Herman Miller Inc

Local roundup: Rockford resident reaches 'A-level' status in USA Racquetball ...

USA Racquetball ranks its playing members by skill level in A, B, C and Open divisions.

A year ago, Rockford resident Michael Stephens was designated as a C-level player. Then he won the national singles championship for men 60-and-older and moved up to the B-level.

Now, he has reached the A-level.

Stephens, 63, who is semi-retired from teaching, coaching and property investment, advanced late last month when he won another 60-and-older national singles championship, this time at the B-level.

"I love it, and the people you meet are wonderful," Stephens said. "Now I’m training for the World Games. It’s a five-day tournament in Albuquerque in August. I finished fifth in it last year."

Stephens took up racquetball in the early 1980s after teaching tennis. The City of Grand Rapids offered him a job teaching racquetball in a Community Education program, so he took it -- even though he know nothing about the game.

"I bought a book about it and started reading and I fell in love with the game," he said.

A pro at Michigan Athletic Club for 16 years, he won two mixed doubles national championships with Shelly Ogden in the late 1990s.

By the time the new millennium rolled around, however, he was out of the game. Three hip-replacement surgeries, knee surgery and surgery on his right playing shoulder kept him out of the game for 10 years.

He finally returned to the courts in 2009.

"Racquetball is not real popular in this state," Stephens said. "It’s more popular in places like California and Colorado, but there are still a few of us left in Michigan."
 
Grand Rapids Thunder making noise
After 17 months of silence, the Grand Rapids Thunder semipro football team is rumbling again.

A member of the Great Midwest Football League, the Thunder started the 2011 season in May and opened their home schedule Saturday with a 24-19 victory against the Kalamazoo Outlaws.

The Thunder have four remaining regular-season games on its home field at Life Stream Church, which formerly was Allendale Middle School.
 
Herman Miller, Inc. title sponsor of Grand Cycling Classic
The Grand Cycling Classic — which is scheduled for Aug. 20 in downtown Grand Rapids and will feature the 2011 USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championships — has a new title sponsor: Herman Miller, Inc.

officenewswire: Herman Miller Brands Capture Multiple Awards at NeoCon

Nemschoff and Geiger Recognized in Healthcare and Ergonomic/Task Seating Categories; Herman Miller receives OFDA Manufacturer of the Year Gold Award.

6.13.11 | Zeeland, MI | Herman Miller, Inc. , is celebrating multiple honors this week at the NeoCon 2011 World’s Trade Fair in Chicago, June 13-15. NeoCon is North America’s largest exhibition of contract furnishings for the design and management of the built environment. The annual gathering of design professionals, corporate end users and furniture dealers recognized the company in three separate awards including Healthcare furniture.

The annual Best of NeoCon awards for product, juried by interior design and facility management professionals who reviewed almost 350 entries, acknowledged Nemschoff’s Oasis™ Overbed table with the Gold award in the Healthcare Furniture Category, marking the second consecutive year Herman Miller Healthcare received Gold award in a Healthcare category.

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Geiger also received a Silver award for their Sotto™ Executive Chair in the Ergonomic/Task Seating category. Designed by George Simons Jr. , Sotto is suited for the management environment that appreciates a quiet design statement.

In addition to product accolades, Herman Miller also received the “ 2011 Manufacturer of the Year Gold Award ,” presented by the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA). The industry association for independent U.S. and Canadian office furniture dealers annually surveys its membership for their opinions on industry manufacturers. The awards are then presented in conjunction with the NeoCon gathering. This is the fifth time in six years that Herman Miller has received the top prize among major manufacturers.

The best of NeoCon awards, now in their 22nd year, are sponsored and organized by the International Interior Design Association , the International Facility Management Association , Contract magazine, the McMorrow Report , and Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc .

About Herman Miller, Inc.

Herman Miller works for a better world around you—with inventive designs, technologies and related services that improve the human experience wherever people work, heal, learn, and live. Its curiosity, ingenuity, and design excellence create award-winning products and services, resulting in more than $1.

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