The Greater Akron Partnership--Greater Akron Chamber's business retention and expansion program--was recognized by two international economic development organizations for its positive economic impact on Medina, Portage and Summit Counties.

The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) awarded the Chamber with an "Outstanding Achievement" for the program. Sheri Shields, manager of business development at the Chamber, accepted the award at C2ER's annual conference in Pittsburgh. C2ER recognized the program, for the second time, for its contribution to the economic development field, innovativeness in approach, implementation and collaborative efforts.

The Greater Akron Partnership also received the "Award of Excellence" from Business Retention and Expansion International (BREI) at their annual conference in Memphis. The program received First Place for a regional program with a population greater than 100,000.

Chamber attends Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Trade Show in Detroit

The Greater Akron Chamber participated in the SAE 2014 World Congress & Exhibition in Detroit in early April. With nearly 200 exhibitors and over 10,000 attendees, the SAE World Congress assembles the best talent in the automotive industry from throughout the world. The Chamber met with both show exhibitors and Akron area automotive suppliers as part of its Advance Akron strategy to further enhance the automotive supplier cluster within our region. A meeting also took place with the Torino Chamber of Commerce from Torino, Italy, to discuss on-going joint venture opportunities between the City of Torino, the City of Akron and the Chamber for Italian companies wanting to locate within the Greater Akron Region.

Chamber and FirstEnergy Conduct Market Visit to NYC

The Greater Akron Chamber and FirstEnergy traveled to New York City to attend the Medical Design and Manufacturing Show (MD&M) as part of an annual market visit to promote the Greater Akron Region. Representatives from the Chamber and FirstEnergy had the opportunity to meet with exhibitors from across the nation, including nearly 15 from Northeast Ohio.

While in New York, the Chamber conducted meetings at three additional trade shows and various off-site meetings to highlight recent economic development activity in the Greater Akron Region and extensively incorporated social media to highlight activities.

"Partnering with the Chamber allows our organizations the ability to leverage resources in order to get in front of key decision makers in targeted industry clusters," stated Melissa Frank, senior economic development executive for FirstEnergy.

Northside Hotel Project Announced

During a "Sky Breaking" ceremony, the Testa Companies publicly celebrated the construction of a Courtyard by Marriott hotel adjacent to the Northside Lofts at the northern end of Downtown Akron. It will be the first new hotel built downtown in more than 30 years. With regard to the Akron-first "Sky Breaking," Joel Testa said, "The idea is we're building a 10-story urban Marriott, and we're going to again break the Akron skyline."

The $20 million upscale Marriott will have 146 rooms and a number of amenities available to residents of the Northside neighborhood including a fitness center and a Marriott Market Place convenience store.

The Chamber helped with providing a Demographic Market Analysis along with promoting financing options. "The Chamber was pleased to be part of such an important announcement," stated Rick Rebadow, executive vice president of the Chamber. "The new Marriott will not only strengthen this activity, but also accelerate the continued transformation of Downtown Akron."

Economic Development Correspondents

Robert Y. Bowman, Deputy Mayor, City of Akron, retired
Samuel D. DeShazior, Deputy Mayor, City of Akron
Stephen Kidder, President, German Link, Inc.
Richard F. Rebadow, Executive Vice President, Greater Akron Chamber
Gregg P. Cramer, Vice President, Economic Development, Greater Akron Chamber