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Douglas "Dutch" Nie
From new hires and promotions to industry awards, here's a roundup of achievements by businesses and individuals in the greater Ann Arbor area:
Douglas R. (Dutch) Nie II of Nie Funeral Home in Ann Arbor was recently elected president of the Michigan Funeral Directors Association. MFDA is a professional organization representing roughly 1200 funeral directors serving 500 funeral homes statewide and representing nearly three-quarters of all licensed mortuary science establishments in Michigan. Nie was installed at the association’s recently held 134th annual convention in Detroit. Nie and his family live in Milan. (Click here for an Ann Arbor Business Review profile of Nie from 2010.)
• Beckett & Raeder, Inc. employees Leah DuMouchel, Cindy Czubko and Ben Tallerico recently completed the NCI Charrette System Certification course in Lansing. The three-day training illustrated the capability of the NCI Charrette System for all aspects of community planning. Beckett & Raeder, Inc. is a landscape architecture, planning, civil engineering and environmental services firm with offices in Ann Arbor, Petoskey and Traverse City.
• Ann Arbor-based Truven Health Analytics, formerly the healthcare business of Thomson Reuters, recently announced that Kristine Knutson, senior analytic consultant, has earned the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association’s professional credential: Accredited Health Care Fraud Investigator. The certification designates that Knutson has demonstrated knowledge in the detection and investigation and/or prosecution of fraud against private or government-funded health insurance plans.
• In related news, the Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority has selected Truven Health Analytics to help build a statewide community shared services platform. Under the five-year agreement, the Pennsylvania CSS exchange will utilize Truven Health’s health information exchanges solution to facilitate the secure exchange of health information amongst certified participants. The Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority is an independent state agency that works to meet federal requirements for health information exchanges in Pennsylvania.
• The Women of AT&T May 29 announced the student winners of four college scholarships to help with the costs of higher education. Among the four was Jungsoo Chang, a senior at Huron High School in Ann Arbor with plans to attend the University of Michigan, receiving a $1,000 scholarship. The Women of AT&T is a group of AT&T employees who are organized to connect and inspire members to achieve personal and professional goals. The scholarship is based on academic performance and all around citizenship. Additional scholarship winners live in Detroit, Dearborn Heights and East Lansing and were recognized in a ceremony in late May.
• U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki announced that HUD will provide $60 million to local public housing agencies across the country to provide permanent supportive housing to homeless veterans, many of whom are living with chronic disabling conditions. Michigan will receive almost $1.1 million to assist homeless veterans. The funding will help approximately 230 homeless veterans living on the streets and in shelters in Michigan.
• An event May 7 marked the official launch of a new research center at George Mason University, the Center for Collision Safety and Analysis, in partnership with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, based in Ann Arbor. The new research center officially opens fall 2013. Established in partnership with NCMS, the center will set new standards for collaborative research between government agencies, industry and academia, dedicated to optimizing vehicle safety across the transportation fleet.
• Message Blocks was awarded Best of Boot Camp at the conclusion of Ann Arbor SPARK's 22nd Entrepreneurial Boot Camp. Message Blocks was chosen as winner by a panel of investors who rated Boot Camp participants' pitches. As the winner, Message Blocks received membership to the New Enterprise Forum and a NEF coaching team for one year as well as an engagement with the Ann Arbor SPARK business accelerator. Message Blocks provides a platform for meeting planners to manage all the details of the event in one place to streamline workflow and team coordination. Ann Arbor SPARK is a nonprofit organization emphasizing regional economic development.
• Chelsea House Victorian Inn has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award. Only the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive the award.
• An enhancement project to Manchester's downtown will be celebrated with a ribbon cutting and official re-opening for business, starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6 at the corner of Main and Adrian streets. The ceremony will recognize local and regional leaders, Michigan Department of Transportation officials, and the streetscape architects, engineers, and contractors who contributed to the project. The ribbon cutting will kick off the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo highlighting local businesses.
• Kathleen Cramer has been named the managing director of Ele's Place, a nonprofit providing supporting to grieving children and teens. Cramer will oversee the Ann Arbor branch. Ele's Place has two other locations, Lansing and Grand Rapids.
• The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition June 3 named Todd Ambs as its new director. Ambs officially begins July 1, working in Wisconsin as a team member of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center in Ann Arbor. The coalition consists of more than 120 environmental, conservation, outdoor recreation organizations, zoos, aquariums and museums whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes.
• The Arbor Hospice Foundation’s fundraising gala, Savour the Journey, raised more than $170,000 to support Arbor Hospice's programs and services, including pediatric hospice, grief support, complementary therapies and uncompensated care.
• Dining for Dollars, a fund-raising dinner for Ann Arbor's HIV/AIDS Resource Center, raised nearly $30,000 for local HIV/AIDS services.
• The former Sloan's Nursery and Dexter Gardens has reopened under new ownership, under a new name and with expanded offerings. Bloom! Garden Center and Elemental Design, located on Baker Road in Dexter, is an art gallery, gardening center and landscaping business. The owner is Traven Pelletier.
• Sound fiscal management practices and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned Washtenaw County nonprofit Food Gatherers a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, an independent charity evaluator. This is the ninth consecutive year that Food Gatherers has earned the distinction, placing it among the 1 percent of charities to receive this distinction. Food Gatherers now has the No. 1 Charity Navigator rating of food banks in Michigan, and is in the top 15 food banks rated nationwide.
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