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<br /> SPECIAL PROCLAMATION NO. 08-2017
<br /> A SPECIAL PROCLAMATION AWARDED BY THE SOUTH BEND COUNCIL
<br /> HONORING STEEL WAREHOUSE FOR ITS LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO THE
<br /> COMMUNITY AND WISHING CONTINUED SUCCESS AS A VIABLE AND
<br /> ONGOING BUSINESS
<br /> 0%C , Steel Warehouse is a family-owned business founded by company president Nate
<br /> Lerman that opened a shop in 1947 in a small rented building with a used piece of equipment, a
<br /> rented lift truck, and a lot of manual labor. Mr. Lerman's initial plan for the company was to
<br /> liquidate steel from a toy-building venue, but other opportunities for the company soon set it on a
<br /> path for growth, innovation, and eventual industry leadership; and
<br /> 0*)C ,Nate Lerman's original legacy has passed down his family tree and ownership of
<br /> the company now includes Mike Lerman, President; Dave Lerman, Chief Executive Officer; Ted
<br /> Lerman, Vice President/Finance; Bill Lerman, Vice President/Operations; Gerry Lerman, Vice
<br /> President/Legal Affairs; Marc Lerman, Vice President/Purchasing; Aaron Lerman, Engineering;
<br /> and Jim Lerman, President of Steel Warehouse/Wisconsin and Portage; and
<br /> 066 ,while starting out with a mere handful of employees, Steel Warehouse embarked
<br /> on a pattern of steady growth to become one of the industry's largest and most comprehensive
<br /> steel processing centers in the United States which now employs well over 600 people in the Steel
<br /> Warehouse family of companies. The local Steel Warehouse facility in South Bend alone
<br /> employs 491 people and has a yearly payroll of nearly $32M at that location; and
<br /> 0A ,Steel Warehouse's corporate headquarters and primary plant facilities are located
<br /> on the west side of South Bend and during its 70-year history, it has prospered and created jobs
<br /> not only in the Midwest but all over North America, and in Central and South America as well.
<br /> The Midwest reigns as the major manufacturing center of the United States in steel-related
<br /> fabrication and manufacturing, thanks to Steel Warehouse's efforts to grow its family of
<br /> companies and its efforts to innovate the industry; and
<br /> 6,Y" Steel Warehouse is owned by the Lerman family, an Orthodox Jewish family
<br /> whose dedication,as a result of their devout faith,to various humanitarian efforts in the community
<br /> has greatly benefitted the community. No city the size of South Bend can boast has two orthodox
<br /> synagogues, involving over 75 Jewish families, a kosher deli, a Jewish day school, a Jewish girls
<br /> high school, a kolel, and a new yeshiva. The Lerman family has helped support and grow the
<br /> Jewish community in this Midwestern city; and
<br /> 0AC , Steel Warehouse and the entire Lerman family have also made numerous
<br /> contributions over the years to various charities in the community and have annually donated to
<br /> many local and national causes, including programs heavily directed toward families and their
<br /> children. These organizations include United Way, Rosie's Place, Hanna's House, Little League
<br /> Baseball, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of St. Joseph County, and Youth and High School Hockey.
<br /> Specifically,with respect to hockey, Steel Warehouse and the Lerman family built and donated
<br /> The Ice Box skating rink which brings many visitors to South Bend for hockey tournaments. Such
<br /> contributions to these entities have only helped to enrich the local institutions which serve the
<br /> South Bend community.
<br /> 91a, A , Ge&.� andApvv4 Mxo aQ ,
<br /> (W 1. On behalf of the citizens of South Bend, Indiana, the South Bend Common
<br /> Council proudly and publicly congratulates and thanks Steel Warehouse and the entire Lerman
<br /> family, who have worked for over 70 years to build a tiny start-up company into a full-service,
<br /> steel processing business that has long served the local South Bend economy and the City of South
<br /> Bend by its growth and contributions to the community.
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