Michigan Business Network

At this year’s Capital Area Michigan Works! annual meeting, Chris Holman received the Leonard Peters Lifetime Achievement Award. Leonard Peters served on the Capital Area Michigan Works! Administrative Board from 1985 to 2008 as an Eaton County Commissioner — a commitment spanning more than two decades of board service. During that time, he provided invaluable leadership, counsel and support to the organization. Leonard served as an officer 12 times during his tenure on the board, including five separate year-long terms as board chair.

In 2008, the Leonard Peters Lifetime Achievement Award was established in recognition of those who have given a lifetime of outstanding service to Capital Area Michigan Works! Past recipients of the award include Leonard Peters himself, David Hollister, Larry Martin, Edith Suttles, Doug Stites and Jane Doty. Chris Holman first became entwined with Capital Area Michigan Works! in 2001 when he joined the CAMW! board to help them better connect with and understand the region’s business community.

In addition to his long-standing service to the Workforce Development Board, Chris has served on several business committees and executive committees. Through his work with the Michigan Future Business Index and Michigan Business Network, he has ensured our team members are connected with businesses and has worked to educate the business community of the role and value of CAMW! in talent attraction and

growth in the region. But perhaps his most significant contributions — and certainly his

CAMW! legacy — are tied to his leadership with T3: Teach. Talent. Thrive.

In 2006, when Doug Stites approached Chris about a possible initiative to provide business leadership for the region’s education community, Chris accepted his then unknown responsibilities without a moment’s hesitation. Since then, he has been the official and, at times, unofficial chair of some version of T3 for the past 12 years. He shepherded the organization from an idea to a registered 501 (c)(3) as Keep Learning … Our Future Depends On It. As the region and its needs evolved, Chris donated countless hours to the realignment and reinvention of Keep Learning as T3. He rallied fellow business leaders to serve as the founders of the organization’s business council and still serves as its co-chair.

For more information on T3: Teach.Talent.Thrive. Visit, www.teachtalentthrive.org

Visit www.camw.org to connect with the Capital Area Michigan Works! team for assistance with career exploration or staffing needs. Capital Area Michigan Works!, a proud partner of the American Job Center Network, offers services in Ingham, Clinton and Eaton counties at our Lansing, St. Johns and Charlotte American Job Centers.

Join Edyth Copeland as she interviews Chris Holman on the Michigan Business Beat!

www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com

Edythe Copeland, CEO, Capital Area Michigan Works! Joins Chris Holman on the Michigan Business Beat to talk about a new dairy processing plant being built in St. Johns that will employ more than 250 people

A $555 million dairy processing plant is being built in St. Johns. It is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in two years. When finished, it will be the largest plant ever in mid-Michigan and will have the capacity to process a quarter of all the milk produced in Michigan each year.

The plant is expected to employ more than 250 people. It has the potential to bring an additional 600 jobs to the local economy of the ancillary businesses that will spring up as a result of the addition of this plant and increased demand for retailers and services. With its central location in the state, we expect the plant to draw workers from beyond the region, such as from Ionia and Shiawassee counties. This will create a positive cascading effect. More money will go to schools and the region’s economy as a whole.

Most jobs will be in areas such as maintenance, safety, lab work and automation, which require certifications. A handful of positions will require either a bachelor’s or master’s degrees. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hourly wages in dairy processing typically range from $15 to $35 per hour, with an average hourly wage of $21.58. Although prospective employees have some time to wait — since the plant won’t be hiring the bulk of its employees for about a year — job seekers are excited about this facility and the opportunities it brings.

St. Johns American Job Center is located at 101 W. Cass St., Suite A, St. Johns, MI 48879 and can be reached at (989)224-2000.

For more information visit www.camw.org. Capital Area Michigan Works!

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Jeffrey Mosher speaks with Sassa Akervall as her company Akervall Technologies launched a smart mouthguard/app at CES in Las Vegas this week.

The mouthguard combines the strongest dental protection on the market with a sensor that measures the force of hits to the head. The app delivers and stores the measurements on a mobile device.

The SISU Sense will help coaches, parents and athletes understand the impact of a hit and decide if an athlete should be taken out of the game to reduce injury after a possible concussion.

Rollout of the U.S.-made electronic mouthguard will begin in the U.S. and Canada in January; Akervall mouthguards are available in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Chris Holman catches up with Tom Conway, CTA,

Business Development Manager at ASK of REO Town, Lansing, MI.

They review the company's purpose, and many changes in '18 and look ahead to the evolving cyber-security and technology issues for '19, including how to secure the talent for that company to continue to grow,

Terese McInnis, CMP, GMS, Senior Sales Manager, is a name well-known in the Michigan meetings and events industry. Join us on Association Impact as we learn more about who she is, what she does, and professional insights into the award-winning work of Traverse City Tourism.

Tori Piersante, Vice President of Sales, leads Traverse City Tourism’s senior sales team. In this segment, Tori reflects on her personal career path, her prior experience working with Visit Salt Lake, and how she brings it all together to support a vibrant tourism industry in northern Michigan.

Unique problems call for unique solutions. In this segment we explore how the “Cherry Capital of the World” has repositioned itself as one of the state’s major meetings and events destinations and discuss the emerging spirit of collaboration between local venues, business owners, and the convention and visitors bureau.

Traverse City Tourism's Terese McInnis, CMP, GMS and Tori Piersante join Taylor Benavente for this segment of Association Impact.

As voluntary certifications across all industry sectors continue to be reassessed, Terese McInnis CMP, GMS and Tori Piersante offer their firsthand background with meeting planning certifications in the State of Michigan and their importance to continued, professional development.

Traverse City Tourism's Terese McInnis, CMP, GMS and Tori Piersante join Taylor Benavente for this segment of Association Impact.

The old adage of “know your audience” seems to be true, even in the events industry. We examine the differences in approach amongst the various groups and target markets Traverse City Tourism partners with and how they’ve learned to leverage these distinctions as positives.

Traverse City Tourism's Terese McInnis, CMP, GMS and Tori Piersante join Taylor Benavente for this segment of Association Impact.

As the first of Association Impact’s upcoming spotlights on convention and visitor bureaus, Traverse City Tourism considers what lies ahead for Michigan tourism and meeting planning in 2019. Learn how Traverse City’s spirit of collaboration might serve as a guiding hand for the industry in the show’s final segment.

Traverse City Tourism's Terese McInnis, CMP, GMS and Tori Piersante join Taylor Benavente for this segment of Association Impact.