Starting a business can be intimidating. You have an idea, now what? How do you protect that idea? The startup scene is something more and more entrepreneurs in the Jackson area are dipping their toes into. For that reason, the Jackson entrepreneurial community is lucky to have dedicated intellectual property (“IP”) expertise in Endurance Law Group PLC. Jon Shackelford, one of the partners, explained that Endurance Law is made up of patent lawyers, a rare breed who are as much engineers as they are attorneys, which makes them unique in the legal field.

Endurance Law was formed by Jon and law partner Brad Smith, who each left big Ann Arbor firms in 2012 to set-up shop in Jackson. The motivation was different for each. For Jon, he always admired clients who were entrepreneurs, taking risks on ideas and new ventures. The thought of starting a business seemed exhilarating to Jon. Brad was motivated by the prospects of a better quality of life and the ability to closely manage the working family farm in Addison.  Leaving the security of large firms and steady incomes to start a boutique IP practice in Jackson was daunting, to say the least, but the pair have never had any regrets for taking that leap of faith, now ten years ago. 

A patent lawyer must be able to understand an invention in order to write an effective patent. Brad and Jon both come from a mechanical engineering backgrounds, meaning they love inventions made of gears and springs and moving parts, but have less experience dealing with inventions based in electrical, software, and E-commerce tech. That’s why they’ve recently made an important addition to the firm, Jim Yee.  Jim is an electrical engineer and specializes in exactly these areas. With Jim, Endurance Law is able to better serve clients in the electrical, software and E-commerce spaces at a competitive cost.

All three lawyers that make up Endurance Law came from big firms, posh offices and expensive hourly rates.  Here they are now, in Jackson, the very same lawyers without the flashy surroundings and big city rates.  When the Lean Rocket Lab was established in downtown Jackson (2018), Endurance Law jumped at the opportunity to relocate its offices within the hub of the city’s entrepreneurial heartbeat.  The Lab offers Jim, Brad and Jon the ability to easily connect with Jackson’s best and brightest rising stars on the entrepreneurial scene.  Endurance Law passionately believes that the future entrepreneurs of Jackson are to be found flowing through the Lean Rocket Lab in some capacity, and that’s why the firm is exactly where it needs to be. Jon testified that after observing the entrepreneurial scene in Jackson over the past 10+ years, the Lean Rocket Lab has done a remarkable – make that miraculous — job establishing a genuine, fully-functioning, entrepreneurial community in Jackson. Being in this environment allows the Endurance lawyers to be one step closer to their clients, while offering their specialized type of support to this important growth sector of our community.

Endurance Law specializes in Intellectual Property Law, IP law for short, which is an umbrella term for four different legal tools/devices created to protect different facets of human creativity: patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. They work mainly with inventors and creators to protect and defend their creations.

If a client has an invention, they need a patent. If a client has created a work of art, they need copyright. If a client has come up with their own brand, they need a trademark. Confidential formulations need a trade secret.  Brad, a seasoned litigator, handles IP disputes for the firm.  Jon described their services as a sort of cocktail. Depending on what each client creates or needs, Endurance Law devises a “cocktail” of intellectual property ingredients to maximize protection.  With that, the partners at Endurance Law see themselves as “mixologists” for Intellectual Property – custom IP cocktails made to order.

Entrepreneurs have something unique to offer their customers. Businesses without a unique offering at least want to be distinguishable from their competition.  In both cases, the path to distinctiveness in the business world travels through Intellectual Property. Though needs differ from business to business, Endurance Law helps entrepreneurs and businesses of all kinds establish themselves in a unique way so that they can maintain, and hopefully grow, their market share.

One major point that Endurance Law wants to get across is – why pay for showiness? Jon explained, “If someone is looking for a flashy, expensive IP lawyer, go to a big city like Ann Arbor, Detroit or Grand Rapids.” Rather, the Endurance lawyers are highly qualified, experienced “IP mixologists” that know the ins and outs of entrepreneurship.  For day-in, day-out IP legal affairs, come to Endurance Law for the same quality of service as you will find in the big firms, just with lower rates and skipping the superficial stuff.

To find out how Endurance Law Group PLC can mix a custom IP cocktail for your business, give them a call at 517-879-0261, visit their website, or find them on LinkedIn.

The Feeding America Network defines much of the city of Jackson as a “food desert.” It’s hard to believe that such a jarring issue can be found so close to home. It seems as though most people are able to make that quick run to the grocery store after work to pick up those last few ingredients to put a meal on the table. For Jacob Inosencio, founder of Grow Jackson, his involvement in extracurriculars and classes during college and growing up volunteering at the local food pantry opened his eyes to the environmental inequalities found in the food system. It may not seem like it, but every county in the United States has food insecurity, and no demographic has consistency in their diet.

The basic need for food seems like it should be widely attainable. Waking up, making breakfast – it should be as simple as that. Jacob points out that food insecurity harms many people in our own city but disproportionately affects children, the elderly, and people of color. It could be affecting someone as close as your next-door neighbor, a coworker, or even a friend.

Knowing this pushed Jacob to put an end to food insecurity, starting in his own hometown. Jacob founded Grow Jackson, a non-profit 5O1c3 dedicated to ending food insecurity in Jackson through inclusive access to organic produce. Grow Jackson rescues food from being thrown away and has built a number of local urban community gardens. These gardens not only grow produce to sustain the people of Jackson who may need it but grow our community as well.

They continue their involvement by managing the gardens, growing organic produce, and keeping that produce available for people to harvest their own flowers or vegetables, or to be given away. Volunteers have the opportunity to get their hands dirty and be rewarded by seeing the product of their hard work, as well as the faces of those they are feeding when they harvest. Just recently, Grow Jackson was able to dedicate Martin Luther King Jr. Day to rescuing boxes of food from landfills, and giving them out to communities in the Jackson area.

Grow Jackson offers a variety of programs in the area to further its mission. One of which is the Garden Education Initiative, in cooperation with St. Mary’s School, the City of Jackson, and Young People of Purpose, where students K through 8 have the opportunity to learn about environmental science, plant and soil science, the food system, and home gardening skills.

Jacob and Grow Jackson are especially excited to be partnered with Orthopedic Rehab Specialists to put on this year’s Groundhog Gallop, sponsored by Experience Jackson. This 5k race is a great opportunity to raise money during the season of giving. Grow Jackson believes food and nutrition are a human right and being active as a community is a great way to support wellness, as well as Grow Jackson’s mission to end food insecurity. The Groundhog Gallop matches up with Orthopedic Rehab’s race series, this being the first of the year.

Even though it’s winter, Grow Jackson is gearing up for another busy spring and summer full of gardening and giving. More information will be posted, come summer. To donate, visit GrowJackson.org/Donate. If you or someone you know may be interested in volunteering at a community garden or packaging food, visit GrowJackson.org/Volunteer.

Hospice – confronting the concept of it can be daunting. For a lot of people, once they hear “hospice,” they immediately jump to the idea of death. However, Alana Knoppow from Arbor Hospice mentions that, though the idea of hospice and death being synonymous is common, something Arbor Hospice hears often is that relatives and friends often wish they had enrolled their loved one in hospice sooner, to make the last phase of their life as comfortable and content as possible.

Alana Knoppow has been with Arbor Hospice for almost nine years, caring for those as they enter and leave the last phase of life. Arbor Hospice is a non-profit organization that specializes in care for people at that point, by providing comfort and enhancing their quality of life in any way possible. They provide aids and volunteers to patients both in their residences, in patients’ homes, and in other care facilities.

Hospice is described by Alana as palliative, meaning “comfort care,” which is exactly what those in hospice aim to do. Those who work in hospice specialize in symptom management, which can fall under spiritual, physical, or emotional pain. Something that Arbor Hospice recognizes in their practice is that as long as a patient is living, they are in fact alive. With that, Arbor Hospice strives to make patients’ quality of life as valuable as possible, even in its final stages.

Arbor Hospice provides a unique approach to hospice care. Rather than simply sitting at someone’s bedside, Arbor Hospice enlists volunteers such as massage therapists and musicians to gift patients with their talents. Veterans can visit fellow veterans. Whatever special care a patient wants or needs in their time with Arbor Hospice, it can be achieved. Arbor Hospice also brings in licensed cosmetologists to provide haircuts and paint nails, so that patients feel their best, even when their best may seem unattainable. Something that makes Arbor Hospice unique is that they provide pediatric hospice, which Alana expressed can be hard to find, but at the same time, so necessary to young patients and their families.

When asked of a time that stood out to Alana in her nine years with Arbor Hospice, she reflected on one specific patient that had a projected 48 hours to live. It was Christmas Eve, and this patient had no family or friends at their side. A vigil visit was requested, which is when a volunteer offers a quiet and supportive presence to a patient. The request was put out to all volunteers, with the hopes that maybe one or two would make time around their holiday celebrations to be with this patient. The response was overwhelming, and Alana was able to provide volunteers back-to-back until the end of life, which was about 72 hours later. As Alana recalled this memory, she referred to it as “The Christmas Miracle Vigil.”

Hospice care not only greatly affects the patients, but the loved ones of those in hospice care. Arbor Hospice offers incredible resources to those who may be struggling with having a friend or relative in hospice or are grieving. Arbor Hospice offers grief support, which is open to the community at no cost. They also provide a variety of educational offerings and are very involved in the community. You may have even seen them at Paws in the Park downtown.

Speaking of paws, volunteers and aids can even visit with a pet. Alana has visited with a few of her own furry friends. Her first therapy dog, a black pug named Sammi, had one eye and was blind. Even though Sammi was blind, he always knew to put his paw into others’ hands for comfort. Her current black pug, Albert, is described as very playful and energetic, but always provides a calming presence alongside hospice patients. Alana expanded on this by saying that dogs have a special way of sensing who in the room needs them most.

Being an employee or volunteer in hospice can be quite heavy and weigh on anyone emotionally. Alana mentioned that there are a few ways to keep morale high among staff and clients. She continued that everyone at Arbor Hospice has a team to lean on. At Arbor Hospice, they hold weekly team meetings, in which each person has the opportunity to talk and reflect on their experiences. Though dedicating their lives to helping patients pass and comforting loved ones would ordinarily be something that would weigh heavily on a team’s morale, Alana explained that it is meaningful and an honor to be included in that critical point in a loved one’s life. Arbor Hospice often receives calls of gratitude and reflection for the wonderful things their team has done to provide patients with the utmost quality of care.

Alana explained that the people behind hospice care are truly one of a kind. There is a type of person who wants to get involved in hospice, and it’s evident that they are selfless and strong.

Arbor Hospice is always looking for volunteers to spend time with patients. They can do so on a weekly or monthly basis; Arbor Hospice just asks that volunteers make a one-year commitment. All volunteers are screened and trained, and a staff member will go with any new volunteers for their first visit or two. Arbor Hospice is eager to welcome any and all potential volunteers who hope to get involved in hospice care, they just ask that, if you are grieving, wait 12 months to process your own loss before stepping into someone else’s.

Anyone hoping to get involved can reach Alana Knoppow at aknoppow@arborhospice.org and 248-303-6818. If you aren’t available to volunteer yourself, Alana shared that even something as small as liking and engaging with Arbor Hospice on social media and sharing what their organization does can be huge for their organization.