Rep. Randy Borror Appointed as Alternate to State Budget Committee

From the Statehouse...

Republican Leader Brian C. Bosma (R-Indianapolis) announced his appointment of state Rep. Randy L. Borror (R-Ft. Wayne) to serve as the House Republican alternate on the State Budget Committee. Rep. Borror replaces state Rep. Larry L. Buell (R-Indianapolis), who is retiring from the Indiana General Assembly.

Rep. Borror has served in the Indiana General Assembly since 2001 and is currently a member of the Committee on Rules and Legislative Procedures, the Small Business and Economic Development Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee.

The Budget Committee is composed of four legislators — one Democrat and one Republican from both the House of Representatives and the Senate — and the director of the Budget Agency. Four members from each caucus also serve as an alternate member.

The Budget Committee holds public hearings with state agencies to outline their budget requests. After the hearings are completed and future revenue estimates are presented through the Revenue Forecast, the committee makes a single, comprehensive budget recommendation to the governor.

Grand Funk Railroad Saturday at Foellinger Theatre

Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation presents “the American Band,” as Grand Funk Railroad performs at Foellinger Theatre tomorrow at 8pm.

Formed in 1969, Grand Funk Railroad has created top 10 hits that defined an era, including “We’re An American Band,” “The Loco-Motion,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” and “I’m Your Captain.”

Today, Grand Funk Railroad features founding members Don Brewer and Mel Schacher along with other band veterans including: Max Carl, formerly of 38 Special; Bruce Kulick, formerly of KISS; and Tim Cashion, formerly of the Bob Seger Band.

Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 the day of show. Alcohol will also be available for purchase. Special guest, local rock legend “Brother” will also open the show.

Event sponsors include 92.3 The Fort and Centennial Wireless. To purchase your tickets call Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation at 427-6000 or go to http://www.fortwayneparks.org/.

In This Issue...

Emphasis hits the newstands today with another exciting issue. Be sure to check out the Chamber's magazine, which appears in the center section of the Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly.

This week, Matthew 25 Clinic is featured as well as the upcoming "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" event from the Women's Bureau. Also, find out how you can guard your identity and pay off college loans. Want to know how? Pick up an issue and find out!

For questions on how to be featured in Emphasis contact Nicole Wilkins at (260) 424-1435

Credit for Fort Wayne

MidwestBusiness.com column credits infrastructure of city and community leaders to growth and economic development. The Indiana Chamber also commented on the story on their blog.

Be a Tourist in Your Hometown 2008

Rediscover your own backyard during the 10th annual Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown celebration on Sunday, September 7th, from noon - 5 p.m. On this day Fort Wayne residents with a Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown passport will be able to visit 10 area attractions and museums - FOR FREE!

Passports provide free admission to 10 of Fort Wayne’s attractions, including the African/African-American History Museum, Allen County Courthouse, Artlink, Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, Fort Wayne Firefighter's Museum, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, History Center, Science Central, The Lincoln Tower, and the Visitors Center.

Free passports may be picked up at any Fort Wayne Scott's location (starting August 22nd), and at the Convention and Visitors Bureau Visitors Center - located downtown at 1021 S. Calhoun Street.

For more information, contact the Convention and Visitors Bureau at 424-3700 or click here.

FWMOA Breaks Ground on Expansion

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art held a groundbreaking on August 14 on a 10,000 square foot addition of new gallery space.

The project will reconfigure all of the museum’s space to facilitate better visitor service, greater accessibility and more programming. A new café, museum shop and WiFi-enabled Atrium Lounge will create a new downtown destination, providing an amenable spot for visitors to shop, relax and meet friends.

The new facilities are expected to be open by early 2010. The project will also include a new Learning Center and greatly expanded public art library, with emphasis on K-12 learning.

Chamber Member Indiana Physical Therapy Celebrates 20 Years

A big congratulations to Chamber member, Indiana Physical Therapy (IPT), on celebrating 20 years in business.

IPT provides outpatient rehabilitation services for all of Northeast Indiana. IPT was founded on August 8, 1988, with its first clinic in Bluffton, Ind. The company has since grown to nine locations, including five facilities in Fort Wayne and one each in Angola, Auburn, Bluffton and New Haven. IPT employs 85 people.

For more information about IPT, call (260) 432-4700 or visit indianapt.com.

Table Facilitators Needed

Table Facilitators are needed for tomorrow's Morning Mix at O'Daniel Auto Mart.

The Morning Mix takes place from 7:30 - 9 a.m. Enjoy speed networking at its finest by making new contacts for you and your business. O'Daniel Auto Mart is located at 4200 Illinois Road.

Interested? Contact Christy Drake at (260) 424-1435 or cdrake@fwchamber.org

Brain Gain Scholarship

Administered by the Questa Foundation for Education, the Brain Gain Program assists selected college graduates with repayment of their educational loans. Applicants must be
employed in Allen County, Indiana, and have received a federal student loan or other loan approved by the Questa Loan Review Committee.

Four annual payments of $2,500, up to a maximum of $10,000, will be applied toward recipients’ college loans. To qualify for each $2,500 payment, recipients must meet
annual employment requirements in designated fields in Allen County.

Graduates having bachelor’s and/or graduate degrees in Engineering, Engineering Technologies, or Computer Engineering employed in the following fields are eligible
to apply:

1. Advanced Manufacturing
2. Computer Information Technology
3. Biomedical/Biotechnology

To apply for a Brain Gain Grant, please submit the following information to Fort Wayne Educational Foundation at the following address:

P.O. Box 5224, Fort Wayne IN, 46895-5224

1. An official copy of your college or university transcript
2. Lender’s current statement of your educational loan account
3. Letter of recommendation from your employer including dates of employment
4. Listing of community and/or extra-curricular activities in which you have participated within the past two years
5. Letter stating your academic major and future career goals and indicating why you should receive this award

The next application deadline is October 1, 2008.

Do you have the tools you need?

Registration is now available for the Northeast Indiana Association of Health Underwriters 2008 Healthcare Conference.

The one-day conference is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, September 24 at Ceruti's Summit Park. The cost is $25 per person and includes breakfast and lunch.

Speakers:
Dr. Larry Luter – The State of Medicine: How employees can do their share to stay healthy
Doug Burgoyne - How Employers can reduce costs through making their employees wise consumers
Mike Nader - 10 Reason why employers are sued
Nelson Peters – County Commissioner


(click on image for larger view and registration form)

Companies to Watch List is Unveiled

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has released its list of "Companies to Watch." Fifty companies from 19 counties have received the designation. They are being recognized as the state's top privately held businesses that employ up to 150 and have between $750,000 to $100 million in annual revenue or working capital. Judges evaluated more than 420 nominations representing industries ranging from steel makers to software developers, laboratories and logistics firms.

Congratulations to Chamber member eXcellon Technologies Inc. The Fort Wayne electronics engineering business was one of the 50 chosen for the honor.

For the full list of companies to watch click here.