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AFTER HOURS: LAURA WILSON: Being prepared is more than a Scouting slogan

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AFTER HOURS LAURA WILSON Being prepared is more than a Scouting slogan Longtime Boy Scouts volunteer Laura Wilson learned firsthand the importance of the scouts’ motto-“Be prepared.” A vice president of com munications at the Indiana Bankers Association, Wilson accompanied her two sons on a camping trip last year to New Salem, Ill., where the scouts went on a nearly 20-mile hike on the Lincoln Pilgrimage trail from New Salem to Springfield. Later that night, she learned the hard way…

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PROFILE: MINDY WINKLER: Entertainer makes learning lessons ‘fun’Former kids’ club host and current traffic reporter juggles career, family and growing musical company

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PROFILE MINDY WINKLER Entertainer makes learning lessons ‘fun’Former kids’ club host and current traffic reporter juggles career, family and growing musical company Fans of the 1980s comedy show “In Living Color” will remember the Headleys, whose family members were “lazy” if they didn’t hold multiple jobs. By that score, Mindy Winkler certainly can’t be called a slacker. As the on-air traffic reporter for several local FM and AM radio stations, Winkler works a split shift keeping us informed of traffic…

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Breaking bread, breaking down barriers: International Center pairs local hosts, visiting delegates to promote cultural understanding

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International Center pairs local hosts, visiting delegates to promote cultural understanding When a group of Iraqi editors and writers visited Indianapolis last summer as part of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, they learned about American journalism and Hoosier hospitality. Florence May, a member of the International Center of Indianapolis’ board and president of Simply Hospitality-an Indianapolis-based special-event planning company-hosted the group for dinner in her home. May grew up in a military family and has lived throughout…

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PROFILE: Wireless Webforms Inc.: From paper to pocket PC Wireless product streamlines mobile data collection

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Wireless Webforms Inc. From paper to pocket PC Wireless product streamlines mobile data collection When the Indiana Bureau of Child Care was looking for an electronic solution to collecting data for licensing child care facilities, it turned to Wireless Webforms. A spin-off of Indianapolis-based computer technology firm Consultants Consortium Inc., the company uses technology to automate field-based data collection. The paperless system allows mobile workers to collect data and transmit it back to their offices, thereby eliminating the need to…

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Creative pursuit of happiness: Paintings give form to the ephemeral

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For centuries, philosophers, writers and artists have attempted to define happiness. Aristotle spoke of happiness as “the meaning and purpose of life,” and the crafters of the Declaration of Independence affirmed our unalienable right to pursue it. For Indianapolis visual artist Chitra Ramanathan, happiness is a “universally encompassing entity possessing form on a mental level” yet indescribable in terms of physical characteristics. “You can never really capture it,” she said. “You can only express it.” Happiness is the common thread…

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Bowland Solutions Assessing a niche: Online job reviews help firm build global client base

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Sometimes it’s hard to tell who hates performance reviews more-managers or employees. But what if the timeworn paper-based annual assessment were replaced with a Web-based process that allows managers to consistently evaluate employees’ skills against company goals? Indianapolis-based Bowland Solutions has come up with just such an alternative, and it has helped the firm build a client roster that includes heavyweights like international banking giant HSBC, music purveyor Virgin Megastores, global pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline and Earthbound Farm, North America’s largest…

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PROFILE: ELIZABETH HAHN ELLIS: Love of sports, organization really ‘peying’ off Foundation director coordinates philanthropic moves for Colts quarterback Peyton Manning

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PROFILE ELIZABETH HAHN ELLIS Love of sports, organization really ‘peying’ off Foundation director coordinates philanthropic moves for Colts quarterback Peyton Manning There’s hardly a Hoosier today who hasn’t heard of Peyton Manning and his amazing plays on the field. But quietly coordinating the philanthropic plays behind the scenes for Manning’s PeyBack Foundation is Indianapolis native Elizabeth Hahn Ellis. As executive director of the 7-year-old charitable foundation, Ellis, 36, deftly fields requests from not-forprofit organizations seeking grants, contributions from individuals and…

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Lazy Daze Coffee House: Coffeehouse brews niche market for itself Independent shop welcomes competition, even from industry giants like Starbucks

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You might call Lazy Daze Coffee House the “Cheers” of Irvington. This is a place where everyone does know your name-and what kind of coffee you drink. Lazy Daze is the brainchild of Jeff Coppinger, a 34-year-old Howe High School graduate who returned home after serving in the U.S. Navy. He’s working on a major in political science and a minor in philosophy at IUPUI, a good foundation for creating a coffeehouse that “crafts the art of conversation,” as he…

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PROFILE: TIM HALL: Music gigs far from ‘taxing’ for local accountant

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PROFILE TIM HALL Music gigs far from ‘taxing’ for local accountant As head of Crowe Chizek’s tax-consulting group in Indianapolis, Tim Hall advises business and individual clients on complicated tax matters. Fourteen times a year, however, he puts down the spreadsheets and picks up his drumsticks to tour as a drummer with 1950s rock-and-roll star Jimmy Dell. An RCA Victor recording artist, Dell, whose single “Teeny Weeny” topped the charts in 1958, toured with childhood friend Dwayne Eddy and other…

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PROFILE: RYAN MCCORMICK: Laughter proves best medicine for cancer survivor

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PROFILE RYAN MCCORMICK Laughter proves best medicine for cancer survivor When local companies need hazardous materials removed, Ryan McCormick hopes they call Active Environmental Ser vices, an environmental services company based in College Park. McCormick, a part-time comic, has been the sales and marketing manager for the Indianapolis-based company about three months. But two years ago, McCormick faced his own personal hazard when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer that attacks the body’s lymphatic system. He…

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From Ukraine with love: Helping the elderly remain independent and at home is the fundamental goal of home-health-agency founder

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When Etelka Froymovich immigrated to Indianapolis in 1977, the Ukrainian-born pediatric nurse found the only job available to her was as an aide at Colonial Crest, a local nursing home later purchased by Arkansas-based Beverly Enterprises. She had never worked with the elderly, but quickly found her life’s passion. Twenty years after arriving in the city, Froymovich opened Home Services Unlimited, a licensed home-health care agency on the northwest side that provides care for elderly and developmentally disabled people. Overcoming…

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Women MD numbers soar: Title IX passage in 1970 credited with spurring educational opportunities

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When Colleen Brown graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine in May, she was part of a class making history. For the first time, the medical school was graduating more women physicians than men-131 and 128, respectively. Since 1970, there has been a 10-fold increase in the number of women physicians, according to a February 2006 study by the American Medical Association. In 1970, only 25,404 women graduated in the United States in all medical specialties. By 2004, the…

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PROFILE DAVE BROWN: Passion for history, people drives manager’s hobby

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Instead, Brown transforms himself from a 21st century theater director for the IMAX 3D Theater at White River State Park into a 19th century Civil War soldier as a re-enactor with Indianapolis-based Mid States Living History Association Inc. Brown’s interest in the past began as a child. He was fascinated with older people in his small town of Hagerstown, Ind. “I would sit at the old soda fountain in the drugstore and talk to old folks about their lives and…

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PROFILE ALEX INTERMILL: Life is an ongoing adventure for local attorney

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PROFILE ALEX INTERMILL Life is an ongoing adventure for local attorney As an attorney, Alex Intermill is used to the hectic pace of corporate law. So you’d think that in his spare time, he’d just want to kick back and relax. You’d be wrong. The 33-year-old is an environmental and real estate attorney with Indianapolis-based Bose McKinney & Evans as well as the town attorney for Pendleton, in Madison County. He gets his adrenalin pumping by competing in mountain bike…

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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE: EXPRESSIONS SOFA STUDIO: Following her heart CPA-turned-retailer trying out a new way to sell furniture

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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE EXPRESSIONS SOFA STUDIO Following her heart CPA-turned-retailer trying out a new way to sell furniture When Jennifer O’Connor graduated from the University of Dayton in 1990 with an accounting degree, the Fort Wayne native began navigating the fast track toward partnership at a public accounting firm. But O’Connor’s plans to marry and have children didn’t mesh with her 70-hour work weeks, so she quit her position with Ernst & Young and settled into decorating the Meridian-Kessler home…

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PROFILE JENNIFER MCKINNEYSEET: Zoo manager sees the ‘bigger picture’Broken sewers, power outages just part of the job

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PROFILE JENNIFER MCKINNEYSEET Zoo manager sees the ‘bigger picture’Broken sewers, power outages just part of the job Some people joke that their office is a zoo. When Jennifer McKinney-Seet says that, she isn’t kidding. As special events manager for the Indianapolis Zoo-a position she has held since 1999-McKinney-Seet oversees nearly 40 events a year, including the successful black-tie fund raiser Zoobilation. But it was her first special event at age 5-a neighborhood talent show that she helped organize-that stuck with…

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PROFILE STEPHEN AND JAN SMITH: Love of wildlife leads attorney to make new friends

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PROFILE STEPHEN AND JAN SMITH Love of wildlife leads attorney to make new friends Steve Smith, a partner with Indianapolisbased law firm Krieg DeVault LLP, and his wife Jan, a former grade school teacher, are the proud parents of two children-Nick, 20, and Sarah, 25. They are also foster parents of little Wendi, an orphan from Kenya. But Wendi isn’t your typical toddler. Weighing in at birth at nearly 200 pounds, Wendi is an African elephant-one of dozens that have…

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CR Heroes Family Pub: Mom aims to serve up family-friendly pub in Fishers Restaurant, parenting experience helps owner manage her own place

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Instead of using her elementary education degree from Ohio State University to teach youngsters, Stephanie Boehm chose to teach managers as a corporate trainer for Olive Garden restaurants. She’s never regretted that decision. Boehm’s background and on-the-job training as manager of a local Outback Steakhouse led to her current career as owner of CR Heroes Family Pub in Fishers. Boehm moved to Indianapolis from Ohio in 1994, when her husband was transferred here. After spending time as a stayat-home mom,…

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Separating emotion from reality: Home-staging companies help ‘sell that house’

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Shakespeare wrote that “all the world’s a stage,” but when it comes to the competitive home-sales market, one might say all the world’s about staging. Home staging-the process of making a home more appealing to potential buyers-has gained recognition through popular cable television programs such as “Designed to Sell” and “Sell This House.” It can run the gamut from repainting walls to tearing them down, or from changing window treatments to replacing windows. Interior designer Marion Stewart and her longtime…

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PROFILE: AL ALDRIDGE: The long road from bovines to broadcasting

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PROFILE AL ALDRIDGE The long road from bovines to broadcasting For Al Aldridge, local public affairs director for New York-based Bright House Networks, broadcasting has been his life-long passion. Aldridge, 62, joined the former Time Warner Cable in 1986 after serving 24 years in the Air Force in various roles throughout the world, from disk jockey to television newscaster and weatherman for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. It was his last stint as superintendent of broadcast instruction at…

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