May 2020 Traverse City Business News

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

MARCH 2020 • VOLUME 25 • NUMBER 10

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tcbusinessnews.com

BRICK & CORBETT Re/Max Bayshore $48.96m

MARK HAGAN

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Coldwell Banker Schmidt $47.96m

DON FEDRIGON

TOP SELLERS Re/Max of Elk Rapids $54.57m

These realtors moved more real estate than anyone in the five-county region in 2019

Big questions await northern Michigan’s biggest real estate sellers in 2020 and beyond. But some area realtors had record-breaking numbers in 2019.

See page 12 for the full ranking.

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+ Kick in the teeth

KIMBERLY BORK Venture Properties $39.24m

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How COVID-19 is hitting the local dental community

HOT SELLERS:

MATTHEW DAKOSKE

Profiling a few personalities of real estate

Re/Max Bayshore $32.97m

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

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BRIEFLY

M A Y 2020

Big news in a small format

LOCAL INNOVATIONS HELP IN CORONAVIRUS FIGHT

Photo courtesy of Heather Higham

Traverse City businesses are pivoting operations to focus on aiding the fight against COVID-19.

TentCraft, creator of custom tents and signage for major events, shifted its manufacturing capacity to producing madeto-order, custom-printed tents for mobile COVID-19 testing. A drive-thru tent setup allows a patient to stay in their vehicle, roll down the window, give a sample, and be on their way.

After hearing about the plan to establish remote COVID-19 testing locations in the parking lots of national chains like Walmart and Walgreens, Russell Schindler, founder and CEO of local startup SampleServe is working to create a mobile app to collect all patient data — such as name, symptoms, and possible exposure scenarios. Schindler said he needs to modify the existing SampleServe apps to suit COVID-19 testing, a revamp that would cost around $300,000 and would require a team of skilled programmers to ensure reliable, glitch-free operation. He’s meeting with government departments and affiliates in hopes that a partnership or grant could fund that final step.

Local entrepreneur Brigham Ricks developed a technology called “Good Vibes,” which alerts users if they are about to touch their faces. The product is available in two default designs: a bracelet worn on the wrist and a pin worn near the shirt collar. The bracelets and pins are designed to vibrate when a user moves their hand within two inches of their face. Ricks, also a co-founder of the local peer-to-peer construction equipment rental service Burly, said the technology could also be incorporated into necklaces, earrings, watchbands, and more. He and his business partners are “moving at light speed” to start mass production and distribution of Good Vibes products.

As Dr. Spencer Crouch of Up North Orthodontics is collaborating with other dental and orthodontic professionals throughout the state on a project aimed at fabricating “reusable 3D printed masks with interchangeable filters.” The project will provide doctors and nurses with masks they can wipe down between

patients and swap out filters, rather than throwing out the entire mask.

Britten has developed a new product called CoughGuard, intended to protect receptionists, cashiers, bank tellers, store clerks, office administrators, and other workers from the risk of inhalation exposure or surface contamination. Essentially a transparent collapsible plastic shield, the product is portable, lightweight, and easy to set up on any counter space. It allows essential workers to speak with customers or patients from behind a protective barrier that blocks coughs, sneezes, and potentially infectious airborne particles. eFulfillment Service is offering free storage to any producer of medical supplies that are vital for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. eFulfillment – which provides inventory storage, order processing, and shipping fulfillment services to e-commerce businesses – has more than 250,000 square feet of warehouse space throughout northern Michigan. Of that space, more than 10,000 square feet is currently vacant. Medical manufacturers can store and ship their products – with all standard client service fees and inventory storage fees waived – as long as space remains available. Medical manufacturers can learn more by emailing Medical@eFulfillmentService.com.

Overdue.

GARAGE OFFERS HEALTH WORKERS FREE CAR DISINFECTANT

Time to use THIS SPACE right now.

Northern Michigan healthcare workers can get the interior of their vehicles disinfected at no cost at the Empire and Traverse City locations of Dave’s Garage.

Co-owners Craig Olvey and Jamie Laferriere are offering a spray-on disinfectant called Transform that can be applied to car surfaces in minutes. “Healthcare workers are vigilant to make sure they don’t bring infections home to their families,” said Laferriere. “Our hope is that we can provide another layer of safety for them.” Healthcare workers — including nurses, doctors, emergency medical technicians, police and firefighters — can call either location of Dave’s Garage to set an appointment.

BRIEFLY - CONT’D ON PG. 5

It’s time to express sincere admiration and gratitude to you, the business leaders - the entrepreneurs of Grand Traverse, this remarkable place that is our home. It’s been an honor and my pleasure to know you, and to assist you from the sidelines of these olympics of life; in some cases, decades in the making. I’ve observed The American Dream manifest itself through your strong and determined hands. Through countless hours, and sleepless nights, you have created security, independence and prosperity for yourselves, and for your loved ones, and for your employees, and their families, and beyond. You have gifted your community the with the capital of hope, and the resultant freedom to have, and pursue individual, and collective goals.

These uncertain times have us all wondering if, and when the future will again look like the past? It may, or it may not. Some have been unexpectedly handed financial, emotional or physical challenges beyond comprehension. But I am convinced that when the dust settles, our good and giving people, while continuing to make selfless choices, will re-create the best of possible outcomes. As leaders, you may necessarily alter your headings, but you can never stop steering. We need you to endure. You will. And again, in humble admiration, I thank you.

-

with “Square Feet”

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

Your Local Business Broker

www.goldencircleadvisors.com info@goldencircleadvisors.com TRAVERSE CITY Curtis D. Kuttnauer (231) 922-9380 PLYMOUTH Fred Manuel (734) 320-6667

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ATTORNEYS Robert W. Parker Scott D. Harvey Jeffrey R. Wonacott Peter J. Boyles Andrew J. Blodgett Timothy M. White Todd W. Millar Anders J. Gillis Stephen C. Chambers John R. Blakeslee

Property and Real Estate Law

BUY, SELL, DEVELOP, PROTECT. From fruit orchards and vineyards to lakefront properties and high-rise condominiums, we have the local experience and expertise to successfully help guide your project.

• Construction Projects

• Mortgage Financing

• Condominium Formation & Governance

• Quiet Title Actions

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• Zoning & Land use • Acquisitions

• Riparian Rights

Traverse City 231.929.4878 www.parkerharvey.com

• Property Tax Appeals REAL ESTATE

BUSINESS

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LITIGATION

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

BRIEFLY CREDIT UNION DONATES TO HOSPITAL CRISIS FUNDS, FOOD BANKS

4Front Credit Union will deliver financial support totaling $50,000 to area medical caregivers and families in need. Frontline health provider support will be given to the Munson Healthcare COVID-19 Fund and the McLaren Northern Michigan Emergency Response Fund. The monies will allow the two health systems to procure needed supplies, support testing efforts and meet emerging needs at their combined 12 hospitals across northern Michigan, stretching from Cheboygan to Manistee. Funding will also be provided to three food distribution organizations serving or located in northern Michigan: The Manna Food Project, the Northwest Food Coalition and Feeding America West Michigan.

LOCAL DISTILLERIES RAMP UP SANITIZER PRODUCTION

Iron Fish Distillery is working around the clock making hand sanitizer for frontline healthcare workers at Munson Healthcare facilities throughout northern Michigan. It’s producing about 500 gallons a week, sufficient to satisfy the needs of the Munson Healthcare network and to also fill orders from Manistee and Benzie County human and health organizations and nonprofits. (Due to limited supplies, Iron Fish is not distributing hand sanitizer to the general public.) Other Northern Michigan craft distilleries that retooled to produce hand sanitizer in response to shortages include Mammoth Distillery, Northern Latitudes Distillery, Traverse City Whiskey Co. and Grand Traverse Distillery. These distilleries are producing for the public as well as essential workers and first responders.

PARTNERSHIP HELPS FOOD RESCUE, PANTRIES

will go toward the purchase of chicken and ground beef for those in need. Superior Foods will deliver the protein to Food Rescue for distribution to food pantries around northern Michigan. For more about Protein For The People, contact Food Rescue Manager Taylor Moore at taylorm@goodwillnmi.org.

FUND SURPASSES $100K GOAL IN ONE WEEK

REAL ESTATE, LIFESTYLE SERIES DEBUTS Groundwork Center For Resilient Communities spearheaded a fundraising campaign last month to help local food pantries purchase food from local farmers.

The goal was $30,000, which donors met in a little over one day. Groundwork then extended the deadline and raised the bar to $100,000. By the campaign’s close a week later, community members had donated $130,597. With help from Northwest Food Coalition, Food Rescue, and Manna Food Project, a network of over 100 food pantries, meal sites, and baby pantries across an eight-county region can depend on an immediate supply of farmers’ stored crops (such as potatoes, carrots and onions) and a secure source for locally-grown food for months to come.

DERMATOLOGIST NOW OFFERING TELEMED SERVICES

Associates in Dermatology is now offering telemedicine virtual appointments for select dermatologic conditions. “Our team remains steadfast in our commitment to provide the highest quality dermatologic care for our patients during this unprecedented time,” said Dr. Joan Griner. Associates in Dermatology specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer and general dermatology. For more information, call (231) 935-0620.

ORYANA PURCHASES LUCKY’S MARKET Protein For The People, a new partnership between Red Ginger, Burritt’s Fresh Markets and Superior Foods, will provide Goodwill Northern Michigan’s Food Rescue with protein for area food pantries during the COVID-19 crisis. If someone purchases a gift card from Red Ginger or Burritt’s, 20 percent of the card purchase

to operate the store as a second location called Oryana West. Oryana GM Steve Nance said many of Lucky’s signature programs – along with all employees – will be retained as Oryana looks to expand its offerings and footprint in Traverse City.

Oryana was part of a group of independent grocers that bid on seven Lucky’s Market stores that still remained open after Lucky’s filed for bankruptcy in January, closing 32 other stores. Oryana’s $860,000 bid for the Traverse City store on US-31 in Buffalo Ridge Center – which includes all inventory, equipment, and licensing (including liquor licenses), plus assumption of the building lease – was accepted in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Oryana Community Co-op has purchased the Lucky’s Market Traverse City location in bankruptcy court, with plans

A television show called “New Journeys” created by Kewadin-based Greg and Kim McMaster showcases properties and lifestyles in northern Michigan and Florida. The first show — which included vignettes from Elk Rapids, Benzie County, Traverse City — aired April 5 on TV 7&4. The MacMasters produced the show through their video production company Eagle Eye Video Productions and Drone Services. Kim is a Realtor and Greg worked for years in television as a northern Michigan meteorologist.

AUGUST CAR EVENT MOVED ONLINE

One of Grand Traverse Resort & Spa’s and Traverse City’s biggest corporate events of the year has been cancelled and moved online. The Management Briefing Seminars, produced by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) and held in Traverse City every summer for 55 years, will now be held online August 4-5. The event attracts more than 1,000 stakeholders, suppliers, manufacturers, government officials and media members to discuss critical issues facing the industry. “...It was a difficult decision to make, but we are looking forward to hosting the virtual conference on Aug. 4 and 5,” said CAR in a statement. The CAR team is working on restructuring the event agenda and reworking exhibit and sponsorship packages.

Please submit Briefly items by May 10th to news@tcbusinessnews.com.

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COMMENTARY - by Connie Deneweth

HEROES DON’T WEAR CAPES

• Iron Fish Distillery, Short’s Brewing Company and Mammoth Distilling have started making hand sanitizer that can be used in the health system.

Iron Fish reports that their efforts also involved the collaboration of Watson Benzie, which provided vehicles to transport critical materials, and Northwoods Soda & Syrup Co., which donated hundreds of gallon containers to put the sanitizer in.

• TentCraft responded quickly to the need for a facility to test people showing symptoms of the disease in a way that protects both health care workers and other patients. They constructed and erected a drive-through tent that is currently in use at the Foster Family Community Health Center. Communities across the country are scrambling to set up mobile medical screening locations. The technical details and logistics involved are unprecedented. SampleServe is teaming up with TentCraft to offer simple and quick technical solutions to accomplish mobile screening.

• Britten Banners developed a shield protector for use in grocery stores, banks, etc.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

• Hagerty Insurance donated masks and worked to contact local restorers and do-it-yourself auto enthusiasts to donate masks they had.

• Northwestern Michigan College’s Nursing and Dental Assistant departments donated several masks.

• Dentists have donated masks and supplies.

• Farmers & individuals have provided food for COVID-19 screeners, emergency department, and urgent care staff.

• Local grocery stores are on the front line feeding our community, constantly

So many talented people are willing to aid strangers in every possible way.

We are fortunate to live in a strong, selfless and passionate community. restocking store shelves and refereeing fights over toilet paper.

• Skilled Manufacturing Inc. is manufacturing components for ventilators that may save the lives of thousands of victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• All area media have been extremely helpful in conveying important messages about social distancing, hospitals’ measures to care for patients and contain the disease, and have provided forums for questions and answers about the disease.

• American Waste seamlessly provides outstanding service with increased loads.

Prompt garbage collection is vital for protecting the health and safety of our community.

• Traverse City Downtown Development Association (DDA) has compiled a list of all the downtown retail outlets that remain open, with their current hours and special offerings. In addition, they are providing “bonus” DDA gift certificates to support the retailers.

As a career banker, I am overwhelmed by the late hours and the enormous effort of all the area banks and credit unions to

assist the people in our community with obtaining relief funds from the SBA and U.S. Treasury through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

By the time this article goes to print, the list of heroes will multiply beyond the number of pages in this issue. I apologize that each person and business can’t be recognized, but I know you are not helping for recognition. Each and every one of you knows what needs to be done and you JUST DO IT! What does this say about the character of our region? It shows that people are willing to look beyond themselves and their own needs to help others. This community has responded in an overwhelming and heartwarming way! So many talented people are willing to aid strangers in every possible way. We are fortunate to live in a strong, selfless and passionate community.

In addition to all those mentioned above, our greatest heroes are our doctors, nurses, first responders, EMTs and hospital staff who risk becoming infected themselves and who risk infecting their own families. They are making extraordinary sacrifices to care for the rest of us.

Our prayers are with all of you and your families. May God bless you and keep you well. We are holding you all close to our hearts.

Munson Healthcare is extremely grateful for all of the support it has received.

Please continue the support of local efforts to combat this pandemic. Learn more at www.munsonhealthcare.org and click on the “How You Can Help” portion of the COVID-19 banner.

A CPA and banker, Connie Deneweth is a developer and managing member of Copper Ridge; a former board member and vice chair of Munson Healthcare; current chairperson of the Munson Healthcare Audit Committee; co-chair of the Grand Traverse Area Catholic School capital campaign; and a board member of the Cherryland Cares Foundation and the Oleson Foundation. She is also a business development consultant at Independent Bank.

She was the community bank president of Republic Bank from 1992-2000 and CEO/ director of Traverse City State Bank from 2009-2018.

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Send your letters to: news@tcbusinessnews.com

We reserve the right to edit for space and clarity.

EDITORIAL & BUSINESS OFFICE 135 W. State St. Traverse City, Michigan 49684 (231) 929-7919 ON THE WEB tcbusinessnews.com PUBLISHER Luke W. Haase lhaase@tcbusinessnews.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Gayle Neu gneu@tcbusinessnews.com COPY EDITOR Becky Kalajian AD SALES Lisa Gillespie lisa@northernexpress.com Jill Hayes jill@northernexpress.com Kathy Johnson kathy@northernexpress.com Kaitlyn Nance knance@northernexpress.com Todd Norris tnorris@tcbusinessnews.com Michele Young myoung@tcbusinessnews.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ross Boissoneau Lynn Geiger Mary Bevans Gillett Rick Haglund Amy Lane Craig Manning Clark Miller Al Parker Emily Betz Tyra Todd VanSickle CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kyra Poehlman WEB PRODUCTION Byte Productions MAILING/FULFILLMENT Village Press DISTRIBUTION Gary Twardowski SERVING: Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau and Benzie counties

The Traverse City Business News Published monthly by Eyes Only Media, LLC 135 W. State St. Traverse City, MI 49684 Periodical postage qualification pending at Traverse City, MI. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Traverse City Business News, PO Box 1810, Traverse City, MI 49685-1810.

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Heroes don’t wear capes, they wear scrubs, business suits, dresses, overalls, khakis and blue jeans.

As the COVID-19 virus moves across the world and spreads in the Grand Traverse region, I am witnessing our community rising with heart, determination and collaboration to meet this immense challenge.

As a member of the Munson Healthcare Board of Directors, I know how much the pandemic is taxing our community’s health system. Healthcare workers and first responders require personal protective equipment (PPE). Appropriate masks, ventilators, hand sanitizer, and other needed equipment have become a focal point with global demand now greater than global supply.

On behalf of Munson Healthcare, we are grateful for the support and willingness of so many individuals and businesses throughout our community who have stepped up and lent a helping hand, especially with the PPE shortage. Here are some of the amazing examples of local support to date:

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The Traverse City Business News is not responsible for unsolicited contributions.

Content ©2020 Eyes Only Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

EYES ONLY MEDIA, LLC

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

M A Y 2020

BY WARREN CALL, columnist

CREATIVE THINKING: Leveraging area’s arts/creativity sector is key in recovery

We are confronting a much different People will eventually go back to their business environment than we anticoffices, but many workers and companies ipated at the beginning of 2020. Our may find remote work to be more produclocal economy was operating at near full tive and efficient. We are going to see an capacity and our leading challenge was increase in remote work, allowing greater a tight labor market. The landscape has flexibility for dual-career households and changed dramatically, as we now confront families with young children. shuttered businesses and massive unemIn our drastically altered employment ployment. It is a different world and we environment, people have been learning must prepare for the economic recovery of to work remotely, freelancing, or find northern Michigan. themselves newly unemployed. They are We must also be charting the course all asking themselves, “What’s next?” for the future of the northern Michigan This workforce, especially young families economy. We need to start addressing the seeking a better quality of life outside of current unemployment spike while findbig cities, is looking for the right combinaing new solutions for intion of healthy living and a dustries adversely affected quality career. by the crisis. Broadening Our quality of life and our our talent attraction and There is a massive creative assets are a signifidevelopment programs will cant competitive advantage opportunity for us already. With the increase help diversify and build our economy in new areas. of remote work, it’s going to leverage our Some of our best opportuto be an even more decisive nities revolve around the unique work/life competitive advantage as we creative industries. get things restarted. We can balance to attract actively recruit this talent by We know from the 2008 financial crisis providing more dedicated a creative and that leveraging creative co-working space for freelancsector assets to catalyze remote workforce ers, creatives, and remote economic and workforce workers, and secure funding to the region. development is key to the for remote worker relocation prosperity of rural areas. and creative industry grants.

Rural communities with We can promote “virtual design-driven businessplacemaking” and provide es — those that integrate branding and newcomers with access to community design services such as videographers, networks and support systems. web designers, film and music producers, There is a massive opportunity for us to architects, graphic designers, the fine leverage our unique work/life balance to arts — recovered more quickly from the attract a creative and remote workforce to recession and showed more growth in the region. We can activate our ‘diaspora’ weekly earnings from 2010 to 2014. Two – alumni networks, boomerang hopefuls, out of three rural businesses report that and others that visit and love northern arts and entertainment are essential to Michigan. We can demonstrate a bright attracting and retaining workers. future for them and their families here, The Grand Traverse Region possesses working for our businesses, launching a well-developed creative industry and startups, and working remotely. Their arts sector. Traverse City is ranked fourth salaries, spending, and creative ideas can in the list of Top 10 Most Arts-Vibrant improve our tax base and our economic Medium Communities in the 2018 Arts growth. The Grand Traverse Region can Vibrancy Index report by the National be the answer to ‘what’s next.’

Center for Arts Research. We can build We know that millennials already on this advantage by enhancing and supchoose to relocate for place, experience, porting the regional creative economy by and lifestyle over specific job opportuattracting creative business to the region, nities. We can harness this future of highlighting existing creative culture in work and become a nexus of creative the community, and leading initiatives entrepreneurs, resulting in economic to retain and attract creative and culturresilience and an accelerated recovery al talent. These workers are incredibly after the pandemic. important not only for contributing to the economy but contributing to our cultural Warren Call is the president/CEO of and artistic vibrancy.

Traverse Connect, a regional economic Creative industry fields tend to offer development organization that includes the more remote career opportunities. Right Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce now, the entire country is in the midst and Venture North. Contact him at of a massive experiment in remote work. warren.call@traverseconnect.org.

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2400 sq. ft. • MLS #1861701

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522 E. Front St, Traverse City, MI 49686 ® 139006 _ SCHMIDT,

REALTORS

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

REAL ESTATE

COOL PROPERTIES Check Out These One-Of-A-Kinds Now On The Market ARCHITECTURE OF YESTERYEAR

BY ROSS BOISSONEAU

What makes a property cool? Is it lake frontage? The clean or unique lines of great architecture? Proximity to a northern Michigan downtown or close to trails and amenities?

There’s no right answer. One person’s derelict cabin in the woods is another’s charmer. That quaint in-home town is hardly an outdoor fanatic’s dream, but its quirky spaces and décor endear it to others. Be they residential, commercial or vacant, here are some of this area’s cool properties on the market now.

EDIBLE ANTIQUES ARE YOURS

THE BAY BECKONS

327 Leelanau Avenue Frankfort, MI 49635 $595,000 MLS #1871990

10649 Bluff Road Traverse City, MI 49686 $539,900 MLS #1869775

Fresh from the pages of The Cottage Journal magazine, this beautiful home and its large, separate beach house have been remodeled inside and out, updated with a fresh, casual, modern style – and the beachy furnishings are part of the deal. Fun fact: Pottery Barn contacted the owners requesting use of their content for advertising! Drink in the views of Grand Traverse Bay from the water-side windows, or traipse down to the waterfront (100 feet of it) and enjoy the patio, fire pit, and extensive elevated waterside deck. A dock, shore station and three kayaks complete the package.

This cozy riverfront cottage on the Manistee River is just minutes from Fife Lake (both the lake and the village). It is a storybook setting on a small bluff overlooking a heavy-flowing, highly sought-after section of the river. What about the home, you ask? Well, it’s a log and wood cottage with an open floor plan, a great loft area perfect for sleeping up to four (or using as an office, an art studio or … ) and a four-season room with a wall of windows. Oh yeah, it also has an oversized two-car garage, perfect for the boat, the bikes, the snowmobile – your choice! Price includes the home, wooded one-plus acre parcel and 130 feet of river frontage.

13152 SW Coster Road Fife Lake, MI 49633 $169,900 MLS #1868200

ON THE RIVER, NEAR THE LAKE

They say time travel is impossible, but this home will transport you back a century and a half. As you gaze up the hillside to this Italianate Victorian home in Frankfort you’ll feel the pull of years past – but not to worry, it’s full of the necessary modern conveniences. The home is set off by the gently curving sidewalk leading you to and through the gorgeous acre-plus grounds. Plus it backs onto a city-owned forest reserve, offering peace, privacy and greenery galore. Yet it’s just a five-minute walk to downtown shops, the library, park, marina and Lake Michigan.

And when you get inside, you’ll love the views of Lake Michigan and Betsie Lake. Numerous wood accents, including hardwood floors and a beautiful spiral-esque staircase, give this three bedroom home a touch of elegance, though not at the expense of casual comfort.

Kilcherman Road Northport, MI 49670 $525,000 MLS #1865314 Spitzenbergs? Orange Pippins?

Gravensteins or Golden Russets?

Check. If you like orchards, you’ve hit a home run here. More than just a property, you can own agricultural history with Kilcherman’s Antique Apple Orchard. This 66-acre farm is home to more than 200 varieties of apples like those Gravensteins and Golden Russets, as well as Macouns, strawberry apples, lady apples, Tolman Sweets and more (many more!), as well as several varieties of cherries, even a pond and hardwood forest.

The apples vary in size, shape, color and flavor, and the farm has become a destination for years for visitors interested in the history and flavor of the apples.

The home and barn housing the owners’ vast collection of bottles are not part of the sale. Neither is the charm and knowledge of longtime owners Phyllis and John Kilcherman; for that, you’re on your own. But you couldn’t ask for better neighbors.

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

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REAL ESTATE SCHMIDT REALTORS

LET YOUR IMAGINATION WANDER

WORKING LESS? NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME TO FIND YOUR NEXT LOCATION ONLINE

9418 W Honor Highway Honor, MI 49640 $135,000 You’ve seen the sign when you’ve driven by Birdland MLS #1852971 Indian Art on U.S. 31: Free cup of coffee for veterans, free cup of coffee for Indians, two free cups for Indian Veterans. Now you can offer those same perks if you like. The one-and-a-half-acre parcel includes 200 feet of U.S. 31 frontage between Beulah and Honor, giving it great visibility. Heck, there’s even a stream running through the property. It is zoned C-1 commercial, providing for a variety of uses: retail, agriculture, wholesale, tourist related uses, even campground and trailer parks by special use permit. The various buildings offer options as well.

SEE ALL OF OUR LISTINGS:

WWW.REALESTATETC.COM

THE BEACH GOES ON FOREVER

GREEN LAKE OPPORTUNITY FOR GREEN THUMBS

00 E Woolsey Lake Road Northport, MI 49670 $1,695,000 MLS #1851410

2858 M-137 Interlochen, MI 49643 The charm of Interlochen, a cozy cottage, and a thriving business as well. Here’s a chance to own and $169,000 operate your own garden center, landscape business, MLS #1860954 even a farm market. This longtime favorite of the flower power crowd includes two storage buildings (one used for retail, the other for storage) and two greenhouses. The inventory & displays are available as well if you want to keep on in the garden business. If not, the high-traffic location on M-137 near shops, restaurants and Interlochen Center for the Arts guarantees plenty of passers-by. The cottage could also be part of a retail operation, but it’s also perfect for a live/work situation. Or hey, try it as an Airbnb.

000 May Road Kalkaska, MI 49646 $35,000 MLS #1869955

When The Who wrote “I could see for miles and miles,” the band could have had this property in mind. Look left and look right, and you’ll see nothing but water frontage.

A lot of water frontage. Try this on: 546 feet on Grand Traverse Bay with the requisite sugar sand beach, all on a peaceful private drive. Build your dream home, or heck, throw up a tent and enjoy. The property is situated on a cove, allowing for docks and boat lifts. Pristine waters, amazing sunrises, and boats sailing by. What’s not to love?

If you’re the outdoorsy type, this may be just what you had in mind. And if one is good, two are better, right? Check out these two cozy cabins in Kalkaska County, just a few miles from thousands of acres of state land and trails. Cabin A (16X12) boasts a large sleeping loft, while Cabin B (18X12) has a smaller loft over the covered porch. Oh, yes, Cabin A has a covered porch as well, and they’re both perfect places to sit a spell and enjoy the endless views. The cabins are off the grid, but you can still charge your cell phones if you want to power up the generator. Trendy? Not a chance. But this is a great weekend getaway or summer retreat with a fire pit, berry bushes, and peace and quiet.

TWO FOR ONE

700 HAMMOND TRAVERSE CITY, MI 3,000 - 9,000 SF CLASS A OFFICE BUILDING $15.95/SF/YR

1990 US-31 N TRAVERSE CITY, MI UP TO 2,500 SF OFFICE OR RETAIL Starting at $15/SF/YR

1525 & 1545 S DIVISION TRAVERSE CITY, MI 1,400 - 12,000 SF OFFICE OR RETAIL Starting at $11.95/SF/YR NNN

DAN STIEBEL REALTOR®

231.633.0432 dan@realestatetc.com

522 E Front Street Traverse City, MI 49686

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

Recreation $11,800,000

Healthcare $7,500,000

Investment Real Estate $5,500,000

Healthcare $4,400,000

Agriculture $4,000,000

Construction & Term Credit Facilities

Construction Credit Facility

Term Credit Facility

Construction & Term Credit Facilities

Revolving Credit Facility

PETOSKEY

TRENTON

NORTHERN MICHIGAN

TRAVERSE CITY

FREELAND

Recreation $3,800,000

Automotive $3,000,000

Agriculture $2,500,000

Manufacturing $2,400,000

Manufacturing $2,200,000

Revolving & Term Credit Facilities

Term Credit Facility

Revolving Credit Facility

Term Credit Facility

Revolving & Term Credit Facilities

GAYLORD

SAGINAW

ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS

OWOSSO

Investment Real Estate $2,000,000

Environmental Services $1,800,000

Investment Real Estate $1,500,000

Earth Sciences $1,500,000

Retail $1,500,000

Term Credit Facility

Revolving & Term Credit Facilities

Term Credit Facility

Revolving & Term Credit Facilities

Term Credit Facility

HAZEL PARK

POSEN

LANSING

TRAVERSE CITY

TRAVERSE CITY

Retail $1,400,000

Service $1,300,000

Term Credit Facility

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TRAVERSE CITY

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Agriculture $1,250,000 Term Credit Facility MARLETTE

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

M A Y 2020

11

REAL ESTATE

BY MIKE NAGY, columnist

CUT RATE:

30-year mortgages at near-historic lows COVID-19 has made things difficult to predict in almost every facet of our day-today lives, mortgage lending included. No one knows what things are going to look like in a month or even a week.

Indeed, never in my 37-year career have I seen the mortgage lending industry look as fluid and unpredictable as it does now.

We’ve had economic downturns before, but this one has come on with unprecedented rapidity. In 2019, some economic experts were predicting a slowdown in 2020, but I’d wager that even they had no idea just how right they would turn out to be.

Frankly, no one really knows what things are going to look like by the end of today. Since this pandemic began, my State Savings Bank colleagues and I have watched mortgage market rates swing wildly within days or hours.

As mortgage lenders, we are accustomed to checking rates several times a day. Normally, these checks are perfunctory. Rates don’t tend to change much in short periods of time. We anticipate, under normal circumstances, that our rates may hop up or down an eighth or a quarter of a percentage point every two or three days, if that. The swings recently have been frequent enough and big enough to give us all whiplash.

Here’s an example: One day in midMarch, I came into the office in the morning, checked my mortgage rates for the day, and saw the lowest 30-year rate I’ve seen in my entire career: 3%. By mid-morning, the rate was up to 3.75%, which meant everyone I’d talked to about mortgages or refinancing between 8am and 10am felt like they’d been misinformed. By mid-afternoon, the rate was back down to 3%. When I left the office for the day, it had settled at 3.375%.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me lately if these types of interest rate fluctuations are normal. They are not, but it’s also not normal for the stock market to have 2,000-point drops, or gains in a single day, or for the real estate market to be at a virtual standstill because realtors are not considered an essential service. We’re experiencing some very unusual things

lately, and there’s no saying when we’ll find our way back to normal.

Still, despite the current uncertainty, there are opportunities right now for home buyers and home owners alike.

Mortgage rates are at near-historic lows.

The 30-year fixed rate has spent most weeks hovering between 3.10% and 3.25%. The 15-year fixed rate has dipped as low as 2.5%. For new buyers with solid savings or strong job and income stability, now might be a great time to lock in a terrific mortgage rate and buy a home for a value price. And for existing owners looking to reduce their monthly mortgage payments, refinancing has rarely been a more attractive option.

I haven’t seen many new purchase mortgages come across my desk since the pandemic hit. Would-be buyers seem to be self-distancing themselves from major transactions, a market pause that could last until there is more stability across the economy. But I have been getting a lot of calls about refinancing, simply because the rates are so attractive right now.

There are a lot of myths about refinancing, not only in the past, but at this current moment in time as well. Some customers have been surprised to hear me answer the phone when they’ve called.

They assumed our office was closed down or operating at partial strength because of the pandemic. In truth, we’re still coming to the office every day, fielding calls and working with clients digitally or via telephone. Mortgages and refinances haven’t stopped because of COVID-19.

Other common assumptions are that you need a certain amount of home equity to refinance, that you can’t refinance on a recently purchased home, or that refinancing can only ever yield minimal monthly savings. Some of these myths have grounds in reality: For instance, if you’re seeking a cash-out refinance, you do need to go through a waiting period if you purchased your new home with a low down payment loan, as you need to build your equity position in the home over time. If your goal with refinancing is simply to reduce your interest rate and save money on your monthly mortgage

payment, then even those who have a minimal equity position can refinance to improve their monthly cash flow. It’s definitely worth a call to your lender to see what the possibilities might be for you.

If you are thinking about refinancing in this era of low interest rates, there are a few pieces of information you’ll want to have handy when you call your lender.

What is the current balance on your mortgage loan and what is the interest rate? What are you paying each month in principal and interest? Is your loan a 15year or a 30-year? Based on details such as these, your lender can run the numbers and tell you how much you stand to save by getting a lower interest rate.

This information may often lead you to other questions to ask and other considerations to take into account. How much could you save each month by refinancing now? How about over the course of the next five to 10 years? What would the closing costs on your refinancing

process be? And how long would it take you to earn back your closing costs with the money you’d be saving each month?

Getting these answers from your lender – and weighing them against your current financial situation and how long you plan to live in your current home – can give you an answer on whether refinancing is a smart option.

Will a refinance help you build future wealth, or be a time-consuming, costly process that will only yield minimal savings? The answer is different for every person; just know that as committed mortgage lenders we remain here – in good and not so good times – to help you shelter your wealth and provide shelter for your family!

Mike Nagy is vice president of Mortgage Lending at State Savings Bank in Traverse City. He has nearly four decades of banking experience.

State Savings Bank has been financing homes in northwestern Lower Michigan since 1901.

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M A Y 2020

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

REAL ESTATE

TOP SELLERS These realtors moved more real estate than anyone in the five-county region in 2019

Big questions await northern Michigan’s biggest real estate sellers in 2020 and beyond.

Has the decade-long sales boom ended? Will the region be protected, inside an economic bubble? Nobody knows, but what is established is that these realtors had record-breaking numbers in 2019. Certainly some familiar names are at the very top again this year, but this top 25 list also includes some new faces that closed some major transactions last year.

Editor’s note: This is the fifth year the TCBN has published this ranking. For the first four years we utilized BrokerMetrics data; this year we publish the official MLS data provided by realtors to their regional association. Also note this year we are not differentiating real estate “teams” from individual sellers — just publishing the data as it was provided. As always, we do not change nor manipulate the data in any way. Sales are residential only, and only for real estate sales in Grand Traverse, Leelanaau, Benzie, Kalkaska and Antrim Counties.

MARK HAGAN Coldwell Banker Schmidt $47.96m

BRICK & CORBETT

1

3

Re/Max Bayshore $48.96m

DON FEDRIGON Re/Max of Elk Rapids $54.57m

4

KIMBERLY BORK

Venture Properties $39.24m

5 MATTHEW DAKOSKE Re/Max Bayshore $32.97m

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

7

REAL ESTATE

6

JON ZICKERT Real Estate One $29.63m

LINDA SCHAUB Real Estate One $31.12m

8 SHAWN SCHMIDT SMITH & CARLY SMITH Coldwell Banker Schmidt $27.7m

10

THE MITTEN GROUP Key Realty One $26.2m

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GRAND TRAVERSE 1 - BRICK & CORBETT, Re/Max Bayshore, $39.54m 2 - MARK HAGAN, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, $33.78m 3 - MATTHEW DAKOSKE, Re/Max Bayshore, $27.38m 4 - LINDA SCHAUB, Real Estate One, $25.82m 5 - SHAWN SCHMIDT SMITH & CARLY SMITH, $23.69m

LEELANAU 1 - KIMBERLY BORK, Venture Properties, $28.92m 2 - TIM SCHAUB, Schaub Team Premier, $25.06m 3 - RANAE IHME, LVR Realty, $23.17m 4 - PAM DEPUY, The Martin Company, $22m 5 - VICTORIA & JONATHAN OLTERSDORF, Oltersdorf Realty, $17.26m

ANTRIM 1 - DON FEDRIGON, Re/Max of Elk Rapids, $38.77m 2 - KATHY WITTBRODT, Wittbrodt Waterside, $18.88m 3 - GARY SCHEITLER, Paradise Properties, $11.69m 4 - JULIA PIETROWICZ, Keller Williams, $10.42m 5 - WALT MANN, Real Estate One, $8.75m

BOB & TIA RIECK Coldwell Banker Schmidt $27.13m

11 TIM SCHAUB, Schaub Team Premier, $26.17m 12 RANAE IHME, LVR Realty, $23.66m 13 CHRISTINA INGERSOLL & MAUREEN PENFOLD, Re/Max Bayshore, $22.47m

BENZIE 1 - JON ZICKERT, Real Estate One, $18.34m 2 - CHRISTINE STAPLETON, Stapleton Realty, $11.98m 3 - SUZANNE VOLTZ, Real Estate One, $11.77m 4 - KATHLEEN NEVEU, Real Estate One, $8.67m 5 - JAY WHITE, D3 Realty, $7.98m

14 MARSHA MINERVINI, Re/Max Bayshore, $22.38m 15 PAM DEPUY, The Martin Company, $22m 16 KATHY WITTBRODT, Wittbrodt Waterside, $21.57m 17 CAMILLE CAMPBELL, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, $21.35m 18 VICTORIA & JONATHAN OLTERSDORF, Oltersdorf Realty, $21.32m 19 DEBRA HALL, Real Estate One, $20.74m 20 JULES YATES, Re/Max Bayshore, $19m 21 MIKE & BEN STREET, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, $18.39m 22 ANN PORTER, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, $18m 23 CORLISS BEUERLE, Century 21 Northland, $17.87m 24 MOLLY BUTTLEMAN, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, $17.53m 25 REICHARD & HACK, EXIT Realty Paramount, $16.72m

TOP 2018 SELLERS 1 Don Fedrigon 2 Mark Hagan 3 Matt Dakoske 4 (Non-Member) 5 Brick & Corbett TOP 2017 SELLERS 1 Mark Hagan 2 Don Fedrigon 3 Linda Schaub 4 Perry Pentiuk 5 Ann Marie Mitchell

KALKASKA 1 - SANDRA GUNNING, Re/Max Bayshore, $5.32m 2 - CHAD ANDERSON, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, $2.94m 3 - SUSAN VOWELS, Key Realty One, $2.73m 4 - SEAN RILEY, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, $2.48m 5 - JEFFREY FITCH, Coldwell Banker Schmidt, $2.38m

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

Serving businesses for more than 160 years.

Since we first opened our doors in 1858, we’ve put our clients and their businesses at the center of everything we do.

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Fifth Third means business.

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M A Y 2020

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M A Y 2020

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

REAL ESTATE

HOT SELLERS Profiling A Few Personalities Of Real Estate

We’re already highlighting the top-selling realtors in this issue. But numbers aside, some northern Michigan realtors just have great stories to tell, either because of changes in their careers or the market or certain specializations or fascinating listings or sales. And one of the most fascinating aspects of the real estate industry is the diversity of the people in it. All ages, backgrounds, experience, genders (women make up 63 percent of agents), and personalities are part of it. Here are just a few of those who have successfully made real estate their career. BY ROSS BOISSONEAU

JON ZICKERT

PERRY PENTIUK/KIMBERLY BORK

Real Estate One

Venture Properties

The

BENZIE

KING

Longtime Realtor Perry Pentiuk had been successful as a solo entrepreneur, but a few years ago decided to enlist some help on the marketing side and hired Kimberly Bork.

Fast forward and today she owns and is the managing broker for Venture. “It’s been a good handoff.

She loves her new role. Clients I’ve worked with since the ‘80s compliment me on Kimberly,” said Pentiuk. “I love my role. I’m not retired but I can pick and choose.”

For her part, Bork is happy with her choice, though she admitted it’s not something she ever anticipated. “I never saw this coming. I was in marketing, graphic design. I never thought about doing anything different. I met Perry doing his marketing and we worked really well together. It’s been a natural evolution, and I love it,” she said. “I enjoy all of it. I’m really missing the social interaction right now.”

Bork said one thing that’s struck her is Pentiuk’s outlook. “He’s the most positive person I’ve ever met.”

Pentiuk shows that in his assessment of the industry, even as it grapples with the economic meltdown caused by the coronavirus. He cites the upward trajectory of sales in the months before the cessation of virtually all business, as well as the fact interest rates remain low, as reasons for his optimism.

He tempered his upbeat assessment with a personal observation. “I have two daughters who are nurses,” he said soberly.

Much of Venture’s focus is on higher-end properties, often those with lake frontage.

Bork said in a normal year they’d now be prepping for the summer selling season, and while that’s still what they are doing, they are unsure exactly how things will play out.

One area they are concentrating on is virtual tours, where prospective clients can see the home and possibly surrounding area. Bork said that is especially important for those from other states looking for second homes.

Both say they believe the industry will rebound, though it may take time. “This is my 40th year,” said Pentiuk. “There have been so many challenges. In the ‘80s interest rates were 20 percent. Then there was the recession.”

He hopes that people and the industry learn from it, as does Bork. “I believe we’ll come out of this stronger, smarter and grateful for everything around us,” she said.

HIGH-END

The

It didn’t take Jon Zickert long to know he’d found his niche. He’d been in the hospitality industry for years, and thought the experience would serve him well in real estate. Turns out he was right.

“I had a strong service background, and I figured I could figure out the business,” he said.

That was in 2013, and in the seven years since he’s sold approximately $115 million, just under $30 million in 2019 alone.

The longtime Benzie resident focuses his business on his home area. “I’d say 60 percent of my business is Benzie, 30 percent Manistee, ten percent Leelanau,” Zickert said. He enlists the aid of three others as part of his team: Realtors Alicia Childers and Raquel Huddleston, and his wife Karen as director of marketing and communications.

He said an advantage of being in real estate versus the hospitality industry is that he is his own boss. “I have the ability to be directly responsible for my success,” Zickert said.

Another is the flexibility. There’s no punching a clock or working 8 to 5 for a Realtor.

“Work and life blend all together,” he said. While they are at their clients’ mercy – like if they want to look at a property at 7 at night or 7 in the morning – Zickert said that’s usually not a problem. “Clients respect the balance. I might be on a field trip with my son.”

Zickert acknowledges the trust his clients place in him. “I help with the biggest financial transaction of their lifetime.” That’s where his service industry background comes in, as he works closely with clients who are often investing their life savings in a home.

He said before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the industry looked to be on a record pace.

“January was one of the busiest (Januarys) ever. We’re still closing transactions. Everything I hear from the company and from experts is that when this gets under control and we can conduct business there’s going to be pent-up demand. The flood gates will open.”

Zickert believes his region is becoming more popular as people discover its charms and prices that are lower than some more traditionally desirable areas. “We see people from Traverse City finding Benzie more affordable. Plus there’s Crystal Lake, the Platte Lakes, Betsie River, Lake Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes – as Traverse City gets busier, the price points (there) are rising. I think we’re seeing that buyers (think) 45 minutes from Traverse City is not bad.”

Overall, he wouldn’t trade his choice of business and location for anything. “It’s been a blessing.”

HANDOFF

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

M A Y 2020

17

REAL ESTATE JAMIE GRACE

KEVIN QUERY

Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors

Three West

Jamie Grace had returned to the area from Chicago, relocating first to Traverse City, then to Benzie County. With a young daughter, she wanted to be close to home, and found a job selling insurance. But she wanted and needed more, and Gray decided to get a second job to help more easily pay back her student loans. Her insurance background had sharpened her skills, leading her to a new field, though it was one her family had a background in.

The “I really liked sales. I had a daughter … so I moved back home to Benzie County to open an agency,” she said. With relatives in both the construction industry and real estate – her uncle Tom Gray is the COO and president of the northern region of Coldwell Banker Schmidt – she was familiar with the field. That doesn’t mean she always intended to go into it, nor was she encouraged to do so by her family. “My dad told me not to go into it. I didn’t let Uncle Tom know I was going into it. I signed up without him knowing.”

While she initially looked at real estate sales as a complement to her insurance career, she soon found that reversed. “I still do both but I take summer off (from insurance).”

Gray started in the business in 2017, and in her first full year in the business she did $4 million in sales. Last year she topped $7 million, both figures #1 in the Benzie Coldwell Banker office. “It’s tumultuous, a wild roller coaster. I’ve had 1 a.m. phone calls.

Growing up Uncle Tom always had his phone – now I get it.”

Last year her original assistant was ready to exit the real estate world, so she turned to family, hiring her sister Erin. And she’s ready to continue on. “Real estate is my passion,” she said.

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It might seem that the worlds of agriculture and commercial real estate sales are worlds apart. Not for Kevin Query.

The Traverse City native studied agriculture in college at Northwestern Michigan College and then at Michigan State, before returning to his hometown. While many young people from the area opt to move away for their careers, at least for some space of time, that’s not the route Query took.

Instead he moved back to his hometown, though with experience under his belt he’d gained while still in school. “I worked for two companies in agritech,” he said, including working on projects where the land was dependent on irrigation from 3,000 feet underground.

After he returned to Traverse City, he first worked as an analyst for the merchant bank Cochran, Cowell & Gruman. However, he still wanted to combine his analytical side with his passion for land and water.

Which led him to – commercial real estate? Well, yes. A mentor told Query that he should look into real estate, and he believed his interests and skills would serve him well in the commercial side of the field. “Commercial real estate is the lifeblood of the economy,” he said.

Knowing the importance of water and water security – “In my mind water is king in agriculture,” he said – Query said he believes this region is positioned for future growth.

“This is going to be a very important area. People will want to locate their business here. Demand for office space is an early indicator.”

Query said working with Three West owner and founder Kevin Endres has been invaluable. “He’s taken me under his wing, and he’s a fantastic mentor,” he said. Coupled with the projected growth in and around Traverse City his continuing interest in the industry, Query believes he’s landed in the right place at the right time.

The Homegrown

TALENT

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M A Y 2020

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

M A Y 2020

19

EDUCATION & TRAINING

BY NICK NISSLEY, columnist

OUR FINEST HOUR:

The power of recognizing emerging values during a crisis Fifty years ago we first heard the words, “Houston, we’ve had a problem,” during the Apollo 13 crisis. Many of us are looking at our industries and our world during the COVID-19 pandemic and feeling that same sentiment.

But I also remember another legendary line spoken by NASA flight director Gene Kranz during that same event in 1970.

Upon assessing the enormous obstacles in bringing three astronauts safely back to Earth after an explosion aboard the lunar module, Kranz said, “This will be our finest hour.”

It’s hard to believe I’d only been in the Northwestern Michigan College president’s office for two and a half months when our leadership team made the unprecedented decision to shift all face-to-face learning to online in midMarch. This, of course, was followed by campus closures and shifting most employees to remote work, as so many area businesses also have done. And yet, in spite of the enormity of these challenges I can confidently say I believe our response to COVID-19 will be among our finest hours.

This response, in which NMC has prioritized the safety and well-being of students and employees while limiting the disruption to learning and maintaining its role as a strong community partner, is grounded in well-established NMC values. Framed and hanging on the walls of classrooms and offices, these include: agility, innovation, collaboration, valuing all people and responsible stewardship.

This action is exactly what I’ve seen in the following ways: • Faculty and staff came together and shifted classes online in just one week, singularly focused on helping our students work through this crisis.

• NMC Marine Tech students and brother-sister duo Aaron and Bernadette Bottke began using a 3-D printer to make protective masks for Munson Medical Center.

• Two alumni nurses paused their lives and careers in Michigan to go and work in New York City ICUs. What I’ve also noticed, as I’ve participated in dozens of online meetings

and made hundreds of phone calls to students, employees and the community partners, is a new set of emerging values.

These include flexibility and adaptability, courageous creativity and compassion.

Whether it’s finding a loaner laptop for a student who doesn’t have one or being an empathetic listener to an overwhelmed student, these values weave new threads into the strong, cohesive fabric of this college and community.

I expect that other leaders are making similar discoveries in their own workplaces. If not, I invite you to look for them. Crises, as Kranz put it so memorably, can bring out our best or worst selves. In northwest Michigan I’m proud and thrilled to be among a group leading with its best foot forward. We have been a member of Grand Traverse County’s Joint Operations Center daily meetings since they began on March 13.

The level of cooperation and coordination between health, government, first responders, education, social service and business sectors has been incredible. Whether it’s donating much-needed supplies, offering our dorms for medical personnel or helping spread the word about our community’s response and resources, I am seeing firsthand what makes this community so special.

We don’t know yet what lies on the other side of this transformational period.

Hand-in-hand with the life-threatening coronavirus pandemic we also must respond to an economic impact that will be felt more profoundly than any since the Great Depression. With hopes that the initial health crisis may be starting to level off, NMC is now also prioritizing the long-term sustainability of the institution so we can continue to serve the learners of this region for years to come. The dual impact of COVID-19 and its economic repercussions on enrollment could be significant. Therefore, we must reimagine our future, and how we can best align our structure to best meet the changing needs of our learners.

While our summer semester will look much like the second half of our spring semester, with online classes only, we are still planning several possibilities for fall. The further out we look, the more possibilities we will need as we at NMC, and likely many of you in your own businesses, cannot yet know what our world

The dual impact of COVID-19 and its economic repercussions on enrollment could be significant. Therefore, we must reimagine our future, and how we can best align our structure to best meet the changing needs of our learners.

will look like and how we will need to adapt. What I am certain of, after working closely with our employees and our board of trustees to navigate the uncharted waters of the initial crisis, is we will be well-served if our forthcoming decisions are also guided by our values, both established and emerging.

This was not the beginning I anticipated when I started at NMC in January. But there’s no place I’d rather be than right

here in northwest Michigan, helping to write the first draft of history for one of our finest hours. I know we can truly be what’s possible because I am seeing our students, employees and community partners demonstrate that in new ways every day. I am proud to be part of this college and community with you.

Nick Nissley, Ed.D., is president of Northwestern Michigan College.

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M A Y 2020

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

BUILD STRONG BUILD SAFE

REWRITING THE GAME, Northern Michigan Style

The world has been spun on its head. Everything is new territory now. With no industry specific guidelines for what used to be business as usual, we’ve thrown out the manual and are rewriting the game. We’re putting our heads together with our customers, vendors and staff to find creative new ways to work, and work safely.

What makes the home building industry strong is what Preston Feather is all about.

It’s all hands on deck with safe product handling and precision delivery logistics.

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

M A Y 2020

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M A Y 2020

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

EDUCATION & TRAINING

FILLING THE GAP: NMC doubles down on career readiness

BY CRAIG MANNING

A common complaint about higher education is that students are not adequately prepared for the workforce. Last fall, Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) decided it needed to up its game for student job application readiness.

That decision led to an alliance with Northwest Michigan Works! (NMW), a workforce development agency that serves employers and job seekers in Grand Traverse, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee and Wexford counties.

Through the team-up, Lisa Baldyga of NMW joined NMC’s Academic and Career Advising Center as an employment readiness specialist.

Lindsey Dickinson, who serves as director of the Academic and Career Advising Center, says that Baldyga’s arrival on campus immediately helped fill a fairly significant gap in the college’s efforts to prepare students for the job market.

“At NMC, we serve learners in pretty distinct categories,” said Dickinson, whose office advises transfer students and also those who come for a specific skillset with the intent to get out into the workforce.

Until last fall, that second group of students was not being served quite equitably across the institution, she said.

“We had a lot of academic areas that were doing a nice job of trying to serve their students as best they could with resume, cover letter, and interview skills,” she said. “But we didn’t have a unifying way to serve all students.”

Dickinson says this gap in services repeatedly exposed a common pain point in the NMC community: Students didn’t feel ready to go out and apply for jobs or sit down for employment interviews, and didn’t know where to go to get the help they needed to prepare.

“One of the things we were often getting was students coming into our office and asking for this kind of help, but we didn’t have it,” Dickinson explained. “So we had to find a creative way to request some assistance in this area, and that’s when we decided to partner with Michigan Works.”

Baldyga’s job with NMC is essentially to fill the void that used to exist between college service and employment opportunities. If a student comes into the Advising Center looking for resume advice, interview coaching, networking pointers

Lisa Baldyga

Lindsey Dickinson

or other similar services, Baldyga is the Elsewhere, Baldyga has been a part of person they talk to. classroom experiences across numerous Having career readiness support availdepartments and disciplines. Throughout able in the Advising Center is a part of the fall, she was a frequent guest on camNMC’s plan, but according to Dickinson, pus, teaching classrooms full of students it’s only a small piece of the puzzle. For how to write effective resumes, how to every student that comes to the office identify their core hard and soft skills, seeking advice, there are dozens or even and how to convey those job-winning hundreds of others on campus who could attributes in cover letters. probably benefit from In one English course, the same information but Baldyga even helped roll “I think we’ve all gotten a don’t know where to go out an extensive mock little relaxed over the past interview process. As part looking for it. As such, Baldyga’s mission from few years because there of the project, students the beginning has been to have been so many jobs were required to create establish a cross-campus resumes, select local job out there. Now, everyone opportunities they were presence that was rooted in the Advising Center is going to be scrambling interested in applying for, but not tethered to it. and sit down with Baldyga and competing. This is “One of the main and their professor for a when you really need to full employment interview. things I’ve been working on this year is just getting have the edge on getting The process incorporated my name out there, so resume and interview criyour resumes right...” that the students and tiques and taught students - Lisa Baldyga, teachers know that I’m how to draft engaging on campus,” Baldyga said, Northwest Michigan Works!, NMC post-interview questions adding that she expects to ask prospective hiring to be a lot busier next fall managers, among other key now that she’s laid a foundation. skills for job seekers.

One part of that foundation was an When COVID-19 hit, Baldyga says event called “Stay Calm and Network everything from the NMC campus to On,” which invited students to submit the United States economy “did a 180 questions they had about career readiin a day.” ness and then focused on providing skill NMC closed down campus buildings development in those areas. At the event and pivoted to distance learning for the – which Baldyga spearheaded – dozens remainder of the school year, while the of NMC students learned how to start economy crashed from near-record-low networking conversations, how to tie a unemployment rates in Q4 2019 to a tie, how to clean up their social media trend of mass layoffs and unemployment profiles, how to spotlight their hard and claims. These changes, Baldyga says, have soft skills to employers, and more. changed things in numerous ways. For

one thing, she’s had to change how she worked, whether that meant conducting some mock interviews virtually or making Zoom Classroom appearances to continue her employment readiness spiel.

Even the content of her presentations to students changed, shifting from general interview process tips to more specific advice on how to handle a flailing economy and job market.

“My classroom appearances in the past would be geared toward what employers expect, or how to present yourself in an interview,” Baldyga said. “It’s kind of switched, though, because everyone was finding that they were unemployed. I was answering their questions about ‘What do I do now?’ or ‘Who’s hiring?’ or ‘Is it safe to be working out there right now?’ or ‘Why is it taking so long for me to get my questions answered by the unemployment office?’ Just having my background (with workforce development) and knowing how that system works, I think I was able to help alleviate some of the fears and anxiety around that.”

If anything, COVID-19 and the resulting economic downturn have provided evidence to Baldyga and Dickinson that zeroing in on employment readiness was an essential move for NMC to make.

“I think we’ve all gotten a little relaxed over the past few years because there have been so many jobs out there,” Baldyga said. “Now, everyone is going to be scrambling and competing. This is when you really need to have the edge on getting your resumes right and knowing those hard and soft skills and how to highlight them to get a job. So I’m sure I’ll be busy.”

Dickinson says she’s grateful to have someone like Baldyga there to help students at this uncertain time, and adds that NMC will likely seek to expand its career readiness efforts significantly in the coming semesters. Such expansions could see more integration with NMC’s already-mature experiential learning programs, as well as a greater push to add internship experience to every program and department across campus.

“From a career decision-making standpoint, we would really like to see all students having some sort of job shadowing or internship experience while they are with us at NMC, because it’s such a crucial part of them making a career decision,” Dickinson said. “It’s hard to buy a car before you test drive it, and the same thing is true with a career.”

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Five Ways to Help Protect Your Family from Fraud From listening to music to ordering groceries, almost all aspects of our daily lives are connected to the Internet in some way. Nearly a third of Americans say they’re “almost constantly” online, with 81% using the Internet at least once a day.¹ But our always-connected nature can come with risks: The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center² averages more than 900 complaints a day; the center recorded $2.71 billion in victim losses in 2019.³ Here are some ways you can help protect your family online.

1. Learn to spot imposter scams. Have you ever received a call, text, or email purporting to be from your credit card provider regarding suspicious activity detected on your account?

It could be a scammer trying to convince you to share sensitive information that would enable them to access your accounts.

Increasingly, these criminals may be able to spoof caller ID or an email address so it appears they are legitimate. When in doubt, do not respond. Instead, alert your provider about the suspicious communication. Learn more about how to spot common scams at www.wellsfargo.com/scams.

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2. Manage and monitor your credit. If your data has been compromised through a security breach, consider placing a fraud alert on your credit file with the three major credit bureaus. Visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft for more information on identity theft prevention tips and resources you can share with your family.

Make a habit of reviewing credit reports for you and your child at least once a year. Look for unauthorized accounts that may have been opened in your names.

More than 1 million children were victims of identity fraud in 2017, according to one study from banking industry research firm Javelin Strategy & Research.⁴ 3. Limit what you share on social media. Thieves scour social media profiles for clues to security questions, passwords, and other information that could help them impersonate potential victims online.

First, set your profiles to private—and encourage your family members to do the same.

Also, restrict your social media contacts to people you know personally. Finally, watch what information you disclose. Revealing too much personal information in your social profiles can put you at greater risk of identity theft, especially if your bank or other companies use that information to verify your identity.

4. Protect your home network. Create a strong password for your wireless network in your home. Consider using a unique phrase with a mix of letters and numbers. Avoid using any part of your email address or information shared on social media, like the name of your pet, favorite movie, or anything else someone could easily guess. When you are configuring your router, the Department of Homeland Security recommends choosing the Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) setting, which is the strongest encryption option.⁵

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¹https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/25/americans-going-online-almost-constantly/ ² https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx ³https://pdf.ic3.gov/2018_IC3Report.pdf ⁴https://www.javelinstrategy.com/coverage-area/2018-child-identity-fraud-study ⁵https://www.ready.gov/cybersecurity This article was written by/for Wells Fargo Advisors and provided courtesy of HIRT | JULIAN | BLACK Financial Consulting Group in Traverse City, MI at 231-946-1630.

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EDUCATION & TRAINING

SHIFTING GEARS:

Lean thinking helps companies react to COVID-19 needs

BY CRAIG MANNING

Some regional companies are shifting gears during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Lean operating skills are helping with that shift.

“Lean definitely helps during challenging times like these,” said Richard Wolin, the regional vice president and director of northern lower Michigan operations for the MMTC and the director of training services at Northwestern Michigan College (NMC).

For 12 years and counting, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC) has helped regional businesses understand the value of lean thinking, or minimizing all types of waste while maximizing customer value.

“The whole concept of lean is to drive waste out of an organization, and not the kind of waste we usually think of – like trash or scrap – but things like wasted time, wasted equipment, wasted motion of people, too many steps in a process that aren’t really required...” said Wolin, who launched the Northern Lean Learning Consortium in 2007 and was also one of the Michigan Lean Consortium founders.

Lean operations cut costs while increasing capacity, he said. “...(I)f, for instance, you’re working on a task and three people have to check your work, every time someone touches that process, you’re adding labor costs to it. If you can do it in fewer touches, or get it right the first time, you save a lot of money,” he said. “The core benefit of embracing lean is that businesses increase capacity, or are able to do more with the same footprint, the same staff and the same equipment.”

Benefits for companies that practice lean operations include faster internal communications and more flexibility because of employee cross-training.

“They don’t need to wait until the end of the month to say, ‘Oh gosh, our sales are down by this much.’ Instead, they know it on a daily or weekly basis,” said Wolin. “And they also have people cross-trained more, because that’s a part of lean, so they’re able to shift people to different functions. You have more of that kind of flexibility if you have a well-trained staff that’s good at problem solving and good at figuring things out from a process level. They can take new problems and jump right in, instead of sitting around and saying ‘What are we going to do?’”

Past participants in MMTC’s 96-hour,

Drive-thru COVID-19 screening tents by TentCraft.

Past participants in MMTC’s 96-hour, hands-on Lean Champion program have emerged as “success stories” since the COVID-19 shutdown began in March, Wolin said.

hands-on Lean Champion program have emerged as “success stories” since the COVID-19 shutdown began in March, Wolin said.

“TentCraft is making drive-through shelters for COVID-19 testing. Petoskey Plastics is making hospital gowns for McLaren Health Group and others. SMI is making ventilator parts,” he said. “They all have lean champions on their teams.

And when we’ve reached out to those companies to see what we can do to support them, they’ve said to us, ‘Thank you; these tools are making it so we can react more quickly.’”

Wolin is the leading proponent of the lean methodology in northern Michigan and has been for years. Along the way, he

Petoskey Plastics is making hospital gowns for McLaren Health Group. developed the “Active Learning Model” – the curriculum that many businesses throughout the state have used to learn and implement lean skills – and created the Lean Champion program in northern Michigan. The program has since trained 456 credentialed lean champions at regional organizations, from TentCraft to Cherry Republic to Coldwell Banker Real Estate.

The Lean Champion program, by using Wolin’s Active Learning Model, not only helps participants understand the theories behind lean, but also gives them a chance to see those concepts applied in a variety of different business environments.

There are 12 full-day sessions, usually held on the second and third Tuesdays of each month. The twist is that, instead of classroom learning, each month’s training days take place at different host companies. Each host company acts as a sort of interactive learning environment for the participants, who spend their training time learning key lean concepts and working to apply them in real time.

“When the participants in the program are learning about a subject, they are actually working on that subject at a company,” Wolin said of the Active Learning Model. “The next month, they work on a different set of topics at a different

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27

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Richard Wolin

Betsy Williams

company. It’s not just hands-on learning; participants also get to think about how to use lean in a variety of different settings.”

Originally, the northern Michigan Lean Champion program was conceived solely as a training opportunity for manufacturers. Later, Wolin and his team designed a “Lean Office Champion” program designed to teach similar concepts for a different type of work environment. The message, Wolin says, is that any business can benefit from trying to be leaner.

According to Betsy Williams, senior business development advisor for the MMTC, how businesses choose to utilize the Lean Champion program varies from one organization to the next. Some only send owners, executives, managers,

or front line supervisors through the program. Others have all their new hires get the Lean Champion certification, to make sure all team members have the lean mindset. Sometimes, companies even contract with the MMTC to run Lean Champion “bootcamps” internally.

The MMTC always encourages businesses to send at least two employees through the Lean Champion program at a time, offering a “buy one, get one half price” promotion on class entry. The incentive was initially in place to fill extra seats in the class, but proved to have real benefits for how well participants mastered the core concepts.

“As part of the program, everyone that participates picks a project at their

company that they are going to work on throughout the class,” Wolin explained.

“For example, a participant might find an operation in their company where the business has too high of a production defect in a particular product. Their project would be to reduce that defect to minimize waste. We started to see a pattern where, when companies sent two or more people through our program at once, those participants did a better job on projects and implementing lean policies. They were able to work together and support one another through the program.”

Like everything else, the Lean Champion program has been put on hold by COVID-19. MMTC was in the middle of three separate courses – two for the Lean

Manufacturing Champion program and one for the Office Champion program – when the pandemic closed down businesses and roadblocked the Active Learning Model. Williams says that the MMTC is trying to come up with a “creative” strategy for finishing those classes. The most likely contingency is simply to delay the remainder of in-progress courses to a later date, when getting back into businesses for hands-on learning is a feasible option.

When the Lean Champion program does resume, both Wolin and Williams say they suspect they might see increased demand, simply because of how lean practices can benefit businesses in times of significant uncertainty and economic strife.

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EDUCATION & TRAINING

CHARITABLE LESSONS: Rotary Charities offers diverse learning opportunities

BY ROSS BOISSONEAU

Rotary Charities is much broader than a grant-making organization.

One of its most significant areas of support is the many learning and coaching opportunities it offers.

“We help people develop skills and mindsets to address community issues,” said Colleen Masterson-Bzdok, the director of capacity building and operations at Rotary Charities.

While the organization was historically focused on nonprofits, the group’s mission changed 15 years ago, she said.

That change in focus has sharpened over the past couple years. Where various learning opportunities had previously been offered to nonprofit organizations, the organization realized that offering them to multiple individuals regardless of their affiliation could more dramatically impact the communities they served.

The new approach drew in a wide range of people. “...(B)usiness, government, the tribe, any community change-makers,” she said.

“That’s been an interesting shift.”

She was quick to note that the organization still works closely with nonprofits,

but opening up its courses to the community has resulted in engaging with a greater cross-section of the community.

Some of the offerings are single sessions, while others, such as the Leadership Lab, find attendees meeting regularly for several months. Masterson-Bzdok said some are offered as lunchtime sessions.

Most take place at the University Center.

Rotary Charities offers four main content areas: Leadership and interpersonal skills; engagement and inclusion; time management; and facilitation skills. To lead the classes, the organization engages mentors, coaches and instructors from throughout the region and beyond.

Those who have taken the classes and workshops said they have been beneficial.

“It’s a leader in the region and state in some of the systems work. The Leadership Learning Lab had 20 to 30 change-makers,” said Josh Stoltz, executive director of the community organization Grow Benzie.

He’s taken several classes through Rotary Charities and has nothing but praise.

“It helps build relationships and trust,” he said.

Courtney Bierschbach of Central Michigan University at the University Center has also participated in some of Rotary

Colleen Masterson-Bzdok Charities’ offerings. She said classes in adaptive leadership and time management have been especially valuable.

Of particular interest to her was one taught by Lucille Chrisman, an executive leadership coach from downstate. The class on mindfulness was originally developed at Google.

“The first exercise was for three minutes you’d talk and your partner could not.

Then you switched roles,” said Bierschbach. “It was so freeing to not have others’ questions guide what you’re saying.”

Courtney Bierschbach Information on all the courses and workshops is available at RotaryCharities.org.

In light of the current crisis, Rotary Charities has assembled a COVID-19 Crisis Support Team. It is offering nonprofit organizations free one-hour phone or video consultations to assist them with the questions about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and secure other federal assistance. Nonprofits can begin the process at tinyrul.com/rotarysupport.

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TRAVERSE T R A V E R S CITY E C I TBUSINESS Y B U S I N ENEWS SS NEWS

HEALTHCARE

‘Business Has Dramatically Changed’ Munson furloughs staff, freezes capital spending That order required hospitals to pause elective procedures, such as high-profit joint replacements. And many outpatient Munson Healthcare Chief Executive services, which make up as much as 80% Officer Ed Ness is navigating unchartered of the patient volumes at some of waters as he steers the nineMunson’s smaller hospitals, hospital system through the have been cancelled, Ness said.

COVID-19 pandemic.

Munson is furloughing an “From a health and business undisclosed number of workers prospective, this is something for up to 90 days, cutting hours we haven’t experienced for some and reducing salaries before,” he said. “In the short by at least 20% for vice term, the business has dramatipresidents and above. cally changed.”

But the health system is But Ness also is planning for maintaining benefits for longer-term changes in Ness furloughed workers, who could Munson’s business model. be called back to work at any time.

Among them are a fundamental shift to “We’re balancing our workload with telemedicine, operational restructurings our resources,” said Dianne Michalek, to keep Munson’s smaller hospitals afloat Munson’s vice president of marketing and and changes in the supply chain for vencorporate communications. “We’re trying tilators, masks and other equipment. to be as compassionate as we can.”

“We’re prepared for quite a few scenarMunson also has frozen capital spendios,” Ness said in a mid-April interview. ing, except for clinical equipment, for 90 At that time, Ness said Munson days. It also has delayed work on putting Healthcare, which employs nearly 10,000 all of its hospitals on a single electronic workers, was experiencing a system-wide health records computer system for the net operating loss of $7 million to $10 same period. million a month as patient volumes colBut planning for the future in other lapsed. areas continues.

“We’re seeing a 50 to 60% drop in volImplementing telemedicine, in which umes tied to the governor’s (stay-atproviders use telephones, computers and home) order, which I fully support,” he other internet-connected devices to consaid. “It’s very significant.” duct patient visits, was one of Munson’s

BY RICK HAGLUND

top strategic goals. COVID-19 has only accelerated that plan.

“I would see this as one of the biggest changes you’ll see” in health care, he said.

Other factors feed into the increased use of telemedicine. For example, Munson doesn’t have enough staff and other resources to meet the growing needs of behavior health, requiring providers to conduct more virtual visits, Ness said.

Telemedicine will become even more important at Munson’s rural hospitals, where patients sometimes have to drive long distances for routine care that can otherwise be performed by telephone or video.

Rural hospitals were struggling financially even before the coronavirus hit because of falling patient volumes, reducing Medicare and Medicaid payments and making it harder to attract key medical staff.

A 2019 study by Chicago-based health care consulting firm Navigant found that 18 unnamed rural hospitals in Michigan, a quarter of all such hospitals, were in danger of closing.

Mark Herzog, an executive in residence at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said rural hospitals that are part of a larger system have a greater chance of surviving after the pandemic ends.

“Munson is the ideal model for rural hospital systems,” said Herzog, who is a retired CEO of a small hospital system in Wisconsin.

One way Munson is trying to keep its rural hospitals viable is by having them consolidate services. For example, one hospital might be a center for cardiac care, another for orthopedic surgeries and another for infectious diseases.

“I don’t foresee a day when we don’t have health care in these communities,” Ness said. “It may look different. We have to determine what is best done in local communities and what is best done regionally.”

Another area Munson and many other hospitals are examining is how they source medical equipment, including masks, gowns and ventilators.

Hospitals have found themselves in a desperate search for such supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because so many of them are made in China and other countries.

“One of the things I’m proud of and humbled by is the support of the community and the access (local companies have) given us to personal protection equipment,” Ness said. “Our traditional supply chain dried up. Local companies have been helping us get supplies that we would never be able to get on our own.”

The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated a need for more domestic sources of supplies and equipment that can be

Last month Munson Healthcare, which employs nearly 10,000 workers, was experiencing a systemwide net operating loss of $7 million to $10 million a month as patient volumes collapsed. more rapidly produced and distributed during a serious public health crisis, Ness said.

“What this has shown us is that in a time of crisis, we’re pretty vulnerable,” he said. “I see a big push for more domestic production” of supplies and equipment.

Unlike larger health care systems in southern Michigan, Munson has not been overwhelmed in treating COVID-19 patients. Munson was treating 14 coronavirus patients at its nine hospitals in mid-April, including nine at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.

Munson hospitals have 709 licensed acute care beds, including 422 in Traverse City.

“We don’t know how big this will be and when the surge will hit,” Ness said.

“We don’t know when things will loosen up and we’ll get back to providing outpatient services.”

Munson, like other health care systems, has struggled to meet the demand for nurses and other health care professionals. That will continue to be an issue in the future, Ness said.

Financially, Ness said he thinks Munson will be able to weather the pandemic storm. He’s expecting a variety of state and federal assistance, including advance Medicare payments for treating patients.

“We’re OK from a cash flow standpoint with the advance payments,” he said.

“And we’ve gone into this in a relatively strong position.”

Herzog agrees with that assessment.

“They’ve been a well-run organization for a long time,” he said. “They’re as well positioned as anyone I know for this situation."

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

M A Y 2020

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M A Y2020 2020 MAY

T R A V E R S CITY E C I TBUSINESS Y B U S I N ENEWS SS NEWS TRAVERSE

HEALTHCARE

KICK IN THE

TEETH In March, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order requiring all “non-essential medical and dental procedures” to cease.

Prior to that, the Michigan Dental Association (MDA) had issued recommendations for dental professionals throughout the state to close their offices for at least two weeks. The goal was to slow the spread of COVID-19 and help “flatten the curve” of infections that could otherwise overwhelm the healthcare system.

However, according to several local dental professionals, the closures have been executed in such a way that they’ve sent more patients running to emergency rooms.

Dan Madion is an oral surgeon and a partner at Grand Traverse Oral Surgery (GTOS). He’s also one of the few dental professionals in town still working regularly, thanks to the fact that oral surgeons are generally considered first responders in dental care.

Many of the things that Madion and his partners treat – emergency dental extractions, infections from dental abscesses, facial trauma from car accidents – tend to qualify as emergent and essential procedures. GTOS is also on call through Munson Medical Center, which means any patient who comes to the emergency room seeking help with something oral surgery-related ends up getting treated by Madion or one of his colleagues. In some cases, those surgeries are inpatient, rather than at the GTOS offices. Since dental practices started shutting down in early May, Madion says he’s been worried that more patients will end up in the ER without true emergency status. “...(R)ight now, a lot of our cases are coming from hospital emergency rooms,” he said. "Patients will go in with bad toothaches or something like that, and we’ll get called and will try to direct the patients quickly to our office to keep them out of the hospital.”

Madion says that the initial call by the MDA to close dental offices has led to confusion.

“When the MDA first called for all dentists to close their offices, that was

How COVID-19 is hitting the local dental community

problematic, because the dentist is the true first line of treatment,” he said. “As oral surgeons, we depend on the dentists to direct patients our way if they need surgery."

Brian Rathke, a dentist with practices in Bellaire and Elk Rapids, says he has been trying to keep the lines of communication with his patients open to ensure that he is treating urgent or emergency cases rather than letting those patients head to the ER. “When a patient goes to the ER instead of going to a dental office, they're taking resources away from those frontline providers,” Rathke said.

“They're taking up space, they're taking up a bed, they're taking up a doctor, they're taking up PPE." Rathke says he thinks the best thing to do is for dentists to see their essential care patients to keep them out of the ER. "Otherwise, our oral surgeons aren’t getting the proper triage of patients," he said.

The proper triage system includes assessing, diagnosing and then referring a patient to an oral surgeon or orthodontist if necessary, Rathke said.

“That’s kind of our triage system,” he said. “And when all of the offices are shut down, it interrupts the steps of triage that the oral surgeons count on.”

To keep assisting patients during COVID-19 – keeping them away from the hospital – local dental professionals are ratcheting up their teledentistry offerings. Rathke uses a cloud-based system that allows him to access full patient charts remotely from any device with an internet connection. It’s not just dentists, either: Spencer Crouch, a local orthodontist who owns Traverse City’s Up North Orthodontics – is in the process of rolling out video-chat appointments for his patients.

Figuring out ways to treat patients without violating Michigan’s stay-athome order is only one of the challenges that the several hundred

BY CRAIG MANNING

northern Michigan dental professionals are contending with right now. Another hurdle is the one that virtually all small business owners are facing in the age of COVID19: how to keep the lights on and the staff employed with little or no money coming in.

The financial blow has been particularly tough for Crouch, who is the youngest orthodontist in northern Michigan. A 2008 graduate of Traverse City West Senior High, Crouch found his way back to the area last spring after finishing University of Michigan’s Graduate Orthodontic Program. He still had student loans, his wife had just given birth to their first child and he was preparing to purchase and take over three separate offices owned by Dr. Bill Northway and Dr. Bob Portenga, both of whom are retiring. After spending the summer working with Northway and Portenga and meeting their patients, Crouch took over full operations in September.

Then COVID-19 hit.

“Within six months of flying solo without the older doctors, this all happened, which is pretty wild,” Crouch said. “Luckily, at this point, we've met all the patients and gotten issues like merging the computer software out of the way."

Rathke

Madion

Bergsma

Crouch

The timing has impacted the practice, he said.

"We were at a pretty steady point of being able to grow the practice and get into a solid groove, and then this hit," he said. "So, this would have impacted the practice more if it happened last fall, but it's definitely not fun to have it happen within your first year.

"I wouldn't recommend it for other people going through opening practices

“...Right now, a lot of our cases are coming from hospital emergency rooms. Patients will go in with bad toothaches or something like that, and we’ll get called and will try to direct the patients quickly to our office to keep them out of the hospital.”

– Dan Madion, Partner, Grand Traverse Oral Surgery

MAY BUSINESS TRAV E R S2020 E C I T Y TRAVERSE B U S I N E S SCITY NEW S M A Y NEWS 2020

HEALTHCARE or businesses.”

Crouch initially had to furlough his team, which includes six other full-time employees.

“As a young business, we can't fully support a whole payroll plus other business expenses for an indefinite period of time,” he said. “There would come a point where that just doesn't work and we'd go under.”

Relief from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) has since helped clarify a path forward, for everything from rehiring staff (and covering payroll expenses) to paying key business operating expenses.

Even with the CARES Act loans – which are set up with built-in loan forgiveness protocols – Crouch isn’t sure what life after COVID-19 will look like for his fledgling practice. When the MDA recommended dental offices take a two-week break, Crouch and his team went to work contacting patients and rescheduling appointments. When the stay-at-home order from Governor Whitmer came through – and then got extended – all the rescheduled appointments had to be rescheduled again.

Now, Crouch says he’s waiting for the “moving target” of the stay-at-home order to stop moving before he makes any concrete plans for in-office visits.

Sara Bergsma, a long-time Traverse City orthodontist, is facing similar logistical hurdles. So far, Bergsma and her team have had to push out more than 400 patient appointments indefinitely. She’s already planning ahead for when her practice can reopen, but says that the process is complicated given that the COVID-19 recovery process will likely be gradual.

“Our schedule when we come back is not going to look like our old schedule did,” Bergsma said. “A lot of times, we’d have eight to 10 patients in the building, and then of course their families, and it was sort of standing room only.”

Changes will include spreading patients out physically and time-wise, she said.

“Now, I think we’re going to be looking at spreading the patients out into the various different spaces we have in the clinic, so there is eight to 10 feet in between each patient or they’re in entirely separate rooms,” she said.

"That’s a big challenge because of the number of different types of procedures that we have. It’s kind of like this big jigsaw puzzle that I’m working on.”

Some treatments, Bergsma adds, require special pieces of equipment, which means they can only happen in certain parts of the facility. Other types of treatments need to occur more times in a day than others. And not every

treatment takes the same amount of time. All these factors make scheduling a slate of patients harder than simply picking out time slots and making sure everyone is a certain number of feet apart.

The sheer backlog is a problem, too.

Bergsma says that she and her team will likely reschedule all patients for appointment times at random, rather than try to call each patient individually to coordinate schedules. Patients who can’t make their scheduled appointment times will be able to call and schedule different times, but Bergsma says the approach will save the Bergsma Orthodontics team days (if not weeks) of phone calls, follow-ups and schedule negotiation.

Crouch, meanwhile, says he’ll mostly try to reschedule appointments in the order that they had to be canceled in the first place. A top priority, he says, is making sure kids who should have gotten their braces off weeks ago have the opportunity to do so as soon as possible.

“For the ones who were just about to be done with treatment, the delay definitely stinks,” Crouch said. “Getting your braces off is a big moment, and not having that is similar to those seniors in high school or college who won’t be able to celebrate graduations. It’s just another thing to add to the list.”

Of course, while dental professionals are looking ahead to the day when their practices can open again, there’s also the possibility that Governor Whitmer’s stay-at-home order gets extended and keeps non-essential businesses closed indefinitely. There are contingencies for that outcome, ranging from the aforementioned teledentistry technologies to curbside deliveries of Invisalign aligners and retainers.

At some point, Bergsma thinks that what the state currently considers to be non-essential dentistry – essentially, anything not involving bleeding, breathing impairment, broken bones, or significant pain – will need to be reassessed and re-labeled.

“The vast majority of orthodontic patients can miss one appointment and not have any bad consequences,” Bergsma said. “It’s when we get to a point where several appointments are missed or a longer span of time goes by that this becomes a real problem for the patients. We can say that these closures are okay for a bit, but with orthodontics, we are putting forces on teeth and we need to check in and make sure that they're doing what they’re supposed to be doing. So, I think in the not-too-distant future, the state would need to loosen some of these guidelines. At least I hope they would.”

35

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37

HEALTHCARE

BY TAYLOR ANN (ANNA) FIORVENTO, columnist

Health Insurance Providers are Generously Covering COVID-19 ... For Now As a health law practitioner, many of my clients have questions related to COVID-19, especially whether they are covered if they contract the virus and must be hospitalized as a result.

For most people, the degree of coverage will depend on their individual healthcare plans. However, there are some commonalities between plans and some preventative measures you can take to ensure you have a plan that meets your healthcare needs.

Testing coverage

The exact cost of COVID-19 testing varies widely. Some places are offering free drive-through testing, while others report paying anywhere from $50 to $3,000 for testing. America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a major health insurance industry trade group, issued a statement in March that members had agreed to cover the cost of testing for patients.

However, whether this includes the just cost of the test itself, and not ancillary costs such as an emergency room or doctor’s visit, depends on the details of your plan.

(AHIP’s list of what insurers have agreed to cover in relation to COVID19 is at https://www.ahip.org/healthinsurance-providers-respond-to-coronav irus-covid-19/) In addition, Medicare Part B should cover COVID-19 physicianordered testing and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced that testing cost-sharing measures will be waived for Michigan Medicaid recipients.

However, just because the cost of your test is covered by your insurance provider, you may not be allowed testing. Tests are in short supply and

the

TCBN

as a result they are being rationed and utilized strategically. Ultimately, your clinician will determine if you should be tested. To determine priority, Michigan is following guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As such, hospital patients and workers have highest priority; non-essential workers without symptoms have lowest priority.

(For more on testing priority decisions go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/ 2019-ncov/downloads/priority-testingpatients.pdf)

Treatment coverage

If you are unfortunate enough to test positive for COVID-19, the next step is pursuing treatment. Presently, there is not approved treatment for the virus (though several experimental and off-label treatments are available). The vast majority of people that contract COVID-19 will recover with bed rest and time, and will not require hospital care. However, a portion of people (10%-20%, depending on which statistics you read), will require hospitalization or even ICU care. Gov. Whitmer announced that all healthcare costs associated with COVID-19 should be covered for Michigan Medicaid recipients. Medicare should cover all medically necessary costs accounted for by COVID-19 hospitalization. In addition, Part D should cover the cost of a vaccination once a vaccine becomes available. Again, what exactly is covered by private health insurance will depend on the specifics of your plan. You can contact your insurance provider

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directly or check AHIP’s website to learn more.

Most people have one of two types of health insurance plans: (1) A plan with lower monthly premiums, a slightly higher deductible, and then cost-sharing (typically between 20%30% for all other care in that term) or (2) a plan with slightly higher monthly premiums, a slightly lower deductible, a period of cost-sharing, and then all costs covered after a

Unless their plan has announced otherwise, most people can expect to pay for COVID-19 coverage the same as they would pay for hospitalization for any other disease or injury. maximum for out-of-pocket cost has been reached. Keep in mind that annual, term, and/or lifetime coverage limits are forbidden for any plan offered under the Affordable Care Act. Unless their plan has announced otherwise, most people can expect to pay for COVID-19 coverage the same as they would pay for hospitalization for any other disease or injury.

Predictions

While I am happy to see private insurance rallying to help patients, the skeptic in me worries that unforeseen details and fine print may

raise new legal questions. Will experimental care for COVID-19 be covered? Typically private insurance will only cover treatment within the standard of care when it comes to experimental care; but not the experimental treatment itself. Since COVID-19 is so novel, there is no standard of care. What about offlabel use of antivirals? Often insurance companies will not cover off-label use of a drug. How does this work when every drug used to treat COVID-19 is being used off-label?

Finally, will insurance companies stick to their word when the bill comes due for their promises, or will they try to find a back door out given that nothing has been put into insurance policy documents? Ultimately, only time will tell. COVID-19 is an unprecedented health crisis, and we will have to wait and see how the situation develops. However, as a health law attorney, I expect to meet with many new clients experiencing novel legal issues directly stemming from this pandemic once the quarantine is lifted.

Taylor Ann (Anna) Fiorvento Esq. is the owner of Fiorvento Law P.L.L.C., a solo practice law firm based in Traverse City but accepting clients throughout Michigan. She practices in a variety of health law related fields and incorporates health care planning into her estate planning services. She can be reached at (231) 421-1237 or Anna@FiorventoLaw.com.

This article is for educational and information purposes only, and not for the purpose of legal advice. If you need legal assistance you should contact an attorney directly.

Can we add Inman’s If you are interested in submitting a guest column for an upcoming head to eat up space ? issue of the TCBN, please send your name, email and topic idea to gneu@tcbusinessnews.com. Guest columns are educational in nature (do not contain opinions or promotional language) and include information on trends and tips from your area of expertise.

38 MAY M A Y2020 2020 TRAVERSE T R A V E R SCITY E C I TBUSINESS Y B U S I N ENEWS SS NEWS 38

HEALTHCARE

‘Long Term, Sustainable Partners’ Bucking a national trend, Munson collaborates with primary care offices

BY CRAIG MANNING

In recent years, consolidation has dramatically altered the healthcare landscape. According to a joint study conducted by Avalere Health and the Physicians Advocacy Institute, hospitals or healthcare systems acquired 8,000 independent medical practices between 2016 and 2018 alone. In the same time span, approximately 14,000 physicians left private practice behind to work in hospitals. Are these types of consolidations impacting the northern Michigan healthcare environment?

And if so, what do the trends mean for local practitioners and the patients for whom they provide care?

Critics of healthcare consolidation typically cite a range of different concerns for the trend, the biggest of which is a reduction in competition.

Consolidation can sometimes run the risk of creating monopolistic enterprises that largely control consumer choice and pricing – a significant worry in the already-expensive arena of healthcare. More private practices in a geographic region can mean more freedom of choice for patients and more variety in pricing and payment options.

As the major player in northern Michigan medicine, Munson Health-

care is also the central force behind the area’s healthcare consolidation trend. Over the past decade, Munson has made a strong push to bring other northern Michigan hospitals under its umbrella, building a network that now includes nine hospitals from Frankfort to the Mackinac Straits.

Recently, Traverse City’s Milliken Medical Group – formerly a private practice for primary care medicine – converted to an employed practice.

And in March, Munson announced that it would be opening a new primary care clinic in Frankfort – called the Frankfort Medical Group – “following moves by Benzie Countybased physicians Jennifer Kuiper, Mark Kuiper, and Nancy Smith to join Munson Healthcare.”

Despite these developments, Laura Glenn, vice president of physician network for Munson Healthcare, says the organization is eyeing an overall very conservative strategy for consolidation in the coming years. Rather than adopting a “grow-at-all-costs” model aimed at acquiring any and all northern Michigan private practices, Munson Healthcare has focused its future consolidation plan on two priorities: access to primary care and sustainability of existing primary care clinics.

“Every year, we do analyses on each

of our communities and their populations to try to understand how many primary care providers we need in order to care for each community,” Glenn Glenn said. “We try to identify where we have gaps.

In each region, what is the wait time for a new patient (seeking a primary care physician)? If a patient doesn't have a primary care physician, is it because they are experiencing access issues? Asking these questions helps us identify where we have opportunities to grow and improve access to care for primary care services.”

Based on these assessments, Glenn says that Munson’s strategy regarding private primary care clinics and system-owned primary care practices (or "employed" practices) tend to vary significantly across northern Michigan. In communities like Gaylord, Grayling or Manistee, the primary physicians are predominantly Munson-employed. In Cadillac, there is about a 50-50 mix between private practices and employed practices. As for Traverse

Rawlin

Stanley

City, Glenn says the area is a rare holdout against the spread of healthcare consolidation.

“Traverse City is unique, even across the country, in that the majority of our primary care physicians here are in independent practice, and they've been successful in independent practice,” Glenn said.

She added that, beyond the Milliken Medical Group, there is only one Munson-employed primary care clinic in Traverse City. That clinic, Munson Family Practice, is where Munson hosts its Family Practice Residency Program. Every other primary care establishment in Grand Traverse County is an independent entity.

When asked why Traverse City has such a robust community of independent clinics and practitioners, Glenn credits three factors. First is the area’s status as a highly

T R A VMAY E R S 2020 E C I T Y BTRAVERSE U S I N E S S CITY N E WBUSINESS S M A Y 2020 NEWS 39 39

desirable place to live. Second is the local physician organization (called the Northern Physician Organization) which Glenn says has worked hard “to enhance and boost their revenue from payers,” which in turn has allowed for more profitable and financially viable private practices locally. Third is the residency program at Munson Family Practice, which has helped establish an unusually young network of primary care doctors in the area.

“When we do our regional assessments, one of the things we look at is the relative age of our medical staff,” Glenn said. “We need to think about where are we going to have retirements that we have to plan for, or transitions that we'll have to plan for. By and large, our primary care community in Traverse City is relatively young, and I think that's directly related to the residency program. We're able to retain a fair number of our family medicine residents in the community, and that's allowed us to have a really stable group of primary care physicians to meet the needs in Grand Traverse County.”

Dr. William Rawlin, who leads the residency program at Munson Family Practice, acknowledges that the trend industry-wide is toward healthcare consolidation. In most urban areas, he says, the major hospitals own close to 100% of the primary care clinics. However, Rawlin also agrees with Glenn that there are unique factors in Traverse City– including the family medicine residency program – that have led to a subversion of the trend. As part of the residency program, Rawlin even has conversations with his residents about the pros and cons of working in private practice versus employed practice, just to make sure they are considering all potential options.

The biggest advantage for employed practitioners, Rawlin says, is having the full support of a large institution. Where private practice doctors have to shoulder a wide range of responsibilities on their own – from human resource functions to purchasing insurance coverage, all the way to advertising – Munson handles those steps for its employed clinics. At the same time, employed practices tend to have less autonomy and control than their private practice counterparts – something that doctors at hospital-owned clinics could feel deeply during the COVID19 pandemic.

“Our clinic could potentially be turned upside down (by COVID-

19),” Rawlin said. “If there is a surge in local cases, we could be turned into an overflow clinic or a second urgent care. In addition, every one of our employees in each employed practice has been enrolled in a labor pool, and some of us may end up being deployed to other hospitals within the Munson Healthcare system. So that creates a lot of flux for us, in terms of just not knowing where we might have to go.”

For her part, Glenn is glad to have

“Traverse City is unique, even across the country, in that the majority of our primary care physicians here are in independent practice, and they've been successful in independent practice.”

– Laura Glenn, Vice President of Physician Network, Munson Healthcare Traverse City’s robust private primary care system intact right now, as well as the network of employed practices Munson has built throughout the broader northern Michigan region. These practices and doctors, she says, are giving Munson’s hospital system a fighting chance in combating the threat of COVID-19.

“Primary care is more important right now than ever,” Glenn said.

“What they're helping us to do is manage patients with chronic conditions and try to keep them out of the hospital. And then they're also playing a role with patients who are symptomatic (with signs of COVID19), but who are not sick enough to come into the hospital. Their role in managing those cases – that plays a really key function at this time when we're trying to reserve hospital capacity for patients with emergent situations and for COVID patients requiring hospitalization.”

Going forward, Glenn says Munson has no plans to try to “realign” Traverse City’s numerous private practices and independent clinics under hospital ownership. However, she adds that if a local private practice were to approach Munson Healthcare about becoming an employed entity – as was the case with the Milliken Medical Group –

the organization would have those conversations. Munson’s overarching goal with primary care is to ensure that it has “long-term, sustainable partners” throughout the region.

“If independent practice works and they're able to be successful, we want to support them in that and collaborate with them as providers in our community,” Glenn said. “Our broader concern is ensuring that we have adequate primary care access across our region, and that we're working collaboratively with our primary care physicians – whether they're employed or in independent practice – to ensure quality care for the community.”

Some types of independent clinics would never be in a situation where merging with another partner – be it Munson or anybody else – would be on the table. Such is the case with Traverse Health Clinic, an independent nonprofit community health center that offers primary care along with other services like pediatrics, women’s health, behavioral health and addiction recovery. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Traverse Health Clinic receives funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide community health services to anyone and everyone – particularly patients with low incomes. FQHCs cannot make any major changes – including mergers with or acquisitions of other healthcare entities – without the approval of the HHS. Mi Stanley, communications and marketing manager for Traverse Health Clinic, says that having a diversified healthcare community that includes an FQHC is very beneficial – particularly during a crisis like COVID-19.

“Community health centers fill a specific need and niche in the healthcare landscape,” Stanley said.

That need and niche includes acting as a safety net for people with lower incomes and who might have difficulty getting healthcare through private offices, Stanley said.

“It's our responsibility as a community health center to be a resource for those folks," she said.

"We never turn anyone away because they can't pay, and we know that with COVID-19 and the economic impact it is having in our region, so many people have lost or are going to lose their employment and, potentially, their healthcare benefits.”

TCBN

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M A Y 2020

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

AD V ERT ISEM ENT

Short-Term “Test Drive” Samaritas offers fully-furnished, flexible leasing options for seniors

A growing trend in senior living is the “short-term stay,” a flexible leasing option that allows seniors to “test drive” a senior living community for a short period of time to decide if they’d like to call that place long term. Since January, Traverse City’s Samaritas Senior Living has been bringing this new trend to the Traverse City senior living scene.

According to Kristin Lindell, administrator for Samaritas Senior Living Traverse City, the new shortterm leasing option is actually the evolution of a service that the community has been offering to residents of its assisted living wing for several years now. That service, considered “respite care” and dubbed “The Respite Room,” allowed assisted living residents to stay for anywhere from 1-30 days. It was a popular option, but Lindell says some prospective families misunderstood the idea of the service and assumed it was only meant for ill or recovering community members.

“A lot of times with senior living you hear the word “respite,” and I think that word tends to have a negative connotation,” Lindell said. “If you’re in ‘respite care,’ the assumption is that you’re an ill person, you’re in recovery, and you need extra care, so you’re going to be put into some kind of residential care facility for an extended period of time while you heal. And so, the name ‘The Respite Room’ wasn’t really getting across what we wanted to offer with this lease, which is the option for a short-term stay.”

Now, Samaritas is retiring the phrase “respite care” and trading it for the option of a short-term stay lease.

The changes aren’t just in regards to branding, either.

Where The Respite Room was an exclusive feature of the Samaritas assisted living wing, the new short-term stay option is available community-wide, to assisted living and independent living residents alike. In addition, the new format allows short-term residents to stay

for up to 90 days, effectively tripling The Respite Room’s time limit. The changes are intended to underline the true purpose of the short-term lease option, which is to give prospective residents a chance to get to know the community better than they ever could during a brief visit and tour.

“When we talk about shortterm stays, we're really talking now about a ‘come see us and try us out’ concept,” Lindell explained. “A lot of the folks that we have come in here to tour the facility are just in the exploration stage of senior living. With that comes the due process of seniors visiting numerous sites and trying to encompass what they're about to sign on for. And it’s just very difficult to get a feel for a community like ours on a single visit. Almost everybody I've talked to seems to find the temporary stay option a fascinating option to have.”

Samaritas residents who decide to try out the shortstay option don’t need to commit to a certain number of months and aren’t required to make any upfront deposits. Instead, residence fees for the new lease type are billed on a per-diem basis. The daily rate includes one meal per day (lunch), though residents have the option to add breakfast and dinner at an additional charge. Transportation assistance is covered by the standard per-diem rate, too, including Friday morning grocery store trips and the option to sign up for two additional transportation slots throughout the week

4354 Mt. Hope Rd., Williamsburg, MI 49690

(for appointments, other shopping trips, or any community desires). Short-stay guests also receive a pendant that they can press to receive assistance from Samaritas staff, on anything from technology help to health concerns. Residents that require more handson care – including help with showering, bathing, dressing, laundry, and more – can sign up for a program called “Thrive” for an additional cost.

Lindell’s hope is that residents who are on the fence about Samaritas – or simply looking to learn more about the senior living communities in town before making a decision – will take advantage of the shortterm option. The new lease type is not just there as a pre-decision test drive, though. Lindell says that any senior who needs a temporary place to stay where they can have access to assistance, care, and community can benefit from the short-term lease – whether they decide to stay for two nights, two weeks, or two months.

“If there’s a senior who normally lives with their kids or grandkids, but the family is going on vacation for a few weeks, they can come here, pay a daily per diem rent, and not have to pay deposits, security deposits, or community fees,” Lindell said. “They get care that they couldn’t get at a hotel or other shortterm stay places, but they don’t have to commit to a long-term stay.”

Especially for these types of short-stay residents, Samaritas might recommend one of its furnished units. The community currently has one independent living unit and one assisted living unit that are furnished and available as part of the short-stay leasing option. In most cases, though, Lindell says Samaritas is encouraging residents to “make themselves at home” by moving their furniture, belongings, and

even pets into the facility. Where a furnished unit might provide more of a hotel or short-term rental type of feel, Lindell thinks the option to move in for real provides seniors with a better simulation of what living at Samaritas would really be like.

“We encourage people to come in and move in enough of their belongings so that they can really feel at home, even for a short-term stay arrangement,” Lindell said. “I don't think you can really get a feel for how you would fit in a senior living site unless you had some of your belongings there. So we want people to move in as much of their stuff as they can, so that they can give us a true test.”

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(231) 938-4673

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www.samaritas.org

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

BY CURTIS D. KUTTNAUER, columnist

LEMON AID:

When life sours your business, these programs can help Lately we have been delivered a boatload of lemons – a COVID-19 pandemic, stay at home orders, stock market declines, failing businesses and a shrinking economy.

Where is the lemonade? The federal government is now providing the sugar and water (liquidity), to create the best lemonade a businessperson can imagine.

As part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES Act), the Small Business Administration (SBA) has created amazing programs to support businesses. This includes emergency grants, such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Small Business Relief program.

These are all the most generous financial opportunities in history.

Most people have been focused on

PPP and EIDL, but under the radar is are a great choice. Besides historically the Small Business Relief Program. The low interest rates, being able to forgo SBA will make payments on all 7A and the first six payments and possibly have 504 loans for six months, starting April 1, the SBA waive loan fees is an incredible 2020. That’s right, the SBA savings. These programs are will make six payments on likely to be repeated in If you are consider- not your behalf if you have one our lifetimes. of these loans. The SBA will Our country and econing buying a busialso pay the first six payomy will recover from this ness or looking to pandemic. It is during these ments on new 7A and 504 loans! This is not a payment expand a business, difficult times when smart, deferment program; the govsuccessful people seize the there has never opportunity to acquire or exernment will pay the principal and interest on these a business. Successful been a better time pand loans for six months. The businesses are always looking payments will be treated as to move forward. ahead; these programs are non-taxable income. This aimed at helping you realize program requires new loans your vision for years to to be completed by Sept. 27, 2020. come. We want to encourage you to think If you are purchasing a business or beyond the next several months and take expanding a business, the SBA programs advantage of these SBA programs to build

your successful American future.

If you are considering buying a business or looking to expand a business, there has never been a better time to move forward.

Conversely, should you be an owner thinking of selling your company, this is a very good time, as buyers have access to incredibly low-cost SBA money.

Whether you are a buyer or seller, the time is now: Make your dreams into sweet lemonade!

Curtis D. Kuttnauer is co-founder and senior partner of Golden Circle Advisors, Inc., with offices in both the Traverse City and the Plymouth areas. The business intermediary advisory firm specializes in working with small to mid-sized privately held businesses, focusing on positioning and marketing their businesses for sale. For more, contact (231) 922-9380, curtis@teamgca.com or goldencircleadvisors.

Q&As from Business Owners & Prospective Buyers – BY CURTIS KUTTNAUER

Should I defer selling my business? Should I take my business off the market?

If your business is on the market, you should continue marketing the business. If you are in negotiations or under contract, let the process continue. You will benefit from staying the course.

If you were considering putting your business on the market, then this might be an opportune time to start the process.

It requires time to gather key information and prepare your business for sale. You probably now have time on your hands which can be used for the preparation of the information necessary to get you the highest price.

What impact will this year have on the value of my business?

It is not a forgone conclusion the value of your business will decline due to COVID-19.

You likely suspect the value of your business got hammered because of the pandemic. That’s not necessarily the case.

If your business bounces back to levels prior to the pandemic, the impact on value may be zero. Business valuation specialists will be able consider 2020 an aberration and base the business value on the proceeding three to five years.

Many businesses may find they will experience robust sales numbers due to pent-up, post-pandemic demand.

Are banks still interested in financing business deals?

Yes! My firm, Golden Circle Advisors, is working with several SBA lenders on deals under contract prior to the pandemic and these lenders are actively working to complete those transactions.

Banks are well-funded and eager to put that capital to work. Many bank employees are working from home, yet continue to move business loans through the approval process. The current environment is much better than in 2018 when we had a federal shutdown and no SBA loans were being processed. This is not a crisis brought on by a financial debacle; it is a crisis brought upon us by COVID-19. The federal government has plenty of firepower along with the will to put the country back to work.

Are there buyers looking for businesses to acquire?

The answer is “yes.” We currently have several businesses under a sales contract. We have had only one buyer decide to back out until he is satisfied the pandemic is behind us.

The decision is likely to cost him significantly more as the interest rates are likely to rise and the six months of payments by the SBA may be over the same time he comes back to buy.

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

BY JENNIFER EWING, columnist

HOME WORK:

Four lessons learned from this unexpected experiment

By the time this article is published, Michigan will have been under the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” orders issued by Governor Gretchen Whitmer for a number of weeks. Though some continued to work on site and others were unable to work, many learned quickly how to work remotely from a home office, dining room or kitchen during this shelter-inplace order. Let’s look at the lessons learned from this unexpected experiment in remote working.

which means hours of working alone. It is important that the organization is taking 1. Working remotely is more possible than steps to help those working remote stay previously considered feasible. Organizaengaged and ensure that necessary informations have receptionists answering front tion is being shared so that employees can desk calls, teams are working together perform their jobs well. Some simple steps though video conferencing platforms, to encourage productivity and connectedengineers are supporting production ness include setting up daily or weekly staff facilities and individuals are processing meetings or check-ins. accounts payables ... all from home! As These meetings provide an opportunity the executive orders are lifted throughout to share information, statuses and build a the country, organizations connection with the organizawill have to take a step All these quick tion. Another good step is to back and reconsider which a space for casual constops at the desk create roles truly need to be versation and laughter. Gone located on site. This may are the “water cooler” opporare considered mean there is a disability tunities for casual relationship accommodation that was time worked and building. Consider hosting a not available before. Or, it virtual happy hour or game could mean that employees need to be tracked night. Though these types may have more flexibility of events may feel frivolous, and paid. to work from home during they allow the opportunity challenging times. The for important relationships question “Can I work remotely?” needs to to be built and maintained, which has a be seriously considered. direct impact on employee engagement and organizational performance.

2. Leaving work while you’re at home can be difficult. One of the advantages of 4. Technology is available. The tools to working from home is how quickly you connect remotely allow business functions can be in the office. If there is that one to continue. Whether it is the multitude task that you wanted to complete or that of virtual meeting options such as Zoom, one email you wanted to send, it is easy GoToMeeting or Skype, the interactive dijust to walk to your workspace to get that alog platforms such as Slack or Microsoft item done. However, it is important to Teams, or collaboration tools such as Gooconsider the Fair Labor Standards Act gle or OneDrive, the tools are there. Over (FLSA) and who is considered non-exthe course of these weeks, many have had empt, or who must be paid overtime for a crash course in how to use them. By the working more than 40 hours in a work time your organization is moving back to week. What does this mean for remote normal, these tools will have become part work? All these quick stops at the desk of your every day work. It is important to to get items done are considered time consider the value of each and which ones worked and, therefore, need to be tracked to utilize in the future. and paid. It is important to set up a system where all time worked is being docuThe bottom line is that we have all had mented so that you remain in compliance the opportunity, whether welcomed or with the FLSA. not, to learn how to do business differently. It is important to assess these changes 3. Working remotely can be lonely. As and strategically incorporate these lessons the Stay Home, Stay Safe weeks have learned going forward. ticked on, many employees have reported feelings of loneliness and disconnection.

Jennifer Ewing, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a partGone are the exciting moments of moving ner with Human Resource Partners in Traverse the office home and getting the new space City and works with employers to improve the set up. Rather, the day-to-day has set in, people-side of business.

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Northern Express Weekly • march 23, 2020 • 13

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BY AUTUMN CHALKER SOLTYSIAK, columnist

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Six CARES Act provisions to navigate in 2020 On March 27, after Congress came together in rare bipartisan support, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. The more than $2 trillion package seeks to address financial pressures facing individuals, businesses, state and local governments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The widespread relief bill will impact income, taxes and retirement accounts.

While some provisions apply to all individuals, others require that you are a qualified individual to receive relief.

A qualified individual is one who: 1. Has been diagnosed with COVID-19 (and confirmed by a CDC approved test) 2. Has a spouse or dependent(s) diagnosed with COVID-19, or 3. Has suffered financially due to the illness resulting from: • Being quarantined, furloughed, laid off, having their work hours reduced • Being unable to work due to lack of child care, OR • Closing or reducing hours of a business the individual owns or operates The following are six notable provisions of the CARES Act and action items to consider: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for 2020 have been waived for all IRAs and retirement plan accounts. Under the CARES Act, an RMD taken in 2020 is no longer required for all account holders and is voluntary. Taxable distributions from IRAs can be returned back to your IRA account within 60 days as a rollover contribution. Action item: If you desire to defer, cancel, or return your RMD this year, contact your custodian or financial advisor.

Use of retirement funds. Coronavirus-related distribution in 2020 from IRAs of up to $100,000 without it being subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty if the IRA owner is under 59 ½. The income tax on the coronavirus-related distribution may be spread evenly over three years. Or, the distribution may be repaid to an eligible retirement plan within a three-year period.

Action item: IRA account owners should consult with a tax advisor on available options regarding any distributions received from an IRA or retirement plan this year to avoid the 10% premature distribution penalty and potentially spread their tax consequence over a three-year period.

401(k) loans. The loan limit is increased up to 100% of a participant’s

vested account balance from $50,000 to $100,000 and allows for delayed loan repayments for qualifying individuals.

Action item: This provision doubles the amount that qualified individuals can borrow and gives relief to those who already have loans. Participants should be cautious as unpaid 401(k) loans become income upon termination of employment.

Small Business Forgivable Loans/Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Loans are available to small businesses, non-profits, self-employed, sole proprietorships, and independent contractors with 500 or fewer employees to cover payroll costs.

In addition, 25% of the loan can be used for non-payroll expenses specified under the PPP. In order to be granted loan forgiveness, the borrower will be required to provide documentation of payroll and business costs to its lender. Small businesses can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally

insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating. All loans will have the same terms regardless of lender or borrower. Action item: Consult with your local lender as to whether it is participating. A list of participating lenders as well as additional information and full terms can be found at SBA.gov.

Direct stimulus payments. Americans with incomes up to $75,000 individual and $150,000 for married couples will receive a one-time payment of $1,200 per person plus an additional $500 per child. If you filed a tax return for 2018 or 2019, you do not need to sign up for the program. Checks will be distributed through mail or direct deposit.

Action item: Direct deposit information can be updated and payments can be tracked through a web tool called Get My Payment on the IRS website IRS.gov. If you don’t file taxes and are eligible, you can update your information through the IRS website.

Unemployment benefits. The program extends unemployment insurance

program and expands eligibility and offers an additional $600 per week for four months. Self-employed and independent contractors are also now eligible under the plan. Action item: Nearly a quarter of Michigan workers have filed for unemployment, causing delays. Many people who weren’t eligible before as self-employed or independent contractors are now eligible under the plan.

Officials encourage applicants to use off-peak times between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and to file claims online at Michigan.gov/UIA. Additional provisions and funding bills are likely as Americans navigate the economic impact of the pandemic together. Now more than ever, expert advice is important to navigate the unique opportunities available this year.

Autumn Chalker Soltysiak, CFP®, is a partner at hemming& Wealth Management, an independent RIA firm founded in Traverse City.

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BY ANDERS GILLIS, columnist

GUNS IN THE WORKPLACE: Compelling reasons for employers to prohibit firearms at work Whether you like it or not, guns are in the workplace. This is especially true in northern Michigan where it is estimated that approximately one in seven individuals possesses a concealed carry license. Under Michigan law, an individual’s right to keep and bear arms is protected because every “person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state.” But a constitutional right to carry a firearm does not mean that employers must tolerate guns in the workplace.

Under Michigan’s Firearms Act, an employer can “prohibit an employee from carrying a concealed pistol in the course of his or her employment with that employer.” In fact, certain employers must prohibit firearms in the workplace because they are considered Pistol Free Zones: childcare centers, bars, and hospitals.

But even if a business is not a Pistol Free Zone, there are compelling reasons for an employer to consider prohibiting firearms in the workplace.

Potential liabilities. Firearms can create major liabilities for employers. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), employers must provide their employees with a place of employment free from recognized hazards causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm. A failure to adequately protect employees from firearm accidents or violence could be construed as a violation of OSHA. Further, while it is often viewed as axiomatic that employers will not be held liable for the intentional actions of violent employees, this is actually an overly simplistic generalization. Michigan recognizes the torts of negligent hiring, supervision and retention of an unsafe employee. An unsafe employee – with or without a firearm – can create employer liability.

Firearms in the workplace also have the ability to bolster other garden-variety employment law claims. For example, a claim of sexual harassment, discrimination or retaliation may become much stronger if the allegation is that the individual who harassed, discriminated or retaliated had a firearm in his or her possession.

This is especially true in sexual harassment cases where a firearm’s presence (even if the firearm is never used, brandished or referred to during an encounter) can be used to support a finding that an employee was subjected to a hostile or coercive work environment. For example, imagine your company’s manager asking a young subordinate on a date. You might

think this is unprofessional or inappropriate, depending on the circumstances. But is unlikely to be legally actionable. Now, however, imagine that same manager asking a subordinate on a date while there is a gun on his desk or at his side. It changes the dynamic both in the boardroom and in the courtroom. In other words, the presence of a firearm can make coercion, intimidation or duress much easier to argue. This means that a case is unlikely to quickly resolve and will likely result in protracted litigation.

Potential solutions. Employers will never be able to control every employee or prevent every act of violence. Some employees must have firearms because of the nature of their work or the need for protection. But even if this is the case, all employers need to have in place robust workplace violence policies to protect employees from violence while protecting the company from claims. Preferably, these policies should include a weapon policy.

If there is no need for firearms in the workplace, employers should consider prohibiting the use or possession of firearms while on company business or

on company property. For many, a no firearms policy will make the most sense.

But each business and business sector is unique. There is not necessarily a one-size fits all approach. Furthermore, employers need to be careful not to violate Michigan’s constitution or its Firearms Act in preparing these policies.

A constitutional right to carry a firearm does not mean that employers must tolerate guns in the workplace.

All employers will benefit from adopting written workplace violence policies, which should be tailored to a company’s unique needs and issues. This will help employers protect employees while reducing potential liabilities.

Anders J. Gillis is an attorney with Parker Harvey PLC. Reach him at (231) 486-4507 or agillis@ parkerharvey.com. You can also read his legal blog at northernmichiganemploymentlaw.com.

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

MAKING IT IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN

M A Y 2020

GTA MC

Who Knew They Made it Here?

BY CLARK MILLER

The 60 employees at Traverse Citybased American Proficiency Institute are battling the coronavirus pandemic on three fronts: lab performance, finding a test and detecting antibodies. The institute’s clinical proficiency testing programs are approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), The Joint Commission healthcare accreditation service and all state health departments.

of more than 30 coronavirus testing products now on the market. (That is possible because participating labs will indicate which brand of test they used.)

API will then share those findings with its client labs, CMS and state health officials across the country. Edson also intends to publish results in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

API does not determine the “winner” (or winners) in the race for a quick, trustworthy coronavirus test.

“We are impartial in our reporting – we take no sides,” he says. “We let the data speak.”

Maintain Lab Performance API routinely tests Detect Antibodthe ability of some ies: The Next Big 20,000 U.S. medical Hurdle labs to analyze blood samples and accurateAPI’s role doesn’t ly confirm (or refute) end there, however.

“We are impartial in our the presence of Later this summer, reporting – we take no sides. any of the 300-plus Edson will rely on We let the data speak.” medical conditions data from the same – Dan Edson, president, on a list that includes 20,000 labs to meaeverything from pregsure the performance American Proficiency Institute nancy to cancer. of various antibody “We assure that testing methodolthe quality of lab work done nationwide ogies. Knowing who has the right viis very high. And that helps assure public rus-fighting antibodies can lead to more health,” said API president Dan Edson. targeted use of a vaccine, once one is on This month and again in early June the market.

API is sending these labs (located in Edson says antibody testing “is complicathospitals, clinics and doctors’ practices) ed and not what a lot of people think it is.” what Edson describes as “safe, simulat“A good antibody test like the one I deed, non-infectious, 1.5 milliliter liquid veloped for Legionnaires’ disease indicates samples.” In this case, some, but not all, who, through previous exposure, has built of those samples should test positive for up defenses against the virus. By process the coronavirus. of elimination, that means you can identify who needs immunization,” he said.

Find a Test Once exposure rates are identified, Arguably of equal importance is the resources can be targeted, Edson said. hunt for a reliable, quick and widely avail“Antibody testing also gives you able means of determining who has the exposure rates by age, location and other virus. As of mid-April, less than 1% of all epidemiological factors,” he said. “That Americans had been tested for the coroknowledge helps in targeting resources navirus. Physicians, epidemiologists and once scientists have a cure.” governors complain this has hamstrung a One thing API will not be involved in proactive response. is vaccine testing.

So while it continues to maintain lab “Vaccine trials are a whole different proficiency, API will also collect valupart of molecular biology,” Edson said. able data on the real-world performance “Other companies concentrate on that.”

Traverse City area ews and events, visit verseTicker.com

rse City ws and visit cker.com

For Traverse City area news and events, visit TraverseTicker.com

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

BUILD STRONG BUILD SAFE

PERSONAL SALES AND ASSISTANCE, Northern Michigan Style

The world is new territory now. We’ve thrown out the manual for business as usual and are rewriting the game plan. We’re findIng creative new ways to work, and work safely. Now we can meet even when we’re not together. What makes the building industry strong is what Preston Feather is all about.

All of our sales staff can facilitate remote consultation and ordering, scheduling, delivery logistics and project management.

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C

C

BOOK REVIEW

BY CHRIS WENDEL

Atomic Habits

Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results - An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

By James Clear Published by Avery Publishing Group, October 16, 2019

We all make efforts to is critical to implementing adopt good habits that are that particular habit. difficult to maintain, while Clear then describes the experiencing the frustration strategy of pairing a new of bad habits that are hard habit with an existing habit, to shake. Think of that known as “habit stacking.” pivotal time in your day “If you’re developing a habit when deep-rooted habits of saving money,” he writes, determine if it’s a good, pro“the idea would be to wait 24 hours when wantductive day or a bad turn into a trough of ing to buy something ineffectiveness. over $100.”

In a nutshell: Author James Author James Critical to the Clear combines behavioral sciClear studied bioprocess is adopting ence and relatable stories to claran identity that supmechanics in college ify why most of us struggle with before embarking on ports the new habit bad habits and lack the practical a series of entreprethat you’re building. tools to build better ones. neurial pursuits that Instead of saying combined his science you’re going to quit Who’s it for? For general audibackground and writsmoking, it’s more ences. effective to decide ing skills. Through you’re taking on a his experiences, Clear Author’s quote: “A good player healthy identity. The developed a compreworks hard to win the game book also advises hensive system for everyone else is playing. A small changes to your managing habits. great player creates a new game environment that Released in late 2019, that favors their strengths and create a better context the book “Atomic avoids their weaknesses.” to trigger cues that Habits” is a combifurther support good nation of detailed habits, such as: “If you want to practice research and human-interest stories guitar more frequently, place your guitar rolled into a practical guide for anyone stand in the middle of the living room.” seeking better results in life. Its title is Applying real life examples, including derived from the concept of small incremental changes that accumulate and sus- stories of business leaders, Olympians, and recognizable celebrities, makes the tain over time. “If you make small, easy book quite enjoyable. “Atomic Habits” changes and layer them on top of one another like units in a larger system, you also includes a series of worksheet-like can get powerful results,” Clear explains. materials that bring the presented concepts Clear points out that our usual strategy together into a solid strategy for moving for forming better habits is to make goals. forward. The end result is a useable guide for instilling good habits and ensuring that There is a problem with this approach, bad habits are less likely to occur. however. Setting goals will point you in It’s easy to understand why “Atomthe right direction, but it takes processes or systems to reach your goals. Clear’s sys- ic Habits” has held a top position on tem is a series of small consistent positive The New York Times list of bestselling changes that over time become durable business books for several months. The habits. The system then sets up obstacles book’s broad appeal combined with its to discourage poor habits. relevant stories and techniques reframes The 1st Law of Behavior Change ways we can all become more effective. is to make it obvious. The strategy is to connect an intended behavior to a Chris Wendel is a Business Advisor with time and location, i.e., forming a daily Northern Initiatives, a Community Develexercise routine tied to an exact time opment Financial institution (CDFI) based and place. For example: “During the in Marquette, Mich. Northern Initiatives next week, I will partake in at least 20 provides money and know-how to businesses minutes of exercise on Monday at 7 a.m. throughout Michigan. Wendel lives and in my living room.” This creates a prior works in Traverse City and can be reached at plan about when and how to act, which cwendel@northerninitiatives.org

TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

M A Y 2020

Thank you!

First responders HealtHcare workers and all Front line essential workers

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Experience, Knowledge, Protection & Peace of Mind

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

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People on the move

TCBN

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NEWSMAKERS

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ARTS 1 - After serving 12 months as interim executive director, Deb Jackson has been named executive director of Old Town Playhouse by its board of trustees. In addition to a career in business management, Deb has been involved in many community groups, often in leadership positions.

BANKING AND FINANCE 2 - State Savings Bank announced that Michele Carroll, a personal banker in the bank’s Empire office, has been named the first-ever recipient of the Quarterly Yessie Award for exceptional customer service.

3 - Brayton Farr has joined State Savings Bank as a mortgage originator at the State Savings Bank Loan Center in Traverse City. A Northport resident with seven years of financial services experience, Farr is active in Traverse Connect and Traverse City Young Professionals.

HEALTHCARE 4 - Jessica Rickert, DDS, an Interlochen-based dentist and the first female American Indian dentist, was selected as the keynote speaker at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Dentistry on March 4 to celebrate National Women’s Month.

Her presentation was entitled “Changing Perceptions…Exceeding Expectations.”

5 - Caitlin Schmidt, D.O., has joined the staff of Munson Medical Center as a board-certified specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. Schmidt completed

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a residency at Sparrow Hospital/Michigan State University and practices at Northwood Obstetrics & Gynecology in Traverse City.

training, and a summer bike camp. Dake’s background is in early childhood education, recreation management, and public health.

NONPROFITS

MANUFACTURING

6 - Housing North announced that Yarrow Brown will join the organization May 4 as its new executive director and will lead efforts to advocate for affordable housing in the region. Brown is stepping into the role currently held by Sarah Lucas, who is moving outside of the area. Brown has worked with land conservancies, nonprofits, and local governments and serves on the Cleveland Township Planning Commission in Leelanau County.

10 - Promethient, a Traverse City start-up company and innovator in human-scaled climate control systems, has named Jon Dreher director of manufacturing operations. Before joining Promethient, he was director of operations with Armor Express of Central Lake, and prior to that, was VP of Manufacturing for TentCraft of Traverse City. Dreher recently served as the executive chairman of the Grand Traverse Area Manufacturing Council.

7 - Harry Burkholder, COO of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA), has joined the board of directors of Paddle Antrim. Burkholder, a Traverse City resident, also worked at the Land Information Access Association, where his Trail Town planning efforts resulted in collaborations with over 50 communities throughout the Midwest.

8 - Ellie Kirkpatrick joined the staff at Paddle Antrim as a marketing and outreach specialist. She recently relocated from Grand Rapids to the Village of Elk Rapids. Kirkpatrick has marketing experience in industries including furniture manufacturing, nonprofits, and legal services.

9 - Elk Rapids-based Lauren Dake has joined Norte to lead an expansion of the Elk Rapids Strong Project. The initiative will include programming for kids in Antrim County such as an after-school mountain bike and adventure club, preschool balance bike

MEDIA 11 - Jill Hayes has joined Eyes Only Media in Traverse City as a media consultant for the Ticker, Leelanau Ticker, TCBN, and Northern Express. Hayes served on the sales team at MyNorth Media and Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine for 23 years. Prior to that, she worked at both Crain’s Detroit Business in Detroit and Observer & Eccentric newspapers in Oakland County.

12 - Emily Tyra joined Eyes Only Media as senior writer for the Leelanau Ticker, after serving as editor at MyNorth Media and Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine. Tyra returned to northern Michigan in 2018 after nearly a decade in Milwaukee on staff at the national cooking magazine Taste of Home, most recently as editor.

Please submit Newsmakers by May 10th to news@tcbusinessnews.com.

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

M A Y 2020

53

LEADS DBAs New and re-registered business filings provided by county clerks’ offices:

BENZIE COUNTY

D.C. WHITMAN CUSTOM GUNSMITHING, 8455 Maple City Hwy, Lake Ann, Delbert C. Whitman Jr. DISCIPLE PUBLISHING, 15261 Cinder Rd., Beulah, Branda Kay Maurer FINEST SHOPPE, THE, PO Box 431, 10962 Cedar St., Honor, Kathleen Rae Jestila FLYNN’S CUSTOM PAINTING, 5142 Revnell Rd., Beulah, Paul Flynn GRANITE FORGE, 13866 Dow Lake, Beulah, David Nelson LEVEL CONSTRUCTION, 4366 Jeri Rd., Interlochen, John Heyn LINDREN FAMILY FARMS, 7077 Mick Rd., Benzonia, Debra Lindgren

MARVIN’S GARDEN SPOT, 9445 Lake Ann Rd., TC, Marica Blackford NB TOOLS LLC, 5705 Wallaker Rd., Benzonia, Nolan Eric Blanchard PAINTING BY DANA, 2238 Herron Rd., Frankfort, Dana Robinson ROOTS OF IRON CONSTRUCTION, 1467 Miller Rd., Beulah, Ben Horvath ROVING ROSE EMPRISE, PO Box 408, Honor, Devin Gauthier, Allison Gauthier SCHETTEK PAINTING, 1636 S. Thompsonville Hwy, Thompsonville, Gary Schettek SUPERIOR OUTDOOR SERVICES, 10761 Riverside Dr., Honor, Jesse Theobald WAYZU, 10619 Riverside Dr., Honor, Martha Hubbell

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GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY

PEACEFUL TOUCH THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE, 8484 Kingsley Rd., Kingsley, Stacey Walton CHICKADEES, 8484 Kingsley Rd., Kingsley, Stacey Walton FUDGE CONSULTING, 5293 Arlington Ln., TC, Robert Fudge EJ JIGS FISHING COMPANY, 2309 Kenona Woods Dr., TC, Ethan Stoops TC V-STEAM, 226 E. Sixteenth St., Ste. B, TC, Kristin Fehnman ARMSTRONG SERVICES, 9859 Crescent Shore Rd., TC, Courtney Armstrong HAWK-NET CYBER SOLUTIONS, 1020 Cass St., TC, Chad Marlatt LINDA LICHTY - HAIR STYLIST, 711 Wadsworth St., TC, Linda Lichty TM SERVICES, 3430 Voice Rd., Kingsley, Trever McLain

231 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, 2480 Orchard Circle Unit 14, TC, Fred Luepnitz GRAND TRAVERSE FINANCIAL, 1129 E. Eighth St., TC, Kevin Byrne, Christopher Sheeran MAID BY GOD, 210 N. Brownson Ave., Kingsley, Julie Knepp

LEELANAU COUNTY A & S SERVICES, 2243 E. Kasben Rd., Cedar, Martin Wilcox

JEP FARMS, 9151 Lake Leelanau Dr., TC, Erin Preston, Jacob Preston MARK KALENA CONSTRUCTION, 141 Hlavka Rd., Maple City, Mark Kalena MYRTLEWOOD STUDIOS, 412 N. First St., Leland, Daniel L. Lisuk OTTO GRAPHICS, 13455 S. Coleman Rd., Empire, Stella B. Otto WOODCRAFTERS, 9553 E. Grandview Rd., TC, Timothy Donn

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

!

YOU NK THA

HELP US PROMOTE HEALTHY LIVING

trash guidelines

PLEASE BAG ALL TRASH, especially used/wet tissues, paper towels, diapers, personal hygiene items, cleaning rags and towels.

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recycling doN TS

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Please DO NOT recycle used paper towels, medical waste supplies, tissues or wet paper cleaning materials.

DO recycle CLEAN & DRY cardboard, plastic, glass, metal and paper.

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

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We’re proud to call you neighbors.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all of the front line workers who are at daily risk in our 12 communities and surrounding areas.

TRAVERSE CITY | SUTTONS BAY | NORTHPORT | GLEN ARBOR | FRANKFORT | EMPIRE ELK RAPIDS | GAYLORD | GRAYLING | HOUGHTON LAKE | HIGGINS LAKE | ALPENA

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TRAVERSE CITY BUSINESS NEWS

Luxury carpet

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