Inforum Formalizes Kalamazoo-Area Expansion

Inforum, Michigan's leading network for professional women, said Wednesday that its board has authorized the creation of a new Southwest Michigan Regional Council, to be chaired by Amy Jones-Calderon, a financial adviser with Merrill Lynch. Audrey Perricone, partner at The Perricone Group, will serve as vice chair.

The creation of the Southwest Michigan Regional Council formalizes Inforum's expansion into the Kalamazoo area, which was started earlier this year.

"We are thrilled with the way Inforum has been received by the Southwest Michigan community," said Terry Barclay, president and CEO of Inforum and Inforum Center for Leadership. "In a very short amount of time, we've gained more than 100 new members in the new region. We also are very grateful for the generous financial support of The Perricone Group as a new Inforum Corporate Investor."

Besides Jones-Calderon and Perricone, the other members of the Southwest Regional Council are:

Dana Faux, owner, Great Lakes Plastic and Hand Surgery
Melani Ferworn, first level officer, Comerica Bank
Shelley Fitzgerald, owner and health educator, Everything Fitz
Amy Forrester, CPA, Plante & Moran PLLC
Sue Fritz, owner, Fritz Financial & Insurance
Deanne Gavalis, Wealth Advisor, Comerica Bank
Ted Himelhoch, financial adviser, Ameriprise Financial Services
Meg Kuchek, staff officer/banking office manager, Huntington Bank
Sue Maas, senior manager, Jansen Valk Thompson Reahm
Kathleen Mechem, president, Organizational Solutions
Sue Meisheri, nutrition consultant, LifesaverJuice Plus
Lorie Munson, account executive, Technisource
Cynthia Ortega, partner-attorney at law, Miller Johnson
Julie Pausch, vice president, Comerica Bank
Sherri Pence, managing director, Technisource
Audrey Randall, president, Paradigm Franchise Group

Inforum, founded in 1962 as the Women's Economic Club, has more than 1,800 members from a cross-section of Michigan's business community. The mission of the organization is to strengthen the business environment by creating opportunities for women to lead and succeed. Inforum has other branches in Grand Rapids and Lansing. For more information, visit www.inforummichigan.org or call (877) 633-3500.