Certification
-- Linda M. Fisher of Fisher Agency Inc. Insurance Professionals has received the Licensed Insurance Counselor designation from the State of Michigan. Linda is the owner and president of Fisher Agency Inc. Insurance Professionals in Acme; 938-4408.
-- Brandon VanderVlucht of Stanley Steemer of Northwest Michigan Inc. recently completed Liberty Consulting's Fire Damage Restoration and Disaster Course. The course emphasized recommended restoration practices following a disaster situation.
Personnel
-- Melissa Morgan has joined the Fisher Agency, Inc. Insurance Professionals in Acme. Melissa is a licensed personal lines agent and received her Certified Insurance Service Representative designation in 2004.
-- Robert H. Witkop has joined the Traverse City office of Garan Lucow Miller, P.C., as Of Counsel.
-- Fremont Insurance Company has made recent changes to the company's corporate office. Dale A. Phinney has been added to the Commercial Underwriting staff, and Theodore Houseman joins the company as an auto physical damage adjuster. Teresa Breed has been promoted to the position of Marketing Manager.
-- Kyle D. Rhodes has joined Waddell & Reed as a financial advisor in the Grand Rapids area. He graduated from Grand Valley State University in summer 2009.
Expansion
-- Garan Lucow Miller, P.C., a law firm with offices in nine Michigan cities including Traverse City, has opened an office in Merrillville, Ind.
-- Plascon, located in the Traversefield Industrial Park, added Plastech Marketing Communications to its group of companies. It will provide technical and marketing support to the four manufacturing and technology based companies in the Plascon Group. Jennifer Borkovich is the marketing director for Plastech.
New Business
-- Front Street Financial is now open at 121 E. Front St., Ste. 106, Traverse City. The firm offers an extensive line of investment products, insurance and full brokerage services. James Mitchell has been in the financial industry for over 14 years with MetLife, has branched out independently and represents several companies. Summer Hency is a licensed agent with Jackson National based in Lansing. She focuses on fixed and index annuities. Call 946-7800.
Associations
-- The Grand Traverse Area Jaycees selected new 2010 board members: Carol S. Brown, TC Training Center, president; Katheryn West, Munson Medical Center, chairman; Terry Schulz, crop consultant, community VP; James Bowser, Huntington National Bank, individual VP; Jason Steinhoff, Orchard Creek Health Care, secretary; Lisa Chenard, bookkeeper, treasurer; Gina Schulz, March of Dimes, membership director.
Recognition
-- Comfort Inn Hotel of Traverse City received a 2010 Gold Hospitality Award from Choice Hotels International Inc. that franchises the Comfort brand. It's one of five hotels in Michigan to receive the award and ranks it among the top 10 percent of properties in the Comfort brand.
-- Chad Corp, superintendent The Legend golf course at Shanty Creek Resort, was honored as an "Environmental Leader" among members of the Michigan chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents of America. The award is presented for course management in areas of resource conservation, water quality management and other categories.
-- The state's travel and tourism Web site at michigan.org was named the most popular state tourism Web site in the U.S. for the third straight year by Hitwise, an online measurement company. The site recorded 12.6 million visits during 2009, a 7.9 percent increase from the previous year. The site also led state tourism Web sites in the U.S. in the use of social media.
-- Oneupweb in Traverse City was listed among the "Best of Michigan Business" by Corp!, Michigan's largest business magazine. The digital marketing firm was recognized in the Small Business category, and its CEO is Lisa Wehr.
-- Compiled by Alison
Widmer and Bill O'Brien
