Osterholt wins competition

Portland resident Rachel Osterholt was a member of the first-place team in the Grant County Economic Growth Council’s sixth annual I-69 Collegiate Innovation Challenge this month.
Osterholt, a junior at Huntington University majoring in accounting and business management, was a member of Backbone Digital.
The team’s mission was to provide computer development services to businesses through local student interns from surrounding universities and provide a center for innovation through Think Tank Fridays, where businesses could have their entrepreneurial ideas expanded.
Students from Anderson University, Ball State University, Indiana Wesleyan University, and Taylor University also took part in the event.
Each team was made up of one student representative from each of the participating universities. The teams collaborated for less than 24 hours to come up with a for-profit business solution to a problem dealing with the retention of college graduates in East Central Indiana.

Rockhill retiring
Lois Rockhill, who oversaw tremendous growth during her tenure as executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, announced this week she is retiring.
Rockhill, who has been with the organization for 23 years, will be honored with an open house on Thursday, March 22 from 3-6 p.m. at Second Harvest, 6621 N. Old Ind. 3, Muncie.
“A driving force in my life has been trying to make a difference in the lives of others, and I can’t imagine that going away,” Rockhill said in a press release. “I am so appreciative of this area’s commitment to solving the growing hunger issues we face.”
The amount of food distributed by the organization has grown exponentially over the years.
Second Harvest, which serves about 69,900 low-income residents in Jay, Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Madison, Randolph and Wayne counties, distributed about 9.5 million pounds of food in 2011. In 1989 that figure was 450,000 pounds.
Second Harvest changed its location twice during Rockhill’s time with the organization, first switching locations in Anderson and then moving to its present location north of Muncie.
Christopher Caldwell, chairman of the board, said in a release the board “is so pleased that we can celebrate with Lois as she begins her next career in retirement, and yet at the same time sorry to be losing such a wonderful leader who has helped the organization achieve goals that none of us could have envisioned even five years ago.”

Fuel agreement
Norfolk Southern Corp., one of the nation’s leading rail companies, will purchase renewable and synthetic diesel fuel from Dynamic Fuels LLC and Mansfield Oil Company.
Dynamic Fuels is a 50/50 partnership between Tyson Foods Inc. and Syntroleum Corporation. Tyson has a Mexican Original plant in Portland.
Norfolk Southern operates 20,000 rail miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia.[[In-content Ad]]