Achievements.

The following Chamber members have been recognized for their work, employee efforts or other outstanding achievements.

* A dual-enrollment partnership with Focus:HOPE that turns out skilled manufacturing technicians earned a Detroit charter school top honors from the Michigan Association of Public School Academies. The Detroit School of Industrial Arts was one of three recipients of MAPSA's second annual Summit Awards, honoring charter schools whose programs are state and national models. Judges included Greg Handel, senior director of workforce preparedness at the Detroit Regional Chamber, and Gail Torreano, president of Ameritech Michigan and member of the Chamber's board of directors.

* Detroit-based Vision Information Technologies received the National Minority Supplier of the Year award during the 2000 National Minority Supplier Development Council Conference and Business Opportunity Fair in New Orleans. This award marks the highest achievement for a minority-owned company from more than 15,000 suppliers nationwide.

* Rodney A. Crider, president of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce, earned the Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) designation from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. Richard E. Blouse Jr., CCE, former ACCE chairman and president/CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, made the announcement during ACCE's 86th Annual Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Mo, The CCE program recognizes individual excellence and exceptional leadership in the chamber profession. Fewer than 5 percent of chamber professionals nationwide have been awarded this designation.

* DataManagement, a Bloomfield Hills-based information systems designer and network integration firm, was awarded "Best Website - Interactive and Graphic Design" by InternetTroy, a consortium of Troy-area technology firms dedicated to supporting and promoting Troy's image as a premier market in Michigan for the advancement of Internet-related technologies and businesses. DataManagement's site was awarded best-in-class honors among more than 40 nominees in the category.

* For the fifth year in a row, consumers named William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak as their top choice for health care in the Detroit area, according to a survey by National Research Corp. of Lincoln, Neb. The NRC 2000 Consumer Choice Awards were given to 122 hospitals in 103 markets. Beaumont has received the award since its inception in 1996.

* Doug Brown, national sales manager for TolTest Inc., received Commercial Inc.'s first annual Elite Eight Award in the environmental category for outstanding achievement in the area of service and responsiveness to clients. Based in Toledo, TolTest has regional and satellite locations in Michigan and six other states. The company was recently included in Engineering News-Record "Top 600 Specialty Contractors" from thousands of submissions across the country.

* Rossetti, a Birmingham-based architectural firm, was awarded the top honor, a "gold standing" for its accomplishments as a multigenerational family-owned business, at the Sixth Annual Franklin Family Business Awards banquet. The Franklin awards are designed to recognize, reward and encourage family-owned businesses in Michigan. Also among the winners was Electro Optics Manufacturing Inc. of Wyandotte.

* Kmart Corp. renewed its sponsorship of "Mort Crim's Second Thoughts" for a seventh straight year. The award-winning daily syndicated radio program is produced by Southfield-based Mort Crim Communications Inc. "Second Thoughts" is now heard twice daily on more than 1,200 stations across the country, in all major U.S. markets and overseas on 700 Armed Forces radio stations. The motivational/inspirational series is also heard in Kmart stores on the retailer's In-Store Radio Network.

* The U.S. Small Business Administration's Michigan District Office named Old Kent Bank as the No. 1 producing SEA bank in the state. According to the SBA, Grand Rapids-based Old Kent made more SBA loans in Michigan than any other bank. Old Kent's SBA loan volume also ranks the bank in the top 1 percent of all SBA banks in the nation. During the 12-month period ended Sept. 30, 2000, Old Kent made 150 loans in Michigan for a total of $26.25 million in SBA 7(a) loans. A 7(a) loan is partially guaranteed by the U.S. government, which allows banks to provide small businesses with better access to capital. (See page 27 for an article on SBA loan programs.)