Cellular Connection Celebrates in Style

Today we helped one of our members, The Cellular Connection, celebrate their grand opening! There is nothing more exciting than supporting businesses as they develop and expand their presence in our community.

The Cellular Connection's newest location is at 5956 Stellhorn Road (Suite C). They also have a location at 1125 E. Dupont Road, where they celebrated a grand opening in summer of last year.

I encourage you to check them out. They are an Indiana-based Premium Retailer for Verizon Wireless and DISH Network - in fact they are the largest Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer in the Midwest (over 350 locations). Their goal is to provide the best customer service in wireless. They make a point to take the time to get to know customers by name in order to identify what products or services will best meet their needs. Based on my own experience visiting their store, I believe in their customer service.

They know how to celebrate, too. Today's grand opening included a prize wheel, a live radio remote from K105 FM, and a check presentation to the YMCA. If you would like more information on The Cellular Connection, visit their Web site at www.ecellularconnection.com. 

Clinkenbeard Dentistry: Now That's What I Call a Personal Approach

This past Friday we were happy to help one of our new members, Clinkenbeard Dentistry, celebrate their grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Denise Porter-Ross from the City of Fort Wayne joined us on behalf of the City, as well as several friends, family and staff members of Ben Clinkenbeard, resident dentist and owner of the practice. We got to tour the facility, and I noticed the windows in each room, where bright sunlight streams in.

Something Ben told us really struck a chord with me and my coworkers. He told us that one of the main things that pushed him to start his own practice was his desire to have the freedom to spend time getting to know each patient. He said he would rather make less money, and have the ability to sit with a patient for ten minutes and talk to them, than to make more money but have to rush on to the next patient and procedure.

Now, I think you'll agree with me when I say that's exactly what every patient looks for in a dentist or doctor. Congratulations to Clinkenbeard Dentistry, and I suggest you check them out! They are located at 3615 Lake Avenue, and their phone number is (260) 424-6031.

Wayne Pipe & Supply Celebrates New Location

This coming Monday, October 19 at 4 p.m. the Chamber will help Wayne Pipe & Supply, Inc. celebrate the grand opening of their new location (6040 Innovation Blvd.) with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Along with the Chamber, Wayne Pipe & Supply will also be joined by representatives from the City.

The company has been providing pipe, valves, fittings, industrial products, heating and plumbing items for over 100 years, and is a rapidly growing distributor with deep roots in the local economy. The company is a member of the Better Business Bureau, Affiliated Distributors and the Home Builders Association. The goal of Wayne Pipe & Supply is to continue to build relationships with their customers and to provide them with incredible service and great products.

If you would like more information about Wayne Pipe & Supply please visit www.waynepipe.com, call (260) 423-9577 or stop into the new facility and plumbing Showroom to have your questions personally answered.

First Federal Savings Bank Opens Branch for Fort Wayne Market

First Federal Savings Bank held a ribbon cutting ceremony September 29 in celebration of the grand opening of their new branch located at 5317 South Bend Drive, just off West Jefferson Boulevard.

First Federal broke ground on the new branch in February of 2009. The new facility is 3,800 square feet and offers traditional banking services including consumer and commercial banking, a full-service lobby, two drive-up lanes and an ATM. Customers will also have access to brokerage and financial planning services through Innovative Financial Services, a division of First Federal Savings Bank.

Michael Zahn, President and third generation banker at First Federal Savings Bank, states: “We are very excited about entering the Fort Wayne market with our newest branch. Over the years, we’ve been able to build a strong Allen County customer base. I’m pleased we will now be able to offer all of our products and services to our existing Fort Wayne customers while attracting new customers as well.”

First Federal Savings Bank was chartered in 1912 in Huntington and has three locations in Huntington and one branch in Warsaw. The bank has roughly $250 million in assets and employs 60. Although the bank’s holding company, Northeast Indiana Bancorp, Inc., was approved for government assistance under the TARP program, the board of directors chose not to participate in TARP due to both strong core earnings levels as well as the bank’s solid capital position significantly exceeding “well capitalized” standards as defined by current banking regulations. Northeast Indiana Bancorp, Inc. is traded on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board under the ticker symbol “NIDB”.

Over the years the bank has served the community and encouraged its employees to be involved in various capacities of community activism and service. For more information, contact Michael Zahn at (260) 358-4680 or mzahn@firstfedhuntington.com or visit www.firstfedindiana.com.

McDonald's on Lima Road Celebrates Grand Opening

Fort Wayne’s newest McDonald’s is now open at Lima Marketplace. On July 25 the new store kicked off their Grand Opening Celebration with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Franchisee Mike Kefer celebrated along with Mayor Tom Henry, Chamber staff and McDonald's characters including Ronald McDonald. The new store at Lima Marketplace will employ approximately 75 crew members.

McDonald’s Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan co-op franchisees locally own and operate 69 McDonald’s restaurants in South Bend, Fort Wayne and several surrounding communities. The Co-op also includes 21 company-operated restaurants. More than 80 percent of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local franchisees. For more information on McDonald's visit http://www.mcdonalds.com/ or log on at any of the 10,000 Wi-Fi enabled McDonald's U.S. restaurants.

MedTech College Celebrates Grand Opening Of New Fort Wayne Campus

MedTech College celebrated the grand opening of their new Fort Wayne campus with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house yesterday evening. MedTech’s campus is located at 7230 Engle Road, on the corner of West Jefferson and Engle.

Mike Landram, Interim President & CEO of the Chamber, along with Deputy Mayor Greg Purcell and Ken Nicolet, Mayor's Southwest Area Advocate, participated in the ribbon cutting, along with MedTech College officials, staff and students.

MedTech College is an innovative and progressive private medical career college with three campuses in Indianapolis, Greenwood and Fort Wayne. The campus currently offers associate degrees in Medical Assisting, Medical Billing and Coding, Medical Lab Technology, Practical Nursing and Registered Nursing as initial program offerings with additional programs being added in the near future.

The college will surpass the 2,000 student enrollment mark with the addition of a Lexington, Kentucky campus in the Fall of 2009. The original five founding partners continue to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the college and plan to expand a campus a year throughout the Midwest.

For more information about MedTech College visit http://www.medtechcollege.edu/.

Summit City Metal Recycling Celebrates Grand Opening

Summit City Metal Recycling will celebrate their grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, December 10 at 10 a.m. Summit City Metal Recycling is located southeast of downtown at 1412 South Anthony Boulevard (at Hayden Street).

Participating in the ribbon cutting, along with company officials, will be representatives from the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fort Wayne.

Summit City Metal Recycling (SCMR) is Fort Wayne’s newest metal recycling center. Unlike other places, SCMR accepts and pays you cash on the spot for most household, commercial, and industrial metal, such as aluminum, brass, copper, steel, stainless steel, tool steel, cast iron, insulated wire, and alloys.

SCMR’s mission is to be committed to your business recycling needs and to the recycling needs of our community. Services that SCMR provides include transportation (roll-off boxes, dump trailers, van and flatbed trailers, and overseas containers), brokerage and trading, turn-key facility recycling programs and an indoor retail buying center.

For more information about Summit City Metal Recycling, contact Justin Miller at (260) 399-4843 or Justin@scmr.bz, or visit the Web site at www.scmr.bz.

TOMORROW: Gordmans Celebrates Grand Opening of Fort Wayne Store

Gordmans, Inc., an Omaha-based apparel and home fashions retailer, will celebrate the grand opening weekend of its third Indiana store, in Fort Wayne on Friday, Oct. 3. The 50,000-square-foot store opens Thursday at 902 Thomas Rd. in the Orchard Springs shopping center.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on October 3. Participating in the ribbon cutting, along with company officials, will be representatives from the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fort Wayne.

“Our mission is to delight our guests with big savings, big selection and fun, friendly associates,” Jeff Gordman, president and CEO, said. “We’re looking forward to introducing Fort Wayne shoppers to our beautiful new store and to the latest name brand fashions, footwear, accessories, home decor and more.”

Like Gordmans’ other stores, the Fort Wayne store’s open and contemporary design is further enhanced by a children’s theater and sports-themed television viewing area.

Gordmans will present a $2,500 check to the Fort Wayne Community Schools on Friday, Oct. 3, to launch Partners in Education fundraising events in conjunction with the weekend’s grand opening festivities. Partners in Education is a community-school partnership program that provides a vehicle for businesses, government agencies, civic groups and faith organizations to make additional educational resources available to local public school systems. Gordmans customers at the new Fort Wayne store may participate in this event by purchasing “helping hands” for $1 each from Oct. 3 through Oct. 12. Every dollar raised will directly benefit Fort Wayne Community Schools. Since its involvement with Partners in Education, which began in 2000, Gordmans has contributed over $740,000 to this cause in 16 states throughout the country.

“Partners in Education gives Gordmans and our guests a means to make a difference in the lives of schoolchildren in the communities served by our stores,” Gordman said. “The collaboration also provides a great volunteer opportunity for our associates.”

The new Fort Wayne Gordmans store has selected Nebraska Elementary as its partner school.

With the opening of the Fort Wayne store and a store in Rapid City, S.D., also celebrating an October grand opening, Gordmans now operates 65 stores in 16 states.

ACE Game Room “Sale-a-brates” Grand Re-opening

ACE Game Room celebrated the grand re-opening of their Fort Wayne location and the grand opening of their Indianapolis store with a ribbon cutting ceremony and “Sale-a-bration” yesterday evening. They are located at 2525 W. Jefferson Blvd., one mile east of Jefferson Pointe on right hand side.

Yesterday's event kicked off a four-day long “sale-a-bration” and customer appreciation event to celebrate the grand re-opening of the newly remodeled Fort Wayne store as well as ACE’s new store in Indianapolis. A portion of the proceeds from the sales this weekend will go to benefit a local charity in Fort Wayne.

ACE Game Room Gallery continues the open house celebration and sale through Sunday for the general public. Don't miss out on great deals on pool tables, poker tables, video game machines, bar sets and much, much more! ACE Game Room is also giving away flat screen plasma TV's with purchases over $2,000 - stop in for details!

At ACE we believe families that play together stay together. Visit the newly renovated Web site at acegameroom.com for a comprehensive look at product lines and sale details.

For more information, call (260) 432-3443.

Afdent Celebration Today

Afdent will celebrate the grand opening of their new location with an open house celebration today at 4:30 p.m. They are located on 4041 Parnell Avenue just one block from Coliseum Boulevard.

Everyone is invited to the big launch party at the all new Afdent. The grand opening will also feature a hog roast, live radio remote, beverages and more. Admission is free. Due to last-minute circumstances, David Stremme has cancelled his scheduled appearance this evening at Afdent.

Afdent offers full family dental service to the Fort Wayne and Mishawaka areas. Dr. David Allen, an Indiana University graduate, has perfected individual’s smiles since 1985. Afdent’s highly qualified professionals offer preemptive and cosmologic care.

For more information contact Tim Winski at (574) 210-2334 or visit their Web site at www.afdent.com/fort_wayne.

Ribbon-Cutting Cancelled

Ramond James and Associates ribbon-cutting ceremony has been cancelled. The event was slated for 3:30 p.m. Thursday August 14, 2008.

Fort Wayne Welcomes The Indiana Flyer

The Indiana Flyer will celebrate their grand opening on July 8 at noon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. They are located at 4023 Transportation Drive.

The Indiana Flyer will provide scheduled van shuttle service to and from the Indianapolis Airport giving Fort Wayne travelers using the Indianapolis Airport the option of leaving their car at home.

The Indiana Flyer will operate four scheduled departures Monday through Friday between Fort Wayne and the Indianapolis Airport with three departures on Saturdays and Sundays. The weekend schedule will include drop-offs at various locations around the Indianapolis area, including but not limited to, Keystone, Circle Centre and other popular venues.

The Indiana Flyer offers free secure parking to its customers. The passenger vans offer maximum comfort and convenience and feature WIFI connections. The Indiana Flyer provides an economical, efficient, and comfortable alternative to driving a personal vehicle to the airport.

Reservations can be made online using Visa, Mastercard or American Express. The web site can be accessed by clicking here. Walkups and cash fares are accepted based on space availability.

For more information contact The Indiana Flyer at (260)515-2418 or info@theindianaflyer.com.

Chamber Welcomes Babicz Guitars to Fort Wayne

The Chamber welcomed Babicz Guitars to Fort Wayne yesterday with a ribbon cutting ceremony at their location on Columbia Street in downtown Fort Wayne. Babicz had all their beautiful guitars on display for guests to check out!

One of the most technologically advanced guitar companies in the world, Babicz Guitars recent move to their newest location in downtown Fort Wayne is part of the economic development effort that is bringing revenue, jobs, and renewed business vitality to the city.

Babicz is known for their award-winning and patented “icZ” Acoustic System technology. Numerous design awards, industry publication reviews, and famous artists attest to the superior tonal quality in the higher-end instruments crafted by Babicz Guitars including Peter Frampton and Kelly Hanson of Foreigner.

For more information on Babicz Guitars USA visit www.babiczguitars.com.

Open For Business: Tokyo Buffet

Tokyo Buffet International celebrated their grand opening this afternoon with a special ribbon cutting ceremony. News Channel 15 was also there to cover the event and we caught several reporters enjoying the sushi bar and other delicious specialties.

Tokyo Buffet International features the largest international seafood buffet, sushi bar and open grill in Allen County. The restaurant has over 350 items with something for everyone.

Tokyo Buffet International is located at 9230 N. Clinton between Chipotle and Scott's.

Old National Bank Opens a New Location Tomorrow

Old National Bank will celebrate the opening of their newest Fort Wayne location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception on May 13 at 4:30 p.m. They are located on 111 Chestnut Hills Parkway, off of Illinois Road.

Old National Bank is the largest financial holding company in Indiana. They currently serve the states of Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky with $7.8 billion in assets. The company provides a wide variety of financial services to a diverse audience.

For more information about Old National Bank visit http://www.oldnational.com/.

Wal-Mart Grand Opening Jump Starts Morning and More...

WOW - what a morning at the new Wal-Mart grand opening on Dupont Rd. The energy and enthusiasm of shoppers and staff alike was infectious. The Voices of Unity Youth Choir, under the direction of UPAF's Marshall White, blew the room away with their powerful rendition of the national anthem.

Another great reason to celebrate. According to John Wolf, regional marketing manager for Wal-Mart, their area stores have brought 2500 jobs to the area. Talk about economic development! This was Wolf's 75th store opening and he said it was the easiest one yet with the amazing staff involved. On a side note, Wolf's first job was as a driver for Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.

Besides the boost in jobs for Northeast Indiana, Wal-Mart also presented over $8,500 in scholarships to community organizations: Boys & Girls Club, UPAF, Allen County Fairgrounds and The State Troopers "Teddy Bear" Fund.

Congratulations to the new store, the 5th for Fort Wayne!

Wal-Mart Celebrates New Fort Wayne Location

Wal-Mart will celebrate the grand opening of their newest Fort Wayne location tomorrow (May 7) at 7:30 a.m. The newest Wal-Mart store in Fort Wayne is located at 10105 Lima Rd. at the intersection of Lima and Dupont Roads.

Participating in the ribbon cutting ceremony along with Wal-Mart company officials will be Mayor Tom Henry, Police Chief Rusty York and numerous City, County and Chamber representatives.

Wal-Mart's company purpose is to save people money so they can live better. Today, 7,323 Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Club locations in 14 markets employ more than 1.9 million associates, serving more than 179 million customers a year.

For more information visit http://www.walmart.com/ or call (260) 490-6510

Fortune Buffet Ribbon Cutting Today

Join us at Fortune Buffet as they celebrate the grand opening of their restaurant and buffet today at 11 a.m. Fortune Buffet is located at 6121 N. Clinton Street in the Washington Square Shopping Center, located across from Bishop Dwenger High School.

Owner Guo Rong has over a decade of experience in the restaurant industry and says Fortune Buffet offers great food at a low price. Facilities for 300+ guests and banquet or private parties are also available.

For more information on Fortune Buffet please call (260) 484-5000.

Signature Mac's Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Tomorrow

Fort Wayne's first Apple/Mac retailer will celebrate their grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, April 25 at 1 p.m. They are located at 430 West Coliseum Boulevard, just two doors east of the Roller Dome North.

Signature Mac’s 5000 square foot showroom will have a full line of demos including iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, Apple TV’s, accessories and more. Unlike mail order, the Signature Mac store gives the customer hands on experience with the Apple product line. Apple Specialists will help customers determine the best solution for their needs.

Store hours are Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Signature Mac is also an authorized Apple warranty and repair center for all Macs and iPods. Most repairs are done in the store and not shipped out.

Ceruti's Celebrates New Location

Ceruti’s Catering will celebrate the grand opening of their new 1.5 million dollar, 15,000 square foot addition - “The Diamond Room”. A private (invitation only) VIP premier reception will start at 4 p.m. on May 1 followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony in correlation with the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce’s “Meet-Me-At-Five” beginning at 5 pm (public welcome). Ceruti’s Summit Park is located at 6601 Innovation Blvd Fort Wayne, IN 46818 in Summit Park II.

Participating in the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be the President of Ceruti’s Catering, Joseph Ceruti and his wife Elisabeth Ceruti along with John Ceruti-Director of Operations along with City and Chamber officials. A stunning exhibition of culinary talent will be on display for all attendees to enjoy and partake in the gala event. The John Kirkwood Band will be performing following the ribbon cutting.

Ceruti’s first opened its 24,000 square Summit Park location on October 3, 2005 and the new “Diamond Room” expansion was opened for its first event on February 23, 2008. Ceruti’s Summit Park can accommodate up to 800 guests between the Summit and Diamond rooms.

More information can be obtained by visiting www.cerutis.com or by calling Ceruti’s Catering at (260) 489-1319