Henry Balanon
• Protean Payment, an Ann Arbor-based mobile payment startup, announced June 5 the addition of Henry Balanon as its co-founder and chief technology officer. Protean CEO Thiago Olson made the announcement. As a co-founder and CTO of the startup, Balanon is responsible for overall development and implementation of the payment application and cloud based software.
• getdowntown.org recently announced the winners of its 2013 commuter challenge, in which Ann Arbor area individuals and businesses were encouraged to find alternate modes of transportation for an entire month. Winners in the two- to 10-employee organization category was Larky Inc.. In the 11- to 25-employee organization category, the award went to A3C - Collaborative Architecture. In the 26- to 50-employee organization category, the award went to Quinn Evans Architects. The award in the 51 to 100 employee organization category went to Washtenaw Friend of the Court, while the award in the 100 to 500 employee organization category went to Genpact. In the 500+ employee organization category, the award went to Zingerman's Community of Businesses. All businesses won a work-site party with food and beverages provided by local businesses.
• Lake Village of Ann Arbor, located off Lake Village Drive in Ann Arbor, held a grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 7 highlighting their new clubhouse and fitness center. An open house welcoming prospective residents will be held on Saturday, June 15 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and will include tours of the clubhouse and fitness center.
• Ann Arbor resident and commissioner Andrew LaBarre recently joined the Board of Directors of the Area Agency on Aging 1-B. He will oversee the allocation of funding for services for older adults and adults with disabilities in Washtenaw County, and across the AAA 1-B’s six-county region.
• Dave Cesarini, franchise owner of four of Domino’s Pizza stores located in Ann Arbor and East Lansing, was recently awarded the International Franchise Association Gold Franny Award for operational excellence. The award will be celebrated at an upcoming Domino’s Pizza awards ceremony in London.
• Altarum Institute’s Center for Sustainable Health Spending has been awarded a $400,000 implementation grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create an analytical structure to demonstrate the value of investments in primary prevention to health outcomes and health care costs. The final goal is to develop an economic-analysis tool to assess the impact of nonclinical primary-prevention initiatives on reducing overall health care costs. Altarum Institute is a provider of health care management tools headquartered in Ann Arbor.
• Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling of Washtenaw County recently donated funds raised during a recent campaign to benefit the American Red Cross, Washtenaw-Lenawee Chapter. The restoration firm launched a donation program from May 25, 2012 until May 25, 2013 with local insurance agents who directly referred property damage claims to the Paul Davis office. In return, the Paul Davis office donated $100 for each job to the American Red Cross chapter with a total donation of $1,200. The Paul Davis office also participated in the fundraising campaign with the Livingston County Chapter of The American Red Cross. A check presentation was held June 4 at American Red Cross Washtenaw-Lenawee Chapter, 4624 in Ann Arbor.
• The University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital is among the best children's hospitals in the country in pediatric specialties and is the only hospital in Michigan ranked in all 10 specialties evaluated, according to the U.S. News & World Report's 2013-14 Best Children's Hospitals rankings.
• Glacier Hills Senior Living Community of Ann Arbor had two of its leaders recognized by the state chapter of the national organization Leading Age at the organization's annual awards gala in Grand Rapids May 21. Ray Rabidoux, CEO and president of Glaciers Hills since 1999, was honored with the Leadership In Action award. Steve Dobson, a 20-year volunteer serving on Glacier Hills Boards and committees, was honored with the Trustee of the Year award.
• Ann Arbor-based Dreammaker Bath & Kitchen took home two regional awards, in the "Midwest" category, at the 2013 Chrysalis Awards for Remodeling Excellence. Entries were judged on overall design, the creative use of space and materials and the degree to which the project enhanced the original structure. The award-winning project in the bathroom category, submitted by designer Bob Ender, focused on bringing rustic luxury and natural materials into an outdated master bath. Designer Lee Willwerth’s award was for the "kitchen" category, for a project that modernized a dark, cramped kitchen and turned it into an open, entertainment space featuring clean, modern lines.
• Rob Casalou, president and CEO of St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and Livingston hospitals, and farmer Dan Bair, on behalf of The Farm at St. Joe's accepted the Achievement Citation Award for innovative programming from the Catholic Health Association during its 2013 Catholic Health Assembly in Anaheim, Calif. June 3. Opening in April 2010 on 20 acres, the farm now has a total of three hoop houses, including the first accessible hoop house at a hospital in the United States. The produce grown is used in meals at St. Joe’s Market Cafe and is available to community at the weekly farmer’s market in the hospital lobby. In addition, more than 3,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables have been donated to food banks.
• At its annual meeting, Ann Arbor SPARK presented the first annual Ann Arbor SPARK "Chairman Awards" for volunteer leader of the year, entrepreneurial company and project of the year. Bhushan Kulkarni, chairman of GDI Infotech and CEO of InfoReady Corp., received the volunteer leader of the year award for his efforts to grow the local economy; global automotive supplier Faurecia was awarded project of the year for its new Saline facility, where the company is creating jobs and investment in the region. Compendia Bioscience, which was acquired in 2012 by biotech company Life Technologies, was awarded entrepreneurial company of the year for its use of SPARK's services to grow from start-up to successful venture.
• Taylor Capital Group Inc. June 4 announced that Cole Taylor Bank, through its Cole Taylor Mortgage division, will be establishing its own residential mortgage servicing platform, to be located in Wilmington, Ohio. In addition, Cole Taylor Mortgage, headquartered in Ann Arbor, has recruited and hired an experienced platform manager and expects to hire substantially all of the approximately 50 Liberty Savings Bank loan servicing employees during the third quarter of 2013. Taylor Capital Group, Inc. is the holding company of Cole Taylor Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Chicago.
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