Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce

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The Downtown Improvement District is once again bringing the Lunch on the Square concert series to downtown Fort Wayne.  Free weekly concerts will take place every Thursday in June, July and August from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., excluding July 4.

The annual concert series takes over the courtyard at One Summit Square (on the corner of Wayne and Calhoun Streets) with free live music for people to enjoy outside during their lunch hour. The weekly event kicks off on Thursday, June 6, with the music of the Solar Buskers at 11:30. Grab lunch to-go at one of the many downtown restaurants or food trucks and come celebrate the start of summer with the Downtown Improvement District!

Performance Schedule

• June 6: Solar Buskers
• June 13: Pop N' Fresh
• June 20: Honey Badger
• June 27: Mike Conley
• July 11: elle/the REMNANT
• July 18: Fernando Tarango
• July 25: Scratch N' Sniff
• August 1: Jug Huffers
• August 8: Joe Justice
• August 15: The J Taylors
• August 22: Shade and Shannon
• August 29: Back in Effect

Lunch on the Square is sponsored by Lutheran Health Network/St. Joseph Hospital, V102.9, Fort Wayne Metals, and Indiana Michigan Power.

For more information, visit www.downtownfortwayne.com

City Council will be holding a courtesy public hearing on the current fiscal policy recommendations. There will be additional required public hearings on June 11 and June 18. Last week council voted in favor of introducing several bills pertaining to the Mayor’s Fiscal Policy Group’s recommendations such as the cumulative capital development fund, a public safety local option income tax (LOIT), and a property tax relief LOIT. These bills will be up for discussion tonight. Join us at City Council and let your voice be heard!

The Chamber's Government Affairs staff is here to help our members stay up to date with local, state, and federal government. The Chamber is advocating for the business community with Katy Stafford-Cunningham on the ground everyday at the Statehouse and Melissa Beber covering local government issues.

Follow us on Twitter @FWGovConnect to get the most recent news.

You can catch this evening’s Fort Wayne City Council meeting in several ways:

• In Person: Attend the meeting at Citizen’s Square beginning at 5:30 p.m.
• TV: Watch live on Channel 58 (Comcast) or Channel 28 (Frontier)
• Streaming: Watch live online on the city's web site
• Online: Catch up by watching past council meetings online

Chamber member Pro Resources Staffing celebrated its expansion from 3,500 square feet to 7,000 square feet at its location at 1728 Spy Run Ave. with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, May 17. 

Pro Resources is a regional employment services firm, locally owned and operated by Bill Becker of Fort Wayne. This is its 27th year in business, and it has 17 office locations throughout the state of Indiana. Pro Resources helped more than 13,000 people secure employment during 2012. Pro Resources employs 99 full-time workers throughout the state.

Chamber member Pro Resources Staffing is celebrating its expansion from 3,500 square feet to 7,000 square feet at its location at 1728 Spy Run Ave. with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17. An open house will follow until 4 p.m.

Pro Resources is a regional employment services firm, locally owned and operated by Bill Becker of Fort Wayne. This is its 27th year in business, and it has 17 office locations throughout the state of Indiana. Pro Resources helped more than 13,000 people secure employment during 2012. Pro Resources employs 99 full-time workers throughout the state.

This week at City Council there are several bills up for introduction pertaining to the Mayor’s Fiscal Policy Group’s recommendations such as the cumulative capital development fund, a public safety local option income tax (LOIT), and a property tax relief LOIT. There will be several public hearings on these bills in June. 

Also up for introduction is a bill to approve awarding a contract for the youth sports community assessment and market potential study as part of the Legacy proposals. 

City Council will also be taking a final vote on an ordinance to approve preliminary engineering to add travel lanes to Dupont Road from Lima to Coldwater roads which passed during Committee Session with a Do Pass recommendation.

The Chamber's Government Affairs staff is here to help our members stay up to date with local, state, and federal government. The Chamber is advocating for the business community with Katy Stafford-Cunningham on the ground everyday at the Statehouse and Melissa Beber covering local government issues.

Follow us on Twitter @FWGovConnect to get the most recent news.

You can catch this evening’s Fort Wayne City Council meeting in several ways:

• In Person: Attend the meeting at Citizens Square beginning at 5:30 p.m.
• TV: Watch live on Channel 58 (Comcast) or Channel 28 (Frontier)
• Streaming: Watch live online on the city's web site
• Online: Catch up by watching past council meetings online

Chamber member Medtech College celebrated a new expansion at its location at 7230 Engle Road with a ribbon cutting and open house on Friday, May 10.

Medtech has been in Fort Wayne for a little more than five years. Its new expansion within nursing on the third floor is geared towards extraordinary healthcare training. Medtech will be showcasing its expansion (more than 4,500 square feet), computer resource area, and new Nursing Simulation Lab. 

Medtech employs 150 people.

Medtech offers training in Medical Assisting, Medical Billing & Coding, Medical Lab Technician, Practical Nursing, and Registered Nursing. Currently, Medtech offers the only night nursing program in Fort Wayne.

For more information, visit the Medtech web site at www.medtech.edu.

Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers today recognized 26 Indiana counties, including Allen, for working to increase the percentage of Hoosiers with education beyond high school. The counties are members of Indiana’s College Success Coalition, a statewide network focused on improving college access and success. 

“We are so proud of the many local leaders—from K-12, higher education, business, government and community organizations—who have come together to increase education opportunity and student success in Indiana,” said Lubbers. “Creating a culture of college access and success can only happen when the vision is shared by the entire community.”

Since 2010, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education—through its Learn More Indiana outreach initiative—has supported the development of College Success Coalitions in 50 counties. Collectively, these county coalitions have recruited nearly 1,400 member organizations and implemented almost 2,000 targeted activities designed to increase college access and success.

Honoring the County Coalitions

The 26 counties honored during an awards ceremony at the Indiana Statehouse comprise the first two cohorts of a growing statewide network of local organizations focused on increasing college readiness, access and completion in a state that currently ranks 40th nationally in education attainment.

To earn the Indiana College Success County award, member organizations created a data-driven strategic plan designed to increase the percentage of the region’s recent high school graduates and returning adults who earn a postsecondary credential, including one-year workforce certificates, two- and four-year college degrees, apprenticeships, and military training. In recognition of their ongoing efforts, each of the 26 counties will receive a road sign proclaiming it an Indiana College Success County. The signs will be displayed prominently on a major road as people enter the county.

Joining the College Success Coalition

Up to 20 Indiana counties will be accepted into the College Success Coalition each year on a competitive basis until all 92 counties across the state have an active, sustainable local coalition. Leadership at the county level is provided locally by a steering team that includes representatives from K-12 and higher education; business and government; and community, faith-based and youth-serving organizations.

The state will be accepting applications this coming fall from local organizations interested in forming a county coalition during the 2013-14 academic year. Learn more at LearnMoreIndiana.org/Coalitions.