Red Cross Announces Battle for Blood Winner

Our local Red Cross, a Chamber member, just wrapped up their annual Battle for Blood campaign, which brings a Fire Department/EMS team and a Police Department team together in a competition for the best results in blood donations and votes.

The winner of this year's Battle for Blood is.... the Fire Department/EMS team! They received 692 votes, with the Police Department following closely at 630 votes. Happily, this year's goal was exceeded! 1,093 pints of blood were collected (with a goal of 1,000) and 545 platelet products were collected (with a goal of 500). 

Battle for Blood is over, but the need for blood never goes away! Save a life through blood donation at the New Year's Eve Blood Drive - and as a bonus, you will receive a coupon for a free 9-inch one-topping personal pan size pizza from Papa Murphy’s.

Fort Wayne Donor Center, located at 1212 E. California Rd. (across from the Memorial Coliseum)
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 31, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Lutheran Hospital Donor Center, located at 7900 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 107 (in the South lobby of Lutheran Hospital near the gift shop)
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 12 noon – 6 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 31, 6 a.m. – 12 noon

Cap & Trade Workshop Informs Your Business

The Chamber is partnering with the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council to bring you a special workshop on Cap and Trade legislation. Baker & Daniels will offer a breakdown of the legislation, Mark Lewis of Indiana Michigan Power will explain how it could impact you as a consumer, and Keith Busse of Steel Dynamics will clarify how the legislation impacts local businesses and manufacturers.

The workshop takes place Thursday, January 7. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. RSVP online at fwchamber.org. Cost is $10 per person - pay at the door, cash only. Event sponsors include: Trane, Waste Management, Baker & Daniels, AEP Indiana Michigan Power, the Northeast Indiana Chamber Coalition and Ivy Tech Community College. If you have questions about this event, contact Melissa Beber at mbeber@fwchamber.org. 

Happy New Year!

The Chamber wishes you a Happy New Year and best wishes for 2010! We will be closed Thursday, December 31 and Friday, January 1 for the holidays. What is your New Year's Resolution for your business? Our New Year's Resolution is to bring New Opportunities and New Business to you, our Chamber members, and help you achieve your business goals in 2010! 

Feet on the Street: Baby, it's Cold Outside!

by Teresa Royer, Member Relations Specialist

I met with Andy Crowel last week; he recently relocated from Texas.  Andy happens to be a native of  Indiana and after an approximately 17 year hiatus while building his career with the Marriott, he has moved back --close to home-- along with his wife – who is NOT a Hoosier, but from Texas.

Andy is the GM of the hotel you see being constructed downtown near the Embassy Theatre--Courtyard by Marriott / Fort Wayne Downtown Convention Center.  I was eager to learn from Andy the progress of the much-awaited hotel we have all been hearing about as a component of the Harrison Square project.

Andy tells me the hotel is expected to be completed fall, 2010.  However, you will find both Andy and his director of sales, Amber, in the offices they have set-up in the Indiana Hotel.

The day I met Andy was December 23—dangeroulsly close to Christmas with an outside temperature of only about 30 degrees.   I didn’t think much about it at the time, when I noticed Andy didn’t have many belongings with him as he entered the Chamber and as we conducted our business meeting.

As he went to leave we shared with each other our plans for the Christmas holiday.  Andy shared with me what was on his Christmas wish list--a coat….

Then it dawned on me that’s why it seemed like he didn’t have many belongings-- he didn’t have a coat to lug around because he’s from Texas where you most likely don’t need one like you do here.  I asked him if he was expecting one from Santa Claus?

I laughed when he said, Santa (a.k.a. his wife) already had delivered the coat and it was under the tree, but he was not allowed to open it until after Christmas!  Until then, he was trying to plan all his meetings as short walks-if he wasn’t able to drive……

So if you run into Andy Crowell before spring time, be sure to welcome him back home to Indiana and of course compliment him on his coat!

P.S.  Did I mention they will also have a restaurant called Champions Sports Bar & Grill?

To learn about the hotel and follow updates contact Andy at 260-490-3629 or visit their website.

Navistar Agrees to Discuss Future in Fort Wayne

The Journal Gazette reports that Navistar International Corp. has agreed to with meet with Mayor Tom Henry regarding the company's future in Fort Wayne. Mayor Henry recently issued a letter to Navistar, encouraging them to stay in Fort Wayne in light of their consideration of moving facilities to Illinois. Navistar's move could result in a loss of several hundred jobs for the area. Read the Journal Gazette article here. To read Mayor Henry's letter to Navistar, click here. 

Fort Wayne Ranked #1 with Apartment Renters

Way to go Fort Wayne - we have been ranked the #1 city in the U.S. for satisfaction with apartment renting. That's a significant industry! That means when people look at relocating here (and bringing their consumerism, as well as possibly their own business, with them!), they will see they have good options for a place to live. 

The ranking comes from ApartmentRatings.com's first annual Renter Satisfaction Rankings. This site is the largest online rating community for rental housing, and helps users make the best decision when considering renting. The rankings took into consideration customer satisfaction in the top 100 most populous cities in the U.S., and guess what - we came first. In addition to having the most satisfied renters in the country, the ApartmentRatings.com report also mentioned us having been called the #1 minor league sports city by Street & Smith's Business Journal, and having one of the most affordable housing markets in the U.S.

According to Michael Egan, general manager of ApartmentRatings.com, "The consistent mention of pet friendliness, good grounds, helpful management and quick repairs in apartment buildings in Fort Wayne helped it to rise to the top of the list." For a full list of the cities ranked visit http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/2009rentersatisfactionrankings.

Well done Fort Wayne! And now, we'd like to give a nod to all of our Chamber members in this industry - thank you for contributing to this honor!

Apartment Association of Fort Wayne
www.apartmentsfortwayne.com

Arbor Lakes Apartments

www.apartments.com/arborlakesfortwayne

Avalon at Northbrook

www.avalonatnorthbrook.com

Canterbury Green Apartments

www.aimco.com/canterburygreen

Chapel Oaks Apartments

www.chapeloaksapts.com

Corporate Housing Systems

www.corporatehousingsystems.com

Hunt Club

www.apartments.com/huntclubfortwayne

Lake Forest Apartments

www.lakeforestapartments.net

Pointe Inverness Apartments

www.dialequities.com

Preston Pointe at Inverness Centre

www.prestonpointeinverness.com

Regency Park/Newport Property Management

(260) 493-3732

Value Place

www.valueplace.com

Wallen Hills

(260) 489-0049

Willows of Coventry

www.dialequities.com

Windsor Oaks Apartments

www.windsoroaksapts.com

Wood Creek Apartments

(260) 486-5482

New Programs to be Offered at Ivy Tech

by Lauren Richwine, Communications Specialist

As the recent graduate from a local university, I can testify to the value of having top notch programs within your own community! Well it recently came to my attention that Ivy Tech will be launching various new Health Programs as well as providing a Manufacturing Degree online.

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE) has approved the new Associate of Applied Science in Health Care Support degree along with Certificates in Pharmacy Technician, Patient Care, Phlebotomy Technician, Therapeutic Massage and Electrocardiography. The Manufacturing degree and certificates will be available in January while the Health degree and certificates will be made available in Spring 2010.

Did you know that Ivy Tech Community College is our state’s largest public post-secondary institution? On top of that, it’s also the nation’s largest, singly-accredited statewide community college system with more than 130,000 students enrolled annually. Now THAT’S something worth bragging about! Congratulations to Ivy Tech on the approval of their new programs.

Submit Your Photos for This is Fort Wayne

Chamber members and beyond, don't forget to submit your photos for publication in This Is Fort Wayne, our yearly guide to everything Fort Wayne. This is a really neat print publication that we put out every year in conjunction with Business People Magazine. The deadline for photo submissions is January 4. Click on the accompanying image to read more about this opportunity!

P.S. If you don't have a copy of This Is Fort Wayne 2009, be sure to pick one up at the Chamber (826 Ewing Street). If you are a Chamber member, the publication is free to you. If you are a non-member, the cost is $25.