2005 is the third year that Midland Tomorrow is hosting its Annual Awards Luncheon. Held each October, the event recognizes and celebrates individuals, organizations, and businesses that have helped the Midland economy grow and prosper. Awards are granted in the categories of expansion, community partner and innovator. The Luncheon has been a sellout since its inception in 2003, and we anticipate similarly enthusiastic attendance this year.

To help fund this important program, we introduced two levels of sponsorship this year. Three local organizations (Braun Kendrick Finkbeiner PLC, The Dow Chemical Company and Dow Corning Corporation) have become $2,500 "Category Sponsors," each sponsoring one of the three award categories. Many other Midland organizations have become $500 "Event Sponsors": CBM Services, Inc.; Chemical Bank and Trust Company; Consumers Energy/Midland Cogeneration Venture; Delta College Corporate Services; Ieuter & Secor; MidMichigan Health; MITECH+; National City Bank; North Coast Technology Investors, LP; QuadSil, Inc.; The Rossman Group; Saginaw Valley State University; SPACE, Inc./ITH Staffing; Wolgast Corporation and Wolverine Bank. Sponsors receive a reserved table for ten at the event and have their logo displayed on the program and in the awards presentation.

For more information about this year's Awards Luncheon or to register to attend the event, please email Midland Tomorrow, or call Becky Hays at (989) 839-0340.

Two Midland industrial parks have received certification from the State of Michigan's Certified Business Parks program. Coleman Industrial Park has been certified for the first time, and Eastwick Industrial Park's existing certification has been renewed. Both parks are now certified through 2008.

Michigan's Certified Business Park program rewards excellence in industrial parks. Certified parks offer quality, up-to-date facilities and a high level of service that surpasses most business parks around the nation. To learn more about available space in Coleman or Eastwick Industrial Parks, email Scott Walker at Midland Tomorrow, or call him at (989) 839-0340.

On Thursday, June 23, 2005, Midland Tomorrow and the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce hosted Michigan's First Gentleman, Daniel Granholm Mulhern. Gentleman Mulhern spoke at a morning forum to discuss his statewide mentoring initiative.

In his first forum presentation, Gentleman Mulhern discussed the "shrinking" of the world as we shift to a global knowledge economy, and Michigan's need to embrace this change and diversify the economic base to include more high-technology, skilled jobs. The second presentation dealt more specifically with his and the Governor's joint "Mentor Michigan" initiative. During the presentation, entitled "Put the 'Men' back in 'Mentoring,'" he elaborated how adult mentors can help reduce recidivism in juvenile crime, particularly when men act as father figures to troubled male youth. Judge Dorene Allen from Midland's Probate Court and Terry Dusseau from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Midland added to the presentation with statistics and stories from their own experiences. Both presentations were well attended and sparked eager discussion among attendees.

Many thanks are due to the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce, which collaborated closely with Midland Tomorrow on these events. By any measure, the discussions were a great success.

The U.S. tax code is burdensome, overcomplicated and just plain unfair to millions of Americans and small businesses. Every year small businesses spend billions of dollars in accountant fees and tax lawyers just to comply with the tax code. The tax code is broken and needs fixing.

That is why the Chambers of Commerce and economic development councils of Bay, Midland and Saginaw, in an unprecedented regional event, presented Breaking the Code: Overhauling the U.S. Tax Code, held on Monday, June 27, 2005, at the Apple Mountain Resort in Freeland. U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, a senior member of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and chairman of its subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, led a discussion on the Bush administration's proposed changes to the tax code, including the merits and drawbacks of the flat tax. Panelists included Daniel Mitchell from the Heritage Foundation and Chris Edwards from the Cato Institute, two of the nation's leading experts on tax policy and how it impacts businesses large and small.

About 120 people attended the event. Thanks go to the Midland, Bay and Saginaw Chambers of Commerce as well as Saginaw Future and Bay Future for their skilled collaboration on this highly successful regional event.

Midland-based Dendritech, Inc., the world leader in commercial dendrimer production, has been awarded a two-year $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue its research on a coating that will repel zebra mussels from the exteriors of boats, inlet piping and other waterbound structures. Lead scientists on the project are Dr. Petar Dvornic and Dr. Claire Hartmann-Thompson, who will work with a host of other organizations as the science is refined in the next phase of the project.

?The zebra mussel, as well as other biofouling organisms, poses a serious problem in fresh water, and barnacles do the same in sea water,? Hartmann-Thompson said. ?We set out to develop a coating that will discourage those organisms from settling on boats, water inlet pipes and other such structures in the water. Our solution will offer an effective, environmentally friendly alternative that will successfully and safely repel the organisms.?

Dvornic said this project is particularly exciting because it strikes close to home, and because it has serious commercial potential. ?Is there a boat owner anywhere in the Great Lakes region who wouldn?t like to have an environmentally safe method of ridding his boat of these creatures that build up on the hull?? Dvornic said.

Phase II will involve scientists from several different organizations, including Michigan Molecular Institute, which is serving as a subcontractor on the project; Gougeon Brothers, a Bay City-based company that is one of the nation?s leading manufacturers of boat hull resins; Central Michigan University; and the Sea Education Association, which will conduct work on the salt water portion of the research. The SEA is based in Woods Hole, Mass.

Dendritech, Inc. is a privately held company established in 1992 whose main focus is the manufacture and sale of specialty dendrimers. Its operations include a 10-acre multi-million dollar manufacturing plant located in Eastwick Industrial Park. For more information about Dendritech, call (989) 496-1152 or visit their website.

Sixty Midland County youth experienced a new type of ?summer day camp? this year. MITECH+, in collaboration with community business and education partners, offered Midland County youth an opportunity to attend six career exploration day camps this summer.

Each five and one-half day "Explore Your Dreams? camp was designed for middle- and high-school students to experience, through ?hands-on? activities, the skills required for careers in four different industries: Advanced Manufacturing, Construction, Entrepreneurship, and Information Technology. Other career camps offered during this past summer included Health and Wellness, Videography, Aviation and Law Enforcement.

Parents of the campers had the opportunity to celebrate completion of each camp's project with their children and to learn about the career options available for their children in today's changing workforce. Parents also learned about additional programs and activities available through Midland County education and community organizations that provide exposure to current and future careers. Experiencing and exploring provide a sound base for ?Careers by Choice ? Not Chance.?

MITECH+, Inc. was formed by a group of over 43 community leaders who recognized a critical community need - more opportunities for young people and adults to gain technical skills that can lead to high-demand, high-skill and high-paying careers as well as further education and training. Part of the MITECH+ mission is to provide information regarding skilled and technical careers and coordinate collaborative events and activities focused on career exploration, education and training. With this knowledge people will gain a positive understanding of how the workplace has changed and eliminate negative bias toward skilled and technical careers.

For more information about MITECH+ summer career camps, Midland Co. Career Night and Parent Career Booster presentation, please contact MITECH+ at (989) 923-1500 or email them.

The Women's Economic Development Outreach conference will take place in five Michigan cities from September 19-23, 2005. The half-day conference directly impacts women-owned businesses by providing focused resources that increase opportunities for expansion.

Saginaw Future, Inc., Flint Genesee Economic Growth Alliance Procurement & Technical Assistance Centers, and the State of Michigan will be hosting a Meet the Buyers Forum on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005. The forum will link buyers and purchasing personnel from the State of Michigan Department of Management and Budget as well as federal, state, and local agencies from Genesee, Shiawassee, Saginaw, Bay and Midland Counties in structured working sessions to facilitate procurement opportunities, particularly with small, women-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses. To register, contact Delena Spates-Allen at (989) 757-2105, or email her.

MichBio is hosting MichBio Expo 2005 on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005 at COBO Center in Detroit. Speakers from all areas of the life sciences industry will discuss recent developments in the drug, device and diagnostic arenas from business, scientific, financial and policy perspectives. Among the topics this year are intellectual property and its impact on drug development, new business growth and development of life science industry companies, future trends in the pharmaceutical industry, and stem cell research.

The Michigan Technology Conference, jointly presented by Automation Alley, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, will take place September 8 at the Ford Conference & Event Center in Dearborn, MI. Executives in the high technology industry will discuss the latest industry trends while highlighting and celebrating business-related technological integrations. The day-long conference will discuss topics ranging from supply chain integration and radio frequency identification to alternative energy and homeland security.