New LEADS Group Annouced

LEADS - Leadership Experiences And Developing Success

A new forum has been developed for Chamber members, specifically those looking to grow their business through leads, professional development and relationship-building. The LEADS Group is designed for young peers in non-competing businesses to meet monthly to share and gain practical knowledge and counsel on today's business challenges.

If your business is a Chamber member and you are a 20- or 30-something, mark your calendar for our kick-off event on Wednesday, September 17th @ 8 a.m. Location - WestPoint Financial, 6920 Pointe Inverness Way, Suite 120.

RSVP to Christy Drake @ cdrake@fwchamber.org or call her at (260) 424-1435.

Photography Call Out

The Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce a call out for photography for our upcoming This is Fort Wayne publication. This is Fort Wayne also contains our membership directory.

Have any photos you would like to send in? We would love to hear from you!

Click on the image below for a larger view & more detail.

Become a Miracle Maker

Seeing the smile on a child’s face is one of the great joys in life. Fort Wayne’s Majic 95.1 WAJI brings thousands of smiles to the faces of children and their families at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis each year during the Majic Riley Radiothon.

This September 11 and 12 Fort Wayne, Indiana-area families will share their inspiring stories about how Riley touched their lives. WAJI listeners can pledge their support for Indiana’s only comprehensive children’s hospital through phone and online giving. The phone number is 866-951-kids and the website for donating is waji.com. Just $15 a month, less than 50 cents a day, will help the miracle makers at Riley.

Additionally sponsored also by Grabill Cabinet Company and Three Rivers Federal Credit Union, this year’s radiothon promised to be bigger than ever! But help is still needed from the business community in the form of monetary donations and support. Volunteers to answer phones are also needed from area businesses.

Majic has also created a Majic Miracle Music CD (this year’s is Volume 2) featuring such artists as Daughtry and REO Speedwagon. The CD boasts 15 exciting tracks of fun music for just $10. The best part, 100% of the proceeds benefit Riley Chidren’s Hospital. The CD is available online at http://www.waji.com/.

Be sure to donate, buy a Majic CD and listen in on September 11 and 12 for 24 hours of heartwarming stories, music, hard work and many miracles.

For additional information contact Barb at 260-423-3676.

Feet on the Street

by Teresa Royer
Member Relations Specialist

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Fen-Lei Chang, the Assistant Dean & Director of Indiana University School of Medicine-Fort Wayne (IUSM-FW) at our own IPFW and Gina Bailey, the new Development Coordinator.

Dr. Chang has been with IUSM-FW for about a year and Gina just a few months so it was very nice to be able to meet the both of them and learn more about the school of medicine as I have been reading and hearing about this wonderful plus for Fort Wayne from time-to-time.

They told me that the initiative is to generate more physicians in Fort Wayne and expand their student body by up to 30% by the year 2015. I can’t help but think this is nothing but good news as it should have a “ripple effect” on the business community as well…

IUSM -FW has had a medical program since 1981 but only offered the first two years of training to their students. With the completion of their new building medical students will be able to complete all four years of medical training here before entering a residency without having to leave our wonderful city.

I found Dr. Chang and Gina both very down to earth and easy to talk to….

Carmike Brings Cirque du Soleil to Fort Wayne

Carmike Cinemas will bring Cirque Du Soleil’s “Delirium” and the Broadway hit “Rent” to Fort Wayne's local Carmike theatre.

Starting Wednesday August 20 Carmike Cinemas will feature Cirque Du Soleil’s “Delirium." Inspired by some of the most memorable musical moments of Cirque Du Soleil, “Delirium” remixes Cirque music and adds lyrics. The presentation will be the final staging of “Delirium” which closed its multi year, worldwide tour at London’s O2 Arena. Showtimes for this event are Wednesday, August 20, and Thursday August 21, 2008, at 7 pm, and Saturday, August 23, 2008 and Sunday August 24, 2008 at 1 pm.

Tickets for Cirque Du Soleil’s “Delirium” on the big screen are on sale for $20 at participating Carmike theatre box offices or click here for online ticket sales.

Starting Wednesday September 24, 2008, Carmike Cinemas will bring the Broadway musical hit “Rent” to the big digital screen. More information can be found at www.carmike.com

ITT Awarded Five Year Military Sales Contract

ITT Corporation today announced that its Communications Systems business has been awarded a five-year Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract by the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command (CECOM).

The FMS program is the government-to-government method for selling U.S. defense equipment, services, and training to allied nations. The five-year FMS contract contains an option for a sixth year and has a potential value of $490 million over the life of the contract.

Potential products and services under the contract include communications systems, radios and associated products, components and services such as installation, training, and engineering support.

Production will primarily be completed at Communications Systems' facilities in Fort Wayne, Ind. or Basingstoke, United Kingdom.

IPFW Internship and Job Fair

The fifth annual IPFW Internship Job Fair will take place on September 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Student Union Ballroom. Business can register for $90 and $40 for non-profits. Come out and meet the area’s brightest youth and alumni. You can register online by clicking here . For more information contact IPFW’s career services at (260) 481-0689.

Vera Bradley Adds Fall Sale

Christmas has come early for Vera Bradley fans this year as the company announced they will host a fall outlet sale. The sale will take place October 2 - 4 at the Coliseum. The annual spring sale brings a number of visitors to the Fort Wayne area. The 2008 spring sale saw over 60,000 attendees. Admission is free and, as usual, deep discounts are to be had on a variety of products. So do your holiday shopping early!

Tops in Blue Free Performance Tonight

The 122nd Fighter Wing is proud to announce that Tops in Blue, a USAF ‘Broadway’ style touring group featuring music, dancing, comedy, and more, is returning to Fort Wayne for one performance only on Monday, Aug. 11, at 7:00 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Center downtown. The event is open to the public with open seating on a first come, first serve basis. The doors will open at 6:15 p.m.

A member of the 122nd Fighter Wing’s Security Forces, Senior Airman Nicholas Amari, was chosen to be part of this world-renowned entertainment group for the second year in a row. This highly competitive musical group has been around for 50 years. What started out as a world-wide Air Force talent competition to give non-athletic Air Force members a chance to show off their skills eventually evolved into a traveling show called Tops in Blue.

For more information visit their site at http://www.topsinblue.com/mission.html

New Easter Seals Arc Park

The new Easter Seals Arc Park is being dedicated tomorrow, August 12th, at 10 a.m. Easter Seals Arc, in conjuntion with Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation, are proud to introduce their new integrated park.

The garden will serve to provide shade to both adult and child clients, as well as aid in keeping the Fort Wayne air clean by planting native trees and bushes to the area. The park features something for all of the senses, including a fragrant garden, butterflies, and blueberry patch.

To catch your own bit of shade, visit Easter Seals Arc at 10 a.m. for the dedication!

The Day of Caring 2008

The Chamber was a proud participant in the Day of Caring 2008. Our own president Kristine Foate was the highlighted speaker at the breakfast. We were so delighted to help the Gingerbread House.

Clifford greeted the Chamber Staff at the Breakfast

Chamber President Kris Foate speaks to the crowd gathered for the Day of Caring.

Kay Anthony reads to the children Group Picture

Scientist for an Evening

Have you ever wanted to explore the wonders of Science Central but thought you were too big? Here is your chance to experience all the hands-on exhibits and see really cool demonstrations. Not to mention networking with other business professionals in the area, snacking on hors d'oeuvres and purchasing your favorite drink from our cash bar. Who wouldn’t want to show up?

Come experience Science Central in a whole new way at our Meet Me @ 5 this Thursday, August 14 from 5-7 p.m. The cost is $5 for members and $10 for non-members. We can’t wait to see you there!

Questions? Call Christy at (260) 424-1435 or e-mail her at cdrake@fwchamber.org.