Retailers find their wings in experimental business incubator
Can a retail incubator work to fill up empty storefronts in downtown Kalamazoo? Kathy Jennings sees an experimental program showing success before her eyes.
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo’s name is so distinctive strangers around the world have been known to break into song at hearing the name. With such a recognizable moniker you’d think Kalamazoo wouldn’t need nicknames, but through the years changing names have reflected the city’s refusal to stand still. The Zoo, Celery City and the Mall City are a few. The innovative thinking that brought downtown K’zoo the nation’s first pedestrian mall in 1959 continues to work today. Innovators have developed thriving life sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. They build on the expertise of Kalamazoo’s universities. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Davenport College all are centers of research, development and technology. They surround a downtown vibrating with condos, apartments and homegrown, top-notch restaurants. The universities are woven into the city’s social fabric and contribute to a cultural scene that Kalamazooans love to boast about. The Kalamazoo Symphony, Kalamazoo Institute of Art and a vibrant local theater community are a few of the offerings. Locals also love their festivals that fill the air with music and the scents of ethnic foods wafting over the Arcadia Festival grounds and the Kalamazoo River. Outdoor activities from biking on the Kal-Haven trail to disc golf and standard golf on a nationally-acclaimed course in Milham Park are the start of the city’s leisure side. Sports fans have competitive college teams, minor league baseball and hockey to follow. And it all comes with a Promise. All high school graduates who live in Kalamazoo qualify for a scholarship that pays 100 percent of their tuition at any public university or community college.
WMU team says here comes the Sunseeker
WMU's solar race car team is in Texas readying the Sunseeker for a round of qualifying events.The new Sunseeker has been in development for 18 months. It is lighter and more aerodynamic than previous WMU racers, weighing in at about 650 pounds with the driver on board.This year's race marks the 10th time WMU students have participated in the biennial American Solar Challenge race that draws the best engineering schools from the United States and Canada. WMU solar powered vehicles have placed as high as sixth and captured best design awards in post-race ceremonies. WMU is one of only four teams in North America to have participated in all nine previous races.A team of 10 engineering students and two advisors from WMU are now in Cresson Texas for the American Solar Challenge qualifying events -- four days set aside for the evaluation of all the vehicle systems and the Formula Sun Grand Prix track race, June 16-18, to ensure the vehicles are up to the demands of the road trip.This year, competitors will race for 1,100 miles through four states on a course chosen to include pieces of routes used in previous events in a historical tribute to the 20 years of organized solar racing events in North America. The cross-country road race will start June 20 in Tulsa, Okla., and conclude June 26 in Chicago.Race updates are available online. The team also has its own Facebook page.The event offers students a chance to apply classroom knowledge to a hands-on project that culminates in a test of the efficiency, safety and durability of the solar vehicles. The teams also promote the use of renewable alternative energy and the advancement of related technologies by educating the public through the presentation and demonstration of a solar powered vehicle.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Cheryl Roland, WMU
Top entrepreneur recognition goes to Kalexsyn founders
Kalexsyn Inc.'s leadership has been recognized for promoting excellence in technology. David Zimmermann, CEO, and Robert Gadwood, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer, of the company have been named Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs Of The Year. The Kalamazoo-based company that focuses on providing medicinal chemistry services to the pharmaceutical industry and has averaged 30 percent growth each year since its founding. The award, in its 24th year, is given to entrepreneurs who demonstrate success in innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Kalexsyn competed for the award with companies in Michigan and Northwest Ohio. "These entrepreneur of the year award winners are best in class, and we are proud to honor their outstanding success," says Frank Maselli, Ernst & Young L.L.P. Zimmermann and Gadwood founded Kalexsyn, a contract research organization, in 2003 with assistance from Southwest Michigan First, Western Michigan University and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. "This award recognizes the quality and value Kalexsyn brings to each of our clients," Zimmermann says. "Contract research organizations like ours thrive on the skills and qualities found in our exceptional staff and scientific team." Kalexsyn is a world-class medicinal chemistry contract research organization (CRO). Our scientists average 15 years of experience in hit validation, lead optimization and solving tough synthetic problems. We offer clients an outstanding CRO experience, including tailored short- and long-term FTE arrangements. Kalexsyn is privately owned and located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Writer: Kathy Jennings Source: David Zimmermann, Kalexsyn Inc.
Kalamazoo Community Foundation celebrates 85th birthday with Match Day
If you've ever wanted to help out a local nonprofit with a financial gift, but never quite got around to it, the right time to give is at hand. All it takes is a walk through the park and a willingness to donate. The Kalamazoo Community Foundation hosts Match Day June 23. On that day, donors will be able to contribute to the endowment funds of the nonprofits of their choice. And the Foundation will match 50 cents for every dollar given.The Foundation will donate as much as $85,000 to local nonprofits. PNC Bank and an anonymous donor who has a donor advised fund with the Foundation also will contribute $85,000.Representatives from 56 nonprofit organizations will be at tables set along the paths in Bronson Park. From there they will describe to would-be donors the services they offer. Organizations have sent out reminders of the Match Day event to friends and contributors in hopes for a good turn out. In order for a donation to be matched, it must be made to the endowment fund of a participating organization, and must be made in person on June 23.Donor Relations Officer for the Kalamazoo Community Foundation Coby Chalmers says, "Donors will celebrate the past by giving at an event that marks Kalamazoo Community Foundation's 85th birthday with gift in the present. By helping organizations build their endowments so they will have greater support available to them in the future."Founded in 1925, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation works to address existing and emerging community issues in the areas of individuals and families, youth development, early childhood learning and school readiness, and economic and community development. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Coby Chalmers, Kalamazoo Community Foundation
Exporting the Kalamazoo Promise to help other communities grow
Community leaders interested in finding out more about the Kalamazoo Promise and similar programs are in Kalamazoo this week for the third annual PromiseNet.The conference is designed to bring together representatives of communities that are investing in education and economic development through scholarship programs."Investing in Youth for Community Transformation," this year's theme, is aimed at helping other cities accomplish the same kind of transformation the Promise has created in Kalamazoo.Conference speakers include: • Nationally renowned economist, author and commentator Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College for Women. • Kalamazoo investor William D. Johnston, president and chair of Greenleaf Companies.• Gregory M. Darnieder, special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Education and advisor on the secretary's Initiative on College Access. Conference sessions are being led by a number of individuals connected with the Promise and Promise-type initiatives. They include Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Michael Rice and school officials affiliated with similar initiatives in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin and other states."The goal of PromiseNet 2010 is to connect communities that are working together to transform themselves," executive director of the Kalamazoo promise Dr. Janice Brown says. "The conference is designed to bring together individuals from all over the United States who are invested and engaged in education-based economic renewal like Kalamazoo, as well as those in the planning stages."The conference comes on the heels of President Barack Obama's national attention given to The Kalamazoo Promise, a college tuition guarantee for graduates of the Kalamazoo Public Schools. During his commencement address for Kalamazoo Central High School's Class of 2010, the president praised the Promise initiative, saying: "I think that America has a lot to learn from Kalamazoo about what makes a successful school in this new century."Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Cheryl Roland, WMU
