First Goshen College adult student receives entrepreneurship grant for new drumming business

GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen resident Garner Wireman has experienced the positive power of drumming workshops. Drum circles facilitated in business settings can reduce employee stress, burnout and turnover. While he started using drum circles in his own work setting – to engage troubled adolescents in his work at Oaklawn Mental Health Center – he quickly learned about applications for other groups. By starting his own business, Pulse Beat Nation, Wireman hopes to share his passion for the cathartic act of drumming with youth and adults through special programs.

Wireman is the first Goshen College student in the adult program to receive a grant for $3,000 from the Goshen College Business Department’s Entrepreneurship Learning Center (ELC) to assist in his endeavors. The grant also includes a commitment of time and expertise from the college’s business faculty. “They are investing in me to make sure the business is successful,” said Wireman, who plans to graduate from Goshen College’s Division for Adult and External Studies program in 2007 with a degree in organizational leadership.

“To earn the entrepreneurship grant, applicants are required to develop a business plan and make a formal presentation to a committee, with the goal of convincing the committee of the viability of the business idea,” said Melissa Kinsey, director of the Entrepreneurship Learning Center and assistant professor of business. “This process was developed to help entrepreneurs take a critical look at the viability of their ideas to encourage them to start off with a strong business foundation. From an economic development perspective, it benefits our community to have new business growth, but only if the business is viable and built to last. The GC Entrepreneurship Learning Center is pleased to award Garner this grant, and we wish him success in his business.”

Wireman started facilitating drum circles two years ago in his job as residential program coordinator at Oaklawn. “The idea was to give them the opportunity to learn about instruments, to play them together and to give them a nonverbal outlet to communicate their feelings,” he said. “The kids were instantly hooked and wanted to come back.”

Now as Wireman shapes his new business, he is expanding the types of drumming services he provides. He offers “HealthRhythms” workshops for businesses which offers drumming as an effective means for promoting and maintaining health and well-being. He leads drum circles for corporate retreats to help co-workers resolve conflict and find solutions. He is a Remo Fit Rhythms instructor and will be starting fitness rhythm classes which combine drumming with physical activity for a good cardiovascular workout. “It is shown to burn more calories than cycling or hiking, and is more enjoyable than most exercise.” And Wireman also offers two programs for schools: one called PB&J which works at behavior modification for students through percussion and jamming, and Reading, Respect and Rhythm which helps kids develop their reading skills through fun word rhythm activities.

“Having now facilitated hundreds of hours of drumming circles for a variety of schools, churches, and others, Garner is now ready to fully develop his business concept and offer his services to a broader community,” Kinsey said. “Used in personnel development, team-building exercises, retreats, conferences and other venues, Pulse Beat Nation is Garner’s way to provide a community service to encourage maintaining or re-establishing the gift of a healthy life.”

“The great thing about drumming is that it can be done anywhere and for anyone,” Wireman said. “The idea is that whatever someone is playing isn’t wrong, because it comes from them. There is something spiritual about drumming.”

For more information about Pulse Beat Nation, contact Garner Wireman at (574) 534-3172 or e-mail pulsebeatnation@hotmail.com.

The goal of the ELC, funded by the Lilly Foundation, is to help prevent Indiana’s brain drain of college students leaving the state by assisting them with the resources to start their own businesses. The ELC regularly gives entrepreneurship grants for student business ventures; the grants are available to students from all academic departments, according to Kinsey. As of 2005, an entrepreneurship minor is also available from Goshen College. “Entrepreneurship Magazine” included Goshen College’s entrepreneurship program among its rankings of the best programs in the country in 2005.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.