Issue 17

Local leaders soft-shoe, waltz, and whirl to support student aid. Organization: Western Michigan University Department of Dance Event: Dancing with the Stars Date: Saturday, October 27, 2018 Time: 7:30 P.M. Location: Miller Auditorium, 2200 Auditorium Drive, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 Lynn Chen-Zhang Partner and COO of Zhang Financial Member of Western Michigan University (WMU) Board of Trustee Vice […]

Women make up over 50 percent of the regional population in Southwest Michigan. Though workforce participation has skyrocketed, challenges still exist for women in the workplace, such as unequal pay, under-representation in managerial roles, and fewer degrees earned in university subjects such as engineering and computer science. To address these issues head-on, Southwest Michigan First […]

We sat down with Dannie Alexander, Director of Facilities and Construction Management Services at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Nicole Marques, Business Development Manager at Miller-Davis, to hear what they had to say about leadership, creativity, free time, and more. How Can You Identify a Great Leader? Dannie Alexander: I identify a great leader as […]

West Michigan distilleries offer the perfect thirst quenchers. The perfect cocktail is a beautiful thing. It can be a refreshing gin drink on a Michigan summer’s day or a bold bourbon concoction that warms you as winter rolls in. That’s why it may not come as a surprise that craft distilleries across the country grew […]

An Internship Insight with Hali Kunst. Hometown Caledonia, Michigan Education Western Michigan University Chemical Engineering Major; Biology Minor; Life Sciences Focus Expected Graduation: Spring 2019 Position Process Engineer Intern High-Tech and Fast-Paced Industrial consulting firm CRB’s engineers (chemical, mechanical, civil), along with critical utility specialists, and an array of other experts, collaborate to design solutions […]

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 […]

National Flavors delivers joy through flavor. Company National Flavors LLC Website nationalflavors.com Regional Locations National Flavors completed construction of a new 36,000-square-foot headquarters at 3680 Stadium Park Way in Oshtemo in 2018. Its multi-million dollar investment created space for new offices, labs, manufacturing, and distribution. It continues to maintain a location on Crosstown Parkway in […]

WMU’s Research University drives growth through student education. Successful urban planning and development depends on partnerships—business and government leaders, commercial and residential developers, and major institutions like hospitals and universities—all of which contribute significantly to the economic vitality of a community and region. A recent study shows that Western Michigan University (WMU) is a big-time […]

How urban planning and revitalization will shape the future of Kalamazoo. On a hot and hazy Thursday afternoon in August, a small crowd spilled from a white event tent on a construction site in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A dozen shovels jutted from the brown dirt nearby, symbols of the groundbreaking on 180 East Water Street, a […]