Muskegon Community College students Brad Cook, Lori Stone and Tyler Carr took first place at the 78th annual Wisconsin Regional Foundry Conference and Exposition casting competition in Milwaukee. The MCC team used the college’s 3-D printer to create a fabricated chair leg part they believed could help Media Technologies of Shelby, which produces educational furniture. The students’ high duo front leg was the lone community college entry competing against seven four-year colleges and universities.

AGRICULTURE

The Great Lakes Ag-Tech Business Incubator in West Olive announced a new name and visual identity. The incubator is now known as ACRE AgTech.

The Ottawa County Agricultural Preservation Board announced results from its recently released Farms-Food-Forever fundraising campaign, which raised $26,125 to date in donations to support farmland preservation in Ottawa County.

AWARDS

Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes is the recipient of Junior Achievement USA’s highest honor: the Five Star Award.

Strong Beginnings, a Spectrum Health Healthier Communities program that aims to improve health care and health education for African American moms and babies, received a 2016 Hospital Charitable Services Award. The award included a $10,000 grant from Georgia-based Jackson Healthcare.

BUSINESS SERVICES

Calder Capital LLC announced the acquisition of Central Interconnect Inc. by investors Neil Brown and Wade Thompson. The company was purchased from founder and long-time president Arlen Smith. Calder Capital served as the mergers and acquisitions advisor to Central Interconnect.

Quality Air announced the appointment of Chuck Jagoe as its president. 

EDUCATION

Baker College in Muskegon and StraighterLine, a provider of low-cost, self-paced online courses, have partnered to reduce students’ financial concerns. Students study and learn on their own schedules; those who complete four or more StraighterLine courses qualify for a 25 percent tuition scholarship and can save hundreds of dollars by taking as many Baker College general education online courses as they desire for a monthly fee of $99 and a per-class fee starting at $49

Grand Rapids Community College’s Summer Learning Academy’s Cruisin' to College program was awarded a $60,000 grant from the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation to provide Grand Rapids Public Schools sophomores and juniors with summer math instruction that allows them to bypass remedial classes at GRCC.

The state of Michigan 17th Circuit Court launched a pilot Truancy Court program with the goal of getting students the services they need to overcome absenteeism in Kent County schools. The program initially will focus on the Wyoming and Godwin Heights school districts. The program will provide up to 20 attorneys working pro bono. Students and their families will have access to numerous community services through Network180 and the Circuit Court’s Crisis Intervention Program.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Bell’s Brewery Inc. in Comstock promoted Laura Bell to CEO. She will oversee all brewery operations and planning for Bell’s and its sister brewery in Escanaba, Upper Hand Brewery. Bell’s is the seventh-largest craft brewery in the U.S.

FOUNDATIONS

The Grand Rapids Community Foundation accepted a gift from Arend and Nancy Lubbers to establish a fund in memory of their late son, Andy Lubbers. The Andy Lubbers be nice. Memorial Fund will provide support to school districts within Kent County that want to offer The Mental Health Foundation’s be nice. program to students. be nice. is a mental health program that directly educates students, staff and parents with the tools to recognize a mental health disorder.

HUMAN SERVICES

Better Drinking Culture, a social movement aimed to improve the world’s relationship with alcohol by educating and empowering people to drink better and live healthier, appointed Jason Ley CEO.

LEISURE & RECREATION

Planet Fitness opened its third location in Grand Rapids at 2807 Lake Michigan Dr. NW. A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m., March 6.

Tulip Time Festival and the Holland Area Arts Council announced Michele Gort and her painting, “Playful Time,” is the winner of the 2017 Tulip Time Festival Poster Competition. Gort’s inspiration came from photos she took of tulips in full bloom along the city of Holland’s Tulip Lanes, capturing their fluidity and beauty.

GOVERNMENT

The Kent County Animal Shelter animal control officers recently expanded their skills by working with live horses to learn more about capturing and securing them and how to make better judgments regarding a horse’s health based on its physical appearance. Members of the executive committee working to form an all-volunteer Equine Response Team also participated in the training.

The Wyoming Department of Public Safety announced the recent graduation of Lieutenant Timothy Pols, Sergeant Brian Look, Sergeant Dan Mahoney and Sergeant Eric Wiler from the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University. These command and supervisory officers successfully completed the 10-week Staff and Command program held in Ottawa County.

LOGISTICS

AeroVision International in Muskegon will open a new forward stocking location to service customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in collaboration with B&H Worldwide. The newly initiated warehouse will be adjacent to London’s Heathrow Airport, allowing customers outside of North America improved access to AeroVision’s inventory of regional aircraft parts.

NONPROFITS

Grand Rapids Area Professionals for Excellence announced the following appointments: president, Carolyn Lund; vice president, Lisa Kosak; treasurer, Chad Jones; secretary, Patty Vanderklok; chair governance committee, John M Potter; executive director, Jason Johnson; executive committee director of events/planning, Steve Amorose; and executive committee director of revenue/income, Ken Bogard.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Michaela Eagan joined Sabo PR as an associate, who will assist clients with communication, public relations and creative brand strategizing and implementation.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Gov. Rick Snyder announced Kathy Evans, of Muskegon, Fred Keller, of Alto, Kathleen Lomako, of Livonia, Jerome Maynard, of Marquette and Kaushik Nag, of Grand Rapids, as members of the new Environmental Justice Work Group. Jennifer Crowley, of Grand Rapids, was reappointed to the Library of Michigan Board of Trustees. Robert Springstead was appointed to the 27th Circuit Court, covering Newaygo and Oceana counties. 

RESTAURANTS

Grand Rapids-based Essence Restaurant Group intends to open The Green Will Rockford in the former Reds on the River location in the Rockford Promenade Building at 8 E. Bridge St. in downtown Rockford. Essence plans to hire 35 to 40 new employees to run the facility. An early summer 2017 opening is planned.

SERVICES

EasyClosets in Holland introduced four new colors that let homeowners express their personal style in their storage spaces: Desert blends a calming white with soft grey accents and a woodgrain-textured finish; Sierra’s amber cherry base with orange and red undertones is enhanced by a straight-grain pattern with small woodgrain “knots”; Clay’s solid neutral combining grey taupe, subtle red undertones; and Lava, a bold solid color with dark grey hues and a smooth finish.

TECHNOLOGY

Blue Medora announced today CRN named Charles Bass, VP of Channels, to its list of 2017 Channel Chiefs. 

i3 Business Solutions was named a WatchGuardONE Gold Partner by WatchGuard Technologies.

Lasing-based Dewpoint announced the additions of Bradley Farley, GIS administrator; James Cerka, systems engineer; and Abraham Downer, GIS administrator.

Vista IT Group announced it was selected by Cisco to join a group of resellers in the Cisco Excess program, making Vista IT Group one of a handful of value added resellers in North America that is approved to provide refurbished and excess Cisco products that are guaranteed by Cisco to be SMARTnet eligible.