May 2012 

Chair
Charles E. Jones, Jr.
Senior Vice President
 and President,

FirstEnergy Utilities,
 FirstEnergy Corp.

Immediate Past Chair
Virginia C. Albanese
President & CEO,
 FedEx Custom Critical

 

Virginia Albanese passes the gavel to Executive Committee Chair Chuck Jones.

A record-breaking attendance of 950 attended this year's Annual Dinner at the John S. Knight Center to watch the inauguration of Chuck Jones as the new Executive Committee Chair and recognize Steve Marks as the H. Peter Burg Business Leadership Award. The attendance bettered last year's event by more than 200.
 
In his acceptance speech, Jones spoke about the great opportunities that exist within the Akron business climate, which are bolstered by strong leadership, accessible governmental bodies and collaboration between the public and private sectors.
 
"Northeast Ohio has always had all the necessary assets for long-term prosperity," said Jones, "a strong workforce, a pro-business climate, great educational institutions, state-of-the-art medical centers, world class airports and great quality-of-life amenities."
 
Jones will serve as the Executive Committee Chair for two years.

The Greater Akron Chamber thanks this year's premier sponsor, BCG & Co., as well as all of our sponsors and members that made it a great event.

• Our region's leaders developed a strategy that would allow Akron to make the most of the Jobs Ohio money that came from Governor Kasich's economic development initiative.
• With the help of Dan Colantone, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Stark Development Board and regional partners Nortech, MagNet, JumpStart and Bio Enterprise, Team NEO led the charge for a $4 million award for economic growth.
• The Chamber encouraged 12 new companies to
  come to Greater Akron and helped create and retain 1,100 jobs.
• Chamber membership has grown from 1,750 to 1,900.
• The Chamber Services Group continues to offer many successful international trips to places like China, Italy and Cuba.
• The Young Professional Network has made significant strides, including the formation of a steering committee called The Leadership Crew to help develop leadership programming, government education and regional marketing.
• The inaugural InterCity Visit attracted 40 members to a two-day comprehensive tour of Milwaukee to see the city's revitalization and rebranding efforts.

Words of wisdom from Steve Marks

Steve Marks accepts the H. Peter Burg Award during the Annual Dinner

Steve Marks, founder of Main Street Muffins/Main Street Gourmet in 1987 and the Akron Marathon in 2003, received the 2012 H. Peter Burg Award for his business sense, leadership and community betterment. During his acceptance speech at the Annual Dinner, Marks shared several stories about the growth of both of his ventures.

On getting starting as an entrepreneur: "I am here today because in 1985, my father asked me to join him for lunch and attend a sheriff's real estate auction where they auction off property with delinquent real estate taxes and open for purchase by the public. On that day, I bought a dilapidated building at 214 S. Main St. for $5,000."

On opening a business with friend, Harvey Nelson: "Contrary to popular folklore, we didn't have Kenner Easy-Bake Ovens as kids or have any special culinary skills or fascinations. We simply just wanted to be in business and play the game."

On risk: "I was giving up on a career with a great company for the wildly uncertain future of a muffin shop in 1980s Downtown Akron. Much to the dismay and disbelief of a lot of people, Harvey and I quit our reputable jobs to officially become muffin men."

On hosting a marathon: "With the help of Mayor Plusquellic and people like Dr. Proenza and Steve Fry from Time Warner Cable, I was in charge of a marathon with absolutely no experience and completely terrified."