Article Photographer: Hannah Ziegeler

Award-winning culture will be valuable recruitment tool. With its jobless rate hovering around 4.0 percent, the Southwest Michigan region may be experiencing what many economists deem “full” employment. This statistic is a positive one when describing the area’s economic health, but a challenging one to overcome for companies seeking to hire new employees. To attract […]

A Q+A with Zach DeYoung, Partner at Maestro. How Do You Approach Design at Maestro? Maestro is a forward-thinking design agency creating things that you probably wouldn’t imagine get made in Kalamazoo. We’ve been here for 11 years, and we work with huge Fortune 500 companies like Southwest Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, and Google. I […]

A Night of Horsing Around Changes Lives at the Cheff Center ORGANIZATION: Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center EVENT: The Cheff Center’s Annual Shindig DATE: September 7, 2018 TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. LOCATION: 8450 North 43rd Street, Augusta, MI 49012 A CONVERSATION WITH: Tara East, Executive Director of the Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center WHAT SERVICES […]

Sarah Meldrum packs up a career at Graphic Packaging International. Education Western Michigan University (WMU), Graphic and Printing Science, B.B.S. ’16 Hometown Sylvan Lake, MI Employment Material Management Analyst, Graphic Packaging International On the Job Graphic Packaging International is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of folding cartons. A carton could be a cereal box, […]

A Q+A with Leif Norland, Global Design Director for Cooking at Whirlpool Corporation. How do you approach design from your position at Whirlpool? Whirlpool represents many brands around the world, including Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, and KitchenAid, just to name a few. I head up the design of all of Whirlpool’s cooking products globally. My team […]

Getman Corporation reigns as king of underground mining equipment. Company Getman Corporation Website getman.com Regional Locations Headquartered in Bangor, with a second manufacturing facility in Comstock Charter Township Number of Employees 170 Executive Erik VanAllen, President & CEO History Getman Brothers Construction Company entered the equipment business following World War II with a small motorized […]

Kit Snyder, President and CEO of Consumers Credit Union, tells us about his journey to leadership. 1956 | Born in Coldwater, MI I have lived my entire life in Michigan. I was raised on a 40-acre farm outside Coldwater. Every evening, my family would sit together at our dining room table, and everything we ate […]

We sat down with John Rumohr, Senior Mechanical Engineer at TowerPinkster, and Jim Ritsema, City Manager of Kalamazoo, to hear their thoughts on leadership, childhood, and Labor Day plans. What is your most important role as a leader? Jim Ritsema: A leader needs to establish a vision for the organization and then get out of […]

Luis Ruiz puts his classwork to work at Fabri-Kal. Hometown Chicago, IL Education Western Michigan University (WMU) Engineering Technology Major; Mathematics Minor Expected Graduation: Spring 2020 Position Product Design Intern at Fabri-Kal Corporation Becoming a Part of the Team Because Fabri-Kal is one of the nation’s largest providers of food service packaging materials, our engineers […]

There’s more than one angle to WSI’s Jeff O’Brien. Just one look at the desk of WSI President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff O’Brien reveals a lot about his company. Since 2001, WSI, a recruitment and staffing specialist currently with offices throughout the Midwest, has impacted thousands of lives by helping people get full-time and […]

Consumers Credit Union knows it can count on Kayla Poole. Name Kayla Poole Hometown Jackson, Michigan Education Western Michigan University (WMU) Accounting and Aviation Management Double Major Expected Graduation: Spring 2018 Position Staff Auditor Intern at Consumers Credit Union The Kickoff When I first started my internship program, all the new hires began in a […]

Andy Cullen is putting his education to work as Junior Software Development Engineer with National Flavors. Name Andy Cullen Education Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) Web Design and Development (A.A.S.) ’17 Software Development (A.A.S.) ’17 Hometown Bellville, Michigan Employment Junior Software Development Engineer, National Flavors On the Job My job at National Flavors spans both […]