Fisher Packing takes honors

Fisher Packing Co. has come away with top honors again from the Indiana Meat Packers and Processors Association and the Illinois Association of Meat Processors joint convention.

The event was held Feb. 21-23 in Bloomington, Illinois.

The longtime Jay County meat processor, which has facilities in Portland, Redkey and Muncie, received Best of the Entire Show honors for its summer sausage.

Fisher Packing also took Grand Champion honors for its bacon, jalapeno and cheese snack sticks, venison snack sticks and summer sausage.

Its venison summer sausage received Reserve Grand Champion honors.

Champion honors went to Fisher’s boneless ham, dried beef, braunschweiger, fresh brats, peppered bacon and cooked brats. Reserve champion honors went to Fisher’s hot dogs and its venison hot dogs.

Representatives from more than 90 different meat processors attended the joint convention and trade show at the Bloomington-Normal Conference Center.

Reserve a seat

The deadline for reservations for the Jay County Chamber of Commerce Community Awards presentation is March 7.

The awards dinner and ceremony are set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, at Jay County High School.

Registration and a reception begin at 5:30 p.m.

New role

Jay County native Rodney Ferrell has taken on yet another new role in the entertainment industry.

Ferrell, a 1991 Jay County High School graduate who worked for 14 years as a producer for Fox 2000, most recently has been president of Silver Pictures Television.

He has now been hired by Propagate to lead that company’s efforts in scripted television as an executive vice president.

Propagate’s current series include “Lore” on Amazon, “Charmed” on The CW and “Blood and Treasure” on CBS.

“Rodney has earned a well-deserved reputation for his strength as a developer of literary adaptations,” said Howard Owens of Propagate. “He sees great stories everywhere and has the vision and skill to develop them into high-quality, commercial entertainment in any format and for any platform.”

Ferrell is the son of Bill and Janice Ferrell of Portland.

EP growing

EP Graphics of Berne has an agreement to acquire Wichita’s almost 120-year-old McCormick Armstrong and will move that company’s printing business to Indiana.

“McCormick Armstrong is a great strategic and cultural fit with EP Graphics,” said Tyler Kitt, EP’s president and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.

“Our operations complement each other and we share a commitment to quality on-time delivery solutions.”

According to the a press release, the companies “will begin an orderly transition to the EP Graphics plant in Berne.”

An office will remain in Wichita for sales and customer service.

EP Graphics was founded in Berne by Christian Muselman in 1925. It began as Economy Printing Concern. The company is now jointly owned by the Muselman family and Kitt, the press release said.

Government work

Businesses can learn how to work with the government at “Government Contracting 101,” hosted by the East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, the Innovation Connector, and Bankable. 

The free workshop will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, at the Innovation Connector, 1208 West White River Boulevard, Muncie.

Lunch will be provided by Bankable.

Representatives from the Indiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center will share resources to help companies succeed in local, state, and federal government contracting. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the basics of government contracting, seven steps of contracting, and tips for networking with and marketing to government agencies.

A question and answer session will follow the presentation. 

There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. To sign up, contact Judy at (765) 282-9950, ext. 110, or visit www.ecisbdc.org.

Civic change

Honda has announced it will close a plant in the United Kingdom in 2021 when the current generation of Civics is complete, Motor Trend reported last week.

All Civic hatchbacks in the U.S. are made at the factory in Swindon.

Honda chief executive Takahiro Hachigo told Reuters the move was not related to Brexit. "We had to consider the rise of electrified vehicles, and the different speeds at which electric vehicles will be taken up in North America and Europe," he said. "This decision was not informed by Brexit."

The Swindon factory produces 150,000 cars per year and employs around 3,500.

Strike over

A strike by faculty at Wright State University, including its Lake Campus in Celina, Ohio, is over.

A tentative agreement was unanimously approved by the university’s board of trustees and is expected to be approved by members of the American Association of University Professors.

Good sales

Walmart Inc posted its strongest holiday quarter in at least a decade this week, helped by higher grocery and e-commerce sales,. 

Online sales jumped 43 percent in the quarter helped in particular by the expansion of Walmart’s online grocery pickup program to more than 2,100 stores by year end, Reuters reported.

“We still feel pretty good about the consumer. We haven’t seen much of a change,” Walmart Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs told Reuters. “The data we are seeing still looks pretty healthy. Gas prices are down year over year, which helps.”

Retiring

Dr. Bernie Wiebe is retiring Feb. 28 as chief medical officer of Family LifeCare, Berne. He has held that post for more than 24 years. A reception in his honor was held on Feb. 28 at the Family LifeCare office.



FDA pressure

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has targeted certain retail locations of Walgreens and Circle K convenience stores for repeated violation of restrictions on the sale of tobacco products to minors.

The agency filed complaints seeking No-Tobacco-Sale Orders, which seek to bar the two specific retail locations from selling tobacco products for 30 days. The two retail outlets that are the subject of these NTSO actions are a Walgreens store in Miami, Florida, and a Circle K store in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Bird bought

AIM Media Midwest LLC has acquired The Early Bird and Bluebag Media of Darke County from Brothers Publishing Company and will merge the operations with The Daily Advocate of Greenville, Ohio.

Keith Foutz, current publisher of The Early Bird, will retain his title and responsibilities and add the same title and responsibilities for The Daily Advocate, the companies said  in a press release.  Both publications will continue to be published.

AIM Media Midwest, LLC owns and operates 17 daily newspapers, 15 weekly newspapers, affiliated web sites and a variety of related weekly and specialty publications in Ohio and West Virginia. It is affiliated with AIM Media Indiana LLC.

Both are managed by AIM Media Management of Dallas, Texas.

Revenue down

Gannett, which owns USA Today and 109 local media properties in the United States, this week reported a decline in fourth-quarter revenue and earnings despite increases in digital revenue and paid online subscriptions.

New director 

Olivia Raugh has been hired to replace Megan Bennett, who resigned from the position at the end of last year to move to Kentucky, as executive director of the Berne Chamber of Commerce.

Raugh is a 2014 graduate of Adams Central High School and is finishing up a master’s degree in organizational communications from Ball State University. She is currently working part-time and will transition to full-time employment after her graduation in May.  

Accredited

A local nonprofit organization has been accredited for the next three years by CARF International. 

Jay-Randolph Developmental Services received a three-year accreditation for its employment and community services from CARF International, formerly known as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. A three-year accreditation is the highest level possible for an organization, and this year’s is the ninth consecutive for JRDS.  

JRDS has locations in Portland and Winchester. 

Supply gift

TCC recently donated school supplies to a Portland elementary school. 

TCC, a Verizon retailer, gave supply packs filled with school supplies to around 6,000 teachers nationwide last week as part of its sixth Teachers Rock Supply Giveaway. Portland’s TCC location donated packs, which contained items such as folders, paper and pencils, to General Shanks Elementary School.