• Gorman’s Home Furnishings And Interior Design recently announced the addition of three interior designers to its Southfield location staff. Among the three new hires is Susanne Ross Sibley of Southfield. Sibley previously worked in Ann Arbor and still teaches interior decorating. She is enrolled in advanced business management studies at Washtenaw Community College.

• The board of directors of CSB Bancorp Inc. and Chelsea State Bank appointed Marni L. Schmid to the board of directors for both entities at its Jan. 12 board meeting. At the same meeting, the appointment of Mark A. Burmis as vice president of residential lending was confirmed. Schmid is director of operations for Dexter Pharmacy, Inc. As vice president of Chelsea State Bank, Burmis will oversee the increased home mortgage activity for the bank. Burmis has nearly 20 years in the banking industry, most recently as vice president of lending for Farmers State Bank of Munith.

• Anita Schnars was named Eastern Michigan University's new director of
training and organizational development, effective Jan. 4.

• The Aphasia Community Friendship Center officially opened its doors one day a week starting on Jan. 15. The new nonprofit community program invites adults with aphasia and other communication disorders to drop in to meet new friends and continue their speech and language recovery in a non-clinical setting. The Aphasia Community Friendship Center will be open every Friday from 10 a.m. - 4: p.m. at the Hawthorn Suites, 3535 Green Court, Ann Arbor. For more information, visit www.aphasiacentermi.org or email info@aphasiacentermi.org.

• Midwestern Consulting, an Ann Arbor-based consulting engineering firm, named Hongbin (Ben) Chen a principal of the firm. Chen is the manager of the firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary MS2, which provides transportation data management and analysis.

• Ann Arbor design firm Hile Design LLC has created an animated 30-second TV spot for their client Grasshopper. Gary the grasshopper, the corporate mascot Hile designed last year when the company changed its name from GotVMail to Grasshopper, has the starring role in the commercial.

• School of Public Health researcher Victor Strecher has been selected as the University of Michigan Distinguished University Innovator for 2010. Strecher is a professor of health behavior and health education at the School of Public Health and an entrepreneur. He has conducted breakthrough research leading to a fundamental shift in how digital technologies are adapted to support preventative health behaviors. The culmination of this research was the establishment of HealthMedia Inc. to deploy the novel technology. In 2008, HealthMedia was acquired by Johnson & Johnson to become the health care giant's flagship enterprise in a wellness and prevention initiative. Strecher will receive his award March 25 during a ceremony at the U-M Biomedical Science Research Building. The event is open to the public, and a reception will follow.

• A new health and wellness foundation, the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation, has been formed as a result of the merger between Chelsea Community Hospital and Saint Joseph Mercy Health System. The foundation is focused on health and wellness in Chelsea Community Hospital’s geographic service area, which includes Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Grass Lake and Stockbridge. The CWF endowment totals $25 million, and the foundation will invest approximately $1 million annually to impact community health and wellness.

• Ann Arbor's Underground Printing has partnered with the Jalen Rose Charitable Fund to produce an exclusive line of Jalen Rose apparel, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each apparel item will benefit the the Jalen Rose Charitable Fund. Established in 2000, Rose's Fund seeks to create life-changing opportunities for under-served youth through the development of programs and the distribution of grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. Grants focus on education and sports and are distributed in Jalen’s hometown of Detroit as well as other communities in need.

• Donald Dersnah is the new executive director of Saline Area Social Services. Dersnah, who was formerly a district manager with the Michigan Department of Human Services, succeeds retiring director Susan M. Brown.

• Bodman LLP received top ranking as a “highly recommended” litigation law firm in the 2010 edition of Benchmark Litigation, a guide to America’s leading litigation firms and attorneys. Among the more than 40 lawyers who make up Bodman’s Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, three Detroit-office partners and one Troy-office partner were listed as “local litigation stars.” Detroit-office partner Thomas Bruetsch and Ann Arbor-office partner Alan Harris were listed as “future stars."

• Nancy L. Hough, administrative assistant and maintenance supervisor for JOAK American Homes, was recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in all aspects of administrative services. JOAK American Homes, headquartered in Ann Arbor, is a nonprofit founded in 1995 in an effort to provide support for individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities.

• Sheryl A. Laughren was elected chair of the board of directors of Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center, a not-for-profit organization that provides behavioral health services including substance use disorder prevention and treatment, mental illness treatment, HIV/AIDS prevention and care management. Laughren is an attorney and shareholder at Berry Moorman PC, which has offices in Detroit, Birmingham and Ann Arbor.

• David Rabkin, vice president of Delta Co-brands for American Express and an Ann Arbor native, volunteered at Osborn High School in Detroit on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He, along with 260 other volunteers, helped make a difference by sprucing up the school as part of the American Express “Travel With Your Mind” volunteer initiative.

• Avidasports, headquartered in Harper Woods, Mich., announced Jan. 26 an agreement with the University of Michigan men's and women's swim teams to use AvidaMetrics, a product using athletic telemetry for swimming. The Wolverines will be the first collegiate program to use the technology which tracks information such as speed, stroke count, distance per stroke, stroke tempo, kick count, kick tempo, turn time and length time.

• Terumo Corp. sponsored several presentations on key issues in cardiac and vascular surgery at Society of Thoracic Surgeons annual meeting earlier this week. Terumo was represented at the STS by its three subsidiaries: Terumo Cardiovascular Systems, headquartered in Ann Arbor, produces products for cardiopulmonary bypass, endoscopic vessel harvesting and intraoperative monitoring. Terumo Heart Inc., also headquartered in Ann Arbor, produces the DuraHeart Left Ventricular Assist System, currently in clinical trials in the U.S.; Vascutek Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of vascular grafts. Terumo Corp. was Business Review's 2009 Deals of the Year winner in the health care sector category.

• Ann Arbor-based Borders Group recently announced that Ron Marshall has resigned as president and CEO of the company. Borders named Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer Michael J. Edwards as the interim CEO.

• Innovation consultancy Inovo announced Jan. 25 that it has acquired DASO Consulting. Under the agreement, DASO founder and President Brian Christian will join Inovo as a partner, along with Larry Schmitt, Steve Schwartz and Joshua Botkin.

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