President and founder of King Media, Coleen King, won first place in the PR News Agency Elite Awards in the category of Digital/Social. The agency received the award for work performed for Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant. In 2016, King Media planned a multichannel campaign to help Tabor Hill earn a spot in the USA Today 10Best American Winery Restaurant competition. King Media’s social media campaign enabled Tabor Hill Winery to climb from 16th place to fourth place, earning top 10 honors.

ACCOUNTING

David Echelbarger, of Allegan, and president of Echelbarger Himebaugh Tamm & Co. PC in Grand Rapids was elected Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants’ treasurer. 

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Allegra Marketing – Print – Mail owners Eric and Craig Vetter were awarded an annual Sales Excellence Award by Alliance Franchise Brands network, for being top 10 sales leaders in the international network of marketing and print services providers.

Eddie Bullinger joined LEAD Marketing Agency as creative director.

AGRIBUSINESS

Allendale pork and poultry farmer Harley Sietsema is the recipient of Michigan Agri-Business Association’s Leaders and Legends Award.

ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING

Fleis & VandenBrink announced the additions of Daniel R. VanKalker, project manager; Andrew W. Ogilvie, senior project engineer; Donald B. Lowry, construction technician; Peter A. Dunning, CAD designer within the municipal group; Corey B. Turner, water/wastewater project; and Jonathan D. Parrish, marketing manager.

ARTS

The Grand Rapids Public Museum plans to open an original production in the Chaffee Planetarium on Oct. 21, titled Subatomic. The show will take viewers on a journey of scientific discovery centering on the Higgs boson, an elusive subatomic particle crucial to physics and existence itself.

The Lakeshore Art Festival in Muskegon ranked No. 27 in the nation and first in the state of Michigan for Classic & Contemporary Craft Shows by the Sunshine Artist Magazine. The ranking was up from No. 83 position in 2015.

AWARDS

The Grand Rapids Public Museum announced the honorees for the ninth annual Jay & Betty Van Andel Legacy Awards: The Jay & Betty Van Andel Lifetime Achievement Award to David and Judy Frey; The Dave & Carol Van Andel Leadership Award to Birgit M. Klohs; and “The Casey” Award to Dr. Mira Krishnan.

BANKING

Legacy Trust announced the appointments of Tracey Hornbeck as president and CEO; Jeffrey Dixon as senior portfolio manager; Kelly DeRidder as senior trust officer; and Steven Doorn as director of portfolio management. Senior vice presidents Mark Periard were elevated to director of wealth management; Laina Mills to chief investment officer; and Melanie VanderHoff to senior operations manager.

Sandra Holzgen joined Holland-based Macatawa Bank as chief human resources officer.

BUSINESS SERVICES

Lindsey Leonardis joined Zeeland-based HR Solutions Group of West Michigan as an HR consultant.

Ludington sisters Wendy Morrow and Cheryl Freeman won $50,000 for their All Occasions Events And Floral business, and husband and wife Jacob and Sara Seng of Ludington Spin and Yoga won $5,000 after pitching their ideas in the third annual Momentum Business Plan Competition.

CONSTRUCTION

Erhardt Construction founder Joe Erhardt announced he will retire as chairman and CEO of the construction firm, effective Dec. 31. Longtime president Ben Wickstrom will become CEO, as well as gain controlling interest in the company starting 2018. This announcement is the culmination of an eight-year succession plan.

EDUCATION

Catholic schools in the Diocese of Grand Rapids has grown for a third consecutive year across its 25 elementary schools and five high schools. Preschool-12th grade enrollment for 2017-18 is 6,605, an increase of 55 students over last school year, and the diocese has awarded more than $550,000 in need-based Bishop’s Scholarships to approximately 1,300 students, and more than $280,000 in Welcome Scholarships to 431 new students.

Grand Rapids Community College recently graduated 11 people from its new training program for corrections officers.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

The Principal Financial Group announced Nathan Morales and Matt Thomas will serve as financial representatives and principal securities registered representatives, and are located in the Grand Rapids office at 3196 Kraft Ave. SE, Suite 101.

Rehmann was named one of Michigan’s Best and Brightest in Wellness by the National Association for Business Resources.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Long Road Distillers was named Best Craft Specialty Spirits Distillery in the United States as part of the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards.

New Holland Brewing in Holland began distribution of their beer to Maine, New Hampshire and an expanded footprint in upstate New York. This new territory is part of the brewery’s growing 35-state distribution network.

Russo’s International Market opened its second store location at 241 W. Fulton St.

St. Julian Winery in Paw Paw named Nancie Oxley as vice president. Recognized as Michigan’s first female winemaker, she joined St. Julian in 2002 as an assistant winemaker and moved up the ranks to head winemaker in 2010.

GRANTS

Allegan, Barry, Kalamazoo, Kent, Muskegon and Ottawa counties are among the Michigan Council Arts and Cultural Affairs’ grant recipients for fiscal 2017-18. Recipients by program are listed here: michiganbusiness.org/cm/Files/MCACA/FY18_Program_Funding_Plan.pdf

HOSPITALITY

JW Marriott Grand Rapids celebrated its 10th anniversary. The hotel has won numerous awards since opening its doors, including Opening of the Year in 2007, US News & World Report Best Hotels in Michigan and the No. 1 JW Marriott in Overall Guest Satisfaction in 2008, 2011 and 2014.

HUMAN SERVICES

The Alano Club of Kent County recently celebrated its 65th anniversary. The club serves over 50,000 individuals each year for those affected by addiction and seeking renewal through recovery, with over 265,000 individual meeting visits. Attendance at meetings has been steadily growing — rising almost 20 percent over the past decade.

MomsBloom founders Sara Binkley-Tow and Angie Walters announced they are stepping down and seeking an interim executive director expected to lead for much of 2018 before shifting control to a permanent, full-time executive director.

Baker Holtz’s recent charity golf outing raised more than $7,000 for the Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids’ Camp Sparkle program.

LEGAL

Attorney Benjamin C. Dilley and paralegal Jennifer L. Tello joined Mika Meyers PLC.

Wrigley, Hoffman & Hendricks, P.C. attorneys Ben Wrigley and Robert Hendricks were appointed to the Bureau of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs’ Medical Marihuana Regulation’s Secured Transporter Group and Provisioning Center Group, respectively. 

Barnes & Thornburg attorney Joseph D. Hess was recognized on the Michigan Rising Stars 2017 list as a Rising Star.

LEISURE & RECREATION

Camp Newaygo organization officials are undertaking a $2.2-million initiative to expand and update the grounds facilities, with a recent groundbreaking ceremony held on the health and leadership lodge. The campaign is supported by the Wege Foundation, Frey Foundation, Fremont Foundation and Dooge Foundation.

Gull Lake View Golf Club & Resort in Augusta hired Renaissance Golf Design to create a course using what nature gave them by preserving as much native vegetation as possible, planting native grass and utilizing the natural wildflowers that already are present.

Ottawa County Parks announced the Grand Ravines Suspension Bridge is open to the public. The bridge is 275 feet long and 70 feet in the air and believed to be the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Michigan and the greater Midwest region. It is fully ADA accessible, with paved, accessible paths leading to the bridge on both sides. Grand Haven-based Anlaan Corp. constructed the bridge.

MANUFACTURING

Plascore Inc. announced it is building an approximate 73,500-square-foot addition onto its current aerospace business unit facility at 500 E. Roosevelt Ave. in Zeeland, allowing the company to develop and install additional automated production equipment, facilitating capacity increases at competitive costs to meet aerospace customers’ demands, as well as create 10 to 15 jobs over the next two years.

NONPROFITS

Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women announced its 2017 Award winners: The GROW Leadership Award, Shannon Cohen, founder/principal, Shannon Cohen Inc.; Lee Ann Moss Service Award, Julie Lankes, owner, BOXBOOM Creative; Business of the Year Award, Floriza Benautis, founder/CEO, Management Business Solutions; and GROW Partner Award, Jack Keller, commercial loan officer, Lake Michigan Credit Union.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Grand Rapids Police Department captain Eric Payne was promoted to the rank of deputy chief.

RETAIL

Chocolates by Grimaldi in Grand Haven announced an early apple crop made it possible to sell their limited edition chocolate caramel apples sooner.

SpartanNash recently held a grand reopening of Forest Hills Foods at 4668 Cascade Road. Renovations include expanded deli section and gluten-free baked goods and store-made bakery products, as well as produce department at the store’s entrance, a specialty beer station and organic, fair trade and locally sourced coffee.

SERVICES

Preferred Employment & Living Supports’ new address is 1205 Peck St., Muskegon, 49441.

TECHNOLOGY

Blue Medora announced the platform integration with VMware’s Wavefront. Blue Medora’s IT system data collection technology extends real-time analytical capabilities across the enterprise IT stack, offering insight into cloud and physical infrastructure, virtualization and databases.

Worksighted in Holland was named one of Crain’s Coolest Places To Work; Inc. 5000 placed the IT service company on its list of fastest-growing companies across the nation by overall revenue growth over a three-year period; and the National Association for Business Resources awarded it with the Nation’s Best and Brightest in Wellness Award.