CHANGES
The calendar year 2022 saw change in the world and in Lenawee County. Both the long-time serving Executive Director, Jim Van Doren, and the longtime serving Chair of the Board, Doug Kapnick retired. The current Board of Directors hired Patrick Farver as the Lenawee Now Executive Director. Mindy Bradish-Orta from Consumers Energy was elected Chair of the Board. The mission of Lenawee Now will remain the same under the new leadership. Lenawee Now will continue working hard to attract new business, assist in the growth of established business and support entrepreneurial endeavors in Lenawee County. Lenawee Now will continue to collaborate with state and regional partners. Lenawee Now will continue to connect employees with employers through career events, helping students learn more about local career opportunities and provide resources for employers to connect with educators and other workforce organizations.
As I look back at my twelve years at Lenawee Now, I am proud of the great work the staff and Board of Directors have done.
Thanks, it was fun.
Douglas Kapnick Chair of the Board of Directors, Retired Douglas Kapnick Chairman of the BoardDONORS
Chairman’s Club
President’s Club
Pacesetters
Adrian Insurance
Adrian Mechanical Services
Adrian Steel
Ann Arbor Spark
Charter Township of Adrian Charter Township of Madison City of Morenci
Clift Buick GMC
Dailey Engineering, Inc.
Dempsey & Dempsey, P.C.
Donna Baker & Associates
Douglas Kapnick
Frank and Shirley S. Dick Endowment Fund
Greater Ann Arbor Region (GAAR)
Greg Bell Automotive
Gurdjian Insurance Group, Inc.
HB Steele
ITC Holdings
Krieghoff Lenawee Company
Lenawee Christian Ministries
Meredith A. Francis, CPA*
Midwest Energy and Communications
Rima Manufacturing Company
Rudolph/Libbe Companies
Sage Foundation
Sayre Group
Sedco, Inc. (division of Primore)
Spectrum Printers
TLC Community Credit Union
Village of Clinton
*In kind donation
Successes
Daejin Advance Materials, USA
Daejin Advanced Materials USA, Inc., a subsidiary of South Korean firm Daejin Advanced Materials, has renovated an existing facility in Adrian where it will further develop and produce materials that support EV battery cells. The $12.8 million project is expected to create 111 jobs.
Midwest Energy and Communications
MEC’s new 38,000 square foot service center in Raisin Charter Township replaces their existing southeast service center to help them further expand internet service to more homes, businesses, and institutions across southern Michigan.
Ross Design & Engineering
Ross Design in Woodstock Township has an extensive history in the manufacture of material handling components, and currently supplies the global industry with top-of-the-line Casters and Material handling Forks. This project consists of adding an additional 14,250 sq ft of manufacturing space.
Square One Competition
The Square One Pitch Competition hosted 6 contestants, giving them 5 minutes to pitch their ideas. The Idea Genius award winner was De’Angelo Boone, creator of the Pantry App, which improves access to food pantries. Ryan Waggoner received the Audience Choice award for Salsa Bliss, which provides smallbatched, locally produced salsa.
$14M | 6 Projects Utility $15M | 1 Project Services
$404k | 5 Projects
$50k | 2 Projects
Year in Social
Year in Social
475,278 Total Impressions
414.5K Total Impressions
1,035 Posts Published
904 Posts Published
4,303 Total Followers
23,249 Total Engagements
191 New Followers
18.8K
Total Engagements
Tink & The Frog
Michelle Beechler never imagined she would one day be running her own yarn shop. She simply loved knitting and was looking for a career change. She bought and then rebranded Ann’s By Design in downtown Adrian. Tink & The Frog offers a full range of knit and crochet supplies, classes and events while promoting the benefits and enjoyment of acrafting.
B Hive Childcare
The B Hive, an Adrian childcare center that opened during the pandemic, is expanding in a new location in the City of Adrian. The new building will allow up to 100 children to be enrolled. The project was primarily funded through the County Revolving Loan Fund.
Awards
Workforce & Talent recognition from MidAmerica Economic Development Council
Recognition was presented to Lenawee Now in the Workforce & Talent category, for our Align Talent Consortium’s Industry Collaboratives.
Align
Marshall Plan Grant
We saw our biggest push to develop curriculum for middle and high school students and adults under the Marshall Plan Grant in 2022. Through this grant, we were able to use experts and higher education partners to develop and test curriculum to be rolled out in middle and high school, and also created adult certification. The areas of focus for this work was in: Accounting, Cybersecurity, Digital Marketing, Early Childhood Education, Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, IT/Data Management, Project Management and Future Teachers.
Elements of Collaboration
Early in 2022, Align held an Elements of Collaboration event. This event was to showcase the work of our Chemical Manufacturer’s Collaboration. Held at the Adrian Armory, the event hosted more than 100 community members to learn about outcomes of this collaborative and the benefits of collaborations, in general. Following this event, we received requests from employers in different industries who wanted to be part of a collaborative.
Lenawee
LMS Launch
In the Fall of 2022, Align Lenawee Talent Consortium launched its Learning Management System (LMS). The asynchronous and self-paced training system has more than 150 courses for professional skills, leadership and technical skills. Another 150 courses are offerings from our affiliates. Employers pay a low monthly fee for their employees to take the various training. Additionally, we offer customized course development so organizations can utilize the LMS for their onboarding and other proprietary training as well.
Career Connections
In March, 2022, Align held its first ever Career Connections job fair event for high school and college students. The event was a great success, providing the opportunity to meet with employers for more than 125 students. There were 25 employers in attendance and the event received high scores from both employers and job seekers in postevent evaluations. The event was held on Adrian College’s campus and offered students campus tours and the ability to sit in on certain courses as well.
Staff
James E. Van Doren
Executive Director – Retired
Tim Robinson Director of Operations
Randy Yagiela Director of Development
Dottie Grzebik
Administrative Assistant
Sky Ely Marketing Specialist
Gary Clemetson
Director of Entrepreneurial Services
Erica Raymond
Accounting Manager
Sheila Blair Align Talent System Manager
Board of Directors
Douglas Kapnick Chairperson
Kapnick Insurance Group
Jason Hess Vice Chair
Krieghoff Lenawee Company
Kathryn M. Mohr
Secretary/Treasurer
Mohr Budds Law, PLLC
Patricia J. Clark
Midwest Energy and Communications (MEC)
Pat Farver
BMC Global
Mark Haag
Lenawee Intermediate School District
Ken Prior Ervin Industries, Inc.
Jim Williams
Premier Bank
Julie Yaroch, D.O.
ProMedica
Mindy Bradish-Orta
Consumer Energy
Dr. James Colman
Lenawee Christian Ministries
Rick Gurdijan
Gurdijan Insurance Group, Inc.
Jim Kapnick
Kapnick Insurance Group
Jim Sayre Convergent L3C
Workforce Development
Joe Williams
Lenawee Community Foundation