Fort Wayne Opens Bids in Harrison Square Project

The Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission is reviewing bids for the final public contracts in the Harrison Square project.

The Journal Gazette reported today that bids for a stormwater pump station and a streetscape were slightly higher than city officials forecasted. The commission is scheduled to meet June 16 to award the contracts.

For the full story click here

WorkOne Navigator Business Breakfast

WorkOne Northeast is proud to present the Navigator Business Breakfast and the opportunity to hear from guest speaker Deb Russell, manager of the Outreach Department for Walgreens. This department oversees the company's commitment to have one-third of its distribution center workforce consist of qualified individuals with disabilities.

Area business and community leaders, human resource managers, and educators are invited to hear Ms. Russell speak Wednesday, June 11 from 7:45 a.m. - 10 a.m. at Sweetwater Sound (5501 U.S. Hwy. 30 W., Fort Wayne).

There is no cost to attend this event. Reservations can be made by calling Renee Dunifon at (260) 458-7120.

Tony Lardydell Appreciation Day

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Many of you know Tony Lardydell, longtime friend of the Chamber. Tony is being honored by the Lincoln Museum with "Tony Lardydell Appreciation Day." A special reception will be held in his honor next Wednesday, June 11 from 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. at the Lincoln Museum (200 East Berry Street). We hope to see you there!

For more information please contact Julie at the Lincoln Museum at (260) 455-3864.

NextGen Leader at the Chamber

Last Friday, The Journal Gazette recognized several NextGen Leaders from our community in their FOCUS - Business Leadership issue. We are thrilled to share that our very own Nicole Wilkins was chosen for this honor.


Nicole is a wonderful teammate and Chamber champion. We are proud to have her on board and agree completely - she is a great community asset!

Hands-on Fun at Science Central

Temperatures have warmed up and summer break is upon us! Chamber member Science Central is offering a variety of summer camps for the kids to enjoy. Next week is "Small Fry" camp for ages 3-5. Each session is 9 a.m. - noon and the cost is $19 which includes a snack and six hands-on, age appropriate activities.

The schedule is as follows:

June 9 - Foamy, Fizzy Science
June 10 - Vroom, Vroom, Vroom

June 11 - Games Galore

June 12 - Sun, Stars & Solar System

June 13 - Rocks and Rolls

For more information or to enroll click here.

Chamber Event: Generational Synergy Seminar

Ginny Carroll, CEO of inGiNuity and keynote speaker of 2007's Graduate Retention Breakfast, returns to talk about the values and motivators of each generation currently in the workplace.

Ginny will share ways you can create teamwork, not conflict, in today's fast-paced workplace. Known for her inspirational, creative approach, Ginny has more than 18 years of management experience and over seven years of consulting experience. Because she has served at every level of an organization, Ginny's expertise is particularly insightful.

This event will take place Tuesday, June 17 from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. at Vera Bradley's NEW corporate headquarters (11222 Stonebridge Road, Roanoke 46783). The cost is $39 for non-profits, $49 for Chamber members and $59 for non-Chamber members.

Only 40 spaces are available so RSVP early! For more information contact Heather Neilson at (260) 424-1435, ext. 241 or hneilson@fwchamber.org.

Chamber Member Offers Local Getaway to Save on Gas

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For two weekends in June the Hampton Inn Southwest is offering a fabulous rate of $69 ( a regular $104 rate ) PLUS some extra goodies.

"We thought this would be a great time with gas prices sky rocketing to able to have a getaway without traveling," says Linda Skaggs, Director of Sales for the hotel. "You could use it for a romantic weekend, or a family outing-bring the kids along and let them swim, play games etc. If you have relatives or friends coming to town, this is a great way to let them save some money on their trip."

The package includes discount coupons for some area restaurants and to the Dome for mini golf and the batting cage.

The offer will be good as long as availability lasts. Give the hotel a call at (260) 459-1999 and ask for the Jump for Joy special if you want to take advantage of this great escape opportunity!

Lt. Governor Presents Chamber Member, Cindy's Diner, with a Hoosier Hospitality Award

Congratulations to John and Cindy Scheele, owners of Cindy's Diner. They were recently honored by Lt. Governor Becky Skillman with a Hoosier Hospitality Award.

Each year businesses in the tourism industry who truly personify "Hoosier hospitality" are honored with this award. According to Lt. Governor Skillman, "with their dedication to customer service the Scheeles were the perfect recipients."

Each year, tourism brings more than 62 million people to Indiana, and visitors spend $9.8 billion.

Next time you stop by Cindy's Diner be sure to tell the Scheele's congratulations!

ALERT from BBB of Northern Indiana

The Better Business Bureau just asked us to share this alert with you...

A consumer e-mailed the BBB that, although she is registered on the Do Not Call Registry, she is continuously receiving calls from two numbers: 201-621-5694 and 201-621-5695 every day, numerous times a day on her cell number. Numbers appear to be unlisted or not available via whitepages.com. Whenever she tries to reach them, the numbers are busy, so she is unable to find out who the caller is to tell them to quit contacting her.

Your BBB of Northern Indiana investigated this. It seems both of these numbers are scams. Both come from the same area (Hackensack, NJ). The 5694 number is a company called "Allegiance Telecom". They have had class action lawsuits against them and it looks as though they were just bought out by a "XO Communications". http://www.allegiancetelecom.com/algx_home.jsp

Xo communications seems to be a very large, nationally known communications company. However, Allegiance has not changed and is just attempting to find information and money. The second number is a scam number that will call and say its regarding a government grant you have applied for. They claim they will send you free money for only 3.88 in shipping and handling. Once again, SCAM. Some people even said they asked for personal information (Soc. Sec. #, addresses, etc).

Please contact your BBB should you receive a call from these numbers or have received a call at 1.800.552.4631.

City Council Expected to Discuss Thru-trucks

Tonight Fort Wayne City Council is expected to discuss a proposal to ban thru-trucks on Washington and Jefferson Boulevards downtown. Thru-trucks are currently prohibited only from 10 p.m. - 6 a.m.

This is an opportunity to discuss how this ordinance will affect YOUR BUSINESS and customers. As you may be aware, there was an effort to ban trucks on these downtown streets that was defeated in 2005. Councilman John Shoaff is proposing a complete ban, in effort to make the two major streets more pedestrian friendly. Trucks making local deliveries would remain exempt.

Please take some time to consider the cost of re-routing trucks, staff time and safety and share this information by email or by calling Jennifer Spurlock at (260) 424-1435.

The Council meeting is tonight at 5:30 p.m. in room 126 of the City County Building.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes: Kick-off Breakfast

You are invited to a kick-off breakfast for "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" this Thursday, June 5 from 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. at the Fort Wayne Country Club.

Anyone in the community can be involved with this event, which will take place September 6 at Headerwaters Park. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes asks men to literally walk a mile in women's shoes to show their support for the women in their lives.

The Fort Wayne Women's Bureau is asking anyone interested in getting involved or finding out more about this event to attend the kick-off breakfast.

For more information visit www.womensbureau.com or call (260) 424-7977.

Get a Free Passport Photo Tonight at Fort Wayne AAA

Taking a trip soon? As a community service, AAA will host a free passport photo night tonight! AAA membership will not be a requirement on this selected evening only.

Those interested in a passport photo can obtain one free of charge along with the application form needed to apply for a passport. AAA's Free Passport Night will take place tonight - June 3 from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at their Fort Wayne office, located at 607 Northcrest Shopping Center.

For more information please call (260) 484-1542.

Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) Gets Rave Reviews

Joni Howell, our Chamber lobbyist and Manager of Government & Community Affairs, just passed on a great article about how Indiana is making waves in healthcare...

Gov. Mitch Daniels plan to help uninsured people in Indiana get health insurance is getting nationwide positive feedback, according to Health Care News.

The Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) passed the legislature with bipartisan support last year, and people already are enrolling in the new program. It has funding to cover 130,000 people, and thousands of applications have already been received.

For the full story in the June issue of Health Care News click here

Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership Using Google Earth

The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership (RP) is one of the first organizations to offer an integrated experience of Google Earth with a sites and buildings searchable database on their Web site (http://www.chooseneindiana.com/).

The Google Earth service will allow visitors to the RP website to map available sites and buildings in the area onto a map that allows for a 3D degree view of locations. This gives prospect companies and site selection consultants the advantage of higher quality images and a faster experience on the site. The Google Earth integration came about through a collaboration with GIS Planning and Google.

To experience Google Earth at the RP Web site click here.

BioLife Health and Safety Fair on Saturday

Chamber member BioLife Plasma Services recently celebrated their grand opening with us last fall. Now they are hosting a health and safety fair next Saturday! Bring your family and enjoy the fun...The Health & Safety Fair will have free food (deluxe hot dog cart, chips, drinks, snow cones), games and prizes for the kids!

Other activities include:
Moon Bounce
Fire Department with truck
Police Department with patrol car
Face painting and balloon art
Raffle drawing for 3 bicycles (men's, women's, children's)
Captain Plazmo (the official BioLife mascot)
Free consultation with our medical supervisors
Information about donating plasma
Tours of the building upon request

For more information please contact (260) 422-7435.