Innovation & Job News

City Salon celebrates one-year anniversary and continued growth

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Heather Jarous couldn't imagine a year ago that things for her business could be this positive and good. "The salon has been supported by amazing team, and every single client has been wonderful," she reports.

Jarous, owner of City Salon, celebrated one year in the salon's new digs on North Cedar on March 14^th. She purchased the business in January of 2012 and counts it as the biggest blessing of her life.

It's been a busy year for the salon, with the recent hiring of two new stylists and the scouting of two more to round out the team. Jarous also believes passionately in giving back to the community that's supported her endeavor. In the past year, City Salon has sponsored a family over the holidays, a high school girl for prom, and a news publication for supply needs, to name just a few.

For the future, Jarous plans to continue to provide a happy place for staff and clients alike. "It's so fulfilling to provide a secure job for my employees and a comfortable and fun environment for our clients," she says. She doesn't count out a City Salon II as part of that future.

Source: Heather Jarous, City Salon
Writer: Veronica Gracia-Wing, Innovation News

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Lansing Symphony Orchestra polls public for free Summer Pops Concert

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

As one of the recipients of the City of Lansing's "Sense of Place" grants, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra will do something they've never done before: offer a free Summer Pops concert in downtown Lansing. The catch? The community will be able to vote for the theme of the concert through social media.

LSO Executive Director, Courtney Millbrook, is enthusiastic about the concert, which will feature the full Orchestra alongside a special guest artist in a program of popular music, as determined by the public. "It’s going to be great!" Milbrook says. "But you have to vote – Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones or the music of the 1980’s - you decide!"

The grant, which was awarded to a total of four Lansing area organizations, is given to increase the visibility, access, and celebration of the arts to the public while impacting the creation of a sense of place in the city.

Voting is currently open on LSO's website and closes April 8. The concert is scheduled for June 5 at Adado Riverfront Park. "We are proud to perform for everyone in the city," says Milbrook, "and hope that a lot of new people come out to hear their orchestra."

Source: Courtney Millbrook, Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Writer: Veronica Gracia-Wing, Innovation News.

Have an innovation news story? Send Veronica an email here.

Lansing Lugnuts hiring 200 seasonal employees, ramps up 18th season offerings

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

The 2013 season is shaping up to be an exciting one over at Cooley Law School Stadium. With an impressive list of updated food options, renovations, new promotions, and entertainment highlights, the Lansing Lugnuts are pulling out all the stops as they inch closer to their 20^th anniversary.

Fans can look forward to new Mediterranean and custom oven-fired pizzeria stands. The renowned Thirsty Thursday will now include $1 beer selections. And this is just the short list of updates. "The combination will feel like an entirely new food experience at Cooley Law School Stadium this season," Director of Marketing, Jeremy Smoker says.

With a full-time staff of 22, the Lugnuts provides employment for nearly 350 seasonal employees. They're currently hiring for a Special Events Development Manager with the goal of increasing non-baseball use of the venue, with the goal of helping downtown Lansing continue to grow as a destination for entertainment or recreation.

"As a community that takes such great pride in where they come from, the fans have been vital to the success of the Lugnuts organization," says Smoker. "We don’t take that lightly – it’s absolutely the reason we continue to listen, innovate and adapt to ensure that the fan experience here at Cooley Law School Stadium is second to none."

Source: Jeremy Smoker, Lansing Lugnuts
Writer: Veronica Gracia-Wing, Innovation News.

Have an innovation news story? Send Veronica an email here.

Lansing City Market receives grant to add to staff and expand programming

Heather Hymes Wednesday, January 23, 2013

A grant from the Michigan Nutrition Network/Michigan Fitness Foundation has enabled the Lansing City Market to grow its staff. The grant covers the hiring of a Market Nutrition Specialist to help with the planning and coordination of nutrition education programming and to ensure educational services at the Market are optimally provided.

Heather Hymes, City Market Manager, shares this news with great excitement and anticipation, as staffing has been light since she arrived last May. “This grant will help us in reaching our goal of working to increase and improve upon our programming for the public and to provide superior customer service to our customers and the community we serve,” says Hymes. She also looks forward to hiring an AmeriCorps member over the summer.

“The new position is now allowing us to do some fantastic programming for children and their families through our Family Education Day and for adults who could use a nutrition intervention in their lives through our new program Today’s Special Program,” Hymes explains. Both of these programs will be taught and coordinated by the Nutrition Specialist and feature educational pieces in addition to food demos.

The City Market is open year-round, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10am-6pm and Saturdays 9am-5pm. Family Education Day is scheduled every Thursday at 4pm and the Today’s Special Program every Tuesday at 5:15 starting February 5.

Accident Fund headquarters recipient of 2012 Global Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institu

Steven Reynolds Wednesday, November 07, 2012

A former power plant, an iconic punctuation along the Lansing River Trail is now the recipient of worldwide recognition. The new national headquarters for Accident Fund Holdings, Inc. was one of just 14 projects around the world chosen for a 2012 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Global Award for Excellence.

ULI has recognized and rewarded achievement of excellence in land use practice since 1979. Recipients must meet the criteria of leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial viability.

“Our headquarters has received 11 other awards in a variety of categories since the building’s completion in March 2011,” says Steven Reynolds, Vice President of Corporate Secretary and Services, “with this award being one of the most prestigious.”

The awards serve as a source of inspiration in the development industry, showcasing examples of ULI best practices and long-term impact. This project infused millions of dollars into the local economy; it employed 106 Michigan-based contractors and suppliers, which was 90 percent of the total hired to complete the job. Lessening environmental impact through building reuse (75 percent of existing walls, floors, and roof were maintained), construction waste management (nearly 97 percent of the construction waste was diverted), and green building practices (LEED Gold Certification) helped earn Accident Fund the award.

On the impact to the Lansing region, Reynolds says, “As people learn about awards the building has won, that only strengthens the attractiveness of both Accident Fund as an employer and of downtown Lansing as a potential location for new business growth.”

Sparrow Children's Center begins music therapy with digital music

Erin Darnell, Sparrow Children's Center Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The idea started with a simple concept.

“Everybody enjoys music,” says Erin Darnell, registered nurse at Sparrow Children’s Center in Lansing. That includes those who are sick and in pain. In fact, Darnell and her colleagues are working on proving the hypothesis that music can be therapeutic for pediatric patients. Thanks to a donation from Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, Sparrow is now offering young patient access to iPods, iTunes libraries and laptops.

The music therapy program first started from a conversation between Darnell and a colleague who attended a conference last year on alternative ways to deal with discomfort. Massage and music therapy were a part of that discussion. A presentation to the Sparrow Foundation led to the MSUFCU grant that helped get the plan off the ground.

“Currently we have 2 iPod Touches and a laptop,” says Darnell. “We use iTunes gift cards so if there is a kid who comes and says, ‘This my favorite song,’ we have the ability to get it for him.’”

Darnell and her colleagues are currently gathering data to demonstrate the impact of the music on patients. She hopes the program will continue to grow.

“It’s already bigger than what we expected it to be when we had this little idea anyway,” she says. “The more that can come from it, the better.”

Incu-BaKe expands presence into Lansing City Market

Marcy Bishop Kates, Incu-BaKe Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Incu-BaKe was started with the intention of helping young culinary businesses grow. As it’s been doing that, the incubator kitchen has been doing some growing of it own. This month, the business added to its operations a new space in Lansing City Market.

One of the biggest joys in owning this business has been helping to spread the word about the delicious products that are made here,” says Marcy Bishop Kates. “I've talked with City Market personnel a few times over the past six months or so, and now just seems like the perfect time.”

The 100 square foot Incu-BaKe space can be found between the Waterfront and Uncle John's Winery and will feature products made by Incu-BaKe businesses. The location will be staffed by Kates and her assistant, as well as the occasional presence of the producers themselves.

“I am particularly excited about those day when our producers are there. They will be our ‘Meet the Producer’ days, and we will have sampling and other specials,” Kates says. “I expect that our product line will be somewhat seasonal, and somewhat fluid, just by the nature of our being a kitchen incubator. Of course, I'm also very excited to be able to talk about the entrepreneurial services here at Incu-BaKe!”

The Incu-BaKe space debuted at the City Market last weekend and will celebrate it’s grand opening this week. Shoppers will find an array of products there, including "take and bake" casseroles, salsas and sauces, granola, spice mixes, snack items, jams, jellies and baked goods.

Michigan Virtual University enrolls 24,000 students, looks to add up to 25 new jobs

Jamey Fitzpatrick, Michigan Virtual University Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Michigan is known nationwide as a leader in online learning for K-12 education. Since 2004, Michigan Virtual University (MVU) has been helping to build that reputation. Though the non-profit, which was created in 1998, shifted their attention to K-12 learning, President & CEO Jamey Fitzpatrick recalls pleading with principals and superintendents to help utilized 100 scholarships for online students. Last year, MVU enrolled 24,000 students from 500 Michigan schools.

MVU has been going along with K-12 online learning. The organization currently employs a staff of 50, and Fitzpatrick expect that number to grow to 70 to 75 by the end of this school year.

“We’re a very fortunate situation in that online learning is really starting to take off,” Fitzpatrick says. “It really is exciting to be a part of this incredible transformation we’re starting to see.”

Fitzpatrick explains the role of MVU as that of change agent, service provider and capacity builder for online learning throughout Michigan. As the prevalence of online learning continues to grow in the state, so too will MVU’s role.

“The one thing we’re embarking on right now is we’re constantly trying to update our online content, and part of our goal there is to make the online experience fun and enjoyable,” Fitzpatrick says. “We’re constantly looking for partners in the industry to assist us.”

MVU currently works with such organizations as the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Michigan Association of Public Accountants to make their curriculum more engaging and relevant.

MSU's The Ave brings cultural exhibit to Michigan Avenue

Vincent Delgado, Michigan State University Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Ave project started with a conversation among community partners centered on an interesting fact.

“The Mid-Michigan area has the same number of arts organizations per capita as Seattle,” says The Ave project leader and academic specialist for MSU’s Residential College in the Arts and Humanities Vincent Delgado. ”That’s something that is not well known.”

That notable statistic came from an economic development report, and the parties chatting over how to leverage the most economic benefit from the area’s rich cultural community included MSU, LEAP and the Arts Council of Greater Lansing. What developed for the conversation was The Ave.

The pilot project brings a collection of stories and placards along Michigan Avenue that include telephone numbers to call and QR codes that passersby can use to see and hear cultural stories about Lansing. These placards were made by MSU students who spent a semester seeking out local stories and finding a new way to tell them. Students in semesters to follow will add to the 8 current placards.

According to Delgado, The Ave project is about sharing the stories of Lansing’s cultural community, but it’s also about connecting students to that side of the city.

Nearly 100 partners and students are already involved in The Ave, and the project has been funded with support from the City of Lansing Arts and Cultural Grant Program, funded and administered through the Lansing Economic Development Corp., with assistance from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, as well as in-kind support from MSU. Future plans for the pilot program, should it continue, include expanding into other areas of the city.

Owosso-based MMI Business Services to add three Lansing jobs

Todd Meyer, MMI Business Services Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Todd Meyer left the corporate world to start a new kind of company to serve the needs of businesses years ago. Since then, he’s kept to a consistent strategy for growth.

“I started the company in 1989,” says Meyer, president and CEO of Owosso-based MMI Business Services Group. “From there it was a matter of finding quality people to join.”

Now, he’s looking for even more of those quality people. Though MMI’s corporate office is in Owosso, the firm has sales offices in Lansing and Flint, and Meyer is now looking to add three news positions to his Lansing location.

“People are dealing with the recession differently,” says Meyer. “Our decision was to grow our way through it.”

MMI offers an array of business service to clients, including financial and insurance services, benefits services and general business consulting.

“We’re really focused on working with the owners, mangers and employees of small and mid-sized companies,” Meyer says. “We do a host of different things all under one roof that you don’t typically see in any one company. You have an insurance agency, you consulting people and you have website people here.”

Though the MMI Lansing office is currently downtown, Meyer hopes to eventually expand into two Lansing-area offices, with one on the east side of town, and another on the west.

Annabelle's Pet Station expands pet play areas and training services, adds four jobs

http://www.coolcitydogs.com/ Wednesday, August 22, 2012

It’s been a busy few years for Annabelle’s Pet Station since their opening in January of 2009. When Ann Andrews and Angela Brown first opened the doors of their doggie daycare, they averaged about three dogs per day. Today, they’re up to 30.

To make more room to grow, Annabelle’s has undergone a year long renovation project that resulted in new play areas and expanded training opportunities. The business now has the capacity to host 50 dogs each day.

“We now will have three play floors: one for large dogs, one for small and one for medium dogs,” says Andrews. “People are finding how handy it is. It saves their homes; it saves their sanity.”

With their growing clientele, Annabelle’s has also been taking on new employees. The 13-member staff is up four new positions since last year, and will soon bring on four more. In addition to its regular staff, Annabelle’s employs four trainers and a groomer.

“It’s not just play all day,” Andrews says. “We work with the dog’s temperament. We do structured time with them too. There’s den time, a little bit of free play, structured play and some time outside.”

In the future, Andrews hopes to add overnight pet sitting services to Annabelle’s offerings, as well as an eventual overnight camp for canines and their families.

New clean energy trade council to advocate for industry, create three jobs

Lauren Bigelow, Energy Innovation Business Council Wednesday, August 01, 2012

As demand for renewable sources of energy continues to grow, a new trade organization in Lansing is ready to help Michigan play a significant role in the new energy economy. According to the new Energy Innovation Business Council, Michigan’s new energy manufacturing sector supports more than 20,700 jobs a year and has an economic impact of $4.9 billion a year.

“Michigan has a significant advanced energy and cleantech industry and is emerging as a global leader in the sector, yet it lacked a state wide organization that could bring its member businesses together,” says Lauren Bigelow, interim president of the EIBC. “The EIBC was created so at there was an industry association for these companies to network, share best practices, coalesce the collective vision and bring an industry voice for investors and the public as well as state and federal policy makers.”

The EIBC launched this year as a voluntary membership organization. A search is currently underway for a permanent president, and Bigelow expects the organization to employ two additional employees, one in administration and another in policy. Though an exact location will not be selected until after a president is in place, Bigelow says it will likely be in downtown.

“The EIBC aims to diversify and accelerate the growth of Michigan’s energy sector and create partnerships to expand business opportunities,” Bigelow says. “By securing access to capital, engaging the public and policymakers, advocating for policy, and advancing energy innovation, EIBC can help generate jobs and develop Michigan’s clean energy economy.”

M3 Group adds six jobs, restructures for continued growth

Anna Daugherty, M3 Group Wednesday, June 20, 2012

To say it’s been a busy year for the Downtown Lansing-based agency Motion, Marketing & Media, or M3, would be an understatement. After rolling out their new “Special PRops team” and undertaking a statewide social media road trip under the hashtag #MeetMichigan, the firm has continued to grow, adding six new positions and undergoing an internal restructuring – all in time to celebrate M3’s 10-year anniversary in August.

The startling growth, says The Bugler of M3, Anna Daugherty, was all a part of the plan.

“In 2011, one of Chief Conversation Starter and President Tiffany Dowling's goals was to work on expanding into new markets, not only in Michigan, but nationally,” Daugherty says. “She made it a mission for the company to take on bigger clients in new regions, and in order to accomplish this goal, she hired several new employees to grow our sales team and two creative teams.”

Those new positions follow the M3 tradition of highly descriptive, whimsical names: cruise director, video virtuoso, Account Executive, Funstructor, Social Media Coordinator and The Big (Web) Kahuna.

In order to accommodate such growth, M3’s internal restructuring included promotions and a new entertainment marketing department, which includes film, television and radio show development, product placement and special events.

“Growth and creative team development are key to achieving our strategic goals this year,” says Daugherty. “Another main goal is to beef up our sales department. We are also working on landing more state and federal contracts.”

LE&A PR group expands Lansing staff and office

Emily Gerkin Palsrok, Lambert, Edwards and Associates Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Lansing office of Lambert, Edwards and Associates (LE&A)has undergone a lot of change in the last nine years, with the most current change being staff growth and an upcoming expansion.

The public relations office began as an office of John Bailey and Associates in 2003. When LE&A purchased the company in 2009, it changed names and became part of a statewide company with offices in Grand Rapids and Detroit. With the addition of two new staff members in the last year and another position soon to be filled, all of those changes have led to growth.

“It’s been a good year,” says Emily Gerkin Palsrok, managing director of the public affairs practice of LE&A in Lansing. “I think the economy in Michigan has bounced back, and through that, clients are reengaging.”

The office itself, which is located above Edmund’s Pastime in Downtown Lansing, is experiencing growth as well. An additional 500 square feet will soon be added on to the office’s existing space, and the office design will be reconfigured to accommodate the company’s growth.

Palsrok attributes the growth of LE&A in Lansing to the strength of the business company-wide.

“We have three strong, bi-partisan offices statewide,” she says. “We’re also very diversified as a company. Public affairs is just one area we focus on.”

Four to five additional new positions will soon be added to LE&A offices statewide. Should a Lansing-area candidate be a good fit for a position open in another city, they could be added to the Lansing office.

Sparrow announces partnership with famed Mayo Clinic

John Berg, Sparrow Health Care Wednesday, June 13, 2012

It’s a big year for partnerships at Sparrow Health System. Just weeks after launching The Center for Innovation with Michigan State University, Sparrow has now announced it will be the first health system in Michigan and one of the first five organizations nationwide to become a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

“What this network is really about is connecting physicians to physicians,” says Executive Director of Marketing and Public Relations John Berg. “[Sparrow doctors] will have a set of tools that will allow them to reach out and compare treatment plans and pathways that have been developed at the Mayo Clinic.”

The formal relationship between Sparrow the Mayo Clinic will bring the famed Rochester, Minnesota-based medical research group’s expertise and clinical care resources to Lansing. Another benefit, Berg adds, is that should a medical case require advanced, specialty care beyond the Sparrow Health System, Mayo Clinic physicians will already be well-versed the patient’s case and able to provide a continuum of care.

Sparrow’s inclusion in the Mayo Clinic Care Network came after rigorous review and evaluation, but began less formally, when a group of Sparrow Physicians visited the Mayo Clinic a year ago to study the center’s best practices.

“They began getting a good understanding of who we are when we reached out to them,” says Berg. “They are looking for organizations that are focused on quality.”

In addition, says Berg, Sparrow was chosen for the program after having received a number of awards and recognitions including being named a top health system in the United States by Thomson Reuters and earning the Nurse Magnet Distinction from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

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