BusINess

SERVING NORTHWEST INDIANA & CHICAGOLAND SERVING NORTHWEST INDIANA & CHICAGOLAND

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF

CLASS OF 2010

7 34

By the Numbers Salute

FALL 2010

KEVIN AND DAVID LEE

INTERVENTION SERVICES & TECHNOLOGIES INC. WINTER 2010 PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ST. JOSEPH, MI PERMIT #65

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ST. JOSEPH, MI PERMIT #65

>> contents

Class of 2010 David Janney, Principal/Vice President of R.L. Millies & Associates, is one of this year’s 20 Under 40 honorees.

20 Under 40

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19 Eddie Melton

by Lu Ann Franklin 20 Joseph Merry

by Lu Ann Franklin 21 Cynthia Mose-Trevino

by Jeremy Gantz 22 Marc Nelson

by Lu Ann Franklin 23 Michael Rakers

by Heather Augustyn 24 Sharon Stanzione

by Heather Augustyn 25 Tina St. Aubin

by Jeremy Gantz 26 Rob Thorgren

by Lu Ann Franklin 27 Michael Tolbert

by Lu Ann Franklin

publisher notes

by Publisher Bill Masterson Jr. by the numbers Statistics concerning the region’s economy CoVer story 20 under 40 9 James Anton

by Lu Ann Franklin 10 Shannon Burhans

by Jeremy Gantz 11 Rachel Delaney

by Lu Ann Franklin 12 Elizabeth Depew

by Lu Ann Franklin 13 Scott Dujmovich

by Lu Ann Franklin 14 Linda Galocy

by Lu Ann Franklin 15 Jennifer Heath

by Heather Augustyn 16 Douglas Holok

by Heather Augustyn 17 David Janney

by Lu Ann Franklin 18 Kevin and David Lee

by Lu Ann Franklin

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

28 32 34

biZ buZZ Updates on area businesses business Calendar Upcoming events in the area salute Promotions and accomplishments of local business people

photograph by Tony V. Martin

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>> publisher’s letter

Support structures drive high-achievers

E

ven though we do not start promoting nominations for our annual 20 Under 40 awards until summer, good candidates come to our attention throughout the year. It’s not surprising that the number of nominations for this recognition award has grown in the past few years along with the interest in the competition. What is surprising is that many of the winners keep a somewhat low profile. They don’t have time for the spotlight. No matter what their area is, these young leaders are busy. They have after-hours commitments, not only to jobs, but to schools, communities and their own families as well. Their successes in life are the building blocks of the economic development of Northwest Indiana. And that is the most important reason for celebrating and supporting the accomplishments of the 20 Under 40 candidates. They are role models who have been inspired by others and will inspire the next class of future leaders.

In this issue you will hear our winners talk about those people who they look up to, who provided help when they needed it most. For Sharon Stanzione it was her father, who always taught her she could be whatever she wanted to be. Winner David Janney has had three mentors and in one case, doesn’t even know the first name of the Highland Junior High School English teacher who had a profound effect on his future. Elizabeth Depew says her parents taught her to challenge herself instead of making excuses. Their exact words: “Don’t make it an excuse. Make it better.” James Anton found himself working outdoors during a cold winter for department superintendent Bruce Mathias at the Chesterton Parks Department. Mathias helped him mature. Joseph Merry went from the East Coast to the West Coast before he met Gary and Shar Miller and his career in EMR took off. Linda Galocy remembers her parents having a serious talk with her about her future when she was still at Lake Central High School. Dennis Tousana was the chief engineer at the Chicago Recording Company when he took on 19-year-old Marc Nelson as an audio engineer. With Tousana’s help, Nelson matured quickly as a professional and as a person.

Rachel Delaney went from volunteer to executive director at the Humane Society Calumet Area in Munster with the help and support of her parents. When Rob Thorgen got out of college in December and was trying to get an off-season teaching job, his father asked if he could help on a project for a couple of months. But Thorgen was hooked on the family business quickly and stayed with it because he loves it. All of our 20 Under 40 stories are like this, the stories of people who have helped others along the way, because someone else helped them.

The stories of how our winners pursued and prevailed are also unique and individual in amazing ways: Brothers Kevin and David Lee took very different paths but ended up in their own business together, for instance. And Cynthia Mose-Trevino is working to turn around her own high school. We may take the role we provide as mentors for granted, but these 20 super-achievers do not. They know that they could not have done it without their parents, their spouses, their employees and friends. And they never stopped thanking the people who have helped and will continue to support them along the way.

We will be back next year with the greatest mentors and contributors in the Hall of Fame awards issue.

BUSINESS

S e rv i n g n o rt h w e S t i n d i a n a & C h i C ag o l a n d

FALL 2010

VOLUME 7 ISSUE 4 Publisher Bill Masterson Jr. Founding Editor Bill Nangle

Associate Publisher/Editor Pat Colander Director of Product Development Chris Loretto Associate Editors Crista Zivanovic Julia Perla-Huisman Matt Saltanovitz Art Director Joe Durk Graphic Designer Matt Huss Contributing Writers Heather Augustyn Cal Bellamy Keith Benman Dan Carden Wil Davis Lu Ann Franklin Jeremy Gantz Carmen McCollum Kathleen Quilligan Bill Thon Brian Williams Contributing Photographers Jon L. Hendricks John Luke Tony V. Martin Advertising Director Lisa M. Daugherty Online Account Executive Craig Chism Advertising Managers Deb Anselm Eric Horon Frank Perea Jeffrey Precourt BusinEss ADvisOry BOArD Dave Bochnowski Peoples Bank Wil Davis Gary Jet Center NIPSCO Barb Greene Franciscan Physician Hospital Tom Gryzbek St. Margaret Mercy Hospital Terri G. Martin Gary Community Health Foundation Inc. Stephan K. Munsey Family Christian Center Bert Scott Indiana University Northwest

b il l ma ste r so n J r . p u b li s h er , bu s ines s We Want your FeedbaCK. E-mail me at bill.masterson@nwitimes.com or write to me at: BusINess Magazine, The Times, 601 W. 45th Ave., Munster, IN 46321

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FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

Bill Thon Ivy Tech State College Copyright, Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland BusINess, 2010.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content without permission is prohibited.

>> by the numbers

Employment lake County

laporte County

Cook County

illinois

July 2009 Labor Force: 228,180 Employed: 204,150 Unemployed: 24,030 Rate: 10.5 percent

July 2009 Labor Force: 53,853 Employed: 47,774 Unemployed: 6,079 Rate: 11.3 percent

July 2009 Labor Force: 2,654,205 Employed: 2,360,654 Unemployed: 293,551 Rate: 11.1 percent

July 2009 Labor Force: 6,719,000 Employed: 6,000,300 Unemployed: 718,700 Rate: 10.7 percent

porter County

indiana

Will County

SOURCES: Indiana Department of Workforce Development/Illinois Department of Employment Security

July 2009 Labor Force: 84,360 Employed: 76,563 Unemployed: 7,797 Rate: 9.2 percent

July 2009 Labor Force: 3,220,781 Employed: 2,889,948 Unemployed: 330,833 Rate: 10.3 percent

July 2009 Labor Force: 370,971 Employed: 330,854 Unemployed: 40,117 Rate: 10.8 percent

July 2010 Labor Force: 220,083 Employed: 195,684 Unemployed: 24,399 Rate: 11.1 percent

July 2010 Labor Force: 80,320 Employed: 73,388 Unemployed: 6,932 Rate: 8.6 percent

July 2010 Labor Force: 51,691 Employed: 45,797 Unemployed: 5,894 Rate: 11.4 percent

July 2010 Labor Force: 2,639,274 Employed: 2,353,459 Unemployed: 285,815 Rate: 10.8 percent

July 2010 Labor Force: 3,157,481 Employed: 2,838,075 Unemployed: 319,406 Rate: 10.1 percent

July 2010 Labor Force: 369,802 Employed: 329,846 Unemployed: 39,956 Rate: 10.8 percent

July 2010 Labor Force: 6,716,500 Employed: 6,001,400 Unemployed: 715,100 Rate: 10.6 percent

Hottest college degrees 2008-18 bachelor degrees

number of new Jobs

1. Elementary school teachers 2. Accountants/auditors 3. Secondary school teachers 4. Middle school teachers 5. Computer systems analysts 6. Computer software engineers 7. Network analysts 8. Computer system administrators 9. Construction managers 10. Market research analysts

597,000 498,000 412,000 251,000 223,000 218,000 208,000 153,000 138,000 137,000

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS FALL 2010

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10 20 of Cla ss their accomplishments are varied, but the results are the same - success.

BusINess, for the sixth year, is proud to take readers into the world of 20 area business people under the age of 40 who have made their mark on Northwest Indiana.

James anton

eddie melton

Anton Insurance Agency, Inc.

NIPSCO/NiSource Inc.

shannon burhans

Joseph merry

The eState

Prompt Ambulance Service

rachel delaney

Cynthia mose-trevino

Humane Society Calumet Area

Calumet High School New Tech

elizabeth h. depew

marc nelson

Purdue University North Central

The Alley Recording Company

scott dujmovich

michael rakers

Golden Technologies

Calumet Tech Services

linda Galocy

sharon stanzione

Indiana University Northwest

Johnson & Bell, Ltd.

Jennifer heath

tina st. aubin

Barker Woods Enrichment Center

Valparaiso Community Festivals and Events, Inc.

douglas holok The Holok Group

robert thorgren

david Janney

Thorgren Tool and Molding, Inc.

R.L. Millies & Associates

michael tolbert

Kevin and david lee

Hoeppner, Wagner and Evans LLP

Intervention Services & Technologies Inc. and Sober Solutions

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FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

photographs by Tony V. Martin

>> cover story: 20 under 40

James Anton Finding the right balance in life by lu ann FranKlin

G

rowing up in Jackson Township the fourth of five children, James Anton says he tried to find the focus for his life. He became active in sports, which continue to be a passion of the 34-year old Valparaiso resident. In middle school and high school he was a member of student council and speech and debate. “I went to IU in Bloomington and tried to find myself there, but that didn’t work. I came back home and started at Purdue North Central, but that wasn’t it.”

In 1996, he joined the steel frame construction industry, putting together the framework for buildings. “As I’m hanging off a steel frame in a lightning storm one day, I decided I needed to find another career,” Anton chuckles. “So I went to my father and uncle who owned Anton Insurance Agency and asked them for a job.

They said ‘no’, that I wasn’t ready.”

Today, he says, “looking back on it, it was the best thing they could have done. I wasn’t ready.” Anton says he needed seasoning and to learn more about life and about being resilient. His journey of discovery took him to the Chesterton Parks Department, where he worked for Department Superintendent Bruce Mathias outdoors in the parks during a cold winter.

The mentoring Mathias provided helped him mature, Anton says, so that when he went back to his father and uncle in 1997, they hired the then-21-year old. In addition to Mathias, James Anton counts his father, Mike Anton Jr., as a role model and an inspiration.

“He jumped into his own business from the steel mills in the early 1970s, when he had a couple of kids,” Anton says of his father. “It was a little bit scary, but he was confident he could be a successful business owner.” Mike Jr. continues to positively influence him, Anton says, “not only from a family environment and in business, but also seeing him in action.”

His father has also taught him “the value of continuing education,” Anton says. “I continue to educate myself in the insurance industry.” James Anton earned the Certified

Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 2000, and this year received his Certified Risk Manager’s designation.

He is active in commercial insurance sales and loss control risk management, and is involved with the agency’s automation systems. Anton also helps host risk management safety meetings for local municipalities, and is a member of the Indiana Young Agents Commission, which keeps him in contact with others in his profession around the state. “I enjoy meeting and working with people from all business backgrounds and helping them secure the financial piece of their future,” he says.

Much of his work involves networking through various civic organizations, Anton says. He is the current president of the Chesterton-Porter Rotary for 2010-2011, and is vice-president of the Chesterton/ Duneland Chamber of Commerce. He will assume the chamber presidency on Jan. 1, 2011. Anton Insurance Agency also belongs to the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, in which James Anton is an active participant.

He works, too, in numerous charitable activities throughout Porter County, including Rebuilding Together Duneland, part of the nation’s leading nonprofit group working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities.

Anton’s participation with family members in the Duneland and Valparaiso Relay for Life stems from a diagnosis of cancer his uncle received in 1997.

He participates in the Chesterton/ Duneland Chamber of Commerce’s Party in the Park, an event that focuses on

quality entertainment for Duneland friends and families to help start off the school year.

Anton is also part of CHIP, the Chesterton Hometown Improvement Program.

This ‘20 Under 40’ honor recipient says he’s most proud of the balance he’s now achieved in life.

“In addition to having some professional success, I’m proud of the balance I’ve been able to create between my career as a professional and future business owner, and my philanthropic and community activities,” Anton says.

Mike Anton Jr. remains active in the insurance agency he created, along with his wife, Nancy, who is office manager.

However, James Anton says, his dad and step-mother are “beginning a perpetuation plan” which will eventually pass the business on to the next generation.

“I see myself as president of Anton Insurance. I want to keep the family business rooted in Porter County,” he says, adding, “I was so lucky that none of my siblings wanted to go into the insurance business. They are my silent partners.”

[ ] James p. anton

Age: 34 Commercial Lines Manager Anton Insurance Agency Inc. Locations in Chesterton and Valparaiso 800-992-6866 (Toll-Free) antoninsurance.com/1/index.html

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS FALL 2010

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Shannon Burhans Combining entrepreneurship with community service

By Jeremy Gantz

L

ike anyone who runs a small independent business and has young children, Shannon Burhans stays very busy. Paid vacations are hard to come by.

When her young children aren’t in school, they’re probably with her—and need rides to sports or gymnastics practices.

That would be enough for most people, but not Burhans, who for the last seven years has run The eState, a jewelry, memorabilia and antiques shop in Portage, with her husband Dave. Throughout those years, the 38-year-old mother of two also volunteered for a dizzying array of positions in four organizations: the Portage Chamber of Commerce, the Portage Kiwanis club, Safe Sitter and the Portage Parks and Recreation Foundation.

“I really enjoy doing community service,” says Burhans, who’s originally from Schererville and went to Lake Central High School. Last year, she was named “Distinguished Club President” by Kiwanis International, which is dedicated to “changing the world, one child and one community at a time.” Burhans is the immediate past-president of the Portage club. She’s also served as the club’s secretary and vice-president, and is currently chair of its membership committee.

She also coordinates the club’s Dictionary Project, which she created while serving as vice president in 2006. Each year, the club fundraises to purchase dictionaries that are given to all third graders in Portage Township schools. “Most of us have the Internet, so you wouldn’t think a dictionary would be such a big deal,” says Burhans, who lives in Portage. But children like having their own dictionary. “Every one of those kids is extremely grateful—they’re using it, they’re interested.”

Burhans, whose children are age 7 and 10, is also the Portage coordinator for Safe

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Sitters, a national organization dedicated to teaching young adults 11 and up how to be responsible babysitters. “It was fairly selfish at first,” she acknowledges with a laugh.

“When I had kids, it was really difficult to find someone you trusted to babysit. That was the original theory behind it.” Since she created the Portage program four years ago, it has graduated 35 people. Classes are held once every three months, depending on need; Burhans has certified sitters herself.

Of course, if she can’t find a sitter, as small business owners she and her husband have been able to bring the kids to work.

“We definitely enjoyed that flexibility, of being able to have our kids around,” she says. But the flip side of that flexibility is financial instability. “When you own a business, sometimes everything else comes before your paycheck,” she says. “That’s definitely the hard part.”

But after seven years in business, The eState has found its niche. Sales have increased more than 300 percent during the last few years, largely due to a more visible location (on Willowcreek Road) and a lucrative gold and silver market (the store is not a pawn shop, but does buy gold and silver coins and jewelry). The business’ growth was likely helped along by Burhans’ presence in the Portage Chamber of Commerce, to which The eState belongs.

She sat on the Chamber’s board for four years and served as chair of the organization’s Ambassador Committee, which welcomed new businesses to the community and taught them how to network.

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

Joy Lundstrom, who has volunteered alongside Burhans in the Kiwanis club, says Burhans has offered great leadership and insights to the organization. “She’s got a loving heart and has everyone’s best interests at heart,” says Lundstrom, a Valparaiso resident. “She’s a forward thinker. I don’t know how she does it—she’s just everywhere.”

Indeed, Burhans is also vice president of the Portage Parks and Recreation Foundation, and somehow finds time to coach gymnastics at Lisa’s Gymnastics in Portage. Her team won 2nd place in USA Gymnastics’ Indiana competition in 2009, and 3rd place this year.

The secret to balancing her business, family and community service, says Burhans, is a support system. “With all of the stuff that I do, and for anybody that’s thinking of starting a business, you have to make sure you have a great support system,” she says. “We’re a husband and wife duo.

We both have to make sacrifices” to balance family and business. The crucial thing, she says, is “having somebody you trust, who has your back, when you need to be out doing something else.”

[

SHannOn BUrHanS Age: 38 Co-owner and manager The eState 3101 Willowcreek Rd. Portage, IN 43668 (219) 764-4316

]

>> cover story: 20 under 40

Rachel Delaney Making a difference in pets and people’s lives By lU ann franklin

W

hen it finally came to a career choice, Rachel Delaney just couldn’t ignore her dual passion for animals and for making a difference. At age 21, Delaney moved from Calumet City to Oak Park and sought a career in corporate America, working in a marketing position to promote the Chicago Marathon.

That exposure to health-related issues took her into the health care field, first as an Emergency Medical Technician and then as a paramedic.

Nursing school came next at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, but Delaney found herself missing the contact with animals she had in her childhood home. “We took in stray dogs, and we had a chicken and a duck. They followed us wherever we went,” Delaney says with a chuckle.

Five years ago, while still attending nursing school, Delaney decided to move to Indiana specifically to volunteer at the Humane Society Calumet Area in Munster.

The first day she volunteered at the shelter, a 14-year old black lab named Dora was brought in. Delaney decided immediately to foster the dog, taking her home and caring for the aged canine.

“She was with me six months.

Unfortunately, she was eventually in so much pain, we had to put her down. I was so devastated,” Delaney recalls. Since then, Delaney has fostered many animals until they could find forever homes.

Her volunteer hours increased to the point that she was at the shelter every moment she wasn’t in class. “I was there so much that I decided to see if there were any part-time positions open. The volunteer coordinator asked if I could work fulltime as the customer service coordinator,” Delaney says.

“It was a hard decision – coming from health care to a not-for-profit. I had to decide if I should make money or make a difference.” The “make a difference” attitude was a lesson instilled by her parents, Delaney says. “I was taught by my parents to have a positive attitude. My dad has had a profound effect on me. He’s been very supportive of my career choices, even when

he didn’t always agree with them,” she says.

Delaney’s journey to become executive director at the Humane Society Calumet Area continued as she accepting more responsibilities. When the executive director left the position, the board of directors hired Delaney as interim chief. In 2006, she was appointed as executive director.

Her duties include grant-writing, overseeing the activities of the adoption center and supervising the staff of 25, making certain the daily care is “up to par,” she says. “I also maintain relationships with animal control offices and rescue groups.”

During her tenure as executive director, the Humane Society Calumet Area has expanded to include the HSCA Intake Center at 9406 Calumet Ave. in Munster.

This center is the first stop for animals collected by animal control departments, sick animals and pets surrendered by their owners, Delaney says. It also recently became the shelter’s adoption center.

PAWS Resale Shoppe is another HSCA program Delaney oversees. Located in downtown Highland, PAWS Resale Shoppe offers everything from furniture and toys to jewelry and collectibles. All proceeds are used to help feed and house the animals of the Humane Society Calumet Area.

Recently the Humane Society Calumet Area broke ground for a new veterinary clinic that will be attached to its main facility at 421 45th Ave. in Munster. The on-site clinic will feature four examination rooms and will provide full-service veterinary services and surgeries at a low cost.

Eventually, it will also include a state-ofthe-art Spay/Neuter Center that will offer

low-cost procedures to prevent breeding.

“When we’re finished building, the Intake Center will move over here,” Delaney says.

The new HSCA facility will take about two years to complete, she says, but it will “have the latest and the greatest. Everything will be new.”

In the meantime, Delaney also finds her plate full at her own Highland home, where she lives with her husband, Kyle, a regular Humane Society volunteer, and their 8-month old daughter, Hannah Grace.

Delaney’s passion for animals includes adopting four dogs – three Chihuahuas and one German Shepherd. “It’s a high energy household,” she laughs.

In addition, Delaney is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in humane leadership through the Humane Society University.

For the future, Delaney says she sees herself continuing to make a difference.

“I’m proud to say every day that I make a difference,” she says. “By being nominated for this ’20 Under 40’ honor, I can have even more impact on the lives of other animals – that includes people. We’re all part of the animal kingdom. If I can do that, I’ll be a happy person.”

[

racHel Delaney Age: 33 Executive Director Humane Society Calumet Area 421 45th Ave. Munster, Indiana 46321 219-922-3811 www.hscalumet.org/

]

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS FALL 2010

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Elizabeth Depew Loving life on a government budget By lU ann franklin

E

lizabeth H. Depew of Valparaiso came to her accounting career via a bit of serendipity. She enrolled in Purdue University North Central at age 15, while attending Wheeler High School where she played varsity sports and worked part-time.

“When I was in high school, my friend and I wanted to take a class together, and we chose an accounting class,” Depew recalls. “My friend dropped out of the class and I fell in love with it.” After graduating with an honors diploma from high school, she continued her college education at PNC. When she completed her accounting degree in 2003, Depew became a temporary accounting clerk at her alma mater.

“I looked at the job and said ‘I can do that’,” she says. Eventually, she became a regular full-time employee and handled the accounts for student activities and athletic fees, and audited travel expenses.

In 2008, she was named director of purchasing and oversaw the processing of purchases for the switchboard and food services. Since May of this year, Depew has added to her duties as director of auxiliary services and resource planning at PNC. “I still hold all of those duties I had (as director of purchasing) and I have new ones,” she says.

In her latest position, Depew oversees purchasing, telecommunications, food services, print/mail services and space management as well as the university budget planning. She has served on the university’s 2008-2014 Strategic Plan steering committee and is a member of the PNC Accreditation Self-Study team. Depew also serves on the Purdue Procurement Council to review policy for system-wide savings through procurement.

“Her efforts recently reduced the cost of education for students through a textbook rental program,” says D. Carol Kurmis, PNC-Porter County enrollment manager, in her nomination of Depew for “20 Under 40”. During her tenure with PNC, Depew has also completed her MBA degree there.

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Her work leads to a minimum of 10 hour work days, but, Depew says, she wouldn’t change anything.

“I thought I’d be a CPA, although I’ve always liked governmental accounting,” she says. “They’re very different.” As Depew explains, the concept behind for-profit accounting, as that done by a CPA, is to make money. “In governmental accounting, you start with a certain amount and have to live within it,” she says.

Kurmis says Depew’s natural leadership and interest in Northwest Indiana are immediately recognizable. “As a leader and contributor to her profession and community, Elizabeth is a graduate of the Leadership Northwest Indiana Class 24. Her interest in the future of Northwest Indiana and her local neighborhood is demonstrated by her membership in the Quality of Life Council, both locally and regionally, and as the Cotters Mill Condominium Association Board of Directors.”

Because she worked full-time while in college, Depew says she appreciated the instructors who made her education possible by teaching night classes. Kurmis says “as a way to demonstrate her appreciation, Elizabeth teaches Financial Accounting I and II and Managerial Accounting courses at PNC in the evenings so that other students can have the opportunities to earn a degree as she did.” Depew lives by a personal motto: “Anything is possible and life’s challenges are opportunities to become a better person.” It’s a life lesson she learned from her parents, who are her role models.

“My parents said that anything I wanted to do, I could do. They have strong work ethics and always require accountability,” says Depew, who is the youngest of five children.

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

Depew says her parents also taught her to give back to the community. Sometimes, she says, that effort means doing something you don’t especially like to do. “I hate to run, but I was talked into doing a run for Inheritance of Hope, which provides retreats for families where the parents are sick – like Make a Wish, but for parents,” she says. “It gives kids time with their parents.”

Other favorite community activities involve children, she says, and include the Salvation Army Angel Trees, the Boys & Girls Clubs and the Girls Just Want to Be Girls program that’s part of the Women’s Association at PNC. Some of Depew’s activities stem from personal or family challenges. For example, she hosted a cancer benefit with silent auction for her 27-year old cousin who has a brain tumor. “You don’t have to like the reason they’re going through this, but you can do something positive,” Depew says.

To relax, Depew spends time with her husband, Adam, and her 11-year old stepdaughter. She says playing tennis and practicing a specific kind of martial art, called Brazilian Jujitsu, keep her focused.

“My husband teaches Brazilian Jujitsu and runs charities in town,” Depew says.

“He’s very special.”

[ ] elizaBetH H. Depew

Age: 27 Director of Auxiliary Services and Resource Planning Purdue University North Central 1401 S. U.S. 421 Westville, Indiana 46391 219-785-5200 www.pnc.edu/

>> cover story: 20 under 40

Scott Dujmovich Developing a corporate culture with a heart By lU ann franklin

B

uilding a corporate culture that expects excellence from everyone involved, that constructs networks of communication and that recognizes civic responsibility is Scott Dujmovich’s mission for Golden Technologies, a firm that provides design and marketing and custom solutions for medium and small businesses.

One of four partners who met while working at Bethlehem Steel in the 1990s, Dujmovich initiated a movement at the Valparaiso-based company that “has lead to growth and development of a healthy, stable corporate community,” says Nat Finn, Golden’s Internet marking specialist, who nominated the 37-year old for the 2010 Class of ‘20 Under 40.’ “His initiation inspired one common vision for Golden: ‘Excellence in connecting people, business and technology’.”

Two of the founding partners started a side business in 1996 to help solve companies’ problems using technology, says Dujmovich.

“Three of us worked together in the same department at Bethlehem. We started doing side jobs that feed our interest in technology and solutions,” he says.

Those interests have been major focuses in Dujmovich’s life. A native of South Haven in Porter County, he graduated from Portage High School in 1992 and enrolled at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond to study electrical engineering. With a newly-minted bachelor of science degree, he was hired by Bethlehem Steel in 1998 right out of college as a process control engineer.

Engineering appealed to Dujmovich’s love of troubleshooting and logical thinking. Those same qualities are what he brings to Golden Technologies, he says. “I began working with the original partners in 1998. The side jobs soon became a regular job, and we opened shop as Golden Technologies in August of 2000. Naming the company was serendipitous.

“The partners needed to decide what to name the company. One of the partner’s dogs, a Golden Retriever named Eddie,

was sitting next to him. That’s how Golden Technologies got its name,” he says. “We all love dogs here. My wife, Stephani, and I have two dogs. When we retire, we hope to have land and rescue dogs.”

Golden Technologies’ expertise in applying technology to solve problems provides employment for some 50 people in the company’s Valparaiso headquarters and offices in South Bend and Naples, Florida.

“We do design and marketing work for our clients that includes designing web sites, and marketing brochures and branding,” Dujmovich says. We offer custom and simple ways to solve complex problems, such as custom software designs and network designs. We also provide IT support around the clock, 24/7/365.”

Dujmovich counts as his role models his dad, John, who has worked for 40 years as a welder in the BOF (basic oxygen furnace) at the Burns Harbor steel mill. “I learned my work ethic from my dad. I want to work for what I get in life,” Scott Dujmovich says.

“My dad came from a very poor family and had to quit high school to support his family,” Dujmovich says with admiration in his voice. “He is always taking care of his family. I don’t have kids, but I’m always looking for what I can do for others, including Golden’s employees.” The youngest of three boys, Dujmovich says his older brothers also showed him good examples and helped lead him into engineering. One of them is also an electrical engineer.

One of his partners, Steve Massa, has also been a great influence in his life, Dujmovich says. “He’s all about being fair, honest and truthful and helps to support and encourage me as we develop the culture at Golden.”

Part of that corporate culture involves

giving back to the community. Golden Technologies contributes time, equipment and funds to numerous local charities and non-profit organizations. That effort involves the Valparaiso Family YMCA. “We provided tons of consulting for the new YMCA facility,” Dujmovich says.

In 2010, Golden Technologies also began providing a free web site design and web site hosting in the company’s data center for one charity or non-profit group a year.

Dujmovich and his team perform the work after business hours on their own time. This year’s selection is Banta Feeds’ food drives in Valparaiso. The organization’s web site will go live later this fall.

Long-time supporters of Purdue University, Dujmovich and his partners place a premium on education. The team partners with Discoveries Unlimited of Valparaiso to give 30 junior high students and their mentors in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) program an introduction to information technology.

“We love to give back,” Dujmovich says.

“Even when the economy got tougher, we didn’t cut back. In fact, we give more because there’s more need today.”

[ ] ScOtt DUJmOVicH

Age: 37 Partner Golden Technologies 2402 Beech St. Valparaiso, IN 46383 219-462-7200 or 866-806-7127 www.golden-tech.com/

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS FALL 2010

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Linda Galocy Preparing medical information personnel for the future By lU ann franklin

L

inda Galocy understands college students and the impact that higher education has on people’s lives.

Attending college and getting at least one degree were part of her parents’ expectations, the Dyer native and current Schererville resident says.

“My father, Davie Rietman, has an MBA,” she says. “When I was a senior at Lake Central High School, my mom, Margaret Rietman, sat down with me to talk about my future. She guided me into what has become my career.”

After high school graduation, Galocy enrolled at Indiana University Northwest to major in health information services and received an associate’s degree. She completed her bachelor’s degree in this field in 1992 at Indiana University/Purdue University in Indianapolis. Marriage and children came next. Galocy and her husband, Matt, lived in Chicago for a while, but when they had their first child, Max now 9, they opted to move back to Northwest Indiana. Max’s sister, Lauren now 6, came along three years later.

The Galocy family has made the health care field their focus. Matt is a nurse practitioner while Linda Galocy is

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clinical coordinator and lecturer at IUN in the Health Information Management program. This two-year program prepares students to be medical coders and to work in the management of health information and with medical records.

“The students need 300 clinical hours of in-class lab and hands-on experience,” Galocy says. “In-class experience and handson experience are very different types.”

Gaining real world experience takes students into healthcare settings where electronic medical records (EMRS) are now the norm, she says.

“EMRs are making a difference in the way students learn about this profession,” she said. Yet, Galocy adds, students continue to need exposure to the “paper world” of medical information.

As the program’s clinical coordinator and lecturer, Galocy devotes time to her students’ learning experiences and provides

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

in-services in medical records for area healthcare providers. While she’s guiding her students through their degree program, Galocy is also completing coursework for her master’s degree in adult continuing education at IUPUI and will receive her degree in May 2011.

All of that while working full-time, raising two children with Matt and managing a household, says Margaret Skurka, director of the Health Information Management program at IUN. Galocy’s “contribution to the local and state in the profession of Health Information Management is significant,” says Skurka, who nominated the 37-year old for the 2010 Class of ‘20 Under 40.’ In addition, Galocy is the 2011 president of the Indiana Health Information Management Association.

“This is a significant honor in that she was elected by the 3,000 members of the state association,” Skurka says. “She is a consultant, author and an accomplished educator. She consults within the state and nationally.” A member of the IHIMA for nine years, Galocy says she’s honored to be the state organization’s leader, which gives her a chance to travel around Indiana.

Galocy says role models and mentors in her life certainly include her parents, while others also helped shape the person she is today. “There have been a whole lot of professionals who have helped me. Each one has had different qualities. I have taken those qualities and made them part of my own life, to become my own.”

Giving back to the community is one of those life lessons Galocy says she learned from all her role models and mentors. Much of that community involvement centers on her two children.

“I volunteer as a room mom at my kids’ school and teach CCD classes at St. Mary Church in Griffith, where my son is in religious education classes,” she says.

“I try as much as I can to be physically present in my children’s lives.”

[ ] linDa GalOcy

Age: 37 Clinical Coordinator & Lecturer IHIMA (Indiana Health Information Management Program) at Indiana University Northwest 3400 Broadway Gary, Indiana 46408 219-980-6654 ihima.org/careers_and_colleges.htm

>> cover story: 20 under 40

Jennifer Heath Resetting the agenda to help kids with Down Syndrome

By HeatHer aUGUStyn

J

ennifer Heath, interim administrator at Barker Woods Enrichment Center in Michigan City, began her work helping children with special needs after she and her husband Jerry’s lives crossed paths with the center.

Heath, who grew up in South Bend, Skokie, and then Michigan City, attended Indiana State and PNC and studied marketing, but she says that career vision changed when she had her first child. “I came into a totally different area than what I intended, but that all changed when I had my oldest daughter, Libby, who was born with Down Syndrome,” says Heath. “I studied about Down Syndrome, I learned about it and I became involved with Barker Woods Enrichment Center. I served on their board for eight years before I began working there,” Heath says.

Barker Woods Enrichment Center provides childcare and preschool services for children of all abilities, specializing in serving children with special needs.

They also provide pediatric occupational and speech therapy services for children.

The facility was started by a group of parents whose children were not welcomed in the public school system during the 1950s.

“At Barker Woods I help them network with other agencies in the community, I do human resource and personnel work, grant writing, and I’m responsible for the overall performance of the center. Barker Woods has been in existence for over 60 years and it was originally for children with special needs. Over time, as the laws changed, we’ve changed as well. We accept typically developing kids as well as children with special needs and integrate them into the classroom, so its’ a fully inclusive model. For the typical kids it broadens their acceptance of others, and it’s been amazing to me to see

what this place can do to teach kids so they don’t see there’s anything different and it’s not a big deal. For kids with special needs it challenges them for social appropriateness and challenges them to keep up with their peers. To see what these kids can do is incredible. It’s definitely a labor of love. It’s my honor to be here every day.

I do as much as I can to keep it going,” says Heath.

But Heath’s work in the community extends far beyond the walls of Barker Woods. “I realized as my daughter got older there were fewer activities for her to be involved in. We got involved in the Challenger League for baseball in Chesterton and I thought we could do that here in Michigan City,” she says. Challenger League a baseball league that provides physically and developmentally challenged children, teens, and young adults an opportunity to play baseball. The league stresses the basics of ball with the primary purpose of having fun, exercise for each player, and the experience of being part of a team regardless of skill level or ability.

“So a friend of mine and I started the first Challenger League in LaPorte County.

We got together with our local YMCA and with their help started the whole league and it really worked out to have another not-for-profit involved. We sought donations, bought uniforms, bought equipment, and our first year we had 30 kids and we’re in our eighth year now,” Heath says.

In addition to baseball, Heath’s efforts have brought in more sporting opportunities for special needs children

and their families. “We always envisioned more than just baseball. We tried a soccer league here and it didn’t get off the ground because we only had interest from four or five kids, but we worked with the guys in Duneland to get theirs up and running.

They’ve done a fantastic job. We started a bowling league that doesn’t compete with Special Olympics, but it’s a nice primer or alternative. It’s great because their siblings can participate too and the whole family can play and it’s comfortable for everyone.

Between siblings and special needs we have about 35-40 kids easily in our bowling league and it’s fantastic. We’ve also been in talks with Pop Warner about starting a challenger football team which would be the first in the area,” she says.

For Heath, finding new ways to bring opportunities to children with special needs, as well as extending the opportunities that already exist is her life calling. “It’s a labor of love because the kids need to feel that they are involved in their community. It gives them an incredible sense of ability, not just disability,” Heath says.

[ ] Jennifer HeatH

Age: 37 Interim Administrator Barker Woods Enrichment Center 3200 S. Cleveland Ave. Michigan City, IN 46360 872-6996 www.barkerwoods.org

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS FALL 2010

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Douglas Holok Revitalizing properties becomes a vocation

By HeatHer aUGUStyn

D

ouglas Holok grew up in Merrillville until the age of 13 and then moved to Richmond, Indiana, where he graduated from high school. Then he graduated from Valparaiso University on a football scholarship and majored in finance, met his wife Jennifer, who was originally from the area, and stayed.

“We grew up together and today we have four kids, Andrew age 9, Jackson age 7, Rae age 4, and Luke who is 20 months old,” says Holok.

Six years ago, Douglas and Jennifer decided to make a change in their lives that would set them on a course of helping others. “We made the decision to start investing in real estate as a supplement to retirement down the road. At the time I was selling machinery for the corrugated box industry and I was traveling all over Midwest, which wasn’t a good lifestyle for us and raising kids. So we made the decision to do real estate full-time. Then four years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. It was a rare carcinoma on my fingertip and they caught it early and everything is clear, but it provided some important perspective for us and we decided to simplify and do what we love,” he says.

Pursuing real estate full time began first as a money-making endeavor and then turned into something much deeper, Holok says. “We started prior to the diagnosis and were looking in Gary. We wanted to invest in real estate purely from a profit standpoint because there was a lot to buy affordably.

But then we stumbled into a purpose.

There’s a huge need, both for the City of Gary as a whole for the neighborhoods to be revitalized, and then there’s a whole population of people who need a stable living environment. We started working with agencies, such as mental health facilities and organizations like the

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Catholic Charities that have special housing programs to give folks a second chance to live on their own. It’s more fulfilling, taking it from a pure profit business model, and adding a purpose aspect to it,” Holok says.

The Holoks have two part-time office staff and a full-time office manager working with them. He says, “We look for buildings that need attention and are neglected. We fix them up to like-new standards and turn them into places that are warm and inviting for families to live in and do extra things for safety and comfort, like add security cameras, because they are still living in Gary and we’re trying to isolate them from as much of that as we can.”

He says that the work is hard, but it is fulfilling knowing they are helping to change people’s lives. “The work is not without its stresses for sure, but it’s ours and we’re basing our own success on our own initiative and work ethic. If it’s just profitbased it would have died off a long time ago, because investing in Gary is hard. But we’re helping people turn around their lives and we have success stories that motivate us to do it. There are single moms with a kid or two and they go from shelter to shelter trying to keep everyone warm and safe.

They can now have a safe home, get a job, and balance a budget. We have other folks we have taken chances on who have been formerly incarcerated who now turn their lives around and are contributing members of society,” says Holok.

He says that they have plans to grow in

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

the future and are already taking the steps to move forward. “We have really big plans to do more of the same type of work, specifically in Gary, but on a much larger scale. We have been consulting with companies in Indianapolis that do the same work and are acting as mentors and sharing their business model, so we’re busy trying to recruit interested parties, because it needs to be more than just two people. It needs to be a group effort,” he says.

Outside of their work, Doug and Jennifer stay busy with their children’s activities.

Holok says, “They do everything from karate to soccer to basketball, and you name it, there’s always an activity going on. We want them to be exposed to a lot of different activities, which takes up a lot of our free time. This year I am the president of St. Mary’s Catholic Community Home and School Association, I’m a member of the Crown Point Rotary, and a member of The Cursillo, which is a spiritual organization of the Catholic Diocese of Gary.”

[ ] DOUGlaS HOlOk

Age: 38 President The Holok Group 10769 Broadway, PMB 335 Crown Point, IN 46307 219-663-6913 www.theholokgroup.com

>> cover story: 20 under 40

David Janney Mentors make a difference By lU ann franklin

D

avid G. Janney counts among his role models and mentors three men who showed him by their words and deeds that life has purpose. One was his paternal grandfather, Peyton Janney. The second was a Highland Junior High School English teacher he knows only as Mr. Huber, and the third is Ron Millies, who founded the company of which David Janney is now a partner and vice president.

“My grandfather was a structural engineer by degree. It was just his whole outlook and approach to life that impressed me,” David Janney recalls. “He was logical and he had a plan. It worked well, and it was based on what he had experienced.”

Mr. Huber’s contribution to David Janney’s character and work ethic developed over the entire school year.

“When I was in junior high school, I lacked focus. He believed in trying and achieving, and through the year, he got me to change,” Janney recalls. “He taught me that there is a value to education and a value to hard work.”

Janney says Millies is still his mentor.

“I’ve worked under his tutelage and grown and learned.”

Now a principal and vice president at R.L. Millies, Janney says he always knew he wanted to be an engineer like his grandfather, but preferred electrical engineering to the structural field. He joined Millies while still in high school, drafting designs by hand. After high school, he worked at the company full-time while attending Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, where he received his degree in electrical engineering in 1994. He also earned his Professional Engineer’s license and is a Certified Lighting Efficiency Professional.

R. L. Millies & Associates Inc. of Munster is a multi-disciplined consulting engineering firm that provides innovative and creative evaluations and designs of various environmental systems for commercial, institutional and industrial facilities to end users directly and indirectly through architects and other design professionals, Janney says.

According to Janney’s colleagues, he is “a dedicated family man and electrical engineer. I have known Dave for the last 25 years and throughout that time, he has shown continued growth and leadership in the electrical engineering field,” says Lee Millies, company president.

Janney also provides expertise in LEED green design and building techniques. This national certification by the U.S. Green Building Council encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices and rates projects for better environmental and health performance.

Among the LEED-certified projects Janney and his team have worked on are the Centennial Park Clubhouse in Munster; the design and engineering for the new addition to Deep River Water Park in Merrillville and projects at St. Margaret Mercy Hospitals’ Hammond and Dyer campuses. “We’ve also designed everything from elementary schools to a number of municipal buildings,” Janney says. In nominating him for the “20 Under 40” honor, nine people also mentioned Janney’s dedication to his family.

“It amazes me how well he balances his family life and his career,” says Caryn Hilger, one of those nine. “He is extremely proud of his family and is definitely a hands-on Dad. The time and effort he puts into his children show not only through his pride, but in the politeness and happiness that are displayed by his children.” Married since graduating from PUC to wife, Kim, this Schererville resident says they are the proud parents of four children – Jennah, 14; Matt, 13; Erynn, 7, and Sarah, 6.

“I try to be involved with my kids, such as leading scout troops and coaching soccer. My children are involved in dance and guitar, and I attend as many of their activities as I can,” he says. “Hopefully, I’m a role model for my children the way my mentors and role models were in my life.”

David Janney credits Kim with keeping life flowing smoothly.

“My wife has been very supportive of my career plans. Without her putting forth the effort, we wouldn’t be where we are,” he says. Janney’s dedication to family extends to his children’s education in the Lake Central School System.

He became involved in the debate over whether to build new education facilities in the Tri-Town area and has organized programs to improve those facilities.

Janney also worked with a political action committee to convince the Lake Central School Board to finance construction projects for the burgeoning school system.

“It takes whole community communication,” he says. “What we want is a better education and quality facilities for a reasonable price.”

[ ] DaViD G. Janney

Age: 39 Principal/Vice President R.L. Millies & Associates 9711 Valparaiso Dr., Suite A, Munster, Indiana 46321 219-924-8400 www.rlmrlm.com/

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS FALL 2010

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Kevin and David Lee Saving the lives of many by saving the one at the center By lU ann franklin

E

xperience is often the best teacher. Kevin and David Lee say that’s true when it comes to the nationwide companies they run – Intervention Services & Technologies Inc. and Sober Solutions, based in Lowell.

The brothers’ expertise in the fields of addiction intervention, treatment and recovery is now internationally recognized.

Yet, it was their personal experiences with David’s own decade-long drug addiction and his cycle of repeated treatment and relapse that has made Kevin and David Lee not only credible, but successful. The entire Lee family’s eventual shift in how they reacted to David’s addictions has also shaped the brothers’ drive to educate families about how to be part of the change that’s needed so those addicted to drugs and alcohol can successfully make the journey into sobriety.

“I’m a recovering drug addict and alcoholic,” David Lee says unblinkingly.

“Getting me to agree to treatment was easy.

I was in over 20 rehab treatment programs.”

But, it wasn’t until his family stopped allowing him to manipulate them, that David says, the message of sobriety finally got through to him.

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Raised in a middle class home in Griffith by caring and loving parents, the two brothers went down very different paths.

Both were students in the Griffith public schools and excelled at their studies and in extra curricular activities.

Kevin chose to go to college and study both teaching and psychology. He got married and he and his wife, Amy, are raising three children – two daughters, 12-year old Taylor and 4-year old Addison, and son Joey, 11. On the other hand, by age 18, David had been getting drunk for three years and smoked marijuana regularly.

At age 19, he tried LSD for the first time.

Cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines followed.

He was arrested several times for drug possession and stole money from family members to support his habits. “I was a train wreck,” David says. Embarrassed and alarmed by their son’s actions, the family

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

repeatedly convinced him to seek therapy.

However, he says, he went into treatment each time for all the wrong reasons.

Kevin completed his bachelor of science degree in psychology at the same time David was finishing up what would be his final rehab program. During that treatment program, David was asked to do interventions with addicts because he understood them. He founded Intervention Services & Technologies in 2004 to continue that work. Kevin says he found that concept interesting and joined the fledgling company. Together they have created a company that is so successful that they and their staff travel throughout North America and to such places as Japan and Guatemala to do interventions and educate families.

David says about 90 percent of the interventions they do result in the addicts agreeing to go into a treatment program. And the brothers provide free interventions for those who don’t have the financial resources.

Sober Solutions grew out of a need to provide a resource “to those who don’t really know what to do,” Kevin says. Available through the Internet, Sober Solutions supplies information for families with addicted members.

The brothers each bring their own specialization to the interventions. “David understands the addict and I understand the family dynamic,” Kevin says. “The changes need to begin with the family. It’s not just about talking. It’s about helping change the family to stop the enabling, stop the manipulations and to set healthy boundaries.”

David agrees. “My family had to change.

I saw it as they turned their backs on me.

Of course, my perception was biased.”

Kevin says their business is all about saving lives.

“When we save the life of one addict, we save 10 lives,” he says. “It’s giving life back to families, and it spreads. We change generations to come.”

[ ] keVin anD DaViD lee

Age: 39/40 President/Founder Intervention Services & Technologies Inc. and Sober Solutions 416 E. Commercial Ave. Lowell, Indiana 46356 219-695-0291 or 877-478-4621 www.interventionservicesinc.com/

>> cover story: 20 under 40

Eddie Melton Preparing the next generation By lU ann franklin

E

arly in life, Eddie Melton envisioned himself working with others to make the community a better place for all ages, but especially for future generations. That vision for his own future has led this Merrillville resident to the various facets of his career and to volunteer activities that bring out the best in others.

Melton grew up in Gary and was the quarterback for Horace Mann High School’s football team. “I went down to Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky after high school,” he says. “But I always knew I wanted to come back and work to better the community and to work with youth.”

Leaving KSU because he needed to financially support his family after one member had a stroke, Melton returned to Gary and started working with programs at Edgewater Systems for Balanced Living, a Gary-based mental health and addiction services facility. He ran an after-school program funded through U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky that brought together young people, mentors and activities.

“The ‘No Workshops No Jump shots’ program was tied to athletics,” Melton says.

“We brought in speakers, emphasized college prep and went on tours and visits.

The youth had to attend the workshops before they could participate in the athletics.” Melton says that program also helped him become an advocate and voice for area youth.

“It is difficult for adults to hear what youth say and for the youth to articulate their concerns,” he says. As a result, Melton started a company called Redd Carpet Achievement to help families connect with mentoring and tutoring in the community.

Melton has transitioned his company to help those who want to become mentors and tutors by providing advice and coaching. “It’s rewarding to be able to affect the lives of young African-American males,”

he says. “I get to see the end result and see them become productive citizens.”

He also transitioned into other career opportunities – still with an emphasis on helping young people create better futures. During his tenure with The Legacy Foundation, Melton worked to provide educational opportunities, mentoring and tutoring for children in such high poverty municipalities as Hammond, Gary, East Chicago and Lake Station.

In early August, Melton joined NIPSCO/ NiSource as a communications specialist who works with the philanthropic arm of area companies and other organizations.

“I’m staying in the genre of helping the community and its youth and staying with mentoring and youth by strengthening the ability of philanthropic organizations to communicate and work together,” he says.

To facilitate his community work, Melton is a member of a number of organizations’ boards. These include serving as chairman of the education committee with the Gary-based Community Organization for Families and Youth (C.O.F.Y.). He continues helping The Legacy Foundation as well as the Boys & Girls Clubs and the YMCA to “improve the quality of life in Gary.”

Melton is on the board of the Friends of Emerson School of Visual and Performing Arts and says he is “a proud graduate of Leadership Northwest Indiana.” In addition he is treasurer of the Indiana Blacks in Philanthropy network that includes such philanthropic organizations and corporations as the Lilly Foundation, the Lumina Foundation and the Foundations of

East Chicago, Melton says.

He returned to college, enrolling at Calumet College of St. Joseph to pursue a B.A. degree in organizational management.

Melton will complete his degree this year.

He also loves spending time with his family – wife, Crystal and their “four beautiful children”: Aniya, 9; Melanie, 4; Eddie Jr., 2 and the newest addition, 5-month old Christian. “There’s never a dull moment in life,” he says.

Melton credits his step-father, Charles Tucker, for helping make him the man he is. “My step-father taught me to be a man,” he says. “There were a lot of other people who also helped me along the way.” Those lessons helped transform Melton into “a great young man among us,” says one of the people who nominated him for the “20 Under 40” class of 2010.

“Changing men’s lives wakes him up at 2 and 3 in the morning. His life is a story of commitment,” says Tarry Martin. “Whether it is his tireless work within the community or his prowess in the boardroom, he has proven that this is his passion.”

[ ] eDDie meltOn

Age: 29 Communication Specialist NIPSCO/NiSource Inc. 801 East 86th Ave. Merrillville, Indiana 46410 877-647-5990 or 800-464-7726 www.nipsco.com/

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS FALL 2010

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Joseph Merry An expert in EMR settles in the Midwest By lU ann franklin

W

hile he was still in high school in Plaistow, New Hampshire, Joe Merry started his career in emergency medical services with the second largest EMS company in the United States.

“I grew up north of Boston and, when I was 18 years old, I started working for American Medical Response,” Merry recalls.

“I held various positions in the organization and received a well-rounded view of emergency medical response.”

The expertise Merry gained from his time with AMR included the areas of safety and rescue, billing and communications. He also learned how important community involvement is, he says.

“American Medical Response is very community-oriented. It was hugely important to me in my life,” Merry says.

“It was corporate, too, so I learned about corporate organization.”

With that experience under his belt, Merry says he headed for the sun in Los Angeles where he worked in a management capacity at an EMR service. One year in East L.A., with its volatile socio-economic conditions and history of crime, taught Merry valuable lessons, he says.

“I could never see myself living there long-term. It was rough,” he says.

Merry took three months off to reconnect with his passion for EMR services, and in 2008 became part of Prompt Ambulance Service, based in Highland. After journeying from the east coast to the west coast to the Midwest, Merry says he’s finally found a home and a direction for his life.

“This is where my career has really taken off. I’ve had so much support here,” Merry says of the firm founded by Gary and Shar Miller. “I live in Highland, and Highland is very similar to the town I grew up in.

Everyone wants to know everyone. You can have very good relationships here.”

Since arriving in Northwest Indiana

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and at Prompt Ambulance, Gary Miller says, “Joe has been instrumental in the complete upgrade and construction of a new communications center, which is now responsible for the primary Emergency Medical Dispatching services for the Towns of Munster and Highland as well as the primary dispatching for our ambulance resources.”

Miller nominated Merry for the ‘20 Under 40’ honor, and praises Merry’s work ethic, talent and his community involvement.

Merry is also responsible for negotiating and maintaining good working relationships with the five communities for which Prompt Ambulance has the exclusive 911 emergency contracts. These include Dyer, Highland, Griffith, Merrillville and Munster. “As such, Joe participates in regular meetings centered around maintaining the overall relationship between Prompt and the towns, as well as coordinating the delivery of EMS services to residents within these communities,” Miller says.

Non-emergency duties also keep Merry busy. He is responsible for maintaining and negotiating all hospital agreements within Prompt’s Northwest Indiana service area, and “has successfully played an integral part in the recent signing of some exclusive contracts with key hospitals within the region,” Miller says.

When he’s not helping Prompt Ambulance reach out to those who need emergency medical assistance, Merry is active in community organizations and fund-raising efforts. For example, he is a member of the Highland Kiwanis Club and is involved in that group’s projects. Merry

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

says he is especially proud of the financial support he helped arrange through Prompt Ambulance for the G.R.E.A.T. program in the Highland schools.

G.R.E.A.T. stands for Gang Resistance Education and Training – a school-based classroom curriculum that is taught by a law enforcement officer.

“They were having financial difficulties and I thought, ‘We can easily finance that’,” Merry says. A fundraiser that he helped organize brought in $1,800, and Prompt matched the amount. “We helped save this program for this year,” Merry says. “This is one of the nicest parts – doing a lot for the community, for the betterment of the community,” Merry says.

Merry credits Miller for broadening his perspective on giving back to the community. “Gary helped instill in me that relationships are very important,” he says.

Another major influence in his life was his paternal grandfather, Merton Merry, he says. “I spent a lot of time with my grandfather when I was growing up. He was a well-respected man in the community, an electrician. I look up to him. He taught me about giving back.”

[ ] JOSepH merry

Age: 28 Communications Director Prompt Ambulance Service 9835 Express Dr. Highland, Indiana 46322 219-934-1010 www.promptambulance.com/

>> cover story: 20 under 40

Cynthia Mose-Trevino Gary native leads transformation of struggling high school By jeremy gantz

F

rom a young age, Cynthia Mose-Trevino knew she wanted to dedicate her life to giving back to her community. But it wasn’t until studying African-American history and culture at Indiana University at Bloomington that she realized she wanted to give back by ensuring all Americans have equal access to a quality education.

Throughout her education career, all of which has been at Gary’s struggling Calumet High School, Mose-Trevino has left her mark on students—first as a guidance counselor, then as a teacher, and now as an administrator. Although no longer working in classrooms, there’s no doubt that the 36-year-old Gary native and Calumet high graduate is dramatically impacting Calumet students’ future.

That’s because as Director of New Tech at Calumet—one of 23 schools statewide that have been on academic probation for six straight years and could face state takeover next year—Mose-Trevino is leading the charge to fundamentally remake the school and redefine how students learn there. “We took things and shook it upside down,” she says. “We want students to be prepared for positions in a 21st century society.”

The New Tech school reform method stresses learning through projects developed with area businesses, policymakers and community members. The projects integrate state standards and new technologies, and the system stresses student empowerment and professionalism. Students are evaluated on academic and “21st century skills” like technology, collaboration, work ethic and creative problem-solving.

“Not only is there a different form of teaching methodology, but the culture is different,” says Mose-Trevino. “We stress professionalism.”

To prepare for the New Tech system, Calumet underwent $2 million in

renovations to build new classrooms and offer every New Tech student a computer.

The improvements were completed just before classes began on August 19. Students are “very excited. They’ve never experienced anything like this before,” Mose-Trevino says. “It looks like a professional environment.”

Businesses are a crucial component of the New Tech model, which was created in 1996 in Napa, California. During the last two years, Trevino helped prepare Calumet for transformation by approaching area businesses, and asking them to support the start-up school. It wasn’t until this year that businesses began responding with support, in the form of dollars or a willingness to be part of the New Tech curriculum.

One company that has responded is the grocery chain Strack and Van Til. New Tech students at Calumet will be working with company employees to create videos and power point presentations for training new employees. (Full disclosure: the Times of Northwest Indiana is also partnering with New Tech.) “We have businesses, corporate partners, experts in the field, who come in and offer real world problems to solve,” she says.

Dori Downing, who teaches the integrated English Language Arts and World History class to New Tech sophomores, says Mose-Trevino has been essential to Calumet entering the New Tech Network.

As New Tech Director, she has been “really getting the community involved

with what’s going on here. If we’re going to turn this place around, the community has to have a vested interest,” says Downing.

“There’s no way I could ever put in words her work ethic.”

What keeps her going, Mose-Trevino says, is her faith, which underpins her belief that one must give back to your community.

“I truly believe that everyone has some kind of difference to make,” she says. “It’s very important to me.”

While mindful that a good school alone can’t guarantee student success, MoseTrevino believes that a high-quality education has to be part of creating better lives.

The stakes are high. “Education is going to be your only way out of poverty,” she says, noting that 85 percent of Calumet students receive free or reduced-price lunches. “This is life and death. Education is our cure to the cancer of poverty. If we truly believe that education needs to change, we need to put our money where our mouth is,” she says. “If we don’t do this, then what are we going to have to look forward to?”

[

cynthia mose-trevino Age: 36 Director of New Tech Calumet High School New Tech 3900 Calhoun Street Gary, IN 46408 219-838-6990 www.lakeridge.k12.in.us/chs

]

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS FALL 2010

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Marc Nelson Bringing music, art to the masses By lu ann franklin

M

usic makes Marc Nelson’s world go ‘round, and this 28-year old Valparaiso resident works to nurture that love of the creative arts in others in Northwest Indiana.

His journey has taken Nelson far from the Porter County city where he grew up, and brought him back again. “I lived in Chicago and in Los Angeles,” says Nelson, recording engineer and a partner in The Alley Recording Co. in Valparaiso. “I had two mentors during that time who had a tremendous impact on me.”

Dennis Tousana was the chief engineer at the Chicago Recording Company and took on Nelson, a self-proclaimed 19-year old “hot head”, as an audio engineer. With Tousana’s tutelage, Nelson says he matured quickly as a professional and as a person.

“By the time I was 21, I was actually 26,” he says. “Dennis was a big, big influence in my life.” The move to L.A. brought Nelson in contact with Bill Schnee, a legendary producer and audio engineer. “He’s in the top three or four in the world,” Nelson says.

“He trained me how to work in a multitasking environment and to never lose track of what I was doing.”

During his time in Los Angeles, Nelson worked in the recording studio with such well-known artists as Natalie Cole and Barry Manilow. He also worked with large orchestras, recording soundtracks for movies. “I was very timid because there are 80 people in that orchestra,” he recalls. “Bill taught me how to harness my focus and got me outside of my box. I learned from him that mistakes are part of life.”

During this time, Nelson also earned degrees in recording engineering and film production. Although Nelson says this stage of his career was exciting, the hectic demands of the mainstream entertainment industry didn’t allow him enough time to work with newcomers, to help local and regional bands “develop their sound.”

Nelson says he found those opportunities

22

on his return to Valparaiso. “I was impressed with the way the town had changed since I left,” he says of Valparaiso. “I already knew the music community was very big in this area. I wanted to be part of it and be involved with Valparaiso University.” With the help of business partner Chad Clifford of Front Porch Music, The Alley Recording Co. is opening up opportunities for local artists, such as The Crawpuppies and Urbanites, to reach wider audiences. And as a producer and recording engineer, Nelson is right there helping make that happen.

This energetic young man has found a kindred spirit in Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas. The men envision Valparaiso as a creative and artistic center and are working together to develop a new downtown complex that will house a music venue as well as an educational center to allow people of all ages to express themselves through art.

“We want to be agents of change and develop a music venue right in the middle of the square,” says Nelson of his synergy with Costas over the last 2-1/2 years. “The music venue could also be a restaurant-bar, maybe a brewery. It would be a compound like Old Town in Chicago – a creative venue where people could take classes in things in drum line or how to paint,” Nelson says.

“What’s exciting about this is that people meet and create energy with creativity, art, dance, music,” he says. “No town in this area has that.” In the meantime, Nelson says he’s working to expand the arts and people’s exposure to them. He currently partners with Clifford and Front Porch Music to teach children the art and science behind making music and what the music industry is all about.

Nelson’s efforts also helped Valparaiso’s only not-for-profit radio station, WVLP

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

98.3, get on the air. Another project being developed is “Live at the Alley” – a TV program designed to showcase local acts that will be filmed live in The Alley Recording studio. Nelson’s dream of working with Valparaiso University is also becoming a reality. He’s teaming with VU’s marketing department in community development.

“I’m working with their music department to guide students around the current music business,” he says. “A lot of what I do as a producer of music is instructing, not creating, but being a catalyst.” During his years in Valparaiso, Nelson says he never saw VU incorporated in the city. But change is coming.

Although The Alley Recording Co. has been part of the national music scene, Nelson says the focus of the Alley will continue to be to work with Indiana bands.

“I see myself based here, continuously doing what I’m doing,” he says. “I’d like to teach at VU and stay involved in the community, instructing and teaching. This is all about community, about starting what I’m envisioning.”

Costas, who nominated Nelson for the ‘20 Under 40’ recognition, says, “Marc is a catalyst for growth of the music community and business in Valparaiso.”

[ ] marc nelson

Age: 28 Recording Engineer & Partner The Alley Recording Company, a division of Front Porch Music 256 Indiana Ave, Suite 5, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 219-464-1700 www.thealleyrecordingco.com/

>> cover story: 20 under 40

Michael Rakers Finding IT solutions to fit school budgets By heather augustyn

M

ichael Rakers grew up in St. Louis and attended school at Purdue Calumet where he studied information technology. While in graduate school at Purdue Calumet, also studying technology, Rakers was awarded a graduate assistantship and became an instructor at the school.

Shortly thereafter, he says that he and a friend, Jason Bockenek, came up with the vision to begin their own company. They started Calumet Tech Services, where Rakers serves as acting CEO and Bockenek is CIO. Rakers recalls, “I was working at Lincoln Elementary School District as a tech assistant and they won a grant and needed someone to install 250 machines and servers, so we decided to start our own company to help the school district fulfill their grant. We completed that project and from there word of mouth spread about our work and we moved on to other schools, churches, and not-for-profits.”

Calumet Tech Services’ slogan is “IT solutions at minimum cost,” and Rakers says this is because they want to help bring technology to those in need, to make a big impact on the lives of students throughout their endeavors. They recently completed work for Hoover-Schrum Memorial School District 157 located in Calumet City, Illinois.

Rakers says, “We are currently employed in other school districts in the area and are trying to get them a grant for similar technology programs. These programs are generally for Title I schools, so approximately 80% of kids are low income or needing assistance. A technology plan is written so teachers can use a technology apparatus to teach the kids. If there is a computer in the room, then at least the students will have the chance to touch that technology at least once a day, but we work with the one-to-

one laptop initiative which provides laptops for every middle school student.

“It’s a way to provide technology for low-income areas so teachers can integrate the technology in their curriculum, in the classroom. It’s a blessing so students can carry this technology education on to high school and college and they’re better off than if they have never had any exposure to technology at all. It’s critical because in the next five to ten years kids will be using these computers for everything they do. Some kids are too lazy to go to the library or use an encyclopedia and they can use a computer for a search, so it’s a way to get a wealth of information from a different avenue, so it reaches them in that way.”

Although Calumet Tech Services has certainly established a niche in the school technology market, they also provide information technology consulting services, system repair, security networking solutions, software solutions, training, and web design services. They work with consumers and businesses and combined, Rakers and Bockenek have over twenty years of experience.

Rakers says that his company works both with government, to secure grants and funding for technology programs, as well as approaching the business side for their needs as well. The company has recently joined the chambers of commerce in the region to begin to network and establish meaningful relationships. Rakers also volunteers his free time at Our Family Center of Hammond

and helps out with technology by equipping an internet network for a computer lab and offices with 16 computers. “I teach in an after-school program for sixth to eighth graders and provide math assistance.

I see the pattern of kids starting out, ready to approach high school and then also the kids who are post-high school and I have seen their growth and development related to their exposure to technology. I think technology is worth it for kids to touch it, no matter how much exposure they get, but the more the better. It readies them for the future.”

Five to ten years from now, Rakers says he would like to see more technology applied to a learning platform and would like to help facilitate that. “I would love to develop an endowment for scholarships or research because getting funding for these technology programs can be difficult. In fact, we recently had a problem with the Blagojevich administration and had grants that fell through due to budget shortfalls.

It’s one of those things where I wish I could provide the money myself and I just can’t.

But at least I provide the labor,” says Rakers.

[

michael rakers Age: 30 Acting CEO Calumet Tech Services 219-393-4118 www.calumettech.com

]

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Sharon Stanzione Helping the law to protect health care and citizens By heather augustyn

S

haron Stanzione grew up in Crown Point, Indiana and says that she always thought she would either become an actress or a lawyer in life, so she decided to combine the two and become a trial lawyer. “I get to use some of my thespian skills in my law work, during opening arguments and closing arguments,” says Stanzione.

Today she is a partner and shareholder with Johnson & Bell, Ltd., with offices in Chicago and Merrillville, Indiana and is licensed to practice in both Indiana and Illinois.

Stanzione attended Purdue University and majored in English and philosophy, graduating in 1993. She obtained her law degree from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1996. She was brought by her firm to the Northwest Indiana location to open a medical law branch in the region.

“I concentrate my practice in civil trial and appellate litigation. I have dedicated my entire legal career to representing the medical community including hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers, doing so exclusively for the past 14 years.

I was brought in to spearhead Johnson & Bell’s medical malpractice and health care law section in Indiana. Since then, the office has grown exponentially,” says Stanzione.

Her work has helped to establish law in the state of Indiana. She says, “I have successfully tried many difficult cases, and have argued on appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court, resulting in published opinions that have helped shape Indiana health care law.

Just recently, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in my client’s favor on a case of first impression in Indiana. This case has been

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published and has created favorable law for health care providers by protecting them from liability for reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.” It is this work, helping to defend the medical community, setting precedent to establish law to continue to protect good doctors and nurses, which is satisfying for Stanzione: “I feel good about my profession because I help doctors, nurses and others in the health care industry who help the community by taking care of our health. The legal system can be a scary arena for those not familiar with it,” she says.

“The key to my success has been just being myself, whether I am dealing with a colleague or the CEO of a hospital. I was an only child and so I am very close to my parents. My mother and father have helped me every step of the way. My father is a self-made man and has always taught me that I can be whatever I want to be,” says Stanzione.

While completing her undergraduate work, Stanzione also studied theater and still has a great love of the arts and the stage. “I recently competed as a local celebrity in Dancing with the Stars, winning a mirror ball trophy at the Radisson in Merrillville,” she says. In addition to her theater work, Stanzione is also a Registered Civil Mediator; a member of the Chicago, Illinois, Indiana, and Lake County Bar

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Associations; and she currently serves on the board of directors of the Lake County Bar Association. “I am a also a member and prior officer of the Calumet American Inns of Court, have served on the Board of Directors of the Merrillville Chamber of Commerce, and have served as an adjunct faculty member at Purdue Calumet. I have served on the Indiana State Bar Association’s Ethics Committee to help revise the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct and have served as a judge pro tem in civil courts. I speak at continuing legal education seminars to attorneys about health care law and frequently speak to hospitals and doctors on health care law,” she says.

Stanzione also runs half marathons and races for breast cancer, heart disease, and diabetes and attends charity events to help raise money to fight these diseases.

[ ] sharon stanzione Age: 39 Partner and Shareholder Johnson & Bell, Ltd. 1435 E. 85th Ave. Merrillville, IN 46410 219-791-1900 www.johnsonandbell.com

>> cover story: 20 under 40

Tina St. Aubin Promoting her hometown By jeremy gantz

L

ast year, in recognition of the city’s efforts to revitalize itself without raising taxes, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce named Valparaiso “Community of the Year.” Tina St. Aubin had something to do with that honor, the first for a Northwest Indiana town: As executive director of Valparaiso Community Festivals and Events, Inc. (VCFE) since 2008, St. Aubin has played a central role in ensuring that her city’s downtown remains attractive to families and businesses alike.

“Our goal is to continue to bring events to the community that everyone can support,” says St. Aubin, 37. “That’s what we do. If we can help businesses to succeed, that’s even better.”

As a lifelong resident of Valparaiso and member of a family of small business owners, St. Aubin would seem to offer the perfect blend of community passion and practical knowledge. “We do events that can help business be successful,” says St. Aubin, who has worked as operations manager at Duffy’s Place, the Valparaiso bar and restaurant her husband owns. “I understand their challenges; I understand the risks that they’ve taken.”

Formed in 1999, VCFE is dedicated to improving Valparaiso’s retail environment, initiating cooperative efforts and providing family-oriented recreational events. In practice, that means St. Aubin spends much of her time working closely with city officials and VCFE’s board of directors to plan and oversee a variety of annual events, many of which are familiar to Valparaiso residents. These include the long-running Popcorn Festival (Orville Redenbacher resided in Valparaiso), this year’s inaugural Valpo Brewfest, the Fall Harvest Festival and the VCFE Concert Series, which is a fundraiser for the organization. (VCFE is partly funded by the city, but it is an independent nonprofit.)

The concert series takes place in Valparaiso University Chapel, a result of VCFE’s partnership with the university, which began last year. “Everyone I work with at VU is great, I wouldn’t trade it for

anything,” she says. “To see performances in the chapel is amazing.” This fall’s concert will feature Canadian Brass, a quintet that performs Baroque-era classical pieces.

VCFE has only two full-time employees, so St. Aubin relies on the generosity of volunteers to put on events.

This year’s Popcorn Festival, which featured a five-mile walk-run, a parade and local vendor selling food and arts and crafts, is the result of 300 hard-working Valparaiso residents. “We could never be as successful without them,” she says. “They are wonderful people.”

In addition to overseeing small armies of community volunteers as VCFE director, St. Aubin—formerly the special events coordinator for the Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce—is also Valparaiso’s first special events director. That position, created as part of Mayor Jon Costa’s strategic plan to draw more people to the city’s downtown, overlaps greatly with her VCFE post.

“I look to [VCFE board members and city officials] for their guidance,” St. Aubin says. “Everybody that I meet—the mayor, the city administrator, volunteers—somehow they push and inspire me to continue on the path that we started two and a half years ago to bring something new to the community. I’m blessed… My imagination can never be too big for my employers.”

Debbie Anselm, an old friend of St. Aubin’s who lives in Valparaiso and volunteers at the Popcorn Festival, says St. Aubin’s commitment to community and quality is what sets her apart. And she excels at forging new partnerships with

community members. “She’s always one to embrace new ideas,” says Anselm, who works for the Northwest Indiana Times company, which has partnered with VCFE. “She’s a catalyst for pulling people together and getting things moving. You don’t hit a brick a wall when you go to Tina’s office. It’s more like a bridge.”

St. Aubin, who has served on the board of directors of Hilltop Neighborhood House and volunteered in the Valparaiso school system, believes the city’s downtown area is looking better than ever, thanks to new streetscapes and grants to small businesses for façade refurbishments. “It’s remarkable what’s been done,” she says. “Downtown has only changed for the good. You’re always smiling and saying hello to someone you know. This is certainly home.”

What St. Aubin loves most about her VCFE work is collaboration. “It’s the people that I work with. Everybody’s working together to make the community the best it can be. You never know what tomorrow is going to hold. That’s the fun part.”

[ ] tina st. auBin

Age: 37 Executive Director Valparaiso Community Festivals and Events, Inc. 162 W. Lincolnway Valparaiso, IN 46383 219-464-8332 www.valparaisoevents.com/

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>> cover story: 20 under 40

Rob Thorgren A global expansion for a family business By lu ann franklin

R

ob Thorgren originally planned to become a physical education teacher and coach like two of his mentors. “I graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, the study of human movement, at mid-year.

There were no teaching jobs to be had during Christmas break,” he recalls.

“My dad asked me if I could help him out with a project for a couple of months until I could get a teaching job. I stayed on with the company because I loved it,” Thorgren says. “I felt like I was contributing something that was important.” The company he has stayed with for the past 11 years is Thorgren Tool and Molding Inc., a Valparaiso-based manufacturing and distribution firm started by his greatgrandfather and grandfather in 1946. The company creates injection molded plastic parts for the appliance industry.

“We estimate that every American home has at least four of our parts in it. We make fans and air movement parts for refrigerators and microwaves for almost all the major appliance manufacturers,” he says.

Robert Thorgren III, named for his father and grandfather, serves as the plant superintendent at the Valparaiso facility that employs about 100 people. He started

26

working at the plant during the summers after high school and while in college.

“I’ve always been interested in the mechanical side of the business,” he says.

“I started as a machine operator. I’m involved in the technological aspects of the business. My dad does the management side.” In the years since the 33-year old joined the family business, Thorgren Tool and Molding has expanded into two international manufacturing locations, in Shanghai, China and Juarez, Mexico, with Rob Thorgren’s assistance.

“My biggest challenge so far was establishing those two facilities, and I went over to both places to do that,” he says. “We had nothing in China and we had to build from the ground up. In Mexico, we just started with a shell of a building.”

Thorgren Tool and Molding opened those plants as manufacturing facilities only for the domestic markets in both

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countries. “We don’t export anything from those plants. We ship within each country,” Thorgren says. “The companies we supplied parts to said they were tired of paying duty costs, so we built in their countries.”

He’s also helped introduce various technologies to the Valparaiso plant, which is both a manufacturing and distribution facility. “I got involved because I thought the company was important to our family,” he says.

That sense of teamwork is among the lessons Thorgren says he learned from coaches, including his father, Robert Thorgren Jr. The Thorgren family also gave Rob roots, a sense of community and the example of giving back, he says.

“My parents are very philanthropic.

Growing up, I saw how much they gave back to the community,” Thorgren says.

“I have always been surrounded by very positive people.”

“Rob has shown a personal commitment to community service through his extensive volunteerism for our Valparaiso Family YMCA,” says Debra Koeppen, the agency’s financial development director, who nominated Thorgren for “20 Under 40”.

Thorgren helped develop the Valpo Jazz and Blues Fest to benefit the YMCA’s “Strong Kids” campaign Koeppen says. The festival raises funds to help defray membership costs for those who can’t afford to belong to the YMCA, he says. Koeppen also credits Thorgren with helping make the YMCA’s new building a reality.

Rob Thorgren is also a member of the Public Education Foundation of Valparaiso board of directors. He’s following in his father’s footsteps, coaching his son Bo’s Pop Warner football team.

Thorgren and his wife, Natalie, also have a two-year old son, Sam. “They keep us busy,” he says with a chuckle. Natalie Thorgren is a second grade teacher at Valparaiso’s Northview Elementary School.

“She keeps me grounded and in a good place,” Thorgren says of his wife. “I couldn’t do everything I do without her support.”

[ ] roBert thorgren iii

Age: 33 Plant Superintendent Thorgren Tool and Molding Inc. 1100 Evans Ave. Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 219-462-1801 http://www.thorgren.com

>> cover story: 20 under 40

Michael Tolbert Looking at the legal profession as public service By lu ann franklin

O

f all professionals, lawyers may have the worst public image: We’ve all heard lawyer jokes, and they are never flattering. Gary native Michael Tolbert, a partner at the law firm of Hoeppner, Wagner and Evans, is determined to prove the longstanding stereotype wrong, whether he’s working with clients and colleagues or volunteering to better his hometown.

“At a really young age, I felt a need to serve people,” says Tolbert, who graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law in 2000. “I didn’t even think of the money.

I was more concerned with where I could make the biggest impact. The practice of law seemed to be the best fit to me.”

Although just 35, Tolbert has already been practicing for 10 years, mostly focusing on civil, bad faith insurance and employment-related litigation. But he’s been doing more than just representing Northwest Indiana clients at his Merrillvillebased firm during that time—he’s dedicated much of his time to ensuring lawyers keep their knowledge base up-to-date and adhere to strict professional ethics.

“As lawyers,” Tolbert says, “we often forget that we’re in the business of serving people.” While president of the Porter County chapter of the American Inns of Court, a national organization dedicated to changing the general public’s perception of lawyers, he helped make sure area attorneys lead by example. “If we can talk about making sure we treat a client fairly, making sure we are cordial and professional with each other, then slowly and surely the perception of lawyers will change.”

At the state level, Tolbert continues to serve on the Indiana Supreme Court Commission for Continuing Legal Education, which is charged with regulating the quality of approved continuing education credits all practicing Indiana lawyers must complete every three years.

“I think it’s essential. What we ultimately do is make sure that lawyers in Indiana stay

current through instruction,” he explains.

“I’m honored to contribute not only to the lawyer profession but to making sure that the attorney-client relationship is preserved.” He was first appointed to the commission by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2004, served as its chair in 2009, and will complete his second consecutive term at the end of next year.

Julia Orzeske, executive director of the commission, says Tolbert’s presence has been crucial during the last six years. “He brings leadership, he brings insight,” Orzeske says.

“He’s not stuck in an old way of thinking.”

Michael Meyer, who has worked with Tolbert at Hoeppner, Wagner and Evans for two years, says his colleague taught him that “the practice of law is not just about winning in the courtroom.” Tolbert’s work ethic and determination to his profession, Meyer says, has provided “immeasurable guidance and insight into the importance of providing unwavering and zealous advocacy to those we represent, while maintaining a focus on the ultimate goal to seek justice.”

Tolbert may now live in Crown Point (with his wife, also a lawyer), but he hasn’t left his struggling hometown behind.

While president of the Gary Chamber of Commerce during the last three years, he “tried to change the perception of businesses” by helping Chamber members “get the exposure and the clients that they need to be successful.” There are great businesses in Gary, Tolbert says, and the only way they’ll find the success they deserve is if citizens pitch in to help rejuvenate the city.

“We’re all in this together. That’s the way

you change a community,” he says.

With no plans to leave the region— Tolbert is also on the board of directors of Housing Opportunities Inc., which helps NWI residents secure affordable housing, and sits on the diversity subcommittee of the Indiana State Bar Association—he looks forward to decades of sharpening his professional skills, and sharing them with the area. “A good part of who I am is from growing up in Northwest Indiana,” he says.

“I love the region, and its people.”

Unsurprisingly, he also loves his profession. “My father used to tell me, if you find something that you love you’ll never work a day in your life,” he jokes. “I try to put myself in the client’s shoes,” he explains. “The only way you can provide good service is by being compassionate and responsive and by making sure that you have a client’s best interests at heart.”

“I didn’t realize how many good people there are in the profession,” Tolbert says. “The number of people that these lawyer jokes are based on is a very small percentage.”

[ ] michael tolBert

Age: 35 Partner/chair of litigation segment Hoeppner, Wagner and Evans LLP 1000 East 80th Place 6th Floor Merrillville, IN 46411 (219) 769-6552 www.hwelaw.com

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biz buzz >> mUNSTER

get the current time, temperature from the times

>> CROWN pOINT

nicu coming to local hospital this fall A neonatal intensive care unit is scheduled to open in the fall at Saint Anthony Medical Center, 1201 S. Main St. The 12-bed unit, slated to open in November, will be housed in the hospital’s maternity department, called The Birth Place. Staff will include neonatalogists and specially trained nurses.

“This is something we have wanted for years,” said Carol Schuster, vice president of patient services. “With our number of annual deliveries now up to around 1,600, we are able to justify the need and better serve our parents and their babies.”

The addition will help to reduce the number of infant transfers to other hospitals, which also will serve to reduce stress for parents, Schuster said.

For more information, call (219) 757-6368.

>> vALpARAISO

valpo law professor honored for consumer work A Valparaiso School of Law professor has been honored by a national group for his work in consumer rights. The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys this week named Alan White a recipient of its 2010 Champion of Consumer Rights award. White is one of seven recipients of the award, including four members of Congress.

White is widely recognized as an expert on predatory mortgage lending and mortgage foreclosures. He a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Consumer Advisory Committee and has testified on the government’s response to the foreclosure crisis before a House committee. White was named National Association of Consumer Advocates Consumer Attorney of the Year in 2004.

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After a brief disconnection, The Times Media Co. now operates the former Hammond time and temperature telephone number. The (219) 933-9000 system was restarted April 27 after The Times was able to pay to operate it and install equipment at its Munster office.

“This is an extension of The Times providing information to the community in still another manner,” said William Nangle, executive editor of The Times.

The time and temperature are gathered from GPS satellites and equipment installed at The Times’ Munster office, which measures the temperature from the office’s roof.

Mercantile National Bank started the Hammond time and temperature service in 1978. Harris Bank took over the service after it bought Mercantile, which was based in Hammond.

Since August 2006, the service has received more than 12 million phone calls. Before Harris took the service down more than a month ago, the line was receiving more than 200,000 calls per month.

>> mERRILLvILLE

acura dealership coming to merrillville Chicago suburb-based Muller Acura is expanding into Northwest Indiana with a flagship dealership planned to open in spring 2011, a company official said.

The company, with Honda and Acura dealerships in Highland Park, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, broke ground Wednesday on a 30,000-square-foot dealership on eight acres at 3209 U.S. 30 with capacity for up to 500 vehicles, Muller Acura of Merrillville President Glenn Muller said.

Acura officials identified a need in Northwest Indiana for an Acura dealership and selected Muller from a field of competitors to operate it, Muller said.

The Merrillville site was chosen from among several alternatives for its visibility and convenience to customers, Muller said.

“It’s somewhat of a dealers’ row,” with other auto stores nearby, Muller said. “We found the right piece of property and the right location in what thought is the perfect place.”

Plans are to design the dealership as an Acura flagship store, designed to look like the lobby of a luxury hotel with a cafe, quiet sitting areas and a tiled service floor, Muller said.

Acura executives John Mendel, executive vice president of U.S. sales for Honda and its luxury brand Acura, and Jeff Conrad, vice president of U.S. sales for Acura, were in town for the groundbreaking.

Sales of Acura have risen in the past year based on the auto’s reputation as “a smart luxury car,” Muller said.

“In this economy, it’s the right car.” Construction on the dealership is expected to get underway by the end of May, Muller said.

Information on the dealership is available at www.mulleracura-in.com.

[ Updates on local businesses ] >> CEDAR LAKE

ffc fencing co. opens third location FFC Fencing Co., headquartered in Cedar Lake, has opened a third branch in Brookston to serve the Lafayette and West Lafayette areas.

Dean Huseman, Branch Manager, will be responsible for overseeing the sales and installation of fence, deck and railing projects. FFC Fencing Co. also has locations in Cedar Lake and Valparaiso to serve customers in the areas of Northwest Indiana, Northeast Illinois and Southwest Michigan.

For more information, visit www.ffcfencing.com or call (219) 696-7646.

Centier Bank President and CEO Michael Schrage

>> CHICAGO >> HOBART

photograph by John Luke

centier best place to work in indiana A Merrillville-based bank has been selected as the best place to work in the state of Indiana.

Centier Bank topped 41 other large Indiana companies to win the 2010 Best Places to Work award, presented by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a moment you dream about and it’s a dream come true,” Centier President Michael Schrage said. “It’s one of the highlights of my career and my life.”

The 700-employee company was honored for its “sense of family” among employees and for following through on Schrage’s pledge that no employee would be laid off despite the economic downturn. The company was also praised for the on-site employee facilities at its Centier Centre corporate headquarters at 600 E. 84th Ave., Merrillville, including a free exercise room and inexpensive cafe with healthy dining options.

Presenter Gerry Dick, whose Inside Indiana Business column appears in The Times, said Centier also deserves special recognition for its involvement in community activities in Northwest Indiana.

When Centier was announced the winner of the Best Places to Work award at a ceremony in downtown Indianapolis, Schrage and nine Centier executives cheered wildly and threw blue Centier ballcaps into the air.

“It is a dream of every young boy that’s grown up in Indiana to go to Indianapolis, especially from up in Northwest Indiana, and win a state championship,” Schrage said.

new ePa regional administrator named An environmental attorney from the Illinois Attorney General’s office will become administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Wednesday Susan Hedman was selected by President Barack Obama to lead the region encompassing Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and 35 tribal nations.

Hedman will report directly to Jackson and manage activities of Region 5, which is based in Chicago. Regional administrators also are expected to promote state and local environmental protection efforts and serve as a liaison to government officials. They are also expected to ensure the EPA’s efforts to address environmental crises are rooted in three values: science-based policies and program, adherence to the rule of law and transparency, the agency said.

Hedman has served as Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s environmental counsel and senior assistant attorney general since 2005.

>> pORTAGE

Portage office becomes part of re/max affiliates Re/Max Hometown Professionals recently has become Re/Max Affiliates of Valparaiso’s second Porter County office, located at 6214 U.S. 6 (in front of Menard’s).

“Affiliate agents from either location will have full access to either facility. This expansion affords our agents the ability to cross service our clients at their convenience with the best tools in the industry,” owner BruceAnn Singleton said.

Re/Max Affiliates specializes in residential and investment real estate in Northwest Indiana.

For more information, e-mail bsingleton@rmxaffiliates.com, call (219) 764-2187 or (219) 548-9020, or visit www.rmxaffiliates.com.

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biz buzz Energy Diagnostics co-owners Jerry and Karen Thatcher

>> ST. JOHN

schilling lumber acquires edward hines facilities Schilling Lumber has recently completed its purchase of the Mokena, Illinois, facilities of the former Edward Hines Lumber Co. The lumber yard and showroom is located 1/2 mile from the Interstate 80 LaGrange south exit at 9900 191st St. Schilling also has a lumber yard and showroom in St. John and a distribution center in Cedar Lake.

For more information, call (888) 365-6005 or visit www.schillings.com.

>> NORTHWEST INDIANA

company wins prestigious ePa ‘green’ award Jerry and Karen Thatcher are saving the world one house at a time. They are the founders and co-owners of the Valparaiso-based Energy Diagnostics Inc. and have recently received on behalf of their company an EPA Energy Star award.

The Thatchers founded the energy engineering firm 19 years ago in their home. Today the business is still home-based but boasts 13 employees as well as two satellites located in Illinois and Michigan. It works with builders and homeowners to design energy-efficient and cost-effective products for buildings.

After the needs of the builders and homeowners are determined, the company works with manufacturers to design products that meet the costumers’ specifications. Their products are certified by the EPA’s Energy Star Program, the National Association of Housing Builders Green Program and the U.S. Green Building Council LEED program.

Among the projects in Northwest Indiana the firm has worked on is The Village in Burns Harbor, advertised as the first NAHB Green Sub-Division in the country.

“We were involved in all of the energyefficiency aspects of the buildings there,” said Jerry Thatcher.

Energy Diagnostics was selected for an EPA Energy Star Award for the impact they have had on the green building market. They were honored alongside major corporations such as PepsiCo, Whirlpool and Ford Motor Co. According to Jerry Thatcher, the company retains 95 percent of its existing Energy Star Label customers and continues to add another 50 percent to its base through the steady addition of new builders as clients.

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clean air car check emissions sites changing hours All seven Northwest Indiana Clean Air Car Check vehicle emissions testing sites and Drive-Thru Renew partial service license branch locations will operate Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The sites will be closed on Mondays and Sundays.

Representatives from Clean Air Car Check’s customer service hotline will be available to assist customers by phone Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Clean Air Car Check/Drive-Thru Renew sites are located at: 1231 Gostlin St., Hammond; 232 S. Ivanhoe Ct., Griffith; 325 Sullivan St., Hobart; 755 N. Industrial Dr., Crown Point; 3901 W. Fourth Ave., Gary; and 2503 Beech St., Valparaiso.

For more information call (888) 240-1684 (toll-free from Indiana area codes) or (219) 661-8269 or visit www.cleanaircarcheck.com.

>> INDIANApOLIS

state business portal wins international award The Business Services Division of the Indiana Secretary of State’s office won an international award for its online business document portal.

The International Association of Commercial Administrators gave its 2010 Merit Award to the Business Services Division, saying the portal improves efficiency and customer service in government administration.

More than 6.5 million images of corporate documents, business filings and other registrations on file with the division are available for free through the online portal at www.sos.in.gov/business.

Before the 2007 creation of the business portal those documents, now accessed hundreds of times a day, were only available in person in Indianapolis or through the mail.

“When we designed the online portal, we spoke with Hoosier business owners about how the Business Services Division can provide better, faster and cheaper service,” said Secretary of State Todd Rokita, a Munster native. “The result is an awardwinning online service that empowers more entrepreneurs.”

photograph by Jon L. Hendricks

>> vALpARAISO

business calendar To read more of the calendar, visit www.nwi.com/business. To include an item in the local business calendar, send event information, time, date, cost and location to: business@nwitimes.com or fax to (219) 933-3249.

Mondays

Wednesdays

Merrillville | The Referral Organization of Indiana (ROI) Business Networking Group meets Mondays at A.J. Specialties, 1308 E. 85th Ave. Networking starts at 7:15 a.m.; meetings start at 7:30 a.m. Contact Tony Schifino at (219) 736-0367.

Merrillville | Referral Organization of Crown Point meets from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at Café Divine, 9000 Taft St. For more information, contact Lisa Gapen at (219) 433-8544 or generate@comcast.net. The Web site is www.roinetworkinc.com.

Merrillville | Toastmasters of Southlake Club meets from 7 to 8 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at the University of Phoenix, 8401 Ohio Street. Call Kim Kosmas at (219) 218-3877.

Valparaiso | The Northwest Indiana Professional Network meets from 8 to 10 a.m. Mondays in the Alumni Room of the Harre Student Union, 1509 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso. Contact Sandra Alvarez at the Center of Workforce Innovations at (219) 462-2940 or salvarez@innovativeworkforce.com.

Tuesdays Gary | The Indiana Business Professionals Chapter of the Networking Club meets from 7:30 to 8 a.m. Tuesdays at The Baker’s House upstairs meeting room, 6004 Miller Ave. For information, call Tammie Galloway at (888) 263-6926, ext 1.

Merrillville | Southshore Business Networking, will meet from 8 to 9 a.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month Cafe Divine, 9000 Taft St. Call Rick Gosser at (219) 808-9888 or visit www.southshorebusinessnetworking.com.

Schererville | The North Lake Chapter of BNI (Business Networking International) meets from 7:45 to 9:15 a.m.

Tuesdays at Briar Ridge Country Club, 123 Country Club Drive. Call Michael Pelz at (219) 977-2090 or (815) 370-2940.

Schererville | NWI PRO’s of Tri-Town meets Tuesdays at Tylers Tender, 350 E. U.S. 30. Networking starts at 7:15 a.m.; meetings start at 7:30 a.m. Contact Twila Kaye at twila@twilakaye.com or (219) 227-8875.

Valparaiso | Small-business operators are invited to Duneland Chapter of Business Networking International from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Tuesdays at Strongbow Inn. Call Sandy Boland at (219) 926-2505.

Wednesdays Highland | NWI PROs (Professional Referral Organization) West Lake Chapter meets from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at Mrs. Dornberg’s 24 Carrot Cuisine, Port De L’eau Plaza, 2130 45th St. Networking before and after. For more information, call Dru Bocek at (219) 613-1125.

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FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

Merrillville | Toastmasters meets from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at the Lake County Public Library, 1919 W. 81st Ave. For more information, call Dale Brooks at (219) 775-7788.

Thursdays Merrillville | The Merrillville Noon Kiwanis Club meets from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays at the Old Country Buffet off U.S. 30 (1634 E 80th Avenue). For more information call Aaron Yakovetz at (219) 707-5023, e-mail aaron@goiim.com, or visit www.kiwanis.org .

Schererville | A BNI (Business Networking International) business development group meets from 7 to 8:30 a.m.

Thursdays at the Holiday Inn Express, 1773 Fountain Park Drive in the Fortis A Room. Call Michael Pelz at (219) 977-2090 or (815) 370-2940 for more information.

Valparaiso | The Porter County Business League meets at 7 a.m. Thursdays at the Round-the-Clock restaurant, 217 E. Lincolnway. For more information, visit www.portercounty.com.

Valparaiso | The Referral Organization of Indiana (ROI) Business Networking Group meets Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. at Regional Federal Credit Union, 2801 Boilermaker Court (behind Menards). For more information contact Cindy Zromkoski at (219) 741-7963.

Fridays Hammond | Free business counseling services are available through the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) from 9 and 10 a.m. Fridays at the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, 5246 Hohman Ave. If you are starting a business, or having problems in business, call (219) 931-1000 for an appointment.

Merrillville | Northwest Indiana Networking Professionals meets at 7:15 a.m. Fridays at either Cafe Divine (Inside Living Hope Church, 9000 Taft St.) or AJ Specialties (1308 East 85th Ave.) Check the website for location, http://nwinetworking.org/ events.php. Contact Carl Watroba at carl@compdrinc.com or (219) 776-7423 for more information.

salute Promoting local business people who are climbing the professional ladder

Szymanski

Murzyn

Pauline Arnold, RN, of Elkhart, has been promoted to executive director of quality and safety outcomes at La Porte Regional Health System. Janice Yacullo, of New Carlisle, is the new director of the Emergency Department at LRHS. Gregory Arndt, of La Porte County, has been named as the director of employee relations at LRHS.

Chesterton, and Ashley Reppert, of Valparaiso. Two staff interns, Jonathan Charlson, Valparaiso High School and Purdue University North Central graduate, and Christopher Nate, a graduate of John Adams High School in South Bend and a student at Indiana Unversity in Bloomington, have temporarily joined the firm.

Shelley Donnell, human resources manager at Cornerstone Appraisal Services Inc. in Valparaiso, recently earned certification as a Professional in Human Resources.

Connie L. Bauswell, of the The Law Office of Connie L. Bauswell in Valparaiso, is now a Certified Elder Law Attorney.

Bauswell’s elder law practice includes assisting clients with Medicaid planning and eligibility, veteran’s benefits, special needs planning, guardianships and traditional estate planning.

Joseph Szymanski, CPA has recently joined the accounting firm of Keilman, Austgen & Sinal, P.C. in Merrillville as a manager. His areas of expertise include annual reports, operating budgets, tax planning, and accounting software training for small to medium-sized businesses.

David Novak, an attorney with the Merrillville law firm of Schlyer & Associates P.C., received the Merrillville Chamber of Commerce’s Ambassador of the Year Award.

He also received the Ambassador of the Fourth Quarter.

Reppert

Charlson

Wittenberg Village, a senior living community in Crown Point, has added two new life counselors, Scott Jamison and Diana Kalbac.

Steven Zaeske, D.C., has opened ReNew Physicians, a chiropractic clinic in Schererville. He has more than 13 years of experience and is board certified by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

Zaeske is past president of the American Chiropractic Association Council on Diagnosis and Internal Disorders.

Scottrade, a branch-supported online investing firm, promoted Brad Murzyn to manage its Merrillville Branch Office.

Murzyn is responsible for managing personnel, providing personalized customer service and educating customers.

Nate 34

Michigan City accounting firm Rowley, Bushue & Company LLP, has hired staff accountants, Michael Gregoline, of

FALL 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

Crown Point resident Tracy McMahon, manager of Centier’s Crown Point branch, has been elected to the board of the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce, the newly formed chamber as a result of the merger of the Merrillville and Crown Point chambers of commerce.

Highland attorney David S. Gladish was named by Indiana Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in Indiana for 2010. He also was named to the American Trial Lawyers Association’s “Top 100 Lawyers” list for 2010 for Indiana.

Whispering Pines Health Care Center in Valparaiso recently recognized Lynnett Heimberg as the 2009 Employee of the Year. Heimberg, a full-time LPN at Whispering Pines since 2005, is a team member of the Pines South Unit.

Marty Vicari, safety manager for Korellis Roofing Inc. in Hammond, has successfully completed five days of Asbestos Abatement training at the Occupational Training Center in Willowbrook, Ill. Vicari will now become a licensed Asbestos Abatement Contractor Supervisor.

Hubert Morgan, of Chicago, has been hired as coordinator for public participation with the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission. Mr. Morgan is a 32-year veteran long-range planner.

Mattison “Matt” Dilts, senior partner at WestPoint Financial Services, recently completed a buyout of the life insurance division of Braman Insurance Services to create one of the largest life insurance and investment practices currently operating in Northwest Indiana.

Jason Cooper has been promoted to assistant vice president at 1st Source.

Cooper is an Investment Officer with 1st Source Corp. Investment Advisors Inc., where he manages investment portfolios for 1st Source clients.

Joan Lindstrom, of Rensselaer, has joined Success Trek in Valparaiso as a virtual executive assistant. Lindstrom brings an organizational and business background to Success Trek. She has worked for RE Inc for the past 15 years as a bookkeeper.

Debi Baughman recently joined La Porte Regional Health System as executive director of human resources, organizational development and wellness.

Board certified Neurologist Aisha Shareef, MD, has joined Hammond Clinic. Shareef will practice at the clinic’s Specialty Center in Munster.

The Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission appointed their new board officers recently, including Jeff Good, president; Judy Chaplin, vice president; Matt Murphy, treasurer; Gloria Reed, secretary.

Crown Point resident Mark Plebanski of St. Margaret Mercy’s Clinical Engineering department in Dyer has earned the hospital’s GEM award in February.

For the second year in a row, Emmanuel Ojomo, MD, OB/GYN in St. Margaret Mercy’s Perinatal Center, has earned 2010 recognition as Patients’ Choice, based on ratings at www.vitals.com.

Chase Talon has joined Group 7even in Valparaiso as a creative director.

Stephanie L. Smith has been promoted to chief financial officer at La Porte Regional Health System. Cynthia Rojas has been promoted to the position of manager of organizational development at LRHS. Debra Versaw, of Three Oaks, Mich.., has joined LRHS as the new Director of Medical/Telemetry/Oncology Services.

OB/Gyn Hazem Elshoreya, MD, has joined La Porte Regional Physicians Network. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

His office is in La Porte.

Dilts

Cooper

Chicago attorney George L. Tamvakis was sworn in as a member of the United States Supreme Court in March. Tamvakis is the principle partner in the firm George L. Tamvakis Ltd. lia sophia has recognized Joann Keck, of Griffith, as a Monthly Achiever for ranking among the top sales representatives in the organization .

Ojomo

Dave Lindgren was elected to a two-year term as the Mideast Region representative for the National Advisory Council at Comfort Keepers, a senior care franchise.

Brian McKee, of Michigan City, has joined Workforce Health, an affiliate of La Porte Regional Health System, as a sales and marketing representative.

Carsten Falkenberg, a Thrivent Financial representative in Crown Point, IN, has been named the 2009 Volunteer of the Year for the Thrivent Financial Indiana Regional Financial Office.

Barbara Sacha, of Valparaiso, has joined Edgewater Systems for Balanced Living as vice president of human resources. Sacha has more than 15 years of human resource management experience in employee relations, safety improvement and cost reduction.

To submit an item for Salute, send information and a photo, if available, to 601 W. 45th Ave., Munster, IN 46321, e-mail to business@nwitimes.com or fax to (219) 933-3249. Faxed photos will not be published.

Smith

Elshoreya

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