Month: June 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 24, 2019 Contact: Ron Kitchens chief executive officer and senior partner Southwest Michigan First 261 East Kalamazoo Avenue, Suite 200 Kalamazoo, MI  49007 269.553.9588 rkitchens@southwestmichiganfirst.com Kalamazoo, MI – Bee Joyful Shop earned the coveted Makers’ Mart title at Catalyst University, a daylong leadership event annually hosted by the regional economic development […]

Local leaders imagine the future of Southwest Michigan. In 1929, the Swiss-born architect and urban planner known as Le Corbusier published a book titled “The City of Tomorrow.” It details the importance of supporting a city across each of its many sectors—from infrastructure to greenspace to technologies to social opportunity—to enable it to thrive. In […]

Local entrepreneurs can make it big through the 2019 Makers’ Mart competition. When it comes to the Michigan economy, the impact of small business is anything but small. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the 870,301 small businesses located across the state are responsible for 49.2 percent of the private workforce in Michigan. That’s […]

Frank Sardone, president and chief executive officer at Bronson Healthcare, walks us through his journey to leadership. 1957 | BORN IN AKRON, OHIO I was born in Akron. I grew up in a family of five children, although before I was born, there were only two—so I came right in the middle. We’d moved from […]

Support for sustainable winemaking yields wine that’s better for people and the planet. Shoppers are increasingly focused on how their purchasing decisions affect their health and that of the environment. The terms organic, natural, and sustainable have surpassed buzzword status, becoming a way of life for many. Discerning consumers, particularly millennials and members of Gen […]

A Q+A with Mike Elwell, director of Western Michigan University (WMU)’s Richmond Institute of Product Design and Innovation. What should people know about WMU’s product design program? The Richmond Institute of Product Design and Innovation is two years old now, so our students are freshman and sophomores. I believe that we have one of the […]

Elisabeth Von Eitzen, partner at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, and L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D., president of Kalamazoo Valley Community College, tell us their thoughts on mentorship, values, and more. FIRST CAR Von Eitzen: 1991 Mercury Tracer Washington: An Oldsmobile ‘98 FIRST TIME PUBLIC SPEAKING Von Eitzen: Narrator of a seventh-grade Shel Silverstein play Washington: […]

Overwhelmed at work? Remember the (Unofficial) Stride Law. Much has been written about the changing of the generational guard in the American workforce. A multi-generational workforce certainly presents its challenges, but perhaps no more so than it has in the past. Think of a time when members of the Greatest Generation were lumped into meetings […]

Melissa Goodson, Development Director of Alzheimer’s Association, tells us how the Walk to End Alzheimer’s leads ever closer to a cure. SPONSOR ORGANIZATION: Alzheimer’s Association EVENT: Walk to End Alzheimer’s DATE: September 29, 2019 TIME: 12:00 pm LOCATION: Kalamazoo College Athletic Complex, 1600 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI Stand Together, Walk as One The Walk […]

Start with an energetic entrepreneur and three company divisions encompassing trucking, real estate, and storage. Add a skilled team, an out-of-the-box thinker, and seven Broncos. What is the result? Clark Logic and its formula for cultivating business and talent growth. When it was founded as Central Manufacturing Systems in 1969, the corporation predominantly served one […]

Starting a new career can seem daunting, but it helps to have a supportive employer that encourages learning. West Michigan is full of young professionals and businesses eager to hire them. One of those young professionals is Jeff Clay. And one of those businesses is Wightman, a full-service consulting firm with locations in Kalamazoo, Allegan, […]

Wyatt Counterman learns the ins and outs of finance at LVM Capital Management. Hometown Kalamazoo, MI Education Western Michigan University (WMU) Finance Major; Music Minor Graduation Date: May 2020 Position Financial Planning Intern at LVM Capital Management Getting Down to Business Financial planning is a myriad of things. When I first started at LVM Capital, […]