May Voice 2013

The Voice is online at rockfordchamber.com

Eickman’s bringing homE ThE bacon for 60 yEars

afTEr ThE flood: rEsToraTion

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amErican flag madE from cannEd good donaTions May 2013 | Volume 26 | No. 5

Enough is enough Winnebago County Chairman Christiansen rolls out new initiative to fight crime

By Paul Anthony Arco Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen usually spends his State of the County address highlighting past accomplishments and future goals and objectives.

Not this time.

This year, Christiansen focused on one issue -- unveiling a county-wide

collaborative crime initiative called “Knock Out Crime” during his annual luncheon hosted by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. The event on April 17 at the Radisson Hotel drew 375 business leaders.

“It’s an extremely serious situation,” said Christiansen of the local crime problem. “People don’t feel safe, and we need to change that fast. Drugs and gang activity is the crux of the problem. We’re seeing some type of activity daily. We have to get our arms around that and say ‘enough is enough.’ We want to go up and down any street in this area and not have to worry about our safety. We’re going to work together to knock out crime.”

In January, Christiansen gathered more than 100 law enforcement and government leaders at a crime summit.

Officials discussed best practices, strategies and steps to reducing crime in the region.

Christiansen’s plan includes increasing

patrols, incorporating a 311 Center into the United Way 211 Call Center, launching a Text-a-Tip program, and expanding the number of neighborhood groups. The “Knock Out Crime” campaign includes a logo, bumper stickers and a website www. knockoutcrime.com.

“It’s important that the business community becomes engaged in this initiative,” said Christiansen. “We’re encouraging business leaders to talk to their employees, family and friends about crime. In order to help them expand jobs, we need to provide them the communication and material to fight crime.”

Crime’s Impact on Economic Development

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

The Rockford Chamber of Commerce is a sponsor of the new initiative. “We’re pleased to work with the Chairman to heighten the awareness of what people more on page 3

Next wave for health care

Area providers digitize patient data for improved patient care

By Barbara Connors

Visit us online at: rockfordchamber.com ■ online registration ■ keynote speaker video clips ■ event photos ■ list of chamber events Questions? 815-987-8100

join the chamber’s linkedin group www.linkedin.com/e/gis/2544

Long gone are the iconic hospital clipboards dangling from the ends of patient beds. With the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, changes are occurring nationwide with the implementation of software for the confidential and electronic exchange of patient health information.

Since October, 2012, when the first federal regulations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services became effective, phrases such as “meaningful use” (MU), “accountable care organizations” (ACOs) and “health information exchanges” (HIEs) have become buzzwords to describe the health care

The Salvation Army of Winnebago County, Rockford Lutheran Schools and CherryVale Mall launched for the first time in Rockford, the Can-Struction project, “Wright Out of the Box.” In May, community members are asked to donate canned goods to build an Ameri-Can flag at the center court in CherryVale Mall.

The food will be donated at the end of May to the Salvation Army Food Pantry.

Local architects will work with private and public school students and service groups to construct the Ameri-Can flag, May 8 to 10.

Community volunteers are invited to help.

Donations can be taken to CherryVale Mall center court and placed in designated barrels, “Watch what we CAN do in the month of May” through May 7: Progresso Soups, 18.5 oz. cans; Chunk Light Tuna, 5 oz. cans; Swanson Chicken Breast, 4.5 oz. cans; Goya or La Costena vegetables, 11 oz. cans; La Costena whole pinto beans, 19.75 oz. cans. Call 815-3160893 or gUscPs@comcast.net to volunteer.

industry’s transition to electronic health records. Overall, the goal has been to cut costs, reduce medical errors and improve the quality of care.

The Big Bang For OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, the transition to system-wide electronic health records came in December, 2009, as a part of the Peoria-based OSF HealthCare more on page 8

Rockford Chamber

Golf Classic

May 20 Forest Hills Country Club For more info, see page 30

winnEbago counTy launchEs EmPloyEE wEllnEss Program Winnebago County announced in April the launch of a new health and wellness program for employees. The program will consist of three parts, including a focus on improving the health of selected employees with multiple/severe illnesses through diet, exercise, medical, nursing, financial and logistical assistance, in partnership with OSF Health Management. The second part will consist of the establishment of an on-site health clinic for Winnebago County employees; staffed by a nurse practitioner. The third part will focus on wellness, with the Winnebago County Wellness Committee taking the lead to issue updates and ongoing communication focused on employees’ health and wellness.

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President’s Message VIEWPOINT

✔

Rockford Chamber PAC lands four education candidates into office Work continues to further the needs of area businesses

The Rockford Chamber of Commerce has committed considerable resources over the past four years to advocate for improved educational performance and for programs and curricula that addresses workforce needs. In May, Rock Valley College and Rockford Public Schools District 205 will welcome, thanks to area voters, two newly elected officials to each of the institution’s respective boards – all of whom were endorsed by the Rockford Chamber’s Political Action Committee (ROCPAC).

ROCPAC endorsed Frank Haney and Patrick Murphy, who will join Lynne Kearney in filling three open slots on the Rock Valley College’s Board of Trustees. The PAC also endorsed Michael Connor and Mike Harner, who will join the Rockford Public School Board.

While the Rockford Chamber long has been an advocate for public policy issues that are important to the region’s businesses, in late 2011,

ROCPAC

We are excited that the new board members will be joining a strong group of intelligent, community-minded individuals who are mindful of the needs of the business community. it launched ROCPAC as part of a broader strategy to directly engage and support elected officials and candidates whose views matched the priorities of the business community.

To determine this, questionnaires were sent to each individual running for seats on the Rock Valley College and Rockford Public School boards, and endorsements issued after responses were reviewed. In some cases, interviews also were performed.

ROCPAC’s priorities for considering candidates, committees and initiatives included, but were not limited to the following: n Advancing the education system n Responsible taxation

and

appropriate

n Crime reduction and prevention n Encouraging business policies that support the region Specific topics included in the candidate questionnaire addressed board roles, relationship with administration, workforce development and facility/infrastructure enhancements.

ROCPAC’s Goal: A Vibrant Business Climate We are looking forward to working with the members of both boards as we address critical educational needs in our community. In particular, we are excited that the new board members will be joining a strong group of intelligent, communityminded individuals who are mindful of the needs of the business community.

is funded by

Einar k. forsman Rockford Chamber of Commerce

contributions from individuals and organizations and is registered with the State of Illinois Board of Elections.

Rockford Chamber membership dues are not used to support ROCPAC. While

the

Rockford

Chamber

regularly addresses issues of public policy to support a strong and vibrant business climate, ROCPAC serves to directly engage with elected officials and candidates running for office, in order to endorse those that support a healthy business climate. Key issues include education, crime, taxes, fiscal responsibility and other areas vital to the business community.

If you are interested in learning more about ROCPAC or desire to make a contribution to support its efforts, please feel free to contact me at eforsman@rockfordchamber.com.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

May 2013

Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen unveiled a county-wide collaborative crime initiative called “Knock Out Crime.”

State of the County Continued from front page

can do,” said Einar Forsman, president & CEO. “We hear from our members that they’re concerned about crime and the negative impact it has on business.

If people from outside the region feel we have a crime problem, they’re not going to come here and do business in our region.

We have to get on top of it, develop a plan and let them know they can do business here. It’s an initiative that we’re going to be involved with for quite some time.”

Christiansen’s speech included a video of community leaders addressing the cause of crime and the impact crime has in the community, including how it affects economic development.

Local leaders appearing in the video included Janyce Fadden, outgoing RAEDC executive director; Paul Logli, president and CEO of United Way of Rock River Valley; Dominic Iasparro, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief; Donny Parham, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputy; and Richard Meyers, Winnebago County Sheriff.

“It’s encouraging to see comprehensive steps in place and barriers being broken between groups so they can work together,” Fadden said. “It will take more than law enforcement groups to reduce crime in this area. For him to reach out to schools, social agencies and religious groups, all those together can help reduce crime.”

Chief Judge Joseph McGraw was in attendance and said Christiansen’s program can make an impact. “When we see individuals who appear in front of us, the damage has usually been done,” he said. “Our range of options is usually limited. There’s the punitive component for those who need to be punished. But the vast majority of offenders are going to re-enter the community. If we have a healthy and intact community, it increases

Andrea Ward, Market President for BMO Harris Bank, the Chamber’s Luncheon Series’ Presenting Sponsor.

John Groh of the RACVB connects with Stacy Bernardi at the State of the County Luncheon. the probability that those individuals can be reintegrated, which is our goal.”

Christiansen is planning future crime summits. In July, the initiative will center on preventing violence, and in October will focus on mental health and addiction.

“That shows me that the Chairman is committed long term to public safety and the improvement of the greater Winnebago County area,” McGraw said.

The presenting sponsor was BMO Harris Bank. Gold sponsors were Humana, SwedishAmerican Health System and AT&T. n

Let your Voice be heard The Rockford Chamber of Commerce ­ elcomes and encourages submissions for The w VOICE of the Rockford Business Community.

Deadline is the 15th of the month preceding publication. Send news releases and other ­ items of interest to the business community to: The VOICE Rockford Chamber of Commerce 308 W. State St., Ste. 190 Rockford, IL 61101

For information about advertising contact Customer Service at 815-987-8100.

The VOICE of the Rockford Business Community (USPS 784-120). ISSN number 1086-0630, is published monthly by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce, 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, Illinois 61101.

Periodicals postage paid at Rockford, Ill. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The VOICE of the Rockford Business Community, 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, IL 61101.

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Business Crime Prevention Tips n Make sure that security measures, such as lights, alarms, and security personnel, are not only in place but are clearly visible and activated. n Keep all areas used by patrons well-lighted to deter criminal activity. n Make sure that the main activities within your business can clearly be viewed from the street. n Check the parking lot for good lighting and unobstructed views. n Surveillance cameras can serve as a big deterrent to crime.

Be sure they are activated and in plain view at all times. n If you are ever the victim of a robbery, comply. Give up your money or your merchandise — don’t give up your life. n Know what to do in case of an emergency. Fire exits and evacuation routes should be clearly marked. Fire extinguishers and medical kits should be well stocked and checked regularly.

Plan drills so that all employees know what to do in case of an emergency. Have different emergency plans in place for different types of emergencies. n Get involved with the “Knock Out Crime” campaign and encourage other local businesses to do the same, www. knockoutcrime.com. n Learn how to be a good witness. Take note of gender, ethnicity, age, height, weight, hair color and length, and description of clothes and shoes. n Be sure to always report suspicious activity to local law enforcement officials and encourage your employees to do the same. n Remember to change the computer security codes and door codes/combinations when an employee who had access to it no longer is employed by your business.

Source: National Crime Prevention Council

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May 2013

Member Profile PROFILE

Lori Eickman and customer Jon Lang, a hog Eickman’s has seven smokehouses and recently farmer from South Beloit, chat at Eickman’s in Seward, Ill. The retail store is open to the public expanded its facility to 20,000 square feet. most days of the week.

Celebrating 60 years in business

Eickman’s Processing Company

By Paul Anthony Arco Tom Eickman had a knife in his hand at age five. At eight, he was working the serving line, passing out roast beef at company picnics. Family vacations meant trips to Kansas City, Milwaukee or Minneapolis, to attend a national meat association convention, where young Tom listened to physicians make presentations about chronic wasting disease or protein extraction. He loved every minute of it and still does.

Tom, along with parents Lori and Mike Eickman, are owners of Eickman’s Processing Co., a meat processing plant located in Seward, Ill. They bought the business from Mike’s father, Merlyn, in 1999. In June, Eickman’s is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The company will host an open house that will include plant tours and a pig roast.

“I like everything about this business,” said Tom, who joined the family company in 1994 and now takes his three-yearold son, Ashton, to meat conventions.

“I never know what each day is going to bring. I might be creating a new sausage, or chasing a lamb that’s escaped out the front door. The processing is fun, but it’s a lot of hard work.”

Family-Run Butcher Merlyn’s father, John, helped butcher livestock on local farms. In 1943, he purchased a creamery building to use as a slaughter facility. Merlyn and his brother worked there, before Merlyn took a job in Rockford to run Farmer’s Feed & Locker Company, which he later moved to Pecatonica. In 1964, his son Mike joined the business to help run operations and three years later, they moved Eickman’s to Seward.

Each week, Eickman’s slaughters an average of 40 to 50 cattle, 60 to 70 hogs, and half a dozen lambs. In addition, the company handles bison, farmed-raised deer, elk, bear and llamas. All livestock is slaughtered under USDA or FDA inspection.

“We have an inspector at our facility 40 hours per week, and we can’t slaughter

without him,” said Tom. “We process the livestock and by the time it’s done, it’s consumer ready and out the door. We do custom processing for farmers, where they provide the animal and we process it and return it to their customers, or we buy it and use it for our own sales.”

Eickman’s, which has 30 employees, has seen significant growth over the years.

The company has seven smokehouses and recently has expanded its facility to 20,000 square feet. It’s added catering, pig roasts, party trays, gift boxes and other products to its service line and cuts wholesale orders for local restaurants.

The business has won more than 400 state and national awards for its hams, bacon and national recognition for its dried beef. Merlyn, Mike and Tom have all served as president of the Illinois Association of Meat Processors. Merlyn and Mike have been president of the American Association of Meat Processors and are members of the Cured Meats Hall of Fame.

“What sets us apart is quality,” Tom said. “If I’m not going to eat it personally, I’m not going to send it to my customers.

I want to be proud of what we put in our display case.”

Each year, between 50 and 75 school FFA and 4H groups tour the plant, observing everything from slaughter to sausage making. “The youth is where the next leaders will come from,” Tom said. “Educating future leaders about our industry is important to us.”

Now retired, Merlyn stops by to visit the family business. “He’s extremely proud,” said Tom. “He gets to watch over what he started and see the next generation hard at work. You can see the pride in his eyes.”

Eickman’s Processing Co. Owners: Lori, Mike and Tom Eickman 3226 S. Pecatonica Road Seward, IL 61077 815-247-8451 www.eickmans.com

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Batter up! 2013 Stateline FastPitch Competition With the addition of the two Wisconsin events last year, which we assisted in facilitating, the competitions have attracted more than 100 potential entrepreneurs in the northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin region.

If you’ve never attended a FastPitch event, please consider doing so. It’s somewhat like watching the television show “Shark Tank,” only our judges are much nicer!

The 2012 Stateline FastPitch Competitions Ed Whittington, vice president of Rescue Access Tool (RAT), consisted of an demonstrates his product at the 2012 Stateline FastPitch interesting variety of Competition. winners including: MySecureDelivery, The

By Sherry Pritz, EIGERlab “RAT”, miPact, Ink Again, Renwig Custom, MobCraft Beer, It’s hard to believe that this year’s event will be the seventh-annual Stateline Prescient Audio, Accelerated Fastening, FastPitch Competition! FastPitch will be Novo Luggage and Environmental Health held on Wednesday, June 19 at NIU- Concepts. Although FastPitch comprises Rockford and will be open to the public companies at any stage, most of the 2012 at 5:30 p.m. Over the past six years, we’ve winners were well beyond the “idea on a had an average of 48 people compete napkin” stage -- some were already selling annually; totaling nearly 300 presenters. products or delivering services.

2013 Emerging Opportunities Fund investment announced The Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC) Leadership Council announced its investment of the 2013 Emerging Opportunities Fund in the Advancing Teaching & Learning — Building Education & Employer Partnerships project.

Brad Long, who is president of the Northwestern Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council, serves on the Alignment Rockford High School Pathways committee and the RAEDC Leadership Council and is chairman of the RAEDC Education Committee, sponsored the proposed project. The project will: 1. Advance teaching and learning through teacher professional development, student development and curriculum design, and 2. Build effective partnerships between educators and employers in the Rockford region.

“The Northwest Building Trades Association is proud to be the proposal sponsor, working with the RAEDC Leadership Council, the Rockford School Board, administration and teachers, and the community, to improve career and college readiness for all Rockford public high school students,” Long said.

“Leadership Council has witnessed the successful efforts of implementing the High School Redesign in RPS 205,” said Steve Ward, chair of the RAEDC Leadership Council and president of Riverside Community Bank. “We know that continuing to support these efforts for an additional year will help move this project forward at the pace necessary to achieve success.”

About the Fund The Emerging Opportunities Fund is designed for discretionary investment in mutually-agreed-upon, forward-thinking initiatives that will leverage positive change for economic development of the Rockford Region.

Possible investment strategies for the fund include: (1) projects to move and shape public opinion on sensitive issues relating to the region’s capacity to grow such as infrastructure, education funding or other public policy opportunities; (2) focused efforts to remove stubborn or difficult barriers to growth; and (3) large-scale projects that capture the community’s imagination and enhance quality of life for the entire region.

Two National Product Launches EIGERlab is delighted to share that two of the 2012 FastPitch presenters, NZ3 Inc., and Prescient Audio have national product launches slated within the next 90 days. This indeed is very exciting for our community and the region. NZ3 Inc.’s product is a revolutionary threeposition nozzle, a stand-out hairstyling tool that gives ultimate control with the utmost comfort for the user. Prescient Audio’s disruptive technology includes the thinnest, coolest, lightest loudspeakers you’ve ever seen in three markets — mobile audio, home audio and pro audio.

It’s exhilarating to watch a client, who has used EIGERlab’s tools,

succeed. When entrepreneurs partner with EIGERlab’s group of professionals for both business and product development, including integrating the essential components of EIGERlab’s Center for Product Development — engineering, CAD drawings and 3D printing — the results are stunning.

Many entrepreneurs find themselves ready to go to market within an amazingly short amount of time.

This year’s competitions once again will be a regional effort: Racine/ Kenosha counties’ FastPitch event is scheduled for Sept. 21 (UW-Parkside) and Rock/Walworth counties’ event will be in the fall. Let’s play ball!

Social media’s role in your business

By Terrance Hall, RAEDC It’s becoming very apparent that the advent of social media is more than merely a fad that soon will pass.

Evidence of this can be found in the 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, which states that 94 percent of businesses that have a marketing department now use social media as part of their marketing strategy. What’s not so apparent, however, is how to go about identifying a social media platform that is the best fit for your business (as it relates to industries served, target market and business model) and how to measure the return on time invested.

More insight regarding these and many more questions can be found in the full Social Media Marketing Industry Report at www.socialmediaexaminer. com/SocialMediaMarketingIndustry Report 2012.pdf.

Business Networking for Manufacturers Occasionally, the Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC) gets requests from businesses looking to source services or products from within our region. For manufacturing services, it can prove very difficult to suggest a company that can supply a part to strict specifications, fabricate a specific material, or provide certain manufacturing services, because capabilities vary greatly from company to company, even when they have the means to perform the same processes. In addition to sifting through company names and trying to recall who has what capabilities, we would like to present

these opportunities directly to local manufacturers as they come.

The Rockford Area Manufacturers group (RAM) will provide the perfect platform to share these opportunities.

RAM is a professional networking platform available through LinkedIn. It will allow the RAEDC to communicate directly with area manufacturers quickly and effectively, thereby streamlining access to opportunities and information. But the primary function of the group is to be a peer-to-peer channel, letting manufacturers exchange ideas, requests for services, industry reports, articles, recognitions, achievements and suggestions amongst themselves.

As a region, we share more than just the same location. We also share similar problems. Social media provides a unique platform to share solutions, ideas and knowledge as well. This will aid in creating a more robust business climate in our region.

Join the RAM Group LinkedIn is the leading online professional directory of companies and individuals. To join RAM, you first must be signed up to LinkedIn, which is free, and then: ■■ connect with me on LinkedIn, expressing interest through a message, or ■■ search for Rockford Area Manufacturers under “groups” and request to join.

Terrance Hall is business development specialist at the RAEDC.

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8M Straighten and Cut Machine

IMEC Success Story

Wire manufacturer draws on technology to boost efficiency company-wide “We just couldn’t run the company on a napkin anymore.”

When the informal procedures that worked fine during his company’s early days began to prove inefficient, Drawing Technology President Chuck Schooley turned to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to integrate and automate the flow of information — and with funding support from IMEC, quickly began to reap the benefits.

A manufacturer of machinery for wire goods, fasteners, bearings and other wire-based product industries (“Basically, anything that’s made out of wire goes through our machines,” Schooley explained), Drawing Technology got its start in 2000.

Initially, the company’s customer base was located within 300 miles of its Rockford headquarters — but today, 60 percent of products are sold outside the United States, with some clients as far as 8,000 miles away.

As the company grew, its operations became more and more complex.

“Sales, engineering, purchasing, accounting, manufacturing — they were all running their own individual systems,” Schooley said. “Orders had to be hand-carried from one department to another, creating lots of redundancy and inefficiency. We knew we needed to do something differently.”

After exploring various options, Schooley and his team landed on an ERP system from Global Shop Solutions, which was implemented company-wide in 2012. IMEC helped Drawing Technology secure the grant funding that paid for the critical training portion of the project.

“From a funding perspective, we were looking for any kind of help we could get,” Schooley said. “IMEC made it easy — we just had to fill out a few forms and document our progress.”

With the ERP system up and running and employees trained on its use, it didn’t take long for Drawing Technology to begin noticing significant improvements.

“We revamped our shop floor at the same time we implemented the ERP system, and the combination of those two efforts has made us much more efficient,” Schooley said. “We’ve seen a 10 to 15 percent reduction in overtime company-wide while still shipping the same amount of product.

We’ve had on-time deliveries for the past three months, when they typically run two to three weeks behind in our industry.”

Schooley also expects bottom-line benefits to follow soon — particularly since the ERP system implementation should allow Drawing Technology to add sales with both existing and new customers.

“We knew there were more potential sales out there, but before implementing this system, we thought we were running at capacity,” he said. “Now we know we can do more.

We’re aiming for a 30 percent increase in capacity, which is huge for our company.”

As his company continues to grow, Schooley plans to keep IMEC in his corner. “Having someone to support you in this kind of thing is great,” he said. “We’d do it again in a minute, and we’re keeping our eyes open for more opportunities.”

Lean New Product Development — an innovative way to design, produce Step-by-step methodology for integrating lean tools with product development

amy fitzgerald IMEC

The ability to develop new proprietary is a mandate products or quickly refine an existing for virtually any portfolio can be the difference between firm, particularly with respect to new market stagnation and capitalizing on product introductions. new growth opportunities.

The design methods and principles Many companies have the in-house can help companies overcome challenges capabilities to develop and commercialize regarding time to market, portfolio new products, but often need strategic management, design and development guidance to reduce manufacturing steps, resources, and new product cost. develop prototypes, and ensure that the The workshops can expose a company effort pays back with profitable sales. to an ideal New Product Development Companies that utilize a structured Process that easily can be scaled to approach to new product development have a 400 percent increased probability of success with new products, 25 percent increased probability of being first to market, and a 66 percent reduction in Generating ideas and processes for time to market. new products can be a challenge.

Generating ideas and processes for new products can be a challenge caused by a sporadic their size and need, while providing or chaotic innovation process, or non- insight and tools to begin the journey value added engineering activities, to transform their product design and both of which result in a less-than-fluid development activity into a low waste, process for creating fresh concepts or high value, lean process. renewed designs.

During the introductory workshop, IMEC manufacturing specialists present Workshop for Going Lean companies with an overview of the In an effort to help streamline service, exploring methods and tools facility activities and optimize product that can help with product development and idea generation, IMEC offers challenges.

More details can be found on the Lean New Product Development via an introductory workshop for IMEC website, or by contacting your local IMEC representative at 888-806manufacturers.

The “quick start” Lean Product 4632. Exploration workshops in your Development workshops provide a step- manufacturing facility could unearth an by-step methodology for integrating the amazing new journey in your products’ powerful waste eliminating tools of lean development! Contact us today. product development into any product development process. And in the current Amy Fitzgerald is marketing manager at economic climate, doing more with less IMEC. Manufacturing Update is sponsored by IMEC

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travel throughout the health system, their records follow them, providing medical staff easy access to their entire medical history.”

OSF also is in the top 10 percent of the nation’s hospitals in the rate of EMR adoption.

Employing the European Model

Rajbir Dhillon, M.D, and Bryan Tully, M.D., get electronic medical record training from Bryan West and Amy Hill at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center. Photo by David Friedrich.

Health Care

Continued from front page launch. With a full year in planning, the “big bang” to go live with Epic health care software came all at once, said project leader David Stenerson, vice president/chief financial officer.

The ambulatory care side of the system already had been using Epic for a year.

“Electrifying” patients’ medical records at all levels of care, and the implementation of practices such as physician CPOE (computerized provider order entry), came as a big cultural change for everyone involved,” he said.

This year in April, Rockford Health System also completed a system-wide implementation of Epic. Phase one of this implementation already had taken place with Rockford Health Physicians two years ago.

The system-wide effort by Rockford Health System required a team of more than 450 IT, clinical and financial professionals, and the training of more than 2,000 health care professionals in its particular brand of patient care documentation. “It has taken a village to implement this system for sure,” said Dennis L’Heureux, senior vice president/chief information officer.

He said stabilizing the implementation process would take the rest of 2013.

L’Heureux brought the idea of Epic to the health system’s board of directors in April, 2010. He said Epic, headquartered in Verona, Wis., currently is drawing some of the brightest minds in the IT industry -- which underscores the importance of health IT in the world of software technology. Epic’s founder Judy Faulkner currently is #249 on the list of U.S. Forbes billionaires.

“We are part of an elite group, joining just 10 percent of hospitals in the nation with fully integrated electronic medical records throughout the entire health system,” said Gary Kaatz, Rockford Health System’s president and CEO. “Now, as patients

What’s This About ‘Meaningful Use?’ Meaningful use encourages the increasingly sophisticated use of EHRs, with criteria and timelines broken into three stages over five years. Health care providers must demonstrate specific meaningful use criteria to qualify for an incentive payment through the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.

OSF is addressing stage three criterion, “patient access to self management tools,” with the implementation of MyHealth, a password-protected portal that gives patients the ability to access their health information and schedule and manage appointments. “We’re working on engaging patients in their own care,” said Mika Doyle, OSF’s social media coordinator. Doyle also is developing social media tools as another means to provide patients with relevant health information.

Rockford Health System offers a similar patient portal with MyChart.

Three Stages of Meaningful Use ■■ Data capture and sharing (20112012) ■■ Electronically capturing health information in a standardized format ■■ Using that information to track key clinical conditions

■■ Communicating that information for care coordination processes ■■ Initiating the reporting of clinical quality measures and public health information ■■ Using information to engage patients and their families in their care ■■ Advance clinical processes (2014) ■■ More rigorous health information exchange (HIE) ■■ Increased requirements for e-prescribing and incorporating lab results ■■ Electronic transmission of patient care summaries across multiple settings ■■ More patient-controlled data ■■ Improved outcomes (2016) ■■ Improving quality, safety, and efficiency, leading to improved health outcomes ■■ Decision support for national high-priority conditions ■■ Patient access to selfmanagement tools ■■ Access to comprehensive patient data through patientcentered HIE ■■ Improving population health Source: healthit.gov

SwedishAmerican Health System in Rockford has used a different strategy in implementing electronic health records system-wide, according to Phil Wasson, president & CEO of TriRivers Health Partners, a healthcare IT organization jointly sponsored by SwedishAmerican and FHN in Freeport.

“We decided, ‘let’s use the system and expertise we have and leverage the idea of the health information exchange (HIE).’” SwedishAmerican Health System uses Epic for outpatient records, and Meditech on its hospital side.

According to Wasson, 23 European Union countries have used HIEs successfully in their managed health care. In the latest stage, operational since 2012, health care providers that are part of European Patients Smart Open Services (epSOS) can share patient records across country borders in a concept called “cross-border interoperability.”

“The health information exchange piece is going to have to look like Europe’s in order to work,” Wasson said. “Europe has been able to control costs through this use of methods to manage health care costs, of which HIE is part of that process.” He gave the example of Germany, which has experienced health expenditures of 11.6 percent of GDP in 2010, compared to the United States’ 17.9 percent, according to the World Health Organization. Projections are that health expenditures in the United States will grow to 19.3 percent by the end of the decade.

Wasson is working on a similar model, which allows for health information exchange regardless of the underlying EMR software system used, for the region’s health care providers, including Crusader Community Health, Rockford Gastroenterology Associates, FHN, and other health care systems in northern Illinois and Wisconsin. He said patients will have the right to opt out of participation in the HIE, but ultimately that may impact the cost of care.

OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and Rockford Health System both use an HIE feature of Epic called Care Everywhere, which allows for the transfer of patients’ records across other EPIC-based health providers.

However both intend to supplement this function by participating in the regional HIE. “The whole system will be designed to help providers make better decisions, using more information available at the point of care,” Wasson said. “It also will help in making better decisions on

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

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May 2013

the use of health care resource on a regional and global level.”

Improving Best Practices According to Stenerson, L’Heureux, Wasson, and other leaders in the health IT industry, there are many advantages in the use of electronic health records (EHRs).

Long gone are the metal filling cabinets filled with paper charts.

“Being electronic, the information is protected from loss from events such as flood, theft and fire,” Stenerson said.

“With passwords, “we can ensure that this is protected health information that we guard tightly.”

“The health information exchange piece is going to have to look like Europe’s in order to work.”

“This project represents one of the last feathers in my professional cap,” says Rockford Health System’s Dennis L’Heureux, who in 2006 was named a Premier 100 IT Leader in Computerworld magazine. care professionals of specific tasks

and will make rounding on patients

thing for patients at the right time. The

to reduce their chances for developing conditions like decubitus ulcers (bedsores).

“I’m excited about the transition,” said Hugh McHugh, a physician with Rockford Health System. “There will be a learning curve in the beginning, but in the end it will be more efficient,

Quality Patient Care? Prove It

cost of care.”

In 2012, OSF HealthCare became one of 32 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), participating in the Pioneer ACO Model by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation.

Centers that participate in the threeyear pilot project must prove they are meeting preset clinical standards to be fully reimbursed by Medicare. To do this, centers must have a seamless way to capture quality patient care data.

The list of clinical standards is lengthy and includes initiatives such as reducing infections due to surgical procedures or ventilator use, reducing 30-day readmissions rates for specific heart/pulmonary patients, and minimizing emergency department wait times. Other initiatives touch on influenza immunizations, screening for fall risks, tobacco screening and cessation, body mass index screening and follow-up, and pneumonia vaccinations for patients 65 and older.

The use of EHRs has made it possible to report on quality patient care with specific data. “We would not be nearly as effective as an ACO without the EHR foundational building block,” Stenerson said. n

— Phil Wasson, president & CEO that need to be performed, such as easier because all of my information sharing of clinical information will of TriRivers Health Partners. turning immobilized patients, in order will be in one place.” greatly help improve the quality and EHRs have given medical providers the ability to improve care with regular updates on evidence-based best practices, and the ability to set up standardized, evidence-based order sets for a variety of critical medical conditions. This type of information traditionally has been culled from medical research journals, informal communications between practitioners, and medical conferences.

Now physicians, nurses and other health care professionals receive best practices updates electronically, at the point of care.

EHRs also have allowed for the transmission of information such as diagnostic test results in nearly real time to practitioners, allowing them to make quicker diagnostic and treatment decisions.

With medication bar coding, similar to what is seen at grocery store checkout lines, the incidence of medication errors has been reduced and transcription costs lowered.

Information loaded into the system has helped health care professionals in educating patients and preparing for discharge. Alerts pop up, reminding

“In addition to the ability to exchange data, electronic health records have given us the ability to capture data,” TriRivers’ Wasson said. “We can produce reports that demonstrate that we are doing the right

Illinois-based OSF HealthCare joins Mayo Clinic Care Network Mayo Clinic announced in April that OSF HealthCare and OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford will become the newest member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

Photo by Michelle Schrieber Mayo launched the network Dave Schertz, president and CEO of OSF in 2011 to help people gain the Saint Anthony Medical Center, speaks with benefits of Mayo Clinic knowledge the media about OSF HealthCare becoming and expertise close to home, ensuring that patients travel for the newest member of the Mayo Clinic care only when necessary. It now Care Network. has member organizations based in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Puerto Rico.

OSF physicians now will be able to connect directly with Mayo Clinic specialists using an electronic consulting technique called eConsults and have access to the latest Mayo-vetted medical information through AskMayoExpert, an online database developed and used by Mayo Clinic physicians.

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May 2013

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

PROFILE

Board Member Profile

Positive changes, adaptability have added value to my work What do you want to contribute as part of the Chamber board?

I want to bring energy and momentum that will help move forward the many important issues the Rockford Chamber faces.

Why do you think the Chamber is important to business and the community?

It gives business people from all walks of life a chance to network, share ideas and work on community issues that need attention.

What is the name/purpose of your business?

BMO Harris Bank. We are here to help businesses and individuals achieve their goals in new and strategic ways.

What are your business background/responsibilities?

I am a graduate of Indiana University.

I have lived and worked in several states in banking and consulting. I now am one of the three leaders of BMO Harris Bank in Rockford; leading the business banking team at our hub at 501 7th St. Andrea Ward leads retail banking, and Kathy Weber leads private banking.

What in your career has had the greatest impact on you?

I have grown and learned the most in difficult situations. By adapting and committing to making changes, my value to the organizations I have served has improved immensely.

What trend is most strongly impacting your industry?

Technology. Technology should improve the transactional part of

banking — not replace michele Petrie bankers and BMO Harris Bank the good advice they provide.

My bank is working to make sure our clients understand the difference between a transaction and a value-based relationship.

What recent technology innovation has the greatest impact on your life?

My smart phone, because it lets me be flexible. I can work, while balancing my family life.

Avoid becoming a victim of identity theft It’s important for both individuals and businesses to make identity theft prevention a part of everyday life.

Identity theft continues to be a growing crime in the United States. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), nearly 9 million adults in the United States are victims of some form of identity theft each year.

While this statistic is based upon a national figure, it does hit close to home. For 2008, Illinois was ranked 11th in the United States for number of identity theft victims (per 100,000 unit of population). The FTC also received reports of child identity theft cases.

Alpine Bank offers a number of identity theft and other important security tips for businesses and individuals on its website. For more information, visit www.bankalpine.com/ security.

If you could be or do anything else — what?

Identity Theft Prevention Tips

A pilot. I love to travel and aviation is fascinating to me.

Safeguard yourself and your family with the following tips:

What one word would you use to describe yourself?

n Shred any papers with confidential information before you throw them out, including junk mail. Anything with an account number can be used in identity theft. This includes prescreened credit card offers, receipts, canceled checks, bank statements, expired charge cards, doctors’ bills and insurance documents.

Thoughtful.

What movie would you recommend right now and why?

I loved the movie “Zero Dark Thirty” because it was action packed, suspenseful and left me feeling good about my country. I was born on an Army base in Alabama, so I am a sucker for a good military story.

What are you most proud of?

My family. My husband, three children, my English Mastiff, my mother, brother, uncle, cousin and nieces and nephews -- all of whom are here in Rockford. I work hard never to take any of our time together for granted.

n Protect your Social Security number.

Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet or write your Social Security number on a check. Give it out only if absolutely necessary or ask to use another identifier. Few institutions — businesses granting you credit, employers filling out tax forms for you, or government agencies — have any reasonable cause to know your Social Security number. n Carry as few cards with identification and personal information as possible.

Many identity thefts are traced to having a purse or wallet stolen. n Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through email or over the Internet unless you know who you are dealing with. Unless you initiated the contact with the business, don’t give out any confidential information — such as your credit card number, Social Security number, bank account numbers, PIN, birth date, or even your mother’s maiden name. n Check your banking and credit statements as soon as you receive them and make sure there is no unexplained activity.

See Page 22 in this issue for more details!

n Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails. Instead, type in a web address you know. Use firewalls, anti-spyware and anti-virus software to protect your

home computer. Keep them up-to-date. n Don’t use an obvious password like your birth date, your mother’s maiden name, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. n Keep your personal information in a secure place at home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help or are having work done in your house.

Don’t keep Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) near your checkbook, ATM card or debit card. n Request a credit report from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies every year.

Many people don’t realize they are victims of identity theft until long after the initial crime occurred. Identity thieves often try to hide the crimes for as long as possible, so that they can access more money. To stop the crimes as soon as possible, make sure you carefully check your credit reports regularly. Your credit reports are important tools for limiting the amount of damage a thief can cause. To request your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport. com. Visit www.ftc.gov/freereports to learn more about requesting your free credit report.

For more information about avoiding identity theft, visit: n The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) n OnGuard Online - the Federal Trade Commission’s web site about Internet fraud and security tips n Identity Theft Resource Center n Illinois Attorney General’s Identity Theft Hotline

Steps for Victims of Identity Theft If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, please follow these important steps. n Report the fraud immediately to your creditors including your bank, credit card companies and mortgage company n Place a fraud alert on your credit report. To do so, contact the three major credit bureaus: n Equifax, 800-685-1111, www.equifax.com n Experian, 888-397-3742, www.experian.com n TransUnion, 800-888-4213, www.transunion.com n Notify Social Security fraud hotline, 800-269-0271, www.ssa.gov n File a police report n Notify the Federal Trade Commission, 877-438-4338, www.ftc. gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

MAY 2013

Guest Perspective INSIGHT

Retiring with confidence Financial success comes with discipline I’ve found that as I mature, I have really been trying to maximize my health, career, life experiences and especially my retirement savings.

While I love what I do, I also want to be able to have a healthy, happy life after I retire. I read a startling statistic that women are 70 percent more likely to spend their retirement in poverty than men. This statistic has motivated me to write about the importance of financial awareness, especially in terms of retirement preparedness.

How can we become more aware of retirement savings? Take the first step by becoming more conscious of your future. It may seem like a long way off, but try preparing a budget for your future and setting clear rules for your finances now. For example, if you want to travel, own a Corvette or golf everyday when you retire, create a budget for it, but expect the unexpected and plan for emergencies.

Figuring How Much to Put Aside After you’ve identified how much you need for your retirement, the next step is to save for it. How much should you be putting aside for retirement?

How much you set aside depends on your personal circumstances, but aiming for 12 to 15 percent of your annual pay (in addition to any employer 401(k) matching) may be a good place to start. Many experts say you’ll need roughly 70 to 80 percent of your current annual income to live comfortably in retirement. Keep in mind, this doesn’t account for inflation, family or healthcare issues or possible emergencies.

Saving for retirement can force you to face a really tough choice: save as much money as possible today and await your “retirement reward,” or give in to the urge to spend now and possibly end up sacrificing retiring with financial security.

The Marshmallow Study How can we incorporate patience and discipline into our retirement savings plan, especially in a world compelling us to succumb to our spending urges? An interesting study was performed in the 1960s at Stanford University by psychology researcher, Walter Mischel, to test the benefits of delayed gratification. The study tested the willpower of a group of four-yearolds. Each child was given the choice to eat one marshmallow immediately or wait 15 to 20 minutes to get two marshmallows.

Lisa Berlage Can you Wipfli Hewins guess how many kids were able to wait and receive the reward of a second marshmallow? Only 30 percent of the children were able to wait for their reward. How were 30 percent of them able to resist eating it immediately? The children who were able to wait didn’t totally remove the desire to consume the treat, but instead found ways to distract themselves from the temptation.

What does a marshmallow really have to do with financial success anyway? According to Mischel, the subjects that were able to wait for the greater reward of two marshmallows were more able to overcome adversity and had the persistence to tackle their goals as adults, which he claimed correlated with having higher salaries and being more satisfied professionally.

The marshmallow study is an example of the benefits of discipline – an important aspect of investing for retirement. Even as an adult, you may still find resisting sugary treats to be a challenge. However, trying to save and not spend money can be even tougher!

So we all have a choice, do we spend our earnings (eat that marshmallow now) or do we delay gratification (save and invest for retirement) and reap the rewards of compounding marshmallows, ahem, returns?

Lisa Berlage, MBA, CFP®, is senior associate consultant with Wipfli Hewins Investment Advisors, LLC. The views expressed are those of Berlage’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

Hewins Financial Advisors, LLC and Wipfli Hewins Investment Advisors, LLC (together referred to as “Hewins”) are independent, fee-only investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The views expressed by the author are the author’s alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Hewins or its affiliates. The standard information provided in this article is for general educational purposes only and should not be construed as, or used as a substitute for, financial, investment, or other professional advice. If you have questions regarding your financial situation you should consult your financial planner, investment advisor, attorney or other professional. Hewins is a proud affiliate of Wipfli LLP. A copy of Hewins’ current ADV Part 2A discussing Hewins’ investment advisory and financial planning services and fees is available for review upon request.

FOCUS ON BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

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MAY 2013 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

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theVoice rockfordchamber.com

focus on banking & financial sErVicEs

MAY 2013

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Guest Perspective INSIGHT

The search for income today

Use a combination of investments to fund future retirement income needs

One of the challenges of investing during retirement is providing for annual income while balancing other considerations, such as liquidity, how long you need your funds to last, your risk tolerance, and anticipated rates of return for various types of investments. A wellthought-out asset allocation in retirement is essential. While income investments alone are unlikely to meet all your needs, it’s important to understand some of the most common investments that can provide income as part of your overall investment strategy.

Bonds: Retirement’s Traditional Backbone A bond portfolio can help you address investment goals in multiple ways. Buying individual bonds (which essentially are IOUs) at their face values and holding them to maturity can provide a predictable income stream and the assurance that unless a bond issuer defaults, you’ll receive the principal when the bond matures. (Bear in mind that if a bond is callable, it may be redeemed early, and you would have to replace that income.)

You also can buy bonds through mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Depending on your circumstances, funds may provide greater diversification at a lower cost than individual bonds.

However, a bond fund has no specific maturity date, and therefore behaves differently from an individual bond, though like an individual bond, its price typically moves in the opposite direction from interest rates.

Think About Bond Maturities Bond prices can drop when interest rates and/or inflation rise, because their fixed income will buy less over time.

While income investments alone are unlikely to meet all your needs, it’s important to understand some of the most common investments that can provide income.

Inflation affects prices of long-term bonds the most. One way to keep a bond portfolio flexible is to use so-called laddering: buying bonds with various maturities. As each matures, its proceeds can be reinvested. If bond yields are up, you benefit from higher rates; if yields are down, you have the option of choosing a different maturity or investment.

Certificates of Deposit/ Savings Accounts Certificates of deposit (CDs), which offer a fixed interest rate for a specific time period, usually pay higher interest than a regular savings account, and you typically can have interest paid at regularly scheduled intervals. A CD can be rolled over to a new CD or another investment when it matures, though you may not get the same interest rate, and you’ll pay a penalty if you cash it in early.

A high-yield savings account also pays interest, and, like a CD, is FDIC-insured up to $250,000.

Stocks Offering Dividends Dividend-paying stocks, as well as mutual funds and ETFs that invest in them, also can provide income. Because dividends on common stock are subject to the company’s performance and a decision by its board of directors each quarter, they may not be as predictable as income from a bond. However, dividends on preferred stock are different. The rate is fixed, and they’re paid before any dividend is available for common stockholders. That fixed payment means that prices of preferred stocks tend to

behave somewhat like bonds.

Preferred shares usually pay a higher dividend rate than common shares, and though most preferred stockholders do not have voting rights, their claims on the company’s assets will be satisfied before those of common stockholders if the company has financial difficulties.

However, a company often is permitted to call in preferred shares at a predetermined future date, and preferred stockholders do not participate in a company’s growth as fully as common shareholders would.

Pass-through Securities/REITs Some investments are designed to act as a conduit for income from underlying assets. For example, mortgage-related securities represent an ownership interest in mortgage loans made by financial institutions. The most basic of these, known as pass-throughs, represent a direct ownership interest in a trust that consists of a pool of mortgages. Examples of pass-throughs include securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and the Federal National Mortgage Association.

Certain types of investment trusts -- for example, REITs that buy, develop, manage, or sell real estate – don’t owe taxes as long as they pay out at least 90 percent of their net income to investors.

That payout has traditionally made them popular as an income vehicle and portfolio diversifier (though diversification alone does not guarantee a profit or ensure against a loss). There are many types of REITs, so be sure you understand how

anthony j. Pozzi

the one you Rockford Bank & Trust choose functions before investing.

Annuities for Lifetime Income Variable annuities and Fixed-index annuities (also referred to as equityindexed annuities) can be useful options for retirement savings because interest earnings are tax-deferred until withdrawn.

These annuities also can be converted to a stream of income payments that can last for the rest of your life (annuitization).

However, annuitization generally requires that you exchange your annuity account balance for income payments.

Due to growing demand for additional income options, many issuers are offering a rider, called a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB), to variable annuities and fixed-index annuities that allows you to get lifetime income payments while continuing to have access to the annuity’s remaining cash value.

Today’s Challenge To meet today’s challenge of a low-interest rate environment, using a combination of the above income generating investment alternatives is proving to be a way to meet income needs of retirees. New ways to help you translate savings into income constantly are being created. These are only a few of the many possibilities, and there’s more to understand about each.

Anthony J. Pozzi is a vice president at Rockford Bank & Trust and a financial advisor with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., specializing in retirement income and distribution planning.

The views expressed are those of Pozzi’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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FOCUS ON BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

Key Legislation

MAY 2013 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Issues to Watch LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Financial/Taxes The following is current Illinois legislation in financial services and taxes, and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s positions.

FINANCIAL SERVICES State Community Bank (HB0007) Establishes a state-run community bank of Illinois.

Sponsor: Rep. Flowers (D-Chicago) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose IRA Program (HB2461) Establishes an automatic Individual Retirement Account program for employees of employers that have not offered a qualified retirement plan within the last two years.

Sponsor: Rep. Mell (D-Chicago) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose

TAXES False Claims (HB0074) Prohibits any court jurisdiction over a civil action relating to a false claim regarding certain tax acts administered by the Department of Revenue, unless the action is brought by the Attorney General. Chamber Initiative.

Sponsor: Rep. Zalewski (D-Riverside) Status: Referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Support Cell Phone Commission Tax (HB0155/ SB1743) In regards to cell phones, the “selling price” and “gross receipts” do not include consideration paid by a thirdparty cellular service provider. Prohibits a tax on the commission of cell phones at retail stores.

Sponsor: Rep. Hays (R-Danville)/Sen. Rose (R-Campaign) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee/Postponed in Revenue Illinois Chamber Position: Support EDGE Tax Credit Refundable (HB0967) Any credit awarded under EDGE may exceed the tax liability for the year the credit is computed. Provides that

excess credit amounts may be carried forward and applied to the tax liability of the five taxable years following the excess credit year or refunded to the taxpayer.

Sponsor: Rep. Beiser (D-Alton) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Support Space Property Tax (HB1053) Taxes land not as open land, but at full cash value.

Sponsor: Rep. Sullivan (R-Mundelein) Status: Placed on calendar second reading – short debate Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose Income Tax Reduction (HB1064) Reduces the rate of tax to 3% for individuals, trusts and estates, and 4.8% for corporations.

Sponsor: Rep. Moylan (D-Des Plaines) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Support Training Expense Credit (HB1072) Reinstates the training expense credit for tax years. Increases the amount of the credit from 1.6% of training expenses to 2% of training expenses.

Sponsor: Rep. Lang (D-Skokie) Status: Referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Support

R&D Tax Credit (HB1204) Makes R&D tax credit permanent.

Sponsor: Rep. Sosnowski (R-Rockford) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Support EDGE Credits (HB1336) Changes how the EDGE credit is administered by moving approval of EDGE credits to a new Economic Development Board appointed by the Governor, limiting the amount and duration of the credit, and capping the total amount of EDGE credits to be awarded in FY 2014 to $100 million.

Sponsor: Rep. Franks (D-Woodstock) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose EDGE Tax Incentive Payments (HB1500) Makes R&D tax credit permanent.

Sponsor: Rep. Kay (R-Edwardsville)

Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Support Income Tax Carryover (HB1510) Provides that no net loss carryover deduction shall exceed $100,000 for any taxable year ending on or after Dec. 31, 2012 and prior to Dec. 31, 2013 (instead of Dec. 31, 2014).

Sponsor: Rep. Wheeler (R-Fox Lake) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Support

Financial Transaction Tax (HB1554) Imposes a 1% tax on the value of all financial transactions at all the Chicago exchanges.

Sponsor: Rep. Flowers (D-Chicago) Status: Placed on calendar order of first reading, April 10 Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose Petroleum Exemption (HB2499) Provides changes to petroleum products to allow exemptions to fuel and petroleum products sold to or used by an aircraft carrier.

Sponsor: Rep. Currie (D-Chicago) and Rep. Harris (R-Mount Prospect) Status: Placed on calendar second reading – short debate Illinois Chamber Position: Support Electric Utility Invested Capital Tax (HB2558) Would remove the (indexed) tax cap limiting the amount of invested capital tax paid by electric utilities.

The cap was created in 1998 as part of electricity deregulation and was intended to prevent a large increase in taxes for electric providers. Amounts paid in over the cap amount currently are credited back to the utilities and consumers receive the benefit of the credit through the formula rate mechanism. Removing the cap will result in higher electrical costs to consumers.

Sponsor: Rep. Bradley (D-Marion) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose Use Tax/OCC Electricity (HB2559) Amends the various sales tax acts to provide that electricity, natural or artificial gas, and water delivered through pipes, pipelines or mains are not tangible personal property subject to sales tax and the producers of electric, natural gas or water service are not manufacturers for purposes of the machinery and equipment exemption.

This is a Department of Revenue initiative to limit the scope of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Exelon decision, which held that electricity was tangible personal property for certain income tax purposes.

Sponsor: Rep. Bradley (D-Marion) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose Property Tax Recapture (HB2901) Protects refund monies due to commercial and industrial taxpayers who challenge property tax assessments they believe to be

inaccurate and gives new fiscal tools to local taxing districts faced with substantial refunds when a large commercial or industrial taxpayer successfully challenges their property tax assessment. Chamber initiative.

Sponsor: Rep. Zalewski (D-Riverside) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Support ROTA Sourcing (HB3249) Changes the way retailers source their sales for purposes of determining the appropriate local sales tax rate. In place of the current law, which simply looks to where the purchase order is accepted, HB 3249 would require retailers to implement a much more difficult method that requires analyzing 12 different criteria and considering the degree to which each activity occurs at a particular location — with no one activity being determinative — to determine in which municipality or county the sale takes place.

Sponsor: Rep. Franks (D-Woodstock) Status: Rule 19(a)/Re-referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose Graduated Income Tax (HJRCA0002) Will result in a higher income tax for all employees.

Sponsor: Rep. Jakobsson (D-Champaign)/Rep. Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora) Status: Referred to Rules Committee Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose Tax Cap Amendment (SB0043) Provides that a new rate may not exceed the statutory ceiling above which the tax is not authorized to be increased applies only for levy years 2005 through 2012.

Sponsor: Sen. Lightford (D-Maywood) Status: Postponed – Revenue Illinois Chamber Position: Oppose Property Tax Objection (SB1403) States that if a taxpayer objects to all or any part of a property tax assessment, the taxpayer may choose to pay all of the tax due or pay the amount of tax due for the year minus the amount attributed to any portion of the amount of the reduction in assessed value.

Amendment No. 1 provides that if the requested in assessed valuation is greater than 25%, the taxpayer shall pay at least 75% of the tax due.

Sponsor: Sen. Noland (D-Elgin) and Sen Althoff (R-McHenry) Status: Placed on calendar order of second reading, March 21 Illinois Chamber Position: Support Social Security Number Protection (SB2243) Aims at eliminating the requirement in the Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act (ROTA) that corporate officers must submit their personal Social Security number on the ROTA registration forms.

Chamber Initiative.

Sponsor: Sen. Holmes (D-Aurora) Status: Placed on calendar order of second reading, March 14 Illinois Chamber Position: Support

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

FOCUS ON BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

MAY 2013

15

Guest Perspective INSIGHT

Ticking time bomb A critical handoff in leadership There is a ticking time bomb that could undermine economic development in our region. It is not foreign competition, the nearly $100 billion in unfunded Illinois pension debt or the inability of local employers to find qualified candidates for vacancies.

Although economic development efforts concentrate on recruitment and retention, the ticking time bomb is a powerful force that could suck much needed jobs, civic leadership, wealth and philanthropy out of the community.

We could be stuck with another generation of empty buildings. The ticking time bomb is the fact that more than 60 percent of closely-held and family-owned businesses expect a change in leadership or ownership in the next 10 years as Baby Boomers retire.

The Amerocks, Textrons, Barber Colmans, and other global giants, long ago reduced or eliminated many of their operations in the Rockford area.

Family- and closely-held businesses now comprise the backbone of our local economy. Nationally, more than 90 percent of all businesses are closely-held or family-owned, and a full 80 percent of those have 20 employees or less. Nearly 60 percent of the U.S. workforce is employed by these enterprises, and according to the Small Business Administration, three quarters of all new jobs are created by these small businesses. Our stake is obvious in having a robust and vibrant small business community.

Survival Through the Generations Family-held businesses face a demographic tsunami. The pace of retirement may accelerate as Boomers conclude they are ready to throw in the towel -- the Great Recession having left them tired and discouraged. The ability of these businesses to thrive or

Family-held businesses face a demographic tsunami.

The ability of these businesses to thrive or die depends on how well they effectively and proactively have planned for the future. die depends on how well they effectively and proactively have planned for the future.

There is ample evidence that many family business owners have spent precious little time preparing the next generation for management or ownership, or building long-term value in the business, should their exit strategy ultimately be the sale of the business.

More than 80 percent of current owners believe their business still will be in family hands in five years. Statistics may tell another story. Twenty percent of the owners have no estate plan; 40 percent have no transition plan at all.

It is no wonder that only 30 percent of family-owned businesses survive to the second generation; 12 percent last through the third, and three percent survive through the fourth and beyond.

The growth and profitability of a successful family-owned business often has been based on tactical excellence: purchasing, production and craftsmanship. These owners excel in their chosen fields, but they too often manage day by day, their skills honed at “firefighting.”

Unfortunately, the long-term success and survival of their business through an ownership transition depends on retaining this tactical excellence, along with strategic excellence that

prepares their business and the family for the future.

The Successful Transition Plan To plan and execute a solid transition may take five years or more.

All too many family business owners wait until very late in their career to plan a transition, when the options become limited or there are no real options at all. Sale or liquidation is forced, and jobs often are lost forever.

The owners have been very good at the tactical, at the expense of all but ignoring the future. So what does it take to do an ownership transition right? Owners should invest their time, energy and money in preparing the next generation of leaders. They should develop a strategic plan with engagement from family and other owners to get collective agreement, as well as focus on the future success and long-term value of the business. They should establish a clear definition of roles, responsibilities and expectations for owners and family members inside and outside of the business. They should put conflict resolution measures in place, such as buy-sell agreements, shareholder agreements that require mandatory arbitration, family councils and advisory boards. They should put mechanisms in place for funding the purchase of shares of deceased or incapacitated owners. Lastly, they should define a long-term exit plan that is something more than dying at their desk, and make sure their estate plans are aligned with their exit plan and succession strategies.

The success of a transition requires a new paradigm. The owner’s relationships with his or her lawyer, accountant, investment advisor, banker and insurance agents usually are

Rick Bastian separate and Blackhawk Bank often involve conflicting advice dealing with different goals over different timeframes. For the long-term success and vitality of a closely-held or family-owned business, the efforts of these professionals must be coordinated in a much more organic kind of way.

Getting everyone on the same page, preparing the businesses and owners for the future, will not be easy, but it must be done.

Whether the transition plan is succession or sale, if the owner has done it right, there are a number of very tangible benefits. There is a good chance, because of thoughtful and proactive planning, that the value of the business will increase. Family harmony will be maintained, or at least, family conflict minimized. Management will be in place to lead the company to longterm success, either under continued family or new outside ownership. An orderly transfer of ownership to the next generation of family or new ownership would minimize the disruption of the business and maximize the benefit to the selling owner. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the owner would leave a permanent legacy.

The position of the company as an employer, providing leadership and philanthropy to the community, would have the best chance of being preserved.

For the sake of our community, and us all, this is the reality we must create.

Rick Bastian is president of Blackhawk Bank.

The views expressed are those of Bastian’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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MAY 2013 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

FOCUS ON BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

Rockford College PERSPECTIVE

Fostering the next great business owner Rockford College hosts Entrepreneurship Day Over the past few years, attracting and retaining businesses has made major news in the Rock River Valley. The campaign to bring Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to Rockford brought many members of the community together for a common purpose and caused much fanfare. Woodward Governor’s decision to remain in the Rockford area generated great praise and excitement from community members.

While attracting and retaining businesses is a valuable mission, cultivating the entrepreneurial spirits of students can be just as valuable.

No matter what business concept comes to mind, it is guaranteed that it was originally established by an entrepreneur hoping to grow his or her own idea. While many people hope and dream to one day own their own business, statistically, very few actually do. This is due to several factors, such as lack of resources, time, knowledge or simply not knowing where even to begin.

Rockford College’s High School Entrepreneurship Day’s goal is to prevent the latter. By providing high school

students with the basic knowledge on how to formulate an idea for a business and piece together a business plan, Rockford College hopes to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit in Rockford’s youth.

Developing the Next Big Idea Rockford College hosted High School Entrepreneurship Day on April 11 for about 150 students from Belvidere North, Boylan, East, Guilford, Jefferson, South Beloit and Roosevelt High Schools in an effort to inform them on the basics of becoming an entrepreneur. The event contained three brief seminars given by professors of the college. Jeff Fahrenwald spoke on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Clarence Harper presented on how to market your product.

Steve Kadamian talked about business planning and strategy. Students were given time after each presentation to work in groups to develop a business plan for their ideas, with the top four teams winning prizes.

To cap off the event, a panel of five local entrepreneurs fielded questions from the students: Hanee Razick,

Michael Hopkins, Helen Hill, Chris Olson Nic Krause Andrea Gibbs and Edward Rockford College Rockford College Caceres. Hanee is what one could describe as a serial entrepreneur, someone who sees opportunity to young entrepreneurs, and why they around every corner and acts on it. He decided to start their own businesses. started Rockford’s first Mediterranean Each panel member had unique insights restaurant, Sahara, owns a body shop and experiences to share with the and is working with an M.D., to develop students. a topical headache remedy. Michael High School Entrepreneurship Day Hopkins is owner of a Rockford-based provided local high school students with a web design and development firm small glimpse into what it means to be an Oblique Ideas, which has done work with entrepreneur and how to develop a basic many local businesses and is very invested business plan. While these high school in local community. Helen Hill runs a students may not be ready to use these one-woman show and has been creating tools yet, the tools are valuable assets marketing solutions for some time in should they decide to start their own Rockford. Andrea Gibbs is owner of Act2 businesses in the future. Events such as Strategists, a consulting firm that helps this can make a profound impact on the businesses with everything from strategic Rockford community. One of these 150 planning to leadership training. Edward students very well could be the founder of Caceres is founder of Nazca Energy, a the next great Rockford business -- exactly company focused on helping people and what the community is searching for right businesses optimize their energy use by now and in the future. implementing LED lighting solutions.

Students asked the panel questions Chris Olson and Nic Krause are 2012 graduates such as, how were they able to fund their of Rockford College and MBA students and businesses, what advice would they give graduate assistants for the MBA program.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

17

May 2013

IGNITE

Young Professionals

What makes a city a home? Forming lasting relationships They say: “Home is Where the Heart is.” When I moved to Rockford with my wife, we didn’t know anyone or anything about our new city. My heart longed for the friends, family and places I left behind. Determined to make this place our home, my wife and I took every opportunity we could find to get out and meet people.

Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy! That is, until we found IGNITE! IGNITE’s social and professional networking events gave us the chance to make a real connection to people and places in the Rockford area. I soon got more involved in IGNITE through the REACH Team. The REACH Team, along with EDUCATE and INVOLVE, is a critical part of how IGNITE works to attract and retain young professionals in the Rockford region.

The REACH Team focuses on social and professional networking events that help members form a connection with the people and places that make Rockford a great place to live, work and play. It plans and coordinates four main events a year, along with the monthly After 5 series. These events include the IGNITE

Anniversary Bash, IGNITE Golf Outing, Roaring Rockford, and Holiday Party.

Many Chances to Get Connected The Anniversary Bash takes place in late spring and will focus on introducing IGNITE to area young professionals while showcasing how members, new and old, can get involved in IGNITE’s mission. The event will take place at the Radisson with IGNITE Leadership Team members on hand to tell why IGNITE, its mission and the Rockford region is so important to them, along with answering any questions.

Our IGNITE Golf Outing is new this year at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club on Sept. 9. IGNITE will be partnering with Next Rockford to fill the field for this fun event. It will be a great chance for members to network and show off their skills on the links!

Dress the part and travel back to the early 20th century for our Roaring Rockford event. Members and supporters enjoy a fun evening of dinner, dancing and charity casino games. The night includes recognition of IGNITE members and supporters for their efforts

to further IGNITE’s mission to attract and retain young professionals in the Rockford region. A silent auction filled with great gift baskets, art, event tickets and more allows attendees to enjoy our great city while supporting IGNITE! Get in the spirit of the season and rejoice for another year of great work with IGNITE at the Holiday Party. This annual party celebrates all of the hard work members have put in over the past year with plenty of food, drink and merriment. We participate in the RHS Ambassadors Toy Drive to make the spirit a little brighter in the community.

Our monthly After 5 series gives young professionals a casual, relaxing atmosphere to mingle and network. This popular series allows young professionals to network socially and professionally, forming those critical relationships that really connect them to the Rockford area.

The added focus on showcasing locally owned and operated businesses as the event locations gives a local boost and shows young professionals what the area has to offer.

My heart found a home here in Rockford. Thanks to organizations, like

IGNITE, that believe in this Patrick Young community, IGNITE its people and places, my wife and I have developed relationships we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

The REACH Team events allowed us to bridge the gap that really connected us to the Rockford region.

What made Rockford my home?

The wonderful, dedicated, forwardlooking people that see the greatness that Rockford has to offer and places and businesses that bring such character, culture and beauty to the area. Since writing this article, I have exciting, bittersweet news that my wife has accepted a wonderful new job in the Kalamazoo, Mich., area, and we will be moving in the coming months. I hope to find people and businesses with the same dedication and passion for my new city that I found here in Rockford. No matter where I end up, a piece of my heart will always remain in Rockford.

For more details on IGNITE, visit www. igniterockford.com.

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May 2013

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

A new school board, a new superintendent, a new school year The next few months will be a time of transition for District 205. Early this summer, I will be stepping down from my position as Superintendent, and Assistant Superintendent Ehren Jarrett will take over leading the Rockford School District. I wholeheartedly endorse this move. I’m certain Dr. Jarrett will do a great job of leading District 205 to a bright future.

Other changes are coming as well.

April’s school board election brought two new school board members to District 205: Michael Connor and Michael Harner. They will join incumbent members Lisa Jackson, Jude Makulec, Laura Powers, Tim Rollins and Ken Scrivano. Former Board President Harmon Mitchell and board member Ronnell Moore did not seek re-election.

The new school board will go through a period of transition, as all boards do when they welcome new members.

But I’m confident the transition will be a smooth one and that we have the members in place to continue to guide District 205 in a positive direction.

When asked about the district’s biggest goals and challenges, there was significant agreement on issues among the new board.

■■ “Finding ways to increase student achievement across the board while decreasing the achievement gap is a long term goal,” according to board member Tim Rollins.

■■ “Developing effective solutions to maintain and increase student achievement in light of even more possible funding reductions from the State of Illinois is a critical long term challenge,” pointed out board member Ken Scrivano.

■■ Newly elected board member Michael Connors agrees, “Setting a long-range plan for District 205 that

provides for student achievement and financial sustainability will be one of the most important long term goals for the Rockford School district.”

Another hot-button issue is making sure our Facilities Master Plan receives the proper oversight for planning and implementation to ensure dollars are well spent. The College and Career Academies, being piloted at Jefferson High School, is another top priority for the upcoming school year. Getting comfortable with new superintendent, Ehren Jarrett, and finding effective ways to communicate with each other were other goals addressed by board members.

Reason for Optimism for the Future Each school year brings a unique set of challenges. The new Rockford School Board brings a strong sense of optimism to meet those challenges, based on what we’ve accomplished already.

Several board members believe the increasing broad-based support of the Rockford community is a key reason for that optimism. Other reasons include an excellent teaching staff as well as a highly-energized administrative staff that are dedicated to their students and their professional calling. Another major asset is the newly emerging College and Career Academies, which will provide unique, 21st century skills to high school students. And let’s not forget our students, who continue to amaze me with their desire to learn, to improve their own lives, and to make a difference in the Rockford community.

It all adds up to an exciting year ahead for the members of the Rockford School Board. We will be counting on them to help establish the vision that allows District 205 to continue to move forward in a way the entire Rockford community can be proud of.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

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May 2013

Guest Perspective INSIGHT

Inspired design leads to inspired employees, increased productivity Designing effective office space is more than making sure the desks are near electrical outlets and that there are enough chairs and desks for all employees.

Well-designed, inspired workspaces are an integral part of employee satisfaction, which can lead to improved productivity and overall success. How departments interact with each other; creating functional workspaces within a reduced footprint; designing a more open office space with fewer private offices; choosing colors, textures and lighting — these all are elements that must be considered when designing a solution that best fits the needs of the employer and the employees.

Current trends call for spaces designed for easy collaboration and flexibility, while still providing work spaces that allow employees the ability to do head’sdown work. More than just putting a pool table in an empty corner and expecting employee satisfaction to rise dramatically, business owners who want to increase employee satisfaction and productivity first must consider their goals.

Each client is unique, so the process begins with talking about project goals to determine what office design trends might work best. Consider the following

elements when designing an inspiring to managers. One trend is to take the office and productive office space. cubicle and give it a makeover, lowering the walls to allow for easy interaction and Flexibility/Mobility greater access to natural light, while still Today’s workers seek more flexibility providing seated privacy. and mobility in their workspace. In many Another trend incorporated into office spaces, we’re incorporating designs clients’ designs is planned collaborative that include “hoteling” workstations, where areas. These areas should be strategically employees who typically work remotely located within the open office to increase during the week easily can find a spot to the likelihood of “accidental” interaction plug in their devices and start working. In between employees. They can be used addition to saving money on underutilized by employees who may need to get away office space, this concept gives employees from their desks for inspiration, or can an opportunity to find a workspace within be a lounge space where employees come the office that best suits their work style. together for free flowing interaction Another benefit to planning highly and brainstorming sessions. The key flexible workspace is that an organization to successful collaboration is that it is a can quickly respond to the needs of project part of the initial office design and not teams. Office furniture that uses mobile an afterthought. Simply placing a bistro storage units and work surfaces can expand table and some chairs in a leftover space and contract to accommodate special will not encourage effective and productive projects, without requiring the downtime collaboration and teamwork. of a major office furniture reconfiguration.

Teamwork/Lounge Spaces Companies are placing more emphasis on team development, and effective office design solutions can help team members work better together. Working in close proximity to one another allows for more frequent communication and better access

make personal calls or just need a quiet space to work from time Sherry Gaumond to time. This is an Larson & Darby Group easy element to incorporate into an office space to accommodate multiple work styles and levels of privacy.

Incorporating sound masking systems is something done for many clients. It allows employees in an open office to speak freely without worrying about disturbing or being distracted by their neighbor in the next cubicle. I recommend this option for large office spaces with employees who are on the phone during a majority of their workday or where teaming environments are the norm.

Inspired office design doesn’t have to be expensive or expansive, but it should be well thought out and in line with corporate goals. An inspired office space design not only will inspire your employees, it Privacy/Sound Masking will enhance your corporate culture and While offices designed in the open improve overall productivity. plan concept can lead to increased job Sherry Gaumond, IIDA, LEED AP ID+C, is satisfaction, interaction and productivity, director of interior design at Larson & Darby the downside can be a perceived lack of Group. privacy. We like to include ‘phone booths,’ The views expressed are those of Gaumond’s or small rooms with a table and a phone, and do not necessarily represent those of the for employees to use when they need to Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

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MAY 2013 theVoice rockfordchamber.com

FOCUS ON RESTORATION SERVICES

Health and safety precautions

after a flood

The Winnebago County Health Department offers some personal health and safety precautions in the days and weeks following the recent flooding.

Disease Prevention Precautions ■■ Do not drink water from private wells in the flooded areas. Contaminated flood waters can impact private water wells in flooded areas, and the drinking water may not be safe to drink.

■■ Do not eat or drink anything exposed to flood water, or that may have gone bad due to lack of power to your refrigerator.

Remember, “When in doubt, toss it out.”

■■ Keep contaminated objects, water and hands away from your mouth, eyes and nose.

■■ Wash hands frequently with soap and clean water, especially after bathroom use, before eating and immediately following contact with flood water or contaminated objects or surfaces.

■■ If you have a private septic system, be aware that you may have trouble flushing your toilet if your yard is flooded.

Depending on your specific septic system, the hydraulic pressure from the water in your yard may cause the toilet to back up into your house!

■■ Minimize skin contact with flood water, especially cuts and sores. Keep them clean and covered.

■■ Do not walk or drive on flooded roads.

■■ No one should be in flood water; do not allow children to play in flood water.

Even shallow, rapidly flowing flood water may sweep you off of your feet.

■■ Turn off main power switches if necessary. Air out and wipe dry all appliances and electrical outlets exposed to water before use.

Injury Prevention Precautions

Credit: U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior/USGSU, Photo by Don Becker, U.S. Geological Survey

■■ If you have fuel oil or gas systems, ensure tanks are secure and that all lines are free from breaks.

■■ Wear rubber boots, gloves and an N95 or HEPA respirator mask during removal and cleanup.

■■ Open windows if possible to ventilate and dry the area. Fans can be used to help with drying.

Mosquito Prevention ■■ The large amount of pooled water that remains after a flood provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

■■ Be sure doors and window screens are tight fitting and in good repair to keep mosquitoes out.

■■ Drain standing water in old tires, tin cans, birdbaths, clean clogged gutters and any other places where mosquitoes might breed.

Personal Health Reminders Always wash your hands with soap and warm water. If you receive a puncture wound or a wound contaminated with feces or saliva, have a doctor or the health department determine whether a tetanus booster is necessary based on individual records. A tetanus booster is indicated if you were in direct contact with flood waters and have not been vaccinated in the last five years.

General Cleaning Guidelines Discard any contaminated objects that cannot be thoroughly washed or laundered. Wash contaminated surfaces and objects with warm, soapy water and disinfect with a bleach and water solution of no more than one cup of bleach per one gallon of water.

For objects that would be damaged by bleach, use a home or laundry disinfectant. Do not use ammonia, or mix ammonia and bleach. The vapors are hazardous. Scrub and wash all objects in the affected area of your home, including clothes, exposed to flood waters. Use warm, not hot, tap water with soap.

Carpets and Rugs Carpets and rugs that cannot be thoroughly dried and cleaned should be discarded and replaced. If the damaged

area is small, you may be able to save the carpet by cleaning the area with a mild detergent. There also are professional home cleaning services that may be able to clean your carpets.

Floors, Drapes and Furniture Floors and hard surfaces should be cleaned with a bleach and water solution made of no more than one cup of bleach per one gallon of water, or use a household disinfectant. A professional cleaner may be able to clean furniture and drapes.

Basement Safety is the primary consideration.

Never enter a flooded basement unless the electrical power is turned off! Turn off gas at the meter also. Wait to pump until flood waters have receded below basement level. Pump out standing water and remove all debris. Allow debris to drain before disposal. Strain away all liquids from trash. After straining trash, wrap in newspaper and store in garbage cans with a tight lid until pick up.

Paneling and wallboard must be immediately cleaned and dried thoroughly. If the damage is severe, they should be removed and replaced.

Food and Water Safety If you are on private water well in flooded areas, use only bottled water for drinking, cooking, tooth brushing and bathing until you are sure the water supply is safe. Discard food exposed to contaminated waters. If refrigerators or freezers have taken in water, discard food stored there. If no water entered these appliances, but power was lost long enough for foods to thaw, discard all partially thawed foods unless prepared immediately. Discard milk, cheeses and other foods prone to spoilage. Completely thawed meats and vegetables should be discarded without question. Discard all bulging or leaking canned food and any food stored in jars.

Undented, intact cans can be cleaned with a bleach solution before use.

For flood-related questions, call Winnebago County Health Department Environmental Health, 815-720-4100, during normal business hours. After hours and weekends, call 815-7204000. Also, visit www.wchd.org.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

February 2013

Area Salvation Army offers flood clean-up kits

The Salvation Army is distributing clean-up kits at several area fire departments for those in Winnebago County affected by the recent flooding. Kits include a bucket, gloves, mask, mop, brooms, sponges, garbage bags, bleach and other cleaning agents.

■■ New Milford Fire Department, 2177 Will James Road, Rockford, 815-874-4880 ■■ Roscoe/Harlem Fire Department, 10544 Main St., Roscoe, 815-623-2341 ■■ Machesney Park Fire Department (behind Village Hall), 300 Roosevelt Road, Machesney Park As the waters recede, The Salvation Army recommends flood victims heed the following safety measures to remain safe as they return to their homes: ■■ Return home only when officials have declared the area safe.

■■ Stay out of any areas of the house that remain flooded.

Wet wiring is an electrocution hazard. Call the utility companies to have your power and gas turned off.

■■ During cleanup, wear protective clothing, such as rubber gloves, eye protection and rubber boots.

■■ Do not use water that might be contaminated to wash dishes, brush teeth, prepare food, wash hands, make ice or make baby formula.

■■ Do not mix bleach with ammonia. This produces dangerous, toxic chlorine gas.

The Salvation Army also will offer long-term flood relief efforts, including emergency financial assistance of furniture, clothing, food, rent and utilities for those who qualify. Eligibility will be determined on a caseby-case basis. Call The Salvation Army help desk at 773-205-3520.

To support The Salvation Army’s Disaster Services in Winnebago County, call 815-962-7207 or visit www.salarmywinnebago.org.

FOCUS ON RESTORATION SERVICES

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What to expect from flood restoration services Restoration services are all about two goals: Making sure that the damage is contained, and then quickly removing high-risk elements that could cause further damage if given time. Containment is important, because moisture is capable of being carried throughout the home at a fairly rapid pace. Water can wick through walling material, reach electrical wiring, or generally create an environment where mildew can grow rapidly.

Extraction is also time sensitive.

Depending on the extent of the flooding damage, this could take anywhere from several hours to a full day, but you can expect most flood restoration to be performed within at least 48 hours of the initial call. Within that time frame, your home will be the most vulnerable to all of the long-term damage that water exposure can cause.

Drying needs to be performed with precision, targeting areas that are at high risk. Debris will also need to be removed, and sanitation services may need to be

performed to remove any bacteria or mold that your home may have been exposed to due to flooding or overflow.

Flooded carpet can be a huge problem, and you may be considering a full replacement. With certain types of carpeting, a replacement might not be a bad idea; in particular, cheaper carpeting may be much more inexpensive to replace than other types. However, if your type of carpeting cost a considerable amount of money, or if you have simply grown attached to the style and color of it, then you also have the option of having it restored. A flood cleaning service may be able to offer water extraction and carpet restoration, which could bring your wet carpet back to life. Before you decide on a replacement, you should get an estimate from a flood cleaning service. Carpet restoration services can also remove any lingering odors from the room.

With the right contractors for the job, your home should be back to normal within a brief period of time.

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May 2013

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Midway Village hosts community-wide summer event Entertainment in the spirit of historic Trask Bridge Picnic

By David J. Byrnes, Midway Village Museum Midway Village Museum is embarking on something new. In the tradition of the Trask Bridge Picnic, it is inviting the whole community to a picnic on its grounds at 6799 Guilford Road in Rockford, on Sunday, June 23.

The Trask Bridge Picnic began as a little harvest picnic for farm families in 1911. Word spread around the county and soon the local Grange was holding the picnic on Trask Bridge Road to accommodate all visitors. There were food booths and carnival rides, and politicians giving long-winded speeches.

At its height in the 1950s, some 50,000 to 60,000 people attended the picnic -making it the largest community picnic in the country.

I do not expect quite so many people at Midway Village, but I do hope to capture the same community spirit.

Rockford lacks a place or event where the entire community can gather. Facing many challenges, we need a forum where Rockford’s diverse elements can begin to know one another. It is the vision of Midway Village Museum that we can start that forum here.

Come One, Come All Called the CommUNITY Pick-nic, admission will be free for this familyfocused event. Entertainment will include acoustical guitar, bluegrass and golden oldies groups, as well as national and ethnic music and dancing. Admission for entertainment, the museum and some of the village buildings will be free.

Inexpensive tickets will be available for food and games, including bingo.

As Rockford’s history is linked to the sock monkey doll, we thought it would be fun to see how many sock monkeys we can stuff into a Kia automobile. The public is invited to bring their sock monkey dolls to be a part of the official total! There will be a celebrity dunk tank, a community flea market and community organizations that will hand out information about their work.

The Midway Village Museum staff and board want this to be a true community event. We invite everyone, east side, west side, from all parts of Rockford, to come.

Why a Community Picnic?

Why would Midway Village Museum hold a community picnic? It is the best institution for collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of Rockford for the enjoyment and education of the public. We have a vision that the

museum will be a place where the whole community can come together to discuss our shared history and how it impacts the future.

Last year, we started installing our Many Faces, One Community exhibit, which traces the history of immigration to Rockford. As a community, Rockford has not been blessed with a deep harbor, or abundant natural resources to exploit.

Rather, the key to Rockford’s past successes has been its people. In the last 160 years, people from all over the world have come to Rockford to call it home. It is their perseverance against adversity that made Rockford a growing, prosperous community, and it’s this diverse community of people who will make Rockford grow again.

The museum is expanding its interpretation of history to include everyone in Rockford. As an organization concerned with the community’s past, we must also be concerned with its present and future. The past is prologue to the future. It is hard to see where you are going if you do not know where you’ve been.

Community Support This is an audacious event. A small museum like Midway Village Museum is not equipped financially to provide free events, so we are hoping to recruit financial sponsors who can support this new experiment. Thank you to the companies and organizations that already have signed up as sponsors (as of this writing): ComEd, Rockford Park District, MembersAlliance Credit Union, Midland Financial, Gambino Realtors, Beefaroo (which is also assisting with food preparation) and Savant. We also are grateful to Maverick Media, The Rockford Register Star, WREX-TV and the Rockford Chamber of Commerce for their efforts to publicize the picnic. We need more help, but I am excited about those who have stepped up and for the community organizations that have responded with offers to reach out to their constituents.

This is a bold move by a small museum to take a first step towards bringing our community together.

By getting to know one another, we eventually can create the dialog necessary for a united effort to move Rockford forward. There should be a place where this can happen. With its open fields, historical collections, exhibits and historical village, Midway Village Museum will be that place.

David J. Byrnes is president of Midway Village Museum.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

May 2013

Don’t miss the health insurance deduction if you’re self-employed If you are self-employed, the IRS wants you to know about a tax deduction generally available to people who are selfemployed.

The deduction is for medical, dental or long-term care insurance premiums that self-employed people often pay for themselves, their spouse and their dependents. The insurance can also cover your child who was under age 27 at the end of 2012, even if the child was not your dependent.

You may be able to take this deduction if one of the following applies to you: ■■ You had a net profit from selfemployment. You would report this on a Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, Schedule C-EZ, Net Profit From Business, or Schedule F, Profit or Loss From Farming.

■■ You had self-employment earnings as a partner reported to you on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), Partner’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.

■■ You used an optional method to figure your net earnings from self-employment on Schedule SE, Self-Employment Tax. ■■ You were paid wages reported on Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, as

a shareholder who owns more than two percent of the outstanding stock of an S corporation.

■■ There are also some rules that apply to how the insurance plan is established.

Follow these guidelines to make sure the plan qualifies: ■■ If you’re self-employed and file Schedule C, C-EZ, or F, the policy can be in your name or in your business’ name.

■■ If you’re a partner, the policy can be in your name or the partnership’s name and either of you can pay the premiums.

If the policy is in your name and you pay the premiums, the partnership must reimburse you and include the premiums as income on your Schedule K-1.

■■ If you’re an S corporation shareholder, the policy can be in your name or the S corporation’s name and either of you can pay the premiums. If the policy is in your name and you pay the premiums, the S corporation must reimburse you and include the premiums as wage income on your Form W-2.

For more information, see Publication 535, Business Expenses. It’s available at IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

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May 2013

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Membership: 101 MEMBERSHIP Membership Enhancement Package As you may be aware, a few months ago the Chamber upgraded its website.

With the upgrade came some additional benefits to members on the online directory, allowing for even greater visibility and customization of listings. If you currently have an Enhancement Package, are you fully utilizing it? If not, we suggest making your listing more robust to further increase your visibility on the directory.

If you don’t yet have an Enhancement Package, consider adding one to your existing membership and start taking advantage of the enhanced benefits today.

Some Additional Features: ■■ Listing in up to five separate categories ■■ Inclusion of up to 250 words of business description. All verbiage in the description pulls as key words in a search, thus enhancing your listing displays.

■■ Separate listing of your products/services ■■ Inclusion of your logo ■■ Embedding a video in your listing ■■ Embedding a picture in your listing ■■ Including a discount/ecoupon offer in your listing ■■ And more!

For more information, contact Diane Navickis, dnavickis@ rockfordchamber.com or www.rockfordchamber.com.

Why vacations are important Most people know that vacations are a good thing. You get away, relax and come back recharged with fresh energy and enthusiasm.

Now there is new research conducted

by Harris Interactive for the U.S. Travel Association that confirms this and sheds light on the important “hidden” impacts of travel.

The study shows that traveling together as a family strengthens bonds and creates a lifetime of memories. As chamber members, we focus a lot on our work. But, we value our personal lives and want to have the highest quality time with our families and friends.

Remember, a “family” is more than two parents and children; it could be an aunt and her niece or a bunch of cousins, and can even extend to a close-knit group of friends.

Vacation Survey Results Here are some of the findings by Harris Interactive.

■■ Adults say that family vacations are clearly remembered decades later. Of the adult surveyed, 62 percent said their earliest memories of family vacations were when they were between five and 10 years of age. Those vacation memories were stronger than memories of school events or birthday celebrations.

■■ Youth surveyed said their vacation memories will last a long time. A significant 64 percent said that they get to see and do things on vacation that they’ll remember a long time; 53 percent said vacations bring families closer together.

■■ Parents underestimate the value of including grandparents on family vacation.

■■ Children who traveled with their extended family reported that they spent quality time with their grandparents, 78 percent; felt closer to them, 60 percent; and liked to remember stories about what they did with their grandparents, 65 percent.

How to Plan a Family Vacation to Remember Forever ■■ Plan some activities to do as a family.

■■ Kids say vacations are a time when they get to spend quality time with their parents. Take advantage of this opportunity.

■■ Do something adventurous or try something new.

John Groh Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

■■ More than two-thirds of the children believe that a family vacation is a chance to try things they cannot do at home.

These activities can broaden your children’s horizons, bring your family closer and create lasting memories. www.traveleffect.com.

Local Culver’s Co-Owner’s Vacation Tips Stephanie Koch, co-owner and marketing manager of five Culver’s in Rockford and Roscoe, said vacations are “absolutely important” to her family. She and her husband have three daughters.

“Day-to-day life can be so fast paced that having a few days set aside to intentionally connect and relax with family definitely strengthens relationships.” Her tips for successful family vacations are to think through the dynamics and activities for all ages beforehand and have one person in charge of important documents and handling reservations.

As to the importance of visitors to Rockford, she said Culver’s “definitely benefit from the influx of visitors and special events that draw people to Rockford. We try to make sure they have a great experience, give them a little taste of Rockford, help them with directions, etc.

“Guests have even left our stores with a napkin-drawn map and our phone number in case they get lost. We are big fans of the event calendar that the visitors bureau puts together and use it when scheduling our stores to maximize those busy athletic weekend events.”

National Travel & Tourism Week, May 4 to 12 Each May we celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week. It’s one more chance to share these facts about our local visitor industry.

■■ Visitors add $311 million into our local economy ■■ That means $5.07 million in local tax revenue, thanks to visitors, and

■■ Focus first on vacation activities.

■■ Visitors support 2,600 hospitality jobs in Winnebago County Remember, it’s the vacation journey together as a family that can make a lifetime of memories. Plan your summer vacation now, and encourage your friends and families to spend their next family vacation in the Rockford Region!

■■ More children said what they did, rather than where they stayed or where they went, was their favorite memory.

John Groh is president/CEO of the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

■■ Consider including the children’s grandparents.

■■ Well over half the children reported feeling closer to their grandparents when they vacationed together. That’s priceless.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

New Chamber Members MEMBERS Aero Electric & Communications Co. A Private Electrical Contractor Company Founded in 1999 7407 Edward Dr., Ste. 5 Loves Park, IL 61111 Shawn Bibby 815-633-5004

All About Home Services Building Honest Relationships, Providing Quality Service, and Offering Reasonable Prices David Dutcher 779-348-6933 www.allabouthomeservices.com

AndersonBrecon Features Extensive Commercial Packaging Services to Meet the Needs of Global Market 4545 Assembly Dr., 61109 Lisa Buck 815-484-8910 www.andersonbrecon.com

Burke Consulting Group Human Capital Related, Business Consulting; Succession Planning, Performace Management, Talent Assessment, Compensation, Equity P.O. Box 700 Roscoe, IL 61073 Lori Burke 815-222-7014

Capri Restaurant, Inc. Fine Authentic Italian Restaurant Specializing in Handmade Foods, Fresh Ingredients and Large Portion Meals 313 E. State St., 61104 Vito Grisanzio, Jr. 815-965-6341 www.caprirockford.com

CH3 Graphics LLC Specializing in Producing Large Format and Specialty Graphics for a Variety of Projects 321 Park Ave., Unit B Sycamore, IL 60178 Michelle Andersen 815-981-4062 www.ch3graphics.com

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May 2013

CleanUSA

Members Caught on Digital ON DIGITAL Ceremonial ribbon donated by SERVPRO of Rockford.

Full Service Cleaning & Restoration for Home & Business Jeff Wilming 815-739-3732 www.cleanusa.com

Discount Tire America’s Largest Independent Tire Dealer Since 1960 7051 Fincham Dr., 61108 Tim Nall 815-397-9772 www.discounttire.com

eTrainers.org Provides Professional eLearning Services to Large and Small Businesses Cheri Thompson 815-603-0806 www.etrainers.org

Wild Wild Westmor Lanes Grill & Bar held a ribbon cutting on April 5 at 2407 N. Central Ave. Rockford.

First Evangelical Free Church Bringing People into a Life-Changing Relationship with Jesus Christ 2223 N. Mulford Road, 61107 Steve Ralph 815-877-7046 www.firstfreerockford.org

Gold Canyon Gold Canyon is the Finest Fragrance in the World!

Sue Peterson 815-398-8397 www.suepeterson.mygc.com

Huntington Learning Center

Riverside Community Bank held an open house & ribbon cutting on April 24 at 6855 E. Riverside Blvd., Rockford

Offering Programs in Reading, Math, Writing, Study Skills, Exam Prep and Subject Tutoring 5301 E. State St., Ste. 104, 61108 Paula Grady 815-395-1011

Transformations Plastic Surgery Surgical Procedures that Involve the Reconstruction of Specific Areas of the Body that have the Effect on Both a Person’s Appearance and Ability to Function 1639 N. Alpine Road, Ste. 400, 61107 Landon Pryor, M.D. 815-977-4403 www.drpryor.com

Get to Know Your Ambassadors Name: Erin Jahn Company: Rock Hospitality Position: Director of Sales; Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, The Baymont and The Staybridge How long have you been an Ambassador?

Three months What do you like most about being an Ambassador? What I like most about being an Ambassador is the opportunity to represent the Rockford Chamber, while networking with other professionals in the area. I like that the Rockford Chamber offers an opportunity to meet and communicate with new members to build a strong community.

Rasmussen College held a ribbon cutting for its new nursing degree program on April 25 at its Rockford campus, 6000 E. State St., 4th floor.

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May 2013

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Regional, National Indicators THE ECONOMY Population Clock As of April 17, 2013: U.S.

315,691,363 Source: U.S. Census Bureau

World

7,079,382,698

Midwest Manufacturing Output Increased in February The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) increased 0.8% in February, to a seasonally adjusted level of 96.3 (2007 = 100). Revised data show the index was up 0.4% in January. The Federal Reserve Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) moved up 0.6% in February.

Regional output rose 5.9% in February from a year earlier, and national output increased 2.4%.

Monthly Index

% Change

Dec 12

Jan 13

Feb 13

Feb 12 - 13

Chicago Mfg. Index

95.1

95.5

96.3

p

5.9

CFMMI-Auto

97.3

99.1

99.0

p

12.4

CFMMI-Steel

91.5

91.2

92.7

p

3.8

CFMMI-Machinery

95.7

95.6

97.2

p

2.0

CFMMI-Resource

91.5

91.4

91.9

p

2.6

IPMFG

96.6

96.5

97.1

p

2.4

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Updated April 8, 2013

U.S. Indicators March, 2013 Consumer Price Index

q 0.2 percent

Unemployment Rate

7.6 percent

Payroll Employment

p 88,000

Average Hourly Earnings

p $0.01

Producer Price Index

p 0.6 percent

Employment Cost Index

p 0.5 percent (fourth quarter, 2012)

Productivity

q 1.9 percent (fourth quarter, 2012)

U.S. Import Price Index

q 0.5 percent

U.S. Export Price Index

q 0.4 percent

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Unemployment Rates—Region, State, Nation Feb 2013

Jan 2013

Feb 2012

Change/Mo. Change/Yr.

Rockford

13.4

13.0

13.0

q 0.4

q 0.4

Chicago

10.3

9.8

9.1

q 0.5

q 1.2

Illinois

10.5

10.1

9.5

q 0.4

q 1.0

United States

8.1

8.5

8.7

q 0.4

q 0.6

Source: U.S. Department of Employment Security

Do you have news to share?

Send news releases and other items of interest to the business community to: The VOICE, Rockford Chamber of Commerce 308 W. State St., Ste. 190, Rockford, IL 61101.

Deadline is the 15th of the month preceding publication.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

27

May 2013

the News IN Members THEin NEWS

1. Lindsay Arellano

2. Dr. David M. Cheng

3. Jonathan Mays

4. Josh Houghton

5. Emily Hartzog

6. Richard S. McClelland

7. Matt Anderson

8. Jason Smith

9. Bonnie Arrington

10. Jennifer Halvorsen

11. Dr. Bryan Lee

12. Crystal Dinwiddie

13. Jacob T. Fitzgerald

14. Jerry Paulson

15. Kathy Yocum

16. Amy Larson

17. Bryan Markham

18. Michael Anders

19. Mary Ann De Arvil

20. David Gatz

21.Jean Hausvick

22. Brad Currens

23. Larry McFall

24. Steven Schou

Board Appointments, RETIREMENTS

Kris Kieper, YWCA of Rockford, was appointed to the inaugural YWCA USA CEO Advisory Council.

New Hires, Promotions, Retirements

The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau promoted Lindsay Arellano (1) to director of sales & service.

Natural Land Institute’s Board of Trustees hired Kerry Leigh, ASLA, as its new executive director.

SwedishAmerican Medical Group/ Cardiothoracic Surgery welcomed Dr. David M. Cheng (2).

Jonathan Mays (3) joined Alpine Trust & Investment Group as a retirement plan administrator.

Riverside Community Bank promoted Josh Houghton (4) to business banker.

Winnebago County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners hired Michael Holan as its new executive director to replace retired Tom Kalousek.

The Rockford Area Economic Development Council named Kelly Galluzzo as its business attraction coordinator.

PR Etc., hired Emily Hartzog (5) as senior account executive.

Larson & Darby Group appointed Richard S. McClelland (6), AIA, NCARB, HCC, LEED AP BD+C, as vice president of operations and principal-in-charge of health care and senior living.

Pro Com Systems Division of Ballard Companies, Inc., promoted Matt Anderson (7) to warehouse

clerk and Jason Smith (8) to project estimator.

Bonnie Arrington (9), Spectrum Insurance Agency, Inc., completed her commercial casualty exam, leading toward her CISR (Certified Insurance Service Representative) designation and Jennifer Halvorsen (10) obtained her life/health license.

Entré Computer Solutions, Machesney Park, hired Terry Gettle as a senior project manager responsible for Microsoft-based projects and Cisco-related technology implementations.

Cardiac surgeon Bryan Lee, M.D. (11), joined the Rockford Health System Heart and Vascular Center as chief of cardiothoracic surgery.

Employee/Community Recognitions, Awards

Crystal Dinwiddie (12), assistant professor of sociology, was the 25th recipient of the Rock Valley College Faculty of the Year award.

Jacob T. Fitzgerald (13), CFP®, branch manager, financial advisor at Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., Rockford, IL earned/renewed Certified Financial Planner™ and CFP® certifications.

Retiring Executive Director, Jerry Paulson (14), was honored at Natural Land Institute’s Annual Dinner in March.

Stillman Bank presented several of its mortgage lenders with Awards of Excellence for real estate lending performance in 2012: Kathy Yocum (15) (bronze achievement), Amy Larson (16) and Bryan Markham (17) (silver achievement), Michael Anders (18), Mary Ann De Arvil (19), David Gatz (20) and Jean

Hausvick (21) (gold achievement).

New Business Development Awards for outstanding residential real estate sales performance in 2012 went to: Brad Currens (22), Mary Ann De Arvil and Amy Larson.

Kerry Schaible, financial representative, Northwestern Mutual, qualified for membership in the Million Dollar Roundtable for leading life insurance producers.

Larry McFall (23), plant operations manager, Rock River Water Reclamation District, received the Water Environment Federation’s Hatfield Award during a statewide conference in Springfield.

Rockford Christian Schools’ Middle School Robotic Team, The Royal Narwhals, was named one

of the top three finalists, out of 477 teams from 23 countries. It’s eligible for the Global Innovation Award for its patent-pending innovation, the Magnetic Plug Adapter (MPA). The team includes: Leah McInerney, David Gartner, Konnor Gottfred, Connor Ciembronoweiz, Dalton Morris, JJ Bergstedt and Grant Singer.

Of GENERAL INTEREST

Steven Schou (24), CFP, CFO senior partner, investment advisor representative, Klaas Financial inc., attended an investment conference for Hines Securities Institute on the Current Economy and Interest Rate Environment and the Impact of Debt with Equity.

May 2013 Member Anniversaries Thank you to the members who celebrate their anniversaries with the Rockford Chamber in May 2013.

40-Year Members

20-Year Member

Beefaroo, Inc. Golf Shack

Discovery Center Museum of Rockford

35-Year Members

15-Year Members

Chem Processing, Inc. Gruno’s Diamonds Service Machine Company, Inc.

Forever Green, Inc. Stillman BancCorp N.A.

30-Year Member

Swanson’s Discount Vacuum, Inc.

Rockford Urological Associates, Ltd.

25-Year Member Shelter Care Ministries Employment Program

10-Year Member 5-Year Members ATRONA Test Labs, Inc. Bridge Ministries Our Children’s Homestead Der Rathskeller Schafer Gear Works Rockford, LLC Spring Ridge Senior Housing Visions Lighting and Accessories

28

May 2013

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

Business Briefs BUSINESS BRIEFS

The American Institute of Architects of Northern Illinois awarded Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects with five of the nine design awards given, including the prestigious Award of Excellence for its design of Rock Valley College Karl J. Jacobs Center for Science and Math.

Rock Valley College received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its comprehensive annual financial report.

The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau hired PR Etc., to provide marketing, event planning and public relations services on an interim basis, and the YMCA of Rock River Valley for regional marketing activities. Harlem School District hired the firm to enhance its brand, create a communications plan and promote community engagement. PR Etc., oversaw the ribbon cutting activities for a new GFS Marketplace store in Lighthouse Point, Fla. It assisted in the opening of six new stores in 2012.

Children’s Home + Aid launched the Blue Bow Campaign to create awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April, with various area organizations placing blue bows on the counters of their entrances.

The $31 million Price Credit Union, headquartered in Prentice, Wis., merged with Madison-based Heritage Credit Union, with a branch in Rockford, in April.

Brian Thomas Photography contributed corporate photography to Regal’s (formerly Regal-Beloit) annual report, available at www.regalbeloit.com.

EIGERlab held a press conference in April for the national product launch of client and FastPitch competition participant Adrian Vasquez’s new product – a three-way adjustable hair dryer nozzle.

Rockford Park District announced the opening of the driving range at Sinnissippi Golf Course, as well as Elliot Golf Course, Sandy Hollow Golf Course and Ingersoll Golf Course. Visit www. rockfordgolfs.org.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., a logistics company with more than 1,850 employees in 10 Illinois offices, was named a National Top Workplace.

Riverside Community Bank presented $1,600, raised in part by customers and staff, to Q98.5’s 21st annual St. Jude Radio-Thon for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at CherryVale Mall.

The Rockford Park District Spring/ Summer 2013 Youth and Adult Program Guide is available online at www. rockfordparkdistrict.org/guides.

The OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center Foundation funded the purchase of 44 KingVISION video laryngoscopes for its Emergency Medical Services Department to share with 17 partner agencies in the region.

SwedishAmerican Medical Group announced the opening of its new primary care clinic at 380 IL Rte 38 East in Rochelle’s Caron Ridge Shopping Center.

Hundreds of area high school and middle school students competed in the Northern Illinois Regional Science Olympiad at Rock Valley College, with Harlem High School placing first. H.D. Jacobs, Rockford Auburn, Westminster Christian, Durand and Hononegah high schools placed second through sixth and all advanced to the state tournament at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana in April.

SwedishAmerican Hospital partnered with iTriage® – a one-stop smartphone healthcare app that lets consumers quickly and easily access information about symptoms, diseases and procedures, and alerts hospital staff of an impending arrival.

The University of Illinois School of Architecture (Urbana), Rockford Housing Authority, Camiros LTD, along with Ellis Heights neighbors and community members, gathered on April 8 to review the Choice Neighborhoods second draft of the community concepts and visions.

Final drawings for the Ellis Heights Neighborhood concepts are to be completed in May. For more information, call 815-489-8500.

nationwide for safeguarding hospital patients from serious, potentially preventable complications. It’s the only hospital in Rockford ever to receive the award.

with home ownership issues, receives a $96,500 grant to strengthen neighborhoods through housing and community development initiatives.

Goodwill Industries International partnered with Beyoncé KnowlesCarter, who will help raise awareness about its mission of transforming lives through work. Beyoncé will promote donation drives at her North American concerts beginning on June 28.

Goodwill will host mobile donation centers at 28 tour venues in 24 North American cities, collecting clothing, electronics and small household goods.

Rockford Park District’s Aldeen Golf Club offers businesses its Aldeen Advantage Program for entertaining vendors or clients, thanking customers and rewarding employees. Members receive a discount of up to 75 percent off normal rates; pre-printed tickets, Rockford Spine Center spine surgeons and a deductible entertainment concluded a 10-year study, published expense. Visit www.aldeengolfclub.com in medical journal Spine, for applying or call 815-282-GOLF (4653). a powder version of the antibiotic Pearson partnered with the Rockford Vancomycin directly into the wound, Aviators, Rockford’s newly renamed rather than the intravenous route. This baseball team, as presenting sponsor proved more effective at reducing for the 2013 season. infection rates. Other surgeons now are On the second Saturday of each month, adopting the method and launching Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden, their own studies.

2715 S. Main St., Rockford, will offer KMK Media Group, Inc., completed kid-themed activities. the design and production of the Discovery Center Museum 2012 Community Benefit Report for was named one of the “10 Best the YMCA of the Rock River Valley, Children’s Museums in the U.S” by including highlights of its core values: youth development, healthy living and Family Vacation Critic. Visit www. social responsibility. familyvacationcritic.com. The museum served 265,000 people in 2012 — HomeStart, a northern Illinois not-fora new record. profit agency that helps consumers

The Winnebago County Health Department pollen count report will be listed Monday through Friday at www.wchd.org and 815-720-4140. As pollen counts increase, so do allergy symptoms in the allergic population.

Savant Capital Management launched Savant Social, a section of its website with Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and video, market commentary, investment and financial tips, and links to suggested reading.

Visit www.savantcapital.com/social.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2013 Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study ranked Edward Jones highest in employee advisor satisfaction among financial investment firms for the fifth time since 2007. It received the highest satisfaction ratings in eight of the nine study factors, which placed the firm 212 points ahead of the industry average.

Van Matre HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital is one of nine in HealthSouth’s network of 100 rehabilitation hospitals to be recognized as a 2013 Stroke Center of Excellence.

Rockford Memorial Hospital received for the sixth time in seven years the Healthgrades® Patient Safety Excellence Award™, placing it within the top 10 percent of all hospitals

5 Star Quality Care named Crimson Pointe Assisted Living the Region 2 “Community of the Year for 2012”.

Descendants of Rosecrance founders, the family of Robert and Beverly Rosecrance of Rockford, received the Castle Award at the Rosecrance Foundation Benefit in April. The event drew 800 and raised a record $500,000 for the Kinley Charity Care Fund, which assists families without insurance or personal resources to pay for substance abuse or mental health treatment.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

29

May 2013

Rockford Chamber members appear bolded. Thank you for your support of your fellow Chamber members.

Wednesday, May 1

Rockford Public Library presents a Hire Me! Resume Workshop (two-part series), May 1 and 8, 6 to 8 p.m., main library second floor computer room, 215 N. Wyman St. Registration not required. Call 815-965-7606.

Go Global 2013 international trade conference, Giovanni’s Restaurant & Convention Center, 610 N. Bell School Rd., Rockford. Features speaker Tim White, president, Electric Systems, Power, Controls & Sensing Systems, UTC Aerospace Systems. Register at www.goglobal-itc.com or 815-9694267.

Illinois PTAC at Rock Valley College presents DBE Roundtable & Trucking, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at EIGERlab, 605 Fulton Ave, Rockford. Register at ilsbdc.ecenterdirect.com or contact Ann Johns, 815-921-2091 or ptac@ rockvalleycollege.edu.

Friday, May 3

Winnebago County CASA hosts its 19th annual “Lift Up a Child’s Voice …

A Child’s Life” Dinner & Auction with speaker Judge Mary Linn, Radisson Hotel & Conference Center, 200 S. Bell School Road, Rockford. Social hour, silent auction and Chinese auction at 6 p.m.; dinner at 7 p.m. For tickets visit www.winnebagocountycasa.org or call 815-319-6880.

Community Events COMMUNITY

Walk, Rock Valley College, 3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford. Opening ceremonies at 8 a.m.; walk at 9 a.m.

Visit rockfordilheartwalk.org or call 815-262-1428.

Sunday, May 5

Discovery Center Museum, 711 N. Main St., Rockford, and the Northwest Illinois Farm Bureaus presents E-IE-I-O, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit www. discoverycentermuseum.org or call 815-963-6769.

Monday, May 6

The Rock River Valley Blood Center and the Rockford Ravens Rugby Football Club host a Blood Drive, Blackhawk Park, 101 15th Ave., Rockford, 4 to 8 p.m. Call 877-RRVBC-99 or visit www.rrvbc.org for an appointment.

The Business & Professional Institute at Rock Valley College’s Woodward Technology Center, 3301 N. Mulford Road, hosts a Six Sigma Green Belt Certification course, May 6 to 8, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Testing for certification on final day. One year of Minitab Software included. Requires a laptop.

Call Sharon Charles, 815-921-2071 or Dawn Ousley, 815-921-2066.

Tuesday, May 7

The Literacy Council hosts free Tutor Workshops, Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 982 N. Main St., Rockford, for future volunteers to teaching reading to adults. Visit www.theliteracycouncil. org or call 815-963-READ.

Healing Pathways Cancer Resource Center presents the Run for the Roses, 6 p.m., a Kentucky Derby-style event at Prairie Street Brewhouse, Rockford. Cocktails on the deck, dinner in the Brewhouse Barrel Room, “Over the Top - Derby Bonnet or Hat Competition,” “Chair”ity Auction.

Place donation on your horse to win. Call 815-395-5649. Visit www. healingpathwayscrc.org.

Wednesday, May 8

Midway Village Museum, 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford, opens its Victorian Village with a Visitor Appreciation Weekend. May 3, Civil War Lamp Light Tour. May 4, Old River Tales historical performances, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. May 5, Circle the City: An Historical Bus Tour of Rockford, noon, 1 p.m., and 2 p.m., in partnership with Rockford Lutheran Academy.

Call 815-397-9112 or visit www.midwayvillage.com.

Thursday, May 9

Saturday, May 4

Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful hosts its Metals & Electronics Drive, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Machesney Park Mall south parking lot; No TVs. Visit www.knib.org.

University of Illinois Extension hosts a Whimsical Fairy Gardening class, 10 a.m. to noon, Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden with master gardener Rachel Walters-Stefanini. Register at web.extension.illinois.edu/jsw or 815986-4357.

The American Heart Association hosts the 2013 Northern Illinois Heart

Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence presents Begging for Change: Promoting Community Innovation to Find Fresh Solutions to Solvable Issues, a luncheon and dialogue session, Rockford College, 5050 E. State St. Keynote speaker is Robert Egger. Register asap with Karen Ream, 815-394-4384 or kream@ rockford.edu.

Rockford MELD hosts Dream It, Believe It, Work It: Setting Goals to Get What You Want with Jill Blashack Strahan, founder and CEO of Tastefully Simple, 5:30 p.m., Giovanni’s.

Call 815-633-6353 or visit www. rockfordmeld.org.

Rockford Public Library presents Finding Grants for a Non-Profit Organization, 2 to 3:30 p.m., main library second floor computer room, 215 N. Wyman St. Registration required at 815-965-7606.

Shelter Care Ministries’ Annual Spring Luncheon: Helping Hands … Caring Hearts, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tebala Shrine Temple, 7910 Newburg Road. For more information contact Carol West 815-708-2650 or cwest@ shelter-care.org.

Friday, May 10

Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden hosts its free Spring Plant Sale & Preview Night at 2715 S. Main St., Rockford. Preview Night is May 10, 5

to 8 p.m. Plant sale is May 11, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; May 12, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Free admission May 11, 12. Visit www. klehm.org.

Barbara Olson Center of Hope presents its Celebrate HOPE! dinnerdance fundraiser at Giovanni’s in celebration of its 65th anniversary. Paul Logli emcees. Silent and live auctions.

Guests will speak about how the Center of Hope serves the community through its innovative programs. Rockford’s own Clutch Cargo will perform. Register

by May 2 at 815-964-9275, ext. 265, or www.b-olsoncenterofhope.org (Events).

Chick-fil-A® Leadercast®: a one-day leader development event broadcast on Friday, May 10 at 7 a.m., LIVE from Atlanta and hosted by First Free Rockford, 2223 N. Mulford Road.

National speakers are Jack Welch, Mike Krzyzewski, Condolezza Rice and more. Tickets at www.chick-fil-a leadercast.com; PromoCode: Rockford Chamber for $10 off general admission.

Saturday, May 11

Rockford Public Library presents Fresh and Local – Where to Get It, 2 to 4 p.m., East Branch Friends of RPL Community Room, 6685 E. State St. Registration required at 815-965-7606.

Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful hosts its Clothing Drive, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at nine locations. Visit www.knib.org.

Tuesday, May 14 University of Illinois Extension Winnebago County presents an Emerald Ash Borer Homeowner Management Workshop, 6 to 7 p.m., North Suburban Library, 6340 N. Second St., Loves Park. Register at web.extension.illinois.edu/jsw or call 815-986-4357.

Wednesday, May 15

Illinois PTAC at Rock Valley College presents Documentation & Survey Techniques, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at EIGERlab, 605 Fulton Ave, Rockford.

Register at ilsbdc.ecenterdirect.com or contact Ann Johns, 815-921-2091 or ptac@rockvalleycollege.edu.

Thursday, May 16

The Illinois PTAC of Rock Valley College presents Creating a Capability Statement Workshop, 9 to 11 a.m., EIGERlab, 605 Fulton Ave., Rockford. Free, but registration recommended at ilsbdc.ecenterdirect. com. Click Training Events, keyword “capability.”

Saturday, May 18

Rockford Park District presents its 10th annual Rockford Football Training Camp for boys and girls, 5 to 18, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Auburn High School stadium, 5110 Auburn St. Features Bears players Lance Briggs and Roberto Garza as guest speakers/instructors. Visit www. rockfordparkdistrict.org/youthsports or call 815-987-8800 or 815-962-7469.

Rockford Park District’s Atwood Center presents In the Outdoors,

7 to 9 p.m. Night hike and s’mores around the campfire, Seth B. Atwood Park, 2685 New Milford School Road, Rockford. Visit www. rockfordparkdistrict.org/atwood or call 815-987-8800.

Alpine Bank and Paper Recovery Service Corp., host their spring Community Shred Day, 9 a.m. to noon, East State Street Branch parking lot, 6838 E. State St., Rockford. Visit www. bankalpine.com or call 815-398-6500.

Applebee’s® Flapjack Fundraiser Breakfast, 8 to 10 a.m., Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, 6845 E. State Street, Rockford, to benefit Rock House Kids. Pancakes, sausage and drink for $5. Includes perennial plant sale. Call 815-962-5067.

Tuesday, May 21

University of Illinois Extension Winnebago County presents a workshop, Rain Barrels, 6 to 7 p.m., 1040 N. Second St., Rockford, with horticulture educator, Candice Miller.

Register by May 15 at web.extension. illinois.edu/jsw or call 815-986-4357.

Wednesday, May 22

Remedies Renewing Lives hosts its sixth-annual Golf Outing at Aldeen Golf Club. Free putting clinic with Duncan Geddes, PGA professional, 11 a.m.; lunch at noon; shotgun start at 1 p.m.

Best ball format. Prizes at day end. www.remediesrenewinglives.org or contact Janet Johnson, 815-966-1285 or jjohnson@remediesrenewinglives.org.

Thursday, May 23

Rockford Park District hosts Group Golf Lessons, adults ages 55 and up at Aldeen Practice Centre, 1901 Reid Farm Road, Rockford, Thursday afternoons, May 23 to June 20.

Register a week in advance at www. rockfordgolfs.com/lessons.html or 815-987-8800.

Saturday, May 25

Discovery Center Museum, 711 N. Main St., presents Treasure! Your Hunt Has Just Begun, a traveling exhibition through Sept. 2. Visit www. discoverycentermuseum.org or call 815-963-6769.

Wednesday, May 29

Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence at Rockford College hosts a Leadership Café, “Is the relationship between your board and staff helping or hindering your organization’s success?” noon to 1 p.m., Burpee Center, Rockford College, 5050 E. State St. RSVP five days prior—call 815-3944384 or email kream@rockford.edu.

Friday, May 31

Klaas Financial hosts a Charity Golf Event to benefit Patriots’ Gateway Community Center at Aldeen Golf Course. Shotgun start at 8 a.m. Cart and green fees, buffet lunch and charity donation. Visit www.patriotsgateway. org. To register, call Jean Lopez, 815877-8440.

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May 2013

EVENTS

Membership Renewals

Upcoming Chamber Events

Thank you to members who renewed with the Rockford Chamber in March, 2013.

Ahern Fire Protection Akerman Shoes American Driveway Maintenance, Inc. Aqua-Aerobic Systems, Inc. Associated Bank Astro-Physics, Inc. Barbara Olson Center of Hope Behr Iron & Metal Bell Harbour Condo Association BMO Harris Bank Boone and Winnebago Counties Workforce Investment Board Butitta Brothers Automotive Campos Construction, Inc. Carpenter’s Local 792 Coca-Cola Refreshments COMTECH Corporation CRASH1 Off Alpine Cricket Communications DeSoto House Hotel DHS Division of Rehabilitation Services Dickerson & Nieman Realtors Enders Flowers ESCO Grinding & Supply Company Fisher’s Ethan Allen Four Corners Wellness Center Fridh Construction Services Furst Search Gauerke Electric Company Gemini Computer Systems, Inc. General Mitchell International Airport Giordano’s Gitz-Meier Remodeling/Restorx Guyer & Enichen, PC H. C. Anderson Roofing Co. Inc. Hanson Professional Services Inc. Harlem Community Center Holmstrom & Kennedy, P.C. Hooters of Rockford Hurd Properties II, LLC Integra Business Systems, Inc. Interstate Graphics J.J. Paris, Inc. J.L.Clark, A CLARCOR Company JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Kent Feeds, Inc. Klaas Financial, inc., Klaas Financial Asset Advisors, LLC, Registered Investment Advisor, A Reg. Inv. Advisory Firm Knopp Construction Inc. Lamar Outdoor Advertising of Rockford LaMonica Beverages, Inc. Larson & Darby Group Leading Edge Hydraulics Lindstrom Travel LSP Industries, Inc. Mack Paper Company, Inc. Macktown, A Living History Education Center March of Dimes Mark Pack Inc. McGladrey LLP MegaFab Meridian Promotions Mondelez International Mutual Management Services Northern Illinois Building Contractors Association Northpoint Benefit Group Inc. Northwest Community Center Northwestern Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council Northwestern Mutual Financial Network/M. Beth Thacker Oliver Close, LLC Olsson Roofing Company, Inc.

Ongena Dental Paper Recovery Services Corp.

Pepper Creek/Fourth Street Greenhouse Pepsi-Cola of Rockford Perryville CRASH1 Phantom Regiment Policeman’s Benevolent & Protective Association Unit 6 - Rockford Preservation Pointe Condo Association Pumilia Family Dental Group Red Roof Inn Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated Rock River Training Corp.

Rock Valley Packaging, Inc. Rockford Area Crime Stoppers, Inc. Rockford Area SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) Rockford Career College Rockford Charter Coach Rockford Data Management Rockford First Rockford Gastroenterology Associates, Ltd. Rockford Health System Rockford Mass Transit District Rockford Mass Transit District/Paratransit Rockford Mercantile Agency, Inc. Rockford Register Star Sam’s Club, A Division of Wal-Mart Stores Sandray Precision Grinding, Inc. Schmeling Construction Co. Schneider Electric Select Telecom & Technologies dba Hughes Business Shogun Japanese Restaurant Izakoya 88 Sjostrom & Sons, Inc. Sound, Inc. Specialty Screw Corporation Sprinkmann Sons Corporation State Farm Insurance – David Zierke State Farm Insurance – Julie Weaver Staybridge Suites Stenstrom Companies Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated Superior Joining Technologies, Inc. SwedishAmerican Health System TDS The Observer The Oliver Group Inc. The Testor Corporation Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum Triangle Metals, Inc. University of Illinois Extension Winnebago County Van Matre HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital Village of Machesney Park Voss Metals Company, Inc. Willett Hofmann & Associates, Inc. Williams-Manny, Inc. Winnebago County Medical Society Wipfli LLP Women of Today’s Manufacturing (WOTM) WQRF-TV/WTVO-TV Youngberg Industries, Inc. Zuba and Associates, P.C.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

May, 2013 Friday, May 3

Ribbon Cutting & Open House, Andy’s Professional Landscaping & Garden Center, 4035 S. Perryville Road, Cherry Valley, 9 to 11 a.m.

Tuesday, May 7

Business Women’s Council, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Forest Hills Country Club, 5135 Forest Hills Road, Rockford. Christina Valiquette, Valiquette Resource Group, presents “What’s Your Next Level of Achievement Personally and Professionally?” Sponsored by Siena on Brendenwood.

Advantage Club – Superstars, noon to 1 p.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Contact Thomas Conwell, MSI Reverse, tconwell@msiloans.biz.

Wednesday, May 8

Breakfast Buzz, 7:30 to 9 a.m., Rock Valley College Woodward Technology Center, 3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford. Janyce Fadden, Rockford Area Economic Development, presents “Leading with Kindness and Results.”

Sponsored by McGladrey.

Wednesday, May 8 Noon - 1:00 pm Rockford College 5100 Bldg.

5050 E. State St., Rockford

PYSK TALKS

Charles St., Rockford. To join call Heidi Garner at 815-316-4312.

2013 Tri State Alliance Summit, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., The Eclipse Center, 100 Eclipse Center, Beloit, Wis. Features Mark Gottlieb and Ann Schneider, Wisconsin and Illinois transportation secretaries; Kelly O’Brien, Chicagoland Chamber, on the “Chicago Regional Competitive Analysis and the Role for Alliance and Regional Development.” Panel discussion on the changing use of river corridors for economic development, with representatives from Dubuque, Janesville, Beloit and Rockford.

Tuesday, May 14

Chamber 101 with Speed Networking, 7:30 to 8:45 a.m., Benson Stone Company, Inc., 1100 11th St., Rockford. Sponsored by MembersAlliance Credit Union.

Wednesday, May 15 Noon - 1:00 pm Rockford College 5100 Bldg.

5050 E. State St., Rockford

PYSK TALKS Bill LaFever, Bill Doran Company, is presenter.

Wednesday, May 15

Ribbon Cutting, Huntington Learning Center, 10 to 11 a.m., 5301 E. State St., Ste. 104, Rockford.

LoRayne Logan, workplace Staffing, is presents “Career Moves – Knowing and Spotlighting Your Strengths and Abilities.”

Monday, May 20 Start: 11:00 am Forest Hills Country Club 5135 Forest Hills Rd., Rockford

Advantage Power Network Club, 11:45 a.m., Forest Hills Country Club, 5135 Forest Hills Road, Rockford. Contact Teri Watts, Whitehead Inc., Realtors®, tlwatts@ whiteheadcommercial.com.

Rockford Chamber Golf Classic

Advantage Club – Originals, 11:45 a.m., various locations. Contact Tiffany Staman, Carpenter’s Place, 815-964-4105, ext. 221, or tiffanys@ carpentersplace.org.

Thursday, May 9

Ambassador Lunch Meeting, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., Veteran’s Memorial Hall, 211 N. Main St., Rockford.

Thursday, May 9 11:30 am - 1:00 pm Clock Tower Resort 7801 E. State St., Rockford

Celebration of Leadership

Celebrate the graduation of the Rockford Chamber’s 58th leadership class. Mike Brown, president/CEO, YMCA of Rock River Valley, will share his experiences on leadership.

Sponsor: PNC Bank (presenting); OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, McGladrey, Savant Capital Managment (supporting)

Friday, May 10

Government Affairs Council, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., Stockholm Inn, 2420

11 a.m. registration/lunch; noon shotgun start Sponsors: SwedishAmerican Health System (presenting); Comcast Business Services (gold); OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center (photo); The Alliance (green)

Tuesday, May 21

Advantage Club – Superstars, noon to 1 p.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Contact Thomas Conwell, MSI Reverse, tconwell@msiloans.biz.

Wednesday, May 22 Noon - 1:00 pm Rockford College 5100 Bldg.

5050 E. State St., Rockford

PYSK TALKS Dan Cataldi, Rock Valley College/ EIGERlab, presents “3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing and How It could Impact Rockford.”

Wednesday, May 22

Advantage Power Network Club, 11:45 a.m., Forest Hills Country Club, 5135 Forest Hills Road, Rockford. Contact Teri Watts, Whitehead Inc., Realtors®, tlwatts@ whiteheadcommercial.com.

theVoice rockfordchamber.com

EVENTS

Upcoming Chamber Events Advantage Club – Originals, 11:45 a.m., various locations. Contact Tiffany Staman, Carpenter’s Place, 815-964-4105, ext. 221, or tiffanys@ carpentersplace.org. wednesday, may 29 noon - 1:00 pm rockford college 5100 bldg.

5050 E. state st., rockford

PYSK TALKS David Klintworth, McGladrey LLP, is presenter.

junE, 2013 Tuesday, June 4

Business Women’s Council, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Forest Hills Country Club, 5135 Forest Hills Road, Rockford. Vicki Toepfer, Above and Beyond Associates, presents “Loyal Customers — Develop and Keep Them.” Sponsored by Siena on Brendenwood. wednesday, june 5 noon - 1:00 pm rockford college 5100 bldg.

5050 E. state st., rockford

PYSK TALKS Rebecca Epperson, PR Etc., is presenter.

Wednesday, June 5

Ribbon Cutting, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, 4 to 5 p.m., 7479 Walton St., Ste. 4, Rockford.

Ribbon Cutting, Rockford Supportive Living, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., 2114 Kishwaukee St., Rockford. Celebrates opening of new secured unit for the Alzheimer’s/ dementia care.

Tuesday, June 11

Lead 360 June Breakfast, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., Radisson Hotel & Conference Center, 200 S. Bell School Road, Rockford. Includes presentation for Lead 360 members.

Rockford Park District (presenting); OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center (keynote) Advantage Club – Superstars, noon to 1 p.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Contact Thomas Conwell, MSI Reverse, tconwell@msiloans.biz. wednesday, june 12 noon - 1:00 pm rockford college 5100 bldg.

5050 E. state st., rockford

PYSK TALKS Bob Guirl, UTC Aerospace Systems, presents “Realigning Products to Meet Market Demads.”

Wednesday, June 12 Advantage Power Network Club, 11:45 a.m., Forest Hills Country Club, 5135 Forest Hills Road, Rockford. Contact Teri Watts,

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May 2013

Whitehead Inc., Realtors®, tlwatts@ whiteheadcommercial.com.

Advantage Club – Originals, 11:45 a.m., various locations. Contact Tiffany Staman, Carpenter’s Place, 815-964-4105, ext. 221, or tiffanys@ carpentersplace.org.

Friday, June 14

Government Affairs Council, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., Stockholm Inn, 2420 Charles St., Rockford. To join call Heidi Garner at 815-316-4312. wednesday, june 19 noon - 1:00 pm rockford college 5100 bldg.

5050 E. state st., rockford

PYSK TALKS

ADVERTISERS Advertisers Index

The Alliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Alpine Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2, 11 Brian Thomas Photography. . . . . . . .4 Broadmoor Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Comcast Business Services . . . . . .32 EdwardJones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 First National Bank and Trust Company . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 IMEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Lydia Urban Academy . . . . . . . . . . .22 MassMutual Financial Group. . . . . .15 McGladrey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 MembersAlliance Credit Union . . . .11 Midland States Bank . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Midway Village Museum . . . . . . . . .10 OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Riverside Community Bank . . . . . . .13

Rockford Bank & Trust . . . . . . . . . .16 Rockford Bell Credit Union . . . . . . .14 Rockford Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . 4, 5,18, 22, 23, 26

Rockford Health System . . . . . . . . .17 Rockford Tech-Systems Inc. . . . . . .12 Savant Capital Management . . . . . .16 Servpro of Rockford . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Sikich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Stanley Steemer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Stillman Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 SwedishAmerican Health System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Thayer Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

TLC Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Upstream Investments Partners . . .18 Vacations by Veronika . . . . . . . . . . .24 Van Galder Bus Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Sam Schmitz, Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois, is presenter.

Wednesday, June 19 Ribbon Cutting, Superior Environmental Corp, 9 to 10 a.m., 4799 Colt Road, Rockford.

Thursday, june 20 10:00 am - 1:00 pm cliffbreakers riverside resort 700 w. riverside blvd, rockford

Women in Business Expo and Luncheon Speaker Martha Mertz, founder of ATHENA International, will share eight principles on “Becoming Athena.” Announcement of 2013 Woman Business Leader of Tomorrow, Woman Manager of the Year, Woman Business Owner of the Year and the Athena Powerlink Awards.

Sponsors: The Women’s Center at Rockford Health System (presenting); OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center (gold); Humana (Women-inBusiness Awards)

Tuesday, June 25

Advantage Club – Superstars, noon to 1 p.m., Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford. Contact Thomas Conwell, MSI Reverse, tconwell@msiloans.biz. wednesday, june 26 noon - 1:00 pm rockford college 5100 bldg.

5050 E. state st., rockford

PYSK TALKS Jeffrey Layng, JPMorgan Chase Bank, is presenter.

Wednesday, June 26 Advantage Power Network Club, 11:45 a.m., Forest Hills Country Club, 5135 Forest Hills Road, Rockford. Contact Teri Watts, Whitehead Inc., Realtors®, tlwatts@ whiteheadcommercial.com.

Advantage Club – Originals, 11:45 a.m., various locations. Contact Tiffany Staman, Carpenter’s Place, 815-964-4105, ext. 221, or tiffanys@ carpentersplace.org.

Chamber Staff / Call 815-987-8100 ............................................. Direct Line Einar K. Forsman, President & CEO ......................................... 815-316-4304 Heidi M. Garner, Executive Assistant to the President ................... 815-316-4312 Doug Hessong, Director of Publications & Technology .................. 815-316-4338 Lynette Jacques, Advertising and Sponsorship Executive .............. 815-316-4317 Vee Jevremovic, Manager of Education Programs and Events ......... 815-316-4337 Cyndie Landis, Financial Assistant ........................................... 815-316-4300 Joy Moriarty, V.P. Finance ...................................................... 815-316-4316 Stacy Mullins, Director of Events ............................................. 815-316-4302 Diane Navickis, Membership Development Manager .................... 815-316-4315 Joan Sundvall, Membership Contact Coordinator ........................ 815-316-4320

Chamber Board of Directors & Officers EXEcuTiVE commiTTEE Chairman of the Board Richard Walsh SwedishAmerican Health System Vice Chair Patti Thayer Thayer Lighting, Inc. Vice Chair Richard Zumwalt OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center Treasurer Larry Bridgeland Mid-City Office Products Immediate Past Chairman Mike Broski Entré Computer Solutions

dirEcTors Romero Bennett Blue Sky Insurance Agency, Inc. Andrew Benson Benson Stone Company, Inc. Ryan Brauns Rockford Consulting & Brokerage

Penelope Lechtenberg Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP Michael Mastroianni Rock Valley College Paul McCann Stanley Steemer Pat Morrow Alpine Bank

Paul Callighan ComEd, An Exelon Company

Amy Ott Chicago Rockford International Airport

Joe Castrogiovanni Giovanni’s, Inc.

Mark Peterson CBL Associates Cherry Vale

J Chapman Maverick Media of Rockford LLC Rena Cotsones Northern Illinois University Darlene Furst Furst Staffing

Michele Petrie BMO Harris Bank

Pat Shaw McGladrey LLP Somchan Thatsanaphon K-I Machine Tool & Production Inc. Tim White UTC Aerospace Systems Jennifer Wood Sikich LLP

EX-officio dirEcTors Janyce Fadden Rockford Area Economic Development Council

Timothy Rollins WilliamsMcCarthy

Einar K. Forsman President & CEO, Rockford Chamber of Daniel Saavedra Saavedra Gehlhausen Commerce Architects John Groh

Henry Seybold Jeff Hultman Riverside Community Rockford Health System Bank

Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

june 2013 special sections

advertising/marketing recreation/golf Travel/cooking for information on advertising, call 815 987-8100