Business Connection April 2014

A publication of

ApRil 2014

Marathon accomplishment Annual Chamber of Commerce awards recognize community achievements

ApRil 2014 The Business Connection 1

2 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

Contents

Also inside Chamber Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Around the Watercooler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 On the Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Business Leads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Mark McNulty column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Morton Marcus column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Elwood Staffing page 6

Business Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Comments should be sent to Doug Showalter, The Republic, 333 Second St., Columbus, IN 47201 or call 812-379-5625 or dshowalter@therepublic.com. Advertising information: Call 812379-5652. Š2014 by Home News Enterprises. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of stories, photographs and advertisements without permission is prohibited. Stock images provided by Š Thinkstock.

On the cover

Mill Race Marathon.

Photo by Josh Marshall. Story page 4.

Don and Dody Harvey page 8

ApRil 2014 The Business Connection 3

photo by Andrew Laker

Project of the Year

Mill Race Marathon exceeded all expectations

By Barney Quick

t began with a simple conversation. From the musings of two fitness-minded colleagues on how a marathon would go over in Columbus came last September’s inaugural Mill Race Marathon, an event so well-executed and noteworthy as to garner the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Community Project of the Year award for 2013.

Dave Venable, director of off-highway global product management at Cummins, and Laura Chasse, the company’s general manager for North American bus business, had talked fitness for some time. Venable is a runner, while Chasse says she’d “rather swing kettle bells.” Still, they’d both noticed that Columbus was particularly fitness-minded for a city of its size and type.

In 2011, they speculated on the viability of putting on a marathon.

“We took the idea to Dave Crompton,” another Cummins employee who

I

4 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

signed on as the project’s executive sponsor. “He loved it right off the bat and wanted to do it the very next year,” says Chasse. “We gasped and said we’d really like an additional year to plan.”

The next person this nucleus of a committee approached was Randy Stafford, another Cummins colleague and Columbus Running Club president. He’d participated in the Mill Race Race, formerly known as the Mayor’s Run, for 16 years and had lots of connections in the Parks and Recreation Department. As the marathon idea moved forward, it was merged with the already-established race.

Yet another Cummins associate, Andy Pajakowski, was enlisted to find other sponsors besides Cummins. MainSource Bank and Columbus Regional Health came on board as the other major sponsors, and several other businesses joined their ranks.

As the group began to specify committee lead assignments, “we started to see the scope of what we were doing,” Venable says. “We learned a lot that first year about our responsibilities.”

The group hired a professional race coordinator, Ken Long and Associates of Indianapolis. “Ken would tell us what we needed to do, and then we’d get the resources to do it,” says Venable. Long made them aware of such considerations as where volunteers would be needed, lane blocking, obtaining permits, renting structures for the start and finish lines and creating a website.

A poster contest was instituted in area schools. The grade school winner’s prize was a reproduction of the winning poster on T-shirts for the Kids Fun Run, which took place on Friday night of marathon weekend. The winning high school entry became the marathon’s commemorative poster.

When the weekend of Sept. 28 arrived, so did visitors from at least 35 states and eight countries. The number of actual runners was also impressive.

“We were going to be happy if we had 2,500 people,” says Chasse. “We had well over 4,000.”

“I ran some statistics on first-year events and found out that this was the second-largest marathon and half-marathon in the state in its inaugural year,” says Venable. “Out of the box, we’ve already established ourselves as a large state event.”

The atmosphere throughout downtown that weekend was electric.

Marathon-related attractions included a zip line, bungee jump and live music. Approximately 900 young people took part in the Kids Fun Run in multiple heats.

Truly

LocaL Banking

“This was the second-largest marathon and half-marathon in the state in its inaugural year. Out of the box, we’ve already established ourselves as a large state event.”

— Dave Venable

Any runner who finished the half or full marathon was eligible to enter a drawing for a Ram pickup (powered, of course, by a Cummins engine). “It provided yet another incentive to be fit,” says Chasse. “There were a lot of people who clearly weren’t runners, but they wanted a truck.”

A subsequent survey yielded over 95 percent positive feedback and an intent to return. “We got particularly high marks for community friendliness,” says Chasse.

As a result, the Mill Race Marathon is now an annual event. The 2014 running will take place Sept. 27.

Venable and Chasse stress that one thing they know for sure based on the first year’s experience is that lots of volunteers will be needed. “We need to make sure the message continues to go out,” says Venable.

He says that one factor that probably contributed to the first year’s success was the fact that modern Columbus stands out among mid-sized Indiana cities as a fitness-minded place. “You see pockets of fanatics for various sports here,” he notes, “and the trails throughout the community are always filled with runners. I actually live in Greenwood, and I can tell you that Columbus has more trails.”

Venable says that being designated the Project of the Year at the chamber’s annual meeting meant a lot to the organizing committee’s members. “It was one of those days when you were extremely humbled.”

Chasse says that a major source of satisfaction was seeing an already robust community become even more so. “It all started with the question, how do we move the needle on fitness in Columbus?”

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ApRil 2014 The Business Connection 5

Company of the Year

Elwood Staffing T holds fast to its roots in community

photo by Andrew Laker

By Barney Quick

David Elwood, sitting, is flanked by his sons, from left, Mark, John and Mike Elwood.

6 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

here are a few routes to remarkable rates of growth for a business. One of the surest is a keen eye for new applications for its expertise, and that is how Elwood Staffing went from being a small consulting service to a nationwide concern with 180 branch offices.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce took notice and bestowed its 2013 Company of the Year award on the organization.

The core of the management team comes from the Elwood family. David Elwood and his sons, Mark and John, are chairman, CEO and president respectively, while son Mike is president of Elwood Professional, the division that places people in engineering, IT and management positions.

The week of the Chamber awards luncheon, various Elwoods had visited such far-flung states as Texas, Tennessee and Utah. While Columbus is corporate headquarters, the firm has a western hub in Salt Lake City.

“Most of our offices would have a salesperson, a manager and some recruiters,” says John. In January, the company gathered regional and area managers in Indianapolis “as a kickoff meeting to reinforce some of our company goals.”

Elwood Staffing looks a lot different from the one-customer shop that operated in Sandcrest Plaza and then from a suite in Everroad Park Plaza in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “We’re kind of the accidental staffing company,” says Mike. “It evolved out of the consulting boutique.”

Newcastle native David majored in psychology at Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Ill., and then earned a master’s degree and a doctorate from Southern Illinois University. He came to Columbus and was staff psychologist at Bartholomew County Mental Health and Guidance Center, the forerunner to Quinco Behavioral Health Systems and Centerstone, Center for Behavioral Health. About half his time in that position was spent in research.

Mark was the first son to join him in a business venture. “I graduated from IU in 1987,” he says. “I didn’t have a job lined up. Dad said, ‘Why don’t you come back to Columbus and work with me?‘ He had some expertise in aptitude testing, personality profiles and skills assessment. Our idea was to tell employers we could help them hire better people. From 1987 to 1993, we

worked very hard trying to sell those services, without much success.”

One customer saw them through those lean years: Martinsville-based Harman-Motive Inc. “We tested for them to screen candidates,” says John. “After a while, they wanted us to do more, such as drug testing and interviewing. Eventually, they wanted us to recruit candidates.”

They realized they had a demonstrable record of providing an array of services. “We said, ‘We’re doing the recruiting, interviewing, testing and hiring. We know how to do payroll. Why don’t we become a staffing company? The business grew so fast, we didn’t do much consulting after 1996.”

Mike is older than Mark, but he was the second son to join the firm. He’d been in corporate finance at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York and had worked for Hewlett-Packard in Texas. He returned to Columbus in 2004.

“While Mike lived away, I’d call him occasionally for some practical advice on things like spreadsheets,” says David. “He was also valuable for moral support.”

John graduated from IU in 1993 and worked in sales for Burlington Industries until 1996. He recalls that “Mark said, ‘I think we’re grabbing hold of some momentum. We could use some additional sales effort.’”

Some major customers during the period when the growth began included RockTenn, the Arvinyl division of Arvin Industries, Ventra Corp. and Nice Pak Products. The company finally made a profit in 1996 and had $1 million in revenue that year. From 1997 through 1999, the volume of

“We grew up here, and the chamber was instrumental in our growth.

It encouraged us to deepen our involvement in the city.”

— Mark Elwood

business doubled each year. In 2007, it had $160 million in revenue.

In 2006 the company expanded beyond Indiana. “We had a chance to buy a competitor with locations in Alabama and Tennessee,” says Mark. At this point, about half of its revenue comes from acquisitions and half from organic growth.

Still, it has made sense to keep headquarters in Columbus. “We grew up here,” says Mark, “and the chamber was instrumental in our growth.

It encouraged us to deepen our involvement in the city.” The various Elwoods have done just that, serving on several boards, including those of the Columbus Area Arts Council, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Heritage Fund.

The sense of being a citizen of a community permeates the culture at the company’s branch offices. “We’re an integral part of the communities we operate in,” says Mike. “People find work through us and raise families and become part of the fabric of life where they live. There’s a social dividend to being in this business, an intrinsic value to bringing people together to meet each other’s needs.”

John says that Elwood Staffing offers a “huge multiplier effect for job seekers. We help them market themselves. It makes the process much more efficient than doing it on their own.”

David says that the company has a goal to reach $1 billion in sales by the end of 2014. “Mind you, though, our mentality is not to reach that and relax,” he adds. There are still many people around the country to bring together.

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3989 S. 525 E. Columbus, IN 47203 812-377-5849 ApRil 2014 The Business Connection 7

Community Service Award

Harveys are highly visible presence in city volunteer ranks

By Doug Showalter

on and Dody Harvey are this year’s winners of Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce’s Community Service Award. It’s the fourth time in the last five years the chamber’s most prestigious award has been shared by a husband and wife team.

The Community Service Award recognizes outstanding leadership and service in a broad range of community affairs — leadership that has benefited the community and service that has inspired others to follow suit.

The Harveys, who were recognized primarily for their volunteer work with SCORE and Columbus Visitors Center, received the award March 4 at the chamber’s annual meeting.

Nobody had to trick them into attending, as is sometimes the case. They went because they were excited to hear speaker Peter Coughlin and to participate in his Design Thinking Workshop after the meeting.

As presenter Lynn Lucas, executive director of Columbus Visitors Center, began telling the audience about this year’s winners, it took awhile before the Harveys recognized themselves.

“Dody picked up on it first,” Don said.

“Next thing I knew they were calling us to the podium.”

Their son, Brent, and his family came from Indianapolis for the meeting, but made sure to stay out of sight until after the presentation.

“We were still trying to get our feet back on the ground, and all of a sudden, there they were,” Don said.

The couple, who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, said it never occurred to them that they would even be considered for the award, especially when comparing themselves to past winners.

“We’re not anywhere near that league,” Don said. “It was really humbling. This is such a wonderful community, and I’m just glad to be a small part of it.”

Don, a former marketing director at Cummins Inc., was honored for his work with SCORE, a nonprofit organization that provides free business mentoring services to new and established small businesses. He became 8 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

photo by Andrew Laker

D

involved with SCORE shortly after retiring from Cummins in 1991 and has spent more than 20 years offering his knowledge and support to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Ray Mack, who has worked with SCORE since 2009, said Don’s service to the organization is but one of the ways he contributes to the community.

“What he really embodies is the desire to help others,” Mack said. “He views it as a responsibility to help others in as many ways as he can.”

Dody was honored for her 39 years of service as a volunteer tour guide for the Visitors Center.

“She is one of those guides who, if locals are bringing in VIP groups, they’ll ask for her because she gives such a wonderful tour,” said Lucas.

She went on to say that many people who take Visitors Center tours end up moving to the community. An excellent tour guide, such as Dody, is an important part of making a good first impression.

Don, an Evansville native, came to Columbus to work for Cummins. Dody grew up in Edinburgh and Columbus. When Parkside Elementary School was built in 1962, she was one of the first teachers in the new building. A public open house was held for the city’s newest architectural marvel.

Don, a bachelor with an interest in architecture, decided to attend. The rest, as they say, is history.

They were married in 1963, about the time Cummins transferred Don to New York City. They returned to Columbus in 1974, and Dody became a tour guide in 1975, when Brent started kindergarten.

“I will never forget my first tour,” she said. “Eldo Nolting was the bus driver. I had never done any public speaking. I remember holding that microphone and just wishing that microphone would start talking. Eldo was just so encouraging. And that’s always been the environment at the Visitors Center, just so encouraging.”

While the Harveys are humbled to have their contributions recognized, they are thrilled to watch the next generation of leaders come to the fore.

They cite the chamber’s annual meeting and the Design Thinking Workshop held afterward as a good example.

“It was just exhilarating to see the enthusiasm of all these young people,” Dody said. “Young people bring new ideas and they have energy.”

Don agreed. “It was just delightful to see all these people putting their minds together to try to do something for the community.”

Though their work with SCORE and the Visitors Center was highlighted in the award presentation, their other community activities include Sunrise

“It was just delightful to see all these people putting their minds together to try to do something for the community.”

— Don Harvey, speaking about the Design Thinking Workshop

Rotary, Thrive Alliance, Mill Race Center, the Treasure Hunters antique club, Bartholomew County Historical Society and Columbus Service League.

The Harveys have lived in the same house for 40 years. Right now they see no reason to change either their address or their commitment to serving the community they love.

“This is home,” Don said. “At this point both of us still enjoy shoveling snow.”

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ApRil 2014 The Business Connection 9

chamberc april 2014

Monthly publication of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerc

From the president

Women who lead When a dozen women met to select the first class of honorees for our Women in Leadership Lunch, it took just five minutes to list 50 women worthy of recognition.

In previous years, we’ve imported women to speak at our Women’s Professional Development Conference. This year will be very different.

The wisdom is home-grown.

At our inaugural event on May 1, we will shine the spotlight on four strong leaders from different sectors of the community.

Each espouses the values of the Chamber: integrity, excellence and collaboration as well as innovation and entrepreneurship.

This year’s honorees are: • Jacque Douglas, a lifelong educator who will retire from Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. as its director of special projects. She launched Dancing with the Stars Columbus Style, an event that has generated nearly $400,000 in revenue over six years for programs that benefit children and families in need.

• Cindy Waddle, regional manager of Dora Hotels. Under her leadership, Hotel Indigo has developed unique collaborations with community groups, such as the Columbus Area Arts Council and the Columbus Museum of Art and Design.

• Lynne Hyatt, a third-generation merchant who moved Lockett’s Ladies Shop back into the heart of downtown. Lynne’s record of community service is lengthy, and it includes a rotation as president of the Chamber’s board of directors.

• Tracy Embree is vice president of Cummins Inc. and president of Cummins Turbo Technologies. She has quickly risen through the ranks at Cummins. Despite her intense travel schedule, she finds time to engage in the civic life of the community.

Whether you are male or female, I invite you to attend so that you can learn about the career paths and contributions of four amazing women who are our neighbors, friends and colleagues. Plan to join us on May 1 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center. You may register online at www.columbusareachamber.com.

Cindy Frey

10 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

Ribbon cuttings Ashlynn Leigh Cakes 901 Washington St. Columbus, IN 47201-6214 812-603-2140 www.ashlynnleighcakes.com

Calendar

April 4 — TEN Talk, 8 to 9:30 a.m., Visito May 1 — Women in Leadership Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Clarion Hotel May 2 — TEN Roundtables, 8 to 9:30 a.m., Visitors Center

May 28 — Open Board Meeting, 11:30 a.

1:30 p.m., BCSC Administration Building

Register online at www.columbusareacham

www.columbusa

connection

ce • 500 Franklin Street • Columbus, IN 47201 • 812-379-4457

New members Comfort Keepers Melissa Fairbanks 636 Third St., Columbus, IN 47201-6214 mfairbanks@comfortkeepers.com 812-372-2222 http://comfortkeepers.com Laurie Wright Studio and Framing Laurie Wright 811 Lindsey St., Columbus, IN 47201 lauriewright04@comcast.net 812-343-3209 http://www.lauriewright.com

Waste Servant Box 1461 Columbus, IN 47202 812-603-0734 http://wasteservant.com

mber.com.

Bob Poynter Chrysler Jeep Ram Hyundai Bob Poynter 3020 N. National Road, Columbus, IN 47201 bpoynter@bobpoynter.com 812-372-2575 http://bobpoynterjeep.com Columbus Acupuncture Bryce Utt Box 2413, Columbus, IN 47202-2413 ColumbusAcu@gmail.com 812-374-4518 http://www.ColumbusAcu.com Shireman Homestead Cheryl Shireman 7060 W. Road 200N, Columbus, IN 472016214 shireman3@att.net 812-372-2946 http://shiremanhomestead.com

ors Center

.m. to g

Growing BUSINESS. Growing people.

That Special Touch Terry Kutsko 544 Washington St., Columbus, IN 472016214 tkutsko@sbcglobal.net 812-375-2223 http://www.specialtouchbride.com

Sogno Della Terra 901 Washington St. 812-447-8522

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White Creek Acres Juli Bartells 6120 W. Road 930S, Columbus, IN 472016214 julibartells@yahoo.com 812-524-9999 http://whitecreekacres.com

ApRil 2014 The Business Connection 11

Around the WATERCOOLER New I-65 interchange delayed

GREENWOOD — Officials say construction of a new Interstate 65 interchange is being delayed for a year.

The state highway department says it hasn’t been able to reach land purchase agreements with five property owners for the project at Greenwood’s Worthsville Road. The agency is asking a judge to force the sales.

Greenwood development director Mark Richards said the city is moving ahead with widening the road to four lanes in anticipation of the interchange. State officials now plan to hire contractors in September and start construction of the interchange in the spring of 2015, with completion anticipated that year.

The project is estimated to cost about $22 million, with Greenwood paying up to $11 million of the cost.

Pan Am Plaza could house new towers

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis developer plans to build a tower housing two separate hotels on the site of the downtown Pan Am Plaza.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reports the plan includes two towers — one of them housing two separate hotel brands offering 700 rooms. The other tower would be a residential building with retail and office space on the first floor. The towers would be less than 20 stories high to complement the nearby 16-floor Hyatt Regency Indianapolis.

Kite Realty Group Trust bought the site in 2008. The city has struggled to find development for the site, which was built when Indianapolis hosted the Pan Am Games in 1987.

The IBJ says the towers could enhance the city’s bid for the 2018 Super Bowl.

Lighting factory to close

The owner of a northeastern Indiana factory that makes lighting systems plans to shut it down, eliminating the jobs of nearly 100 people.

Federal-Mogul Corp. has informed state officials that in October it will close the factory in the Noble County town of Avilla. The Southfield, Mich.-based company blames the closing decision on changing market conditions and the need to improve use of its factories around the country. The Avilla factory makes lighting systems for the automotive, marine and rail industries.

Federal-Mogul announced in 2008 an expansion of the Avilla 12 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

factory that it said would add 50 jobs by 2010. The factory then had 120 employees, but the company says it now has 95 workers.

Federal-Mogul also has Indiana facilities in South Bend, Frankfort and Indianapolis.

Purdue, Chrysler partner on research, education

WEST LAFAYETTE — Chrysler Group and Purdue University have forged a partnership in which they’ll share research and development and provide learning opportunities for Purdue students and employees of the automaker.

The agreement calls for Chrysler to provide $1.2 million for seven Purdue research projects to design and improve the automaker’s manufacturing processes. It also will create internship and co-op programs for Purdue students at Chrysler plants in nearby Kokomo and elsewhere, as well as distance-education programs for Chrysler workers worldwide.

The grant is part of a partnership between Purdue and Chrysler that began two years ago. Landscape architecture students have worked at several Chrysler plants in Indiana, and the company now is recruiting interior design students.

City to buy unit to boost ethanol plant

SOUTH BEND — South Bend is planning to buy a $2 million corn oil extraction unit and lease it to a company as part of an agreement for the reopening of a shuttered ethanol plant.

The city and Noble Americas are negotiating terms of the deal that calls for the city to lease the unit back to the company for no less than $100,000 a year over five years.

The subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Noble Group bought the plant for about $8 million in July after previous owner New Energy Corp. declared bankruptcy.

Noble Americas spokesman Bernie Punt says the company is spending $28 million to get the plant ready for production in July.

The plant first opened in 1984 and was shut down in 2012.

New owner plans to reopen RV factory

ELKHART — Thor Industries, the new owner of a northern Indiana recreational vehicle factory that suddenly closed Feb. 10, plans to reopen it in the coming months.

Thor is buying the Elkhart factory from Monaco RV. Monaco’s Florida-based parent company closed the factory without notice, ending the jobs of about 85 workers and turning away those who arrived for work in the morning.

The president of Elkhart-based Thor says he expects production of motorhomes at the factory this spring or summer. Bob Martin says Thor will consider hiring those who worked for Monaco.

Thor spokesman Jeff Tryka says modifications will be needed at the factory where Monaco had made towable RVs.

Ivy Tech realigns regions

INDIANAPOLIS — Ivy Tech says it’s shifting its Franklin campus into its central Indiana region as part of a system-wide reconfiguration.

The shift follows several Ivy Tech consolidations, including those of the Columbus and southeast regions and of the Bloomington and Evansville regions. Franklin is in Johnson County, which previously was divided between two Ivy Tech regions.

Franklin executive director Tina Gross says nearly 60 percent of the 1,200 students who study at the campus about 20 miles south of Indianapolis live in counties within Ivy Tech’s central Indiana region.

Officials say the realignment is aimed at making Ivy Tech operations more efficient and increasing student retention. The Franklin campus’ enrollment has nearly tripled since 2008, from fewer than 500 students to more than 1,200.

Investment banker to oversee Indiana banks

INDIANAPOLIS — A retired JPMorgan Chase executive in Indiana is taking over a state cabinet-level position responsible for overseeing private and commercial banks in Indiana.

Gov. Mike Pence has appointed Dennis Bassett as the new director of Indiana’s Department of Financial Institutions. He’s charged with overseeing commercial and private banks, trust companies, credit loans and other finance corporations.

Bassett worked for numerous financial institutions throughout his career, including acting as Indiana chief executive officer for Bank One and Indiana president of Huntington Bank.

Expansion proposed for amphitheater

INDIANAPOLIS — Plans are being considered to expand and upgrade the outdoor concert amphitheater at White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis. Concert promoter Live Nation told the park commission it would invest $10 million in the project.

The proposal would expand the current 7,400-capacity amphitheater and put seating under a roof similar to Live Nation’s Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville.

Park executive director Bob Whitt says Live Nation’s plan is bold but that the $10 million likely won’t cover the entire cost. The plans include a permanent stage and seating for 8,000 to 12,000 people.

Live Nation’s proposal comes a few weeks after another developer proposed an amphitheater for the site of a closed factory near the park.

Entrepreneurs with exceptional ideas for a new business, invention or process can submit their ideas at www. riskitindiana.org.

Risk It: Indiana will take place at 6:30 p.m. May 15 at the Venture Out Business Center in Madison. Six to eight finalists will be selected from entries received prior to April 15. Finalists will be chosen by members of the Southeast ISBDC, but all entries will be eligible for no-cost counseling from its staff. Finalists will be contacted by email within a week of entry.

Each of the finalists will have five minutes to present their pitch to the audience and judges. Both the audience and panel of judges will vote on which idea they believe is the best and most marketable. Three awards will be given: the judge’s first and second place awards and the People’s Choice Award.

Winners will be announced that night and honored at the LEADS Indiana Awards Luncheon Nov. 12 in Jeffersonville. The winners of both awards will be given the opportunity to work with the ISBDC and other local business professionals to develop their ideas into viable business ventures.

Plan touts city’s skill set

ANDERSON — Echo Automotive Inc. plans to expand its local research and development operations here, almost doubling its staff by 2015.

The company plans to invest $3.6 million in a 40,000-squarefoot distribution, research and development facility at the Flagship Enterprise Center. The planned investment includes renovation costs, the installation of automobile lifts, a thermal chamber and a full dynamometer test facility.

Echo Automotive is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., and develops and manufactures a hybrid system for automotive fleets.

The company employs about 15 people in Anderson and says it will create up to 10 new jobs in the next two years with its expansion.

Jason Plotke, president, chairman and co-founder of Echo Automotive, said the company was originally drawn to Anderson because of its automotive history and workforce.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has offered Echo Automotive up to $100,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $30,000 in training grants based on the company’s proposed expansion plans. The credits would not be available until after the company had filled the new positions.

Plotke said his company is working closely with the city of Anderson to secure a tax abatement and create even more jobs in the near future.

— Wire Reports

Contest accepting pitch ideas

NEW ALBANY — The Southeast Indiana Small Business Development Center has announced its third annual Risk It: Indiana Business Pitch Competition. Risk It: Indiana is a contest to encourage and award innovative ideas in the small business sector.

ApRil 2014 The Business Connection 13

on the move

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller, president and owner of Raft to Rafters Pool and Spa, a familyowned business founded in 1974, recently became one of three pool builders in Indiana to become a Certified Service Professional through the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals. Certification requirements included earning credentials and class credits and passing a rigorous exam. Miller is a 2009 graduate of Purdue University, with a degree in aviation flight, and formerly worked in law enforcement.

Teri Jackson has joined the Columbus office of Blue & Co. public accounting firm as an administrative assistant.

Zac Nelson

Jane Bowman

Zac Nelson of Old National Bank was honored recently by Premier Capital Corp. as a Financial Advocate of the Year for 2013. Nelson and other honorees worked with Premier Capital, a nonprofit certified development company headquartered in Indianapolis, on Small Business Administration 504 approved projects during 2013, providing long-term, fixed rate financing to eligible businesses for the purchase, renovation or expansion of owneroccupied commercial real estate. He received the award in recognition of the largest single transaction of the year, $6.4 million.

Jane Bowman, owner of J Bowman Hearing Service, recently attended the Hearing Innovation Expo held at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The three-day expo offered more than 60 presentations and courses with topics ranging from research and hearing science to patient engagement best practices for entrepreneurial success. Keynote speakers included former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

James E. Euler, secretary-treasurer of Taylor Bros. Construction Co., and Mark Thomas, senior vice president, south division, of Milestone Contractors, are serving on the 2014 board of directors

14 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

of the Indiana Construction Association.

Euler is secretary-treasurer of the state organization, and Thompson is continuing his term as a director.

Lisa Duke, of the financial services firm Edward Jones, recently traveled to Tempe, Ariz., to attend a business development workshop and training session. The workshop brings together Edward Jones financial advisers who have achieved a certain level of success in the financial services business.

Lisa Duke

Malone Workforce Solutions, a regional staffing company that specializes in light industrial and administrative contingent labor, recently bestowed its first Branch of the Year Award to the Columbus office at 2780 N. National Road.

The branch is led by Heather Babb of Columbus, regional vice president, who joined Malone in 2012 and has been providing staffing services locally since 2001. Others in the branch, Wendy Zapfe, Brittany Vasquez, Michelle Geron and Eric Brewer, offer a combined 25 years of staffing industry experience.

Crawford Apartments in Bloomington, designed by LIFEDesigns Inc. of Columbus, has been awarded LEED for Homes Platinum certification by the United States Green Building Council, the highest level of certification possible in green homebuilding and design.

LEED for Homes is a third-party certification system for building and designing high-performance green homes that are energy and resource efficient and healthy for occupants.

LIFEDesigns is a nonprofit organization that has provided services for individuals with disabilities for more than 30 years.

Information: www.lifedesignsinc.org or 800-875-9615.

Fourteen real estate agents from ReMax Real Estate Professionals in Columbus were

President’s Circle: Roberta Miller and Ryan Crissinger and Todd Sims, Team Columbus. The award recognizes the network’s top 3 percent of residential sales professionals who exemplified sales measures in closed residential GCI, commercial GCI or closed 50 residential units for the year.

honored recently by ReMax of Indiana for their outstanding achievements in 2013.

Four agents, Jean Donica, Annette Donica Blythe, Vicky Gelfius and Barb Masters, received the 100% Club Award, the fourth-highest regional honor for sales in a single year.

The Executive Club Award, the fifthhighest regional honor for sales in a single year, went to Robyn Agnew, Shirley Deitz, Beverly Denney, Alma Gommel, Bill Miller, Michael Polcher and Susan Simpson.

Carrie Abfall, Dana Carson and Jeff Hilycord all received the Platinum Club Award, the third-highest regional honor for sales in a single year.

Kevin Langford

After completing at least 40 hours of continuing education in the past year, Dr. Daniel Vermillion of Columbus is among 19 veterinarians in Indiana to be awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Education by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.

The certification is renewable annually upon meeting the required educational standards.

First Financial Bank has named Indiana native Kevin Langford its Indiana banking president. He will lead the bank’s operations throughout the entire state.

Langford is based in Indianapolis and oversees the business development efforts for the consumer, commercial and wealth management teams and works closely with local leadership teams to develop the strategy in each community the bank serves.

He also serves as the consumer banking president across the bank’s three-state footprint. He has leadership responsibility for the shared services organization within the bank and provides strategic direction for the bank’s technology, operations, marketing and facilities functions.

Langford has more than 20 years of banking experience and joined First Financial in January 2006. A Franklin College graduate, he lives in Carmel.

Prudential Indiana Realty Columbus personnel recently received the following honors for 2013. Outstanding Sales Achievement award: Ryan Crissinger, Todd Sims, Nancy Stroia, Robin Knorr, Cindy Mitchell, April Hooker, Ryan Ebener, Carol Rudicel, Spring Parsons, Roberta Miller, Leigh Burchyett, Barry Czachura, Dawn Hauck, Dan Fish, Jillian Mishler, Denise Hammer and Kevin Metz.

Honor Society: Leigh Burchyett and Barry Czachura, Burchyett Realty Group.

The award recognizes residential sales professionals who exemplified great performance in closed residential GCI, commercial GCI or closed residential units for the year.

Leading Edge Society: Nancy Stroia, Robin Knorr, Cindy Mitchell, April Hooker, Ryan Ebener, Carol Rudicel and Spring Parsons. The award recognizes residential sales professionals who reached sales thresholds in closed residential GCI, commercial GCI or closed at least 35 residential units for the year.

Mark McKinney has been named general manager of Jackson County REMC, succeeding Jed Wheatley who will retire April 1 after 42 years with the co-op.

Jackson County REMC serves several counties including portions of Bartholomew, Jennings and Brown counties.

McKinney is a graduate of Purdue University, with a degree in organizational leadership and supervision and a master’s degree in leadership and innovation, and also earned an associate’s degree in electronics technology from Vincennes University. He has been employed with REMC since 1995, most recently serving as project manager for seven years.

Jonas Howell of Columbus has joined Centra Credit Union’s Business Services Division as a commercial loan officer. He is a graduate of Columbus North High School and Indiana University, with a degree in economics. Before joining Centra, Howell worked with First Financial Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Ameriprise Financial.

Jonas Howell

Inavero Client Satisfaction Surveys has named Elwood Staffing to its Best of Staffing List for 2014, in both the Best of Staffing Client and Best of Staffing Talent categories. The Best of Staffing Award recognizes staffing firms that receive remarkable reviews from their clients and people they find jobs. Fewer than 2 percent of North American staffing firms receive the award and fewer still earn a spot on both the Client and Talent lists.

Firms competing for the award undergo a rigorous client survey process and analysis of responses to determine satisfaction levels in regard to customer care, communication and overall service provided. Elwood Staffing earned an average score that was double the national staffing industry benchmark for customer satisfaction.

— Staff Reports ApRil 2014 The Business Connection 15

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coach’s corner

Mark McNulty

What is in your iceberg?

When we are not achieving the success we want in our lives, too often we look outside of ourselves instead of inside. The observable parts of our success – our actions, behaviors and results – are what we spend too much time focusing on, and the hidden aspects of ourselves often remain out of view, like an iceberg.

While it is true that our results are directly related to our actions and behaviors, we need to dig deeply into our personal icebergs to learn how to take new and better actions and learn new success behaviors. We call this personal iceberg the Identity Iceberg.

The first layer of the Identity Iceberg is your skills. When your actions are not getting the results you seek, the first thing to evaluate is whether you need a skill upgrade. Whether it is your sales results or your understanding of your financials, take a good inventory of the skills required to perform well. In the information age there are a multitude of free resources for business education, and you should be allocating time every week or month to advance your skills.

Once you have evaluated your skill needs, it is time to look at the second level of your Identity Iceberg, your beliefs. Take time to

think through the areas where you struggle and ask yourself what beliefs you have about those areas of your life.

Whether it is sales, money, leadership or your team, your beliefs will dictate the decisions and actions you take. If you have negative beliefs, get some help to work through them to unlock your abilities to achieve more in those areas.

The third layer of the Identity Iceberg is your values, which are those things that are critically important to you. The question to evaluate here is whether the actions you are taking or considering taking are in alignment with your personal values.

All too often, we put ourselves in a position where we unconsciously begin adopting the values of those around us and chasing what is important to them instead of staying true to ourselves. Are you chasing someone else’s dreams at the expense of your own value system?

The last layer of the Identity Iceberg is your identity – how you see yourself. Most coaches and motivational speakers correctly teach us to write out the definition of our ideal self in the form of “I Am” statements. These descriptive phrases and sentences can be used to train our

minds to help us accomplish more, to be who we want to be and who we need to be to achieve the success we seek.

The last consideration to think about to unlock the power within you is your environment. Who and what are you surrounding yourself with? Are you spending your time with positive people who build you up or with negative people who bring you down or suck you into the drama of their lives?

The personal improvement industry tells us that where we will be five years from now is directly related to the books we read (skill development) and the people we associate with (beliefs, values, identity, environment). Are your friends and family helping you build a positive, success-oriented environment, or are you stuck in “poor me” world with them?

When you are ready to take your life and business to the next level, start with your personal iceberg and do an honest assessment.

Only then will you have identified what you truly need to do to achieve the success you seek.

Mark McNulty is a business coach with ActionCoach Business Coaching. He can be reached at 372-7377 or mark@coachmark.biz.

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Eye on the pie

Morton Marcus

State to study economic incentives Congratulations to the Indiana General Assembly. These good men and women, unexpectedly, have taken a step forward toward rationality. Or so it would seem.

By a vote of 93-0 in the House and 41-8 in the Senate they approved House Bill (HB) 1020, authored by Rep. Eric Koch (R-Bedford).

In the Senate the bill was sponsored by Sen. Brandt Hershman (R- Buck Creek) who chairs the bi-partisan Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy.

HB 1020 provides for a study of economic development incentives awarded by the state, counties, cities and towns to companies locating or expanding in Indiana.

The study charges the commission “to review, analyze and evaluate … incentives … provided to encourage economic development or to alter, reward or subsidize a particular action or behavior by a tax incentive recipient.”

This is a wide-ranging mandate written in that special language that can be understood only by legislators. The commission is to provide a comprehensive review of incentives over a five-year period beginning when the current legislative session is complete. The “non-partisan

Legislative Services Agency (LSA) is to conduct the evaluation and analysis of each incentive” reviewed by the commission.

What criteria will be used by LSA in the evaluation? What factors will be analyzed? The bill leaves this open, and we must presume that LSA will decide these questions, perhaps with guidance from the commission. And who, if anyone, will guide the commission?

This ambitious program is to “cover exemptions, deductions, credits, preferential rates and other tax benefits that: • Reduce the amount of a tax that would otherwise be due the state.

• Result in a tax refund in excess of any tax due.

• Reduce the amount of property taxes that would otherwise be due to a political subdivision of the state.”

Further, the review would cover programs that “provide improvements or to retire bonds” for sports facilities, revitalization areas, enterprise zones, or tax increment financing districts.

The information gathered by this study could be a great benefit to economic development professionals and the many governmental units

that grant subsidies to the private sector.

A five-year study would take us to 2019.

During those years, the political composition of the legislature and the administration could change. Different people, even of the same party, might question the results of such a study. They might request a review of the review, kicking the can further down the road.

Such a study, however, may send chills down the spines of both politicians and economic developers. For years there has been little public accountability for the spending on economic development. We do see self-serving annual reports and a flood of news releases, but rarely is there an attempt to match the outcomes of these programs with their costs.

Maybe this study will show what works and what hasn’t worked in economic development. Or maybe it will only confirm that, in this area of human endeavor, meaningful performance metrics are difficult to conceptualize and evaluate.

Morton Marcus is an economist, writer and speaker who may be reached at mortonjmarcus@ yahoo.com.

Business Indicators for Bartholomew County Oct 2013 Nov 2013

Dec 2013

Jan 2014

Labor Force % Chg from Year Ago

42,595 43,718 41,242 41,684 2.76% 5.23% -0.4% 0.37%

Employed % Chg from Year Ago

40,401 41,406 39,273 39,585 3.56% 6.08% 1.64% 3.28%

Unemployed % Chg from Year Ago

2,194 2,312 1,969 2,099 -10.05% -8.04% -28.87% -34.49%

Unemployment Rate 5.2 5.3 4.8 5.0 Chg from Year Ago -0.7 -0.8 -1.9 -2.7 — Center for Business and Economic Research, Ball State University 18 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

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The Business Connection 19

E H T E D A IM

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because my business is local, so I bank local.

For lots of different reasons, people all over are making the switch to JCB. For them, it means quicker, local decisions, and it means their money stays local, helping out the community — and themselves in turn. Find out more about what it means to bank locally at jcbank.com, or just stop by. We’re right down the street. Life flies. Plan ahead.

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20 The Business Connection ApRil 2014

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