The Detroiter Online pays tribute in this column to the accomplishments and achievements of Detroit Regional Chamber members. For information on submitting your items, please see the note at the end of the column. This column is updated regularly. Click here to view the previous listing.

Gold Members

The U.S. Small Business Administration's Michigan District Office named Charter One Bank as Michigan Lender of the Year for best overall performance. Charter One Bank approved 971 SBA guaranty loans worth more than $54.8 million in fiscal 2005, more than any lender has ever done in Michigan. The SBA also honored Fifth Third Bank as 504 Lender of the Year for the second year in a row. Fifth Third Bank completed 24 504 deals with five Michigan certified development companies last year. The DTE Energy Foundation contributed more than $7 million to Michigan nonprofit organizations in 2005. This included $158,000 in contributions the Foundation made to match the $279,000 in charitable gifts made by DTE Energy employees and retirees to victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunami and nonprofit organizations supporting their local communities. In all, the Foundation made 368 grants to 2005 Michigan nonprofit organizations, including a $250,000 commitment to help United Way of Southeastern Michigan create a new 211 telephone resource center and a $500,000 award to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn to fund its "With Liberty and Justice for All" exhibit. St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit was recognized as one of the nation's Top Major Teaching Hospitals by Solucient, a health-care information and research organization. The award recognizes hospitals that achieve or exceed national benchmark scores for hospital-wide performance. St. John Hospital and Medical Center is a unit of Warren-based St. John Health. Vinod Sahney, Ph.D., a senior vice president of special projects at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, received the 35^th Annual Engineers Week Gold Award from the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD). Dr. Sahney has worked for Henry Ford Health System in a variety of capacities for more than 22 years. He is currently responsible for overseeing the construction of a new 300-bed hospital in Oakland County. The Gold Award is ESD's highest honor for engineers. Henry Ford Health System in Detroit received the Corporate One Award from the Michigan Minority Business Development Council for providing opportunities for minority businesses. To be considered for the award, a corporation must report minority purchases quarterly, establish a minority/diversity supplier development program, be a member of MMBDC's Project ONE and be a sponsor and an exhibitor at the Michigan Minority Procurement Conference. St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit was recognized as one of the nation's Top Major Teaching Hospitals by Solucient, a health-care information and research organization. The award recognizes hospitals that achieve or exceed national benchmark scores for hospital-wide performance. St. John Hospital and Medical Center is a unit of Warren-based St. John Health.

Silver Members

Arthur Dudley II, an attorney and shareholder in the Detroit office of Butzel Long, was honored by the Black United Fund for 20 years of volunteerism. Dudley, who recently completed his second maximum term as a director and BUF's chairman of the board, received the Linda Hampton Award during BUF's 35^th Anniversary Benefit Celebration. He also has served as BUF's treasurer and has assisted in fundraising and with payroll deduction activities. Dudley also is vice president of the Legal Aid and Defender Association, the largest provider of legal services to low- and moderate-income people in Michigan. Grubb & Ellis Co. announced the winners of its annual Detroit office awards: Most Complete Transactions, Scott Lyons, senior vice president, Industrial Group; Most External Referrals, Russell Barnett, senior vice president, director of Retail Services; Top Fourth Quarter Salesperson, Geoff Hill, senior vice president, Industrial Group; Top Producer for 2005, Daniel S. Labes, senior vice president, Industrial Group; Jimmy Valvano award for extraordinary contributions to the company team throughout the year, John L. Catalano, senior vice president, Office Group; and Support Staff Person of the Year, Kelly Loisell. The Detroit/Grand Rapids offices of Jefferson Wells, a subsidiary of Manpower Inc., received the "Operational Excellence" award for outstanding performance across the Manpower network in 2005. Dan Saint, managing director, accepted the award on behalf of the Michigan offices. The award recognizes the best human resource practices and personnel retention rate along with other financial, operational and client service measurements. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation received a Silver Award in the 13^th Annual Business Facilities Economic Development Awards competition, sponsored by Business Facilities magazine. The award in the "Biggest Deals $500 million-plus" category honors the MEDC for its proactive approach to securing the overhaul and continuing profitability of two aging DaimlerChrysler automotive plants in Sterling Heights. University of Michigan economic estimates put the number of jobs directly retained at 5,123, with another 15,659 spin-off jobs retained. Click here for more details. Livonia-based Technology Solutions LLC received the Bronze Circle Award for exceptional economic performance and superior customer satisfaction at Technology Assurance Group's 2006 National Convention held in San Diego in March. Technology Solutions was highlighted as one of the nation's leading telecommunications company during the awards ceremony. The award is based on overall financial performance, customer satisfaction and the ability to provide companies with cost effective and state-of-the-art telecommunications solutions. Technology Assurance Group is a national organization of independently owned telecommunication companies. Vista Maria, a community for treatment of girls who have faced abuse and neglect, will honor three businesswomen from the Detroit area as role models at its 7^th Annual Celebrating Women fundraiser on May 4 at its Dearborn Heights campus. Honorees include Mary Kramer, publisher of Crain's Detroit Business, Kathleen Ligocki, president and CEO of Tower Automotive, and Andra Rush, president and CEO of Rush Trucking Inc.

Bronze Members

Max Koss, CPA and director of international tax with the certified public accounting and consulting firm Doeren Mayhew, was named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Practitioners" in the accounting profession by CPA Magazine for 2005. Koss is one of the lead international tax directors in Moore Stephens Doeren Mayhew, which is the international arm of Troy-based Doeren Mayhew, representing clients throughout the world. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona at Tucson.

Business Builder Members

The Beaumont Hospitals in Royal Oak and Troy received the Michigan Peer Review Organization's "Governor's Award of Excellence for Improving Care." Both hospitals were cited for improving care in the hospital setting for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia; and for improving care in the Emergency Center for heart attack and pneumonia. The Troy hospital also was recognized for improving care in the hospital setting for surgical infection prevention. CH2M Hill, a Denver-based engineering, construction and operations firm with offices in Detroit and Lansing, was named one of America's top employees by Fortune magazine. This was the second time in the past three years that the firm has appeared on this annual list. BEAM, a nonprofit organization committed to helping health-care professionals improve long-term care, quality, delivery and the work environment, added The Village of Redford Senior Living Community in Redford Township to the Eden Alternative Registry. This signifies that the facility is committed to the principles of the Eden Alternative, which includes creating a resident-centered community where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals and children. The Village of Redford is one of 16 senior living communities owned or managed by Southfield-based Presbyterian Villages of Michigan. Troy-based Testing Engineers & Consultants Inc. was selected as a finalist for the Environmental Achievement Award by the Environmental Management Association at the EMA awards dinner in March. The project that earned recognition was a lead clean-up project for the Troy Police Department's indoor gun range. TEC's investigation determined that while police officers were not being over-exposed to lead when using the gun range, inefficiencies in the air-handling system resulted in lead dust migrating through breaches in the range walls and ceiling and settling in other areas of the building. During the cleanup, three tons of bulk lead was removed from the range bullet trap and settled lead dust throughout the area. East Lansing-based Publicom Inc. was presented "Best of Show" in the broadcast category at the Lansing Advertising Club's annual ADDY Awards. This was the second year in a row that Publicom has been awarded the event's top honor. Publicom received the "Best of Show" award for its "Light a Little Star" television commercial created for the March of Dimes during CreateAThon 2005. Publicom also won six gold and three silver ADDYs. Dorothy Hanigan Basmaji, a shareholder with the labor and employment and immigration law firm of Vercruysse Murray & Calzone PC in Bingham Farms, was selected to be included in the 2006 edition of "The Best Lawyers in America" in the category of Immigration. Fellow shareholders Robert M. Vercruysse, Gregory V. Murray and David B. Calzone are listed in the same publication under the Labor and Employment Law (Management) category. Alexey A. Petrov, Ph.D., an assistant professor of physics at Wayne State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was awarded a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Development (CAREER) Award. Petrov will use the five-year, $400,000 grant to develop new theoretical and computational methods to study the strong interactions in decays and production of particles containing heavy quarks. He will also work with Detroit-area high schools to develop an educational program in computational science. The Detroiter Online accepts all contributions for "Benchmarks" from Detroit Regional Chamber members at the Business Builder membership level and above. Items may be submitted by mail to: Benchmarks, Detroiter, Detroit Regional Chamber, One Woodward Ave., Suite 1900, Detroit MI 48226; by fax to (313) 964-0531 or by e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .For further information, contact Chris Mead, editor, at (313) 596-0373.