Orthopedic Design & Technology Conference Approaches

I hope that you have seen our most recent issue of Emphasis magazine - on Page 2 and 3 you will find some great information about the upcoming Orthopedic Design & Technology (ODT) Conference & Exhibition taking place at the Grand Wayne. This is the fifth year that ODT magazine has brought their global conference to our city, and it's a sign not only of the strong industry we have here, but also the good working relationship between our business community and ODT.

This conference brings together finished good manufacturers, suppliers, surgeons, OEM industry leaders, hospital leadership, and more, for a two-day (September 22-23) event including panel discussions, networking, exhibitors, and this year - a live surgery broadcast. Be sure to check out more information about the ODT Conference & Exhibition - this opportunity comes only once a year!

Global Conference on Orthopedics Industry Comes to Fort Wayne

If you or someone you know is in the orthopedic technology/manufacturing sector, this post is for you! The call also goes out to orthopedic suppliers, and surgeons and hospital leadership (gee, if only we had an extensive medical community in Fort Wayne!). 

The Fifth Annual Orthopedic Design & Technology (ODT) Conference & Exhibition is coming to Fort Wayne September 22-23 at the Grand Wayne. This is a global event. That's right - global. The conference offers a dynamic opportunity for attendees to network and learn from OEM industry leaders, orthopedic surgeons, hospital leadership, select suppliers and service providers. It brings together orthopedic finished goods manufacturers, suppliers and surgeons for networking, general sessions, panel discussions, targeted conference sessions and select exhibitors.

Highlights this year will include a live surgery broadcast and in-depth panel discussions on topics including hospital and surgeon reimbursements, and barriers to entering the market.

This is only a tiny sampling of what will take place at this two-conference! Learn more and find registration information here. 

Business Leadership Network Invites Businesses to Get Involved

The Greater Fort Wayne Business Leadership Network (BLN) is looking for local businesses to help support and encourage the employment of persons with disABILITIES. The BLN is extending an invitation to businesses, business leaders, and anyone interested in learning more about the BLN, to attend an informative meeting on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 from 3-4:30 p.m. here at the Chamber (826 Ewing Street).

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the passing of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the BLN wants to bring awareness to the still vastly untapped pool of employees with various backgrounds, skills and experience. As well as to address the major attitudinal and stereotypical barriers for people with disabilities and show the true value and pleasure of working with all individuals. Also discussed at this forum will be the positive effects of the BLN without our community economically and developmentally, followed by a Q&A session, in which attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and voice their concerns.

Currently comprised of 3 Rivers Federal Credit Union, The Fort Wayne Chamber, The City of Fort Wayne, Fast Print, Parkview Hospital, and Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, the BLN pulls agency support from Goodwill, Easter Seals Arc, Park Center and Pathfinder Resource Connection.

Kevin Deardorff, Vice President, Lake City Bank in Warsaw, IN, Chair of the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce and champion for the Kosciusko BLN, will be the guest speaker.

For more information please contact Kassandra Flanagan, (260) 456-4534, ext. 342. For additional information about the Indiana BLN, please visit www.inbln.org.

Last Chance to Register for the Women's Business Forum

There is officially only one day left to get your tickets for the Women's Business Forum - this is a last call. The Women's Business Forum will take place this Friday, June 11, but registration will be closed mid-day on Wednesday. Don't miss this great opportunity to network with other female professionals, and engage with topics unique to the interests of women in business.

This year's Forum will focus on Connectivity at work, home, and in the community. Keynote speaker Mary LoVerde will address participants with creative ways to balance their lives and connect with people important to their success. There will also be workshop sessions led by local business women that you may know! Seating is limited so make sure you get your ticket fast. Read more and register here.

For Women Only (sorry guys)

Ladies, have you registered for the Women's Business Forum yet? It has just been announced that Dr. Sheri Trine will make the welcoming remarks for this annual event. Dr. Trine has been involved with the Steuben County Community Foundation as a founding board member and gifted and furnished their new facility. She Chaired the Brick Drive for the YMCA and helped with the funding and decorating of the building. She founded the Cameron Hospital Benefit Ball twenty-five years ago and the ball has generated over $750,000 for the hospital... the list goes on! Read more about Dr. Trine's service to the community here. 

One other tidbit though: she owned and operated the Fun Spot Amusement Park and Zoo with her family and has rescued and given homes to several exotic cats!

I hope that you will reserve your spot for the Women's Business Forum today. These tickets also make a great gift or employee incentive. This all-day event addresses topics of unique interest to all women in business, and will focus on Connectivity at work, home, and in the community. Mary LoVerde returns as the main speaker, and local business women will hold breakout sessions as well.

The Forum takes place Friday, June 11, and registration ends next Wednesday. Find out more about the Women's Business Forum and register online now! 

Register Now for the Women's Business Forum

We're excited about a great business event quickly approaching - the annual Women’s Business Forum, which will take place Friday, June 11 at Trine University.

The Women’s Business Forum is committed to connecting women in the workplace to resources for life success. It's an all-day event which addresses topics of unique interest to all women in business, and will focus on Connectivity at work, home, and in the community.

The event will feature Mary LoVerde as the returning key speaker. She is an internationally recognized expert in life balance strategies and the author of three best-selling books. She will again delight participants with creative ways to balance their lives and connect with people important to their success. In addition to LoVerde’s keynote address, there will be workshops led by local experts.

Tickets are only $35 and time is running out so register today! You can find out more and register at our Web site. 

NIHRA 2010 Conference – Well worth the money, and did I mention the chocolate fountain?

by Kelli Pursley, Graduate Retention Field Representative

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at IPFW Walb Student Union Building, 8:00 am.– 4:30 p.m.

$99 - Value well worth the money! When was the last time a professional could attend a one-day event, hear an inspiring Keynote Speaker, choose from a variety of informational breakout sessions relevant to your company in the 2010 economic climate, AND enjoy a chocolate fountain? And, not travel out of Northeast Indiana. This is exactly why a company cannot afford NOT to send their HR professional, office manager, team supervisor, general manager to the conference.

Just a quick overview of the day’s events and breakout topics below. Valuable information you can apply immediately to your growing company:

Morning – Keynote Speaker and 30 vendors to research their programs and services!

Breakout Sessions:

Training Your Supervisors to Keep You Out of Court

Fully Insured or Self Insured… What’s Best for Me?

The New Reality:  The Permanent Temporary Employee

$$$$$ Is There Green in Going Green? $$$$$

Leveraging Social Media for Business Today

Indiana Government:  What’s Happening Today That Will Affect Your Business Tomorrow

Global Strategic Leadership…Gateway to the Future

Wellness:  A Journey, not a Destination

Chocolate Fountain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you Wednesday, May 19, 2010. Register: Go to http://nihra.shrm.org. A company simply cannot afford to miss this information packed day!

See you then….Kelli 

Destination is Key: Merging in a New Direction

by Kelli Pursley, Graduate Retention Program Field Rep

Northeast Indiana Human Resource Association Conference – May 19, 2010

As an attendee of the NIHRA Conference for the past three years I can honestly say I have always walked away feeling motivated with a renewed  “can do” attitude by the Keynote Speaker to make personal and professional  changes, and I have received valuable information that I was able to apply immediately in the workplace.

With Karl Schoemer as the Keynote Speaker, 2010 looks to be the best conference yet! Karl is a well-recognized trainer and his topic for the Conference is: “Road Map to the New Reality – How to Make Change your Competitive Advantage”. After hearing him speak at the Indiana State Conference in August in Indianapolis and reading several of his books, I would not miss him for anything! He was real, funny and informational as he gave a practical approach to coping with change and outlining the skills and behaviors we need to navigate the change in our life for long-term success.

With companies lean sizing and asking their managers and team members to take on more responsibility, the NIHRA Conference is a great opportunity to learn about the latest legislative updates, how to develop key components of a wellness program, how going “green” can  positively affect your business, and much more. Can’t get away for a whole day, no problem. New this year is an opportunity for attendees to enjoy breakfast and the morning presentation. The early bird pricing ends April 30, 2010. I am registering today - how about you?

2010 NIHRA Conference at IPFW, Wednesday, May 19, 2010. Please plan on attending to hear a nationally renowned keynote speaker, gain professional knowledge in Human Resources and earn credits for PHR, SPHR, GPHR. You can register online or by completing and mailing a registration form. To learn more and to register, go to  http://nihra.shrm.org.

See you there!

-Kelli

Workshop Today to Focus on the Defense Industry

The Chamber, City of Fort Wayne, Women’s Enterprise – A Program of the Fort Wayne Women’s Bureau, Small Business Administration, SCORE, Community Development Corp. and the Indiana Small Business Development Center will offer a free workshop today, Thursday, Oct. 15 about local businesses working with government and the defense industry.

The workshop will be 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Omni Room on the second floor of the City-County Building.

The session is aimed at second-stage business owners in a wide range of sectors from lawn mowing to high-tech or individuals who want to learn more about how local businesses work with the government or progress in the local defense industry.

Gil Perry with Partners in Contracting Corp. and the Small Business Development Center and Bruce Stach Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership will be the workshop’s presenters.

Topics to be covered Thursday include:

• Introduction of Gil Perry and the formation of a Procurement Technical Assistance Center here in Fort Wayne, www.piccorp.org
• Overview of current area changes happening in the defense industry and the newly formed “defense cluster”
• Why a business may or may not want to work on government contracts
• Process of getting certified to bid on contracts and resources for training
• Introduction of the General Service Administration catalog and associated opportunities
• Defining contract opportunities with a city, county, state or federal entity
• Sub-contract opportunities with local prime contractors, including the charter members of the NEI Defense Cluster; 122nd Air National Guard, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, ITT, Navistar, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada, Raytheon, and USSI.

The remaining workshop scheduled for 2009 is patents, trademarks and copyright, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Omni Room of the City-County Building.

Walmart to Award The Chamber a Grant at TinCaps Game

We hope to see you tomorrow night at the "Walmart Community Giving Night at TinCaps Game." The night was created to focus on giving back to the community around you. Attendees are encouraged to bring school supplies with them to be donated to the Salvation Army's "Tools for Schools" program.

Prior to the game's start, the Walmart State Giving Program will present The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce with a grant to be used for funding the Graduate Retention Program.

The Graduate Retention Program's mission is to attract and retain northeast Indiana high school and college graduates in high-wage and high-skill jobs to improve the local workforce.

For tickets to the game see tincaps.com.

Be Prepared: Allen County Business Preparedness Summit 2009

Be Prepared: Allen County Business Preparedness Summit 2009

Registration (9am-9:50am)
Welcoming Remarks (10am)
Mayor Tom Henry
Commissioner Nelson Peters

Opening Plenary Session (10am-11am)
Keynote Address
Ted Kwiatkawski, AEP
Pandemic Preparedness for Businesses

Break (11am-11:10am)

Concurrent Breakout Sessions**
(11:10-12:10pm, 12:20-1:20pm, and 1:30-2:30pm w/breaks in between each session)

Session I: "Threats and Preparedness Steps for Large & Small Businesses"
Mindy Waldron and Matt Brokaw (Ft. Wayne-Allen Co. Dept. of Health)

Session II: "Information Technology/Business Continuity"
Greg McCormick (Precisely Right, Inc.)

Session III: "Networking Lunch"

**Concurrent Breakout Sessions will be repeated so that all attendees can attend both sessions as well as lunch

Closing Plenary Session (2:30-3pm)

Attendance is limited to the first 180 registrants
LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED

TO REGISTER (no cost), email the company name, proposed attendee names, and all associated contact information to: ACBusinessSummit09@co.allen.in.us
on or before August 30th, 2009.

Chamber Participates in United Way Day of Caring

The Chamber joined 800 United Way of Allen County volunteers to take part in the 17th Annual United Way Day of Caring on Friday, August 14.

After breakfast at Headwaters Park Chamber volunteers got directly involved in improving the community. This year, the Chamber built a brick/stone paveway for local agency Hope House.

Here are pictures of the Chamber volunteers working hard at this year's Day of Caring:

Chamber, City and Community Partners Offer Free Tax, Recor-Keeping Business Workshop

The City of Fort Wayne in cooperation with the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Enterprise – A Program of the Fort Wayne Women’s Bureau, Small Business Administration, SCORE, Community Development Corp. and the Indiana Small Business Development Center will offer a free forum on small-business taxes and recordkeeping Aug. 20.

The workshop, which will be 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Omni Room on the second floor of the City-County Building, will cover the following topics:

· Business legal structure
· Financial statements
· Recordkeeping for taxes

The topics are designed for people who are currently in business or considering starting a business. The workshop’s presenters are attorney Joshua Burkhardt of Beer Mallers Backs & Salin, LLP; and SCORE’s Jack Dever and Al Kruetzman.

The remaining workshops planned for 2009 are:
· New business start-up in a recession, Sept. 17
· Procurement, Oct. 15
· Patents, trademarks and copyright, Nov. 19

All workshops will be 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Omni Room of the City-County Building. For more information, contact Denise Porter-Ross at 427-2603 or denise.porter-ross@cityoffortwayne.org.

Senator Bayh to Host 7th Annual Job Fair in Fort Wayne

Senator Evan Bayh will host his 7th annual Job Fair, Job Training and Small Business Summit at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) in Walb Student Union on Wednesday, August 12 between 9 a.m. and noon to help connect job seekers with local businesses.

In Fort Wayne, dozens of local businesses will be at the job fair with more than 200 job opportunities available. In addition, representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau will be at the job fair to discuss hundreds of job opportunities that will become available in the coming months.

The event is also sponsored by City of Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne Women’s Bureau, Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana and WorkOne Northeast.

For more information about Senator Bayh’s Fort Wayne Job Fair, please call Brent Wake at (260) 426-3151 or visit: http://bayh.senate.gov/services/job_assistance/

Be Prepared

Local Department of Health Offers Preparedness Training for Businesses

This September is National Preparedness Month. On Wednesday, September 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health is offering a special training opportunity for businesses to come and hear about important preparedness ideas and planning. Keynote speaker Ted Kwiatkawski of AEP will speak on Pandemic Preparedness for Businesses. Lunch will be provided. For more information contact ACBusinessSummit09@co.allen.in.us.

The event is sponsored by the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan Medical Response System, Community Emergency Response Team and the Medical Reserve Corps.

Local Department of Health Offers Preparedness Training for Businesses

September is National Preparedness Month. On Wednesday, September 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health is offering a special training opportunity for businesses to come and hear about important preparedness ideas and planning. Keynote speaker Ted Kwiatkawski of AEP will speak on Pandemic Preparedness for Businesses.

For more information contact ACBusinessSummit09@co.allen.in.us. The event is sponsored by the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan Medical Response System, Community Emergency Response Team and the Medical Reserve Corps.

Real Men Read at TinCaps This Sunday!

United Way is raising awareness about the "Real Men Read" project and the importance of literacy. You can support the "Real Men" by buying books for kids in your life or making a donation in any amount. All the books at the game are about baseball, for both boys and girls! Books are just $5. Kids can even get autographs from Johnny and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Click here to see some of the great titles offered at the game.

All proceeds will support the books used in the Real Men Read project. This year 225 men read to 2nd and 3rd graders and distributed over 12,000 books in just 3 months!.Real Men Read is a volunteer opportunity offered through United Way's Learn United initiative, a 10 year plan to close the 3rd grade reading gap. For information about how you can volunteer or give, visit www.LearnUnited.org.

Professional Connections Group Sets Out to Help Unemployed Business Executives

Many business executives nationwide are finding themselves in uncharted waters trying to navigate their career transitions. Northeast Indiana is no exception to this phenomenon.

Many of these executives have never experienced unemployment and don’t know how to pilot themselves through the current employment maze in order to secure a new position. This realization has led to the formation of Professional Connections of Northeast Indiana, a free career-transition networking group for business executives, under the support and guidance of The Chamber.

“Professional Connections recognizes the talent pool of business executives in Northeast Indiana and wants to assist these individuals with their executive career transitions by connecting them to opportunities, thereby promoting area economic development,” said Clifford Clarke, a member of the core team responsible for the formation.

On June 24, Professional Connections will hold its first weekly meeting in the Verizon Conference Room at the Fourth Wave Building at 300 E. Main St., from 7:30 to 9 a.m. The topic for this initial meeting is “The Informational Interview” presented by Hedrick Communications. Future meetings will offer programs on relevant job search topics and provide networking opportunities to area business executives and professionals. Attendees should dress in business casual or business attire.

“The meetings are free and opened to any business professional in transition or business person looking for talent,” said Jeff Benzing, a member of the core team. “All we ask is that they come prepared to talk about their situation and hopefully make a connection.”

Benzing added this is not a sales leads networking group but those attending should bring business cards to hand out.

For more information contact: Jeff Benzing at (260) 479-0719.

Chamber, City, Small-Business Advocates Offer Free Business Workshops

The City of Fort Wayne, the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Enterprise – A Program of the Fort Wayne Women’s Bureau, Small Business Administration, SCORE, Community Development Corp. and the Indiana Small Business Development Center will offer free forums on various business topics through summer and fall.

The workshops planned for 2009 are:
· Pricing, June 18
· Taxes and record-keeping, Aug. 20
· New business start-up in a recession, Sept. 17
· Procurement, Oct. 15
· Patents, trademarks and copyright, Nov. 19

All workshops are free and will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Omni Room of the City-County Building.

Help a Child in Our Community with Learn United

Help a child in our community with Learn United, a community effort to close the 3rd grade reading achievement gap. Volunteer to help struggling readers during summer school from June 17-July 17. Give 1 hour a week to work with kids who are up to 2 years behind in reading. In Allen County, 40% of low-income 3rd graders are not passing the reading portion of ISTEP, and experts estimate that 74% will never catch up if they miss this important milestone. With our community's help, we can ensure all children succeed and our community has a brighter economic future. Struggling readers will attend summer school at four sites: Fairfield, Forest Park, Harrison Hill and Northcrest.

Volunteer times are 8:30-9:30 a.m., 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 10:30-11:30 a.m.Register here for a site and time. Learn United is a collaborative partnership between United Way of Allen County, The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, Fort Wayne Community Schools, East Allen County Schools, Allen County Education Partnership and the Fort Wayne Urban League. For more info visit www.learnunited.org.