Michigan Business Network

Jeffrey Mosher speaks with Andrew Gauthier, Groovy Donuts, East Lansing, MI, an SBDC Best Small Business award winner for 2023. In the interview, they cover Andrew's career path, the company's history, the focus of the company in 2023, what winning this award means for the company, additional information, and how to contact them. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/

Jeffrey Mosher speaks with Missy Bobo, Co-Founder/Owner, of Thumb Roast Coffee, Croswell, MI, an SBDC Best Small Business award winner for 2023. In the interview, they cover Missy's career path, the company's history, the focus of the company in 2023, what winning this award means for the company, additional information, and how to contact them. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/

Jeffrey Mosher speaks with Ben Coughlin, Baynes Apple Valley, Freeland, MI, a Michigan 50 Companies to Watch award winner for 2023. In the interview, they cover Ben's career path, the company's history, the focus of the company in 2023, what winning this award means for the company, additional information, and how to contact them. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/

Jeffrey Mosher speaks with Yvette Wilkie, Founder/Owner, RJs Metropolitan Ice Cream Co, Jackson, MI, an SBDC Best Small Business award winner for 2023. In the interview, they cover Yvette's career path, the company's history, the focus of the company in 2023, what winning this award means for the company, additional information, and how to contact them. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/

Tony Conley welcomes Julie Conley State Board President of the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association TPO and NDC Area Manager at Union Home Mortgage An Experienced Senior Wholesale and Correspondent Account Executive with customers from all over the nation. Expertise is in Residential Loan Products including FNMA/LP, FHA, VA, USDA, Non QM and Jumbo loans. Solid background in developing strategic plans and developing marketing materials to inform clients on industry processes and procedures. 1- What is the MMLA? What do you do? 2- One year ago The Fed started increasing interest rates. For home/commercial loan rates, what was the rate in January of 2020?, March of 2022? and what is the current rate? 3- What does the next year look like rate wise? 4- What is the new home availability in Michigan? Will it improve as the year goes on? 5- What is the current availability for homes in Michigan? Will it improve as the year goes on? 6- What are the challenges for attaining home and commercial loans in Michi

Tony Conley welcomes Gary Miles who was named Editor and Publisher of The Detroit News on May 10, 2019, the first Michigan native to lead the newsroom since 1986. Previously, Gary served as managing editor for five years and in various other editing roles at The News since 2000. He has been a propelling force for investigative journalism and in the digital transformation of The News, which leads the market in digital reader loyalty and engagement. A native of the Detroit area, Gary grew up in Midland and has served in reporting and editing roles in Port Huron, Lansing, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. He serves on the board of Michigan Associated Press Media Editors and the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation. He and his wife Dorothy, a physician, have four children. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwor

Tuesday, March 21st, 2023, Jeffrey Mosher attended the opening session of MCAN, the Michigan College Access Network's College Advocacy Day. Hear two segments with remarks from the opening session,, followed by his interview with Ryan Fewins-Bliss, MCAN's Executive Director. College Access Advocacy Day: Building on Momentum, MCAN's sixth annual advocacy event, was held on March 21, 2023. This year's event was a collaboration among MCAN, Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling, Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Michigan Promise Zones Association, and Michigan Student Financial Aid Association. Participants met with legislators and policymakers and rallied around postsecondary access and attainment. View this year's legislative priorities on their website. Each year, College Access Advocacy Day is open to anyone who has a passion for college access and postsecondary attainment. In the past, participants have included school counselors, Local College Access

Tony Conley welcomes John J. Dewane who recently has been appointed as Ingham County Prosecutor by the Judges of the 30th Circuit Court. The appointment became effective from Dec. 31, 2022, through 2024. In their conversation, they discuss the position he has recently been named to. They also cover how this diehard University of Michigan football fan was also a youth tackle football coach for many years. They review the trouble the drug Fentanyl is causing in the community, crime rates in Michigan, new ideas on gun control, and how mental health impacts crime. Mr. Dewane has served in the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office since 2001, including the past twelve years as Deputy Chief Assistant. In that role, he has conducted over 80 felony trials, including numerous homicide cases. He has also led the office’s screening division and worked as a liaison to law enforcement agencies in their investigations of serious, violent, and gun-related crimes. Prior to serving as a prosecutor, John Dewane was an at

Tony Conley welcomes Richard Czuba the founder of the Glengariff Group and brings more than three decades of expertise in survey and focus group research, issue management, and strategic planning with all levels of government and public sector organizations. As the pollster for the Detroit News and WDIV-TV, he has a reputation for accurate and anticipated research and for providing political context to national, state, and local races. In their discussion, they cover several topics including how can the media be better, how does the public know which poll to believe? polling and the political divide, Polling Michiganders, and education. Czuba provided the research that framed Michigan’s 2008 Stem Cell Ballot Proposal and the 2014 Personal Property Tax Reform Ballot Proposal. In 2012, Michigan’s Senate Republican and Senate Democratic caucuses turned to Czuba for accurate, non-partisan research on voter attitudes towards road and education funding. Before founding the Glengariff Group, Czuba served as the

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes back Lucas Shaw, Sales Specialist, the Office Outlet - DBI, Lansing, MI. Welcome Lucas, remind the Michigan business community about the Office Outlet's service lines as part of DBI? What are the trends you are seeing this year or in the last several months? Have inflation and talent issues impacted the Office Outlet? What does a Sales Specialist focus on - describe more of your role with DBI Anything else we should know about at this time? Are any new products on the horizon? » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

Vic Verchereau welcomes Chris Carter, who is the Director of Operations at Marketplace Chaplains and Tony Guagliardo, who is the Executive Director of Expansion at Marketplace Chaplains. Marketplace Chaplains provides personalized and proactive employee care through the use of dedicated Chaplain Care Teams for each company location. Chaplains are voluntary to use, neutral from company operations, and conversations with them are strictly confidential. Male, female, and ethnically diverse chaplains are either full time or assignment-based depending on company locations and number of employees served. Our chaplain teams make regularly scheduled work site visits, can connect with remote/traveling/work from home employees, and are also available 24/7 to provide additional support and care. Vic Verchereau sits down with Chris Carter, Director of Operations and Tony Guagliardo Executive Director of Expansion to understand the workplace challenges and to discover one of the greatest ways to increase employee retent

Originally posted March 17, 2023. Tony Conley welcomes back Patrick De Haan, who started with GasBuddy in 2009. Patrick is welcomed back for another interview, Patrick shares about current gas prices, change over from winter to summer gas blend, gas price increases, and the lack of new refineries in the USA. How the Ukraine War has impacted the price of gasoline. Patrick has analyzed and tracked oil markets and fuel prices for nearly two decades. A graduate of DePaul University, Patrick has a degree in Business Economics and has concentrated on downstream oil markets, including crude oil, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel since 2005, when Patrick and a professor at Grand Valley State University launched a blog in that shared oil market insights and predicted gas price movements. With a solid foundation, Patrick went to work with GasBuddy, a fuel-price tracking service, providing expertise for millions of users. Since then, he has provided regular commentary to U.S. News and World Report and is often quoted

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes back Dick Peffley, General Manager, Lansing Board of Water & Light, Lansing, MI. Dick, let's remind the Michigan business community of the scope of services and footprint of BWL. I understand you wanted to talk about the recent storms and how tree trimming set us up for success. - tell us about that. Speaking of success for the future how is BWL's power generation mix evolving? What else should we know at this time? » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes back Nora Farhat, Owner, Pool Scouts, Detroit, MI. Women’s History Month: Detroit Business Owner Celebrates Woman Entrepreneurship Welcome back Nora, we had you on last June could you please remind our statewide business audience of her background? Please dive deeper, please share the basic story of her six businesses. -- once we've covered that it would then as the pitch in the original email says: "o discuss business ownership this Women’s History Month" A recent report from Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 shows that the percentage of women franchise owners has risen for five consecutive years, going back to 2016. Do its findings represent her experience? Share anything else relevant to Women's History Month, and her contact information. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes Warren Sponsler, Senior Director of Strategic Growth, NAMC Michigan Defense Consortium Works with DoD on $24.25 Million Army Technology Prototypes We have been told The National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) asked their membership to provide solutions for the United States Army’s ask for three prototypes of each variant in the Common Tactical Truck (CTT) Family of Vehicles. What is a Common Tactical Truck, and how do Michigan companies get involved? Tell us about NAMC, headquartered in Ann Arbor & Sterling Heights? (is a major player in national defense industry acting as a bridge between the Department of Defense and member organizations) What Michigan companies jumped in? • The opportunity received multiple entries with American Rheinmetall Vehicles/GM Defense, Mack Defense, Navistar Defense, and Oshkosh Defense receiving the proposal awards. Does NAMC's efforts in Michigan give our state some opportunities? such as CTT, are able to move quickly and deliver much-needed ad

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes back Lorri Rishar, MBA, Owner & CEO, EDGE Partnerships, Lansing, Marquette, MI, Chicago, IL Lorri, remind the Michigan business community about EDGE Partnerships. Congratulations we understand EDGE just earned silver in mid-Michigan’s ADDY Awards, tell us about that. What are some of the other recognition EDGE has generated. Your dynamic team across three cities,... sometimes talent in Marquette might be the inspiration for something Lansing is recognized for,... do your three locations hold joint meetings or work sessions? What are the dynamics? As we head toward Spring, what is EDGE working on? » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes back Kurt J. Rankin vice president and senior economist for The PNC Financial Services Group, Pittsburgh, PA PNC just released the results of its Spring Economic Outlook Survey of small business owners in Michigan. Kurt, I understand this is the first Michigan survey in several years. What are some of the key findings? What factors bring that optimism? Are businesses seeing a better next 6 months? how are Sales going to be? what's the status on hiring? could interest rates dampen this, or some other world issue? » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

Vic Verchereau welcomes Howdy Holmes, who is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Chelsea Milling Company. Howdy Holmes started working at Chelsea Milling Company as a sophomore in high school. He worked in many departments, learning the company from the ground up, during summer breaks, throughout his high school and college years. Howdy left the company to pursue a boyhood dream, to be a race car driver. Howdy spent 20 years in motorsports: winning regional races, the Formula Atlantic Championship, and Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500 in 1979. He competed in the Indy 500 six times, qualifying on the front row in 1984. As a businessman, Howdy operated a motorsports marketing company, as well as an advertising company, both of which served the motorsports community. He authored an award-winning book entitled, “Formula Car Technology” and was a contributing writer for magazines and newspapers about racing. He was also one of the first color commentators of racing for ESPN. Howdy rejoined the famil

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes back Terry Barclay, President & CEO, Inforum Michigan, Detroit, MI, Welcome back Terry, please start by reminding the Michigan business community about Inforum. Yesterday was International Women's Day 2023, how did Inforum mark the occasion? March, being National Women's history month, what should the business community be aware of in 2023? How are the trends? the talent issue remains a concern for business, entrepreneurism is encouraged, but is it on the rise? How can the community get involved in supporting Inforum? What are other ways Inforum is supporting the professional development of women? » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes back Julie Pingston, President & CEO at Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau, Lansing, MI. Congratulations on your Annual Meeting last week, what were some highlights? Dive a bit deeper into the Local Tourism Data Released March 2 There's word about a rebranding on the horizon for GLCVB, and the Sports Authority,... anything you are able to share at this point? How is 2023 shaping up for regional tourism? Anything else we should know at this point? (honorees at the annual meeting). » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/