Racine conference to help minority and women-owned businesses

The Mayor’s Office of Strategic Partnerships and the Community Economic Development Corporation (CEDCO) will host a symposium entitled “What Certification Can Do for You” on Tuesday, November 2, from 7:30 – 11:30 am, in the Racine Building of the Gateway Technical College campus – 1001 S. Main Street.

The goal of the event is to increase the number of certified minority and women-owned businesses in the Racine community.

“As we continue to build new businesses in Racine we discovered there was a void among minority and women-owned businesses,” said Mayor John Dickert. “This partnership will fill the void by creating opportunities for more women and minority-owned businesses.”

The conference will begin with registration and a continental breakfast from 8:30 – 9:00 am. Mayor Dickert and Randy Luter, Executive Director of CEDCO will then welcome participants. Keynote speaker – Nelson Soler, Chief Solutions Officer of the Multicultural Entrepreneurial Institute, Inc. will make a presentation from 9-9:30, followed by a 15-minute break.

A panel discussion from 9:45-10-45 will be held on the topic: What Can Certification Can Do for You – The Importance of Being Certified! Panelist expected to participate include E. Aggo Akyea – Business Director of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Bureau of Minority Business Development, Ossie Kendrix – Manager of the Emerging Business Enterprise Program Department of Administration, City of Milwaukee, Phil Hill – Owner of Diversified Security Solutions, LCC, and Maria L. Campbell - Corporate Director of Diversity at SC Johnson.

The program will close with a question and answer period. Interested participants should RSVP by Tuesday, October 26 by contacting debbi.embry@cityofracine.org or rluter@cedcoracine.org or call 635-8908.

Bruce Davis joins Volunteer Center as RSVP director

Bruce Davis has been named Retired and Senior Volunteer Program Director by the Volunteer Center of Racine County.

Davis is a retired financial advisor who holds a BA from the University of Vermont. His wife, Cathy, works for In-Sinkerator, and his son,  Tyler, is a senior in the International Baccalaureate program at Case High School.

Davis served as a board member and treasurer of the 21st Century Preparatory School.  He is a Midwest alumni representative for the University of Vermont and organizes fairs to coordinate admissions information in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor.

He is looking forward to meeting with 55+ volunteers interested in extending their expertise and experience to their fellow county residents.

West Bend couple planning to reopen Dynaseal as Altus Vinyl

The City of Racine is in the process of partnering with Racine County Economic Development Corporation and business owners Richard and Christine Burt of West Bend to establish another business in Stephen F. Olsen Industrial Park, replacing one that closed earlier this summer.

“This is another opportunity for the city to create a partnership with our local development organization – RCEDC and a business willing to establish itself within our city limits,” said Mayor John Dickert. “The important thing is it will create more jobs and the Burts both understand the importance of hiring local people and putting them back to work.”

Dickert, City Administrator Tom Friedel, Director of City Development Brian O’Connell along with RCEDC Deputy Director Jenny Trick and Business Finance Director Carolyn Engel have been working with Bert to bring Altus Vinyl to the site of the old Dynaseal Incorporated – 3801 S. Memorial Drive.

Dynaseal closed its doors in June and now the Burts hope to fulfill one of their dreams – that of owning their own business.

They have been working with RCEDC and the city to help secure the financing necessary. The Burts are in the process of acquiring the business assets of the former Dynaseal company and are already operating having hired back seven local employees.

“This is a dream come true for us,” said Richard Burt. “It’s been our dream to own our own business and then help out the community in which it is located by being able to hire locally. We have been pleased to have the opportunity work with RCEDC and the City of Racine. They really made us feel very wanted.”

Once the financing is secure, Altus Vinyl hopes to continue to add to its workforce eventually hiring 20 or more local employees. 

Johnson Bank closes four offices in Arizona

Shortly after closing three Wisconsin branches, including one in Racine, Johnson Bank announced it was closing four branches in Arizona. Here's a short story.

CNH Capital Announces Initiative to Upgrade Point of Sale Technology

CNH Capital, the financial services business of CNH Global N.V., is in the process of implementing an upgrade to its dealer revolving account service offering.

The dealer service offering upgrade is enabled by FreeWay(TM) from FreedomPay, a Software as a Service (SaaS) payment and transaction gateway that joins all areas of payment and transaction processes into a single interface and reporting system. The POS technology enhances the servicing of existing investments in Dealer Management Systems (DMS). FreeWay integrates with Dealer Management Systems currently being used by many of CNH North America's family of dealers.

By implementing this technology, the CNH family of dealers will have real-time ability to access a variety of promotions for their customers, and insight into optional customized programs, also accessible at the point of purchase.

Trysha Stiffler, Division Manager from CNH Capital says, "This upgrade represents a significant advancement to the CNH Capital Commercial Revolving Account product line. We are now able to provide additional benefits to both dealers and customers through the use of a state-of-the-art sales tool accessible online or at the point of sale, all while bringing a high level of data security to our dealers. This initiative represents the implementation of an easy-to-deploy solution yielding benefits to both our dealers and their customers."

Sam Bellamy, Chief Operating Officer from FreedomPay adds, "The deployment of FreeWay across the CNH dealer network is expected to yield numerous benefits, including secure payment processing and enhanced ability for dealers to provide customers with additional insight into available promotional offerings. We look forward to working with CNH Capital and the CNH family of dealers in the coming months to launch FreeWay."

FreeWay is certified for use with CNH's most widely used Dealer Management Systems.

About CNH Capital

CNH Capital, the financial services business of CNH Global N.V.(CNH 39.52, -0.11, -0.27%), a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Group (fia:MI), provides a comprehensive range of services, including wholesale and retail financing, leasing, insurance, asset management, and revolving lines of credit, for the global marketplace. Building on more than 50 years' experience in the equipment finance industry, CNH Capital services a portfolio of more than $18 billion, helping customers through various wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Australia. More information about CNH Capital can be found atwww.cnhcapital.com.

About FreedomPay

FreedomPay offers innovative payment and transaction solutions to companies. The Software as a Service (SAAS) FreeWay, the world's most flexible gateway, joins all areas of payment and transaction management into a single, easy-to-use interface and reporting system.

For over a decade, FreedomPay has offered end-to-end payment and transaction solutions ranging from POS hardware, service kiosks, virtual and remote terminals, payment processing, intelligent analysis, routing of promotions, incentives, and customer relationship management services.

FreedomPay provides customers in retailing, healthcare, manufacturing, higher education, government, and nonprofits with a PCI compliant and end-to-end-encrypted single solution for intelligent payment and transaction management.

Visit us online at www.freedompay.com

Maintaining ISO 9001 certification topic of American Society of Quality meeting in Racine

David Taylor of Taylor Enterprises, Inc., will show the easiest way to maintain ISO 9001 certification by focusing on the most important parts for your company at the American Society for Quality, Racine-Kenosha-Walworth Section Meeting 6:00 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Charcoal Grill, 8300 Washington Ave. in Racine.

Please make reservations to Jay Warner at quality@a2q.com. There is no charge for the meeting.

Free program explores self-employment options

If you’ve ever thought about operating your own business or are just curious about taking the business ownership step, “Dream the Possible Dream:  Business Ownership” is a place to start. The free workshop is hosted by Financial Service Group from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, at 4812 Northwestern Ave.


The interactive workshop, led by Marty Barnes of The Entrepreneur’s Source, will discuss self-employment options and lead participants through a process to help determine if self-employment is a good career option and what type of business would be the best fit.

Reservations are required. Call Lori at 262-554-4500 or visit this website.