Event Notices From July 2-10

WWJ, Blues to host health insurance reform event for small biz: WWJ Newsradio 950, in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, will host "Health Insurance Changes for Small Businesss" Tuesday, July 20 in the University Technology and Learning Center Gallery at Lawrence Technological University, 21000 W. 10 Mile Road in Southfield. The event begins with breakfast and registration from 7:15 to 8 a.m. and a panel discussion and question and answer session from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The event aims to cover how the historic health care reform package signed by President Obama affect small business. Moderated by WWJ Newsradio 950 and Fox 2 Business Editor Murray Feldman, panelists will include Paul LaCasse, president and CEO of Botsford Hospital; Ken Ross, commissioner of the Michigan Office Of Financial And Insurance Regulation; and Kirk Roy, director of the Office of National Health Reform, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Admission is free, but advance registration is required. To register, visit http://newsteam950.wwj.com/CustomContest.aspx?AID=100746 or call (248) 455-7360.

CMU offers a week dedicated to electrochemistry research: Central Michigan University will hold a weeklong workshop on applied electrochemistry, including a number of lectures that are free and open to the public, through CMU's Science of Advanced Materials Program from 8:30 to 11:50 a.m. July 19-23 in the Dow Science Building. Guest lecturers from Dow Chemical, Dow Corning and other universities and organizations throughout the country will cover topics that include corrosion, spectroelectrochemistry, solar cells, batteries, fuel cells and other sustainable technologies. To learn more about the course, contact Brian Pate at (989) 774-3180 or pate1b@cmich.edu.

Curve Detroit talks Foursquare for business: The Pontiac advertising, marketing and design firm Curve Detroit will host a seminar at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 29 on Foursquare, a mobile application that allows users to share their current location with friends, fine popular hotspots and highlight interesting places off the beaten path. Players score points and achievement badges for chronicling their social activities. With Foursquare users logging more than 44 million check ins, internet titans like Facebook, Yelp and Twitter are entering the game. Geo-location is no longer something savvy business owners can ignore. Curve is helping companies take advantage of this booming consumer trend. Offering seminars on social media long before people figured out Facebook, Curve has been using social media to grow their own business and help their clients for years. "Foursquare for Business" is Curve's latest business attraction seminar. The workshop teaches business owners how to use geo-location games like Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook, Yelp and Brightkite to establish customer loyalty programs, create up-to-the-minute advertising and tap into location-based marketing. "Foursquare for Business", co-sponsored by Automation Alley and Curve Detroit, will take place at Automation Alley headquarters: 2675 Bellingham Drive, Troy. Admission is $20. Register at http://curvedetroit.com/seminars.  

PLM Road Map announces keynoter: Collaborative Product Development Associaties announced that Penske Corp. CIO Stephen J. Pickett will join the keynote speaker line-up for PLM Road Map 2010 at The Inn at St. John's in Plymouth Township Sept. 28 and 29. Other keynote speakers will include: Ford Motor Co.'s Christopher Davey; Targeted Convergence Corp.'s Michael Kennedy; MathWorks' Jim Tung; HP's Christian Verstraete; and IBM Rational's Bruce Powel Douglass. Stephen's presentation, "Innovation at the Speed of a Pit Stop," will provide an overview of Penske with insight into how motorsports serves as a common thread that runs throughout all of their businesses. Motorsports provides the company with a competitive advantage and has been a way to build the Penske brand in the marketplace and to form successful relationships with companies like PTC. The presentation will share examples of Penske's relationship with PTC and how that relationship is utilized to help get their cars in the victory lane. To find out more about PLM Road Map 2010 or to register for the event visit the CPDA web site at http://www.cpd-associates.com/index.cfm?content=include_conference10.cfm or e-mail events@cpd-associates.com.

X-Rite Shows Advanced Solutions to Ensure Color Quality of Foods: Kentwood-based X-Rite Inc. will demonstrate for the first time its deep toolbox of systems to ensure the color quality of produce and foodstuffs at the IFT10 Annual Meeting & Food Expo to be held in Chicago from July 17 to 20. The X-Rite team will show how its instruments and quality control software can be used to measure and monitor the color of a variety of food, ranging from raw fruits and vegetables, prepared foods such as french fries, and foodstuffs made continuously in high-speed production settings such as pasta, chocolate, juices, spreads and baked goods. Attendees of the IFT10 show can view demonstrations and obtain more X-Rite information at booth 7248 of McCormick Place South. Pre-show information may be obtained by visiting www.xrite.com/ift. X-Rite has the only system approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that food processors use to measure acceptable tolerances of orange juice color from a set standard, Annacone said. The system uses X-Rite's Color i5 benchtop spectrophotometer and Color iQC software package to accurately and quickly measure whether liquid orange juice meets the USDA standards. Kenneth Phillips, product manager for Non Contact Industrial Markets, said another X-Rite device, its VeriColor Spectro spectrophotometer, can be used to monitor subtle shifts in the color of products as varied as baby foods and biscuits. Smaller than a breadbox, the VeriColor Spectro is a non-contact device that mounts directly onto a production line to precisely measure the color of products moving by at fast speeds. The instrument was specifically designed to yield quick and reliable measurements even in demanding factory environments, where fluctuating temperatures, vibration, high humidity and variable lighting conditions are the norm. In addition to spectrophotometers, X-Rite will be demonstrating customized color matching cards and other standards that operators can use to quickly determine whether the color of foodstuffs is acceptable.

Merit Network to host border gateway protocol course: Ann Arbor-based Merit Network Inc. will host a three-day course on the fundamentals of BGP, the Border Gateway Protocol. The workshop will be held on Tuesday through Thursday, Sept. 21-23, at Merit's offices in Ann Arbor. Registration and complete details are now available at www.merit.edu/learning/bgp2010. BGP is the core routing protocol of the Internet, essential for moving traffic between networks and vital for organizations that maintain connections to multiple networks. This course provides CCNA-level students with practical hands-on experience with the operation and configuration of the Border Gateway Protocol within a multihomed campus environment. Registration for attendees from Merit Member organizations is $1,195. Attendees from non-profit organizations that are not Merit Members may attend for $1,295. Others can register for $1,495. Registration includes all training materials, continental breakfast, beverages and snacks.

Plex Systems Exhibiting and Presenting at Process Expo 2010: Plex Systems Inc., provider of the No. 1 rated ERP software for manufacturers, announced it will be exhibiting and speaking at Process Expo 2010 at McCormick Place in Chicago, July 18-20. You can visit Plex Systems at booth 18025. Plex Systems senior account executive Mel Smith and customer Ron Zilkowski, CFO at Cuisine Solutions, will present, "SaaS, the Perfect Traceability Solution" at the Spotlight Theater at noon on July 20. They will discuss how SaaS technology is defining a new age in food processing and will highlight best practices vs. traditional methods in food process traceability. Zilkowski will discuss the improvements at Cuisine Solutions as a result of using Plex Online. Process Expo is the most comprehensive event in the U.S. offered exclusively for the food and beverage industry. Food industry manufacturers from the most respected food brands in the world with gather to find solutions offered by the industry's leading processing and packaging technology and equipment suppliers. Plex Online extends beyond the boundaries of legacy ERP software to provide a comprehensive solution for manufacturers, including manufacturing execution systems and quality management systems functions for the factory floor, customer relationship management features for sales and marketing, and supplier management functions for procurement. More at www.plex.com.

BBC, Schoolcraft College PTAC, Mi-SBTDC to host event on getting grants from Defense Department: Biotechnology Business Consultants LLC and the Procurement Technology Assistance Center of Schoolcraft College and the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers will present a workshop on writing winning Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grant proposals with a focus on the Department of Defense. The DoD is scheduled to pre-release its 2010.3 SBIR solicitation on July 20. In this proposal preparation workshop, BBC will provide an introduction to the SBIR program, review the DoD solicitation and describe in detail the elements of a fundable proposal. The event will be held Tuesday, July 27 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Schoolcraft College VisTaTech Center, 18600 Haggerty Road in Livonia. The cost is $75 and preregistration is mandatory. Register at http://webadvisor.schoolcraft.edu, click on Continuting Education Classes, click on Reigster and Pay for Continuting Education Classes, and insert course number CES2 1567 or section number 930746. For more information contact Kris Bergman at (734) 930-9741 or kris@bbcetc.com

ITS sets Webcast on Asset Management 7: Grand Rapids-based ITS Communications presents a Webcast, "Asset Management Suite 7.0: An overview of Symantec Asset Management 7" on Tuesday, July 13 at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Altiris Asset Management Suite from Symantec maximizes existing IT investments by actively eliminating unnecessary costs, managing contracts, aligning service resources with ITIL standards, and accurately measuring asset total cost of ownership. The suite provides the accountability for tracking assets from procurement to disposal to deliver the best value. Register at http://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/469984569.

August Business Workshops Offered By Oakland County

Business owners and entrepreneurs who need assistance are invited to attend seminars in August 2010 offered by the Oakland County Business Center. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, Aug. 3: Pre-Business Research -- Are you thinking of starting your own business and want to research your business idea? Are you a business owner who wants to understand which research sources to use for your business plan and where to find the information you need? Presented by The Oakland County Business Center, The Entrepreneur's Source, Oakland County Market Research Department, and a Business Reference Librarian. This event will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Farmington Community Library, 32737 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. This workshop is free, but pre-registration is required.

Wednesday, Aug. 4: Team SBA Financing Roundtable -- This session is best suited to those who have good credit, a solid business idea, and some money to invest in their business. Before you apply for a business loan, we recommend that you first attend a Financing Roundtable. The roundtables are a free loan orientation conducted by a business banker, a business consultant from the SBA's network of Small Business Development Centers, and an SBA representative. During the roundtable, we'll debunk the myths and demystify the process of small business financing. You'll learn how the lending process works and what is expected of you and you'll understand how the SBA can assist with our SBA Guaranteed Loan Program. Because the SBA does not provide loan guarantees to real estate investment firms, including purchasing and rehabbing houses for sale, this type of financing is not discussed at the roundtables. Presented by: Small Business Administration (SBA) Representative, Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center (MI-SBTDC) Consultant, and Business Banker. This event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar  or call (248) 858-0783. This workshop is free, but pre-registration is required.

Thursday, Aug. 12: Fundamentals of Starting a Business is a seminar for anyone thinking about going into business. Participants examine their entrepreneurial skills, learn how to implement their ideas and receive a list of pitfalls to avoid when starting a business. This event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783.
The fee is $30. No refunds.

Thursday, Aug. 19: Fundamentals of Writing a Business Plan is a workshop for small business owners who are developing a plan to serve as their road map to success. Workshop participants will learn what elements are commonly found in effective plans and will work on developing each of these for their own business. Assistance in the process as well as information on resources will be provided. This event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $40, which includes all materials. No refunds.

Wednesday, Aug. 25: Small Business Loan Workshop -- Getting a small business loan can be a challenging process. Learn the "5 C's of Credit", how to develop a winning loan proposal and what you need to know to position your business to be "bankable" before you meet with a lender. Presented by The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Oakland County Business Center. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $20 per person (Please make checks payable to S.C.O.R.E.). Includes handouts and SBA Source Book. No refunds.

Friday, Aug. 27: FastTrac Listening to Your Business Workshop -- The day-to-day responsibilities of running your own business leave little time to focus on long-term vision, goals and strategies. Find time in your schedule to spend it with Listening to your Business, a half-day workshop from FastTrac. Created for entrepreneurs just like you, Listening to Your Business makes the most of the knowledge you have about your business -- and the limited time you have to make it better. The event will be held from 8 a.m. to noon at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $50. No refunds.

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