Darke County Economic Development
July Newsletter
2011- Vol 2, Issue 4 |
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| P4P Investor Meetings |
If you are not yet a Partnering for Progress investor, but may be interested in participating in the P4P initiative, please feel free to attend one of our Investor Meetings to learn more about the program and how it promotes development in Darke County. Also, for more information you may contact Jim Poeppelman at 937-448-2191 or by email.
Meetings Scheduled for 2011:
Friday, January 28 Friday, April 29
Friday, July 29
Friday, October 28
Locations to be announced as meetings draw near! |
| Thank You! |
Thank You to
Jon Jordan Agency, Second National Bank (thru HOPE Foundation), Darke Co. Job & Family Services, Zechar Bailey Funeral Home (New Investor - Welcome!), and Hansbarger Home Solutions (New Investor - Welcome!) for contributing to Partnering for Progress
in May 2011!
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| Thank You! | |
Thank You to
Wayne HealthCare,
Family Health, Inc.,
Edward Jones,
Arcon Builders,
Dale Musser
(New Investor - in-kind donation to website development - Welcome!)
and
Darke Co. Township Association(New Investor - Welcome!)
for contributing to
Partnering for Progress
in June 2011!
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| Greetings! |
Drum roll please.......
Introducing the new logo for Darke County Economic Development! A big "Thank You" goes out to Tim Stuckey from CorpComm Group for a very modern, updated design that still allows us to convey who and where we are as well as what we stand for.
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Partnering for Progress- Highlights of Development Efforts from Across the County |
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| ED Update | |
Well, summer is once again sizzling and so are development efforts in Darke County. It is difficult to understate just how fortunate we are to have the companies that we do here in-county with the visionary leaders that run them. Aside from the well-covered business expansions and additions over the last year-and-a-half, Partnering for Progress has been assisting half a dozen additional company projects this summer. The projects represent a sizeable amount of capital investment and increased employment should they all be seen through to conclusion. Department of Development officials and other regional personel have noted that Darke County is among the most active counties in the entire Dayton region despite the small amount of companies we have compared to some of our neighbors. This observation was made in 2010 as well. I believe this bodes well for a rural county residing in a state hit hard by the recent recession. As the Partnering for Progress initiative continues to gel and Governor Kasich's plans for state-wide development efforts become more and more clear, it's hard to imagine that the next few years won't also prove extremely fruitful for our local efforts. Despite the successes of the last few years, I'd say we are still just warming up. And speaking of that, I hope everyone can find a way to stay cool throughout the rest of July and please, come visit the ED office at our new home in The Palace whenever you are in the downtown Greenville area.
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| Continental Carbonic Holds Opening & Welcome Ceremony | |
 
 
Greenville & Darke County formally welcomed Continental Carbonic on Thursday, June 30th in a ceremony at the dry ice manufacturer's brand new production facility in the Greenville Industrial Park. Aside from being honored by local officials, company officials received a proclamation from Governor Kasich and a welcome from new Dayton Development Coalition President & CEO Jeff Hoagland, who was one of several presenters at the event. Continental expects to employ at least 75 at the approximately $15 million facility, the largest in the company, and the one, according to Continental President Bob Weisman, that went up the quickest and with the least amount of bureaucratic and regulatory delays. About 120 people turned out to welcome the new manufacturers and the event received significant media attention, including from Dayton TV Channels 2 & 7. Attendees were treated to plant tours and several demonstrations following the ceremony.
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| Greenville Mayor & ED Director Present to Whirlpool | |
 
Whirlpool's North American PR Tour headed through Greenville and the KitchenAid Division recently with a slew of international journalists descending on the area to get an idea about the local facilities' impact on the economy and the role the division plays in the international company. Guests toured the plant, the KitchenAid Experience in downtown Greenville, and, among other places, dined at The Bistro off Broadway. There, Greenville Mayor Mike Bowers and EDD Marc Saluk each presented to the group to discuss the KitchenAid impact on local culture and budgets, not to mention the proud local tradition of producing one of the most popular household items on the planet. P4P thanks KitchenAid Plant Manager Bill Good, Sr. Manager - Finance & Supply Chain Scott Hartings, and HR Assistant Lisa Hileman for the opportunity to meet with the distinguished group.
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| Conveyance Fee Hearings | |
 
Economic development efforts in Darke County got a recent boost when the board of commissioners voted to raise the permissive portion of the conveyance fee on real estate transactions in order to bring the rate in-line with the Ohio state average. "Because the money is used for the same purpose by every county (ED), having a lower rate than 74 of the 88 state counties was putting Darke at a competitive disadvantage," stated Economic Development Director Marc Saluk. Saluk added that the increased funding, along with continued development of other tools and resources, will continue to give the county some independence from Columbus and D.C. on development projects.
Photos Courtesy of Bob Robinson - County News Online
www.countynewsonline.org
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| Integrity Ground Breaking | |
PARTERNING FOR PROGRESS INVESTORS: Your attendance would be greatly appreciated as we show support for the groundbreaking of the new home for Integrity Ambulance in Greenville, as they prepare to move their corporate headquarters to the brand new Integrity Business Park on Greenville's east side.
Event: Ground Breaking Ceremony for Integrity Ambulance and Integrity Business Park
Time: Tuesday, July 19th at 11 AM
Location: The future home of Greenville's new mixed-use business park. Grounds are between the Greenville Inn and the old Corning facility.
**Parking will be available in the Greenville Inn parking lot courtesy of their management**
Please help us commemorate a project that will help revitalize Greenville's east side and improve a major gateway (US 36) into our community. Additional details pending. Please call the economic development office (548-3250) or Greenville Mayor Mike Bowers (548-3819) with any questions. Your attendance is sincerely appreciated!!
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| Second National Bank Branch Celebrates Anniversary | |
(Photo courtesy of the Darke County Daily Advocate: http://dailyadvocate.com/index.asp)
P4P investor Second National Bank recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their Wal-Mart branch with a Darke County Chamber sponsored ribbon-cutting ceremony and a gathering of local leaders and customers. Thanks to Bank President John Swallow, Steve Badgett, Mike Henry, Antonia Baker and all the bank employees who attended for their hospitality and best of luck over yet another coming decade of service to the Darke County community!
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| Wind Energy Company Update | |
Alternative energy producers enXco recently met with county commissioners and economic development personnel to provide an update on their utility-scale wind farm in development in the southwest portion of the county. The company is one of several who have been working with local landowners to establish facilities that will sell electricity back to the regional grid as a part of Ohio's energy mandate established under Governor Strickland. enXco officials, along with those from Invenergy, whose farm-in-development is in the northwest portion of the county, have excelled at keeping local leaders up-to-date on their activities and at general outreach to the public.
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| Karlh McCallister Golf Tournament | |
The recent Karlh McCallister Golf Tournament, which raises money annually for scholarships for the Bridges to College program (and is run in part by P4P investor Hansbargers' Home Solutions), was phenomenally successful again this year with 24 teams and just shy of 100 golfers participating at the event at the Greenville Golf Course. According to Hansbargers' Mike Barker, there were over 50 corporate and hole sponsors and the event raised over $13,600. The total easily beat out the $11,000 raised ion 2010.
"The support was tremendous when you consider the number of people, sponsors, etc in only our second year, especially in a year when many golf courses and tournaments have seen a down turn," commented Barker.
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| ED Web Project | |
 
For those of you who have seen extensive photography throughout Darke County in recent weeks (like that shown above), it is likely that you have witnessed the development of Darke County's first ever stand-alone economic development website. The site, which is currently in the final stages of development, should be live in August and will be a major focus of attempts to attract new business to Darke County. Although P4P efforts will ALWAYS focus primarily on existing business (86% of job creation in a rural county comes from existing businesses), attraction efforts will be stepped up over the coming years and a quality web site is key to this occurring. Most site selectors will tell you that most localities are eliminated from consideration for a project due to their website content before they even get a seat at the negotiating table. Darke County's new website will cater heavily towards those looking to move their business to the area and on highlighting the resources and properties we have available locally for development. Watch for the roll-out of the new site before the end of summer!
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| July P4P Investor Meeting | |
Partnering for Progress Investors -
Mark your calendars!
The third quarter Partnering for Progress Investor Meeting will be held on Friday, July 29, 2011 at 7:30 a.m.
at The Anderson's Marathon Ethanol
5728 Sebring Warner Rd.
Greenville, OH 45331
Watch for more information to arrive with your invitation -
We hope to see you there!
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Don't Forget DCED Address Change! | |
The Darke County Economic Development Office has a new location!
We are now moved into our new office in The Palace.
Our new address is:
537 South Broadway Suite 201
Greenville, OH 45331
**Please remember to update our address in your records!**
Thank you!
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| Darke County CIC Receives Approval from State Auditor | |
From the Office of the Auditor of State on June 9, 2011:
Darke County Community Improvement Corporation
537 South Broadway, Suite 201
Greenville, OH 45331
RE: Results of Site Visit on June 7, 2011
A representative of the Auditor of State has review your annual reports and obtained an understanding of your operations for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009.
Our review noted no matters to report.
If you have any questions please contact Dorothy Poeppelman, Senior Audit Manager.
Sincerely,
David Yost
Auditor of State of Ohio
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| Call if You Want Publicity! | |
Just a reminder...any Partnering for Progress contributors that would like coverage of their participation with the countywide collaborative development effort, need only contact the ED Office. We will arrange a photo op, write a press release, and handle placement in local publications, broadcast media, and on-line media outlets. Your participation makes our community stronger and fosters job creation and future growth. Why not get recognized for your contribution? Those interested can call Marc or Melanie at the ED Office at 548-3250 to make arrangements. |
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INFORMATION AND UPCOMING EVENTS |
| SBDC at Wright State University | |
Ohio Small Business Development Center
at Wright State University
The new schedule is out and online registration is open for classes.
Any questions or comments on our past or present classes should be directed to
Kim Woodbury at 937-775-3503 or Earl Gregorich at 937-775-4761 or earl.gregorich@wright.edu
Click Here to See the New Class Schedule and List of Upcoming Events
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| Ohio Means Jobs Webinars |
NFIB Partners with State to Host OhioMeansJobs.com Webinars
National Federation of Independent Business recently partnered with the state of Ohio and Monster.com to help expand, improve and promote the online job site www.OhioMeansJobs.com. OhioMeansJobs.com offers small- and medium-sized businesses free job posting, free access to millions of Ohio-based resumes from Monster.com, and free access to the same case management tools that Monster.com provides to paying customers. Each month, job seekers conduct 3 million job searches at OhioMeansJobs.com. Using this website is a great way to publicize your job openings and attract high-quality candidates. OhioMeansJobs.com also has up-to-date information on state and federal grants and other programs to help NFIB members with training, retaining employees and expanding their operations. NFIB is co-chairing a task force charged with enhancing the site and promoting it across the state, and already has planned some informational webinars that will take place over the coming weeks. Each webinar is organized for members in one of 11 separate areas of Ohio, allowing local business owners to ask questions specific to their region.
To participate in a webinar in your area, or one that fits best with your schedule, simply click on the corresponding link a couple minutes before the listed start time:
Click Here for a List of Webinar Dates
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| Training Event for Veteran-Owned Businesses | |
SWCO PTAC
(Southwest Central Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Center)
presents a Training Event for Veteran-owned Businesses
For U.S. Veterans and Service-Disabled Veterans who own or are planning to own a small business, as well as interested individuals on active duty and military spouses!
Come and learn from the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and the VOB108 about how to grow your business either from the ground up or by expanding your business through government sales!
Also network with other Veterans, many of whom are already in business and doing business with the government!
Clark State Community College Greene Center
(Located off of I-675 in Beavercreek; free parking available; main entrance on north-side)
3775 Pentagon Blvd. Beavercreek, OH 45431
July 21st, 2011
8:00am - 4:00pm
Doors open at 7:30am
$65.00 Registration Fee
For questions only, please call:
Toll free: (888) 553-6832 ext. 238, or (937) 253-0038
A hot lunch will be provided!
The Southwest Central Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Center is a sub-center of the State of Ohio PTAC program. The State program is a cooperative effort among the Ohio Dept. of Development, U.S. Dept. of Defense and various local host organizations. The SWCO PTAC is hosted and supported by the Edison Materials Technology Center. The mission of the PTAC program is to provide technical assistance to companies desiring to enter local, state and federal gov't markets, as a means to support economic development, and to foster the retention and creation of Ohio jobs. The State of Ohio PTAC program is one of 93 PTAC programs located in the U.S.
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| Center for Competitive Change Workshop | |
The Center for Competitive Change is proud to extend a personal invitation to
attend a first of its kind workshop with
MICHAEL HOSEUS
Co-Author of
"TOYOTA CULTURE: THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE TOYOTA WAY"
September 15th
Toyota Culture Series - Part V:
A-3 Problem Solving & the Toyota Recall Crisis
Mike Hoseus will review how a lean organization establishes their culture for problem solving at all levels. The workshop will also discuss in detail the Toyota Recall Crisis. The workshop will use the recall as a "case study" to apply the A-3 problem solving process. We will also reflect on the crisis to identify lessons learned, not only for Toyota, but also for your organization.
Click Here for More Information
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| CSI Ohio Reforms State Regulatory Environment One Rule at a Time | |
Article taken from The Dayton Business Journal, Wed., June 22, 2011
The following is a guest column written by Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor:
When Avon Mayor Jim Smith read an article about the launch of CSI Ohio: The Common Sense Initiative in January, he sat down and drafted a letter to me. Smith's letter detailed a problem that was keeping a local small business from being competitive, growing and possibly adding more jobs in Lorain County.
Custom Culinary, a local food manufacturer, was being bogged down by a senseless government regulation that prohibited it from purchasing bulk quantities of alcohol for the production of soups, sauces and purees. For one recipe, some of the company's 39 employees had to pour 140,000 pounds of wine into a vat of sauce one bottle at a time. The process was time consuming, costly and kept the business at a competitive disadvantage. It took just three days for CSI Ohio to identify a common sense legislative solution to Custom Culinary's problem, something Mayor Smith had pleaded with others for years to fix.
Gov. John R. Kasich and I developed CSI Ohio to do exactly what it did for Custom Culinary: solve problems. Since it was launched on January 10th, CSI Ohio has been busy developing a process to hold state government accountable for implementing business regulations that incorporate the principles of transparency, consistency, predictability, flexibility and balance. As agencies develop new regulations and review existing ones, CSI Ohio will require them to analyze the regulation's impact to business. The questions we are asking include the following: What are you trying to accomplish through the regulation? How will you know if it's been successful? What types of businesses are impacted and how much will it cost Ohio's job creators?
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| Ohio's Economy Shrinking | |
Article Taken From MarionStar.com June 30, 2011:
Ohio and Michigan, once longtime industrial titans, are the only two states whose economies shrank from 2000 to 2010, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Passed by New Jersey, Ohio slipped from the seventh-biggest state economy in 2000 to eighth last year. Texas became the U.S.'s second-largest state economy during the past decade - displacing New York and perhaps heading one day toward challenging California - in one of the biggest economic shifts in the past half-century.
The economic winners of the last decade are states that focus on raw materials, government and senior citizens. The big losers are places that make things - industrial states and even California.
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| Ongoing Reminder... Doing Business with the Government |
Doing Business with the Government
A list of sites and contacts to create opportunity with the largest customer in the world
Between the federal, state, and local levels, the U.S. Government is, by far, the largest procurer of products on Earth. For those that are looking to gain opportunity from its diversity of purchasing power, the South West Central Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Centers are available to help navigate the terrain. It's a long name, so call them PTAC. PTAC is a FREE service with counselors that will guide your business through the application process and help you understand the various sites and programs that could open up new revenue opportunities for your company. Call the Dayton-area Counselor, Kent Anderson, at 937-258-5407 or email him at kanderson@emtec.org, or call the programs' Director, Meredith Threatt at 937-259-1368. Meredith's email is mthreatt@emtec.org. You may also check out PTAC's website at: http://www.swcoptac.org/
· PTAC Daily Bid Match (Search for 'Daily Bid Match' on the PTAC site) · http://www.fbo.gov/(Forecasts from federal agencies on what buying patterns will be in 2-5 years) · http://www.fpds.gov/ (Show a history of buying patterns of various federal agencies) · www.dscc.dla.mil/News/events/tko/register.asp (Register for a FREE 2-day seminar on doing business with the Department of Defense!) Please call the Economic Development Office if you have any trouble getting connected with PTAC. |
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We welcome your feedback on the events listed above, so that we may be able to share more releveant information in future issues. | |
Darke County Economic Development
Community Improvement Corporation of Darke County, OH
537 South Broadway Suite 201, Greenville, OH 45331
Phone: 937-548-3250 Fax: 937-547-8446
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