The video shoots are in the books; yeah, there is that little thing of compiling, editing, revising and finalizing — but that will all take place quickly and effectively.

BizVoice magazine goes off to the printer this week after a great job from the Chamber team in telling our award winner stories.

In other words, we’re getting close to "play ball" time for the Chamber’s 22nd Annual Awards Dinner. And speaking of (foot)ball, four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Terry Bradshaw will be sure to inform and entertain as the event’s keynote speaker.

There’s still time to get your tickets (more than 1,500 did so last year). It’s November 17 at the JW Marriott. We hope to see you there.

The Chamber’s press release calls Kokomo — being recognized as the 2011 Community of the Year at the upcoming 22nd Annual Awards Dinner – a "comeback kid." Maybe it should have termed the city the longest of longshots since Rocky Balboa entered the boxing ring against Apollo Creed for the first time in 1976.

While Rocky didn’t win that battle in the ring (off subject: too bad they didn’t stop that Rocky series after the first two entries), Kokomo emerged from its four leading businesses being in bankruptcy at the same time and unemployment that soared above 19%.

During several recent visits to Kokomo to document its story for our BizVoice magazine and the video at the November 17 awards event (no Rocky, but Terry Bradshaw will be the featured speaker), it’s clear that sheer determination of community leaders was one of the primary reasons for the turnaround. People like their hometown, and they didn’t want it to become a victim of an economic downfall that was largely out of their control.

Congratulations, Kokomo. We look forward to sharing the story of how it all happened in the weeks ahead.

One can learn a lot in a 30-minute conversation with Indiana entrepreneur extraordinaire Mickey Maurer. The summary:

• He doesn’t follow his own advice to "find something you do well, you like, and do that forever." Maurer’s career has taken him from cable television and racquetball facilities to banking, newspaper publishing and more.
• He refutes any description of aggressiveness, but embraces the label of competitive. "That’s essentially the game we play, the game of entrepreneurism. We keep score with money. … I  do like to play the game — and win."
• Barriers to entry is a business principle that is learned through experience.

For a complete understanding of the importance, or lack thereof, of barriers and the full story with Maurer, check out our current BizVoice magazine.

Dick Isenhour, 59, of Greenwood discusses the trials of being an experienced writer searching for his next opportunity. Isenhour is one of the subjects of my article on the topic in the latest edition of BizVoice magazine.

It seems counterintuitive that with so many Hoosiers out of work, employers are having a difficult time finding qualified applicants. But our friends at Inside INdiana Business issued a release today that some might find surprising:

At this week’s conference, Wabash National Corp. Chief Executive Officer Dick Giromini, Brightpoint America President Mark Howell and Paragon Medical CEO Toby Buck all said they are having trouble finding workers with the technical skills needed to fill their openings.

David Floyd, who will become the chief executive officer of Warsaw-based OrthoWorx next month, says finding well-trained employees to staff Indiana’s growing orthopedics sector is going to be one of his biggest challenges in the job.

Anderson-based Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems President Pete Bitar echoed those concerns. He is a member of the newly-formed Indiana Aerospace and Defense Council.

Wabash National Corp. Chief Executive Officer Dick Giromini will be a guest on Inside INdiana Business Television this weekend to discuss the issue.

According to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the state’s economy has added 3,800 net private sector jobs this year, buoyed by 5,500 manufacturing jobs.

On the topic of training and re-entering the workforce, you might also check out my article in the new BizVoice about some steps being taken to educate the state’s older workers.

I was a kid when the Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis, but do have vivid recollections of watching the events unfold on TV. Just over two decades later, I was a lucky spectator at the RCA Dome witnessing the team beat the New England Patriots en route to the 2007 Super Bowl win. In short, I pretty much can’t remember what my sport’s life was like without the team.

For the Chamber’s September/October issue of BizVoice ® magazine (available here on Friday), we explore the deal that made it all happen. Below are some bonus quotes not found in that story.

Bill Hudnut, then mayor of Indianapolis and current Maryland resident:

“I was elated! I remember signing the papers on that Wednesday afternoon and then Thursday morning I did not announce it because I did not want to scare off (Colts owner Robert) Irsay or antagonize him by doing a premature announcement. His people had to do it first and they did middle of the day on Thursday. So I said how terrific it was and I had a news conference that afternoon.”

David Frick, then deputy mayor and attorney for the city of Indianapolis, on his role and the local movers and shakers involved:

“There was a small group the mayor convened called the 706 club; that was the room number at the Columbia Club where we used to meet. The mayor had brought together Herb Simon, Jim Morris, P.E. MacAllister, who was chairman of the Capital Improvement Board, and Tom Moses, who headed up the water company. Of all people in our community he (Moses) probably had the most connections with NFL owners; he used to work for the Murchison family that owned the Dallas Cowboys for a number of years.

“I would sit down with that group and we would talk about where we were in the negotiation, what changes we would want to make to our offer and get their input on steps to take. I’m fortunate in getting credit for bringing the Colts to Indianapolis, but there were other people heavily involved in the process who helped guide that negotiation.

“I really made my living both as a lawyer, and then I’ve spent the bulk of my career outside of being a lawyer, doing deals. And each deal has its unique characteristic. … But this is clearly the one that has had the most impact on the biggest number of people. It wasn’t the toughest, but to get the Colts deal done in a compressed timeframe (six weeks) and to have such a significant impact was very personally satisfying to me.”

Home football game this weekend for the Colts – OK, it is preseason. But excitement is still definitely building for NFL fans. After all, Indianapolis is hosting the next Super Bowl.

With that milestone event coming up, it’s a good time to reflect on the Colts and how they came to be our team.

In the September/October issue of the Chamber’s BizVoice ® magazine (in the mail and available online August 26), we do just that. I spoke to those who were most heavily involved in the big move – and they had many great recollections. Here’s one amusing story in detail not found in the magazine article.

Michael Chernoff¸ then legal counsel and negotiator for the Baltimore Colts, on the media and the actual relocation:

“When I flew from Indianapolis to Baltimore to supervise the move, one of the executives of Mayflower (the company that moved the team) flew with us. When we landed in Baltimore, the press was already there. My guess was somebody in the tower called the press and said the Colts plane is on its way in. We got off of the plane and were met by one of the Colts people in a car that originally was going to take us to the complex, but with all the press there and everything, I didn’t want to go there.

“So instead he drove us to a motel down the road from the complex and we checked in there. It was a two-story motel; he went to his room and I went to my room. We talked a little bit and every time I would open my door to go out, the TV antenna on the trucks would go up, they’d turn on their motors and they were ready to go. I couldn’t go anywhere without bringing them with me.

“I called the guy from Mayflower and said, ‘I know where your room is, go across to the motel next door and when you get there, call me and let me know if anybody saw you.’ They didn’t. I said, ‘Sit tight, I’ll have somebody pick you up.’ I then sat around for a couple of hours. By this time I was getting hungry, so I went across the street with the (press) entourage to have a bite. I called the complex and they said, ‘Don’t worry, the press is already here. You might as well come out.’ So, I did. We finished up the move well into the night. … And then we picked up the franchise certificate that the NFL issued to the Colts many years before, put it on the plane and the group of us flew back to Indianapolis to set up shop.”