Business Weekly GREATER
FORT WAYNE
NOVEMBER 22-28, 2013
Daily updates at www.fwbusiness.com
Foodies and fans of natural nutrition have not had to look far for a Thanksgiving turkey that is a cut above most of the frozen hens found in northeast Indiana’s supermarket freezers. Customers started calling Custom Quality Meats on Ryan Road in New Haven as early as five weeks before the holiday to order a natural turkey, often arranging to have it smoked for 10 days before picking it up. At that location and at Custom Quality’s location on Carroll Road, the turkeys are kept in the cooler rather than the freezer, and at 39 degrees there may be a little ice in the bird’s cavity, but “the meat itself is not frozen,” said Sandy Seyfert, who owns the business with her husband, Joe. Most customers of their shops have learned about them and the Amish Valley brand of turkeys they sell by asking, “Where can we get a nice, natural turkey?” she said. “They will pay more for their holiday dinner and they want a premium product.” “Customers are looking for larger and larger turkeys,” said Joe Seyfert. “We used to sell a lot of 18-20 pound turkeys, and now we have a lot of
INSIDE
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llipp@kpcmedia.com
dleduc@kpcmedia.com
Vol. 9 Issue 47
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BY LINDA LIPP
BY DOUG LEDUC
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County steps up e-waste education
A number of area stores will take part in Small Business Saturday
Area farms focus on raising all-natural birds
See TURKEY on PAGE 21
Avoiding the landfill
Cash registers ready to ring in holiday sales
TALKING TURKEY
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LOCAL NEWS
They won’t be open on Thanksgiving and they can’t afford to offer the kind of door-buster holiday bargains the chain stores do, but small, independent merchants are luring customers by offering joint promotions, niche products and a level of service the majors can’t match. “With us, the building of the relationship is first and foremost,” said Kristi Moeller, owner of Moe’s Bikes & More in Auburn.
Moe’s is one of a number of northeast Indiana businesses participating in Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30. This is the fourth year for the American Express Co. promotion nationwide, and the second year for Moeller. “It was not as good as we hoped it would be last year, but then it’s still fairly new. This year, it seems like people are talking more about it,” she said. Cindy Shay, owner of Peekers in Auburn, had a better experience n
See RING on PAGE 22
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BARRY ROCHFORD
Hawkins Family Farm in North Manchester sells between 100 and 200 turkeys each year.
“Holly Pop” at 127 W. Wayne St. in downtown Fort Wayne will feature 22 temporary “pop-up” vendors Nov. 27, Nov. 29 and Nov. 30.
Local news .................... 3-7
MANUFACTURING
PERSONAL BUSINESS
BizView .............................. 8
Still growing
A fresh start
Factory output continues to climb, Federal Reserve survey finds
Layoff leads to catering business, then cafe
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Manufacturing ................ 10 Personal Business ... 13-15 Top List ............................ 17 BizLeads..................... 19-21
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November 22-28, 2013
November 22-28, 2013
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Incentives could help keep BAE in Allen County Company plans $39M investment in new plant near Fort Wayne International Airport BY DOUG LEDUC dleduc@kpcmedia.com
BAE Systems can expect economic-development incentive commitments of at least $4.5 million for a project that would relocate its local operations to a new plant near the Fort Wayne International Airport. The project would involve a $39-million investment to buy land at the northwest corner of Ardmore Avenue and Airport Expressway and build a 355,000-square-foot facility, as well as $3.2 million to equip the plant. Construction on the project would start early next year, and BAE could expect to see it completed in mid-2015. The company is working to close a deal with the Indianapolis office of Scannell Properties to develop the new manufacturing facility. With a work force of about 1,100 at 2000 Taylor St. — including fewer than 100 contract workers — BAE is among Fort Wayne’s largest employers. Hourly workers at the plant are represented by IUE-CWA Local 901. IUE-CWA is the industrial division of the Communication Workers of America. The company is important to the city’s defense electronics industrial cluster. The BAE plant assembles aircraft electronics, including flight, engine and cockpit controls and military and commercial aircraft flightdeck systems, cabin systems and electrical distribution systems. It also assembles wiring
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“They pay very livable, great wages — on average their employees make about $55,000 a year. Because of … the impact it would have on the community, a number of our partners — the state of Indiana, the Capital Improvement Board, the city and the county — came together to come up with incentives.” Ashley Steenman Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
harnesses for commercial aircraft. Some engineers at the plant are involved in testing and development of the systems and controls, but most of their engineering takes
place in New York. “I think it’s a win-win. It’s a win for the region, and it’s a win for BAE,” said Jeff Uhey, chairman of the Northeast Indiana
See BAE on PAGE 7
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The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership will explain a new tool it has started using to monitor the performance of the regional economy at its first State of the Region update session early next month. The session scheduled for 7:30-9:30 a.m. Dec. 3 at The Summit, 1025 W. Rudisill Blvd. will review progress of the region’s economy and its manufacturing sector through a Northeast Indiana Manufacturing Study it will release and its 2013 Regional Dashboard Update report.
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Defense Industry Association. NIDIA was not involved in the process of obtaining economic-development incentives to keep BAE in Allen County, but its members were glad to see them come through, he said. “One of our initiatives is to market the region, and it’s much more viable to market the region when you have some sustained businesses here like BAE Systems to attract other companies to come in,” Uhey said. “It’s in our best interest to retain the positions, the jobs we have in the region, and our goal at NIDIA is to expand it from there.
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November 22-28, 2013
Former Huntington ice-cream plant has new owner Echo Lake Foods, a Burlington, Wis.based producer of frozen eggs, pancakes, waffles and other products for commercial use, has purchased the former Unilever-Breyers ice-cream plant in Huntington. Unilever stopped production at the 101,000-square-foot plant at 435 W. State St., Huntington, at the end of July and transferred the work to other facilities. About 140 workers lost their jobs. The plant made ice cream and other frozen treats under the Breyers and Good Humor brand names. A spokesman at Echo Lake Foods declined to discuss that company’s plans for the facility. Huntington Mayor Brooks Fetters said the city has been in contact with Echo Lake Foods to discuss ways officials might be able to help it locate production at the shuttered plant. “I believe it’s already beginning to get things put into an operational state in there,” GREATER FORT WAYNE
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he said. Established in 1941, Echo Lake makes food products for restaurant, school, hospital and other institutional uses. It also has a large production and storage facility in Owensboro, Ky., that it acquired in 2001. Steven Zacher and John Adams of Zacher Co./CORFAC International represented the seller, Unilever Manufacturing (U.S.) Inc., in the transaction.
BND COMMERCIAL Roger Koehlinger represented the buyer, Sahaj Inc., in the purchase of a 12,440-square-foot industrial building at 4516 Newaygo Road. Brian Fleming represented the seller, Kreager Enterprises LLC. Steve Wesner represented both the landlord, M&W Realty North LLC, and the tenant, CSD Group Inc., in the renewal of a lease of 3,040 square feet of space at 4530
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We are pleased to welcome
Jim Banks as a member of our commercial real estate team. Jim offers significant experience after five years as director of business development for a local construction company. Working across the state of Indiana, his efforts led to securing nearly $75 million of contracted construction work across various market sectors. Jim also serves as a Senator for the State of Indiana. As a broker, Jim brings added value to our team! Contact Jim for all your commercial real estate needs.
Jim Banks Broker jbanks@naihd.com
111 East Ludwig Road, Suite 101 • Fort Wayne, IN 46825 • 260.423.4311 naihd.com
Local Experts. Global Resources.
Secretary Drive. David Nugent represented both the landlord, Toenges Realty Inc., and the tenant, dentist Valerie Lake, in her lease of 1,690
square feet of space at 6211 Covington Road. Nugent represented both the landlord, Jon Leman, and the tenant, WSIB Insurance Agency, in the lease of 1,200 square feet of space at 10319 Dawson’s Creek Blvd., Suite J. Nugent represented the tenant, Painting With a Twist, in the lease of 1,400 square feet of space in the Village of Time Corners, 6425 W. Jefferson Blvd., from landlord Broadbent Realty.
FELDERMAN DESIGN-BUILD Felderman Design-Build was awarded a design-build contract by First Federal Savings Bank for an interior remodel of its downtown Huntington branch.
ZACHER CO./ CORFAC INTERNATIONAL Fletcher Moppert and Dan Reese represented the buyer, Win Soe, and the seller, Jan Ashton, in the sale of a 2,477-square-
foot retail building at 1058 E. State Blvd. Joy Neuenschwander and Brent Overholt represented the seller, Regency of Indiana Inc., in the sale of the Regency Mobile Home Park at 2220 Dunkelberg Road to IDC Holdings LLC. John Adams and Steven Zacher represented the seller, Indiana Wire Land LLC, in the sale of a 120,000-square-foot industrial building at 802 S. Reed Road, Fremont, to Padnos Plastic Solutions Inc. Neuenschwander and Adams represented the landlord, DCL Scott Corp., in the lease of spaces in the Coventry building, 5722 and 5726 Coventry Lane, to Bassett & Associates and chiropractor Matthew Hopf. Dentist Philip McKean has renewed his lease for 2,437 square feet of office space in the Georgetown North professional building. The landlord is Showline Investment LLC. Brian Bean and Neuenschwander assisted both parties in the transaction. Zacher represented the tenant, Integrated Supply Network, in the extension of a lease for 35,463 square feet of industrial space at 5120 Investment Drive. The landlord is Aqua Shores Commercial LLC.
Zacher repre- n sented the seller, Med 24 LLC, in the sale of 3.2 acres of land at 7725-7737 W. Jefferson Blvd. to
Reporter’s
NOTEBOOK
Shamrock Hotels LLC, which plans
to build a fourstory Fairfield Inn on the site. Zacher and Adams represented the landlord, AERL LLC, in the lease of 69,329 square feet of space at 3102 Brooklyn Ave. to Goodman
REAL ESTATE & RETAIL Linda Lipp
Networks Inc.
CBRE/ STURGES Carolyn Spake-Leeper and Karen Spake represented the landlord, NBP Properties LLC, in the recent lease of 2,120
square feet of space at 1155 W. 15th St., Auburn. Spake-Leeper and Spake represented the buyer and new owner, Sycamore Pointe Holdings LLC, in two transactions: the purchase of a 7,000-square-foot office complex at 10729 Coldwater Road; and the lease of 3,113 square feet of space at that location to Academy Mortgage Corp. Spake and Spake-Leeper also represented the tenant. Spake-Leeper and Spake represented the landlord, JW Thomas Realty LLC, and the tenant, American Eagle Mortgage Co., in the renewal of a lease for 1,800 square feet of office space at 10315 Dawson’s Creek Blvd., Suite D. Barry Sturges represented both the landlord of Keystone Industrial Park and the tenant, Fort Wayne Gymnastics LLC, doing business as More Than Gymnastics, in the renewal of a lease of 20,000 square feet of space at 5334 Keystone Drive. 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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November 22-28, 2013
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County steps up e-waste education effort BY JOEL ELLIOTT jelliott@kpcmedia.com
Aiming to reduce the amount of electronic waste thrown into Indiana landfills, the waste management district in Allen County announced an educational program on the topic. A 2011 state law prohibits disposing discarded electronics in landfills, and the county is refusing to accept them if residents or businesses leave them for trash pickup. A green sticker will let them know why the item was rejected. The county contracted with OmniSource Corp., a subsidiary of Steel Dynamics Inc., to sort and transport electronic recyclable items to a Plainfield-based recycling center, Electronic Recyclers International Inc., or ERI, to be broken down or reused. Several hundred thousand pounds of discarded electronics each year goes out of the city in this way, according to Tony Burrus, director of the Allen County Solid Waste Management District.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors where the e-waste goes after it leaves Fort Wayne and other cities, ensuring that it does not end up in a landfill somewhere else, Burrus said. “There’s third-party auditing as well as ourselves to make sure that those materials don’t go to the Middle East, and we’ve all seen the horror of kids sitting there and inhaling the (burning) materials,” he said. “We handle anywhere from 360,000 pounds per year of materials; we like to know where it goes, and we do monitor that.” OmniSource charges a flat fee of $5 for up to five items. Items comprising a personal computer, such a monitor, mouse and keyboard, are considered to be a single item. On a recent afternoon at OmniSource, a steady stream of cars formed a line to drop off items for recycling. David Thompson, an employee who works in marketing for OmniSource, said the company makes a priority of monitoring the destinations of electronic waste. “I come from the generation that created
BW SEEKS 40 UNDER 40 NOMINATIONS
PCPs (pentachlorophenol, a pesticide and disinfectant), and now it’s up to us to keep them out of landfills,” Thompson said. Ace Recycling, located at 219 Murray St., also receives electronic waste, is certified to do so and does not charge anything, except for televisions. Five percent of all municipal solid waste in the United States is made up of discarded electronics, according ERI’s website. This category of waste is growing five times faster than any other type of waste, and its growth is fueled by what critics of the electronics industry say is a calculated strategy to ensure quick obsolescence of most items shortly after purchase. As a result, electronic waste disposal and recycling has become a $40-billion industry, according to ERI’s website. “Eventually, all states should have an electronic waste ban,” the site states. The company pledges on its website that “no electronics are placed in landfills and nothing is illegally exported to n
See E-WASTE on PAGE 7
Indiana won’t ask companies to reinstate plans Indiana won’t ask insurance n companies to reinstate individuals’ health-insurance policies that were canceled because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the state Department
of
Reporter’s
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Insurance
announced Nov. 20. Insurance companies issued policy cancellation notices to those whose plans fail to meet requirements under the Affordable Care Act. President Barack Obama recently suggested that insurance companies could delay those cancellations for a year, but left it up to the states whether to ask companies to Barry Rochford do so. In its announcement, the Indiana Department of Insurance said asking insurance companies to delay policy cancellations would create “chaos.” “President Obama has asked that Indiana compel insurance companies who choose to do business in our state to reinstate carefully phased-out policies at a moment’s notice,” Department of Insurance Commissioner Stephen Robertson said in the announcement. “Such action would seriously destabilize Indiana’s insurance market and create logistical chaos, fueling even more uncertainty for Hoosiers. Furthermore, we do not believe that IDOI has the authority under Indiana law to fulfill the president’s untimely request.”
HEALTH CARE
FILE PHOTO
Know of someone under the age of 40 making a difference in northeast Indiana? Business Weekly is accepting nominations for its fifth-annual 40 Under 40 awards, which recognize individuals for their professional and civic achievements. Winners will be featured in a special Business Weekly publication and be honored at an event that begins at 6 p.m. March 19 at Ceruti’s Banquet & Event Center in Fort Wayne. The nomination deadline Dec. 31. To nominate yourself or another individual, go to FWBusiness.com/events/40_under_40 and click on “40 Under 40 Nominations.”
JOEL ELLIOTT
George Harden sorts through electronic waste that was dropped off at OmniSource Corp.
Indiana opted not to create its own health-insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act; instead, residents can obtain health insurance through the federal exchange. The Department of Insurance said it worked with insurance companies to set rates for plans and finalize policy contract language prior to a federally mandated July 31 deadline so those plans could go into effect Jan. 1.
COOLING SYSTEM AIDS NEWBORN CARE The neonatal intensive-care unit at Lutheran Children’s Hospital has installed a hypothermic cooling and rewarming therapy system to assist newborns whose brains may have been deprived of oxygen prior to or during delivery. In an announcement, Lutheran Health Network said the Arctic Sun Temperature Management System could potentially help heal the brains of newborns, although it won’t help all infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The system uses a set of pads that cover portions of a newborn’s skin and components that circulate temperature-controlled water. The system monitors the newborn and cools the infant to the target temperature. By cooling the brain, the metabolism of brain cells that can cause long-term damage is slowed, which can improve outcomes. “We are glad this therapy is new delivered in Fort Wayne,” Dr. James Cameron, medical director of the neonatal intensive-care unit, said in the announcement. “We can now avoid the long transport to other centers, which results in a delay in initiating the therapy and potentially jeopardizing outcomes.” n
See HEALTH CARE on PAGE 7
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Google agrees to $17M multistate settlement Indiana is enti- n tled to $354,573 Reporter’s of a $17-million NOTEBOOK settlement Google has reached with 36 states and the District of Columbia for allegedly overriding security settings of the Apple Inc.’s Safari Internet browser. The search-engine company’s DoubleClick advertising platform Doug LeDuc makes money by assisting the transmission of third-party cookies, which can be used by third-party advertisers to collect information on Web-surfing routines and specific browser activity. Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined the attorneys general of the 35 other states and Washington, D.C., in accusing Google of circumventing Safari privacy
TECHNOLOGY
settings that would have blocked thirdparty cookies. Zoeller said in a statement circumvention of that type would violate Indiana laws relating to computer privacy and consumer protection. “Google allegedly circumvented Safari’s default privacy settings — without consumers’ consent — to allow third-party advertisers to set cookies in order to better target advertisements to consumers,” he said. “Unsuspecting Safari users continued to believe that cookies were automatically blocked. Today’s settlement underscores the continuing need for states to ensure consumers’ privacy remains protected.” Safari’s default privacy settings block third-party cookies, including those used by DoubleClick to maintain a record of browser activity for Google. “From June 1, 2011, until Feb. 15, 2012, Google altered its DoubleClick coding to circumvent the Safari default privacy settings, without consumers’ knowledge or consent, enabling advertisers to set third-party cookies on consumers’ Safari browsers,” the statement said. After the practice attracted a lot of unfavorable attention on Internet blogs and in
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the mainstream media, Google abandoned it in February 2012, the statement said. It said in addition to the financial payments to the states and DC, Google has agreed to injunctive relief requiring that it: • Not override a browser’s cookie-blocking settings without the consumer’s consent or unless it is necessary to (do) so in order to detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues. • Not misrepresent or omit material information to consumers about how Google serves advertisements to their browsers. • Improve the information it provides to consumers regarding cookies, their purposes and how they can be managed by consumers using Google’s products or services. • Maintain systems designed to ensure the expiration of the third-party cookies placed on Safari browsers while their default settings had been circumvented.
VERIZON WIRELESS LOCATION UPGRADED TO ‘SMART STORE’ The Verizon Wireless store that relocated to 4602 Illinois Road this summer is expecting more holiday shopping traffic than in the past partly because it has been upgraded into one of the company’s “Smart Stores.” The wireless company plans to have about 125, or 7 percent of its 1,700 stores, redone by the end of the year to focus on a consumer’s lifestyle and where technology fits in for personal use, such as fitness and music zones. At its new location across from Jefferson Pointe, “the square footage is about the same but much more of it is dedicated to the customer so they can try out things, so they can experience more of our products and services,” said Pat Lewis, Verizon’s store director for Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky. The store was moved to a location that is more visible and easier to find, has more parking spaces, and “if you look at floor space dedicated to the customers, we’d have about double,” he said. “The new store is 3,500 square feet and the old store was 3,000, but customers would see a much bigger difference.” The store also is carrying many more alternate devices that work with smartphones, and they are among the first things customers see when they walk through the doors. Now, to get to the smartphones in the back of the store, customers walk past various lifestyle zones, where they can see how alternate devices work with smartn
See TECHNOLOGY on PAGE 7
November 22-28, 2013
Parkview, Trine join forces to offer PT degree BY LINDA LIPP llipp@kpcmedia.com
Parkview Health will partner with Trine University to offer the school’s new doctorate program in physical therapy. The program will be offered, beginning next fall, in space on the Parkview Hospital Randallia campus in Fort Wayne. The former Fort Wayne Cardiology building will house state-of-the-art anatomy labs, clinical labs and classrooms as well as study space and a dining area. “The partnership of Parkview Health and Trine’s School of Health Studies affords our students professional, clinical experiences and internships. We are grateful for Parkview’s commitment to Trine and the region by helping to bring a physical therapy doctorate program to the area,” Trine President Earl Brooks II said in a prepared statement. The official announcement of the physical therapy degree was set for a press conference Nov. 21. It is the latest degree program to be offered since the Life Science Education and Research Consortium of Northeast Indiana, founded by Trine, Parkview and other educational partners, was launched in 2011. It has been in the works since the beginning. Trine and Huntington University already are offering other classes in the former cardiology building. The University of Saint Francis initially planned to offer a doctorate degree in nursing there, but put that plan on hold. Ivy Tech Community College Northeast had proposed moving its health-sciences and nursing programs and the 2,000 students enrolled in them to the nearby Carew Medical Park building, at 1819 Carew St., but could not come up with the funding it needed to make that happen. That building has not been put to use by the consortium. Huntington University is using the Randallia space for a program that allows registered nurses to obtain bachelor’s degrees in nursing as well as a master’s in counseling. Trine offers courses leading to bachelor’s degrees in health-care management and emergency management, and a master’s degree in biomedical regulatory affairs. Trine is currently enrolling students for the physical-therapy doctorate. For more information, visit Trine.edu/DPT.
November 22-28, 2013
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BAE: Company is working to finalize lease
Continued from PAGE 3
We’re not just there to defend what we have, we’re there to enable some growth.” The company confirmed in September that a lease on the Taylor Street plant had come up for renegotiation. In response to reports circulating at the time that it was considering relocating the operations out of state, BAE had expressed a preference for keeping them in Allen County and a willingness to work with area economic-development officials to accomplish that. In addition to business the operation’s Indiana suppliers stood to lose if the plant moved out of state, the area’s economy would see an impact from the loss of the plant’s annual payroll. “They pay very livable, great wages — on average their employees make about $55,000 a year,” said Ashley Steenman at Greater Fort Wayne Inc. “Because of … the impact it would have on the community, a number of our partners — the state of Indiana, the Capital Improvement Board, the city and the county — came together to come up with incentives,” she said. Economic-development incentives to keep the BAE operations in the county include $2.5 million in support of the new plant project from the Allen County Fort Wayne Capital Improvement Board and $2 million from the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission from funds generated by
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a tax increment financing district near the airport. “We’re still working to finalize a lease agreement with the developer,” said Jeff Benzing, a spokesman for BAE’s Fort Wayne operations. “Because of that, we’re also concurrently engaging with the government officials and economic-development officials to keep the project on schedule.” BAE’s Fort Wayne work force has seen gradual expansion since the relocation of 200 production positions from Irving, Texas, bumped its employment up close to 1,000. Some of the work transferred to Fort Wayne between April 2009 and July 2010 included production of commercial electronics focused on the control and monitoring of aircraft systems on the Boeing 737 and 777. The company announced in July its Fort Wayne plant would be assembling spoiler control electronics for the new Boeing 737 MAX. The announcement said the 737 MAX is “a new-engine variant of the world’s best-selling airplane and builds on the strengths of today’s next-generation 737 with advances in fuel efficiency and environmental performance.” More than 1,300 orders had been placed for the 737 MAX at the time of the contract announcement.
HEALTH CARE: Learn to make healthy meals
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Lutheran Children’s Hospital is located at Lutheran Hospital.
CLASSES OFFER TIPS ON HEALTHY COOKING Parkview LiVe has partnered with the Allen County Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service to offer a series
of free cooking classes that will feature healthy recipes and show participants how to substitute healthy ingredients to make meals more nutritious. The Cooking to LiVe classes will be held from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Nov. 19, Dec. 17, Jan. 21, Feb. 18 and March 18 at Leo United Methodist Church, 12527 Leo Road, Leo-Cedarville. Individuals can sign up for any number of the classes. To enroll, call the church office at (260) 627-2161. Classes are limited 12 individuals, and participants must be 18 or older.
PARKVIEW FIELD TO HOST ERIN’S HOUSE MEMORIAL Erin’s House for Grieving Children
will hold a Lights of Love memorial at Parkview Field through Nov. 30. Individuals can purchase a lighted candle or video scoreboard message in memory of a loved one. The candles will be on display near the center-field amphitheater. Messages will be shown on Parkview Field’s large video scoreboard. To purchase a candle or message, call (260) 423-2466 or visit ErinsHouse.org. The Lights of Love memorial will be on display from 5-8 p.m. daily through Nov. 30, during the Downtown Holiday Festival. Admission is free. 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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TECHNOLOGY: Change boosts device sales
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phones for a variety of fitness, entertainment and business activities. One of the zones shows how Verizon customers can use their wireless connections to provide broadband for a home Wi-Fi network connected to desktop computers, tablets and Internet-enabled entertainment devices. The company has been applying what it learns from upgrading the first 125 locations to perfect the zones in the rest of its stores as it rolls out the “Smart Store” redesign.
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Lewis said the changes have helped boost Verizon’s alternate-device sales where they have taken place. “When you introduce people to these new products and they can try them out in the store they see the value and they want one themselves,” he said. If you have items for the technology column, please contact Doug LeDuc by e-mail at dleduc@kpcmedia.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.
E-WASTE: Much of it winds up overseas
Continued from PAGE 5
other nations.” Requests for interviews with representatives of the company went unanswered. The problem with the disposal of electronics is the lead, mercury and other harmful elements they contain that seep into the groundwater or find their way into the atmosphere. And while many states, like Indiana, have outlawed disposal of such devices in local landfills, much of the Western world’s electronic waste finds its way to massive landfills in developing countries such as Cambodia and India. Some of these dumps are so large that
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whole communities live atop them, burning wires to strip off the plastic and harvest the copper, sending up large plumes of toxic smoke that they and their families inhale as a matter of course. This is why electronic waste recyclers fill an important role in completing the production-use-disposal-recycle loop, said Kevin Cawood, owner of Ace Recycling. “They (electronics companies) are not looking at the sustainability of the product,” he said. “Almost everything is thrown away. Instead of throwing it away, though, in recycling we try to reuse it first. But if you can’t reuse it, then we go to recycling and break it down.”
BRIEFLY
A LLE N C O U NT Y
GFW ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP CHANGES Mike Landram, who was president and CEO of the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce when it merged with the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance to form Greater Fort Wayne Inc. earlier this year, has left the organization to pursue other career opportunities. The move was among a handful of leadership changes Greater Fort Wayne announced. Landram joined the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce in 2004 as president of workforce development. He became president and CEO of the chamber in 2010. “After nine years with the chamber, I have valued my time in serving our membership and community,” Landram said in the announcement. “Supporting Greater Fort Wayne Inc. through its transition efforts has presented an opportunity for me to explore changes that I’d like to pursue professionally, something that I’ve been considering and haven’t been able to
do until now.” Bill Zielke, formerly president of GTE-North, was appointed interim chief operating officer of Greater Fort Wayne. Zielke also has served as vice president and general manager at Frontier Communications Corp. and was vice president of marketing for Do it Best Corp. In addition, Mick McCollum, who was interim president and CEO of the alliance prior to the merger, was named interim vice president of economic development at Greater Fort Wayne. Patrick Dooley, who was vice president of airport development for the alliance before the merger, left GFW to work at Travelex, where he will serve as director of business development and key accounts, North America. Greater Fort Wayne, which recently finished moving to a more than 12,000-square-foot space on the eighth floor of the 1st Source Center in downtown Fort Wayne, also announced that Leadership Fort Wayne has relocated from its former location, 904 S. Calhoun St., to GFW’s new offices. The two organizations expect to sign a formal affiliation agreement next year.
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n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n
November 22-28, 2013
Competing views of giving
Terry Housholder thousholder@kpcmedia.com Publisher
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Time for detention It would be easy to try and be funny and say those charged with leading Indiana’s educational efforts have recently been behaving like a bunch of bratty students. But that would unfairly malign students. Plus, the growing squabble between Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz and Gov. Mike Pence’s administration is no laughing matter. It’s an embarrassment and it needs to end. Members of the General Assembly have announced they might step in to quash the dispute during the next legislative session, but that likely would only result in adding fuel to the fire. Pence has written a letter to the National Association of State Boards of Education, asking it to help resolve differences between Ritz and members of the Indiana State Board of Education, most of whom are appointed by the governor’s office. Board of Education meetings, which are chaired by Ritz, have in recent months become alarmingly dysfunctional, with Ritz and members shouting over each other, and one meeting was abruptly ended when Ritz walked out. There have been reports of Ritz’s board lawyer and Pence’s board lawyer jostling one another while addressing the group. Of course, it didn’t help matters that Ritz had sued members of the very same board she chairs because, she claimed, they had gone around her
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EDITORIAL
back by having another agency calculate “A-F” grades for Indiana’s schools. The lawsuit was later dismissed. The differences between Ritz, a Democrat, the Board of Education and Pence, a Republican, largely involve school grades, expanding the use of vouchers for private schools and the new Center for Education and Career Innovation that was established by the governor. But ultimately, those differences can be reduced to politics. Representatives from the Center for Education and Career Innovation, which is responsible for enacting recommendations made by Pence’s Indiana Career Council and his regional works councils, told Business Weekly in August that the center was not created to shift power from Ritz’s Department of Education to Pence’s office. But it’s difficult to believe that when, for example, the center sends out competing agendas for Board of Education meetings. There’s no need to arbitrate this dispute. The two people standing in the center of this fiasco — Pence and Ritz — need to get together and work out their differences, and respect each other’s goals of improving education in Indiana. We expect no less from students in our classrooms. Why should our elected leaders be held to a different standard?
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.
“What is the purpose of this season of buying and buying more?” asked Oliver Offenon. “That’s a twisted view,” I responded. “It’s the season of giving. Buying is a necessary activity people engage in as they prepare to give.” “If people made things, put some of themselves into their gifts,” Oliver said, “it would be different. Giving would be more personal, more significant.” “What is more personal than your time?” I asked. “Exactly!” Oliver declared. “Time spent making gifts is a most personal statement about the value of the relationship to the giver.” “You’re thinking in terms of a romanticized 19th-century world, not today’s America,” I n said. “Few Americans are proficient in traditional crafts. Most people today don’t know how to work with wood or clay, with wool or cotton. Manufacturing in the 19th century replaced those skills so that there are few who can make furniture or knit sweaters in modern America. “Mechanization increased production, standardized parts and made it possible for millions to enjoy quality material goods previously available to only the wealthiest.” “It’s just not the same,” he said. “It’s better than the past,” I replied. “Today a giver buys goods (like cell phones) that an ordinary person cannot make. The cost of the cell Morton J. phone is the number of hours the giver works to earn the price of the cell phone.” Marcus “It’s so impersonal,” Oliver objected. “It is remarkably personal,” I insisted. “For the money a worker earns she or her gets to choose from an enormous variety of goods and services. At the simplest level, a gift of money offers the recipient the opportunity to choose from a virtually limitless catalog of goodies. The giver is saying, ‘Here are five hours of my life; use them as you choose.’” “That’s vulgar,” Oliver protested. “No,” I said softly. “That is liberating the recipient who can avoid the tyranny or ignorance of a giver who does not understand or approve the recipient’s choices.” “It takes all the meaning out of gift giving,” Oliver says. “A gift should reflect the opinion the giver has of the recipient.” “People should separate the idea of gifts from the concept of behavior modification or the amelioration of need,” I said. “When I give a gift of music, I am telling the recipient what I think she or her should be listening to. If I choose a band I know the recipient likes, I am endorsing the recipient’s choices. “When I give warm gloves, I say the recipient does not have the necessities of winter. I am correcting her or his oversight or poverty.” “What a perverse view you have of giving,” Oliver said. “For you a gift is a criticism, not a statement of affection. You don’t partake of the joy in giving and receiving.” “I don’t see it that way,” I protested. “My views are just standard conservative economics.”
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.
November 22-28, 2013
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Timid talk about tax reform As Congress n moves forward on budget negotiations, the word out of Washington, D.C., is to expect nothing major: no grand bargain, just more stopgap, short-term fixes. Yet there’s one ray of hope. The House and Senate chairs of the tax-writing committees, one a Republican, the other a Democrat, are preparing a comprehensive tax-reform plan. They see the budget negotiations as their opportunity to enact muchneeded changes to our bloated, off-kilter tax laws. The last time lawmakers managed to find a way to simplify and reshape the tax code was almost three decades ago, in 1986, when Ronald Reagan was still president. Since then, there have been more than 15,000 adjustments and amendments, leaving a mess that just about everyone agrees must be cleaned up. Odds are against Congress managing the task, but its handling of the debate on tax reform tells us a lot about how members approach difficult issues. That’s because this latest effort to rewrite the tax code is saddled by a deep-seated problem that spans both parties and all ideologies: political timidity. Tax avoidance is a highly sophisticated and lucrative business in this country, and politicians address it at their peril. This became clear during the summer, when the senators leading the tax-reform charge on their side of Capitol Hill, Democrat Max Baucus of Montana and Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah, laid out their initiative. They wanted senators to take a “blank-slate” approach to the issue: no current deduction, exemption or credit would continue unless a strong case could be made for it. Then they invited their colleagues to identify what they’d keep and what they’d reject. That was a fine start, until Baucus and Hatch took an extraordinary step. They guaranteed senators 50 years of anonymity for their suggestions, thus allowing each senator to continue attacking the tax-code mess without taking any specific public positions on how to improve it. In other words, here’s a public issue of enormous consequence, affecting every taxpayer in the land, and they were afraid to
LEE HAMILTON
talk about it meaningfully in public. Sure, you hear plenty from politicians about tax reform, but it’s all generalities. They talk about a simpler code or a fairer code or a flatter code, but in truth, almost every member of Congress talks in gross generalities about the monstrosity that is the tax code and comes out fervently for reform, without actually taking a stand on the tough issues. Tax reform is meaningless without specifics. Continuing to exclude employer contributions for health care, for instance, will cost taxpayers some $760 billion over the next five years, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation — but getting rid of it will surely anger employers and employees. We could recoup $379 billion over the next five years by cutting the mortgage interest deduction, but how many homeowners do you know who would go along with the idea? The political power of the interests that benefit from reduced tax rates on dividends and long-term capital gains, which will cost the Treasury $616 billion between now and 2017, is immense. So, in its own way, is that of supporters of the deduction for charitable contributions ($239 billion). In all, tax breaks cost the Treasury some $1.1 trillion a year — which puts them well ahead of most other forms of federal spending. Yet each has its own constituency — often a vocal, well-funded, well-organized one. Politicians who call for “tax reform” without going into specifics butter their bread on both sides — they ride the public outcry against the tax code in general, while avoiding the outcry from people hurt by the changes that tax reform would inevitably bring. After all, a “loophole” to one group is usually a “lifeline” to another. So nothing happens. Everyone knows that tax reform will involve limiting tax breaks. It should be possible to avoid the political difficulties by capping the total without eliminating specific breaks. But even this will require political backbone. Until Congress shows us that its members possess the courage to detail publicly what’s needed, talk of tax reform will be just that: talk. LEE HAMILTON is Director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY TO This is a photo of residents of Hope House, a United Way partner agency that helps homeless, chemically dependent women stabilize their lives. In Hope House these women participate in Beads of Hope, where they design and create custom jewelry. They also acquire business skills by handling the marketing, quality control, inventory and sales of their product. Most women involved in Beads of Hope obtain employment outside of Hope House within six to nine months. But, if you look closely, you’ll see that there is more to this photo than meets the eye. It’s a mosaic built from hundreds of photos contributed to us by people invested in the work of United Way. Like the photo, the recovery of the women of Hope House is made possible with the help of a generous community — a community that gives to United Way of Allen County. United Way of Allen County focuses on education, income, health and basic needs — the building blocks for a good quality of life. Your gift to United Way is an investment in a healthy community. That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED.
ARE YOU PART OF THE PICTURE? United Way of Allen County
GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER Follow BW on Twitter: @fwbusiness
www.unitedwayallencounty.org
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U.S. factory output gains in Oct. (Bloomberg) — Production at U.S. factories picked up in October, indicating the government shutdown did little to impede manufacturing at the start of the fourth quarter. The 0.3-percent advance followed a 0.1-percent gain the prior month and exceeded the 0.2-percent median projection in a Bloomberg survey, figures from the Federal Reserve showed Nov. 15 in Washington, D.C. Total industrial production fell 0.1 percent as mining and utility use declined. Increased output of furniture, metals and electronics shows gains in manufacturing are extending beyond the auto industry, underscoring recent reports of improving sentiment at factories. Busier assembly lines are a source of strength for an economy that was restrained by a decrease in government spending tied to the 16-day partial federal shutdown. “It’s a good start to the quarter,” said Brian Jones, senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York. Production gains are “becoming broad-based. Are we going at rocket speed? No, but things are generally getting better in the economy.” The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey also called for a 0.2 percent rise in total industrial production. September output was revised up to a 0.7-percent gain from a previously reported 0.6-percent advance. Estimates of the 84 economists surveyed ranged from a drop of 0.2 percent to an increase of 0.5 percent. The Fed report also showed that capacity utilization, which measures the proportion of a plant that is in use at factories, mines and utilities, fell to 78.1 percent from 78.3 percent the prior month. At factories alone it increased to a four-month high. Manufacturing accounts for about 75 percent of total industrial production and 12 percent of the economy. Utility output dropped 1.1 percent after a 4.5 percent surge the previous month. Mining production, which includes oil drilling, decreased 1.6 percent, the biggest drop since February 2011. The decline reflects the temporary shutdowns of oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico in advance of Tropical Storm Karen, the Fed said. Factory production increased even as
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November 22-28, 2013
BRIEFLY
KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
PIERCETON PLANT PLANS EXPANSION
BLOOMBERG NEWS
A worker trims hearse signs at Church & Chapel Metal Arts in Chicago. Production at U.S. factories picked up in October, indicating the government shutdown did little to impede manufacturing at the start of the fourth quarter.
assembly lines at automakers slowed for the first time in three months, the report showed. Excluding autos and parts, manufacturing production climbed 0.4 percent after no change in September. “There’s a lot of volatility in these numbers and auto production can be very lumpy,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd. in Valhalla, N.Y. “Manufacturing is on track for pretty solid growth this quarter.” Motor-vehicle sales have been a bright spot in this expansion as Americans take advantage of cheaper borrowing costs to replace older models. Cars and light trucks sold at a 15.2 million annual rate in October, matching the September pace, according to Ward’s Automotive Group data. “Economic conditions continue to improve at a modest pace,” Emily Kolinski Morris, senior economist at Ford Motor Co., said on a Nov. 1 call with analysts. “Manufacturing-sector growth continues
at a steady pace” and housing data signal there is “a broad-based recovery still in place.” The pickup in production helps explain why factory purchasing managers were more optimistic last month. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index climbed in October to 56.4, the highest since April 2011, from 56.2 a month earlier, the Tempe, Ariz.-based group’s reported on Nov. 1. Readings above 50 indicate growth. At the same time, increased inventories and slower economies overseas represent challenges to American manufacturers. The Commerce Department’s data on thirdquarter gross domestic product showed the biggest gain in inventories since the beginning of 2012. The build-up in stockpiles, which may limit orders to factories should demand falter, helped the economy climb 2.8 percent at an annualized pace in the third quarter after a 2.5 percent rate in the prior three months.
OMCO will spend $6.7 million to renovate and equip its steel metal-forming plant in Pierceton and create up to 40 new jobs by 2016. The Wickliffe, Ohio-based company currently employs 500 people, including 120 in Pierceton. “After evaluating our most cost-effective options for a plant expansion, the Pierceton facility was chosen for a number of reasons,” Gary Schuster, president and chief executive officer of OMCO, said in a prepared statement released Tuesday. “At the top of that list was the highly committed and talented work force available to us in northern Indiana, along with the outstanding support we receive from the Pierceton community, its governing bodies and the state of Indiana.” OMCO plans to begin hiring machine operators, maintenance associates, tool and die specialists and material handlers next year. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered OMCO up to $325,000 in tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans, and the town of Pierceton has approved an additional tax abatement.
STEUBEN COUNTY
RECYCLING COMPANY BUYS SITE IN FREMONT A Holland, Mich.-based recycling company is making its way into Indiana by locating in the Fremont Industrial Park, The Herald Republican in Angola reported. Padnos Iron & Metal Co., recycler of paper, plastics, metal and more, has purchased the 120,000-square-foot building that formerly housed Indiana Wire, 803 S. Reed Road, Fremont. Up to eight new jobs could be created right away. “They’ll open a plastic recycling business and are venturing into Indiana. They’re buying the existing building of the old Indiana Wire,” Fremont Town Manager Chris Snyder said. The company recycles post-industrial plastic waste, he said. The Herald Republican is published by Business Weekly owner KPC Media Group Inc.
November 22-28, 2013
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Workers’ initiative survey finds mixed outlook on economy BY DOUG LEDUC dleduc@kpcmedia.com
The Great Recession has accentuated growing public dissatisfaction with the difficulty of finding and keeping work that pays a livable wage in northeast Indiana. That could summarize one of the least surprising and most intensely and frequently expressed responses to questions in a Workers Project survey of more than 500 area residents who are working or looking for work. The survey was conducted by the Northeast Indiana Central Labor Council’s Unemployed and Anxiously Employed Workers’ Initiative. The group released the results and held a public discussion on the findings Nov. 18 at the Allen County Public Library. The discussion was moderated by Tom Lewandowski, president of the labor council. Dan Marschall, a national AFL-CIO workforce policy specialist, participated on a panel discussing the findings and fielding questions from the audience about them. The survey has been conducted annually by volunteers since 2009, and this year 558 surveys were collected at a Labor Day picnic, an unemployment office, a Mexican mobile consulate, a trustee office, barbershops, foods banks, church dinners and online.
About 38 percent of the surveys were collected in Spanish and the rest were in English; 485 of the individuals surveyed responded to a question asking if they had been unemployed sometime during the past five years, and 51 percent of them said they had been. Part of the survey was taken in the context of an 8.1-percent Indiana unemployment rate in August. On a multiple-choice question asking how they would characterize the U.S. economy, 24 percent said the country was in another recession, 25 percent said it was in a fundamental and lasting downturn, 24 percent said it was in recovery and 27 percent said they were not sure. Asked if the local economy was performing better than the U.S. economy, 20 percent said it was, 21 percent said it was worse, 41 percent said they were performing about the same and 18 percent were not sure. Only 23 percent of respondents said their household economy was experiencing improvement, while 32 percent said it was in a downturn and 45 percent reported no change. “Part of the problem with the economy is that over the past 35 years wage rates have flattened. Productivity has gone up, up, up, corporate profits have gone up, up, up, but our
wages have just stayed flat,” Marschall said. On a job-security question eliciting 342 responses, 19 percent of respondents said they had very little on their current job, 33 percent said they had none, 32 percent said they had some and 16 percent said they had a lot. Asked if their current job fully uses their talents, knowledge and experience, 17 percent said very little, 27 percent said not at all, 27 percent said some and 29 percent said most. Only 17 percent of respondents said they believed the next generation would have a better economic future, 36 percent said it would be worse, 24 percent said it would be about the same and 23 percent said they were not sure. When asked to check all that apply, 238 respondents said U.S. government jobs programs were contributing to job creation, 197 said Indiana state government jobs programs were, 147 said local government jobs programs were and 124 said no jobs programs were contributing to job creation. An executive pastor at Associated Churches of Fort Wayne participating on the panel, the Rev. Roger Reece, said some churches may experiment with entrepreneurship in the future to create jobs. “I think I can get back to the scriptures
— the poor will be among us — and it’s a mandate to take care of the poor,” he said. “That’s my mandate and so no matter how they got there … the reality is there are folks who are hungry and folks who are homeless right now, so what are you going to do to make a difference?” Marschall said he knew of a number of cases where workers had created jobs for themselves and co-workers by successfully buying out and operating what became a worker-owned business. “I think the answers come when we get together and try to figure out how to do this ourselves,” he said. “We see literally thousands of people working in campaigns to get higher wages and dignity and respect on the job, and oftentimes that involves organizing a union or really just coming together because the answers … come from working together, whether that means volunteering for a food pantry, working in your church or working in the community to try to figure out solutions.” Lewandowski said the workers’ initiative was just starting to analyze findings of the survey and one of its main purposes was to provide a voice for individuals who were talked about and talked to but seldom heard and “almost never afforded their own power.”
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With RFPs, the people buying your product often aren’t the ones using it “They get bids n for everything and always take the lowest bid.” “They send out an RFP and I can never speak to the decision maker.” “We’re becoming a commodity. All they do is take the lowest bid.” “It’s the government. They have to take the lowest bid.” Many companies have become smart buyers, but many have become too smart. They’ve refined the buying process so much that they have precluded the words “quality” and “value” from the buying process, and they have taken the words “productivity,” “ease of use” and “morale” out of the delivery process. The typical request for proposals (RFP) has a bunch of standards about what has to be offered by the vendor, but far too little (or nothing) about what happens after the company takes ownership. They have the “specs” in the RFP, but not the details of use, value, productivity or morale.
JEFFREY GITOMER
The major flaw with the RFP process is that the people conducting the bidding are not the people who use the product or service once the bidding is complete. Nor, for the most part, do they care. The main goal of bidding is not to get the best product. The main goal of bidding is to get the cheapest price. And oftentimes that precludes the best product. It also lowers the profit of the company doing the bidding. Long term, this is not good for the survival of a company. Reality: “The customer took the lowest bid” is as bogus as “the dog ate my homework.” The fact is you let the customer control the selling/buying process. Not good. Reality: If you follow the customer’s RFP requirements you will lose even if you win. If you win, it’s likely you did so at a severe reduction of price and loss of profit. Not good. That’s the bad news. Let me give you the good news and the sales news: There are several strategies you can employ to get around the bidding process, or legally and ethically change the bidding process. Here are some ideas you can begin to use immediately: 1. Ask for a clause to be put into the
RFP that states all claims must be backed up with customer testimonial videos as proof. Any procurement department should be happy to add this clause into its bidding process. It will assure the department that everything being claimed will come to pass. This will also help in establishing the reality of installation, ease of use and longterm serviceability. Prove it to win it. 2. Request that the people who actually use the product or service you’re selling be more involved in the selection process. Especially as it relates to their actual experience and their projected needs. This is not as difficult as it sounds, especially if you can apply internal pressure to senior management where your product will be used. Keep in mind that procurement and purchasing don’t actually use what they buy. They just buy. They’re relying on the person or people who made the internal request and will often get their input before making a final decision. 3. Make an appointment with the CFO. He or she is most interested in making a profit, not just saving a dollar. Make your case against taking the lowest price and in favor of making a profit. Rule of sale: The higher you go to make your presentation,
the easier the sale becomes. 4. Have an active social-media presence that is easily found, so your reputation is both visible and impressive. The customer will check you out before you get there and may use it as part of the decision-making process. 4.5. Gain better insight into the purchase of your products and services. Talk to the person who makes the budget, not the person who spends it. Make service response time a mandatory part of the bid. Talk to those responsible for what happens after the purchase, not the people buying it. Make certain that third-party proof, in video, is a major part of your proposal. Caution: The bidding process is often tightly controlled by those who execute it. The only people likely to influence change of modification are C-level executives. Get with them as part of your normal selling process. Note well: Every company, even the government, has “preferred vendors.” People who have achieved a “higher than equal” status. Become one of them. JEFFREY GITOMER, a syndicated columnist, can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com.
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PAGE 13
“Food from the heart always makes a statement …”
CAREER PATH
What did you do before getting into the food business?
Name: Tammi McKee Company: Comfort Food Cafe Title: owner and head chef Location: 1 E. Main St., B-18 (Rousseau Centre) Founded: Comfort Food Delivered catering business launched in April 2009; opened cafe in January
Prior to catering, I worked for Wayne Township assessor’s office as well as the Allen County assessor’s office for 14 years doing commercial property assessments. An opportunity came along for me to do the same thing in the private sector, so I resigned my position with the county and then, unfortunately, found myself unemployed due to legislation delaying the reassessment. Instead of trying to go back to my old position I asked myself, “What else can I do to make a living?” Cooking quickly came to mind. My favorite thing to do is cook and feed people but I wasn’t sure how to make it happen. You cannot do this from home in the state of Indiana, so the biggest challenge was that I had to find a commercial kitchen with someone willing to let me use their space. I knocked on the door of Tony Ficaro, who happens to run a catering business, Splendid Fare, just around the corner from my home. I introduced myself to him and told him that I n
See MCKEE on PAGE 14
BARRY ROCHFORD
Tammi McKee, center, hands change to a customer at the Comfort Food Cafe, which opened in January in the basement of the Rousseau Centre in downtown Fort Wayne.
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MCKEE: CANI provided loan for cafe, which allowed it to open in just under two months
Continued from PAGE 13
thought there was a market downtown with all of the folks that work there for catered, home-cooked, delivered meals. How did you market the catering business?
I already knew I had some sales with the people in the assessing community that I had worked with and fed for free for years. So I started with them on the very next Monday and sold 20 lunches. One or two of them posted comments on the Intranet or city/county notice board, which reaches approximately 3,000 employees. I was getting phone calls from all over the city before I had even left the building that day. What came next?
Within two years of running my business from Tony’s kitchen I received a phone call from the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center asking if I would be willing to work with them. It was a dream come true for me, to run my business from their kitchen with Karl LaPan (the president and CEO) as my business coach. So I moved to NIIC and did all of its on-site
catering events while running my daily catered lunches as well. By the summer of 2012 I was talking with the Allen County Commissioners about the basement cafeteria space in the Rousseau Centre. I was interested in putting in a bid for that space so my clients would have a place to come to instead of me going to them. I found out last November that I won the bid and I opened the cafe on Jan. 7. I have always wanted a restaurant, and this space is perfect for my style of cooking, which is really comfort food from many countries. With the steam table that we have down there it allows me to offer so much more than just a standard menu with the same things every day, although we do have a menu with our full breakfast and our lunch menu of burger baskets, sliders, turkey clubs, etc. I still market on the notice board for the city and county employees with daily memos of what’s on the steam table that day, what salad we may be featuring (we also have a salad bar) and what the soup and desserts are. The memo also goes to anyone on my client list that is not a city or county employee. The list has grown and includes people from all four corners of our city. I am still catering special events and
corporate meetings with just a little notice, but it also gets to the clients that work in the immediate area and are able to walk over and eat, or we deliver to them within a five-block radius. What role did CANI play in helping you obtain financing?
When I got the word in mid-November (2012) that I had won the bid, I only had about seven weeks to open the doors and I really didn’t have much capital. I had been talking to CANI about a possible business loan as early as the summer because I just wasn’t sure and I needed to be prepared. I had some money put away but quickly went through it when I found out that I had won the bid, and I needed them to step in and get everything done as fast as possible and they did. It is, of course, a process but they make it as painless as possible. Wonderful people, and I couldn’t have done it without them. What do you enjoy the most about your work?
The thing I love most about the business is the reaction to the food. Food from the heart always makes a statement, and I do my very best to make sure that everyone working with me either has or
gains the same philosophy. I train as much as possible down to the smallest detail of how something should taste and look. Add that to value and you come up with repeat, happy customers and new ones daily from word of mouth, or just the smells from the basement kitchen that go out to the street. What advice would you give someone else who wanted to start a catering or restaurant business?
It takes a lot of money, lots and lots of work with long hours and no days off — yet. But that time will come. I really love what I am doing and that is the most important thing. I have been so blessed from the beginning with everyone who has helped me realize my dream. My advice to someone wanting to start out in the catering business is: Find yourself a Tony Ficaro who is a business coach as well as a mentor. As far as running a restaurant goes, you need a lot of capital but no partners. It’s much better to be able to make your own decisions without butting heads with someone else. Just accept the workload that goes with it. By Linda Lipp. To suggest an idea for “Career Path,” email news@fwbusiness.com.
There’s nothing simple about solving for X.
Today’s healthcare rules are just as complicated. Loo Lo okk, un unle ess ss you u’’rre a gi gift fted ft d mat athe h ma he m tici tician ti ciian an,, yo you u do don’ on’ n t jju ustt sitt dow own n an a d wo w rrkk probl rob ro bllem ems. s. It’ t’s tth he sa same ame me wit ith th th he A Afffo ord rdab able ab e Ca arre Acct. t Ne ew w pre emium mium mi um rat ate ssttrru ate ucctttur ures ur es. es. PrroP o ra r te t d AC CA fe f e ca calc l ul lc ua attio ons ns. Re R vi vise s d FSA, se FS SA A,, HRA A and HSA ru ulles es an nd d reg gullat atio io ons n . An A d po ote tent ntia nt ia ial al ta axx-ccrred diitt sub bsiidi d ess. It It’s ’s the he new w matth h.. Lett th he e ful ullyy ap pp prro ove ved d po pr offes essi sion si on na alls at PHP P de evvisse a he ea allth th pla l n th thatt wor o ks ks for o you u. An nd yo our u emp mplo lo oyye ees. es. Leeaarrn m es mo orree at p ph h hpn pnii..cco pn om/ m//ea e ssyy ea
PHP EASY Health Coverage. Uncomplicated.
866.789.3492 or contact your broker
November 22-28, 2013
n
n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly
fwbusiness.com
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
PAGE 15
E-mail your People on the Move items to news@fwbusiness.com.
RUOFF HOME MORTGAGE Colleen Petras was the top loan originator companywide at Ruoff Home Mortgage in Fort Wayne for the month of September. Larry Dickey Jr. was the top loan originator at the company’s southwest Fort Wayne office. Petras
YMCA Marie Clifford joined the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne’s Metropolitan
Office as a marketing and communications specialist. She most recently worked at Purdue University’s Division of Recreational Sports.
JUNIOR LEAGUE Cheryl Felger, Amy Shurley, Stephanie Theide and Nicole Penar represented the Junior League of Fort Wayne at the
Organzational Development Institute in Indianapolis.
THE ZACHER CO. director of finance, property manager and sales associate at the Zacher Co./CORFAC International in Fort Wayne, earned the certified property manager designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management. She joined the firm in 2008. Joy
Neuenschwander,
MKM
Dickey
Sheila McLaughlin rejoined SYM Financial Advisors in Winona Lake as a
qualified plan specialist. She has more than 14 years of experience, most recently as
Penar
Wayne in the newly created Mitchell Hyduk Fabian Milentis Mahara position of sales and product Neuenschwander development assistant. Fabian on Excellence by school President Sherilyn Council of Northeast Indiana. is the founder of OFabz Swimwear. Emberton.
CANI Community Action of Northeast Indiana recently announced the addition
of 10 new CANI Corps members to the agency. They are: Shayne Abrahams, Kelsey Barta, Andrea Cassel, Tracee Cooley, Angionette Rickets, Denaris Green, Dan Nae Lewis, Maria MarquezLlamas, Alexzandria McCowan and Kayla Smith-Gonzalez. CANI Corps is an AmeriCorps program organized and operated by CANI.
Kim Carpenter joined Star Financial Bank as assistant vice president, private
SYM FINANCIAL ADVISORS
Theide
Olivia Fabian joined the Good Ones Clothing in Fort
STAR FINANCIAL BANK
Health Network, will become president of the Indiana Phamacists Alliance Jan. 1. Hyduk, who is serving as president-elect this year, is the network’s director of clinical pharmacy services and the pharmacy residency program.
Shurley
THE GOOD ONES CLOTHING
architect with the state of Indiana. He joined the firm in 2009.
Amy Hyduk, a pharmacist at Lutheran
Felger
a plan consultant at Baden Retirement Plan Services.
Andrew Mitchell of MKM Architecture + Design in Fort Wayne became a licensed
INDIANA PHARMACISTS ALLIANCE
Clifford
MAHARA WEALTH PARTNERS
BRIDGE OF GRACE Zis Milentis was appointed executive director of Bridge of Grace Compassionate Ministries Center in Fort Wayne. He previ-
ously owned and operated a management consulting firm for nonprofits and is past president of the board of the Planned Giving
Rudy Mahara II, a financial adviser at Mahara Wealth Partners in Fort Wayne,
earned the certified financial planner designation from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.
banking. She will assist high-net-worth clients will all of their financial needs.
LABOV Tonda Call joined LaBov Marketing Communications and Training as
controller. She has 16 years of experience in the fields of private accounting, public accounting, financial planning and analysis in government contracting.
HUNTINGTON UNIVERSITY Greg Smitley, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana, and Cindy Brady, students services coordinator at the Wawasee Community School Corp., were appointed to Huntington University’s President’s Advisory Council
ENERGY-SAVING PROGRAMS FOR BUSINESSES AND SCHOOLS Saving energy is not just good business, it’s good for the community and makes a positive impact on your customers. Chances are you’ve already discovered the benefits of making changes to your lighting. Now you can learn even more ways to become energy efficient at ElectricIdeas.com from Indiana Michigan Power. You’ll find information about incentives, rebates, audits, and custom programs for energy efficient building improvements. Find the right energy-saving programs for your facility.
Visit ElectricIdeas.com today!
PAGE 16
fwbusiness.com
GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n
November 22-28, 2013
n
Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly Top List
November 22-28, 2013
n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly
n
fwbusiness.com
PAGE 17
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PAGE 18
fwbusiness.com
GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n
November 22-28, 2013
n November 22-28, 2013
NEW BUSINESSES Oswaldo Aguirre LLC 3105 Abbott St. Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Oswaldo Aguirre Indiana Rugby Referees’ Society Inc. 2212 Autumn Run Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Jeff Newport Shade Tree Mechanic LLC 12732 Hand Road Fort Wayne, IN 46818 William Eviston Laura I. Cabrera LLC 3112 Lafayette St. Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Laura I. Cabrera
n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly
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.
Triple D Acres LLC 229 W. Berry St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Benjamin S. Williams
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.
Wabash Hanger LLC 229 W. Berry St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Benjamin S. Williams
Patents include the following: Patent number, local inventor and assignee, brief description, filed date and approved date. Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Igneyous Studio LLC 431 Dunnwood Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Dennis A. Igney
Listings may vary due to information availability and space constraints.
App Snapper Inc. 3315 Troutwood Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46818 Kayle Davis
Key Venture LLC 200 E. Main St., Suite 1000 Fort Wayne, IN 46802 A. Dale Bloom All Star Photo Booth’s Inc. 422 Union Station Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814 Michael Hunsche Clark Tech LLC 15308 Winchester Road Fort Wayne, IN 46819 Brent Clark TJ3 Trucking Inc. 3484 Stellhorn Road Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Jack Rochyby Dog Creek Farm LLC 229 W. Berry St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Benjamin S. Williams King of the Hill LLC 1816 Lawndale Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Richard E. Dunno Jr. 2nd Chance Electronics & More LLC 942 Burgess St. Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Nadeen Pettit
Juan Carlos Recinos Martinez Remodeling LLC 2525 Maple Place Fort Wayne, IN 46807 Juan Martinez Octobers LLC 819 S. Calhoun St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Sean Wang Scott Robinson Insurance Agency Inc. 4705 Illinois Road, Suite 100 Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Scott A. Robinson Big Lake Holdings LLC 1708 Florida Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46805 William Brigham Jr. Fort Wayne Municipal Building Corp. 200 E. Berry St., Suite 470 Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Patricia A. Roller Great Heights LLC 4109 Lahmeyer Road Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Megan Painter
American Check Cashing of Indiana Inc. 11116 Lavista Place Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Steven A. Scherf Peirce Consulting LLC 4428 Wyndemere Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46835 John J. Peirce Sar Enterprises Inc. 6820 Curwood Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Syed Arman ALK & RJK LLC 6536 Felger Road Fort Wayne, IN 46818 Anista L. Kozel HD Marketing & Design LLC 3405 Sun Valley Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Heather Dahman 5 Loaves LLC 518 Glenmoor Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Kirk Falconer RJ Investment Holdings LLC 9134 Lima Road Fort Wayne, IN 46818 Jay A. Leonard
BizLeads
Niccum Tech Inc. 5616 Mason Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46809 Lonnie R. Niccum Adler J Salonspa Inc. 301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 200 Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Angela G. Garcia Fort Wayne Halal Grocery LLC 5335 Harmony Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Tin H. Latt SMS Food Market Inc. 3535 Harris Road Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Saleh Mutiek Creative Molding and Finishing LLC 2715 Cliffwood Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Randall R. Geist MGR International LLC 11033 Lone Eagle Court Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Stephen J. Fiacable Catch on Fire Ministry Inc. 3205 Fruehauf Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Sandra Nowlin Rel Buildings LLC 5320 Distribution Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46825 David B. Mock Worx Companies LLC 3720 Oakhurst Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Gary Morrical Henry Construction Inc. 5644 Winchester Road Fort Wayne, IN 46819 Thomas M. Purkiser Quality Assurance Transportation LLC 2723 Bowser Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Parnell Creech DWM Enterprises LLC 1630 Holliston Trail Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Douglas W. McKinney Sycamore Hills Golf Club LLC 5642 Coventry Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Richard S. Rifkin John & Holly Lemler LLC 1218 Crooked Creek Parkway Fort Wayne, IN 46845 John E. Lemler YGN Group International LLC 3923 Nadina Cove Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Nyein C. Winn
n
Integrated Operational Management LLC 9609 White Hill Court Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Toni Blaettner
PAGES 19-21 fwbusiness.com Fitgap Business IT Consulting LLC 5132 Stonehedge Blvd., Apt. 12 Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Jagadish Bodavula
Joel Harman, D.C. LLC 301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 200 Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Robert L. Nicholson
Fort Wayne Rentals LLC 6802 Nighthawk Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Mark Mckibben
JW Assets LLC 1218 Crooked Creek Parkway Fort Wayne, IN 46845 John E. Lemler
Seven Bullets Productions LLC 130 W. Main St., Suite 25H Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Robert Riley
Fawn Creek Estates Community Association Inc. 215 E. Berry St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 William D. Swift
American Resale Inc. 10920 Auburn Road Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Jason Swain
JMC Services LLC 5034 Goldfinch Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46818 John Current Citadel LLC 716 W. Dupont Road Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Russell Gerber Certiflyyed Worldwide LLC 4124 Hessen Cassel Road Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Kendrick Royal Grade A Printing LLC 3615 N. Clinton St. Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Clyde Thatcher Live Healthy Hoosiers Inc. 301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 200 Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Tyler J. Winkleman Upstate Trucking LLC 3200 Irvington Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Martin J. Henry Mighty Moving Boxes LLC 8421 Tewksbury Court Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Bruce G. Smith Jose Armando Monterroso LLC 1215 Fayette Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Jose A. Monterroso Coliseum Quick Mart Inc. 3116 W. Coliseum Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Kuldeep Singh I.M.B.R.I.T. LLC 1524 Sycamore Hills Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814 Karima D. Davis
Ricardo Garcia Sanchez LLC 3920 Warsaw St. Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Ricardo G. Sanchez Cardinal Tattoo Corp. 1509 Spy Run Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Nick Fabini
K&K Summit Homes LLC 6142 St. Joe Center Road, #220 Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Keith Hoskins
Group 24 Investments LLC 12239 C.R. 38 Goshen, IN 46528 Mark A. Yoder
Redrok Corporation 1010 W. Coliseum Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Santino Zurzolo
Royer’s General Welding & Repair LLC 26354 C.R. 38 Goshen, IN 46526 Thomas Royer
New Age Technique LLC 306 1/2 Cowen St. Garrett, IN 46738 Dawn Folsom The Bulldogs LLC 818 S. Randolph St. Garrett, IN 46738 Robert J. Zmyslony Twin Branch Partners LLC 19824 Peach Ridge Road Goshen, IN 46526 Fred M. Ramser Latinos Pro Education Inc. 224 S. 27th St. Goshen, IN 46528 Manuel Cortez
Yahza LLC 3609 Felician St. Fort Wayne, IN 46803 Zuri M. Xe
Majestic Quality Construction LLC 18096 C.R. 126 Goshen, IN 46528 Ben Ayres
Raul Bravo Paz LLC 2737 W. Washington Center Road Fort Wayne, IN 46818 Raul B. Paz
Raul Flores Hernandez LLC 410 E. Madison St., Apt. D Goshen, IN 46526 Raul F. Hernandez
New Technical Support Inc. 11206 Chestnut Ridge Court Fort Wayne, IN 46814 Daljeet Goraya
Praxis Firearms Inc. 316 S. Fifth St. Goshen, IN 46528 Ryan Stoy
Newman & Newman LLC 4103 Cordell Cove Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Starr Newman Iris Investigations Inc. 4312 Stell Horn Road Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Sherry Avery T&S Concrete-Excavating LLC 5861 N. 300 West Fremont, IN 46737 Thaddeus Mendenhall GMG Travel LLC 35 Lane 560B Lake James Fremont, IN 46737 Lucinda Atkinson Bostic Virtual Solutions LLC 4512 Tamarack Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Shameron Bostic Agave Blu Inc. 2931 Water Wheel Run Fort Wayne, IN 46818 Juan C. Leon
PAGE 19
Prime Real Estate Investments LLC 18207 Montgomry Lane Goshen, IN 46528 Sharon Chupp L-Consulting LLC 24579 Copper Ridge Goshen, IN 46526 Luke Puckett Blackwood Floors & Beyond LLC 628 Pringle Drive, Apt. B4 Goshen, IN 46528 Jose M. Castillo Kidder Digital LLC 26725 C.R. 32 Goshen, IN 46526 Troy L. Kidder Silverio Ramirez Juarez Inc. 1111 Beaven Lane Goshen, IN 46528 Silverio R. Juarez Kountry Kraft Wood Products LLC 21911 C.R. 142 Goshen, IN 46526 Nathanael M. Martin
Inflammable Inc. 5423 Keystone Drive Goshen, IN 46528 Joshua Hall Jim’s Towing & Recovery Inc. 1407 N. Chicago Ave. Goshen, IN 46528 James A. Steele Los Primos Restaurant LLC 122 E. Clinton St. Goshen, IN 46528 Martin Lopez Henry Street Realty LLC 15715 Bayview Blvd. Grabill, IN 46741 Brenda Wieland
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS FORT WAYNE ABOITE TOWNSHIP Heller & Sons Inc. 7933 Shady Lake Court $198,000
ALLEN COUNTY CEDAR CREEK TOWNSHIP Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 5509 Deer Hollow Road $242,514
EEL RIVER TOWNSHIP J&K Contractors 4414 Fairweather Drive $230,000
MAUMEE TOWNSHIP Bremer Homes LLC 8926 N. S.R. 101 $353,000
MILAN TOWNSHIP Smothers 17004 Hamptons Parkway $145,000
PERRY TOWNSHIP Arbor Home Building Corp. 16246 Aquila Court $325,000 Quality Crafted Homes Inc. 18607 Tonkel Road $370,000
PAGE 20
GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n
fwbusiness.com
KAM Construction Inc. 12815 Chaplin Court $170,000 Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 11150 Parkers Bay Drive $264,900 Delagrange Builders Inc. 1617 Autumn Run $273,000 J&K Contractors 12454 Volterra Cove $250,000 Quality Crafted Homes Inc. 18431 Tonkel Road $335,530 Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 15327 Towne Park Run $148,933 Granite Ridge Builders Inc. 16121 Ballantyne Trail $239,664
46743 12212 Spencerville Road From Michael L. and Lora L. Theveny to Thomas Blake $45,000 17423 State Road 37 From Crux Capital Group LLC to Brian L. Blackburn $109,900
46745 Marion Center Road From John A. Minick to Cesar Adan and Noelia B. Velasquez $40,000
Windsor Inc. 7331 Foxfield Drive $182,100 Hawthorn Valley Enterprises Inc. 9505 Chapmans Blvd. $102,344
REAL-ESTATE TRANSACTIONS 46723 14822 McDuffee Road From Fannie Mae to Hugh and Susan Reusser $27,000 18722 Madden Road From Joseph T. Shannon to Christopher K. and Julie A. Blauvelt $130,000
46741 12335 Witmer Road From the Pelz family trust to Saddle Creek Estates Development LLC $545,000 13421 Schwartz Road From Timothy J. and Denise E. Blad to Jesse D. Underwood $255,000 13704 Maple Drive From Vicki L. Brown and Robin Glenn to Rick Widmann $55,000 12741 Schwartz Road From Jay L. and Debra L. Yoder to Andrew M. and Randi S. Opliger $102,000
3067 Shawnee Trail From the Allen County sheriff to Brick Properties LLC $106,000
15821 Grand Willow Blvd. From Martha K. Redding to Tommy S. and Phyllis A. Loy $45,000
1221 Bell Ave. From HUD to Jordan A. and Melissa E. Palmer $55,000
1121 Thornwillow Court From Angela R. Shingleston to Christine A. Stephen $126,500
46765 6817 Monroeville Road From the William/Alvina Minnich living trust to Ervin J. Hoffman and Mary E. Ruthl $510,000 9114 Hoagland Road From Steven F. and Monica S. Cagnet to Angela Hardesty $79,990
46748 ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP
2424 Chapman Road From Galen W. Zern to Jakkob Herbst and Michael A. Barile $37,000
15460 Towne Park Run From New Development Corp. to Granite Ridge Builders Inc. $27,900 15453 Towne Park Run From New Development Corp. to Granite Ridge Builders Inc. $27,900 15040 Towne Park Run From Granite Ridge Builders Inc. to Aaron J. and Amanda L. Eisberg $146,900 15807 Lima Road From Donald R. Newman and James M. Demas to Shane L. Hart $70,000 15910 Timberwillow Drive From Ryan C. Jernigan to Dana R. Hardesty $131,900 1007 Crimson Willow Drive From Marc Wiegmann to Brandon M. Way $125,500 15722 Tawney Eagle Cove From Larry R. and Sandra L. Myers to Ginger Lawrence $375,000 15711 Winterberry Court From Colonial Development Inc. to Windsor Inc. $15,000 Greenwell Road From Robert E. and Janet A. Mosshammer to Matthew J. Hendershot $75,530
10007 Black St. From Old Town Management to Alana Jacquay $137,600 15757 Viberg Road From Curtis D. and Linda Blake to Jessica L. Ottenweller-Butcher and Dustin S. Butcher $60,000 9924 Washington St. From Derek T. and Cindy A. Wedler to Kirt Keesler and Jaqueline A. Keesler $157,000 14735 Trappers Cove From Scott M. and Atsuko Detter to Shawn and Jennifer Waldron $180,000 14621 Pioneer Creek Court From Pioneer Village Inc. to Chanthala C. and Erika Phommachanh $197,000 9712 Manning St. From Bruce M. Willibey to IAB Financial Bank $42,000
46773 13834 State Road 101 From Kevin E. Miller to Justin A. Myers $96,500 212 W. North St. From Jean C. and James Patterson to Burton E. Patterson $52,000 302 Monroe St. From CitiMortgage Inc. to HUD $61,210 17024 Boerger Road From Marie A. Wietfeldt to Lucas R. Lepper $69,000 401 Monroe St. From East Allen County Schools to Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Inc. $189,000
46774 930 Seneca St. From Anna M. Childress to Gary M. and Patty J. Childress $22,000
6428 Brush College Road From Marian Delagrange to Lake Farms Properties LLC $340,000 4002 Shoreline Blvd. From D. L. & J. Inc. to Barry T. Moore $24,000 10618 E. Paulding Road From William J. and Rochelle R. Bloomfield to Randy and Molly Jacquay $155,000 2518 Darwood Grove From Larry E. and Brenda J. Rust to Ryan S. Bridge $120,900 1625 Knox Drive From Keith Presson to Ricky G. Presson $83,000 3916 Green Road From Robert and Karen Mattingly to Cody W. and Andrea N. Brooks $155,000 9103 Woodridge Drive From Kevin L. and Jane E. Zurbrugg to Marcus A. Tubbs $140,000 3991 Pebble Way From Fannie Mae to Michelle E. Brinkman $85,000 1709 N. Tyland Blvd. From Clyde R. Treadway to Jennifer K. Rambo $80,000 1518 Tartan Court From the estate of Alice J. Sheak to Robert E. Hall $87,000 1211 Highland Terrace Drive From Barbara A. Isenbarger to Robert L. and Cynthia S. Creek $69,000 9512 Pinepark Pass From Nicholas P. and Kristina M. Barnett to Jeremy J. and Rebekah M. Staub $115,000 457 Eben St. From Chad G. Rouns to Sean W. Braden $80,000 9822 Greenmoor Drive From William D. and Donna L. Kortenber to Brent A. McKee and Allysse M. Schnelker $100,150
46777 17307 Lutz Road From Karla S. Smith to Shawn D. and Trisha L. Kendregan $10,000
46783 12947 Ernst Road From Dennis L. Fick to Equity Trust Co. $235,000 11202 Mallory Court From Prairie Meadows Developers LLC to Heller & Sons $43,148 11002 Constantia Cove From William F. Galilei to Andrew G. and Mindy Giles $179,000 11336 Trillium Drive From Prairie Meadows Developers LLC to Arbor Home Building Corp. $50,830
46797 22025 Sunview Drive From Virgil R. Hoeppner to Seth A. Watts $90,000 22919 Park Lane From Donald E. McNamara to Brian D. Art $52,000 4316 Ort Drive From JPMorgan Chase Bank to Sonja L. Moehring $95,000 4780 Legacy Cove From Granite Ridge Builders Inc. to Jonathan R. Hostetter $141,400
2145 Taylor St. From Syd D. Mathias to James E. Tiggs $95,000 203 E. Berry St. #1101 From AWB Holdings LLC to 1100 AWB LLC $490,000 435 Poplar St From the Allen County sheriff to JPMorgan Chase Bank NA $16,330 536 Madison St. From Provision Properties LLC to Oak Properties LLC $25,000 1223 W. Washington Blvd. From Peter D. Misner to Lester T. Hall $74,500
46803 6346 Prize Ave. From Walter J. and Kathleen S. Polston to Andrew Stein $36,500 6340 Prize Ave. From Walter J. and Kathleen S. Polston to Andrew Stein $36,500 6420 Prize Ave. From Walter J. and Kathleen S. Polston to Andrew Stein $36,500 6410 Prize Ave. From Walter J. and Kathleen S. Polston to Andrew Stein $36,500 6400 Prize Ave From Walter J. and Kathleen S. Polston to Andrew Stein $36,500
5618 New Haven Ave. From Nicholas A. Schumm to Christian W. and Julie A. Piepenbrink $62,500 1439 Lillie St. From Freddie Mac to Juan Amada $7,510 428 E. Creighton Ave. From Mendoza Bisalio to Elvira Rascon-Villegas $6,000
46804 9533 Creek Bed Place From Kevin Gray to Peter and Bethany Hosfield $139,000
BANKRUPTCIES ADAMS COUNTY Walter R. Zimmerman 5908 N. 300 East Decatur, IN 46733 Assets: $121,450 Liabilities: $162,802
ALLEN COUNTY Kimberly M. Bohde 6024-B Fairfield Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Assets: $11,296 Liabilities: $45,366
November 22-28, 2013 Patrick W. and Christy A. Lockwood 2220 Dunkelberg Road, Lot 722 Fort Wayne, IN 46819 Assets: $265,226 Liabilities: $71,587 Brenda K. Burkley 4208 Oakleaf Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $5,465 Liabilities: $20,275 Amber F. Colbart 1610 E. Hollis Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46816 Assets: $3,136 Liabilities: $16,294 James K. Heiges 6015 Cheswick Cove Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Assets: $110,680 Liabilities: $113,824 Annie N. Nelson 4011 Vail Court Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Assets: $1,497 Liabilities: $36,984 David R. Roberts P.O. Box 184 Grabill, IN 46741 Assets: $16,450 Liabilities: $27,939
Eve M. Jackson 3418 Senate Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46806 Assets: $1,003 Liabilities: $80,792
Jeffery J. and Brandi A. Roberts 1808 Millenium Crossing Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Assets: $467,633 Liabilities: $246,590
Amy L. Lambert 1310 Delta Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Assets: $5,673 Liabilities: $26,615
Christina Reina 2138 Brown St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Assets: $3,400 Liabilities: $40,427
James R. Householder and Aye T. Myint 9513 Golden Oak Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Assets: $7,725 Liabilities: $88,135
Violet J. Hawkins 4610 Heatherwind Drive, Apt. B Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $1,707 Liabilities: $6,925 DaJwan L. Ware 4913 Christofer Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Assets: $76,750 Liabilities: $126,085
20811 Dawkins Road From Genevievw M. and David H. Beverly to Carl W. and Sandra G. Frecker $127,000
1615 E. Wallace St. From Fifth Third Bank to DCX-Chol Enterprises Inc. $2,238,865
North Sampson Road From Robert E. and Geraldine M. Rodman to Brad M. Saalfrank $17,000
1922 Medford Drive From Todd W. Ertel to Courtney M. and Karen R. Ertel $63,000
Anthony J. and Jill A. Iannetti 10914 Tonkel Road Fort Wayne, IN 46845 Assets: $11,700 Liabilities: $80,033
4225 Ort Drive From James H. Mann to Benjamin A. Alvarez $130,000
2405 Lillie St. From Nino and Dayana M. Sergio to Jackqueline R. Martin-Fontenette $6,000
Marcia A. Lee 332 W. Packard Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46807 Assets: $18,600 Liabilities: $40,327
3325 Raymond St. From Edward Moore to Haitham Almediny $6,000
Tonia S. Smith 4839 Manistee Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Assets: $65,980 Liabilities: $83,087
Mark E. and Doris E. Brady 5330 Goshen Road, Lot 63 Fort Wayne, IN 46818 Assets: $6,650 Liabilities: $75,291
Alice M. Carlisle 10833 Lupine Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Assets: $150,523 Liabilities: $187,168
Clint E. Combs 2406 Waynewood Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46809 Assets: $1,840 Liabilities: $25,787
46798 16907 Indianapolis Road From Ralph F. and Mary J. Gutmann to Frank J. and Rebecca A. Merritt $200,000
46799 17628 Wayne St. From Freddie Mac to Thomas J. Botulinski II $22,500
46802 2222 Ontario St. From Katherine A. Speece to World Cup Realty LLC $18,250
303 E. Creighton Ave. From Midfirst Bank to HUD $69,806 3502 New Haven Ave. From Anna E. Winsemann to Scott B. Voelker $15,200
Jennifer A. Hearn 720 High St. Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Assets: $6,320 Liabilities: $80,378
Jeremy L. Wilhelm 2321 Eby Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Assets: $2,375 Liabilities: $148,356
November 22-28, 2013 Barton T. Teague 5902 Hinsdale Lane Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Assets: $1,000 Liabilities: $5,640 Kerry H. and Grace E. Hall 5722 Monarch Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Assets: $108,615 Liabilities: $261,900
DEKALB COUNTY William J. and Tamara S. Knapp 4107 C.R. 35 Auburn, IN 46706 Assets: $111,496 Liabilities: $111,977 David A. Hill 873 Griswold Court Auburn, IN 46706 Assets: $20,615 Liabilities: $25,371 Ronald L. Bennett Sr. and Tina M. Bennett 1007 Shawna Ave. Auburn, IN 46706 Assets: $29,483 Liabilities: $14,113 Ellen L. Rowe 1000 Ontario Lane Auburn, IN 46706 Assets: $795 Liabilities: $12,165
NOBLE COUNTY Justin L. Green 2973 N. Hitler St. Kimmell, IN 46760 Assets: $82,029 Liabilities: $88,682 Art R. and Rita J. Maurer 1801 S. Main St. Kendallville, IN 46755 Assets: $152,069 Liabilities: $164,561
WELLS COUNTY Catina K. Wright 915 Sherwood Drive Bluffton, IN 46714 Assets: $123,544 Liabilities: $115,872
WHITLEY COUNTY Linda R. Bowers 2990 S. 500 West Columbia City, IN 46725 Assets: $8,650 Liabilities: $53,533 Donald E. Wallen III and Courtney E. Wallen 3456 E. Sherman St. Columbia City, IN 46725 Assets: $146,600 Liabilities: $166,483 Paul M. and Rebecca S. Rennaker 224 Clingerman Ave. Churubusco, IN 46723 Assets: $31,900 Liabilities: $145,477
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TURKEY: Demand by consumers has grown — and so, too, have the birds
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requests for 24-26 pound turkeys. People seem to be more hungry for turkey. “Most of the commercial turkeys you buy in the grocery store have been injected with a sodium phosphate solution,” he said. “They inject these solutions to make a more moist turkey, but a lot of people don’t like that stuff in their turkey, so we offer the non-injected turkey.” Not many of the injected turkeys people buy for Thanksgiving are raised in Indiana. Those birds are hens and most of Indiana’s turkey industry is focused on producing the much larger toms for processing. Indiana farmers raised 16.5 million turkeys last year, up 3 percent from 16 million in 2011. Based on last year’s ranking of the 50 states for turkey production, “we’re sixth nationally and growing pretty rapidly,” said Paul Brennan, executive vice president of the Indiana State Poultry Association. “Indiana is a good state for a number of reasons,” he said. “This is the middle of the Grain Basket — corn and soy are readily available. “And Indiana’s government recognizes the economic impact of agriculture and provides balanced regulation, which ensures and protects the state and at the same time nurtures the industry … All this combines to provide a good atmosphere for growth of the production and of the rural economy.” Todd Applegate, a professor of animal sciences at Purdue University and a poultry specialist for its Cooperative Extension Service, said national demand for turkey has been fairly stable and increasing over the years, and the industry’s growth in Indiana is partly a result of the success its two main turkey processors have seen supplying the deli turkey market. Farbest Foods, for example, is building its second southwest Indiana plant in Vincennes. The 227,000-square-foot facility will employ about 300 and the company hopes to have it processing turkey by the end of the year. Processors such as Farbest contract with farmers to raise their turkeys, providing them with all the feed and other inputs the birds require. Applegate said most northeast Indiana farmers raising turkeys in this way contract with St. Henry, Ohio-based Cooper Farms, which produced 207 million pounds of turkey last year. Commercial toms typically take 19 to 20 weeks to reach 40 to 50 pounds on diets of corn and soy meal, he said. The female turkeys, by comparison, take 15 to 18 weeks to reach between 17 to 24 pounds. Raising natural turkeys can take longer and be more difficult, according to Lisa Eicher, co-owner of Eicher Family Farm and the Hive and Hearth organic honey and bakery business. “There is local demand for organic, pastureraised animals, but you have to kind of run in those organic circles; it’s not something the person looking for their turkey at Kroger is going to be willing to pay for,” she said.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Indiana farmers raised 16.5 million turkeys last year, which placed it sixth among the states for turkey production.
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“We’re up to our ears in it. Our practice is, we don’t feed antibiotics or hormones or that sort of thing; they get a feed ration of corn and beans and some minerals. We call them ‘pastured turkeys.’ Our birds are pastured; they are out in the sunshine. And it makes a huge difference. People who buy my turkeys one time keep coming back and they’re not inexpensive.” Jeff Hawkins Hawkins Family Farm
“It takes a long time to finish a turkey out when you specialize in heritage breeds. We were doing slow-growth turkeys, Bourbon Reds,” Eicher said. “To do that was not cost effective. We’d hatch out our own eggs and didn’t have a good success rate for the eggs being fertile, and keeping (foxes and) other things out of them was always difficult.” The natural turkey operation was never very large, she said, and “for the past few years, we’ve just been doing them for family.” Some area farms have had success raising natural turkeys on a larger scale. Hawkins Family Farm in North Manchester has found it works to raise a combination of heritage turkeys and
broad-breasted white turkeys. The farm supplies a number of area restaurants. “We’re up to our ears in it,” said owner Jeff Hawkins. “Our practice is, we don’t feed antibiotics or hormones or that sort of thing; they get a feed ration of corn and beans and some minerals. We call them ‘pastured turkeys.’ “Our birds are pastured; they are out in the sunshine. And it makes a huge difference. People who buy my turkeys one time keep coming back and they’re not inexpensive.” The broad-breasted white turkeys there sell for $3.89 per pound and the heritage turkeys sell for $6.89 per pound. The farm raises about 200 turkeys each year — a quantity Hawkins has found is optimal for their health the way they are raised. It sells between 100 and 200 turkeys annually, with any surplus sold to processors who always are happy to get them, he said. Between 30 and 40 of the turkeys typically go to customers who have purchased harvest shares, which also includes 20 meat chickens, half a hog, a beef split side and weekly self-harvest vegetables. Hawkins Family Farm generally is sold out of turkeys more than a week before Thanksgiving, with the exception of a handful it freezes in order to respond to frantic, last-minute e-mails from any regular customers who may have forgotten to buy one. “We’re certainly grateful for people who want really good food, and think that’s what we provide,” he said.
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November 22-28, 2013
RING: Downtown Improvement District
will offer free trolley rides to lure shoppers Continued from PAGE 1
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in 2012. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a very busy day. It was a very good day,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It seems like it gets bigger and better every year,â&#x20AC;? agreed Tracy Boyer, owner of Calicos & Collectibles in downtown Angola. This year, as it happens, all of Angolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s businesses also are holding their holiday open houses on Nov. 30, â&#x20AC;&#x153;so it really worked out nicely,â&#x20AC;? Boyer said. Thanksgiving weekend, the ofďŹ cial start of the holiday sales season, can be problematic for small businesses, Boyer reďŹ&#x201A;ected. In her 25 years of experience in retail, shoppers are more likely to ďŹ&#x201A;ock to the big-box stores for the bargains that small businesses canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even begin to match, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and then we get busier the closer it gets to Christmas.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the proďŹ t margins the big companies do. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have people lining up at the door before we open for bargains,â&#x20AC;? agreed Kristy Jo Beber, one of 20 artists who own and operate the Orchard Gallery at 6312-A Covington Road in Fort Wayne. The gallery was launched by a group of artists 30 years ago as a temporary store at Glenbrook Square Mall and now features the works of its owners as well as creations by 40 other artists, most of them from in and around northeast Indiana. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We support 60 artists who are all small businesses themselves,â&#x20AC;? Beber said. The Downtown Improvement District in Fort Wayne is offering free trolley rides in the downtown area on Nov. 30, another happy coincidence of timing with Small Business Saturday. Some 100 businesses â&#x20AC;&#x201D; about half already established and the rest sharing space in temporary, or â&#x20AC;&#x153;pop-upâ&#x20AC;? stores, will participate in the event. Olivia Fabian, owner of Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Fabz Swimwear, is one of the organizers of Holly Pop, which will have 22 vendors in a space at 127 W. Wayne St., more than twice as many as last year. That building is owned by Scott and Melissa Glaze, who are making the entire ďŹ rst ďŹ&#x201A;oor available to the temporary vendors this year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of the people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have retail space, some people already have physical stores but are maybe looking at opening another location or moving downtown,â&#x20AC;? Fabian said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It gives them a way to test the waters without any big risk.â&#x20AC;? One of those is Lori Berndt, co-owner of the Olive Twist, which has permanent stores in Auburn and in Covington Plaza and will be one of the vendors at Holly Pop this year.
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of the people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have retail space, some people already have physical stores but are maybe looking at opening another location or moving downtown. It gives them a way to test the waters without any big risk.â&#x20AC;? Olivia Fabian Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Fabz Swimwear
She declined an invitation from the Glazes to participate last year, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but then I went just to check it out and I could not believe the number of people down there.â&#x20AC;? While Berndt is not ready to commit to opening a downtown Fort Wayne store just yet, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the downtown is really developing. There are still some things that need to happen, but I am keeping my eye on it closely,â&#x20AC;? she said. The Foxy Ladies Art Posse will offer a number of vendors at Artlink, in the Auer Center for Arts & Culture at 300 E. Main St.; and a group of artisans will participate in a third pop-up at Columbia Street West that also will offer a wine tasting for those over 21. The Wells Street merchants group will have its own trolley to connect its business district to downtown, and Citlink will offer free fares on its buses citywide. Most of the pop-ups will operate one day only, on Nov. 30, but Holly Pop will be open the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when downtown Fort Wayne has all its ofďŹ cial holiday lightings, and the Friday and Saturday afterward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Last year, on Wednesday, we had a line out the door that was overwhelming â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in a great way,â&#x20AC;? Fabian said. A lot of people dropped in Wednesday to browse, and then came back on Friday or Saturday to buy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The trolley was very good for us because the drop off was right in front of our door,â&#x20AC;? she added. Events like Holly Trolley create awareness of what the downtown has to offer, said DID President Bill Brown. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It gives people a chance to come downtown for a fun event.â&#x20AC;? With all the new housing available or promised for downtown Fort Wayne, businesses are warming to the idea of operating there. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no longer a chicken-and-egg thing,â&#x20AC;? Brown said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting to the point now where itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more of a ying-yang relationship. One supports the other.â&#x20AC;? For more information on Holly Trolley, visit HolidayFestDowntown.com.
November 22-28, 2013
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