InterBusiness Issues - April 2007

John Ginder

The chief operating officer and president of RE/MAX Unlimited, John Ginder understands the power of the Internet in the housing market, but he also knows the importance of personal service. In this interview, Ginder forecasts the commercial real estate market in central Illinois in the next five years. The father of three was raised on a farm near Jacksonville, remaining there until he began college at Bradley University in 1963. While there, he met his wife Cyndi, now a physical therapist, and they were married in 1969. The couple has three children—Alyssa, Rex and Zachary—who are now living on their own. Alyssa is a speech pathologist, Rex is a jet pilot and Zachary is pursuing his master’s degree in social work at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Ginder and his wife currently live in Peoria.

Features

Business Profile

Firefly Energy is one of the Peoria area’s great success stories of recent years. The company's work is helping to revolutionize the industry of lead-acid batteries.
Also in this issue...

Are You Green?

Duffy Armstrong
Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois
Whether you believe in global warming or not, we human beings produce and leave an imprint on the earth that is not particularly attractive.

My Word!

Edith Barnard
Words have power. Speaking gives us an opportunity to dip a bucket into our creative well and haul out the perfect life-giving words for that moment.

Put Your SOX On

Fontaine Chapman
RSM McGladrey
While compliance with the new standards from the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) continues to be neither cheap nor easy, experts say savvy growing businesses should consider how various SOX provisions might serve as a springboard for substantial business improvements.

The Final Frontier

Becky Wood
The Service Station
In medicine, "Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice." The same is true in advertising.
Columns
Patrick Kirchhofer - Peoria County Farm Bureau
Ken Spirito, Greater Peoria Regional Airport
Mayor Jim Ardis - City of Peoria
William Prather, Peoria County Board
Dr. John Erwin, Illinois Central College
Dr. John Throop, The Summit Group
Keith Steffen, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
Mike Wiesehan, Progressive Peoria PAC
Mary Pille, Employers' Association
JR Runkel - Fortner Insurance Agency, Inc.
Scott Elger, Robert W. Baird & Co.
State Rep. Aaron Schock, 92nd District
Michael Stephan, Heart of Illinois United Way
David Smith, Manpower Professional
Brent Lonteen, Peoria Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Bashir Ali - Central Illinois Workforce Network