Business Weekly GREATER
FORT WAYNE
SEPTEMBER 13-19, 2013
Daily updates at www.fwbusiness.com
LOCAL NEWS
Hot dog! Business caters to growing demand for food carts, trucks
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Relationship banking Compatible cultures laid groundwork for Old National acquisition of Tower Financial
RYAN SCHNURR
Eric Spricer started his food-truck business, Spicer’s, in June.
A LA TRUCK Mobile businesses bring the food to you BY LINDA LIPP llipp@kpcmedia.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF JANE SNOW
Tower Financial Corp.’s lobby in the former Lincoln National Bank building features a series of murals by painter Glenn Shaw.
BY DOUG LEDUC
RELATED STORIES
dleduc@kpcmedia.com
Within two years of entering the Fort Wayne market through its 2003 acquisition of Insurance and Risk Management, Old Jones National Bancorp began courting Tower Financial Corp. with an eye toward establishing a major banking presence in the community. Bob Jones, president and chief executive officer of Evansville-based Old
n
INSIDE
Vol. 9 Issue 37
Q Law firms say they’re watching merger. Page 3 Q First Tower CEO says Old National is a good fit. Page 5 Q Analyst: Expect competition for business to increase. Page 24 National, and Michael Cahill, president and CEO of Fort Wayne-based Tower, announced Sept. 10 they expect that will take place during the first quarter of 2014. Old National will add to its $9.6 billion in assets, 2,800 employees
Local news .................... 3-7 BizView .............................. 8 Real estate...................... 11 Personal Business ... 12-13 Health Care Awards . 15-16 Top List............................ 20 BizLeads..................... 22-24
and 176 branches Tower’s nearly $680.9 million in assets, 165 employees and seven banking centers, including six in Fort Wayne and one in Warsaw. Tower has an additional $523.3 Cahill million in trust assets under management. “It’s really been a long courtship, to be honest. Mike and I have known each other for over eight years. I go back n
See TOWER on PAGE 24
If you “like” Fort Wayne’s booming food truck business, thank Facebook and Twitter. “Social media just drives our industry,” said Jim Garigen, owner of Jumby’s Joint food truck and founder of the Fort Wayne Food Truck Association. “Without it we would be nowhere.” n
See TRUCK on PAGE 26
HE’S GOT SOL
Jerry Perez started the Getaway Grill because he wanted to offer people something different and great. So he bought a food cart and set up in downtown Fort Wayne to see what would happen. A year and a half later he’s got a loyal following and a full-on food truck — the Sol Kitchen — on the way. Watch the video at INFortWayne.com.
PERSONAL BUSINESS
SPECIAL SECTION
A good fit
Making a difference
Intimates business offers comfort to women
Read how the winners are working to improve health care in the region
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PAGES 15-18
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September 13-19, 2013
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In the Dog House is just where he wants to be Schaefer finds an appetite for his food carts, trucks BY LINDA LIPP llipp@kpcmedia.com
The distance between selling and servicing lawn mowers and landscape equipment locally to a burgeoning national business making and selling food carts and customized food trucks was a very short one for Steve Schaefer, the founder and owner of Fort Wayne-based Dog House Carts Inc. Schaefer uses space at the family business, Schaefer’s Indiana Turf, 5202 W. Washington Center Road, to meet with prospective customers and ship his company’s hot-dog and food carts across the country. But the food-cart and truck business that he started three years ago has become so busy that he has turned the management of the mower and landscape equipment business over to his sons so he can concentrate on Dog House. The demand for food trucks and carts has soared in the last few years, making street food vendors one of the 11 hottest industries for startups, according to Forbes magazine and IBISWorld research. The industry’s contribution to GDP is expected
to grow at an average annual rate of 3.5 percent through 2017, compared with a GDP growth of an annualized 2.1 percent during the same time. Somebody has to make all those carts and trucks, and Schaefer figures it might as well be Dog House. “We’re shipping carts all over the country,” he said. “There’s really nobody else in the Midwest building trucks.” Dog House started out small when Schaefer’s friend, Jim Osborne, mentioned the difficulties he’d had with the hot-dog carts he’d been using in his business for 15 years. “They were always complaining about the quality,” Schaefer said. “I said, ‘I can build you one of those.’”
Schaefer’s mower business, started by his grandfather in 1929, had always done some steel fabricating, so building a hot-dog cart didn’t seem like much of a stretch. The first one took two months to complete, but after some tinkering and standardizing, he got the production time down to about three weeks. Then Schaefer struck on the idea of having the metal fabricating done by M&S Industrial Metal Fabricators, a family-owned business in Huntington with a state-of-the-art shop that uses robotics in its production. He created a prototype and broke it down into components that M&S could make, leaving Dog House to just do the assembly. That cut production time down to 2 1/2 days. n
See DOG HOUSE on PAGE 7
LINDA LIPP
Steve Schaefer’s company makes everything from ice-cream carts to fully equipped food trucks.
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Fish or cut bait The announcement of Tower Financial Corp.’s pending acquisition by Old National Bancorp was only a few hours old Sept. 10 when New York law firm Faruqi & Faruqi announced an investigation of Tower’s board for “potential breaches of fiduciary duties” in relation to the proposed transaction. Before the day was over, two other law firms made similar announcements — essentially launching fishing expeditions to try to land disgrunted shareholders as plaintiffs for lawsuits challenging the terms of the deal. Although only time will tell, Tower shareholders are likely to be pleased with the proposal, which valued their shares at about $22.97 — about $3 higher than the stock has ever traded. The shares had closed trading the day before at $15.66.
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The next chapter in great relationship building!
Chamber Night @ Indiana Tech Law School 5-7 P.M. September 25, 1120 E. Washington Blvd. Join Dr. Arthur Snyder, Dean Peter Alexander and Greater Fort Wayne Inc. as we celebrate the opening of Indiana Tech’s Law School. Indiana Tech’s foodservice, led by chef Jeff Rude, will provide the hors d’oeuvres, and students will provide tours. Admission is $5 for Chamber members and $10 for nonmembers.
The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce is now part of Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
Register at fwchamber.org/night
Allen permits continue stronger performance The value n of construction permits issued in Allen County through the end of August surged $63.8 million, or 18.2 percent, from $351. 3 million last year to $415.1 million this year. The value of commercial permits rose 21.8 percent, to $241.6 million; and the value of residential permits climbed 13.4 percent, to $173.5 million, according to data from the Allen
Reporter’s
NOTEBOOK
Congratulations Richards Buildin to g Supply on the lease of th ei
r and showroom fa new 16,060 SF office/warehouse cility located at 53 11 Fort Wayne. Mike Dahm represented Distribution Drive, the tenant, Richar Building Supply, in ds this transaction. Contact Mike for all your commercial re al estate needs. Mike Dahm
Senior Broker mdahm@naihd. com
111 East Ludwig Road, Su Fort Wayne, IN 46 ite 101 825 260.423.4311 w w w.n a ih d .c om
Stan Phillips represented the landlord, Journal Gazette Co., in the lease of office
REAL ESTATE & RETAIL Linda Lipp
Homebuilders pulled 75 new home permits in August, bringing the year-to-date total to 573, according to an analysis of data by the Home Builders Association of Fort Wayne. In August of 2012, 69 permits were pulled, for a total of 475 for the first eight months of last year. Thus far in 2013, the average value of a new home permit is $224,070. That compares with $222,557 for the same period in 2012.
MCMILLEN CONSTRUCTION COULD BEGIN IN OCTOBER Weigand Construction has been selected as the contractor for the McMillen Park Community Center project. Nearly $1.7 million from the city’s Legacy Fort Wayne fund will be invested to renovate the former McMillen Ice Arena into a community center. The contract must be approved by the City Council, which could vote on Sept. 24. Renovation work on the first phase could begin in October and be completed next year. The community center will offer sports GREATER FORT WAYNE
Business Weekly (USPS 024-494) Periodicals postage paid at Fort Wayne, IN 46802
and recreational, educational, social, and health and fitness programs for all ages.
NAI HARDING DAHM
County Building Department.
Local Experts. Global Resources.
September 13-19, 2013
space at 701 S. Clinton St., Suite 300, to Gibson Law Office. Steve Chen represented both the landlord, Trier Road LLC, and the tenant, Image Dental Arts Inc., in the lease of 4,068 square feet of office space at 3303 Trier Road. Phillips and Russ Jehl represented the landlord, A-M Realty Inc., and the tenant, Shoe Sensation, in the lease of 5,145 square feet of retail space in Publix Village Square, 310 W. North St., Kendallville. Tyler Binkley represented the landlord, Daniel Lawrence, and the tenant, Nexgen Excavating LLC, in the lease of 2,560 square feet of industrial space at 8421 Fritz Road, Unit 10. Phillips represented the landlord, Northwood Properties LLC, and the tenant, Star Realty, in the lease of office space at 4150 W. Jefferson Blvd.
CBRE/STURGES Brad Sturges represented the landlord of Pointe Inverness II in the renewal of a lease of 4,470 square feet of office space at 7030 Pointe Inverness Way, Suites 220 and 230, to Extension LLC. Bill Cupp represented both the owner, NBH Bank NA, and the buyer, Early Ford V8 Foundation, in the sale of 8.7 acres at County Road 11A and Interstate 69 in Auburn. Alexander Genova represented the landlord of Wells Commerce Center and the tenant, Master Spas, in the new lease of 9,415 square feet of space at 3730 N. Wells St. Barry Sturges represented the seller, Melvin Jack Powell Jr., trustee, and Brad Sturges represented the buyer, Summit Realty Partners LLC, in the sale of 6.5 acres at 6309 W. Jefferson Blvd. n
See REAL ESTATE on PAGE 7
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September 13-19, 2013
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Tower culture ‘will go on’ after acquisition BY LINDA LIPP llipp@kpcmedia.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF JANE SNOW
After an initial public offering, Tower Financial Corp. opened in February 1999.
Tower Financial Corp. was founded about 15 years ago to fill a void in personalized service left by a flurry of acquisitions of other local banks in the 1990s. Longtime banker Donald Schenkel, Tower’s first employee and first CEO, reflected on the announcement Sept. 10 that the banking business he helped start will be acquired by Evansville-based Old National Bancorp. “Old National is a great, great bank,” he said. “I have a great deal of respect for Old National. I think the culture established by Tower will go on. I think it’s a great move for the employees, for the customers.” Schenkel retired from Tower in 2008 and is now a development consultant with the University of Saint Francis. Trois Hart, presently associate vice president, marketing, at USF, was Tower’s fifth employee. She remembers seeing in mid-1998 an announcement on television that a new startup bank would be formed
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“I was intrigued by the model. The impetus was to bring local service back into the lending system. Local people were feeling disenfranchised. Huge accounts had account management outside the area. The relationship was what was being moved out of town.” Trois Hart Former Tower Financial employee
in Fort Wayne. A few months later, she left her position at NBD, which was then being acquired by Bank One, and signed on to help put together Tower’s marketing, retail and other operations. In an era when small banks were being gobbled up by bigger ones on an almost weekly basis, starting a new bank from scratch was beyond unusual. “I was intrigued by the model,” Hart
recalled. “The impetus was to bring local service back into the lending system. Local people were feeling disenfranchised. Huge accounts had account management outside the area. The relationship was what was being moved out of town.” Tower’s tagline, “Where service is a passion,” was derived from Schenkel’s own commitment to personal service. “It was an extension of that,” Hart said. Tower’s founders moved quickly to get the bank business up and running. Tower Financial’s initial public stock offering was in late January 1999 and Tower Bank opened its doors a few weeks later on Feb. 19. The bank started with 19 employees and offices in the Lincoln National Bank tower, the inspiration for the new bank’s name. Tower now has six offices in Fort Wayne and one in Warsaw, and a total of 165 employees. According to the most recent marketshare data available from the Federal Deposit Insurance Co., Tower was the fifthn
See CULTURE on PAGE 7
Prairie Quest scores well in customer satisfaction survey F o r t n Wa y n e - b a s e d Prairie Quest Consulting has
Reporter’s
NOTEBOOK
been honored with a state award and done well in a ranking of the country’s fastest-growing businesses and in a survey designed to measure performance and customer satisfaction. The company has its headDoug LeDuc quarters at 620 E. Berry St. It employs 160 at locations in 16 states. Its customers include the U.S. military, the U.S. Patent and Trade Office and Job Corps. It specializes in business and data analysis, strategic sourcing and acquisition management through lean procurement, and enterprise resource planning to support the operation of business management systems. It was notified of the honors late last month. PQC has adopted ISO 9001:2008 quality
TECHNOLOGY
standards for all of its business practices and uses a third-party review program to comply with them. In addition to quality, the program evaluates companies on the basis of cost, customer support, order accuracy, personnel, reliability, responsiveness and timeliness. PQC was told customers gave it an overall score of 94 on a 100-point scale. The company moved up in rank from three years ago on a list of the 5,000 fastest-growing independent entrepreneur companies in the United States published annually by Inc. magazine. PQC first made the list in 2010 with a ranking of 3,977, then appeared on it for a second time this year ranked 1,206th. This year it also ranked 24th on the magazine’s Top 100 Indiana Companies list and 68th on its Top 100 Government Services Companies. The state award PQC received went to only five Indiana companies this year in recognition of their continued growth after receiving a Companies to Watch award, which it got in 2010. To receive the Companies to Watch award from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the Indiana Small Business Development Center and the Edward Lowe Foundation, a privately held company must have at least six but no more than 150 full-
time employees as well as annual revenue or capital ranging from $750,000 to $100 million. “We’re proud that our customers, when given the chance to be completely honest, saw the value of our performance,” Stacey Smith, president and chief executive officer, said about the customer satisfaction survey in a statement on the honors the company received last month. “This exceptional rating, along with the awards we received, attests to the high quality of the individuals who make up our company and their dedication to excellence in serving our customers.”
COMPUTER CHESS HISTORY EARNS NATIONAL PRIZE Writing a history of computer chess earned a national prize for an associate professor at Indiana University’s school of informatics and computing. Nathan Ensmenger was awarded the 2013 Maurice Daumas Prize for his article, “Is Chess the Drosophilia of AI? The Social History of an Algorithm,” which appeared last year in the international peer reviewed journal Social Studies of Science. The award was announced at the 2013 ICOHTEC Knowledge at Work Symposium in Manchester, England. The prize named
after the French historian of technology and science is awarded each year for the best article of that nature published in a journal during the two previous years. “The article explores the emergence of computer chess as an experimental technology, its significance in the developing research practices of the artificial intelligence community, and the unique ways in which the decision to focus on chess shaped research on artificial intelligence in the 1970s,” an IU statement said. Ensmenger served nearly a decade on the University of Pennsylvania’s history and sociology department faculty before coming to IU last year. “Being awarded the Daumas Prize is a great honor for a historian of technology, and I am particularly pleased that my work on the social factors that influence the design and adoption of computer algorithms, which is a relatively new research area for me, achieved such public recognition,” he said. If you have items for the technology column, please contact Doug LeDuc by e-mail at dougl@fwbusiness.com, by phone at (260) 426-2640, ext. 309, or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.
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Work begins on hospital garage St. Joseph in Hospital
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downtown NOTEBOOK Fort Wayne has begun renovating its parking garage, which will reduce the number of parking spaces available to patients and visitors. The multiyear project will be done in phases, with Barry Rochford the first phase concentrated on the north side of the garage. The second phase will address the middle of the parking garage, while a third phase will focus on the south section of the garage. During the first phase, the doors and elevators connecting the parking garage to the adjacent medical office building will be closed. The hospital is encouraging those who have trouble walking to use its
HEALTH CARE
valet parking service at the main hospital entrance. The service is available from 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Individuals who park in the garage will have to use the medical office building’s main entrance along Broadway.
YOGA SCHOOL MOVES Pranayoga School of Yoga and Holistic Health will open in a larger space Sept. 14 at 1301 Lafayette St. The new location is near the school’s former site at 218 Pearl St. To celebrate the opening, the school will offer a global mala prayer for peace class that same day. In addition to offering yoga classes in two studios, the school provides free classes on Fridays to individuals battling cancer and has an Ayurvedic health center.
SCANLON JOINS LUTHERAN LIFE Donna Scanlon, the former CFO at Business Weekly owner KPC Media Group Inc., was named CFO of Lutheran Life Villages in Fort Wayne. In an announcement, Lutheran Life said Scanlon has more than 20 years of experin
See HEALTH CARE on PAGE 7
September 13-19, 2013
Ivy Tech students vie for startup funding BY DOUG LEDUC dleduc@kpcmedia.com
A couple of students at Ivy Tech Community College-Northeast have launched an outdoor adventure gear rental business and a clothing company that employs combat veterans in an effort to win the university’s 2013 New Venture Competition. They are finalists in a business-plan competition there, which awards $20,000 in startup funding to the student with the best business plan. The competition is in its third year. The other finalist had launched a photography business before entering the contest to refine its business concept. Participation in the contest is part of the Business 280 50C course, also known as the Internship Launch: New Venture class taught by James Tolbert. This year’s version of the competition started June 10 with 16 students and the field narrowed to the three finalists last month. “We were hopeful this would be successful in teaching students to be entrepreneurs and not just teaching someone to win the grand prize. All three of the finalists have launched their business whether they win or not,” Tolbert said. A panel of more than 40 judges including successful entrepreneurs, business owners, business managers and small business loan officers from area banks will select the best business plan based on presentations they hear from the finalists at a 5 p.m. Sept. 19 awards banquet. The judges will use seven criteria, including traction, to evaluate the business plans. “The more traction you can demonstrate, the more likely you are to win and the best traction is sales. As the students did more and more research, they decided, ‘We really need to get started,’ and they put themselves in a better position to with the competition,” Tolbert said. “It’s really thrilling to watch them start out kind of tentatively and as the process unfolds you can just see the students catch fire and say, ‘Hey, I can do this.’” Robert Bibbo launched American
Combat Veteran Clothing after discovering through a survey of potential customers that they would be willing to pay a premium for clothing made by combat veterans. Faith Maslonka launched Outdoor Gear Fitters after she discovered through market research that there are many retailers specializing in camping and backpacking equipment sales but very few who rent the outdoor gear. Adara Fath started Addie Fath Photography to specialize in portraits that appear candid instead of posed. It also is competing againt photo studios that keep copyrights of everything they shoot by including the copyright in the photo packages she sells her customers. The business-plan competition class uses a textbook and software called Business Plan Pro. Its students cover five chapters in the textbook related to business plan development and use the software each week on laptops they bring to class to work on their business plans. Instruction on business plan development and work on the plans takes about 60 percent of two hours the students spend together each week and the rest is spent delivering 60-second elevator-pitch summaries of their business models and updating the rest of the class on research conducted to start the business. Many students in the class who did not make the finals are planning to attend monthly meetings Ivy Tech will begin holding for them this year to continue working together on the development of their business plans, and Tolbert said a number of them are likely to result in business startups. The monthly meetings will take place until the 2014 round of competition starts next summer. Tolbert said some of the standout business concepts that did not make the finals but eventually could result in a startup included a rapid prototyping business that makes models through 3-D printing, a bakery cart food-service style truck for desserts and a nonprofit designed to mentor at-risk girls.
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DOG HOUSE: People looking for side work
Continued from PAGE 3
Along the way, Osborne also became a partner in the business. Dog House now has three full-time workers and one part time, Schaefer’s nephew, an engineering student. The work is done in another building about a mile from the mower and landscaping business. The steel is purchased from an area supplier, as are the axles for the carts. “I try to do everything locally,” Schaefer said. The biggest appeal of hot-dog carts and mobile food stands may be that a person can get into the business for a total investment of less than $5,000. That includes the cart, the necessary permits and the food, Schaefer said. “The economy is in the toilet, no matter what anybody wants to tell you. There’s a lot of people looking to make a little money on the side. There’s a lot of people unemployed,” Schaefer said. The most basic Dog House cart, the Greyhound, is about $3,250. The next step up, the Dachshund, is $3,880 and the top level, the American Bulldog, is $4,500. But all of them can be — and likely will have to be — customized a bit to meet local health-code requirements. “It changes from county to county, city to city. Every single health department, every single health inspector, is different,” Schaefer said. There are different rules, too, for sinks, water supply, refrigeration, roofing/ umbrellas and other necessities required for the carts to go beyond grilling or steaming hot dogs to preparing and serving other kinds of foods. “It can do basically anything you can think of,” Schaefer said. The metal carts also have to be portable. They fold down so they can be towed from location to location, and Dog House also makes old-fashioned wooden ice cream carts that can be pushed by hand. The cart business caught on quickly,
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“I never imagined we’d be doing food trucks, but there’s a real demand.” Steve Schaefer Dog House Carts Inc.
and that led to requests to fit out food trucks — some from cart owners who were successful enough to move up to something bigger and others enticed by the potential of the truck business. Dog House did a fit-out of a truck, or step van, a vendor had purchased elsewhere, and the referrals poured in. Now that’s become a big part of what Dog House does. “I never imagined we’d be doing food trucks, but there’s a real demand,” Schaefer said. Dog House had a hand in building many of the food carts and trucks now operating in Fort Wayne. And recently, it did a prototype for Auntie Anne’s, the pretzel company that has 1,000 stores, that could serve as the model for a new Auntie Anne’s food-truck franchise. It was the company’s most complex project yet, Schaefer acknowledged. “They basically wanted a brick and mortar building on wheels.” Dog House is also working with a Lexington pizza oven maker to develop a mobile pizza cart. Beyond that, the possibilities include themed carts, carts with animatronics and carts that talk. “The whole idea of taking this little cart that can produce anything you want is really opening some eyes,” Schaefer said. Schaefer is also working to set up a nationwide network of dealers to sell and maintain the products Dog House produces, a move he thinks would benefit company and customers alike. “I like the idea of working with dealers. If you have problems, you have a dealer to go to,” Schaefer said.
REAL ESTATE: Alliance buys equipment
Continued from PAGE 4
PIERCETON FIRM ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION, RELOCATION Dave and Sally Reuter, owners of Alliance Comfort Solutions in Pierceton, are
purchasing property and equipment from Wayne Ginter and Ginter Electric Service
in Warsaw. Reuter has worked in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning field since 1984 and has owned and operated Alliance since 2004. Along with heating and air condi-
tioning, Alliance designs and fabricates ducting and custom metal for single and multifamily residences, churches, schools, restaurants and other commercial projects. Alliance plans to move operations to 1001 E. Winona Ave. in Warsaw. If you have items for the real estate and retail column, please contact Linda Lipp by e-mail at llipp@kpcmedia.com, by phone at (260) 426-2640, ext. 307, or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.
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CULTURE: They have similar missions
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largest bank in the Fort Wayne metropolitan statistical area as of mid-2012, with 8.33 percent of the market share based on deposits. Old National was 19th, with 0.27 percent of the market. New 2013 deposit and market share numbers are due out next month. Old National, based in Evansville, has a banking office in southwest Fort Wayne on Chestnut Hills Parkway; the bank also has insurance operations there. It is the largest community bank in Indiana, with $9.6 billion in assets and 176 branches. Tower has $581.6 million in deposits, $438.6 million in loans, $523.3 million in trust assets and more than 50,000 health savings accounts, which will allow Old
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National to gain a firmer foothold in the Fort Wayne and Warsaw markets. “We are absolutely thrilled about this partnership, which dramatically expands Old National’s presence in the attractive Fort Wayne market, and which will continue and strengthen Tower’s community banking commitment, while helping to solidify our standing as Indiana’s bank,” said Old National President and CEO Bob Jones in a prepared statement. “We have similar missions and share many of the same corporate values. Our Tower team looks forward to becoming a key part of the Old National organization and continuing our role in our local market,” Tower Financial CEO Mike Cahill said in the announcement.
HEALTH CARE: Lutheran Life has new CFO
Continued from PAGE 6
employees.
ence in accounting, human resources and information-technology management. Lutheran Life has nearly 650 residents at two retirement living communities in Fort Wayne and one in Kendallville. The organization has more than 400
If you have items for the health-care column, please contact Barry Rochford by email at brochford@kpcmedia.com, by phone at (260) 426-2640, ext. 311, or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.
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Barry Rochford brochford@kpcmedia.com Editor
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William Hanley Kelly Bransteter
George O. Witwer Publisher Emeritus
Terry Housholder President, CEO
Terry Ward Chief Operating Officer
S. Rick Mitchell Chief Financial Officer
Lynette Donley Advertising Director
Kelly Lynch Digital Media Director
Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly is a publication of KPC Media Group Inc.
The truth should be out there Somewhat neglected amid recent headlines of potential war and Miley Cyrus’ twerking signaling the impending ruination of America was this: The U.S. government finally acknowledged the existence of Area 51. The release of declassified documents, which include a convenient map with “Area 51” clearly indicated — a great help for any lost otherworldly visitor who took a wrong turn at Albuquerque — was met with a barely contained yawn. We’ve known for decades that Area 51 was there; the armed security personnel who quickly intercept any would-be interlopers are a sure tip-off. But because of what the base was used for — it’s where the Air Force developed and tested the U-2 spy plane and other surveillance aircraft — its existence had to be kept secret. It is necessary sometimes, as in the case of Area 51, for a government to keep things secret. But then there are instances in which information is put under lock and key for no real reason. A review of former state education superintendent Tony Bennett and the Department of Education’s “A-F” grading system for schools that Bennett’s staff implemented largely exonerates Bennett from playing favorites by changing the letter grade for the Christel House Academy charter school in Indianapolis, whose founder has been a significant Republican donor over the years. According to those conducting the review, that Christel House went from a “C” to an “A” was “plausible,” and changes to the
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state’s grading formula were applied uniformly to 16 other schools in the same situation as Christel House. But perhaps the most damning information contained within the review was this: the “A-F” grading system that Bennett championed never really worked. According to the review authors, the IDOE “under-estimated administrative and technical challenges associated with developing the new administrative rule, computer programming and testing necessary to implement the new rule, and obtaining feedback relative to the 2011-2012 grades.” And then there’s this: “Although efforts were made by Dr. Bennett and his staff to interact with educational stakeholders and practitioners, a significant portion of the educational community did not understand or trust in the accuracy or fairness of the Bennett Rule’s Metrics …” Not only was the grading system broken, schools were in the dark about what it measured. The very people holding schools accountable for how well they educate students essentially were unaccountable for their faulty test. Now the state is deciding what to do with the whole “A-F” system. We can and should hold schools accountable, but any accountability rule should not be a secret. It should be out in the open. We’re not building spy planes, we’re educating students. And that work needs transparency, not special clearance.
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Best of the worst is not good enough
Terry Housholder thousholder@kpcmedia.com
rfarrant@kpcmedia.com
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WHAT’S YOUR VIEW? Want to share your thoughts on something you’ve read? Business Weekly welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns. E-mail them to news@fwbusiness. com, fax them to (260) 426-2503 or mail them to Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808. Business Weekly reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length.
Are Hoosiers satisfied to be the best of the worst? Is mediocrity our highest level of aspiration? I like to believe the answer to those questions is no, but I have my doubts. This round of questions is brought up by the latest estimates of per-capita gross domestic product for the individual states by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. State gross domestic product is the market value of all goods and services produced within the boundaries of the state over a given period of time. The latest data are for 2012. Private firms, public agencies and not-for-profit organizations are all included. It is the states’ counterpart to the more familiar national GDP figures. Per-capita GDP indicates the total an economy is producing relative to the population of the n nation or state. That population includes all persons — the very young and the very old, the infirm and the incarcerated. Per-capita GDP will vary with the composition of the population. As such it is a poor measure of worker productivity. However, the number does give us a measure of output compared to the population — the consumption units — in a nation or state. It approximates the potential for the well-being of a population. What do the data tell us about Indiana? In 1997, the Hoosier state ranked 31st among the 50 states in per-capita GDP. In 2012, we again ranked 31st. No change. You can praise our leaders for the relative Morton J. stability of the Indiana economy. Or you can condemn them for not doing enough to improve Marcus our relative standing. In 1997, we saw Indiana with a per-capita GDP 7.9 percent below the national figure, while in 2012 we stood 8.7 percent below the nation. That is not a catastrophic decline, but it is a movement in the wrong direction. Between ’97 and ’12, Indiana ranked 26th in its rate of growth (average annual rate of 1.07 percent) or just below the national average rate of 1.13 percent. This put us at the top of the bottom half of all the states, a solid expression of mediocrity. Where Indiana did excel was in comparison with the other four states of the Great Lakes (Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin). Our rate of growth was the best experienced by any of these neighboring competitive states. But these five states together had the worst growth rate of any region in the nation. To lead the worst is not a great honor or distinction. Do Indiana’s leaders in business and government believe this is the best we can do? Fifteen years covers a strong start at the end of the century, followed by two recessions and two recoveries. During these years we have had much talk about Indiana’s innovative programs and expensive efforts to strengthen existing firms and to attract new businesses. Perhaps we need a re-examination of what we believe is innovative and just how we do spend our money.
EYE ON THE PIE
MORTON J. MARCUS is an independent economist, writer and speaker formerly with Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He can be reached at mortonjmarcus@yahoo.com.
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Social (media) studies: How two colleges use it to connect with students Back-to-school n time means early mornings, homework and the opportunity to learn something new every day. As much as this applies to students, it’s also a reality for those who work in education — including John Kaufeld of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and Michele Morrical of Ivy Tech Community College-Northeast. Among their many responsibilities, John and Michele help manage their institutions’ social-media presences, communicating with students about everything from getting settled in for a new semester to finding resources that can help them reach their goals. I recently discussed this work with both of them to learn more about how colleges are adapting to connect with tech-savvy students via social media. Here are the highlights from those conversations. Anthony Juliano: Why is social media important to your college? What benefits do you think it provides to building relationships between the college, its students and other stakeholders? Michele Morrical: Facebook, specifically, has been great for us. In a matter of a few years we built our fan base from 5,000 fans to over 75,000 fans, and that number grows every day. Not only is it a great way for us to communicate messages, but, more importantly, it helps us connect with students. Through Facebook we are able to provide excellent customer service to our students by answering all of their questions, saving them a phone call or a trip to campus. John Kaufeld: It’s a key part of ongoing customer service for our students, alumni and community. When I started doing this five years ago, nobody had a vision for how big of a customer-service role social media would play at the university. Our socialmedia channels particularly shine during the weeks leading up to a new semester, the first few weeks of a new semester and any time the university issues a campus alert. Our students know they can turn to our social-media channels to get timely information and answers to their questions. Juliano: Tell me a little bit about some of the successes you’ve had. What have you been able to achieve via social media that might not have been possible otherwise? Morrical: One of the great benefits of social media is that it gives you a good sense of the student experience. Hearing positive
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and negative comments from students has helped us identify areas in which we can improve. This is especially true for financial aid. By listening to student feedback and identifying their pain points, we have been able to work with the financial-aid department to streamline some processes, which turned out to be a great benefit for all of our students. Kaufeld: The biggest success I’ve had at IPFW through social media is the connections I’ve been able to help students make. Sometimes, they’re basic customer-service connections. The ones that give me the biggest sense of accomplishment are when a student is frustrated or confused and simply doesn’t know where else to turn. When I can help those students get the information they need or find the assistance to get them through a problem, I feel like I’ve really done my job. Juliano: Have you faced any significant challenges along the way? What’s one of the most difficult things you’ve encountered? Morrical: We face the same challenge as other colleges: the staffing issue. Since social media never sleeps, you need to have moderators available nearly 24/7 if you really want to do it well. In a perfect world, colleges would have staff members dedicated to social media, but in all my years I have never heard of a college that does it this way. Thankfully for us, our team members are very giving of their time and truly enjoy talking to students and answering their questions. Kaufeld: The biggest challenge I’ve
faced at IPFW is a very common challenge among all kinds of organizations as they get started in social media. It’s that question of “What if somebody says something negative about us?” Frankly, I love getting a chance to reply to someone who’s frustrated or angry. Without social media, that conversation would happen in a dark corner of the Internet somewhere, and I wouldn’t be there to help the person. Juliano: What advice would you have for someone at another college who’s trying to make social media work? What should they focus on, or how can they reboot if
their efforts aren’t delivering the results they would like? Morrical: First, find out where your users are, who they are and what they want. The answers may vary for each social-media site. Next you have to build a strategy that includes your goals, processes, procedures, staffing and measurement points. Be prepared to make changes to your strategy as you see what works and what doesn’t. A lot of it is trial and error at first. You have to find what works best for you and your students. Kaufeld: First, know your audience. Decide who you’re going to speak to, how you’re going to speak and even more importantly, who you are not going to speak to. Our main social-media channels are for our students, either our current students or prospective students. Social media is a conversation, and you can’t have a conversation with everybody. Identify your audience, get to know them, and think about what will interest them. Juliano: Anything else you’d like to add? Morrical: Social media is a big commitment. Don’t jump in without a plan or you may do more harm than good. Kaufeld: It’s very easy to think that social media is about technology or tablets or clever text or beautiful pictures. It isn’t. Social media is about people. ANTHONY JULIANO is a marketing and social media strategist, teacher, trainer and writer. He is vice president of marketing and social media strategy at Asher Agency in Fort Wayne, and he teaches social media and marketing classes at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Connect with him at LinkedIn.com/in/ anthonyjuliano or via e-mail at anthonyj@asheragency.com.
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Leadership can help your sales team ‘make it happen’ “Where’s the n action? Where’s the game?” is a line in the song “Oldest Established” from the immortal Broadway show (and my personal favorite) “Guys and Dolls.” For the uninformed, the show is about a craps game and a leader named Nathan Detroit. The movie version stars Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando and won all kinds of awards. The plot is about gambling, winning, attracting and making it happen no matter what. It’s just a great show and movie with great music and a happy ending. The theme is one of looking to the leader to make things happen. And it’s the same in your business — just without the craps game and the songs. But not without gambling. All business is a gamble, and all businesses look to their leaders to “make it happen.” Here are the actions I have observed about leadership that are mandatory for leadership success. They’re internal actions that build trust, earn respect and create a team of inspired people — inspired to be productive and do their best. • Great leaders are value providers, not order givers. At the top of every employee’s list of job wants (besides more money) is to be appreciated and valued. When appreciation for a job well done is conveyed, positive environment thrives. • Great leaders tell the truth. Truth creates trust and confidence and a reliance on the
JEFFREY GITOMER
consistency of message. All other leadership characteristics and outcomes fade if there is a lack of truth. (Same in life.) • Great leaders are in control and earn respect. Quick to decide and not afraid to make or admit mistakes, great leaders are respected because they take action and respected because they are vulnerable. • Great leaders focus on outcome to ensure completed tasks. Don’t focus on task or project completion. Rather, think what will happen after the project is completed. Outcome, not task. Outcome, not results. • Great leaders are responsible by example and expect the same from their people. Everyone “looks” to and at leaders. Watches their every move. If leaders are slack, lack work ethic or are slow to decide, they have given tacit permission to their teams to be and do the same. The best leaders are first in, last out, and work their butt off in the middle. • Great leaders value and display tolerance and temperance. First in themselves, then from others. I’m not a fan of leaders who rant. Lots of successful ones do rant, but there are rules to follow if you’re one of them. Rule 1: Praise in public. Rule 2: Reprimand in private. Rule 2.5: Record yourself doing both praise and reprimand. See how you sound to others by listening to yourself. You may not like it. • Great leaders are excellent communicators that are listened to intently and are clearly understood. The one characteristic that gets more productivity and generates more achievement and positive outcome is clear communication. Leaders have a responsibility and a challenge to be excel-
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lent at it. • Great leaders are wide open to new ideas and innovation. “That’s the way we’ve always done it” is a recipe for failure. Leaders are readers, constantly searching for new ways to be better. • Great leaders concentrate on and think “best.” It always takes extra effort to be or strive to be “best,” that’s why so many people fail. Failure occurs when people (leaders or not) fail to do their best and be their best — daily. • Great leaders remain committed. The best leaders never waver. They’re loyal, steadfast examples of what and who others aspire to be and be like. They’re not just mission driven; they’re also “personal mission” driven. They are respected and followed because of their commitment. • Great leaders encourage. They build pride with a “you can do it” philosophy and communication style. They encourage their people to succeed, and do so with a helpful, positive attitude. A coach and a teacher, not a manager or a boss. Big difference, both in results and morale. Did I just define your leader? Did I just define how you are inspired to be and do your best every day? I hope so, but I doubt it. The challenge for you, whether you’re a leader or a team member, is to study these qualities and talk about them openly. One of the tragedies of leadership is that the (overrated) 360-degree feedback process, usually only goes 180 degrees. Great leaders don’t just lead by example, they set the standard. What kind of standard are you setting? JEFFREY GITOMER, a syndicated columnist, can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com.
AUBURN AUCTION HITS $28M IN SALES The Auctions America Auburn Fall show and sale was the company’s best, it announced Sept. 5. Sales at the Labor Day weekend auction climbed above $28 million, with more than 80 percent of lots sold, Auctions America reported. What’s more, the 70,000 who attended the show mark a 40-percent spike in attendance from a year ago, the company said. Those figures translated into Auctions America’s most successful event in its four-year history, The Star in Auburn reported. “This year’s Auburn fall collector car weekend was simply electric,” said Auctions America President Donnie Gould. “The world came home to Auburn for this celebration of automotive culture and the response from buyers, sellers and attendees has been overwhelmingly positive.” Among the highlights from the show were sales of three pre-war Duesenbergs, including a 1930 Model J Convertible Coupe that commanded $1.54 million including the buyer’s 10-percent premium. Just behind it, a 1929 Duesenberg Model J Sports Sedan sold for $962,500 and a 1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Dual-Cowl Phaeton sold at $858,000. A 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/5 Daytona sold for $434,500, and a 1933 Auburn V-12 Boattail Speeder sold for $371,250. The Star is published by Business Weekly owner KPC Media Group Inc.
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Construction spending climbs to four-year high It’s expected to spur on the economy in the second half (Bloomberg) — Construction spending in the U.S. increased in July to the highest level in four years, propelled by gains in residential real estate. Outlays climbed 0.6 percent to a $900.8 billion annual rate, the most since June 2009, after being little changed in June, the Commerce Department reported in Washington, D.C. The median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.4-percent increase. Gains in employment, housing and nonresidential building in the second half of the year will probably help strengthen the economic expansion. Nonetheless, tight land inventories, rising mortgage rates may temper the pace of the industry’s recovery. “We’re going to continue to post growth,” Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics LLC in Boulder, Colo., said before the report. “It’s growing a little faster than the broader economy, obviously getting help from residential construction.” Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from a decrease of 0.7 percent to a gain of 0.8 percent. June’s reading was revised from a previously reported 0.6-percent decline. Figures for May were also revised up. Construction spending increased 5.2 percent in the 12 months ending July after adjusting for seasonal variations, according to the Commerce Department figures. Private homebuilding outlays increased 0.6 percent to the highest level since September 2008. The gain included a 0.8-percent increase in home improvement from June. Nonresidential building climbed 1.3 percent, reflecting a jump in factory construction.
Outlays on public projects dropped 0.3 percent, the report said. Federal spending increased 1.1 percent, the biggest gain since October, while state and local declined 0.4 percent. Construction helped the world’s largest economy pick up steam in the second quarter. Gross domestic p r o d u c t increased at a more-thanexpected 2.5 percent annualized rate after a 1.1 percent gain in the first three months of the year, Commerce Department figures showed earlier this week. Residential construction increased at a 12.9-percent annualized rate, the report showed. Corporate spending grew at a 9.9 percent annualized rate, exceeding the 9 percent gain previously reported, amid bigger increases in commercial construction. Government spending fell at a 0.9 percent annualized rate. Across-the-board cuts in federal government spending has spurred companies such as Oshkosh Corp. to ensure their sources of revenue are diversified. Oshkosh, which designs and manufactures specialty trucks and other vehicles, reported sales and earnings that topped the average estimate from
analysts during the third quarter ended June. “With the recovery in both residential construction and the expected follow-on recovery in nonresidential construction, that will allow us to have a greater percentage of revenues that are outside of government spending,” Patrick Davidson, vice president of investor relations, said at a presentation at the Three Part Advisors LLC Midwest IDEAS conference on Aug. 27. While progress in housing starts has been uneven, the improvement over the past year “is a very positive sign, not only for our telehandler business but also for our concrete mixer business,” he said. Work began on 2.2 percent fewer singlefamily homes in July, taking them to a 591,000 annualized rate, the least since November, according to Commerce Department data. Total housing starts climbed to an 896,000 pace, propelled by a rebound in the multifamily category, which can be volatile. Purchases of new U.S. homes plunged 13.4 percent in July, the most in more than three years. A jump in borrowing costs over the past four months may be prompting buyers to hold back.
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Regulations will force banks to hold stake in some securities (Bloomberg) — Regulations designed to prevent the shoddy underwriting practices that led to the financial crisis will probably force Wall Street banks to take a stake in some commercial mortgages before selling them to investors as bonds. The so-called risk-retention requirement, proposed by six federal agencies on Aug. 28, mandates that lenders hold 5 percent of securitized debt deals for five years. While those requirements would be satisfied in commercial-mortgage transactions where investors buy the riskiest portions known as B pieces, securities linked to a single borrower don’t include them, according to Morgan Stanley. Recent draft regulation eased certain provisions for mortgage securitizations after guidelines released in 2011 drew protests from industry groups. The stipulation that deals linked to a single commercial real-estate borrower meet the 5-percent retention hurdle remained intact, according to the New York-based analysts led by Richard Hill. Of $53 billion of bond sales this year, about $17 billion have been tied to a single property owner, data compiled by Morgan Stanley show. The bulk of deals in the $550 billion commercial-mortgage bond market are linked to as many as 100 properties and borrowers across the U.S. Instead of keeping a 5-percent stake, banks could create more conservative mortgages that meet exemption parameters under the new rules, Hill said in an email. The requirement could make CMBS lenders less competitive on the types of large loans that are sold off separately, he said. Investor demand for such deals has waned in recent months after banks issued a record amount of the debt in the first quarter, according to Standard & Poor’s.
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NYE’S OMNIBUS LECTURE CANCELED Bill Nye’s selection as a competitor on the new season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars� tripped up plans for him to speak next week at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Omnibus Lecture Series. In an announcement, the university said the short time frame between Nye’s scheduled Sept. 12 lecture and the Sept. 16 premiere of “Dancing with the Stars� was
the reason for the cancellation. Nye was the host of the “Bill Nye the Science Guyâ€? syndicated television series. His Omnibus lecture was titled, “Hey, Earthings, Let’s Change the World.â€? “Everyone in the community was so excited about his lecture; so much so that all the tickets for it were reserved in just a matter of days,â€? Irene Walters, executive director of university relations and communications, said in the announcement. “We are disappointed that he had to cancel, but are very much hoping IPFW and Nye can ďŹ nd a date in the spring when he can come and present his lecture.â€?
September 13-19, 2013
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“We want to continue to do our best to make women feel beautiful� What is Barbara’s New Beginnings?
Barbara’s New Beginnings is an award-winning unique lingerie boutique. We ďŹ t women for bras from AAA-N cup, including post-mastectomy bras and prosthesis, cup-sized swimwear and more. We carry unique statement jewelry, handbags and accessories. Our goal is to make every woman feel special.
CAREER PATH
What inspired you to start the business?
I was in the hospital because of a congenital pancreas illness, and all of my roommates had had mastectomies. They conďŹ ded in me that they weren’t sure where to go to feel feminine and whole again. I had this dream and strong desire to open a store where women could come feel comfortable, have a cup of coffee and enjoy an upbeat and feminine environment. How did you prepare yourself, through training, etc., to run the business?
I went to school to learn about breast cancer, how to ďŹ t bras and prosthesis and learn about insurance contracts. I did an apprenticeship in New York at the Towne Shop to learn to ďŹ t bras. My retail background included a 15-year position at a chain of ladies specialty stores, where I eventually became vice president. How did your original concept for the business change once you got started? Why?
My original concept was to ďŹ t women in post-surgical bras and prosthesis, though once my store started receiving more referrals and recognition, I expanded to carrying larger cup sizes n
See GILBERT on PAGE 13
Name: Barbara Gilbert Business: Barbara’s New Beginnings Title: Owner/buyer/ CEO/CMF Location: 4705 Illinois Road Years in business: 13 Number of employees: 15 Education: certiďŹ ed mastectomy ďŹ tter; facility certiďŹ cation through American Board of Accreditation
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GILBERT: Hiring and training the right professionals is the key
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COMMITTEE FORMED TO OVERSEE FOUNDATION The Honeywell Foundation in Wabash has formed a new Committee of Thirty to help guide the organization into the future. In an announcement, the foundation said members of the Committee of Thirty understand the significance of the arts, entertainment and education programs that the foundation provides to Wabash-area residents. The foundation oversees the Honeywell Center in Wabash as well as the Honeywell House, the Eagles Theatre and the 13-24 Drive In. It was founded in 1941 by Mark Honeywell, the businessman who started Honeywell Heating Speciality Co. Inc. in Wabash, which merged in 1927 with Minneapolis Heat Regulator Co. to form what is now known as Honeywell International Inc. The committee was named after the Committee of 100 that Mark Honeywell helped co-found in 1926 to support Miami, where he spent part of his childhood and where he continued to have a residence. The Committee of 100 is now part of HistoryMiami. Through the Honeywell Center and its other endeavors, the Honeywell Foundation serves about 250,000 individuals annually. “The Honeywell Foundation was founded through the vision and generosity of Mr. Honeywell more than 70 years ago, and his legacy to the community is radiated by the members of the Committee of Thirty,” Parker Beauchamp, committee chair, said in the announcement. “Given the prominent level of the foundation’s influence in Wabash, it is our responsibility to be encouraging conversations and financial investments that can benefit the organization for years to come.”
A L LE N C O U N T Y
ARTS UNITED STARTS SEARCH FOR ITS NEXT PRESIDENT Arts United has begun searching for a new president following the resignation of Jim Sparrow, who this month will become president and CEO of the Arts Council of Winston-Salem in North Carolina. In an announcement, the organization said candidates from northeast Indiana and across the country will be considered and a search committee will accept résumés through Sept. 27. The search committee includes representatives of Arts United’s board of directors and partner organizations. The committee is expected to make a selection by December. Information about the position is available at www.artsunited.org/search.
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in regular bras and eventually bras in all sizes. What led you to open a second store in Indianapolis?
The demand for professionally fitted bras grew and grew. Indeed, our Indianapolis store was founded after we realized how much of our customer base came from that area. We opened in Zionsville about four years ago, and quickly outgrew the space. About 2 1/2 years ago, we closed the Zionsville location and opened our larger space next to the Keystone Fashion Mall, at 8635 River Crossing Blvd. What are the greatest challenges of running the business?
Because our mission is to make everyone
woman feel special in a professionally fitted bra, our biggest challenge is to hire and train the right professionals. We train all of our fitters for three months before they can fit on their own. Each employee is an investment, but this is a necessary process to give the best service possible. What do you find most rewarding about the work?
Our amazing customers make us excited to come to work every day. We love making them happy. So many customers have left memorable “parting words” as they leave, such as, “I’ve never felt this comfortable in a bra! I should have come years ago!” What techniques have you learned to help make your customers feel comfortable?
Customer service is our No. 1 priority.
We have large, private fitting rooms with robes, and our fitting etiquette ensures a comfortable experience. Are there any special moments that stand out?
There are too numerous to mention. One that stands out: a previously unhappy and timid customer emerging from her fitting room after the fitting while singing “I Feel Pretty!” Groups of friends come here together to be fitted and laugh, dance and create such a fun experience. What’s ahead for the business?
We want to continue to do our best to make women feel beautiful. By Linda Lipp. To suggest an idea for “Career Path,” email news@fwbusiness.com.
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GREATER FORT WAYNE BUSINESS WEEKLY’S
Q Editor’s note: KPC Media Group Inc., the publisher of Business Weekly, honored the winners of its sixthannual Health Care Awards at an event Sept. 12.
ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH CARE Names: Mitch Stucky, MD, president Parkview Physicians Group; Connie Kerrigan, RN BSN manager community nursing and women’s services at Parkview Health Program name: Parkview LiVe How and when did the Parkview LiVe program get started? What kinds of health-care issues does it seek to address? Parkview has recognized for quite some time that we have an opportunity as the region’s not-for-profit health system to help establish a vision for a healthier northeast Indiana in identifying a strategic approach to work with students, schools, employers, churches, community partners such YMCAs, Purdue Extension offices and other community partnerships. To share a common message around overall health and wellness, LiVe was the approach that was selected. Naturally, endeavors of this magnitude require some planning and development, however, actual programming and sharing of resources began in March of 2012. What kinds of services are offered through Parkview LiVe? Parkview LiVe does offer some services such as family weight management, cooking demonstrations, educational materials and support for community agencies. However, the true value and benefit is derived through the community partnerships and the shared visioning around the 8 Healthy Habits. It is through these efforts that a culture of more healthful options are available and making the healthier choice the easier choice. A number of organizations have partnered with Parkview to help implement the program. How beneficial has their support of the program been? True transformational change does not exist within a vacuum. The community partnerships that have been expanded upon or forged through this work are key to transforming the overall health and well-being of our region. What’s been the most rewarding
aspect of starting Parkview LiVe? The most rewarding aspect is the excitement and engagement that our communities have shown as we work collaboratively to identify opportunities to improve the health and well-being of those we serve. Additionally, the interest exhibited by community businesses and other groups recognizing the importance of a healthy work force and how they, too, can play a role in improving wellness. We encourage those who want more information about LiVe and how they can become involved to contact us via LiveHealthy@parkview.com.
COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT IN HEALTH CARE
have a great group of clinicians in northeast Indiana that can do some amazing things and deliver cutting-edge medical care. You serve as board president of Matthew 25. Why is it important to you to give back to the community? Fort Wayne/northeast Indiana is where I live, where I work and what provides me not only with a source of professional satisfaction, but also with an opportunity to learn and grow and feel like I can make a difference. I want to be proud of the community I live in, and If I don’t give back, how can I expect my neighbor to give back? We all need to share the burden and to give part of our time, energy and resources to make our community better. And I do feel that making northeast Indiana better starts with providing the people an opportunity to make themselves healthy and productive. This is one way I can help.
Name: Tom Gutwein, MD Age: 49 Practice name: Professional Emergency Physicians Inc. Number of years spent practicing: 20 What made you want to become a doctor? Initially I enrolled at Purdue University and headed for engineering. I became ill with mononucleosis my senior year of high school, missing almost all of my football season. That disease sparked my interest in medicine, and I was enthralled with the science of medicine from the start. What are some of the most rewarding aspects about your profession? Taking care of all ages, all socioeconomic groups, and being able to help them or their family feel better, either physically or emotionally. Are there moments that stand out in your career when you’ve been able to help a patient? Most of the time I help people it is a “little thing.” I love to do that. I can do that every day, and feel like what I did was helpful to someone, in a meaningful way that they will benefit from. The big things take a lot of teamwork, a lot of time and a little luck. We are blessed to
Name: James Cameron, MD, FAAP Age: 43 Practice name: Northern Indiana Neonatal Associates PC Number of years spent practicing: I have been in practice for a little over 10 years now. What made you want to get into medicine? When I was 10 years old I went to the doctor with my twin brother for our physical exams for school. I remember my brother going first and his exam being a quick up and down from the exam table. I went up and my doctor listened to my heart, checked my pulses, checked my blood pressure, rechecked my blood pressure, checked it in my legs and rechecked it in my legs and then called my grandmother in. He calmly said, “Grandma, we have a very sick boy here.” Shortly after that I was being evaluated at Loyola University’s Children’s Hospital and found to have a coarctation of the aorta. Through the eight months of evaluations, poking by the doctors, nurses and medical students I was awed by the hospital. From that point on becoming a doctor was always the goal.
What made you want to specialize in neonatology? As one would expect, pediatric cardiology was actually the area that I saw myself going into when I was growing up given my past medical history. Medical school confirmed that a pediatric career was the direction to take. During the final month of my four years of medical school, my wife and I celebrated our four-year anniversary, Mother’s Day (Jenny was pregnant with our first child), graduation, our first house and a big move east to North Carolina for my pediatric residency at Wake Forest. The happiest time of my life that I can remember was that second week of May 1997. On May 16, 1997, our first son was born. He was born just short of 25 weeks of pregnancy. He was 947 grams, or 2 pounds and 1 ounce. I remember the moment he was born. I remember the two pediatric doctors who were in the room and how quickly he was whisked away to the NICU. The next 10 days were a lifetime of emotions as any parent of an extremely preterm infant can attest to. There was happiness when he did well, joy when he was weaning from the ventilator, fear when he became sick and the tremendous hole that was left in my soul the day he died. At that point, I was not sure I would be able to be in the NICU for my rotations during residency. Through the guidance of my friends and colleagues in residency, my wife and I were able recover and I was able to go back into the NICUs. I found that my loss was not unique to my wife and I. I also found that I was able to work with the families through both their joys and sorrows and help them to work through their NICU days and weeks. After five months of NICU rotations and almost as much call time in the NICU during the first three years of training, I decided to pursue a fellowship in neonatology. What are some of the most rewarding aspects about your profession? There are many rewarding aspects and each of them for different reasons. I get to work with a great team. The team consists of my partners in NINA, our nurse practitioners, the nurses and therapists. The group works great together. It is a privilege to work along side of them. This past June, I was rewarded by being able to go to Ethiopia with a team of primary-care physicians from around the country. This was thanks to one of our NICU nurses, Amanda Bloomfield, making the opportunity known. Amanda and I were able to care for the young underserved and often unserved health-care needs for some of the young homeless children in the capital. Continued on the next page
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Continued from the previous page In the NICU we work closely with the nurses and therapists to care for the babies and their families, often for months at a time. We have the reward of these families recovering and going home. When the baby who was born at 23 weeks comes back at two years, walks into the NICU and runs up and hugs you, that reward is priceless for all of us.
improvements in health, lifestyle and quality of life. I appreciate the simplicity of physical therapy and the ability to empower patients to take an active role in their rehabilitation and carry that forward to their future life. It is so rewarding to meet a former patient somewhere and recognize how much more active his/her life is than compared to the time when they initiated structured physical therapy.
Why is it important to you to volunteer to organizations like the March of Dimes? Our involvement with the March of Dimes over the past six years has allowed myself and my group to be involved in the changing face of health care in our region and our state. In coordination with the March of Dimes we have been able to provide education for nurses through local lectures. The education we can provide locally can help disseminate new knowledge that is being updated more and more frequently. My partners and our spouses feel it is important to help guide these changes through involvement and support of organizations like the March of Dimes, Easter Seals/Arc, Healthier Moms and Babies, Kate’s Kart and The Children’s Hope House to name a few. It is our responsibility as health care providers to make sure these organizations can meet the needs of our families, our city and our world.
Are there moments that stand out in your career when you’ve been able to help someone come back from an injury or procedure? Honestly there aren’t specific moments that stand out. It’s great to have a former patient stop by the clinic to say thanks or, “Look what I can do,” or, “I’m doing this now.” It’s very nice to hear. Working with someone who is now able to play and interact with their grandchildren, to someone who can continue to work to make a living, to someone able to earn a scholarship to play college athletics are all moments that make it easy to come to work each day. What more would you like to accomplish in your profession? I would like to continue to work to promote the profession of physical therapy so it is among the first options people choose for musculoskeletal pain or movement dysfunction.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Name: Jim Leslie PT, MS, COMT, ATC Age: 40 Practice name: Indiana Physical Therapy Years in practice: 14 What made you want to get into physical therapy? In my senior year in high school, I suffered an ACL sprain requiring surgery followed by physical therapy. This was my first exposure to physical therapy and I was fortunate enough to work with a therapist who definitely enjoyed his job and focused on making a real impact on his patients. I already had a strong attraction to science and medicine, and as I progressed through college I kept coming back to my therapy experiences and how I could use them to create a career. The therapist from my highschool experience is Dave Kuhn, someone brilliant enough to hire me once I graduated. What are some of the most rewarding aspects about your profession? First and foremost is the interaction with people and being able to help them make
Name: Gwendolyn A. Edmondson Practice name: Gwendolyn A. Edmondson, DDS Number of years spent practicing: 26 What made you want to become a dentist? I wanted a career in the health field and dentistry seemed like the best fit for me. I had always liked going to the dentist as a child, I liked working with my hands, and I wanted to be able to help people be healthy. What are some of the most rewarding aspects about your profession? The most rewarding aspects of my profession are meeting and getting to know a lot of interesting, wonderful people; seeing families as they grow up and start new families; and being able to help people stay healthy by caring for their teeth and mouths. You recently celebrated your 25th anniversary in dentistry. What are some of the moments that stand out in your career? Some of the best moments of my career
have been working with my colleague, Dr. Beth M. Marks, and our talented, caring staff. They make it possible for me to care for our patients. We all celebrate together when we help someone out of pain, or help someone eat better, or help someone improve their smile. What more would you like to accomplish with your practice? Dentistry has seen many changes like implants, digital X-rays and newer restorative materials for teeth. I am always looking to learn new techniques to better serve my patients.
September 13-19, 2013
What more would you like to accomplish in your profession? I am very satisfied with my life and my accomplishments and would not ask for any more than what I already have. I am very grateful to almighty God to be blessed with good health, great family, friends, colleagues and a wonderful supportive community here in Fort Wayne, and to be able to do the best I can to make a little difference in this world.
PHYSICIAN Name: Mohammed Saad Ghazali, MD, FAAP Age: 47 Practice name: Pediatric Cardiology Associates PC Number of years spent practicing: physician since 1989; pediatrician since 1994; pediatric cardiologist since 1997 What made you want to become a doctor? I volunteered in a school for handicapped children when I was 13 years old — an opportunity that allowed me to appreciate the sound mind and body that God almighty has blessed me with. And what can be a better way to serve our creator than becoming a physician and helping cure those who are sick, especially the sick children who are our future? What are some of the most rewarding aspects about your profession? Being a pediatrician and cardiologist, I find that the kids are a lot of fun to interact with whether they are newborns, infants, children or teenagers. Unlike grownups, they are not manipulative or grumpy (unless a teenager!) and full of hope and energy, and they return to normal activity as soon as they feel better. The parents of these children must be patient in order to take care of some very special kids with severe heart disease who most likely would not survive without the life-saving surgery and procedures that are undertaken. My responsibility is timely diagnosis and intervention to provide these families who otherwise would have to seek help from tertiary care centers. I feel privileged to be part of these families’ lives. Are there moments that stand out in your career when you’ve been able to help a patient? Experiences of life-threatening conditions of the children obviously require me to be attentive at all times, however, I would like to say that every child that I am involved with has a special place in my heart. In reality, these children educate me every day about the important things in life, such as God, family and community. Every moment has been special, and not one stands out above the others because they have all impacted my life considerably.
Name: Greg Sassmannshausen Age: 42 Practice name: Fort Wayne Orthopedics Number of years spent practicing: 10 What made you want to become a doctor? Growing up, I always wanted to do what my brother did. Therefore, when he went to medical school I figured I should try to do the same thing. I played football in college and got to know our team doctor very well. He became my mentor and greatly influenced me to become a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon. What are some of the most rewarding aspects about your profession? Most rewarding for me are the relationships I develop with my patients. I particularly enjoy seeing my young athletes who have required surgery put in the huge effort postoperatively to return to play. I know how hard they work and love seeing them back on the field. Are there moments that stand out in your career? Again, the moments which standout the most are the teenage patients who face tough injuries and surgery. They mature before your eyes as they accept the responsibilities required to recover from surgery. The joy on the faces of the patients and their family when they get back to play is priceless. What more would you like to accomplish in your profession? Professionally, I try to just do the best I can. My goal now has turned to trying to impact the Fort Wayne community in a bigger, more powerful way. In my opinion, too much of what is done in Fort Wayne for “making the community better” is self-serving or political. Rather than putting your name on a building, I would love to see people really invest in our young people and growth of this town without an expectation of necessary personal gain. It is my goal to do just that. Continued on Page 18
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VOLUNTEER
Name: Carolyn Riley Age: 71 Number of years you’ve volunteered: began volunteering at Visiting Nurse in 2009 What led you to begin volunteering at Visiting Nurse? I had retired from Fort Wayne Community Schools as a kindergarten teachers aide and had been thinking about getting involved in hospice care. My mom and dad both had lengthy battles with cancer, and both were blessed with hospice care near the end of their lives. Also, as a pastor’s wife, I’ve had the experience of sitting with families in difficult circumstances many times and I know how important it is to have a support system. Having been on the receiving end of loving, caring hospice workers drew me to become a hospice volunteer myself. As to choosing Visiting Nurse, I had heard others remark about their wonderful facility and care and contacted them about becoming a volunteer. What do you do as a volunteer? As a volunteer, I am presently making weekly support visits to three nursing home patients and I make Watchful Passage calls when needed. Watchful Passage is a service offered for hospice patients who are actively dying. Volunteers sit with patients who have no family and/or their families are unable be there and don’t want their loved one to be alone. Sometimes, I just sit quietly with them, reassuring them they are not alone. Sometimes, depending on the situation, I read Bible passages to them or even sing hymns to them, trying always to be sensitive to the patient and who they are, but mostly letting them know someone is with them at this important time in their life. I have also made in-home visits to patients to give caregivers the time they need to care for themselves and have time to get away for awhile. Hospice ministers to the patient and their families. Are there moments during your volunteer work that stand out? Moments that stand out, there have been many; but one very special assignment led me to a beautiful young woman with a degenerative disease. I sat with her often watching her life ebb away, wanting so much to see her health return, but it was not to be. Looking back, I count it a blessing to have known this young lady and am convinced more than ever
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that volunteering for me is a “calling,” an opportunity to touch the lives of others in their time of need with the love and grace of our Lord. What is it about Visiting Nurse that makes you want to continue being a volunteer? Visiting Nurse has a wonderful caring, hands-on staff that care for those in need of hospice care, the patients and their families. Our volunteer coordinator, Ann Blue, personally encourages us and keeps our training up to date. She’s the best! For me, life is a gift; and it’s a privilege to be there to help and encourage someone make every moment of their life count. Name: Don and Dorothy Rhodes Ages: 78 Length of time you’ve volunteered at Woodview Assisted Living: We have volunteered since its opening in 2008. What led you to begin volunteering at Woodview? Our son became a resident of Woodview when it opened Aug. 1, 2008. We began volunteering shortly thereafter. What do you do as a volunteer? We assist with the Friday afternoon entertainment and Happy Hour programs each week. We also bake cookies on Tuesday afternoons. Dorothy delivers many of them to residents taking part in other programs or just socializing in various locations in the facility. There are some residents that for various reasons do not take part in many of the planned activities. We attend the monthly activity planning session with Darlene Swing-Wilson, the activity director, and other volunteers. At that time we agree to participate in the various activities being planned for the coming month. This leads to helping with field trips to restaurants, Foellinger Theater, the Arena Dinner Theater, the zoo, shopping trips, etc. Are there moments during your volunteer work that stand out? The individual visits with residents in their apartments. Many of them seldom have visitors and they are so appreciative of the time spent with them and even the small things that are done for them. What is it about Woodview that makes you want to continue being a volunteer? Because it is Woodview. Through the years we have had contact with other health-care facilities around the city. Woodview has that something extra in the commitment to quality care that was started by Mr. John August. Many of the current staff were hired and trained by him; and the commitment continues. That coupled with appreciation shown by so many of the residents makes the time and effort worthwhile.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
HALLMARK HOME MORTGAGE Allyson Gurson, Staci Ostendorf and Susan Kriese were hired as loan originators at Hallmark Home Mortgage in Fort Wayne.
Gurson will work out of Hallmark’s Tampa, Fla., office, and Ostendorf and Kriese will work out of the Indianapolis office. In addition, the company also made several recent hires: Mary Schultz as new construction processor; Michelle Munro as closer; Kellie Donnelly as marketing director; Kalyn Kintz as marketing coordinator; Carole Marshall; Dianna Okrasinski; and Carol Winters.
Gurson
Ostendorf
Kriese
Wiedemann
Dickes
Jones
MCMILLEN CENTER FOR HEALTH EDUCATION The McMillen Center for Health Education in Fort Wayne announced its board members for 2013-2014. Officers are: president, Jerome Nix, Morrison Kattman Menze Inc.; vice president, Zachary Klutz, Barrett & McNagny LLP; secretary, Stasha Carrasquillo, Parkview Foundation; and treasurer, Betsy Hartman, Do it Best Corp. Newly elected board members are: Lindsay Brown, Parkview Health; Vicki Johnson, Tower Bank; Miles Nitz, Take Charge Counseling; and Melissa Wolf, Baden, Gage & Schroeder. Returning board members are: Dr. David Bleeke, retired; Marcia Crawford, community advocate; Grant Goeglein, Northwestern Mutual; Mary Hess, Fort Wayne Community Schools; David Jankowski, Weigand Construction; Dr. Rudy Kachmann, Fort Wayne Neurological Center; Eric Looper, St. Joseph Hospital; Dr. Jerry Mackel, retired; Krista Peak, community advocate; Connie Scott, Indiana Tech; and Becky Trimbur, Indiana Surgical Specialists.
LINCOLN PRINTING Todd Wiedemann was named vice president of sales at Lincoln Printing in Fort Wayne. He most recently worked as a sales representative at Keefer Printing.
RUOFF HOME MORTGAGE Ashley Dickes joined Ruoff Home Mortgage in Fort Wayne as a senior loan
officer. She started in the mortage industry in 2003 and most recently worked at 1st Republic Mortgage.
CJ INTERNATIONAL Cole Jones was hired as an import
customer-service specialist at CJ International Inc. in Fort Wayne.
IVY TECH Eric Johnson was hired as the new assistant department chair in mathematics at Ivy
Steigmeyer
Tech Community College-Northeast in
Fort Wayne. Danielle Witzigreuter was hired as the
director of advising.
FWCS Debora Krauhs was appointed principal of Bunche Montessori Early Childhood Center by the Fort Wayne Community Schools board of school trustees. She joined the district in 1994 and most recently was a building coach at Towles Intermediate School. Anne Miller was appointed principal of Bloomingdale Elementary. She has nearly 30 years of experience in elementary administration, consultation and teaching, and most recently was principal of Queen of Angels School. Michael Sullivan was appointed middle school area director. He has more than 15 years of experience in education in Indianapolis, most recently serving as principal of John Marshall Community High School.
TRINE UNIVERSITY Nancy Steigmeyer joined Trine University’s School of Professional Studies as the
director of the master of science in leadership program and will focus on program enrichment and course development, community engagement, recruiting new students, mentoring students and degree assessments.
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September 13-19, 2013
n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly
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BizLeads
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COMMERCIAL BUILDING PERMITS NEW HAVEN ADAMS TOWNSHIP T&M Construction 7001 W. S.R. 930 $500,000
ALLEN COUNTY LAFAYETTE TOWNSHIP Briner Building Inc. 13204 Aboite Road $1,600,000
FORT WAYNE WAYNE TOWNSHIP Vision IV Construction LLC 1817 Main St. $450,000
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS FORT WAYNE ABOITE TOWNSHIP Bob Buescher Homes 1917 Lake Front Drive $287,400
ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP Hickory Creek Homes 3213 Meadows Parkway $380,000
READER’S GUIDE BizLeads is a collection of information gathered from northeast Indiana courthouses, state government offices and informational Web sites. These listings are intended to help companies find new customers as well as stay on top of happenings with current customers, vendors and competitors. New Businesses lists firms that were recently incorporated in the state of Indiana. Information is gathered from the Indiana Secretary of State. Addresses listed may not be the actual address of the business. Building Permits are issued by the Allen County Building Department during the specified period of time. Real Estate is a list of agricultural, commercial, industrial, and residential real estate sales recorded by the state of Indiana. Bankruptcies are from the United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Indiana. For complete data involving a particular filing please access the The PACER Service Center, the Federal Judiciary’s centralized registration, billing, and technical support center for electronic access to U.S. District, Bankruptcy, and Appellate court records. Its Web site URL is http://pacer. psc.uscourts.gov. Patents include the following: Patent number, local inventor and assignee, brief description, filed date and approved date. Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office. Listings may vary due to information availability and space constraints.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP Fort Wayne Construction Trades Development Inc. 7924 Bridle Creek Crossing $146,000
NEW HAVEN ADAMS TOWNSHIP Delagrange Homes LLC 9135 Landin Pointe $293,800 Delagrange Homes LLC 9253 Sunriver Court $203,500
ALLEN COUNTY ABOITE TOWNSHIP Arbor Home Building Corp. 13419 Liberty Mills Road $363,000 Heller & Sons Inc. 8602 Backwater Drive $155,000 AF Construction Co. 13320 Paperbark Trail $419,000
EEL RIVER TOWNSHIP Robert Koors Custom Building and Design LLC 4134 Bullrush Court $350,000
LAFAYETTE TOWNSHIP Heller & Sons Inc. 9408 Prairie Meadows Drive $190,000 Robert Koors Custom Building and Design LLC 11604 Azbury Blvd. $270,000
MARION TOWNSHIP Old Dutch Homes by Steury Construction 5163 Monroeville Road $300,000
PERRY TOWNSHIP Arbor Home Building Corp. 16287 Aquila Court $391,308
Heller & Sons, Inc. 11305 Tall Oak Run $212,500
ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP Quality Crafted Homes Inc. 8422 Legends Parkway $349,126
5318 Thompson Road From Bob Stevens and John Morton to KT Property Holdings LLC $241,500 313 Corwin Lane From JMJ Services Inc. to Indeed Chicago LLC $36,250 5917 Lunada Drive From Allen County sheriff to Freddie Mac $47,159 9505 Hartzell Road From William and Carol A. Hofer to Judson T. and Kay E. Brown $237,000 Monroeville Road From Stephen R. and Patricia A. Gerdom to Barry A. and Cynthia M. Liggett $8,000 9201 Vallyd Acre Drive From HUD to Robert A. Klotz $35,000
1802 Wayside Drive From Allen County sheriff to Bank of America NA $56,700 7015 Desdemona Crossing From Hawthorne Valley Enterprises Inc. to Tyler L. Braman and Alyssa E. Heggen $136,153 7218 Playwright Trail From Hawthorn Valley Enterprises LLC to Timothy G. Doran $123,000 10025 Banbury Court From Lancia Homes Inc. to Daryl L. and Tracy L. Davis $240,800
REAL-ESTATE TRANSACTIONS 46816
7409 Capri Drive From Allen County sheriff to Freddie Mac $65,430 9221 Burr Oak Drive From Allen County sheriff to the Bank of New York Mellon $73,950 9102 Sunflower Cove From Allen County sheriff to Freddie Mac $110,498 625 Winchester Ridge Court From US Bank NA to AK Distribution LLC $54,500 7816 Knightswood Drive From Leland M. Cross to Jeanine M. Recht $61,500
46825
3109 Troutwood Drive From Carroll Creek Development Co. Inc. to Granite Ridge Builders Inc. $25,500 2904 Rivulet Run From Jon K. Niblinger to Carol Mills $118,000
522 Elnora Drive From Rose M. King to Loko Properties LLC $43,000
831 Wescott Drive From Harry Naumchick Jr. and Dongsuk Naumchick to Sandra M. Hensley $222,500
2814 Meadow Storm From Brick Properties LLC to David B. and Vicki L. Oedy $225,900
1710 Wisteria Place From Michael J. and Julie Carr to Jarod and Nicole Leeson $160,000
3128 Killarney Place From Heather L. Mitchell to Paul M. and Alexa N. Davis $129,000
1109 Polo Run From Scott M. Stankiewicz to Brian A. Johnson $126,000
8506 Backwater Drive From Heller & Sons Inc. to Ronald L. Brady $167,900
3531 Astoria Way From Michael J. and Jill Sparks to Karen Hoag $120,000
1509 Rabus Drive From Harold T. Young and Judith A. Bell to Jacob M. Smarker $67,450
7302 Yellow River Road From Jason S. and Vanessa Hake to Dennis R. Brooks $66,900
12035 Carroll Creek Run From Scott R. and Diep Moore to Jon Nidlinger $164,900
3431 Jasper Lane From Keitth D. and Marilyn J. Bultemeier to Tara L. McKee $103,000
46818 4014 Winter Raven Trail From Ravens Cove Development Co. LLC to Westport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc. $25,000
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP Westport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc. 4021 Winter Raven Trail $131,925
46819
9904 Bentley Woods Drive From Beneficial Financial I Inc. to James J. Gunkel II and Desiree D. Gunkel $167,000
10423 Verbena Lane From Judson T. Brown to the John E. Boyer Profit Sharing Plan $128,000
Lancia Homes 12189 Firekat Cove $141,400
4217 Richfield Lane From HUD to Benjamin D. Kellenberger and Jason L. Kilgus $53,900
3710 Goshen Road From Richard L. Insley and Shirley A. Burgess to Vern Industries LLC $45,000
Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 1697 Boyington Court $316,977
1915 Embassy Drive From Mable O. Brewer to Bar Din $65,000
5224 Highview Drive From Hans Lupke to Justin R. Combs $160,000
Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 2767 Stonecrop Cove $152,000
6909 Desdemona Crossing From Equity Land Corp. to Hawthorn Valley Enterprises Inc. $21,565
5305 N. Stony Run Lane From Thomas Zigler to Theresa R. Glasgow $65,000
4407 Great Hollow Court From Carroll Creek Development Company Inc. to Westport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc. $49,900
10015 Oak Trail Road From Megan M. Pape to Jeffrey A. and Anita C. Cassetta $114,000
3821 Ravens Cove Run From Ravens Cove Development Co. LLC to Westport Homes Fort Wayne Inc. $25,000
1132 Easton Trail From Andrew D. and Christina K. Hayes to Louis J. and Sandra J. Kiraly $162,500
4427 Great Hollow Court From Carroll Creek Development Company Inc. to Granite Ridge Builders Inc. $45,000
8916 Hickory Glen Trail From Nathaniel B. Barnes and Thea Druley to Joseph J. and Elizabeth J. Thomas $179,500
512 Briarfield Drive From Andrew M. and Angel J. Gerhardstein to Kiritkumar N. and Sangita K. Patel $96,000 7729 Weymouth Court From Lori Beyler to Julie Rennecker $120,000 1024 Oak Bay Run From Tolice Tucker to Jerry L. Morris $80,000 1133 Easton Trail From Laurie S. Clark to Jacob A. and Jamie L. Cross $205,000
September 13-19, 2013 46835 8823 Flutter Road From Elizabeth A. Minser to the Patricia A. Wood revocable trust $155,000 6346 Goodfellow Drive From Bradford D. Pepple Roth IRA to Aury T. Keller and Megan R. Henry $101,000 5409 Southbrook Road From HUD to Loko Properties LLC $51,810 8809 Pinsley Way From Allen County sheriff to Fannie Mae $182,482
223 Riley Place From Jase and Amber Oakley to Cynthia D. Gutierrez $103,000
5623 Centerhurst Terrace From Allen County sheriff to MBN Properties LLC $57,511
7517 Stonewall Run From Donald W. and Marilyn E. Sandmann to Darlene M. Degener $184,000
4721 Janet Drive From Sean E. and Sheri M. McBride to Chad E. Wyatt and Dawn K. Schreck $126,500
5927 Sundance Drive From John F. Hartman Jr. to Tyler Kane $99,000
7211 Pumpkin Lane From Elmer and Martha Miller to John D. Walker $65,000
1530 Citation Lane From Windsor Inc. to Michael F. and Amanda L. Schneider $197,745
8027 Wethersfield Cove From HUD to Joseph M. Bruce and $110,000
2513 Meadows Park Way From Douglas H. and Joan M. McGehe to Michael and Norma I. Bricker $154,000 8403 Swifts Run From Berry D. Goldsmith and Kay S. Moran to Alex R. and Inna Sumajin $197,000 8923 Shearwater Pass From Ryan C. Pullen to Brandy Fey $140,000 5015 Riviera Court From Otis D. Orr III and Elizabeth A. Orr to Reb III LLC $200,000 2715 Foxchase Run From Rita J. Carstens to William E. Fenk $213,000 6610 Wood Rim Run From Lisa R. Matuska to Loko Properties LLC $61,195 6533 Bittersweet Drive From Alice A. Lash to R.E. Properties LLC $40,000
6922 Hazelett Road From Sally S. Stucky to Sandra K. and Jason W. Barbknecht $283,000 5334 Sable Lane From Richard T. Carroll to Robert G. and Barbara A. Johnston $136,000 7117 Basel Drive From Holly R. Roth to Alex C. Snyder $92,000 6309 Sawmill Woods Drive From Lisa A. Ralph to Lewis E. and Deborah Heath $66,000 5617 Woodlea Ave. From the Bradford D. Pepple Roth IRA to Raymond and Kathleen Cole $80,000 6311 Sawmill Woods Drive From Kenneth F. and Sarah A. Vaughn to Kaitlin Ward $90,500
September 13-19, 2013 8706 Sweet Blossom Court From Carol L. Kirsch to Thomas J. Hengy III and Carol A. Hengy $172,500 7127 Eby Road From Kathryn F. Bunker and Ramona K. Anderson to John J. Boericke III $68,000
n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly
8929 Orchard View Court From Stephen T. and Sara B. Yaggy to Christopher K. and Patricia R. Johnson $226,000 Flutter Road From Granite Ridge Builders Inc. to Terry A. and Jacqueline S. Carboni $57,900
4707 Crystal Ridge Cove From Steven R. Klees to Julie A. Applegate $114,900
6519 Margot Way From Elmer and Martha Miller to Timothy and Cynthia Fraser $115,000
5936 Sawmill Woods Drive From Ronald R. Blum to Rkar Pointe LLC $66,000
10116 Privet Drive From IAB Financial Bank to Nathan A. Young and Stacey M. Hade $122,480
7229 Basel Drive From Robert J. and Ann R. Langston to Spencer and Erin Harris $84,900
4728 Belvidere Drive From Michelle L. Fulk to Reed Beery and Katherine Fetterolf $105,900
4254 Albert Drive From Justin M. and Emily K. Bruce to Travis M. Becker and Amanda J. Emenhiser $106,500
5909 Cheshire Court From Steven E. Tharp to Lisa A. Weaver $84,500
7023 Summerlyn Drive From Rothman Point LLC to Windsor Inc. $37,500 4811 Willow Brook Drive From Misti R. Yeager to Jordan Swing $92,000 7305 Clubhouse Drive From Steven R. Zurbuchen to Matthew A. O’Shaughnessey $106,900 6625 Laurelwood Cove From Gerald E. and Jenell K. Hadley to Nicholas and Jennifer Stevens $94,000 8210 Beacon Ridge Place From Allen County sheriff to Freddie Mac $84,600 6829 Briarcliff Drive From Allen County sheriff to Deutsche Bank $83,000
6123 Bellingham Lane From Nichole C. Meyer to April Bianski $99,500 8229 Fawncrest Place From Lynn A. Gruber to Ryan P. Epple $117,000 9430 Acacia Passage From Ronald W. Gerbers to Luanne Beekley $103,450
46845 11305 Tall Oak Run From M-B-C Corp. to Heller & Sons Inc. $46,200 336 Union Chapel Road From Sherri Jankowski to Timothy M. and Devonna E. Kindig $325,000 5711 Hursh Road From Timothy J. and Maximina P. Zink to Steven A. Purdy II $207,450
7024 Summerlyn Drive From Colonial Development Inc. to Windsor Inc. $33,900
1336 Gateway Trail From CH Development Corp. to Springmill Woods Development LLC $37,506
6615 Canby Drive From Colin D. and Kasi J. Maple to Thomas E. Sears II $94,000
11506 Fox Valley Run From Joan M. Robel to Sandra Robel $126,400
6150 St. Joe Road From the Robert I. Schoepke estate to the James D. Herald special needs trust $27,000
12714 Croquet Court From Thomas J. and Kelly M. Steele to Ryan J. and Kathryn J. Ziegler $259,900
6505 Belle Isle Place From Richard J. and Carol A. Abbott to Jeremy Walker $122,000
4570 Hawthorne Crossover From NPT Development Corp. to Star Homes by Delagrange & Richhart Inc. $93,906 12450 Tocchi Drive From KAM Construction Inc. to Jason A. and Stephanie J. Nees $269,900 1023 Pointed Reef Way From Brent D. and Wendy M. Kilbourne to Akshay A. Siddha and Supriya K. Patil $265,100 4597 Hawthorne Crossover From NPT Development Corp. to Imperial Homes by Schmucker Inc. $92,286 13225 Boarstone Cove From Billy M. and Sharon A. Keech to William D. and Diana L. Randall $188,000 1903 Brandywine Trail From Henry C. and Tamara R. Seibel to Josh West $196,500 2010 Traders Crossing From Steven Burner to Michael Denney 163,500 1409 Breckenridge Pass From Ronnie L. and Brenda L. Francis to Kevin M. Nichols $166,500 5223 Rotaliano Court From Deborah J. Cherryholmes to Robert W. and Rosalyn M. Donohue $210,000 325 Vin Santo Run From Tuscany LLC to Lancia Homes Inc. $42,655 12531 Tocchi Cove From J&K ContraCourtors Inc. to Guy J. and Nicole D. Dupuis $324,000 11813 Dorsay Court From Dwight J. and Karen L. Wagner to Mark J. and Emily E. Buchler $163,500 Windwood Trail From Marilyn M. Harmening to Ryan Goldacker $245,000 4597 Hawthorne Crossover From Imperial Homes by Schmucker Inc. to Jonathan P. and Lindsay M. Coudron $101,400 11121 Old Oak Trail From Doyle R. Martin to Jennifer M. Bates $122,500
fwbusiness.com 12111 Orchard Place From Sherry K. Fretz to Jeremy Frick $180,000 11715 Island Cove Drive From Kyle Lappin to Manu and Meera Jain $259,900 13602 Falcon Ridge Cove From Guy E. and Carole Bookout to David B. and Sheryl A. Kuntz $177,988 11110 Lone Eagle Court From Raymond W. and Judith L. Wydrzynski to Jack L. Hall Jr. and Kristine L. Hall $212,000 2508 Lincroft Drive From Timothy P. and Karen S. Beck to Kay N. and Melba L. Doster $220,000 915 Fiona Drive From Terry L. and Brenda K. Hisey to David and Barbara Sheefel $144,700 10829 Sandpiper Cove From James D. and Marilyn J. Yoder to Morton S. Schaffer and Ruth M. Minkoff $131,000 4554 Hawthorne Crossover From NPT Development Corp. to Douglas E. and Joanne Shepler $93,906 1307 Brandon Way From Susan Moss to Alice P. Lloyd $180,000 10809 Oak Fall Court From Jennifer M. Cravens to Ian A. Pointer and Lindsey Lane-Pointer $113,000 5010 Merlot Crossing From Richard W. Klinkbell to Russell W. Huglin and Susan M. Moss $279,900 12497 Shearwater Run From Westport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc. to Kalissa N. Herron $143,525 11121 Cedar Trail From Providence LLC to Zackary J. and Jennifer L. Harris $145,826 1465 Gateway Trail From Granite Ridge Builders Inc. to Seth D. and Rebecca L. Nahrwold $195,000
12367 Shearwater Run From Westport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc. to Michelle Fulk $145,000
Bonnie M. Brotherton 828 Pemberton Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Assets: $73,800 Liabilities: $69,117
Shannon H. Beck 6202 Headwaters Trail Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Assets: $144,120 Liabilities: $39,195
11119 Cabriolet Run From Arthur L. and Tammy L Minnefiled to Soe Nyunt and Kyi Kyi Myint $20,100
Sherri L. Baker 1802 Clover Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Assets: $111,475 Liabilities: $147,872
Wendell A. and Leanne M. Smith 2327 Leesmoor Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Assets: $191,450 Liabilities: $110,057
1491 Gateway Trail From Tom Schmucker Construction LP to David L. and Kay E. Wall $169,075
Rolando C. Castillo 726 Drexell Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Assets: $16,805 Liabilities: $54,889
16208 Dutch Ridge Road From the estate of Gregory Allen Pence to FJB Properties LLC $138,000
Tracey L. Cox 3403 Varsity Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Assets: $84,730 Liabilities: $107,620
19300 Hoagland Road From Ruth I. Scheumann to Marshall R. Scheumann $60,091
Timothy R. and Dorinda S. Mosbrucker 530 Troon Way Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Assets: $392,725 Liabilities: $478,545
835 Ansley Drive From David L. and Judy F. Hubley to Joseph E. Koch $90,000
BANKRUPTCIES
Ray J. and Mariea E. Coe 1626 W. Business Highway 30, Apt. 2 Columbia City, IN 46725 Assets: $11,100 Liabilities: $43,509
ALLEN COUNTY Carolyn L. Noyes 3926 Nottingham Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $117,800 Liabilities: $116,844
Mary K. Norris 1577 Bayview Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $87,435 Liabilities: $118,582
Adam D. and Jessica L. Ridge 12038 US Highway 30 E. New Haven, IN 46774 Assets: $8,245 Liabilities: $144,374 Theresa L. Thakar-Roth P.O. Box 525 Huntertown, IN 46748 Assets: $86,909 Liabilities: $138,280 David W. and Sharon M. Crabill 8202 Parkstste Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $76,430 Liabilities: $78,076 Lori L. Bruner 228 W. Leith St. Fort Wayne, IN 46807 Assets: $10,630 Liabilities: $48,685 Darlene A. Hughes 3920 Taylor, Apt. 57 Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Assets: $28,578 Liabilities: $62,047
PAGE 23
Timothy J. Hudson 5502 Old Dover Blvd., Apt. 6 Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Assets: $15,200 Liabilities: $93,048 Randolph A. Lee, Jr. and Megan D. Lee 9246 Ridgetree Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46819 Assets: $2,055 Liabilities: $21,417 Nettie J. Radabaugh 2211 W. Cook Road Fort Wayne, IN 46818 Assets: $15,540 Liabilities: $151,368 Christopher S. and Marcie M. Bradley 1606 Channel Place Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Assets: $192,315 Liabilities: $412,296 Leon L. and Angela M. Wenglikowski 2120 Nelson St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Assets: $19,594 Liabilities: $ 29,213 Steven P. and Susan A. Fitton 7222 Karen Court Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Assets: $83,380 Liabilities: $83,618
Internet Directory www.fwbusiness.com IT SUPPORT & SERVICES • Innovative Technology Group, LLC Contact: Bob Peters 3201 Stellhorn Road Fort Wayne, IN 46815 260-818-0135 itgnei.com
START-UP CAPITAL & ENTREPRENEURAL NEW BUSINESS RESOURCES • Northeast Indiana Innovation Center Inc. Contact: Gulya Alexander 3201 Stellhorn Road Fort Wayne, IN 46815 260-407-6442 niic.net
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September 13-19, 2013
TOWER: Bank was started partially because lending decisions were being made elsewhere
Continued from PAGE 1
to that word, ‘relationship,’” Jones said. “When the bank made a decision to look at a multitude of options, based on the relationship, we were the one they looked at.” “I think it’s really all about people and (corporate) culture, and as we’ve gotten to know Mike and his group over the last eight-plus years, we’ve just been terribly, terribly impressed with their people and their culture. It is just like ours.” Cahill said until this year an acquisition was never the focus of conversation during his occasional meetings with Jones, but early on he was invited to call Old National if Tower’s board was ever open to a sale. This spring, as it considered the rising cost of compliance with bank regulation, investment in new banking technology and expansion into areas of banking requiring special expertise, such as agriculture, Tower’s board “started kind of taking a look at different options,” Cahill said. It was reminded of Old National as it considered looking for a partner “who thinks like Tower,” he said. “When we look at their corporate values, they have seven of them, and three of theirs are identical to three of ours. It sounds kind of funny, but it stood out.
Acquisition will result in greater ability to lend A Carmel-based bank merger adviser said competition for the banking business of large companies in northeast Indiana will intensify after Old National Corp. closes on its purchase of Tower Financial Corp. The banks announced Sept. 10 they had struck a deal where stockholders of Fort Wayne-based Tower would receive $6.75 in cash and 1.2 shares of Evansville-based Old National for each Tower share. Based on a Sept. 5 Old National closing price of $13.53, the deal was valued at $107.7 million. “The impact in Fort Wayne is they now have another large bank presence, which should increase competition to serve the larger companies’ financial needs,” said Mike Renninger of Renninger and Associates. “Tower would have some restrictions given its size to provide loans and other services to large companies, and these limitations will be significantly reduced as a result of the significantly large ONB balance sheet,” he said. “Banks have legal lending limits, and by (Old National’s) joining with Tower the Fort Wayne market will have access to another
“We knew they’d be as committed to this market as we were. They want to be everywhere (in Indiana) and put their money back into the community,” Cahill said. Eventually, there was a decision that
lender with significantly greater lending capacity.” Renninger said competition for large corporate business in northeast Indiana has been dominated by Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., PNC Financial Services Group and Lakeland Financial Corp., and after the acquisition is completed during the first quarter, the acquired banking operations “will be able to be more competitive.” In addition to the rising cost of compliance with bank regulation and investment in new banking technology, factors contributing to consolidation in the banking industry include improvements at banks that were hurt by the recession and the recovery of bank stock prices, he said. Old National saw its stock price fall during the recession, but now that the price has recovered “they’re willing to use their stock as consideration in an acquisition,” Renninger said. “They wouldn’t want to offer their stock as consideration in a merger when it was at a relatively low price in their estimation.”
— DOUG LEDUC “if there’s anybody we’d even entertain it would be Old National. We spent a lot of time talking to other banks they’ve acquired … and it came back all positive.” Old National brought its banking operations to Fort Wayne in 2007 through establishment of a loan production office at 1111 Chestnut Hills Parkway, where it already had insurance operations through the Insurance and Risk Management acquisition, now known as Old National Insurance. The company’s 2009 acquisition of Charter Bank locations gave it two additional northeast Indiana branches in Walmart stores on Maysville Road in Fort Wayne and on North Street in Kendallville. But the Kendallville branch was closed along with 17 others during last year’s third quarter as part of an ongoing effort to increase Old National’s efficiency. And the company closed the branch in the Maysville Road Walmart on Aug. 30. “I think together, we’ll probably look at more communities in our region as time permits,” Cahill said. Tower Financial, the holding company for Tower Bank & Trust Co., was launched in 1998 out of a belief among its founders that a bank could thrive on the relationships formed through community involvement and the deep knowledge of the area’s business community that came with them. Tower was started partly because its founders did not see the same level of commitment to the area among the out-ofstate banks that had acquired the largest banks based in Fort Wayne. While big banks were working more from lending formulas and models established at a distant corporate headquarters,
Tower was free to consider other factors, such as the prospective borrower’s expertise and character in making loan decisions. Lenders favoring this approach often refer to it as relationship banking and sometimes describe it by explaining what it is not. Tower was drawn to Old National because “they’ve always been the largest community bank headquartered in Indiana,” Cahill said. “That was always their goal; they wanted to be that bank in Indiana and they’ve never wavered from it. “We have the same culture and values, the same commitment to local communities, and that was the most important thing to get the discussion started,” he said. “It will be all the same. Mike Cahill will still be president of the Fort Wayne bank region and it will have the same commercial bankers,” Jones said. “We pride ourselves on being large enough to take care of clients’ needs but small enough to be local, and that will be the same.” After determining Old National’s approach to banking would be a good match, Tower’s board decided in late June to find out what the financial details of a deal would look like. It was advised by the New York City investment bank of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and the Fort Wayne law firm of Barrett & McNagny LLP. Old National was advised by the New York City investment bank of Sandler O’Neill + Partners and the Indianapolis law firm of Krieg DeVault. The banks eventually agreed Tower stockholders would receive $6.75 in cash and 1.2 shares of Old National for each Tower share. The announcement of the agreement added the cash to a Sept. 5 Old National closing price of $13.53 to arrive at a transaction value of $107.7 million, or $22.97 per Tower share. Tower shares closed the day of the announcement at a record $22.75. The previous record closing price was $19.85 on May 5, 2006. “We went out and negotiated a very favorable deal and did what was best for all the stakeholders in this. We hired someone outside to make sure we were correct in this evaluation,” said Cahill, noting the stock had reached a record high by noon Sept. 10. Customers and employees were among the stakeholders kept in mind as the deal was negotiated. The banks expect to have approvals from Tower shareholders and state and federal regulators in time for the deal to close during the first quarter. Cahill said the same employees working with customers now will be working with them after the deal n
See TOWER on PAGE 25
September 13-19, 2013
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n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly
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TOWER: Bank has seven locations
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closes and five years from now. That does not mean the size of the work force will not change at Tower. “There will be some economies that will come from the transaction in that some of the back office operations will be consolidated into Old National,” said Mike Renninger of Renninger and Associates, a Carmel-based bank merger adviser. “In any bank acquisition, the key areas of consolidation involve back office functions such as book keeping and data processing and corporate functions.” In addition to its headquarters in the former Lincoln National Bank building at 116 E. Berry St., Tower has branches in Fort Wayne at: 9898 Illinois Road; 6430 W. Jefferson Blvd.; 10140 Lima Road; 6731 Old Trail Road; and 4303 Lahmeyer Road. It also has a branch at 120 N. Buffalo St. in Warsaw. The downtown location and “all of our branches will stay up and operating as is,” Cahill said. But their signs will change. “When the transaction closes, we will become Old National. The one name that will survive is our HSA business that operates under the name HSA Authority; that name will continue,” he said.
Tower is strong in health savings accounts; it’s the 20th largest in the country and provides HSAs in all 50 states. Old National had not developed that business and will use Tower’s program for it, he said. Old National Wealth Management is an important player in Indiana’s wealth-management services industry, but it has not built up much business in the northern third of the state so “they’re relying on our wealth-management team to help them grow in Indiana and southern Michigan,” Cahill said. Tower’s state-chartered, wholly-owned subsidiary, Tower Trust Co., does wealth-services business as Tower Private Advisors. The sale of Tower to Old National will expand what Private Advisors has available for customers, he said. “For the most part, what they offer will be what we offer; they may have a few more products because of their size.” The banks expect to see the benefits of the deal without any major systems integration headaches. “As far as we know, they’re fairly compatible; they use the same company we use for a lot of our systems,” Cahill said. “No doubt there will be a lot of tweaks … But, we’ll be the seventh bank in seven years they’ve converted, so they’ve got that down to a science.”
I V Y T E C H C O R P O R AT E C O L L E G E NOW OFFERING COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE TRAINING Ivy Tech Corporate College continues to do what it does best—
Fort Wayne Entrepreneurial Summit Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ Fort Wayne Public Safety Academy: Ivy Tech South Campus
7:30 am-4:15 pm
A conference for entrepreneurs, business owners and students who want to be inspired, uplifted and educated! Featuring: • Keynote Speaker: Michael Russell, CEO, H.J. Russell and Company • Local Business Leader Panel • Educational Breakout Sessions Admission to the event is FREE, but you must register online at http://entresummitfortwayne.com/tickets/ Lunch will be guaranteed for the first 75 registrants.
responding to the needs of our northeast Indiana economy. We are now offering commercial driver’s license, or CDL, training. This is in response to a need in our region’s logistics companies to train skilled drivers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a need for 21 percent more drivers from 2010 to 2020—that’s more than 330,000 employees! •
Training consists of classroom time, hands-on driving time, and pre-trip inspection and lab work
•
Classes are eight-weeks in length and are located at SIRVA’s Fort Wayne office, 5001 U.S. Highway 30 West
•
Program cost: $3,995 (covers instruction, materials, Department of Transportation physical, application for learner’s permit and license, and first attempt at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles skills test)
For more information or to register, call (260) 480-4118.
IvyTech.edu/CorporateCollege
Sponsorship opportunities available!
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TRUCK: ‘Fort Wayne is a city of foodies’
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September 13-19, 2013
Facebook and Twitter allow Fort Wayne’s food trucks and carts to keep fans updated on where they will be every day and what specials they will be offering. Customers also use social media to tweet or text their orders in to the food vendors so they can pick them up later, Garigen said. The street-food vendor industry is one of the fastest growing in the United States, and Fort Wayne is catching up quickly with what has happened in other cities over the past few years. “Fort Wayne is a city of foodies,” Garigen declared. Food trucks themselves are nothing new, but today’s models with full-service kitchens and menus based on fresh foods are a far cry from the “roach coach” trucks and trailers that used to dispense bad coffee, stale doughnuts and pre-made, shrink-wrapped sandwiches at factories, construction sites and other locations. Garigen was a traveling trainer for Avis in 2011 when he saw a television piece on the new wave in food trucks and started thinking about starting one of his own. When it opened for business on March 2012, Jumby’s Joint was the first “modern” food truck in Fort Wayne, Garigen boasted, although there were already some carts in operation.
Garigen had heard other food vendors were on their way, so two months after he launched his truck he incorporated the Fort Wayne Food Truck Association “to support mobile food vendors and advocate on their behalf.” “I also wanted to help them not make the mistakes I had,” Garigen acknowledged. It may seem strange that one competitor would go out of his way to help others, but that’s the nature of the food-truck and foodcart business. “We all believe we’re better off in numbers than we are singly,” said chef Eric Spicer, whose food truck, Spicer’s, started business in June. The association now has seven food-truck members and three food carts, and Garigen is consulting with five more startups that are in the planning stages. Fort Wayne’s food trucks have some regular stops, and it’s rare to see one without seeing several others. They rally on the south side of town on Wednesdays, at Redeemer Lutheran Church; at One Summit Square downtown on Thursdays; and at the parking lot of the Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana/ Michiana headquarters off Dupont Road on Fridays. n
See TRUCK on PAGE 27
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September 13-19, 2013
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TRUCK: Businesses allow their owners to start out small and choose when to work
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“There absolutely is strength in numbers,” Garigen said. “Put three or four trucks together and you have a full brick-and- mortar restaurant menu.” The Food Truck Fridays event at the Girl Scouts, which launched in early August, has gotten bigger every week, agreed Spicer and John Maxwell, owner of the Ragin’ Cajun food truck. Hundreds of customers line up at the trucks each Friday, many obviously from nearby Dupont Hospital and other medical facilities because they saunter over in their scrubs. “Every truck is coming close to selling out each time,” Garigen said. The trucks also are doing a good business at special events, including art fairs and festivals, and some have gotten into catering. The association had several trucks at the Labor Day weekend Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival in Auburn, where a food competition pitting the chefs against one another helped generate interest. Ragin’ Cajun won the people’s choice award for the dish it prepared using the mandatory special ingredient, duck supplied by Maple Leaf Farms. The association has sponsored two “Foodstock” events with similar competitions. “I’m always impressed with what they can create,” Garigen said. The food trucks and carts are contributing to the local economy because the operators buy a lot of their supplies — foods, signs and even the trucks themselves — locally,
GRAB AND GO Jumby’s Joint: Food truck serves American classics such as burgers, fries and grilled cheese. Brava’s: Food truck and cart serve hot dogs with veggies and toppings that include pico de gallo and the secret Brava sauce. Affine: Food truck dishes up specialty sandwiches with free-range meats, also tacos, soups and fries. Ragin’ Cajun: Food truck specializes in New Orleans cuisine. Getaway Grill: Food cart serves steak, shrimp and other specialty tacos a tamales, chorizo, smoked chicken and pulled pork. Spicer’s: Food truck offers gourmet chicken, burgers, tenderloin sandwiches with special sauces, all made fresh. Whip & Chill: Ice-cream truck. Wise Guys: Italian ices truck. Viet Nummy: Vietnamese-inspired dishes; truck coming soon. Ginger Kitchen: Gourmet ice cream. Kernal Coladas: Gourmet popcorn. Sources: Facebook, Visit Fort Wayne
Garigen said. And while they might provide traditional restaurants such as those downtown some competition, they also create additional business. “In my estimation, we are increasing foot traffic,” he said. Beyond that, there are opportunities for collaboration between food trucks and restaurants. The food trucks recently partnered with Pint & Slice downtown to serve beer and wine at one of the association’s events. Both Maxwell and Spicer came to the truck business from traditional restaurants. Maxwell, from New Orleans, used to run Mother’s, a blue-collar institution in that city. He moved to Indiana, where his wife has family, two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The city was still struggling to recover, business was sparse and insurance and other costs of operation there were astronomical, he said.
For Maxwell, running a food truck was a step down from running a restaurant, but it’s one he wanted to take. “I love to cook,” he said. “I’ve managed restaurants and night clubs, but the level of dedication it takes is eight days a week.” With the food truck, Maxwell said, he has more control over his hours and can choose when to work and when not to. Spicer’s interest in food was inherited from his father, who had a culinary-arts degree. “I learned a lot from him,” he said. Spicer worked for 12 years at the beloved Hartley’s, an upscale Fort Wayne restaurant that closed in 2009, and after that at Paula’s, another local favorite. He also keeps busy managing rental properties and doing snow removal in the winter, “but to be honest, I’ve always wanted to have my own restaurant.” A food truck, Spicer reckoned, would be a way of getting into the restaurant business
on a smaller scale. And he knew exactly what he wanted in a truck, which he ended up designing himself when he couldn’t buy what he had in mind. “Hartley’s had a very small kitchen, but we could feed 140 people on a Saturday night in a kitchen not much bigger than my truck. This is very similar, but without the dishwasher and the walk-in cooler.” Spicer only uses fresh foods to prepare his dishes, which means grocery shopping every day and sometimes running out of ingredients for dishes that prove to be customer favorites. And while he thought of the truck originally as a steppingstone to a standing restaurant, now he’s not so sure. “I love my truck,” Spicer said. “This is a lot more fun than a restaurant. I’m having such a good time that even if I have a brickand-mortar (restaurant), I think I’d keep the truck.”
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ju st b e c au s e a b a n k has
Photo by Brian Kelly of Fort Wayne
St. Joseph River
an office in your community doesn’t make it a community bank. Welcome to the one bank that was built to help our community grow stronger. Welcome home to Tower Bank.
Where service is a passion.
260.427.7000 | towerbank.net
3306 Independence Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46808
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