, but that there are capital costs and maintenance.

And finally there is BWL’s agreement with Granger for electricity produced at its two area landfill sites. As trash decomposes, organic material produces methane gas and carbon dioxide. Granger has been pumping methane from its landfill sites since 1985, initially selling the gas to nearby industrial customers and since 1990 producing electricity that it sells to BWL. Stojic said Granger produces about 79 megawatts of electricity for the utility which it uses to offset its alternative energy mandate.

MSU: A World Leader in Alternative Energy Through its specialized colleges and research initiatives, Michigan State University (MSU) has established itself as a world leader in the alternative energy field.

Along with the University of Wisconsin, it has received a five year, $125 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to sustain the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.

The project is but a part of the tens of millions of dollars in multi-disciplined alternative energy research at MSU, said distinguished professor of physics and astronomy Wolfgang Bauer, who is consulting with the university’s executive vice president for administration on clean energy.

The GLBRC research into biofuels from plant materials and related projects meshes with MSU’s core agricultural and engineering expertise. Bauer cited research on wind turbine design, methane production from plant materials and transparent solar collectors as high-profile examples of the university’s diverse alternative energy initiatives.

Among the more prominent projects highlighted by MSU are: •

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Researchers are developing new highly-efficient thermoelectric materials based on natural mineral

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

tetrahedrites that have the potential to convert waste heat into electricity, perhaps even from a home furnace.

•

The university has built a 450,000 commercial-sized anaerobic digester that produces enough methane to produce 1.7 million kilowatts of electricity. The process converts animal waste and organic materials and produces fertilizer in addition to fuel.

•

For Biomass, a key to unlocking the energy potential in plant materials is pretreatments processes developed at MSU. These accelerate the breakdown of plant cellulose by a factor of five, speeding the process that ultimately converts ethanol into biofuel.

•

Researchers have engineered a plant that stores lipids in its leaves to enhance biofuel outputs. The key was using an algal gene involved in oil production to alter the plants.

•

Using transparent luminescent solar concentrator (TLSC), MSU researchers have created clear sheets of thin material that capture a small slice of sunlight to produce electricity.

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It is a reliable source of power, said Keith Granger, CEO of the company. Its 335-acre Wood Street landfill site in Lansing and its 180-acre Grand River site in Watertown Twp. are punctuated with wells and lined with pipes to draw gas into its large on-site generators. About half of the landfill gas is burnable methane (the rest is mostly carbon dioxide) and these sites can produce gas for generations.

Mickey Hirten is an award winning writer and editor.

He has been executive editor of the Lansing State Journal, the Burlington Free Press in Vermont, and was the financial editor and a columnist for the Baltimore Evening Sun. He is the current president of the Michigan Press Association. His wife, Maureen Hirten, is director of the Capital Area District Library.

“The first project, where we put our well in 30 years ago, is still generating meaningful methane today,” Granger said. It was the start of a business for the waste collection and energy production business that now operates in six states with 17 different sites.

If alternative energy initiatives are advancing on a macro scale, advances for small business and residential users is more fragmented. The Patriot Solar Group in Albion designs PV systems for both.

It recently designed a 10 kilowatt, 40-panel system for the Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall that will offset about 10 percent of its electric usage, said Patriot spokesman Eric Potts. Each panel produces about 250 watts of electricity.

It used similar panels for an underground house in Bath, where in June it installed an 8 kilowatt, 60 cell array. Potts estimated the cost of the project at between $16,000 and $17,000.

The company said the homeowner entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement with Consumers Energy’s Experimental Advanced Renewable Program. “This is what makes these systems work,” Potts said.

“Utilities guarantee a higher rate for the power they buy — two to two-and-a half times more.”

Consumers Energy, the utility serving Bath, pays between 52.5 to 65 cents per kilowatt hour for clean energy it buys from residential customers.

Potts acknowledged that Michigan can be a tough sell for solar energy systems.

“We average only four and a half hours of sunlight a day. But that’s no worse than Germany. They are one of the world leaders.”

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Granger is Major Player in Renewable Energy some of which happens quickly.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, paper can break down in two-to-four weeks, a banana peel in three-to-five weeks; a disposable diaper can take up to 20 years.

Methane is a greenhouse gas, contributing to global warming when released into the atmosphere. At its Lansing-area sites, Granger said it taps virtually all of the methane available from its acreage to feed its generators.

But there is another use for methane from landfill sites — a natural gas substitute for businesses located nearby.

Methane from landfills has an approximate BTU value of 500 compared with natural gas, with a BTU value of 1,030, or propane which is 2,500. A kilowatt hour of electricity has 3,414 BTUs.

Talk with Keith Granger and you’ll never think of trash in quite the same way.

Food scraps, plywood, cigarette butts, a ripped cotton t-shirt.

Garbage? Not necessarily.

“We are collecting tomorrow’s energy. What you put at the curb comes to our landfill and will create methane,” said Granger, Electricity generating facility.

CEO of his family-owned waste collection and energy Granger sites to operate continually. production business.

Power produced from turbines or PV cells depend on wind and sun, neither of From its 335-acre Wood Street landfill which is reliable. site in Lansing and 180-acre Grand River site in Watertown Twp., the company “For utilities, we are considered base-load extracts enough gas from decomposing power,” Granger said. It means that BWL trash to power thousands of homes each can factor 11.2 megawatts of Granger day. It’s an alternative energy supplier of power into its output model, reducing its electricity to the Lansing Board of Water reliance on coal and natural gas. Granger and Light, contributing to the utility’s called the methane generated electricity goal of 10 percent clean energy by 2015. from his company’s sites a significant source of power.

Granger has a power-purchase agreement with BWL that differs from The gas produced in landfill sites others who supply electric alternative is 50 percent methane, 45 percent energy from sources like wind turbines carbon dioxide and trace amounts of and photovoltaic arrays. Its landfills nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and other produce methane gas at a constant rate organic compounds. It comes from the which allows the generators at both decomposition of organic materials,

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Yet despite its lower thermal value, landfill gas is suitable for many applications. Granger, which operates 17 landfills in six states, provides methane to nine industrial users, among them: Tyson Foods in Morgantown, Pa; Nova Chemicals, in Painesville, Ohio; Dart, in Narvon, Pa; and Rolls-Royce, in Indianapolis, Ind. Altogether, its direct gas fields produce 14,200 standard cubic feet per minute each day, which Granger prices to reflect the markets it serves. “We recognize who we compete against. For natural gas, it’s the cost of the commodity,” Granger said. “We run the numbers and see what makes the most sense, what’s most viable.”

The company’s electricity generating facilities are heavily concentrated in Michigan. Besides the two Lansing area

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“AS WE ACTUALLY PUT TRASH IN PLACE WE HAVE WELLS RIGHT THERE SO THAT AS SOON AS TRASH DECOMPOSES, AS SOON AS IT’S GENERATING GAS, WE ARE

In 1990, Granger began producing electricity using methane from its Grand River landfill. Two years later it was generating electricity at the Lansing landfill and soon expanded into other markets.

“All the material that we collect and bring to our landfills is managed in a way so that we can efficiently capture the methane off garbage that is decomposing,” Granger explained. “Depending on the type of waste, it can start generating methane within a few months.”

At its Lansing-area facilities, Granger collects between 1 million and 1.5 million cubic yards of waste each year.

The sites are laced with an infrastructure of pipes, tied into a network of vertical and horizontal wells. Vacuum pumps pull gas trapped in the soil into the well lines.

“We’re capturing the majority of the gas,” Granger said.

As the company expands its landfill sites, it first installs its well infrastructure and

deposits the trash in ways to maximize methane collection. Granger trucks now use GPS navigation systems to determine the location of well heads. “As we actually put trash in place we have wells right there so that as soon as it (trash) decomposes, as soon as it’s generating gas, we are collecting it,” Granger said.

The company’s first methane collecting wells, now 30 years old, still generate commercial quantities of gas. “When we look at a decent size facility with a decent future incoming stream of waste, a landfill like Wood Street can have a life of 50 years. And the gas will keep going for another 30 years beyond that,” Granger said.

The positive environmental impact from using landfill gas is significant, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It promotes programs to limit methane pollution from solid waste landfills which it says are the third largest source of human related methane emission in the United States.

COLLECTING IT,”

The EPA finds that Michigan is among the nation’s leaders in methane capture. In California, 74 landfill sites harvest methane for alternative energy uses.

Pennsylvania, with 43 sites, is next, followed by Michigan with 42.

- KEITH GRANGER The company developed its energy subsidiaries as an offshoot of its waste collection business, which started in 1966 hauling trash for construction companies and other commercial businesses. It has evolved into what Granger describes as a “comprehensive environmental management service company” providing sustainable waste collection, disposal, recycling and renewable energy production.

PH OTO S BY MAR K WAR N ER

sites, it works with landfill operators in Montrose, Grand Blanc, Watervleit, Coopersville, Byron Center and Pinconning. Altogether, Granger’s 13 methane-fueled power plants produce 55 megawatts of power daily. When combined with the potential power output from its direct-use landfill sites, Granger said the equivalent total output is equal to BWL’s new 100 megawatt REO Town natural gas generation station.

It ventured into the landfill business in 1973 and in 1985 began capturing methane. “It was the first project in the state of Michigan and the first east of the Mississippi,” Granger said. “We put a well system into a closed landfill and piped the gas to Motor Wheel.”

Pictured above is one of Granger’s well heads. w w w

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Lansing Maker Week From Fashion to Food, Lansing Proves it’s Full of Makers

BY KRIS TINE RICHM O N D

Editor’s note: Please visit www.lansingbusinessnews.com for a special video exclusive of Maker Week filmed by M3 Group’s Mark Warner.

M

PH OTO B Y M A R K WA R N E R

ost people do not think of themselves as a “maker” — but in fact, many of us are. A maker is really anyone who creates, builds, tinkers or imagines.

Makers from around the state took part in a full week of hands-on activities at Michigan’s first-ever Lansing Maker Week and the Midwest’s first Startup Weekend: Maker Edition held Oct. 6 through 12.

“Maker Week is a celebration of people creating and spinning off new ideas and collaborating, coming together in a virtual space or many spaces, joining what is our emerging overall regional innovation network, a whole series of incubators that help people create and make everything from fashion to food to high tech items,” said Bob Trezise, President and CEO of Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), at the kick off press conference for Lansing Maker Week on Monday, Oct. 6.

Inventors, DIYers, foodies and neighbors alike took part in tours, hands-on projects and keynote presentations in areas that included food and drink, textiles and apparel, 3D printing, electronics and programming around the city, all organized by LEAP, along with a team of more than a dozen community partners.

P HOTO PROVIDE D

moment with a ribbon cutting and press conference.

Located in the historic downtown Knapp’s Centre, The Runway features 12 leasable private offices for designers-in-residence, as well as a communal design area equipped with state-of-the-art machinery.

Designers-in-residence and associate designers are able to utilize the equipment as part of their tenancy. The Runway also features a retail space, set to open in early November, where designers can sell their products.

Local business incubators, museums, schools and maker spaces hosted a series of interactive activities, workshops, lectures and projects. Events included tours of The Hive, Michigan State University’s cutting-edge, entrepreneurship incubation hub, handson activities at the new East Lansing Public A SwimLively suit designed by Library 2.0 Maker Studio, a kitchen tour Mary Gillis, a designer-in-residence at The Mary Gillis. and food sampling at Incu-Bake in Holt and Runway, is the creator of SwimLively, a so many more. A different keynote speaker was fashion swimwear line she launched this year that featured each night covering a wide range of topics including licensing bridges the gap between active wear and swimwear — also referred a product, creating a microbrewery, 3D printing and hacking tech. to as “Athleisure wear.”

The Runway, the first fashion and design incubator in the state, of Michigan, was unveiled on Thursday, Oct. 9. Key business leaders driving economic progress in the Lansing area joined Mayor Virg Bernero, members of LEAP and the Lansing Chamber of Commerce to celebrate this historic 18

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“I designed this suit for myself. My husband and I travel to Cabo San Lucas, and I no longer could find a suit that I felt comfortable in. I had this idea for a swimsuit and I decided that I’m going to make it myself. So I put together two suits, took them to Cabo, and they were so much fun to wear.”

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The one piece suit is fashionable yet practical. It has legs with Hip-Zip, which is an invisible zipper that unzips to the hip.

Gillis explained that a woman can wear the legs unzipped for lounging or zipped up for a stroll down the beach or for water sports.

Gillis structured the suit for all body types, and she says, the moisture wicking material hides a multitude of flaws.

with social media and with marketing and imaging. Also, I’ve enjoyed the comradery of working with the other designers here.”

small entrepreneurs because that’s where a lot of this job growth is going to happen,” said Mayor Virg Bernero.

With the addition of The Runway, LEAP reports that the Lansing region has more business incubators in operation than any other city in the state with seven currently operating and two more under development.

For more information about Lansing Maker Week, check out video recaps at www. lansingmaker.com/#media. For details on The Runway, visit www.runwaylansing.com or to find Gillis’ swimwear line, visit www. swimlively.com.

Gillis credits Jeff Henry, business consultant at The Runway, and the incubator for supporting her launch of SwimLively. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

Lansing Maker Week culminated on Friday, Oct. 10 with Startup Weekend: Maker Edition. This was the fifth Startup Weekend: Maker Edition in the U.S., and the first in Michigan and the Midwest. Held at Lansing Community College West, entrepreneurs took their ideas and launched a series of startups all in 54 hours.

“It’s a big deal to launch an apparel line.

It’s one thing to come up with an idea, but another to see it through to get it into production. There are so many aspects of it, it’s mind blowing! The timing here was just incredible. What I needed at that precise moment is what this is,” said Gillis. “I work with Jeff Henry on a daily basis. He has helped suggest manufacturing, helped me

“The great new ideas, the innovations that are going to take place in the future are coming from the making process. Most jobs are created in small to medium businesses.

It’s important that we are nurturing these

To read more highlights from Lansing Maker Week, make sure to pick up a copy of the November issue of the Capital Area Women’s LifeStyle Magazine.

Kristine Richmond is the Public Relations Specialist at M3 Group. She specializes in helping clients tell their stories of changed lives, fiscal success, philanthropic support and more by creating engaging messages that grab customers’ attention and cause them to act.

to the 2014

10 Over the Next 10 business leaders!

Thank you for your inspired leadership in our community.

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10 OVER

THE NEXT TEN

BY EMILY CAS WEL L | PH OTOS B Y MA R K WA R N E R

A

nyone who has been nominated for the 10 Over the Next Ten award in Lansing knows that there is a lengthy application process. This year a record number of nominations were received, meaning, this is an award that means something. It’s not easy to earn.

And while winning an award is great, there is something different about the 10 Over the Next Ten award given annually by the Lansing Chamber of Commerce and The Grand River

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Connection. Those honored are being thanked for their hard work and dedication to our community, but also given a task to keep going.

And so, after this year’s honorees were announced, The Greater Lansing Business Monthly tapped them, as I did with last year’s winners (myself included), and asked a tough question. What’s missing and, more importantly, what are you going to do about it? Here’s what they had to say.

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goals of those I work with. Over the next 10 years, I plan to continue developing partnerships with members in our community, who have a vested interest in revitalizing the youth in our community.

I will continue to advocate for the needs of these populations and assist them in developing their love and commitment to the same community that assisted me in becoming a successful, productive adult in my community.

back to this community by giving dignity to a generation that in many instances enriched and built this community while allowing me to also share in their wisdom and grow as a person and a professional in the Lansing community.

NICHOLE M A RT I N INGHAM COU NT Y M I C H I G A N YOU TH O P P ORT U N I T I E S INI TIATIVE (MYO I ) COOR DINATOR

The Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative Program is for youth in foster care, ages 14 to 24. MYOI focuses on eight key areas for success: education, employment, housing, finances, transportation, health, social skills and community. My goals include teaching youth how to access resources, obtain a variety of life skills and develop healthy, positive relationships. Teaching youth to advocate for themselves increases their self-esteem and helps the community gain perspective. I have spent over 12 years working with youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders develop the necessary skills to live a quality life and educate the community. As the chair of the ELHS Hall of Fame, I advocate to celebrate ELHS alumnus achievements as well as supporting current and future athletes. Raised proceeds (over $15,000) are donated to support athletic programs and offset “Pay to Participate” fees at the middle and high school levels.

The success of my work is fueled on my commitment to provide necessary information to educate individuals, groups and businesses about the needs/

MIN DY BIL A DE AU E X E CU TI VE D I R E CTOR OF D OW N TOW N L ANSING INC .

K AT IE LYN WO O D AT TOR N E Y W I TH B E R N I CK, R A D N E R & OU E L L E TTE , PC. I N L AN S I N G

The Lansing community, like many other communities in this country, contains a wealth of wisdom in their elderly population. Community is about people coming together to share knowledge in support of common goals. My contribution over the coming years will be to share the wealth of knowledge I have gained from my elderly clients when helping them with their estate planning, making decisions about nursing home care/assisted living, and entrusting people to help them make decisions if they have dementia or Alzheimer’s. As I learn more from the older generation, I am in a position to make better decisions everyday, which in turn allows me to give

The last few years have been pretty dynamic in downtown Lansing. Historic preservation has played a significant role in the revitalization of our downtown.

Preservation efforts have cultivated an urban renaissance and revived community pride not seen in decades.

Community interest and involvement have increased significantly as downtown Lansing was named a Michigan Main Street and as several major projects came to the forefront. In particular, the $186 million historic rehabilitation of the Ottawa Power Station for the world headquarters of Accident Fund Insurance Company, the $36 million historic mixeduse rehabilitation of the iconic Knapp’s building, the opening of the new $11 million Davenport University campus and ground-breaking of the Marketplace residential development along our evertransforming riverfront. Continued

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momentum has also resulted in more people and organizations wanting to plan projects and bring new activities and events to the city center.

In the years ahead, Downtown Lansing Inc. will continue to work with public and private sector partners to continue to make Lansing a place where people want to be. Our main focus will be on increasing the downtown district’s residential base and attracting additional hotels and boutique retailers to locate here.

a musician, call up a music teacher and see how you can help. I’ve started helping neighborhood kids with their summer businesses. No matter how big or small, it matters. If time is money, then it’s time we started investing in educating our community.

K EL LY K IN G E XE CU TI VE D I R E CTOR O F TH E OAK PAR K YM CA W E L L N E S S CE N TE R

J O E MA NZ E LL A S E NIOR ACCO U N T E XE CU TIVE F O R T RU SC OT T ROS S M AN

Lansing needs to be a community that values education. Not just because we’re next door to a world-class research university, but because we know it gives our children the tools they need to succeed in a globallycompetitive economy.

For us adults, that means each and every one of us must identify a problem and own it. Find ways to volunteer at a school near you. If you’re an engineer, see if there’s a high school robotics team or an Impression 5 event you can help. If you’re

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I will make a concerted effort over the next 10 years to increase educational and outreach opportunities in the areas of health and wellness and animal welfare throughout greater Lansing, with a particular emphasis on underserved communities.

With a focus on community collaboration, my intent is to help change the lives of Lansing residents through programs that focus on wellbeing and healthy lifestyle choices. This includes activities that will help folks get moving, ensure access to healthy food options in every Lansing community and provide educational outreach on chronic disease prevention.

In the area of animal welfare, I want to assist local animal rescue groups in the development of programming that would

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educate youth in at-risk communities about the proper treatment and care for their pets. When kids have positive adult role models, and positive experiences with animals, they can learn how to make a positive impact on the lives of animals within their communities.

S U BA N N U R COOLEY M AN AGI N G E D ITOR OF CAPI TAL GAI N S MEDIA

Lansing is teeming with individuals who are ready and willing to do what it takes to help this city grow. They work hard, support each other and build together — whether it’s creating grassroots nonprofits that assist the community, or constructing support-systems for local businesses and entrepreneurial ventures.

In the future, I would like to see more and more people go, do, support, construct and reflect on the ways they can help this community flourish. As long as I’m here, I’ll encourage people to volunteer their time to area nonprofits, support local businesses and attend the many happenings already going on in our community. Embracing what’s here is part of improving what Lansing has to offer.

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I don’t know that anything is necessarily missing, but I hope to continue being an active contributor to the community.

Civic pride is contagious. If the current community is involved and invested in the continued development of the region, it will only continue to attract talented individuals to live and work in the Lansing area. I look forward to being a part of that effort.

STE V E N D. JA PI N G A CHIE F O F P U B LI C P O L I C Y A ND LE G IS LATIV E A F FA I R S FOR S TATE AND F ED ER A L GOVE RNM E NT R E L AT I O N S FOR THE M ICHIGA N STAT E MEDICAL S OCIE T Y ( M SM S)

My efforts will be focused on engaging young people and demonstrating through my actions that it is vital to be an active and positive member of our community.

We need to continue to move forward with progress.

J EF FE R Y HE RTR I CH A SSIS TANT G E NE R A L COU NS E L F O R AC C I D EN T FUND HO LD ING S, I N C .

S A RA H A N TH O N Y I N GH AM COU N TY COM M I S S I ON E R FOR D I S TR I CT 3 ON L A NSING’S S OU TH S I D E AN D DIREC TOR OF F I N AN CE AN D ST RAT EGIC PARTN E R S H I PS AT T HE M I CH I GAN COL L EGE ACCE S S N E TW ORK K E N S ZYMU S IA K M A NAGI N G D I R E CTOR O F T H E I N S TI TU TE F OR E N T R E PR E N E U R S H I P ( I E I ) AT TH E B ROAD COL L E GE O F BU S I N E S S AT M I CH I GAN STATE U N I VE R S I TY

I truly love living in Lansing, but I would say the one thing that I often think is lacking is confidence in “our” own ideas. I don’t think this is unique to our community, but I often feel that we want to “copy and paste” what other cities are doing, as opposed to really developing and supporting one-of-a-kind ideas. I believe it is time for other communities to copy us. I plan to help foster and support innovative business concepts and civic projects that make the rest of Michigan, and the United States, wish they lived in Lansing.

Over the next 10 years, I would like to continue bringing together nontraditional partners and stakeholders in order to strengthen and diversify Mid-Michigan’s leadership. I believe it is extremely important to have a wide array of perspectives at decision-making tables but far too often, I am the sole voice respecting women, young professionals and/or people of color. I want to continue serving as this voice while also encouraging others to become active and involved in our community.

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HE SAID/SHE SAID

He Said She Said

Each month The Greater Lansing Business Monthly invites authors from two views — one conservative, one liberal — to share their thoughts on a rotating topic. This month’s topic: What can we do as a state to attract more young talent?

business community), but so far Michigan hasn’t really jumped on board with one or even a set of initiatives aimed at addressing the issue.

PLACEMAKING THE KEY TO KEEPING YOUNG TALENT

By Karissa Chabot-Purchase

Despite the fact that Michigan has some of the best higher education institutions in the nation, young people continue to leave the state almost immediately after graduation, taking their talent and high-quality, hardearned diplomas with them.

The all-too-well-known “brain drain” has been detrimental to Michigan’s efforts to growing our struggling communities into the rich, dynamic hubs of activity many of them once were, because — and as research has shown time and time again — retaining a well-educated, talented workforce acts as a powerful magnet for new business and new investment. Proposals meant to tackle this issue continue to emerge from a variety of individuals (everyone from local, state and federally-elected officials to leaders from the 24

One approach that seems to be getting a bit more attention lately is the idea of embracing a Placemaking strategy for our communities. For those unfamiliar with the term, Placemaking is the idea that we ought to focus on developing communities that cater to residents (not just to cars and businesses). It focuses on designing and developing spaces that draw people in because they’re attractive, interesting, comfortable and meaningful (think lively, bustling neighborhoods and unique, inviting public areas). Placemaking capitalizes on a community’s existing assets and potential and very purposely involves input from the real “experts” in the field — the people who live, work and play in a place.

If Michigan’s goal is to better attract and retain young talent in our state, it’s time for us to think carefully about what exactly it is that young people want in the communities that they choose to set their roots in. After all, research suggests that an increasing number of young people decide where they want to live first and THEN look for employment; they’re not necessarily just moving to where the jobs are now that our economy is rebooting and more job opportunities are becoming available.

Discussions suggest that young people are flocking toward communities that provide an array of transit opportunities (wellfunded and maintained roads, public transit,

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walking and biking options); spaces that have a centralized “hub” (walkable, easily accessible downtown areas with amenities like shops, grocery stores, and dining and entertainment options); a variety of housing options (think mixed-use and green living options); and diverse cultural offerings, among other things. Identifying those (and other) features empowers us to then start providing them to residents through carefully devised Placemaking strategies and, in turn, netting some of the young talent that we might otherwise continue to lose to places like Chicago, Washington D.C. and elsewhere.

While it’s certainly only a piece of a larger puzzle, how we imagine our communities is a very important part of making Michigan more competitive in what will surely be an increasing battle for young talent.

Karissa and her husband have made Lansing their home since graduating from Michigan State University, where Karissa earned a bachelor’s degree in political theory and constitutional democracy from MSU’s James Madison College and a master’s degree in critical studies in literacy and pedagogy from the College of Arts and Letters. She currently works in the Michigan House of Representatives as the Legislative Director for State Representative Andy Schor (D-Lansing) and stays active in the community through a number of volunteer endeavors.

HE SAID/SHE SAID

aspiration should be toward stable, lifetime employment in a giant corporation. We need to continue to focus on narratives of how small businesses are rebuilding cities like Lansing and Detroit. We need to leverage the sparkling entrepreneurial success stories of the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch program (conducted by MiQuest), now in its 11th year.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS CRUCIAL TO KEEPING YOUNG TALENT HERE IN MICHIGAN

By Michael Rogers

One of the ways we can retain talent in our state is to continue our efforts to make Michigan friendly to entrepreneurs. We are seeing an accelerating trend of high school and college students saying they want to start and run their own businesses. Why? Part of it is that they’ve seen the impact that the Great Recession had on so-called secure jobs. They’ve concluded that working for a big firm is no guarantee that they’ll have stable employment. Instead, they are deciding that they should take control of their own futures by working for themselves.

Also appealing to young people is the heroic image that entrepreneurs have, particularly in the high-tech sector. Do they really think they will become billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg? Probably not, but they do sense that society and their peers admire self-made women and men who not only are making lots of money but are also having a significant positive impact on the world around them.

How do we make Michigan the kind of place where young men and women feel like they have an opportunity to be successful entrepreneurs? Much of it revolves around cultural change. We’ve come a long way toward fostering an entrepreneurial culture, but work remains to be done to discard the old habits of our industrial past — the idea that a young person’s highest

And we need to continue the excellent work that has been done in the tax and regulatory realm. Eliminating the Michigan Business Tax on most small enterprises was a great shot in the arm for entrepreneurial startups.

The effort that has gone into rationalizing and streamlining our regulatory structure gives entrepreneurs more time to focus on growing their businesses and creating jobs instead of dealing with red tape. In the years to come, we need to keep pushing forward to ensure that state and local governments are nurturing and encouraging entrepreneurship and making it really easy for start-ups to succeed.

Finally, we need to continue leveraging Michigan’s assets as an affordable, livable state. We may not have California’s climate, but neither do we have earthquakes and wild fires. In our state you can afford to own a home on a spacious lot and have access to great schools. It doesn’t take you two hours to commute to your job in one of our vibrant cities and you’re within easy driving distance of the Great Lakes.

Michigan is on a long-term trend line of an aging population. Retaining talented young people — and not losing them to places like San Francisco, Chicago and Boston — is vital if we are going to have a strong, vibrant economy in the future. Entrepreneurship is an important ingredient to achieving that goal.

Michael Rogers is Vice President Communications at the Small Business Association of Michigan.

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GLBM LIST

All 10 Over the Next Ten Winners

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2014 Recipients

2013 Recipients

Sarah Anthony

Emily Caswell

Mindy Biladeua

Brian Gallagher

Suban Nur Cooley

Josh Hovey

Jeffery Hertrich

Andrea Kerbuski

Steven D. Japinga

Joseph Lee Yang

Kelly King

Nikali Luke

Katie Lynwood

Andrea Ragan

Joe Manzella

Timothy Schmitt

Nichole Martin

Peter Spadafore

Ken Szymusiak

Nicole Szymczak

2010 Recipients

2009 Recipients

Kat Cooper

Chad Badgero

Jessica Knott

Justin Caine

Paul Jacques

Cory Chvala

Sarah Jennings

Julielyn Gibbons

Tobi Lyon

Jennifer Middlin

Jeffrey McWherter

Rory Neuner

Tremaine Phillips

Tom Ruis

Rochelle Rizzi

Jeff Smith

Thomas A. Stewart

Nathan Triplett

Adam Van Lente

Danielle Robinson

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

GLBM LIST

Each month, The Greater Lansing Business Monthly compiles a list relevant to the publication’s theme. The lists are not comprehensive, but rather, a snapshot look at what is publicly available on various industries and organizations. The following is a list of all of the 10 Over the Next Ten recipients in consecutive years.

2012 Recipients

2011 Recipients

James F. Anderton, V

Benjamin Bakken

Brian Bratta

Kristin Bellar

Nicholas Chilenko

Tim Bograkos

Adam Henige

Michael Ciranna

John Miller

Ryan Doom

John Lindenmayer

Joe Ford

Jake Pechtel

Diontrae Hayes

Nicole L. Proulx

Brittney Hoszkiw

Amber Shinn

Marc Merritt

Kate Tykocki, APR

Evan Pinsonnault

2008 Recipients

2007 Recipients

Brian Anderson

Jennifer Estill

Kira Carter

Scott Gillespie

Tiffany Ford

Erik Larson

Camron Gnass

Elizabeth Lyon

Ryan Henry

Aaron Matthews

Matthew Hill

Emily Matthews

Jamie Schriner-Hooper

Eric Stevenson

Brigham Smith

Ryan Vartoogian

Karen Stefl

Bree Popp Woodruff

Jessica Yorko

Marsha Zimmerman

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MAN ON THE STREET

M AN on the STR E ET What can we do as a state to attract more young talent?

COMPIL ED BY K YL E D OWL I N G

I think we should invest in resources and make Michigan a better place to live.”

Russ Mason

“We need to recruit more heavily, rather than just posting passive job listings and hoping people come around.”

Jason Braveris

“Michigan companies need to diversify and stop sticking to the car and factory industry.”

William M.

“I think that people that are higher up in companies need to take more chances on diversifying their company and take more chances on the young people that they hire.”

Dewayne Gray

“We need to make more incentives for people to move here and have a more vibrant downtown. Our downtown needs to have more stores than just restaurants, and the downtown area definitely needs another hotel. We need to make sure that the area is family-friendly so that people that move here will feel comfortable staying in the city and starting a family, and not have them living outside the city. We used to have retail and grocery stores and movie theaters downtown but they’ve all moved outside the downtown area.”

Denise Peek

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G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

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ON THE ROAD

Communities Revitalizing with Regionalism

BY VIRGINIA BERN E RO

Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series by Virginia Bernero, who traveled with Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, her father, to this conference.

I

P H OTO B Y V I RG I N I A B ER NERO

n August, I had the opportunity to join leaders from around the country at the Mayor’s Innovation Project (MIP) Conference in Chapel Hill, NC. The MIP is a learning network among world-wide mayors committed to “high road” policy and governance: shared prosperity, environmental sustainability and efficient democratic government. The conference supports these efforts through the study of concrete examples that can be adapted and initiated rapidly.

Many of the Mayors who attended the conference discussed regionalism. Some have successfully joined with the towns and cities around them, others are interested in such a feat and some are actively working toward this goal.

One great example of this partnership is the merger between the government of the City of Louisville and that of Jefferson County. Now known as “Louisville Metro,” the regional government shares resources such emergency services, sanitation services and political personnel. It has also helped to streamline bus, snow, transportation and other routes for residents and government.

Cities like Indianapolis, IN; Nashville, Tenn; Jacksonville, Fla; Kansas City, KA and Louisville, KY understand the importance of collaboration, cooperation and consolidation. When neighboring communities can put aside their competitive differences and focus on a larger scale, great partnerships can emerge. The thing that sets these cities apart is that they set their sights on competing on a national and global scale, and not just a local level. This goal is much harder, almost unattainable as individual townships, counties, cities or towns. As said by Benjamin Franklin, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately.”

Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh have a unique partnership with the Research Triangle. Their region is known nationally because they have differentiated themselves with one core strength, and yet they each have much more to offer on a smaller scale.

Although this region has the three defined cities, it actually includes eight counties.

In our region’s case, Lansing would be the anchor of the tricounty area. Yes, it would include East Lansing, Delta Township, Charlotte, Okemos, Dewitt, St. Johns — but we need a brand to get behind. The regional efforts have begun in the city, and we see the fire departments of Lansing and East Lansing sharing 32

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

Mayors touring mixed-housing development. a Chief and central personnel. To take our region to the next level, we are going to have to continue these kinds of mergers and cooperation.

As a region, instead of segregation by city and township lines, we become a community more open to natural segments. Subcommunities based on culture, industry, political ideology and more could start to emerge. It is not just the financial resources, but the resource of individuals that is unlocked with breaking our municipal barriers down.

The process of regionalism is tough. There must be warriors to head this fight, and many people to cheer them on. The complex multistep progression to merge and share our resources within an area is long, tiring and controversial. Really the decision comes down to our goals. Are we happy just being the star on the map of Michigan, or are we ready to take it to the next level? It is my hope that as the next generation to potentially lead this region, that we enter an era of further teamwork and collaboration to become the next great state capital of the nation.

Virginia Bernero is a Central Michigan University graduate, now the Communications Specialist for M3 Group. The full service branding agency employs her to work on events and marketing for their clients and publications, including the GLBM’s own Financial Expo and Entrepreneurial Awards.

NOVEMBER 2014

ENTREPRENEURS UNITE

GREATER LANSING BUSINESS MONTHLY PRESENTS THE 2015 ENTREPRENEURIAL AWARDS

NOMINATIONS ACCEPTED NOW Once a nomination has been received, follow up contact will be made by a member of the selection committee.

Deadline: Jan. 15, 2015

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R E G I O N A L R O TAT I O N

Williamston Celebrates Past, Looks to Future

BY MARIO ORTEGA

R

ecently, the City of Williamston has made efforts to celebrate its past while planning and developing for its future.

The city also coordinated efforts with private sector business developers and the Economic Development Council (EDC) to support new development and provide public facilities that will benefit the entire community. Capitalizing on a development opportunity, the city and the EDC began negotiations with a local businessman to redevelop an existing city building that housed the Department of Public Works and Police Department into a new microbrewery.

Located on West Grand River Avenue, this prime location, along with the years of experience of the business owner, will ensure the conversion of the building results in a robust business and entertainment destination that will enhance both the economic vitality of the city and our growing base of destination restaurants.

The sale and conversion of the City DPW/police building into a commercial anchor provided the city with the opportunity to develop and construct a new police department. The brand new headquarters, currently being constructed adjacent to City Hall on East Grand River Avenue, will greatly enhance the efficiency of the city police department. Utilizing the new amenities and operational efficiencies will allow the department to be even more effective at providing the community with the safety and security that can put residents and businesses at ease. This coordination and partnership between the city, the EDC and the private business community has allowed for both a new business to be established and provided a higher level of service to the whole community in an efficient model for the future.

P H OTO P ROV ID ED

The city held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new downtown historic district marker. Working with the State of Michigan, the Williamston Downtown Development Authority and City staff coordinated the creation and installation of a historic marker recognizing Williamston’s Downtown Historic District, which was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in front of City Hall, the marker stands at one entrance into the district and celebrates the historically significant structures in which the local businesses have invested so much time and effort. The historic characteristics of the city are just one aspect that makes Williamston unique and adds to our charm.

for adoption, the new master plan is focused on adding to the overall quality of life in the community by enhancing the existing businesses and residential neighborhoods of the city. The new master plan has also provided direction on how to develop the intersection of Williamston Road and Interstate 96. The new master plan would designate the land in close proximity to the intersection as mixed-use, allowing for the development of a mix of commercial, office and residential land uses. The plan directs the city to allow for more creativity by land owners and developers in their architectural design and site layouts to enhance the creation of unique areas that are both highly desirable to live in, economically sustainable for the long run and preserve the unique beauty and character of the area.

If you are looking for a great place to live, shop, visit or open a business, come see what Williamston has to offer!

Mario Ortega, AICP, Planning & Community Development for the City of Williamston.

The city is also looking to the future through the creation and development of a new master plan. Currently under review 34

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

R E G I O N A L R O TAT I O N

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A RO U N D TO W N

Greater Lansing Mackinac Reception to Return

BY S COTT KEITH

R

ecently, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce held an event in Lansing, at the Lansing Center, that was initiated to promote the Detroit region and networking business to business (and politically) within our state. They utilize this practice in other cities around the state.

The Detroit Chamber is also the entity behind the annual Mackinac Policy Conference each year at the end of May. The Lansing Region has participated in this annual conference as attendees, but additionally a contingent of businesses and regional partners have also held, as part of the conference, a networking reception to promote the Lansing region an economic option. Each year the conference attendees are invited to attend the networking reception and network with various business THE CONFERENCE LENDS and economic leaders of the ITSELF TO PUT THOSE Lansing region. The goal of development. The networking reception is a great this event is to demonstrate to occasion to not only celebrate our wins, but to develop new ATTENDEES IN THE MINDSET attendees, who may be from relationships both within and out of our region that may OF DRIVING BUSINESS AND outside the Lansing region, the lead to future economic successes for the Lansing Region. economic opportunities and ENCOURAGING ECONOMIC/ growth our region offers, along The vision is to return to the conference in 2015 with POLICY LEADERS TO WORK with providing another chance a goal of demonstrating both to our own Lansing region for our own Lansing region attendees and those other intrastate commerce partners TOGETHER WHILE LOOKING business leaders (both public that Lansing is here! For more information or to participate FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR and private) and policy makers in the Lansing Region’s event contact Virginia Bernero at to re-connect and demonstrate virginia@m3group.biz.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. our commitment to regional prosperity.

Scott Keith is the President & CEO for the Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority This event is driven by the united efforts of economic and business (LEPFA) in Lansing, Michigan. LEPFA manages the leaders of our region. Key investors in this event are the Lansing Lansing Center (300,000 sq. ft. convention center), Regional Chamber of Commerce (LRCC), the Greater Lansing Cooley Law School Stadium (home of minor league Convention & Visitors Bureau (GLCVB), Lansing Economic Area baseball’s Lansing Lugnuts), and the Lansing City Market; and proudly Partnership (LEAP), and the Lansing Entertainment & Public co-sponsors/produces the Common Ground Music Festival, BWL Down Facilities Authority (LEPFA) with additional support from the by the River Chili Cook-off, Fall into Fitness/Healthy & Fit Magazine Lansing Board of Water & Light and Capital Region International Expo and other various community events.

Airport. Additionally, this event has had the support of important Lansing region businesses such as C2AE, Lake Trust Credit Union, Scott has worked in the management, construction, consultation, and Cooley Law School, Demmer Corporation, Tetra Tech, Malcolm operation of sports & entertainment facilities/events for nearly twenty Pierney and more. years at various locations (Washington D.C., Ann Arbor, MI., and Denver, CO., to name a few) throughout the United States. Scott received his The conference lends itself to put those attendees in the mindset B.S. in Education from Liberty University and M.S. in Administration of driving business and encouraging economic/policy leaders from Georgia Southern University. Originally from Delaware, Scott now to work together while looking for opportunities for economic resides in DeWitt with his wife (Merrit) and daughter (Emma).

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NOVEMBER 2014

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FINANCIAL ADVISOR

Recent Moves to Lower Fees Make SBA Loans More Accessible

BY S TEVEN J. PRICCO

T

here is good news on the credit front, particularly for eligible small and medium-sized businesses. Recent changes by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are making it easier for small businesses to gain access to the SBA’s two main loan programs. The popular SBA loans offer a number of potential advantages including, lower down payment requirements and the ability to spread financing over a longer period of time. SBA interest rates are market driven, but in some cases a maximum rate is determined by the SBA.

to ensure more board accountability and to reduce risks to the SBA portfolio.

You’ll first want to determine if you qualify for a SBA loan program. The best way to determine that is to consult with an established SBA lender. You may also want to visit the SBA website at www.sba.gov. SBA financing may be right for you if: • You are starting or buying a new business;

The changes impact the SBA 7(a) guaranty program and 504 fixed asset financing. The changes expand eligibility, make it easier for small business to secure SBA-backed financing and encourage job creation.

THE CHANGES INCLUDE, A R E N OT L I M I T E D TO :

BUT

• You have been in business only a short

time; •

$

SBA has lowered fees on smaller loan transactions. For SBA guaranteed loans in the amount of $150,000 or less the upfront guarantee fee and on-going guarantee fee will be zero. Fees have also been lowered for two or more SBA-guaranteed loans approved 90 days apart. The guarantee fee is determined based on the aggregate amount of the loans. Thus, if the total amount of multiple loans approved within 90 days is greater than $150,000, the normal fees of 3 percent would apply. If the multiple loans are approved over 90 days apart then no guarantee fees would apply for any loan under $150,000.

Elimination of the personal resource test.

There is no limit as to the liquid assets of the principals of the business, which benefits borrowers by adding flexibility in the management of their allocation of personal resources to the small business; Elimination of the nine-month rule for 504 eligible project expenses which allows businesses a longer timeframe in which to organize and initiate their small business project;

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

• You need additional working capital to

finance rapid growth; • You only have 10 percent to 15 percent available to put down on the purchase of a business; or • You are unable to obtain financing with reasonable terms through conventional methods.

The next step is to determine the right SBA loan product for your organization. Again, your lender can help you make that determination, but there are a number of exciting products available.

SBA loans have proven to be an extremely valuable resource that can open the door to growth opportunities for many businesses, and provide jobs and investments needed in our community.

Steven J. Pricco is director of government lending at Capitol National Bank.

Revised 504 loan program collateral requirements to allow Third Party Lender to take collateral in addition to Project collateral under certain conditions; and Enhanced Certified Development Company’s corporate governance requirements 38

You are short on collateral;

NOVEMBER 2014

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INVESTMENTS

Financial Freedom

BY S TEPHEN L . HIC KS, J D, MB A , MS, C PA ; ROG E R L . M ILLB RO O K , JD, CPA / P FS ; W. J OS EPH IRIS H, C PA /PF S; Z AC H A R Y H . A R MST RO N G

M

ost of us have a goal of obtaining financial freedom or independence at some point in our lives. Of course, the sooner, well, the better. Financial independence conjures up more than simply cash or material wealth; it also suggests a certain peace of mind and an approach to life that focuses on abundance and not shortage. Now, how does one go about obtaining financial independence, and once obtained, how does one keep their financial independence? Let’s explore four best practice approaches to financial independence practiced by many who have both obtained and maintained their independence over the long term. Simply put, how do many wealthy investors invest?

A FEE-ONLY FIDUCIARY ADVISER

A fee-only fiduciary advisor is an adviser who has the highest legal duty to his client, and accordingly, can have no conflicts of interest with his client, offering only objective and truly independent advice, must be 100 percent loyal to his client (and not to a product or brokerage company or commission schedule), who must operate with complete transparency and disclosure to the client of all fees, costs, expenses, expected rates of return, risks, etc. A fee-only fiduciary adviser is not a salesperson whose limited duty is merely “suitability.” Simply put, investors receive far more utility in an advisor who must, by operation of law, put his client’s interest first and not his fee.

LOW COST INSTITUTIONAL (WHOLESALE) INVESTING

Commissions (or loads) are a real and significant drag on a portfolio’s performance. Commissions are common with actively managed retail mutual funds and are often classified as Class A, B or C. These fund designations have nothing to do with the quality of the funds or its performance and instead it merely signifies how the commission will be paid to the adviser/broker. This commission is paid on top of the annual expense charges of the fund. We have similar thoughts and, to be certain, even greater concerns with annuities and Limited Partnerships.

So, how does an investor obtain and maintain financial independence with all of these expensive/high commission and often hard to get out of investments that are being offered by advisers?

The best practice for low-cost investing is passive institutional investing (wholesale) as opposed to retail investing described above. The problem for investors is that most advisers have limited or no access to passive institutional investments. Investors should seek out fee-only fiduciary advisers who offer 100 percent passive institutional investments that are no-load, penaltyfree investments.

EVIDENCE-BASED INVESTING

AN ADVISER WITH SUBSTANTIAL EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

There is simply no substitute for substantial education, training and experience. An adviser needs all three to be truly successful for his client. For adviser educational credentials, we recommend advisers holding a JD, PhD, DBA, MS, MBA, CPA, PFS, and/or CFA. Indeed, it is probably best that the adviser hold some combination of the above degrees and designations. Such sentiment has been echoed by many academics and practitioners, especially in recent years as the complexity of finance, law, accounting and taxation has turned financial advising into a rigorous profession.

In his well-regarded and top selling book, The Millionaire Mind, Dr. Thomas J. Stanley, professor and prolific author on the affluent, makes clear that today wealthy investors almost always look to investment advisers who are lawyers and/or CPAs and seldom engage financial planners and brokers.

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G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

What is Evidence-Based Investing or EBI? Very generally, it is how science is done in the application of investing. More specifically, EBI is the fieldwork of investing science where data is continuously collected, organized and analyzed by professionals who are academically trained in the science. As with any science, EBI demands a rigorous, objective and meticulous analysis of data. The goal, of course, is to find long-term patterns that emerge from the data for application in long-term investing (not shortterm market-timing tactics). These long-term patterns constitute the best evidence from which investment decisions can be made by an investor in consultation with their fee-only, fiduciary investment adviser.

EBI is an approach to investing that has come directly from academia and not a sales or brokerage office. As a result of its academic origin, EBI is currently practiced by very few investment advisers, usually limited to those highly-trained advisers working exclusively with high net worth investors in a fee-only (not merely fee-based), fiduciary capacity. Unlike brokerage, EBI is an objective, research based, data-driven approach to investing. The data, and not a commission or fee, drives portfolio selection decisions within

NOVEMBER 2014

the framework of the individual investor’s expected return and risk profile, taking into account the attendant tax consequences of any investment selection.

Stephen L. Hicks, JD, MBA, MS, CPA; Roger L. Millbrook, JD, CPA/PFS; W. Joseph Irish, CPA/PFS, and Zachary H. Armstrong are FeeOnly Fiduciary Investment Advisers with Siena Wealth Advisors. Siena is consistently recognized by CPA Wealth Provider and Accounting Today magazines as one of the Top Investment Advisory Firms in the United States.

Only five firms in the State of Michigan have been so recognized. Siena advisers can be reached at info@ sienainvestor.com.

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L E G I S L AT I V E U P D AT E

News, Notes and a Few Comments from the State Capitol

BY ROB BAYKIAN

TH E BAN NIN G O F B RE E DS

Should Michigan prohibit communities from banning certain dogs based on their breed? An effort to do just that is underway.

A coalition of animal welfare organizations and others are spearheading what they call the “Make Michigan Next” campaign in an effort to “eliminate all breed discrimination laws” in the state.

Some Michigan communities have banned dogs such as pit bulls in recent years, following tragic dog attacks on people, including children.

Organizers say breed-specific bans are wrong because they are based solely on appearance, and don’t recognize the specific behavior of individual dogs, and as a result discrimination against a dog winds up being discrimination against a dog owner. They also cite a national survey that says 84 percent of citizens believe a specific breed of dog should not be banned.

Making that argument to those who have been attacked by aggressive dogs or their family and friends isn’t always so easy. They see banning of certain breeds as the only way to protect the innocent, especially children, who live in areas plagued by dog attacks.

But “Make Michigan Next” disagrees.

One leader tells me that dangerous dogs are probably dogs who were not treated properly as they were raised, and they should be dealt with on a ‘case by case’ basis. The problem with that is, every 42

time there is a “case,” it means something tragic may have already occurred.

Nineteen states so banned breed-specific

far have legislation.

WHAT’ S N E X T FO R MINIM U M WAG E?

Michigan, as most everyone knows now, has a new minimum wage, as the legislature earlier this year moved it from $7.40 per hour to $8.15. It will eventually increase, under the law, to $9.25 by 2018 at which time it will index to the rate of inflation. Tipped worker wages also go up eventually to $3.52 and there’s a training wage for teens in the new law as well.

I’m wondering if the index portion of this will mean the end of the political cycle of minimum wage in Michigan, as this is the fifth increase since the 60s.

Most conservative business organizations, frustrated over the ability of Democrats to always have a leg up on this issue, hope it will be. Rob Fowler, Executive Director of the Small Business Association of Michigan, didn’t hide his frustration in a conversation with me earlier this year when he said the “economics of a minimum wage are terrible,” adding that a ballot proposal is “scary from a political standpoint” because you’re asking people if they want a pay increase. “It’s pretty enticing,” he says, “especially when it isn’t your money.”

Translated, the minimum wage was a loser for the GOP politically so they salvaged

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

the best situation they could using their majority status, with a scaled-back version of what the Democrats wanted. The 2006 increase was the result of political pressure as well.

None of this will end the ongoing partisan debate over what it does to the economy.

Democrats say it will help. Republicans say it will hurt. The parties said this in 1966, and again in 1978, and again in 1997 and again in 2006.

IN CRE A S E D FIN E S FO R ‘ LO OS E Y ’ CIGARET TE S

Current state law allows for a fine of up to $500 for any store owner who sells cigarettes individually.

But there continues to be reports that individual or “loosey” sales of cigarettes continues, so a new effort is underway to double the fine to $1,000 and allow multiple violators to be fined up to $10,000. Supporters and residents who live near the stores say that selling individual cigarettes creates more loitering around businesses that sell them, especially those in urban areas.

Many existing convenience stores support the measure, saying that those who illegally sell individual cigarettes undercut sales for businesses that follow the law.

L E G I S L AT I V E U P D AT E

M E D SCH O O L B U LLIE S

Is there bullying in med school?

A new analysis of survey data has found that up to 20 percent of medical school students across the country have felt mistreated.

Researchers at Michigan State University are the first to analyze 12 years worth of national survey data from the Association of American Medical Colleges, which questioned graduating students about their medical school experience.

MANY MICHIGAN D E RS S TILL S TRU G G LE WITH BA SIC N E E DS

Forty percent of Michigan households struggle to afford the basic necessities of housing, childcare, food, health care and transportation, according to a new study.

The report commissioned by the Michigan Association of United Ways found that Michigan has 1.54 million households living above and below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) that struggle to support themselves.

Scott Dzurka, president and chief executive of the Lansing-based association, says there is a misconception that poverty only exists below the FPL, but 24 percent of Michigan households that live above the FPL have a difficult time making ends meet.

Dzurka says Michigan has more than 930,500 households that live above the poverty level but continue to struggle, which the study categorizes as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed or ALICE households.

One local Lansing resident tells me she’s had a steady job, but still needs to occasionally stop at a food pantry to ensure she eats enough to survive.

They wanted to know what percentage of students felt disrespected, publicly humiliated, ridiculed or even harassed by their superiors at some point during their medical education.

They not only found that 20 percent felt they were mistreated, only 31 percent who felt that way actually reported the incident to faculty or university administrators.

Public humiliation or belittlement topped the list, with sexist remarks and requests to do personal favors coming in second and third, respectively.

The researchers say their goal was to uncover the nature of the problem and better understand what needs to be done to change the education experience.

The research can be found online in the journal Academic Medicine.

M OVE U N D E RWAY TO O UTL AW POWD E RE D ALCO H O L

Some call it “Palcohol.” Powdered alcohol. Just mix with water and “voila,” drinkable alcohol.

And a move is underway to outlaw it in Michigan. The alcohol industry, among the first in line objecting to it, notes that it’s easily hidden, especially by those who

are not allowed to drink, like minors. One industry lobbyist who argued against its legality noted recently that “this stuff can be mixed at any strength, strength can’t be controlled (as the liquid form can be through Michigan’s regulatory system).

It even can be snorted.” However, the powdered alcohol makers disagree with that notion.

Others have argued there are positive applications to it, such as ease of storage and transport and culinary applications as well.

As of this printing a proposed ban was still moving through the Michigan Legislature.

FIG HT O N TO S TO P PRO POS E D CANADIAN WA S TE D U M P

There has been some bipartisan noise recently about a battle with Canada over its proposed nuclear waste dump site located within a mile of Lake Huron (on the Canadian side).

Lawmakers here in Lansing are trying to put on enough pressure to make Canada decide not to build it.

At issue here is not high-level radioactive waste. It’s low level and intermediate waste that would be stored there. But Sen. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair County) fears a slippery slope, adding “once you establish a low or intermediate nuclear waste repository, underground, out of sight, in my opinion it’s short steps to high-level radioactive waste.”

Because, he says once there is an active storage site in place that has no reported problems, they will eventually ask themselves, “Why not move high-level radioactive waste in there?”

Rob Baykian is director of news and operations at the 67-station Michigan Radio Network. He has been covering the Capitol since 1981. w w w

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R E A L E S TAT E

When Buying or Selling Real Estate, Local is Best

BY DEB BARNETT

R

esidential real estate is intensely local. For the first three quarters of this year, dollar volume in greater Lansing was up 12.6 percent but it varied area by area from down 2.6 percent to up 45.2 percent. Unit sales were down 1.2 percent overall but varied from being down 15.3 percent to up 28.6 percent.

With this much variance area to area it is important to have a trusted local realtor to help you understand the dynamics of each market and each neighborhood. Despite using sophisticated valuation models, national third party web sites like Zillow and Trulia cannot provide the nuanced values or market trajectory that a knowledgeable experienced realtor can provide. The home evaluation tools on those sites, like Zestimates, are almost uniformly inaccurate and misleading. A local realtor whose business is referral-based and built on reputation can provide a thorough comparative analysis and the honest advice to arrive at a true value.

LOC A L COMPA NIES PROVIDE LIS TING S A ND TO OL S TO HELP BU Y ER S FIND T HE PERFEC T HOME OR SUCCES SFULLY M ARKE T T HEIR PROPERT Y. T HE FINDING S ARE CLE AR : LOC A L RE A L ES TAT E COMPA N Y W EBSIT ES SHOW T HE MOS T HOMES FOR S A LE , RECOGNIZE T HOSE NO LONGER ON T HE M ARKE T A ND DISPL AY LIS TING S MUCH E ARLIER .

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

From my experience, there is another service provider in the real estate transaction that should be local as well, and that is a locallybased lender. Local lenders offer a wide range of products including conventional fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable rate loans with terrific rates, construction financing, loans for homes sites and acreages, loans for rehabbing property, physician’s loans and jumbo portfolio loans. They offer in-house processing and underwriting, which expedites the process and loan officers have real life staff they can talk to in person. A key factor also is that local lenders often work with knowledgeable local appraisers who understand the market. When national lenders and online lenders use appraisers hired by appraisal management companies, some will bring in out of market appraisers who are willing to work for lower fees but do not understand the market. Local lenders, living and working in the market, have handson involvement, are careful about their local reputation and are committed to great service and prompt predictable closings.

They say in real estate it’s location, location, location. Additionally it’s local, local, local.

In a buyer’s search for real estate, local is also better. Eighty-nine percent of all buyers use the internet in their search process, but not all search sites are created equally. A Seattle-based real estate company recently commissioned a study by the WAV Group, which essentially says the big online real estate portals like Zillow and Trulia lack listings and show out-of-date information. They are not members of the multiple listing services that provide real-time data.

The study indicates that 36 percent of the listings on the national portals appear active when they are not. Despite providing a lot of 44

information, the national sites provide frustrating search experiences because the data is often incomplete and outdated and buyers need to jump to other sites for more complete information. The national sites use listings to sell advertising and to sell leads to agents who are willing to pay for them. Local companies provide listings and tools to help buyers find the perfect home or successfully market their property. The findings are clear: local real estate company websites show the most homes for sale, recognize those no longer on the market and display listings much earlier.

Deb Barnett is the president and owner of Tomie Raines, Inc. The company was founded in 1977 and Barnett has owned the company since 2002. She began her real estate career in 1985 after attending Michigan State University and was an award-winning agent with two other local firms before joining Tomie Raines, Inc. in 1995. Barnett also owns TRI Title Agency and Tomie Raines Home Warranty Company.

NOVEMBER 2014

Born. Bred.

Financed Locally.

MSUFCU

Joe Rabideau & Dudley Inventor and Mascot for Poochie Bowl

With help from an MSUFCU startUP Loan, Poochie Bowl has gone from being manufactured locally to being distributed nationally.

Joe used the funds from the startUP Loan to produce prototypes.

Apply for a startUP Loan today and use the funds to purchase equipment, rent space, or for whatever you need to startUP your business.

Business financing from

www.msufcu.org/business • 517-333-2365 All loans are subject to credit approval. Origination and other fees may apply. MSUFCU employees, board members, and their families are not eligible to apply for the startUP Loan. Business startUP Loan must be used for businesses headquartered in Ingham, Eaton, or Clinton county. Federally insured by NCUA. w w w

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BUSINESS CALENDAR

November 2014 PH OTO B Y M I K E FRA NCE

BUSINESS EVENTS

event and help benefit the Tri-County Office on Aging Meals on Wheels program and other in-home services. Visit www.tcoa.org.

11/12

7TH ANNUAL MAKING IT IN MICHIGAN CONFERENCE AND PREMIER SPECIALTY FOOD SHOW, LANSING. The MSU Product Center will

host their 7th Annual Making It In Michigan Conference and Premier Specialty Food Show. Enjoy morning educational sessions, a Marketplace trade show featuring over 160 new and existing businesses and the opportunity to network with this year’s MSU Product Center award winners. The cost is $79/person, including breakfast, lunch, entry to the educational sessions, digital copies of all the presentations, reference materials and admission to the Marketplace trade show. The Marketplace trade show is open to the general public for free admission. Email mckin134@ msu.edu, visit www.productcenter.msu.edu/ miim/registration or call (517) 353-7185.

11/14

The Runway ribbon cutting event took place on October 9.

11 /6

ANNUAL DINNER & AUCTION, EAST LANSING. Join Tri-County Office on Aging for

their 29th annual dinner and auction. This year’s event will be held at Eagle Eye Banquet Center, located at 15000 Chandler Road, beginning at 6 p.m. This year’s feature items will include an all-inclusive two night stay at the Grand Hotel courtesy of the Grand Hotel, dinner for two at some of capital areas finest dining establishments including Stillwater, Capital Prime, Dusty’s Cellar and Red Haven, to just name a few. Join the 46

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

LUNCH & LANSING.

LEARN,

EAST

Award-winning author Elaine Pereira of the book, I Will Never Forget, will talk about her mother’s journey through dementia at a Lunch & Learn at Burcham Hills Retirement Community, located at 2700 Burcham Drive, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Pereira, who received the Indie Excellence Book Award in 2013, will discuss the difficult decisions families face in caring for a loved one with dementia. Call (517) 827-1059 to RSVP.

11/15

TODD MARTIN YOUTH LEADERSHIP CHAMPION GALA AND AUCTION, EAST

LANSING. Join Todd Martin Youth Leadership at their annual

event, including an evening of fine dining, friendship and celebration of the Todd Martin Kids at the Marriott in East Lansing. Tickets are $90 per person, contact Nancy Danhof at (517) 483-4021 for more info or to order tickets.

NOVEMBER 2014

BUSINESS CALENDAR

CONNECTIONS AND COFFEE, LANSING.

CO A

N

11/19

DINNER & SEMINAR, EAST LANSING. Join Great Lakes Paralegal

EC T I NN

NS O

Connections and Coffee, presented by the Greater Lansing Business Monthly and the University Club, is a free networking breakfast for the local community.

This event will be held in the Heritage Room of the University Club of MSU from 8 to 9 a.m.

To RSVP or for more information, email Virginia@m3group.biz or call (517) 203-3333.

D

11/20

20TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY, OKEMOS.

Come celebrate with Doctor’s Approach Dermatology as they celebrate 20 years of care and community. They are now offering their best pricing in 20 years. Join them at 2685 Jolly Road from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Call (517) 993-5899 to RSVP.

EE

11/18

at 1601 W. Lake Lansing Road. The cash bar will begin at 5:30, followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the program beginning at 6:45 p.m. The cost to attend is $30/GLPA Members and Students or $45/Non-Members. Seating is limited, so please RSVP by Nov. 10. For more information, email glpa.michigan@gmail.com or visit www.glpa-michigan.org.

COF

F

Association and Jospeh J. Viviano, an associate attorney with Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C., for the Trusts and Estates Practice Group for a Dinner and Seminar: Basics of Estate Administration. This is a quarterly opportunity to socialize and network, enjoy a great meal and learn more about how to eliminate uncertainties and maximize value through Estate Planning. The event is at Spartan Hall of Fame, located

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N O TA B L E N E W S

SALVATION ARMY SEEKS VOLUNTEERS FOR CHRISTMAS SEASON ‘Tis the season of hope and at The Salvation Army, hope lies at the core of their mission as they serve the Capital Area with the largest Christmas Assistance program in the tri-county region. Every year, numerous individuals and families, who may not otherwise have the means to celebrate Christmas, are provided with food and/or toys for the holidays. Last year, The Salvation Army, in partnership with the Marine’s Toys for Tots program, provided over 3,600 children with toys and over 1,700 families with food.

The Salvation Army is seeking the assistance of community members who would like to make a difference in the lives of

NOURISH BY THE BIG SALAD CELEBRATES FIRST WEEK OF BUSINESS

children and families this holiday season, either financially or by the giving of time. Volunteer opportunities include serving holiday meals, assisting with the Christmas Assistance sign-up process, escorting parents through Toy Shop, ringing bells for the Red Kettle Campaign and many more!

If you are interested in partnering with The Salvation Army in their mission to provide hope this Christmas, please contact Shonna Simms-Rosa, Volunteer Coordinator, at (517) 482-9715, ext. 42, or email shonna_simms-rosa@usc. salvationarmy.org. If you are interested in Bell Ringing, either as an individual or group, call Jeff Prisner, Practical Ministries Aide, at (517) 484-6381.

the breakfast items, specialty coffee and smoothies that have always been provided at AL!VE. Call (517)541-5815 with questions about NOURISH by The Big Salad or to order takeout. More information and menus can also be found at myalive.com or thebigsalad.net.

AL!VE, the experience-based, destination health park was opened in November 2011 by Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital to enhance the overall health and vitality of the communities it serves. It is an integrated array of health and well-being experiences and services. All mid-Michigan residents and visitors are welcome at AL!VE — there are no entry fees or membership requirements. Find more information at www. myalive.com.

MICHIGAN FERTILIZER COMPANY TO REIMBURSE RETAIL PARTNERS FOR 4R CERTIFICATION

NOURISH by The Big Salad welcomed more than 500 guests through its doors during its first week of business after opening Monday, Oct. 6.

Opening in 2011, NOURISH began serving AL!VE guests with the plan to eventually bring in a partner to assist with food service. “It was never our intention to do this alone,” said Patrick Sustrich, AL!VE executive director. “When I met John Bornoty, founder and CEO of The Big Salad, I was amazed at how closely our philosophy of health and commitment to every day small victories aligned.”

This is the first time The Big Salad has opened a location in mid-Michigan. Its fresh food menu offers more than 17 million possible iceberg, romaine or spinach salad combinations, with a choice of 40 toppings and 30 dressings. Additionally, NOURISH by The Big Salad will offer its usual selection of fresh sandwiches, wraps and soup options, and will continue to offer 48

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

Mid-Michigan liquid fertilizer company Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers in St. John’s Michigan is implementing a new Retail Partner 4R Certification Reimbursement Program designed to aid AgroLiquid Retail Partners in the Western Lake Erie Basin, which includes parts of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, in becoming certified in nutrient stewardship via the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program. AgroLiquid will reimburse qualifying Retail Partners for part of their Audit Fees associated with the program which is aimed at reducing runoff and leaching associated with the application of agricultural fertilizers.

This initiative further demonstrates the company’s strong commitment to the principles of Responsible Nutrient Management; both CEO Troy Bancroft and Senior Marketing Manager Lonny Smith also serve as founding board members for the Responsible Nutrient Management Foundation.

NOVEMBER 2014

N O TA B L E N E W S

The voluntary three year program is designed to recognize Nutrient Service Providers who have adopted the principles and practices of 4R Nutrient Stewardship and translates the wellknown 4Rs of nutrient application — right source, right rate, right time and right place — into an audit-able set of criteria. The program is open to Nutrient Service Providers working in the Western Lake Erie Basin, including agricultural retailers, agricultural service providers and certified professionals.

Current AgroLiquid Retail Partners interested in the reimbursement program can contact their Sales Account Manager for additional information; those interested in exploring the opportunity of becoming an AgroLiquid Retail Partner and pursuing reimbursement for the certification can contact Fisher at (989) 513 3565 or kurt. fisher@agroliquid.com.

THE LOWE LAW FIRM ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERS The Lowe Law Firm, P.C., Okemos, is pleased to announce that Christine M. Savage has become a shareholder of the firm. Savage received a bachelor’s degree in 1993 in accounting from Michigan State University, a Juris Doctorate degree in 1999 from Michigan State University College of Law, and a LLM degree in taxation in 2005 from Wayne State University. She has substantial experience in various aspects of estate planning, probate and trust administration, income, estate, gift and generation skipping transfer taxation, and corporate business matters. Savage regularly advises clients on both simple and complex estate and business planning matters.

She has developed a leading reputation in her specialized practice areas and complements and strengthens Lowe Law Firm, P.C.’s practice areas.

The Lowe Law Firm, P.C., Okemos, is also pleased to announce that Paul J. Cervenak has become a shareholder of the firm.

Cervenak received a bachelor’s degree in 2002 from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate degree in 2005 from Michigan State University College of Law. Cervenak has substantial experience in various aspects of real estate, business and corporate law. His primary practice areas include business, corporate and complex transactional law, with a concentration on all aspects of real estate transactions, including those related to the acquisition, sale, leasing and development of real estate. He assists clients with a wide range of business entity formations and business and corporate transactions.

GATEWAY COMMUNITY SERVICES MERGES WITH CHILD AND FAMILY CHARITIES Child and Family Charities announced recently that the two organizations have

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TWO MEN AND A TRUCK CELEBRATE EXPANSION Governor Rick Snyder joined the Two Men and a Truck team, including Founder Mary Ellen Sheets, to celebrate the company’s recent expansion this October.

The 22,000 square foot expansion and renovation of 30,000 square feet of existing office space started last winter and is now complete to make room for additional team members, employment, a new sales center and increased customer service response time.

The office is located at 3400 Belle Chase Way, Lansing.

The Two Men and a Truck system has seen 57 months of growth and 41 consecutive months of record growth. They have doubled the size of their system in the last four years and they are currently growing 13 percent as a system in 2014.

Also on hand for the celebration were Two Men and a Truck CEO Brig Sorber, Executive Vice President Jon Sorber, Chair Melanie Bergeron, President Randy Shacka, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Wesley and Chief Operating Officer Jon Nobis. For more info, twomenandatrucklansingmi.com merged. Under the merger agreement, Gateway will become a division of Child and Family Charities. Gateway was established in 1970 and provides street outreach, counseling, shelter, independent living skills instruction, crisis intervention and advocacy services to runaway and homeless youth and their families throughout Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties. Core programs are housed at the Kevin J. Moody Youth Home located in southwest Lansing.

Gateway joins an array of divisions and services at Child and Family Charities including foster care, adoption, independent living, child abuse prevention, parenting education, early childhood education, juvenile diversion, 50

truancy, mental health, substance abuse and a shelter for teen parents.

Child and Family Charities will continue under the leadership of executive director Jim Paparella. Paparella has been with the agency since 1997 and previously served as division director for runaway and homeless youth services at Gateway.

Child and Family Charities was established in 1911 as Associated Charities of Lansing. The Gateway merger follows two similar mergers with Ingham Teen Court in 2008 and Child Abuse Prevention Services in 2011. For more information, see website www. childandfamily.org or call Demphna Krikorian at (517) 882-4000, ext. 126.

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

PH OTO S P ROV I D E D

This new office space, complete with state-of-the-art technology, will support additional employees as outlined in the company’s five-year vision, bringing additional jobs to the area, top-notch support to the company’s franchisees and continued exceptional moving services to customers.

LANSING SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES NEW ORCHESTRA MEMBERS Lansing Symphony held auditions for both principal and section contracted spots from Monday, Aug. 25 through Thursday, Aug. 28. Those who didn’t win a contracted spot with the orchestra were considered for the substitution list.

Music Director and Conductor, Timothy Muffitt, was very pleased with the turnout.

The following are now contracted members of the Lansing Symphony for the 2014/15 season:

N O TA B L E N E W S

Section Violin: Qiao Yu, Chicago, Ill. Section Violin: Yu Fan, Ann Arbor Section Violin: I-Pei Lin, East Lansing Section Violin: George Millsap, Ann Arbor Section Violin: Grace Kim, Ann Arbor Principal Cello: Hong Hong, East Lansing Section Cello: Pu Chen, Chicago, Ill. Section Cello: Hannah Thomas-Hollands, Grand Rapids Section Cello: Igor Cetkovic, East Lansing Section Bass: Matthew Boothe, East Lansing Second Trumpet: Jeff Lewandowski, Livonia

LANSING ART GALLERY WELCOMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lansing Art Gallery welcomes Barb Whitney as the new Executive Director of Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center. Whitney brings with her 15 years of experience in the arts, including art education and art administration.

An avid supporter of the arts in the region, she will oversee the development, implementation and evaluation of programs and services for the gallery and education center.

Whitney is enthusiastic about leading efforts to promote the gallery’s programs and garner support for the gallery’s unique role in the area.

CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU WELCOMES INTERN TO CONVENTION SERVICES DEPARTMENT

Smith

The Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau (GLCVB) is pleased to announce it has hired Carlie Smith as an Intern to its Convention Services Department.

Smith is a senior in The School of Hospitality Business within the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, and will graduate with a B.A. in Hospitality Business in May of 2015. Most recently employed as a food and beverage intern with Dolce Resorts in Aspen Colo., Smith is involved in numerous industry related clubs including a seat on the Executive Board of MSU’s Student Chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association.

Smith’s role with the GLCVB will be to assist the Convention Services Manager by helping execute many of the numerous services offered by the CVB including everything from conference set-up to event promotion through social media.

For more information about the GLCVB, visit www.lansing.org or call (517)487-0077.

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N O TA B L E N E W S

The gallery and education center offers accessibility to art and art experiences, including changing exhibits, educational programs and opportunities to purchase Michigan art. Enhancing the quality of life and cultural well-being of the community, Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center provides a permanent cultural facility and outreach initiatives to fulfill its mission to provide public awareness, education and enjoyment of the visual arts by promoting the works of Michigan artists.

For more information please visit lansingartgallery.org or contact Barb Whitney at (517) 374-6400 x 2

TWO JOIN BURCHAM HILLS’ FOUNDATION BOARD

Lois Lintern, a Burcham Hills resident, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Burcham Hills Foundation.

years in Okemos. Founded in 1995, the company moved to Okemos in 1998, from another building on Capitol Ave. in Lansing.

“We spent our first couple of years of the business on the north end of Capitol Ave.,” says LM Inc. President Barbara Lezotte. “Now we’ll be on the south end.

Moving into the Michigan Manufacturers Association building (MMA) at 620 S. Capitol Ave. brings us closer to many of our clients, increases our meeting space and offers easy access to I-496.”

Lintern

In addition to housing MMA’s headquarters, the building’s other tenants include Chase Bank, Michigan Sheriffs Association, Michigan Primary Care Consortium and Grant Consulting.

LM INC. RETURNS DOWNTOWN TO CAPITOL AVENUE Lezotte Miller Public Relations Inc. recently moved its offices back to downtown Lansing after more than 16

LM Inc. is a full service public relations firm providing strategic communication planning and services to state associations, corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Meadows

Lintern lived in Ohio for 32 years and is a former board member of the Lake County Ohio Cancer Society.

She has volunteered at Ohio schools and the American Cancer Society.

Mark Meadows, former state representative and former East Lansing mayor, has also been appointed to the Burcham Hills Foundation board of directors.

in the your of

Greater

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G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

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N O TA B L E N E W S

Meadows is a former assistant attorney general, a former East Lansing city council member and was mayor of East Lansing from 1997 to 2005. He served in the House from 2006 to 2013 and is a shareholder in the East Lansing law firm Willingham & Cote’, P.C. An East Lansing resident since 1980, Meadows is the current president of the

East Lansing Kiwanis Club, chairman of the board of directors of Home Town Housing Partnership, member of the East Lansing Housing Commission and on the board of directors of the Ingham County Economic Development Corp.

The Burcham Hills Foundation board is a volunteer group representing supporters of Burcham Hills. The Foundation’s

We’re more than mail

strategic focus is to attract the resources necessary to maintain the buildings, services and programming quality of Burcham Hills Retirement Community.

Burcham Hills is a continuum of care retirement community providing quality retirement living in its Resident Center and short-term rehabilitation and skilled nursing care in its Center for Health & Rehabilitation. A not-for-profit community, Burcham Hills was founded in 1974 and offers the most flexible range of senior housing options on a 46 acre campus in East Lansing.

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON NEW DOGGY DAYCARE AND SPA LOCATION IN OKEMOS

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After 30 years in Lansing as Presort Services, we have outgrown our name with expanded services. Extend Your Reach is your single source for mailing services AND for integrated marketing services across all platforms.

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517.887.7545

Kincaid Henry Building Group and Doggy Daycare and Spa are pleased to announce that construction is commencing on a new location for Lansing’s Doggy Daycare andSpa in Okemos, Mich.

Occupying a new 7,000-square-foot facility on the North West Corner of Grand River Ave and Cornell Road, this facility is being constructed and developed to respond to the demand for Doggy Daycare and Spa’s services in the area.

Janice Milligan and business partner (and father) Dean Milligan will be investing over $1.1 million in this project. The state of the art facility will house dogs for cageless daycare services, overnight boarding and grooming services. The building will closely resemble the current facility located at 5325 W. Mt. Hope Hwy in Delta Township and will be able to accommodate up to 60 dogs per day for Daycare.

TIMOTHY SCHAB NAMED MCC VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

We are SOC II Type 2 Audited (SAS 70), HIPAA / HITECH compliant and FDIC regulated.

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G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

Following a national executive search, Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) has hired as its Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Timothy

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L. Schab, CPA, CGMA. Schab, who has served MCC as its Controller since 1994, succeeds Joseph Mahoney, who retired from the Conference in October after 30 years of service to the organization.

A native of the Grand Rapids area, Schab graduated from Grand Valley State University in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

He Schab carries both a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant designation, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants. Prior to joining Michigan Catholic Conference in 1994, Schab worked for BDO Seidman as an Audit Manager and Senior Auditor.

CAPITOL NATIONAL BANK ANNOUNCES HIRE OF TWO NEW COMMERCIAL LOAN OFFICERS Capitol National Bank welcomes Dave Moored, the new vice president of commercial and small business administration (SBA) lending officer and Nick Heriford, assistant vice president of commercial and SBA loan officer.

David (Dave) Moored has eight years of banking experience, primarily with banks formerly affiliated with Capitol National Bank. Moored has experience in small Moored business and middle market lending. His other business experience includes CFO and general manager and controller with private industries.

Moored received his undergraduate degree from Hope College and his MBA from the University of Michigan. He and his wife Karen live in the Grand Rapids area.

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Nick Heriford is a longtime resident of the Lansing area and a graduate of Michigan State University. He has worked in the financial services industry for the Heriford last 10 years and is now returning to Capitol National Bank after five years working for other firms. He currently resides in Dimondale with his wife Michelle.

Capitol National Bank has provided relationship banking to the Greater Lansing community since its founding in 1982. The hallmark of their success is specializing in a very high level of personal service for businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals.

RELOCATION OF LAW FIRM MARKS BEGINNING OF $2.8 MILLION MIXED-USE STUDENT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

A new mixed-use student housing development — The Element 903 — is coming to downtown East Lansing in the former office location of Foster & Harmon P.C. at 903 E. Grand River Ave. The upscale apartment complex will boast 18 twobedroom/two bathroom units with 1,500 square foot of retail space located directly across from Michigan State University.

The project is being developed by Kincaid Henry Building Group, Inc. Foster & Harmon P.C., owners and landlords for the new mixed-use housing development, relocated their law practice to 139 W. Lake Lansing Road, Ste. 210.

The move initiates the beginning of the project.

CBRE|Martin assisted in the relocation process, providing tenant representation and securing a lease agreement in less than two weeks after initial contact.

Pending the anticipated delivery of a tenant by CBRE|Martin for fall 2015, Foster & Harmon P.C. will entertain a permanent residency in the Lake Lansing location.

G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

CBRE Senior Associate/Office Advisor Thomas Jamieson represented the owners, Foster & Harmon P.C., in the transaction.

GREG WHITE AND ASSOCIATES WELCOMES NEW SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Greg White and Associates from Farmers Insurance is pleased to welcome Amanda Matelonek as their new social media coordinator.

Matelonek has a newly created position to manage all social media pages and online activities for insurance agent, Greg White.

In addition, she will provide feedback and creativity online to get users involved and informed about Farmers Insurance located in Lansing.

Matelonek is currently a graduate student at Michigan State University, studying advertising.

For more information gregwhiteinsurance.com.

visit

www.

ERIC EMERY NAMED AS CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR GARN RESTORATION A Charlotte native, Eric Emery, has joined the Garn Restoration team as a Customer Relationship Manager. Formerly in education for over 24 years and most recently as a Team Leader for the Relevant Academy in Charlotte, Emery was hired

by Garn Restoration because of his strong ties to the area.

Included in his duties, Emery will conduct outreach and education activities to help insurance agents and claims adjustors understand what a valuable team member Garn Restoration can be for their clients in need. He will also be coordinating online marketing and advertising.

Emery’s lifelong ties to Eaton County will prove valuable as he begins his outreach activities.

Introducing Mid-Michigan’s

Black Car Service!

Dean Black Car provides a safe, professional and comfortable environment to get where you need to go in style. Whether traveling to the airport, a business meeting or a special event, Dean Black Car can take you there. Call us today to book your next trip or visit us at deanblackcar.com

1-800-282-3326 | deanblackcar.com w w w

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Garn Restoration is a full-service restoration company with the ability to respond to emergency situations across Mid-Michigan. In times of a major weather related crisis the Garn Restoration team has been known to travel great distances to be part of first responder teams for families in adverse situations. Home base for Garn Restoration is 3193 Lansing Road, Charlotte. Their 24 Hour Emergency

Response line is (888)821-3473 and during business hours (517)543-1721.

Online at www.garnrestoration.com FOSTER SWIFT LAUNCHES NEW MICHIGAN SENIOR LAW BLOG By 2030, 19 percent of the U.S. population will be age 65 or older, according to the

seeking your success Now is the time to think about where you are going.

It is time to choose an investment partner that will work with you

U.S. Census Bureau. Foster Swift elder law attorney, Norman E. Richards (“Gene”), has launched a new Michigan Senior Law Blog that addresses common questions about the challenges of aging — from an elder law attorney’s perspective.

The Michigan Senior Law Blog was designed as a resource for senior adults, children and grandchildren who juggle careers and their own family needs while assisting aging loved ones. Subscribers will receive compassionate, practical, timely and reliable information about a variety of topics that will help to manage and optimize quality of life during the aging process.

Richards strives to be more than just a quick stop for legal documents by serving as a counselor, advisor, planner and a resource. The ultimate goal is to empower senior adults and to allow them to age gracefully in the safest, most respectful environment possible.

Are you assisting an aging loved one?

Subscribe to the blog for the latest elder law information, tips and advice here: www. michiganseniorlaw.com.

and for you every step of the way.

An investment advisor tied to the success of your wealth, not to a commission.

MSUFCU ANNOUNCES NEW E-SERVICES MANAGER

We develop individually designed long-term strategies for your entire financial, tax, estate and business matters.

We believe in data and statistical methods in our approach to managing assets as there is no substitute for smart and efficient decision-making — whether it applies to investments, estate planning or taxes.

Nationally recognized investment firm For the fifth straight year we have been named a Top CPA Wealth Advisory Firm in the Nation by Accounting Today magazine. We are one of only five such investment advisory firms in Michigan.

SienaInvestor.com • 517.627.1412 11973 Sweetwater Drive, Suite A-1, Grand Ledge, MI 48837 Tel: 517.627.1412 © 2014 Siena Wealth Advisors, a fee-only fiduciary advisor.

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G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

Turowski

Patrick McPharlin, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MSU Federal Credit Union, is pleased to announce the promotion of Maria P. Turowski to E-Services Manager.

Turowski has been with MSUFCU since August 2012 and was previously an E-Services Specialist before being promoted to E-Services Manager. She received a bachelor of arts in political science with a Spanish language minor from Michigan State University.

MSU Federal Credit Union, the world’s largest university-based credit union, offers a full range of personal — and business-related financial services to

Michigan’s capital area is a vibrant and dynamic business community.

Taking on a proactive role, local companies are investing in the future of greater Lansing. Pure Spartan Initiative and Capital Area Michigan Works! are working together to grow the region’s talent base and help our community thrive. Together, Capital Area Michigan Works! and Pure Spartan Initiative are committed to creating a world-class workforce.

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Michigan State University and Oakland University faculty, staff, students, alumni association members, and their families worldwide in addition to a variety of select employee groups. Founded in 1937 by a few MSU professors and employees, MSUFCU now has thirteen branches, over 191,000 members, more than $2.7 billion in assets, and over 600 employees. MSUFCU was

Siena Heights University Offers Master of Arts degrees in: • Clinical Mental Health Counseling • Teacher Education • Organizational Leadership • Higher Education Leadership • Health Care Leadership • Educational Leadership: Principal

named 2014 Credit Union of the Year by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU).

ATTORNEY FRANK REYNOLDS INDUCTED INTO AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TRIAL LAWYERS

Unleash Your Potential wHat Makes us different…

“My classes are fabulous at Siena Heights University. We learn from our peers and share our experiences with one another.

We can bounce ideas off each other and put practical ideas to work right away! If you are considering the Graduate College at Siena Heights University, I would definitely pursue it!

— Jenna Borck Organizational Leadership Student

Specialist of Arts degree in: • Educational Leadership Why Siena?

• Courses designed for working adults • Evening and weekend courses • Small class sizes • Individualized academic advising • Blended and online courses

new CliniCal Mental HealtH Counseling PrograM…

“If you want to explore cutting-edge understandings from counseling, neuroscience and spirituality on how to help ALL human beings access mental health regardless of what they have been through or are going through, then Siena’s new Clinical Mental Health Program will be perfect for you. We keep a passionate focus on releasing the resilient spirit in humanity.”

— Dr. Linda Pettit, Ed.D, Counseling Psychologist Dean of the Graduate College and Director of Counselor Education

Now accepting new students!

COntACt US tOdAy!

877.438.1596 or graduatecollege@sienaheights.edu

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G R E AT E R L A N S I N G B U S I N E S S M O N T H LY

NOVEMBER 2014

Attorney Frank H. Reynolds of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC, was recently inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Reynolds

Fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers is by invitation only. To be a fellow, an attorney must be an experienced trial lawyer whose “professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.”

Membership is extended to less than 1 percent of the total lawyer population in each state.

A member of Foster Swift’s General Litigation Group, Reynolds focuses his practice on state and federal criminal defense, family law and professional licensing.

For more information about the firm, its attorneys and to access recent publications, visit www.fosterswift.com.

DEWPOINT WELCOMES NEW EMPLOYEES TO LANSING Dewpoint, a leading provider of technology consulting and implementation solutions, is pleased to welcome several new employees to Lansing: • Marcia Esper, Senior Project Manager • Gail Felipe, Business Analyst • Amy Hertel, Project Manager • John Roberts, Project Manager • Tami Rozovics, Business Analyst • Scott Simonson, Senior Business Analyst Founded in 1996, Dewpoint experts have a long success record of helping to develop short-or long-term strategic technology plans to maximize current resources and better position your organization for the future.

Dewpoint recently relocated its headquarters to the newly reonnovated Knapp’s Centre in downtown Lansing, Michigan.

Additional information about the company is available at www. dewpoint.com.

Dedicated to success

Every day, you’re there for your clients, your customers and your community. And we’re here for you, with the technology and services that help you stay connected.

Because success is better when everything works together.

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© 2014 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.

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THE RIGHT TEAM FOR REAL RESULTS Serving as trusted commercial real estate advisers to the most notable companies in both Lansing and Grand Rapids is a role we take

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NOVEMBER 2014

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