Mayor Names New Deputy Mayor - Greg Purcell

From the Mayor's Office:

Fort Wayne, Ind. – Mayor Tom Henry announced that Greg Purcell has accepted an offer to serve as Deputy Mayor. Purcell is a familiar face to many in Fort Wayne, having served in City government from the mid-1980s to 2001.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Greg back to Fort Wayne and to have his depth of knowledge, experience and commitment on our staff. His past achievements are impressive but it’s what we plan on accomplishing in the next several years that will be even more exciting,” said Mayor Henry.

Purcell, who has served as the County Administrator in Calhoun County, Mich., since January 2001, says he is excited to be coming back to a community with so much happening.

“The downtown projects, Harrison Square and Renaissance Pointe, and the opportunities with the north river area, discussions about co-locating City and County law enforcement departments and possibly moving the City and County offices out of the City-County Building. --- It’s all energizing and indicates to me a lot of positive movement in the community,” said Purcell.

Purcell replaces Mark Becker who left May 31 to join the Northeast Indiana Regional Marketing Partnership. Purcell served under Mayor Win Moses as Director of Community Development & Planning from 1986, then was retained in that position when it was re-aligned as director of Community and Economic Development after Mayor Paul Helmke was elected in 1988. Helmke eventually appointed him to Chief of Staff, a position he held until September 1999. At that time, he was selected as Director of Parks and Recreation, and was again retained when a new mayor came into office, this time Mayor Graham Richard in January 2000. Purcell left in January 2001 to accept the position with Calhoun County, Mich. which he currently holds.

“I’ve long admired Tom Henry as a political leader with whom I’ve worked in many capacities,” Purcell said. “He could work with anyone, of any affiliation, to get things done and to move forward. I respect that ability and look forward to adding my efforts to bring groups together and strengthen Fort Wayne to make it an even better place for citizens and businesses to grow.”

Purcell, who had to give substantial notice at his current position, is expected to relocate to Fort Wayne in the next few months and begin full time duties by the third week of September.

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Contact:
Rebecca Karcher, Public Information
427-1120, rebecca.karcher@cityoffortwayne.org

Feet on the Street

by Teresa Royer
Member Relations Specialist

Here's some interesting tidbits from my time with Chamber members...

Family and Children Services: Stephen Jarrell, Executive Director & CEO shared some history of their organization. Their beginnings were roughly around 1860 offering homes to the orphans of the looming Civil War; they no longer offer adoption services but have evolved to offering a full array of mental health services as well as offering employee assistance programs.

Stephen and his staff are all masters-level counselors that have been with the organization for many years. Stephen is very easy to talk to and has a great sense of humor! A common mistake is the public thinks they are a department of the city or a welfare office, but they’re actually a non-profit organization.

Best Places to Work Winners Announced

The Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce proudly sponsored yesterday's “Best Places to Work in Northeast Indiana” event presented by Upstate Indiana Business Journal.

We would like to congratulate all companies that were honored with a special mention for our Chamber members selected:

The overall Best Places to Work in Northeast Indiana are:

Small Business - LaBov & Beyond
Medium Business - Grabill Bank
Large Business - St. Joseph Hospital

The following companies are the award winners in their respective size categories:

Best HR Practices:
Large:
1. Lutheran Hospital
2. St. Joseph Hospital
3. Centennial Wireless

Medium:
1. Grabill Bank
2. Our Sunday Visitor
3. Vera Bradley

Small:
1. Morrison Kattman Menze
2. LaBov & Beyond
3. Dulin, Ward & DeWald

Employee Satisfaction:
Large:
1. St. Joseph Hospital
2. Centennial Wireless
3. Easter Seals ARC of Northeast Indiana

Medium:
1. Grabill Bank
2. Vera Bradley
3. Our Sunday Visitor

Small:
1. One Resource Group
2. Barrett & McNagny
3. Beckman Lawson

Best Benefits & Compensation:
Large:
1. Lutheran Hospital
2. Centennial Wireless
3. Ivy Tech Community College

Medium:
1. Grabill Bank
2. Our Sunday Visitor
3. Fort Wayne Cardiology

Small:
1. LaBov & Beyond
2. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
3. The Nichols Company

Most Innovative Corporate and Business Culture:
Large:
1. Centennial Wireless
2. St. Joseph Hospital
3. Lutheran Hospital

Medium:
1. Our Sunday Visitor
2. Vera Bradley
3. Master Spas

Small:
1. LaBov & Beyond
2. Dulin, Ward & DeWald
3. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

YLNI Picnic August 1

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Best Places to Work in Northeast Indiana Revealed this Afternoon

The Best Places to Work in Northeast Indiana will be revealed in a ceremony at Sweetwater Sound this afternoon. The Chamber is one of the sponsor's of this event. Check back tomorrow for a list of Chamber members that have been selected for this honor!

United Way Day of Caring Project Selection Today

WHO: Dozens of United Way of Allen County volunteers

WHAT: 16th Annual United Way Day of Caring project selection

WHEN: Thursday, July 24, 2008, 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Allen County Public Library, Room A

WHY: Volunteers from local businesses will select the projects they will work on during United Way’s 16th Annual Day of Caring on August 8, 2008. This year, the Day of Caring has a special focus – youth. All projects will be aimed at helping kids succeed, emphasizing United Way’s commitment to efforts that boost local children’s achievement in school and life. Projects will take place at organizations such as youth centers and child care centers.

Chamber’s Graduate Retention Programs Receives Grant

The Chamber’s Graduate Retention Program has been awarded a $40,000 grant request for 2008-2009 from the Lincoln Financial Foundation.

“We are grateful for the grant from Lincoln Financial Foundation,” says Mike Landram, Vice President of Workforce & Business Development. “They have supported the growing awareness of the importance of internships throughout Northeast Indiana.”

The Graduate Retention Program is designed to attract and retain college and high school graduates in Northeast Indiana. The program’s strategy is to increase awareness of area employers by promoting the development of meaningful internships for college and high school students.

Whether you are an employer or student, Graduate Retention has the necessary tools and resources to help you connect with the rest of Northeast Indiana.

Congratulations to the program on this major accomplishment! For more information on Graduate Retention visit http://www.graduateretention.com/ or call (260) 424-1435.

Free Children’s Dental Services Available from Afdent

Afdent Patient Friendly™ Dentistry has announced that free cleanings, x-rays, exams, and fluoride treatments will be made available to school-aged children grades K-12. This offer will be valid at Afdent’s new Parnell Avenue location in Fort Wayne, and will be provided on a first-come first-served basis, limited to the first 500 scheduled patients.

The standard $335 fee for these services is being waived regardless if the families are new or existing Afdent patients. Afdent has extended this offer as a way to help area families through difficult economic times, without having to make choices regarding important preventive dentistry for children.

Interested families should call Afdent immediately at (260) 482-8386.

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2009 ATHENA Award Luncheon Scheduled

The 2009 ATHENA Award Luncheon will take place on March 11. Mark your calendars now for an exciting event honoring incredible community leaders for their support of women in the community.

Watch for nomination forms and deadlines this fall. For more information on how to get involved with ATHENA contact Christy Drake at (260) 424-1435, ext. 266.

Building the Value for Members with New Chamber Web Site

The Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce announces the launch of a newly redesigned Web site which provides value-added features to enhance Chamber member businesses as well as the Northeast Indiana business community.

The Chamber Web site URL remains the same – www.fwchamber.org – but the features go a long way in building value for Chamber members through improving member communications and supporting long-term membership goals.

“We are thrilled to present our new Web site to the community,” says Shannon McNett-Silcox, Vice President of Member Relations. “Our goal was to create a member-centric site, one that allowed us to drive traffic to our membership. Most notably, we can track site visits and provide our members with statistics to support their return on investment.”

Key enhancements include:

· Secure member login
· Searchable member directory
· Member ability to instantly update contact information
· Enhanced press room with member ability to upload press releases
· Searchable Chamber calendar and online registration for events
· Member ability to upload organization events to community calendar
· Catalogue of member discounts
· Northeast Indiana community information for visitors and businesses interested in relocation
· Renewals and event fees processed online

Chamber members and visitors will be able to navigate through the site with improved usability and see direct benefits for their business in terms of promotion and communication with Northeast Indiana and the greater community.

The Chamber is proud to have the following major supporters featured on the site: Tower Bank, North Eastern Group Realty, Northeast OB/Gyn Women’s Health Group, Beckman Lawson, Parkview Hospital and Brand Innovation Group (BIG).

The Web site’s content management was designed by Chamber WebLink which is based out of Indianapolis. Chamber WebLink has worked with over 350 Chambers of Commerce and member-based organizations across the United States to help build online, interactive value for their membership.

Allen County Fair is Open

Come join the fun at the Allen County Fair! For a complete schedule of events, visit the web site.

Fair events include:

DEMOLITION DERBY
MIDWAY
MOTORCYCLE RACES
4-H EXHIBITS, SHOWS & COMPETITION
“BIFF & THE CRUISERS”
CLASSIC CAR CRUISE-IN
KIDS’ DAY
PEDAL RACES

Lincoln Foundation Demonstration Theater unveiled at Science Central

Visitors to Science Central will enjoy a broader range of hands-on educational programs at the newly-renamed Lincoln Financial Foundation Demonstration Theater which was unveiled last week.

Science Central offers demonstrations on a variety of science, technology and math subjects with an average of 68 programs provided to nearly 3,000 visitors each month.

Get a chance to check out the new demonstration theater when Science Central hosts the next Meet Me @ 5 on August 14 from 5 - 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Science Central at 424-2400 or visit their web site.

Capabilities Statements Wanted for Welding/Metal Fab

A prime contractor recently requested assistance in finding qualified welding companies and metal fabricating companies.

Capabilities statements are needed from companies that perform the relevant NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes listed below.

Email all capabilities statements to: BWirth@EMTEC.org

Your statement should include:
State if you are ISO certified.
State if you are ISO compliant; ie. you are working for a prime who is ISO certified and complying with their detailed quality program.
If you have any industry-recognized quality program, state that you are MIL-Q-9858A.
Do your company or any of your people have certifications, welding stamps, relevant or technical experience?
Include a second page listing equipment, building square footage, number of employees, etc.
If you have a description beside each NAICS, consider replacing the generic NAICS title with a short statement of your specific expertise in that NAICS code.
List of clients and perhaps a few words about what was purchased--especially include clients who are primes, military and government agencies.
List of services and products bulleted.

Preliminary list of NAICS of interest:
325510 Paint and coating mfg
326220 Rubber and Plastics Hoses and Belting
326291 Rubber Product Manufacturing for Mechanical Use
327215 Safety glass mfg
332313 Welding & plate steel fabrication
332420 Heavy gauge metal mfg
332710 Machine shops
332721 Precision turned product mfg.
332811 Annealing and heat treating
332812 Applying metal coatings
332813 Grinding, polishing, plating
332999 Metal fabrication of all types
333514 Special Die and Tool, Die Set, Jig, and Fixture Mfg.
333515 Cutting tool & machine tool accessories
333992 Welding and Soldering Equipment
336120 Heavy duty vehicle mfg
336311 Carburetor, Piston, Piston Ring, and Ring Mfg
336312 Gasoline Engine and Engine Parts Mfg
336321 Vehicle spotlights
336322 Wire harnesses
336330 Steering components
336350 Motor Vehicle Transmission and Power Train Parts Mfg
336360 Vehicle seating & interior trim mfg
336360 Vehicle seats mfg
336370 Stamping of vehicle parts
336399 All Other Motor Vehicle Parts (like Radiators)
336992 Military vehicle mfg
541380 Metallurgical testing & x-ray weld inspection services
541614 Process & logistics consulting
561910 Fullfilment
562910 Paint removal contractors