Fulton Band Spring Concert - - Lansing Civic Events - - May 5, 2015 - - by Chuck Krafft

Fulton Band Spring Concert 

By Chuck Krafft 

May 5, 2015 

In many of my Bleacher Denizen blogs during the past few years, I have enjoyed listening to the Fulton band play at halftime and before the games.  In 2011 and 2015, I also enjoyed listening to them play the National Anthem before Fulton’s basketball semifinal games at the Breslin Center on Michigan State’s campus! 

http://thebleacherdenizen.blogspot.com/2015/03/fulton-vs-powers-north-central-boys.html

http://thebleacherdenizen.blogspot.com/2013/11/from-bleachers-by-chuck-krafft-detroit.html

http://thebleacherdenizen.blogspot.com/2015/01/fulton-at-carson-city-crystal-battle-of.html

Above are three of the many games where the Fulton Band has brightened basketball games and other sporting events.  (The Bleacher Denizen apologizes; in the middle game, I referred to the band as the Junior High Band; I imagine it was probably grades 7-12.)

Fulton Band Director Phillip Baker was kind enough to invite me to the Spring Band Concert.  It will feature four selections from the fifth grade band, four selections from the sixth grade band and seven selections from the High School/Middle School Band.

Mr. Baker opened the concert by introducing the Fifth Grade band.  He made humorous references to the struggles one faces when playing a musical instrument.  (Your Blogger is a piano/keyboard player; he remembers those struggles well.)  He told an especially funny story about his own experience with his parents and his new instrument.  He then showed pride in the strides these young musicians have made in their first year in the program.

The Fifth Grade Band played “Copycats”, “Attack of the Garden Gnomes”, Tyrannosaurus Rocks” and “Hard Rock Blues.”  They played with enthusiasm and did their best to play well and follow Mr. Baker’s direction.  The “Attack of the Garden Gnomes” was a fun song that included the band stomping on the floor in time to simulate the attack.  It was fun to see how the band really enjoyed playing that song.

The Sixth Grade Band was more polished and experienced on their instruments.  Two of their selections were actually songs that your Blogger has played in bands or jam sessions at one time or another.  (“Hang on Sloopy” and “Moondance.” )  The other songs were “Raiders March” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” 

They played the songs well and with enthusiasm.  The two songs I knew were easy to recognize and captured the essence of the songs from back when they were radio hits!   The other songs were also done pretty well.

It was now time for the Junior/Senior High School Band to play.  These are the veterans that I’ve enjoyed many times at football and basketball games. 

Mr. Baker started off the evening featuring his two seniors, Hannah Salisbury and Ryan Womble on the Clarinet as he had only the high school players back them up on “Serenade.”  The two seniors took turns playing featured leads and did quite well. 

He then invited the seventh and eighth graders to join the band as they played “Star Wars Saga” , which was a medley of theme music from all six Star Wars Movies.  I’ve only seen episode four, but I know they nailed that part of the medley; the rest of it also sounded great!

Then he recognized Noah Pontius, Lauren Duflo, Dylan Lewis and Jared Thaler, students who did well at the MSBOA District V Solo and Ensemble Festival Competition.  Lauren Duflo also participated at the State Solo & Ensemble Festival.

Noah Pontius, who played a full drum kit on the Star Wars song and did a wonderful job (as good as some of the professionals I’ve played with) did an Unaccompanied Solo on the snare drum.  He was really disciplined and did not lose his concentration even when a piece of his sheet music hit the floor.  (Were this article not about the students, I could relate a time when a piano book fell on my hands during an eighth grade piano competition.  Let’s just say that Noah handled it far more expertly!)

He was followed up by Lauren Duflo, who achieved a Superior Rating at both the local and state level Solo & Ensemble Competitions with her performance on the trumpet.  She did a wonderful job with her trumpet solo, the “Concert Rondo” by Mozart!

The full band played “The Pink Panther” by Henry Mancini.  The totally captured the stealthy vibe of the piece and did a fine job with their dynamics as they perfectly raised and lowered their volume as Mr. Baker directed them to do so.

The next piece was a “Russian Folk Song” by Beethoven, played as a duet by Dylan Lewis on the Tenor Saxophone and Jared Thaler on the Trumpet. 

The finale was “The Magic of Harry Potter.”  While I am not personally familiar with this piece, the band was really sound, worked well together and did a great job executing the dynamics under Mr. Baker’s direction.

Mr. Baker then saluted his seniors, Ryan Womble and Hannah Salisbury, who had been with the band for eight years.  He thanked them for their dedication and their leadership and spoke of their college plans.

Fulton has a wonderful music program and features students who play their instruments and execute their songs really well!  I thoroughly enjoyed the concert!

Lansing Regional Chamber - - Economic Club - - Presentation by Dave Dombrowski, Detroit Tiger CEO - - January 22, 2015 - - by Chuck Krafft

Lansing Regional Chamber Economic Club Meeting 

David Dombrowski 

CEO and General Manager of the Detroit Tigers 

January 22, 2015

 

by Chuck Krafft 

Even though it is still winter, Detroit Tiger fans are eagerly looking forward to following the 2015 Tigers through their season.  Will this be the year the Tigers bring home the World Series? 

At this month’s Economic Club Event, the Lansing Regional Chamber helped to give us the answer to this question from the most knowledgeable person possible.  That’s right!!  Tiger General Manager Dave Dombrowski is here to tell us about the process of making the downtrodden Tigers of twelve years ago into the annual title contender they are today! 

I really enjoy the Regional Chamber events and attend whenever I can.  These events are just one of the many benefits afforded to Lansing business people through their chamber membership!

The event opened when Chamber President Tim Daman greeted the 450 attendees.  Lunch was served; Mr. Daman then introduced Jim Robinson, the Chief Executive Officer of Farm Bureau Insurance, who spoke on behalf of the Mid-Michigan Business Travel Coalition. 

The Travel Coalition’s goal is to support the providing of the best possible air travel service to the Lansing Area.  He let us know of some specials and new services that would be provided.  He focused on service to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Washington, D.C.  You can go to their website for more information about their support of the Capital Region International Airport!

Mr. Robinson introduced Ken Theis, the President and CEO of Dewpoint, the Speaker Sponsor.   Mr. Theis reported that Dewpoint has recently moved to the downtown area and has expanded so much that they needed to hire 150 IT people in the last three years.  Thanks to Dewpoint for providing these high quality positions to our area!

They work with business leaders to help IT be more efficient.  This is accomplished by reviewing the IT function as it interacts with a client’s business operations and employees as opposed to simply building and maintaining an IT system.  They don’t want their clients to spend more money; they want them to spend it more wisely.

Mr. Theis introduced Dave Dombrowski at this point.  Mr. Dombrowski first played a promotional video that showed snippets of Tiger history as well as featuring some of the current players.  The final view was a announcing that the Tigers were the Central Division Champions of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  (Loyal Tiger Fans are of course, hoping to see the Tigers add a fifth year to that run!)

Mr. Dombrowski broke the ice by asking if anyone in the room wanted to attend Spring Training and joking about extending his talk so that there would not be time for the audience to ask questions about Star Pitcher Max Scherzer, who recently left the Tigers to sign with the Washington Nationals.

He spoke of one his recent important decisions, the hiring of Tiger Manager Brad Ausmus to replace long-time manager Jim Leyland for the 2014 season.  Apparently, in addition to Mr. Ausmus’s skills at understanding baseball and leading people, women find him attractive; Mr. Dombrowski says he frequently fields questions from female fans about Brad Ausmus!

He came to the Tigers in 2002 after the Tigers had experienced eight consecutive losing seasons.  In a lesson that many business leaders could learn from, he told us that the first need was to evaluate what was happening in the organization.  While there was a losing atmosphere, there were also some employees who did their jobs well.  He needed to avoid making snap judgments so that he did not remove the positive pieces that were already in place.  He knew he needed to be patient and organize the transition.

He asked his staff how many players in the minor leagues would be projected to be among the top five players in baseball at their position.  In 2002, there was only one.  He decided to trade their best players to get more talent into the organization.

There is an old baseball adage.  (Actually, if you read baseball at all, it’s a hundred-fifty year old game and there are hundreds of old adages; Mr. Dombrowski chose this one!)  In baseball, it is said that you will win one third of your games.  You will lose one third of your games.  How well your team does in the remaining third of the games will determine the quality of your team’s season.

In 2003, the Tigers won only 43 of 162 games, losing 119.  This shows how little talent there was on the team as they actually won 11 less than one third of their games.

Mr. Dombrowski said that because of the long period of suffering through losing teams, there was an attitude of acceptance of the losing that pervaded the organization.  He needed to change that attitude.  It was important to overcome problems like injuries or unexpected poor performances by players instead of using them for excuses.

He did so by letting the staff see how hard he worked and how much he cared.  He also made a point of showing pride and confidence at all times when he dealt with people.   

He used the example from 1997, when the Marlin’s Owner asked him to reduce payroll to an absolute minimum so the team could be sold.  The Marlins had just won the World Series three days before Mr. Dombrowski was instructed to do this.  While it was heartbreaking to break up this championship team, he decided that it was pointless to sulk.  He made the smartest trades he could and got back enough talent so that the Marlins won the World Series again in 2003.

He applied the lessons he learned from his unpleasant tasks of 1997 to building the Tigers.  He knew he had to get new, quality talent into the Tigers’ organization. 

He also had to turn Detroit into a place where players would want to play.  He told of contacting player agents in 2003 and not being able to get them to return calls.  He finally was able to convince Pudge Rodriguez to note the great history of the Tiger franchise, as well as the fans, Comerica Park, an owner who really wanted to win and the Spring Training Facility.

The next important thing was to hire a good manager.  He was able to hire Jim Leyland, who had previously worked with him and led the Marlins to the 1997 World Series Championship.  He related a story from 2006, when he felt the Tigers had not fought hard enough to win the third game of a series after they had won the first two games.  Mr. Leyland made it clear that he would never accept subpar effort and it was not to happen again.

After that, he talked about his current players and the 2015 Tiger Team.  He is excited about having a lineup that will include Miguel Cabrera, the best hitter in baseball, J.D. Martinez, Victor Martinez and Yoenis Cespedes, who has arrived in a trade this year.  These are four fine hitters that will anchor a strong offense.

He related this story to let us know about Miguel Cabrera’s will to win and leadership skills.  He hit well enough to be named the Player of the Month for September, 2014. 

After the end of the season, he had to have surgery to remove bone chips and a bone spur from the ankle.  When they did the surgery, the doctors found a break in the navicular ankle bone.  Cabrera was so determined to help his team win that he broke the bone while trying to hit off an ankle that could not twist properly.  Winning the Player of the month with that kind of an injury showed really special determination and courage.

He then took questions from the audience.  We learned the Mr. Dombrowski is confident that the bullpen will be better in 2015.  He mentioned that Joakim Soria and Bruce Rondon will be recovered from injuries after not being able to contribute at their usual levels in 2014.  (Rondon did not pitch at all last year.)

Mr. Dombrowski told us that he expects Steven Moya to perform so well in the minor leagues that he will eventually force his way onto the major league team and be a star performer for the Tigers. 

He addressed some of the construction near Comerica Park.  He cited a new hockey arena being built and a new rail system going in.  He also mentioned the Little Caesar’s is considering moving their corporate headquarters into the area. 

We learned that Catcher Alex Avila will try a new mask to make it less likely that he will endure concussions in the future.  No one knows why, but Avila seems to take more abuse from foul tips than other catchers; this was a factor in Avila’s concussions last year.

He declined to discuss Pitcher David Price’s contract negotiations because he feels it is best to respect the player and leave those discussions behind the scenes.

He finished up by letting us know that he is optimistic that David Price, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez will be the cornerstones of one of the top pitching rotations in baseball in 2015. 

Thank you to the Lansing Regional Chamber and to Dave Dombrowski for treating us to this wonderful event and great presentation.  Your blogger is a Toastmaster and noticed how composed, confident and organized Mr. Dombrowski was during his presentation.  He is a fantastic communicator in addition to his obvious skills at running the Tiger Organization!

Lansing Regional Chamber Mixer hosted by LaFontaine Ford - - November 11, 2014 - - by Chuck Krafft

Lansing Regional Chamber Mixer

LaFontaine Ford

November 11, 2014

Chamber Mixers are always a good time.  LaFontaine Ford hosted this one and 75 people came to mix, mingle, network and have a good time at the dealership on the corner of Jolly and Cedar streets in Lansing!

Morton Catering provided shrimp, satay sticks and some other hors’doeuvres. 

I was interested in learning more about LaFontaine Ford and was fortunate to meet Mark Woodard, the Manager of Fleet and Commercial Sales.

Mr. Woodard said that the dealership opened in 1963 and he has worked there since 1977 for various owners.  LaFontaine purchased this dealership about 18 months ago and has made a few changes.

They have enhanced the inventory in a few directions.  They now sell crossovers and SVU’s in addition to the bigger trucks that had sold in the past.  They also have a lot more pre-owned vehicles than they had in the past. 

They are accommodating this larger inventory by purchasing some land adjacent to their facility on Jolly Road and by hiring fifteen new employees.

They are also showing their confidence in Lansing and the local market by planning a comprehensive remodeling of their facility.

I would like to extend a hearty thank you to LaFontaine Ford for their confidence and capital investment in our city as well as for hosting this wonderful mixer!

Lansing Regional Chamber - - Michigan Craft Beer Update - - October 14, 2014

Lansing Regional Chamber Event 

Michigan Craft Beer Update 

October 14, 2014 

One reason that I’m glad that my company, T.A. Forsberg, Inc. is a Lansing Regional Chamber member is the wide variety of networking events offered.  They are usually quite interesting and a great way to meet other business people in the Lansing Area. 

Tonight, I’m at the MSU Kellogg Center for the Michigan Craft Beer Update.  Scott Graham, the president of the Michigan Brewer’s Guild will present a talk about the Craft Beer Industry along with two representatives from New Holland Brewing Company, Brett VanderKamp, the President and Fred Bueltmann, the Beervangelist! 

 They are serving six beers and pairing them with suggested foods. 

Griffin Claw’s Norm’s Raggedy Ass IPA and New Holland’s Paleooza are hoppy beers.  (Paleooza is a really good Pale Ale and Norm’s Raggedy Ass is a great IPA!)  These will be paired with a Jerk Pork Slider and Blackened Chicken Tacos. 

Dark Horse’s Amber Ale and Founders Porter will be paired with Grilled Tenderloin Skewers and Smoked Salmon Rosette.   

Brewery Vivant Farm Hand Farmhouse Ale and New Holland’s White Hatter will be paired with a Mini Caprese Salad and Soy Marinated Chicken Lollipops. 

The food and beers are all great; I’m a big Porter fan, but had never tried Founders Porter before.  People enjoyed the food and conversation for about an hour and then it was time for the presentation. 

Steve Schultz from the law firm that represents the Michigan Brewer’s Guild made a short presentation where he mentioned the “Beer is the biggest invention for man since the wheel.” and introduced Scott Graham from the Brewer’s Guild. 

Scott explained that the Beer Guild aims to unify and promote the Beer Industry in Michigan.  They sponsor four large beer festivals each year.

We learned that Craft Beer represents 5% of the Michigan Beer Sales and it is a growing market.  The breweries are growing and there is a lot more Brewpub activity.  There are more breweries now than at any time in Michigan’s history.

The brewers have a really open community with a lot of communication and cooperation between the brewers.

Scott then introduced Fred Bueltmann and Brett VanderKamp from New Holland.  They held a panel discussion with Scott moderating. 

They first discussed how Fred and Brett became interested in the industry.  They liked beer from a young age, but were disillusioned by how all the American beers that dominated the market were so bland and similar to each other. 

After he graduated from college, Fred learned of New Belgium brewing in Colorado and tried some of their beers.  He decided to try to make them in Michigan. 

Fred saw that the culture was ready to accept improved beers.  He compared it to how the Bread, Coffee and Cheese industries were creatively improving and diversifying their products. 

The original plan was to be a Brewpub.  While the local religious community gave them some resistance, they overcame that with respectful, open communication.  Eventually, they grew to the company that distributes their beer and distilled liquors widely.

Scott then led a discussion about decision making and the introduction of new beers.  They both believed that the best decisions involve doing things simply and avoiding overthinking.  Things work best with natural evolution.  When one beer idea leads naturally to another, creative new beers can arise.  When they deliberately try to manufacture a beer to fit a perceived market niche, they might “force” a beer that is not up to their quality standards. 

Brett specifically mentioned an orange wheat beer that did not work (with an obvious shudder!)  Fred remembered a “Red Tulip” beer that also was developed for the wrong reasons.  They have learned from these and are usually able to avoid these mistakes now.

They also mentioned how important it is to really listen to customers, employees and other participants in the industry so that you understand what they are saying, not what you want to hear.

They also talked of their distilled liquors and cited how that was an outgrowth of using grains to produce beer.

Brett let us know that they want to grow about 20 to 25% per year.  Any more of that risks bringing a lot of stress into their successful company culture and could prove to be counterproductive.

They finished up their presentation with a video where they emphasize the importance of stopping and tasting.  This is as opposed to rushing through things and not truly experiencing things (like their wonderful New Holland Beers.)

I’m a big fan of the New Holland Beers; my personal favorite is their White Hatter (Belgian IPA), but they have many other fine beers.  The Hatter series is a number of IPAs all with a unique twist.  Another personal favorite of mine is their Belgian Beer, Monkey King.  (I’m a huge Belgian fan.)

Thanks to Scott, Fred and Brett for a fine presentation and thanks to the Regional Chamber for putting this on for us. 

The Craft Beer Industry is growing strong, providing a lot of jobs and providing a lot of great beer to the people of Michigan.  They truly deserve our support!!!   

Lansing Regional Chamber - - Economic Club - - Presentation by Michael Wells - C.E.O. of Jackson National - September 4, 2014

Lansing Regional Chamber Economic Club Meeting 

Jackson National Life 

September 4, 2014 

Michael Wells, the C.E.O. of Jackson National Life will be the speaker at this afternoon’s Lansing Regional Chamber Economic Club Meeting.  As they are one of the most successful businesses in the tremendously successful Lansing Area Insurance Sector, he will probably have something interesting to say! 

Deborah Muchmore of Kandler Reed Khoury & Muchmore opened the ceremonies by reporting that in the Lansing area, the insurance sector is the largest employer.  Over 15,000 Lansing Area people work for these companies.  Greater Lansing has more people employed in the Insurance Industry than any other area in the state.   

She then introduced Jim Robinson from Michigan Farm Bureau.  He announced that there will be some significant growth in Lansing’s Airport and the transportation offered.  He specifically mentioned that there will be more international destinations offered from our airport.   

He introduced John Brown from Jackson National.  Mr. Brown showed us a video about the necessity of communicating with conviction.  Specifically, the teacher in the video feels that we are not assertive enough when we speak, especially when saying declarative sentences.  His point is that there is too much emphasis placed on questioning authority and not enough emphasis placed on communicating well.  The video contained a lot of great advice presented with a humorous twist. 

Finally, it was time to introduce Mr. Wells.  He tied in the video by pointing out that Jackson National’s success during Mr. Wells’ nineteen year tenure has a lot to do with a culture that rewards clarity and forthrightness.   

Per Mr. Wells, most of the Jackson National success comes from their culture and their employees.  While Jackson National is a challenging place to work, the dedication they get from their carefully selected employees permits them to get the job done for their clients with fewer employees than other insurance companies.   

This permitted them to get through the recent downturn without laying off employees like many other large companies did.  This commitment to employees pays off with a hugely motivated employee base.  Mr. Wells considers the employees as one of his stakeholders along with his investors.   

He points out that some companies try to get cheap points with investors by laying off employees simply to impress the investor public with how willing they are to appear “tough” by cutting costs at employees’ expense.  By being tough all the time, he does not end up with fat that is needed to be trimmed during tough times!  The performance-oriented culture at Jackson National pays off in many ways.   

Another factor in Jackson National’s success is that they carefully calculate and vet their products to make sure that they are able to keep promises made to the people who buy their annuities.  All products are mathematically and actuarially viable or they are not offered to the public.  It is easy to contrast this with the over-aggressive products and sales techniques that got other insurance companies into a great deal of trouble during the downturn.   

This has led Jackson National to a point where they had $27.3 billion in sales in 2013 and are the largest provider of annuities in the United States market! 

They spend a lot of time and energy to make sure that they provide top level customer service.  Mr. Wells said that Jackson National’s call centers are the best in the Insurance Industry.  Their dedicated employee base is a huge factor in the success of this part of their company. 

He noted that they also don’t spend much on advertising and branding.  They prefer to let the quality of their service and products speak for itself.  This also works toward lowering their overhead and helping to keep their internal costs lower than their competition.  Jackson National has the lowest expense to assets ratio in the industry.  

He discussed how they carefully select employees who will adapt to their culture.  One tool they use is the “Jackson Zone.”  This is a program where they hire undergraduate students to do data entry and other work that they formerly outsourced to foreign countries. 

This work is now done at the Jackson Zone.  It helps them to identify students who have the traits necessary to be a good employee at a young age.  As insurance is not a “glamor” industry, they need to use programs like this to help with a creative approach to recruiting.

Mr. Wells spent a lot of time discussing Jackson National’s commitment to charity.  They encourage their employees to get involved in non-profit organizations of their choice.  Jackson National benefits from the increased loyalty from employees who get to help causes they believe in. 

Jackson National also encourages employees to become involved with work on the boards of non-profits.  Non-profits are much more difficult to manage effectively than for-profit companies.  The challenging non-profit environment helps to develop the managers’ skill sets which helps to make Jackson National more efficient.  This justifies the cost of donating money to the charitable causes.   

He finished up with a discussion of the expansion of Jackson National’s facilities on Okemos Road in Alaiedon Township.  They are designing the project to protect and preserve as much of the natural landscape as possible.  They are working to have a low environmental impact and low energy use.   

This will eventually allow Jackson National to double the number of people employed at their facility.  He showed a virtual walk through of the new space.  It looks like this facility will be a great place for people to work.   

We are truly fortunate to have so many jobs in the insurance industry in our area.  It’s great to see that Jackson National is working to stay competitive and to continue growing their business as well as the number of jobs they provide in our community!

Mason Chamber of Commerce Mixer - - Good Morning Mason! - - August 28, 2014 - - by Chuck Krafft

GOOD MORNING, MASON!! 

August 28, 2014 

By Chuck Krafft 

I had never attended a Mason Area Chamber of Commerce “Good Morning, Mason” Mixer before.  My employer, T.A. Forsberg, Inc. was one of the sponsors and was making a presentation, so I attended! 

Doug Klein, the Mason Chamber Director,  who was appropriately clad to promote Mason’s Sesquicentennial in a Suit and Tie from 1865, was there to greet the guests. 

We had coffee, and donuts and other treats provided by Best Sellers and Darryl’s Vault and Deli while we mixed and socialized before the meeting.   

The meeting format is quite efficient with the day’s sponsor being allowed to do a five minute presentation and other community leaders provided two minutes.  A Sergeant at Arms with a Ray Gun vigorously enforces the time limits!!  Of course, this provides a humorous and friendly, but efficient reminder to stay on schedule. 

Jon Grocki from Dart Bank served as Emcee.  The meeting started with all the attendees introducing themselves and naming their companies.  Individuals attending their first meeting were warmly greeted with applause. 

Then, Brent Forsberg and David Spencer from T.A. Forsberg, Inc. made a presentation promoting their Food Innovation District at Fountain Pointe in Alaiedon Township.  This is located south of Jolly Road and North of I-96 between Hulett and Hagadorn Roads.

Brent said that he decided to focus on Agriculture because it is the second largest industry in the state and more stable than most industries.  (People can delay car and durable goods purchases during bad times, but still need to eat every day.)  He saw a need because while our local farms produce a lot of crops, meat and dairy products, these products are frequently shipped elsewhere for processing and packaging.  T.A. Forsberg, Inc. is partnering with the Product Center at Michigan State University to provide a community where this processing can happen locally and bring jobs to our area. 

The Forsbergs own 35 Acres next to land where Michigan State will be building a facility in the next eighteen months to educate students in packaging and processing these products.  Having businesses located nearby to take advantage of this training is truly a natural fit.  It is also a great fit for Alaiedon Township, which has a lot of farming activity. 

The Forsbergs have land for sale or rent for these facilities.  They will work with a lot of local agencies to provide investment capital so these new businesses can grow, prosper and provide jobs in our local communities.

Doug Klein, the Chamber Director, spoke and promoted the Chamber’s newsletters as well as a Mason Area “Buy Local” program.  He also announced a 40 Unit Annual Parade that will happen in Mason over Thanksgiving weekend.

Sandy Dargatz, the Ingham County Fair Director, reported that this year’s fair was quite successful.  Attendance was up and they made enough money to purchase a hog at an auction to donate to the Mason Area Food Bank.  She also provided information about helping to support the Fair through the Fair Foundation.

John Stressman, the Mason Police Chief, reported that the Police Department has all its allocated positions filled.  This will improve the local policing.  One specific improvement is that they will be able to have enough officers to have some of them patrolling on bicycles.  Mr. Stressman also commented on a program that promotes individuals bringing in unused prescription drugs so that they can be properly destroyed instead of being misused or possibly contributing to pollution problems.

Marlon Brown, from the Mason City Council, reported on the Mason 150 News.  This group is getting flyers and other promotional material ready for the Sesquicentennial Celebration.  He mentioned some advertising opportunities for business people if they were interested. 

Mark Cosgrove from the Lansing Community College Aviation Program told us of the College’s program to provide the 1900 hours that students need to prepare for licenses to work on mechanical and electrical systems in airplanes.  He told us that students are so in-demand that many of them actually already have jobs lined up before they graduate. 

Doug Klein reported on preparations for the 41^st Annual Mason Down Home Days Celebration.  There will be many activities as well as the MACC Annual Raffle.  The lucky winner could win up to $15,000!! 

It was then time for new members to introduce themselves and their businesses.

Benjamin Schartow told us about Building 21.  Building 21 is an after-school teen center.  They provide tutoring as well as activities for students from 7^th Grade to 12^th Grade.  The goal is to provide young people with a passion and a purpose to push their lives toward a positive adulthood.  He mentioned that they had recently rebuilt the only indoor skate park in the area.  They are doing a banner promotion to raise funds to pay for it. 

Susan Waite reported that she and her husband, Tim Waite, opened a Beltone Hearing Center in Mason in May.  Beltone has been in business for 75 years.  They help diagnose hearing problems and service every type of hearing aid.

The food bank reported the donation of the frozen pork from the Ingham County Fair as well as 853 pounds of food from Dart as well as some turkeys from City Limits.  The Historical Society and someone promoting the local Roller Derby were also mentioned. 

This was an excellent meeting.  While the schedule was carefully adhered to, everyone had adequate time to inform the Mason business community of what was going on.

If you are a business person in the Area who does not belong to the Chamber, you should really attend one of these meetings to learn how the Mason Chamber of Commerce can help you and your business!

Lansing Regional Chamber Mixer at PERL Mortgage August 12, 2014 by Chuck Krafft

Lansing Regional Chamber Mixer 

PERL Mortgage 

August 12, 2014 

You never know who you will meet at a Lansing Regional Chamber Mixer.  That’s a big reason I enjoy attending them.  This Thursday, I spent quite a bit of time with Diane Sanborn, owner of the Kozy Koi Bed and Breakfast downtown and Cindy Fuller from “The Balooney Bin.”  The Balooney Bin is located in Jackson and considering expanding to this area.  It was great listening to Cindy talk about the challenges she faces creating balloon art work for various events.  We look forward to Cindy’s decision to expand to Lansing as well as joining the chamber!!

PERL Mortgage hosted this event.  They had it on a patio near their office complex at 4131 Okemos Road.  They have hosted a number of summer barbecues there also. 

PERL Mortgage is in the business of helping home owners and home buyers obtain mortgages and have done this in the area for a few years. 

About 70 people attended this event.  While there was an intermittent drizzle that dampened things a bit, the networking gene caused everyone to make the best of things and keep on with the business of meeting new people and greeting old acquaintances. 

Country House Catering set up a wonderful buffet that featured barbecued pulled pork as the main attraction.  There were plenty of side dishes including potato salad and cookies to eat also.  I really enjoyed my food!! 

If you are not in the habit of attending these Regional Chamber Mixers, you need to come out sometime.  You never know who you will meet that could be a new customer or provide a needed service for your business.  I hope to see all of you next month!!