The following is a list of achievements by businesses and individuals in the Ann Arbor area:

• Tom Ungrodt, president and chief executive officer of Ideation Inc. in Ann Arbor, has been re-elected to the Retailers Mutual Insurance Co. board of directors for a three-year term. Ideation is a producer of marketing solutions for independent gift retailers across the United States. Ungrodt also oversees three Michigan gift stores, including Crown House of Gifts in Ann Arbor. He was re-elected by policyholders on Aug. 23.

• Local nonprofit organization 826michigan recently added two new staff members, Communications Coordinator Amy Wilson and Program Assistant Savannah Charles. 826michigan, located in downtown Ann Arbor inside Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair, provides free writing and tutoring services to more than 2,300 students age 6-18 in Washtenaw County.

• As part of the National Day of Service, technicians from My Handyman of Ann Arbor and Dexter performed more than 80 hours of repair and maintenance jobs on Sept. 9, all without a collecting any labor costs. Mr. Handyman’s corporate office made First Step, a domestic violence shelter in Wayne County, the day’s primary beneficiary. A My Handyman technician and nine home office employees performed maintenance and repairs including adding child safety latches to cabinets, moving items between offices, hanging clocks, changing outside lights and securing bookshelves to the wall. This marks the third consecutive year Mr. Handyman participated in the Day of Service, donating a combined 1,600 hours of labor to groups in need over the past two years.

• United Bank & Trust will be the presenting sponsor for the 2011 Big House Big Heart race on Oct. 9. The event is a 5-K or 10-K race that ends at the University of Michigan's stadium — The Big House. Created and hosted by Champions for Charity, the race will help raise money for hundreds of local nonprofit organizations. United Bank & Trust is a Michigan community bank with 16 locations across Lenawee and Washtenaw counties.

• Gloria Thomas, director of the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan, was elected to the executive board for the Michigan ACE Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education. The Michigan ACE Network helps support and advance women who work in higher education in the state. The network includes membership from two- and four-year public and private institutions.

• Hope Clinic will hold a building dedication and open house on Sept. 22 to celebrate the completion of a major building expansion project. The event is open to the public and will feature tours of Hope Center and refreshments. Approximately 20,000 square feet has been added to the Hope Center building, and the original 3,000 square feet of space has been renovated. The renovation will allow Hope to consolidate several of its services into one location.

• The University of Michigan Health System has once again been named one of Metropolitan Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. The recognition, given to UMHS for the fifth straight year, comes as a result of survey responses received from the Health System's faculty and staff. UMHS will be honored along other select companies by the Michigan Business and Professional Association on Thursday, Sept. 29 at the Dearborn Inn Marriott.

• Dr. Michael L. Taylor has joined the health care business of Ann Arbor-based Thomson Reuters as vice president and national business medical leader.

• The Saline Area Chamber of Commerce will once againt present its annual Business Enterprise Awards to two exceptional area businesses. The purpose of the Business Enterprise Awards is to recognize established, successful firms that have exhibited exemplary business practices and have an excellent reputation for service to the community. Honorees are selected by the Saline Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, with nominations taken from the entire Saline area community. This year the award in the 21-or-more employees category goes to Kyocera Unimerco, located at 6620 State Road in Saline. The award recipient in the smaller category of 20-or-fewer employees is The Cobblestone Rose, located at 101 S. Ann Arbor St., Suite 111, in Saline. A gala awards dinner will be held to honor these businesses and individuals on Thursday, Oct. 20 at Stonebridge Golf Club in Ann Arbor.

• HookLogic, a company specializing in e-commerce media, announced last week that it has been awarded a $9.5 million round of financing from Bain Capital Ventures and will use the funding to further develop its unique Software-as-a-Service platform and expand its business across the retail, travel and automotive sectors in North America and Europe. HookLogic is headquartered in New York, and its office in Ann Arbor is focused on developing software for the company's Software-as-a-Service platform.

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