News in Brief, June 19, 2022
Marching Kings holds fundraisers; The Drive offers $10k in business pitch contest; Community welcomes breast surgeon
Fish fry, Kona Ice fundraisers for Marching Kings
The Lewis Cass Band Boosters invite the public to Dan's Fish Fry on July 4th from 4-7 p.m. at Walton Christian Church, 101 West Bishop Street, Walton. Cost is $12 for adults and $6 for children under age 12. Proceeds benefit the Lewis Cass Marching Kings.
The Lewis Cass Marching Kings also invite the public to the Community Preview Night on Friday, July 22. Come see the Marching Kings' 2022 show while enjoying a sweet treat purchased from the Kona Ice Truck. Serving times are 6:30-8:30 p.m. Proceeds to benefit the Lewis Cass Marching Kings.
Business pitch competition to award $10,000
The Drive, a business pitch competition presented by Inventrek Technology Park, will return in September to award $10,000 in seed money to a local entrepreneur.
An initiative of the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance, the contest is open to those with a startup idea or expansion of an existing business located within Howard County. Expansion could include increasing square footage, adding a product line, and increasing geographical reach.
Businesses with 100 or fewer employees are eligible to participate.
The competition will take place during a “Shark Tank”-style event at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 in Ivy Tech’s Hingst Hall. That evening, contestants will pitch their business idea to a panel of judges.
The event will be open to the public, and there’s no cost to attend.
Those wishing to compete, however, must fill out an entry form in advance. The deadline to enter is July 22, with forms available at greaterkokomo.com/thedrive.
The inaugural competition was held in 2019 at Inventrek. A total of 21 local entrepreneurs submitted applications for the contest, with seven selected as finalists.
The judges awarded a total of $10,000 to three pitches, including software development, a solar power storage solution, and a door-locking system for schools.
This year, organizers plan to award the entire $10,000 to a single business pitch.
"The Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance is excited to announce the next generation of our business pitch competition,” Lori Dukes, manager of economic development for the Alliance. “It is great timing with the momentum in our community of economic growth and expansion. We are happy to continue to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship and our Inventrek Tech Park."
All those selected as finalists will receive a one-year membership to the Greater Kokomo Chamber of Commerce to further their access to needed resources and connections to help them grow their business ventures.
This year’s event is sponsored by Purdue University Polytechnic Institute Kokomo, Community First Bank of Indiana, NIPSCO, Duke Energy, City of Kokomo, Howard County, and Ivy Tech Community College.
Community Howard welcomes breast surgeon to Kokomo
Community Howard Regional Health announced that breast surgeon Dr. Christina J. Kim has expanded her practice and is now seeing patients and performing surgeries in Kokomo.
Dr. Kim will be joining the multidisciplinary team of specialized cancer care experts treating breast cancer patients at Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center— Kokomo, including medical oncologist Dr. Annette Moore and radiation oncologist Dr. Samantha Buszek.
Dr. Kim is a board-certified general surgeon specializing in breast surgical oncology. She studied medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed her residency at the Medical College of Georgia, followed by a fellowship at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. She served as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Kim specializes in breast surgery (surgical oncology), ultrasound guided breast biopsy, and high-risk breast cancer.
Dr. Kim has been practicing with Community Health Network in Indianapolis for 15 years and has expanded her practice to include Kokomo. Dr. Kim’s practice is Community Breast Care, located at 3611 S. Reed Road, Suite 212 on the campus of Community Howard. She will also be performing surgeries at the hospital.
Dr. Kim is a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. She has served on the Board of Susan G Komen® Central Indiana, and on the Board of the Megan S. Ott Foundation. In 2021 and 2022, Dr. Kim was named an Indianapolis Monthly "Top Doctor" for surgery.