FWCS Grad Rates higher than State Average

Fort Wayne Community Schools announced great news today. Their graduation rates increased at each of the six FWCS high schools for the class of 2009. And, for the second straight year, the district average was higher than the state average. A promising sign for the students who will one day be the business leaders of Fort Wayne!

In 2009, FWCS' graduation rate was 83.2 percent, nearly 3 percentage points higher than the state average of 81.5 percent. In 2008, the graduation rate for FWCS was 78.9 percent.

Superintendent Dr. Wendy Robinson says, "These numbers show that what we are doing through our High School Reinvent process is paying off. The class of 2009 showed us that when we focus on building relationships with students and making sure their coursework is rigorous and relevant to life after high school, we can help our student achieve success. As these programs get stronger and we implement additional changes with the support of the Race to the Top initiative, we expect our students will make even greater strides toward excellence." 

Tapestry Scholarships - Accepting Applications

Applications are being accepted for the 2010 Tapestry Parkview Health Sciences Scholarships. Up to $35,000 of scholarship money is available for the 2010-11 academic year - wow! The Tapestry Parkview Health Sciences Scholarship was established in 2002 to provide merit-based scholarships to IPFW students in the College of Health and Human Services. The recipients will have high academic standards; be committed to high-quality professional service; demonstrate responsibility for their actions and education; and show strong involvement in the community and professional activities.

Tapestry—A Day for Women will be held Friday, April 23 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The scholarship winners will be recognized during the breakfast program beginning at 8:30 a.m.

For more information on the scholarships and the criteria required to apply, go to www.ipfw.edu/hhs/resources/scholarships.shtml or call 260-481-4187. The application deadline is 5 p.m., January 14.

Scratch That

Regarding yesterday's postponement of the Cap & Trade workshop - originally I said it was tentatively rescheduled for January 14. Scratch that - the tentative date is Wednesday, January 20. Stay tuned for finalized details - this is a workshop you will not want to miss! Read more here.

In this Issue...

Check out the latest issue of Emphasis magazine, the Chamber publication distributed in the Fort Wayne Business Weekly. In this issue you will find:

• A letter from Maestro Andrew Constantine, new Music Director for The Phil
• A profile of Guen Morr of ProjectConnect
• How Ed Bowman of Exquisite Designs ended up at the White House

And much more! Find this and other issues of Emphasis online.

Cap & Trade Workshop Postponed

If you had plans to attend this evening's Cap & Trade workshop here at the Chamber, please be advised, the workshop has been postponed, and tentatively rescheduled for next Thursday, January 14. We will keep you posted on those details. We don't want to ask you to venture outside in this weather! For questions contact Melissa Beber at (260) 424-1435.

Northeast Indiana is Certified Site Ready

Some great news for our area - the Northeast Indiana Foundation and Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership recently announced that a site certification program has been established in Northeast Indiana. The program is called "Certified Site Ready," and with this announcement comes six new certified sites in Northeast Indiana (our first).

The Certified Site Ready program has been established in Northeast Indiana to increase the region's inventory of development ready sites to best meet the needs of site selectors and prospect companies in today's highly competitive global site selection market.  Northeast Indiana's Certified Site Ready complements the Shovel Ready certification established by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, creating another avenue through which certification can be achieved.

I was asking our President,  Mike Landram, about what this means for Northeast Indiana, and he said not only is it great news in terms of attracting prospective projects, but he gave me a really helpful illustration I wanted to share with you. He told me it's easy to be overlooked if we don't have certified sites for people to see - it would be like a clothing store promising great items inside, but then saying "we don't actually have the clothes in store, but we can order anything you want." The same type of psychology applies to these sites for development - if interested parties can see the quality product ready to go, they are much more likely to stop and browse. So here's to plenty of browsing at our new certified sites! 

The Great Fort Wayne Coverup

It's really cold outside! It's for that reason that The Great Fort Wayne Coverup was established. This is an opportunity to donate new or newly dry-cleaned blankets which will be given to the homeless during these bitterly cold months. You can donate during the weeks of 1/18/10, 1/25/10 and 2/1/10.

Deliver your blankets to The Rescue Mission (301 W. Superior St.) or to Master Consultants LP in the Chamber building (826 Ewing St.). The Rescue Mission will issue a tax deductible receipt. If you would like to learn more about The Great Fort Wayne Coverup, call Melissa Jaegle at (260) 483-1100.  

Stewart Richardson Event Raises $ for Toys for Tots

If you remember, not long ago we talked about the first annual Trial by Fire Chili Cook-Off, which Stewart Richardson Deposition Services held in December. From what I understand, the event was a great success, and a few of our staff can testify to that, having tasted the different chili samples themselves (see Aimee Scott and Lauren Richwine on the left - picture courtesy of Stewart Richardson). 

Stewart Richardson has posted a great wrap-up of the event, as well as pictures, on their Web site. I encourage you to check it out. The event raised over $750 for Toys for Tots, and plans for the second annual Chili Cook-Off are already in the works. The overall winner of the event was Kristin Bilinski of Barret & McNagny. She now has possession of the coveted traveling cooking pot trophy that has her name and firm inscribed on it.

Cap & Trade Workshop this Thursday

Don't forget to register for the workshop this Thursday at the Chamber: Cap & Trade: Short Term and Long Term Effects on Energy Prices and How Your Business Will be Affected. That's a long title, and generally that means the information you will receive is very important! We are here to identify issues that impact your business, and help you prepare for them, and this is one of those cases. 

This workshop is brought to you by the Chamber as well as the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Baker & Daniels will offer a breakdown of the legislation, Marc 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 this 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. 

Travel Plans?

One of the reasons we love a blog is the ability to get information out quickly to our readers. Dave Young, our VP of Air Service Development, wanted to share with you that there are some excellent airfare sales going on right now. If you are making travel plans (or if getting away just seems like a good idea), check out airfarewatchdog.com. They have a Fort Wayne page that lists great deals on flights from Fort Wayne International Airport.

While you are there, you can even sign up to receive email alerts for great deals on airfare in Fort Wayne. Happy traveling!

Ask the Ivy Tech Experts

Do you need an expert? We all need an expert in one area or another, right? Ivy Tech is doing something about that. They have a statewide "Ask Our Experts" speakers bureau which they offer online at www.ivytech.edu/experts. This is an online database of distinguished individuals who have made themselves available to share their particular areas of knowledge and expertise. The database allows you to browse by topic and search by keyword, and includes contact info, bios, and photos for the featured experts. 

Currently, the database has over 150 experts with a variety of areas of expertise and knowledge, and provides prospective students, media, business and community leaders, civic groups, and community groups with connections inside the Ivy Tech system on targeted areas of expertise. So, if you need a good resource for the business project or event you are working on, look into "Ask Our Experts" and see if they can help you!

Nominate Your Under Forty Friends

We'd like to introduce you to an exciting new event that will take place for the first time this year - Business Weekly's 40 under Forty. We are proud to be a partner in making this event a success. Who do you know that is an innovator and change agent (and of course is under forty)? Please nominate these leaders in our community. Winners will be profiled in a special Business Weekly issue in April, receive a certificate recognizing their achievement, and will be treated to a special reception in their honor.

You can find nomination forms in the bottom left corner of our Web site home page, or click on this form on the left and print it off. For more information about 40 under Forty, contact Lynn Sroufe at Business Weekly at lsroufe@kpcnews.net. 

Feet on the Street: Laughter is Good Medicine

by Teresa Royer, Member Relations Specialist

Have you ever heard of Laughter Yoga?  I didn’t either until recently.  It’s been around for about 11 years and originated in India and is currently in about 60 countries with laughter clubs throughout the world – one of them is right here in Fort Wayne!

I ran into Lee Wilcher a massage therapist at Vital Living Massage Therapy the other day and learned he is also a Certified Laughter Yoga Therapist.  He leads a laughter club for the residents at Covington Commons but it’s open to the public as well. 

I was very intrigued by this notion (not to mention curious) that my husband and I attended a session the other evening.  The price is right, just $5 gets you in the door. 

Lee starts out the session by passing out these toys that giggle (kind of like Tickle Me Elmos) – and of course you can’t help but to start laughing right away.

Next come introductions – as you introduce yourself you’re supposed to say something that you’d like to change about yourself – and the required response from everyone is fake laughing….. It’s kind of funny because you find yourself laughing at other’s perceived short-comings (yours as well).

After many exercises that required a fake laugh response – real laughter becomes the natural response.

One exercise was called argument laughter --- in which you learn not to take life and its problems too seriously.  At the end of the hour, you find yourself very relaxed.

Laughter Yoga club meets the 1^st & 3^rd Sundays at 5:30 p.m. at Covington Commons.  Please know it’s open to all age groups—kids as well -- so it could even be a family night out.

I highly encourage you to give laughter yoga a try.  In addition, these sessions have been endorsed by local physicians.

You can contact Lee to learn more about Vital Living and / or Laughter Yoga at: (260) 436-8807,             leewilcher@yahoo.com, www.vlmassage.com.

Turn Your Noms in Now for the ATHENA Awards®

Over here at the Chamber we've been getting excited about our annual ATHENA Awards® ceremony. This is one of the bigger events that we hold every year, and it's a great program - if you're not already aware, ATHENA is an international program that celebrates exceptional individuals who have achieved excellence in their profession, served the community in a meaningful way and assisted women in their attainment of professional goals and leadership skills (FYI, those nominated for ATHENA can be either men or women).

The Chamber's annual ATHENA Award® ceremony will take place March 24. But, the important thing right now is that time is running out to nominate someone you know for the ATHENA Award®. The nomination deadline is January 19. You can find nomination forms on the home page of fwchamber.org.

Our ceremony includes an additional element - a presentation of $1000 scholarships to female high school students for use in continuing education. The ATHENA Scholarship is sponsored by Dr. Michelle Helfgott and Northeast OB/GYN. Scholarship apps are also available on our home page, and are due February 12 (breathe easy, you have a little more time for that).

If you would like to donate to the ATHENA Scholarship fund, we are accepting donations in increments of $5, $10 and $25 at fwchamber.org (click the "register" button for donation options).

Special thanks to this year's ATHENA sponsors Lincoln Financial Foundation and National City Bank. For more information on ATHENA, contact Laureen Voirol at (260) 424-1435.