The Southfield Martin Luther King, Jr. Task Force honored King’s legacy of social justice, nonviolence, and equality for all Americans through a peace walk on MLK Day 2026.
DTE Energy's community gardens are growing by four acres and possibly hundreds of new volunteers this year.Farming season for the 10 DTE Energy Gardens kicked off in Southfield earlier this week, starting a multi-faceted project that provides food to Gleaners Community Food Bank. The gardens also offer volunteers the opportunity to get involved in their communities, to get more exercise and to learn about gardening. The gardens also serve as aesthetic buffers around DTE facilities.Last year, the 10 gardens produced 44,000 pounds of food for Gleaners and its food banks. With extra land and more volunteers - as many as 1,000 total - the amount of food grown is expected to increase this year, DTE Spokesman Scott Simons says.DTE Energy and Gleaners started the program at two electric substations in 2008 and have since expanded to company properties in Allen Park, Birmingham, Farmington Hills, Frenchtown Township, Plymouth Township, Pontiac, Southfield, Lyon Township, Washington Township and Westland.Source: Scott Simons, spokesman, DTE EnergyWriter: Kim North Shine
As officials at all levels of government look at sharing services to save money, companies such as ImageSoft, Inc. in Southfield have the goods to show them how.ImageSoft is hosting a summit on the topic of shared services June 8 in Lansing. Oakland County Deputy Executive Robert Daddow will be keynote speaker and share Oakland's success stories of shared services in a presentation titled: "Shared Services – Politics Versus Reality."While fire and police and similarly high profile departments are often the targets of consolidation, the focus of ImageSoft's Enterprise Content Management software is documents and work flow-labor intensive, costly and often inefficient areas that come with serving the public.Scott Bade, president of ImageSoft, a 15-year-old company recognized as one of Metropolitan Detroit’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For and winner of the 2010 Best Fit Integrator Award from the Center for Digital Government, says the software is ideal for human resources, billing and other financial areas, permitting and even dog licensing. The software doesn't eliminate paper but cuts it and the processes that go with it way back. Data entry duties are saved, the need for multiple servers can be eliminated, as can the space and IT staff they require. The idea is to eliminate redundancy and cut costs without sacrificing quality of services, he says.The software lets communities share data collection and storage, hardware, and expenses, and allows for processes to be centralized and knowledge shared. "The software in general is going to save money because it makes your staff 20-30 percent more efficient, Bade says. "Unfortunately in a lot of cities the adoption rate is pretty low…A lot of that is changing because of shared services."Shared services is not a new concept, but recently more and more bodies of government are taking a hard look at it as they look to slash budgets, especially as the proposed state spending plan needs to make up a $2 billion shortage. Gov. Rick Snyder is asking communities to put the shared services concept into practice as a money saver.Bade says Oakland County is a prime example of sharing services successfully. In addition to Oakland County using ImageSoft, Washtenaw County is using it to share services with Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. With the system they share storage, a server, and disaster recovery. Grand Traverse County uses the software to collaborate with Traverse City as do cities on the west side of the state, Bade says. ImageSoft also provides similar software solutions for banking, health care, courts, insurance and other organizations with vast amounts of document requirements.Separately, cities in Macomb County have banded together to talk consolidation, and other cities are combining libraries, police dispatch, and other areas.The summit is free and is geared toward state, county and local government officials of all levels and areas of expertise. It will be held from 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the James B. Henry Center for Executive Development and will include continental breakfast and lunch. For more information or to register go to www.imagesoftinc.com/government-summit-2011.htmlSource: Scott Bade, president ImageSoft Inc.Writer: Kim North Shine
New and better ideas. Innovation. These are the things we associate with our institutes of higher learning. So, now that green technology and practices are becoming a way of life, how do Metro Detroit's universities and colleges fare when it comes to sustainability? Metromode's Kim North Shine checks out who's doing what to reduce their collective carbon footprint.
A robotics competition like the upcoming Robofest at Lawrence Technological University is obviously a play to get more young people interested in a career in robotics. But CJ Chung, a computer science professor at Lawrence Tech, says it has a broader goal."We are using robots to further math and science learning," Chung says. "That's the purpose of Robofest."Lawrence Tech is hosting the 12th annual World Robofest Championship on May 7. welcoming 65 teams from around the world. They include 35 teams from outside of Michigan and a few from Canada and South Korea. Chung also likes to point out that this competition also has entrepreneurial aspirations."Some of my students who have participated in Robofest have started their own companies," Chung says.Robofest is a competition of autonomous robots (computer-programmed to act independently) that encourages students to have fun while learning principles of science, technology, engineering, and math. Students design, construct, and program the robots. Adult coaches are not allowed to assist during the events. Admission and parking are free. For more information, call (248) 204-3566 or send an email to robofest@ltu.edu or click here.Source: CJ Chung, computer science professor at Lawrence Technological University Writer: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Your People is bringing more people into its fold lately, both customers and employees.The Southfield-based PR agency has expanded its staff to three employees and four independent contractors over the last year. The new hires are a result of the four-year-old firm's growing client list that has recently crossed the 20 mark with names like Schakolad Chocolate Factory and HBR Labs included among its six new customers so far this year."We probably bring on 1-2 new clients a month over the last eight months," says Lynne Schreiber, chief creative officer for Your People. "Most of it has been word-of-mouth referrals from our clients. It's become a 1-degree of separation because everybody knows everybody else."Schreiber, a working mom, has hired three people over the last month. All of those hires have been moms who are working either from Schreiber's home or virtually. She plans to keep her team small and virtual to maximize its flexibility and to keep the company lean."We have been working a lot on team building," Schreiber says. "We make sure everybody has their niche and we work like a well-oiled machine."Source: Lynne Schreiber, chief creative officer for Your PeopleWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Assets International got its start when Neal Duchin's wife inherited some money and the Oakland County-based entrepreneur discovered just how hard it was to get what was rightfully theirs.That journey led Duchin to start the recovery firm, quickly bringing on friends Avram Goldstein and Michael Zwick. Assets International specializes in helping people find the money and assets they are legally entitled to. The firm takes a small percentage of the resources recovered."There are people out there walking around with no idea they have this money," says Zwick, president of Assets International.The Southfield-based firm now has 19 employees and a few independent contractors. It has steadily grown over its 10 years and expects to continue that ascent with a few more hires over the next year as it expands into class action litigation and oil and gas markets."We're pretty steadily growing at a rate of two people a year," Zwick says. "We have also steadily grown in revenue each year."Source: Michael Zwick, president of Assets InternationalWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Installation of high-tech electric meters that will change the way DTE Energy receives power usage information and increase customers' control over energy use has begun in Oakland County.Over the next several months about 350,000 meters will be placed at homes and businesses in 25 communities: Berkley, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, Clawson, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Franklin, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Northville, Novi, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Royal Oak Township, Southfield, Southfield Township, Troy, Walled Lake, and Wixom.This portion of the installation of the "smart" meters come at a cost of about $168 million, half of it from a Smart Grid Investment Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The meters will form what DTE Energy is calling "the backbone" of its SmartCurrents program. DTE's matching $84 million grant helps achieve a nationwide effort to update the country's electrical grid.The meters will provide detailed information about energy usage directly to DTE, recognize power outages without customer input, and allow DTE to quickly locate and repair outages and other service problems. The meters will nearly eliminate estimated billing and allow for service to be remotely connected or disconnected rather than requiring appointments with technicians. In addition, technology will be wired into the meters to allow customers to better manage their energy usage and bills. The SmartCurrents technology can be tied to similarly "smart" appliances, thermostats, and such. The DOE funding will allow DTE Energy to offer an in-home display product and special thermostats to nearly 1,500 customers. Check out smartcurrents.com for more information.DTE has installed about 250,000 meters so far in Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Commerce Township, Grosse Ile, Harsen's Island, and West Bloomfield Township. By early 2012 a total of about 600,000 meters will have been installed.Source: Scott Simons, spokesman, DTE EnergyWriter: Kim North Shine
Southfield-based Grede Holdings LLC is committing to EPA's ENERGY STAR program, which has some of the nation's largest companies working to reduce greenhouse gases by conserving energy. Grede, a manufacturer of iron castings, foam, silicon and other products for the transportation and industrial markets, with 3,800 employees at 13 foundries, three machining operations, and its headquarters in Southfield, plans to measure and track its energy performance with tools offered through ENERGY STAR. The company also will develop and implement energy management guidelines for decreasing energy usage. Being an ENERGY STAR company will also have the company promote the importance of energy efficiency to its staff and the community.It's all part of the ENERGY STAR Challenge, which calls on commercial and industrial buildings to improve energy efficiency by at least 10 percent. In return for energy saving achievements, Grede will receive the ENERGY STAR certification, an increasingly ubiquitous symbol on appliances and other consumer products and commercial and industrial buildings. ENERGY STAR began in 1992 in an attempt to curb greenhouse gases and global warming. Last year it had saved Americans, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, about $18 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 33 million vehicles.Grede is not disclosing the amount of investment that will go into the project, but there will be a "sound return" on the investment."We believe that a strategic, corporate energy management program will help us enhance our financial health and aid in preserving the environment for future generations," says Doug Grimm, chairman, president and CEO, Grede Holdings LLC.Source: Richard Pacini, senior vice president, Millerschin Group; Doug Grimm, chairman, president and CEO, Grede Holdings LLCWriter: Kim North Shine
Organizers of FutureMidwest have aspirations of creating a SXSW-type (South by Southwest) tech conference in the Midwest that will draw Metro Detroit's tech community closer and offer $100,000 in prize money to a local start-up."There is so much start-up potential here," says Adrian Pittman, who co-founded FutureMidwest in 2009 with Jordan Wolfe and Zach Lipson in 2009 to cater to tech and digital media enthusiasts. "There are so many start-ups here, and many of them are better than we realize."This year's conference, to be held in Detroit's Eastern Market on April 28 and 29, will be geared toward entrepreneurs, marketers, communication professionals, techies, and students from across the Midwest. It will also feature the Funded by Night business plan contest with a winner-take-all $100,000 in prize money. Funded by Night will feature 25 start-ups pitching their products and visions to potential investors. At stake is a $100,000 convertible note from two local venture capital firms, downtown Detroit-based Detroit Venture Partners and Southfield-based Ludlow Ventures. The organizers hope the conference and competition will help create more synergies with start-ups in both Metro Detroit and the Midwest."No city is an island and no region is an island," Pittman says. "We share an ecosystem in several states and industries. We need to be thinking globally."Tickets for both events are $250. Tickets for Funded by Night and the FutureMidwest evening networking event on April 28 are $25 for professionals and $10 for students. For information on FutureMidwest, click here. For information on Funded by Night, click here.Source: Adrian Pittman, co-founder of FutureMidwestWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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