Freeman finishes lending school

First Bank of Berne credit analyst Ben Freeman recently graduated from the Indiana Bankers Association Commercial Lending School.
Freeman, who works at the Berne branch, graduated from Jay County High School in 2005 and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio Northern University.

Wages granted
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $144,593 in back wages for 1,434 sales workers of CenturyLink.
The Department of Labor determined that over a 10-month period, commissions for salespeople were not included when calculating premium pay when determining overtime.
Workers in 33 states, including Indiana, were granted back pay through the ruling.
New director
State of the Heart Hospice has named Ken Kurz as director of development and public relations.
Kurz, who recently served as executive director of Wayne HealthCare Foundation for the past three years, worked with Wayne HealthCare since 1999.
He also serves on Darke County’s visitor bureau board, is a member of the YMCA board and has coached youth league sports for more than 20 years.

Represented
Local development officials recently attended two economic development trips.
E. Roy Budd, executive director of Energize-ECI Inc., represented east central Indiana on a sales trip on Aug. 4 to Chicago coordinated by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Eight officials, including Jay County Development Corporation executive director Bill Bradley, attended a sales trip to Atlanta from Aug. 9 to 11. Attendees met with site selectors and informed them of development opportunities in the region.

Youth board
The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is accepting applications for board members to administer a youth service-learning grant program.
The board, which is made up of students age 17 to 20, is selected by application review and telephone interview.
Board members are charged with implementing a $5 million per year grant program addressing issues important to students.
Applicants need to be prepared to commit about 15 hours per month to the board and participate in four meetings per year. For more information, visit www.statefarmyab.com. The deadline is Sept. 10.[[In-content Ad]]