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Recession Creates
Opportunities for
Entrepreneurs
New business owners cite availability of
space, experienced workers as benefits
By Maraline Kubik
T
he driving force for new business development is necessity – either to
meet the needs of a community or to meet the needs of a highly motivated
entrepreneur.
With so many unemployed workers scrambling to secure the few jobs that
are available, some unable to find work are looking to create employment for
themselves. Others who’ve dreamed about going into business for years are also
taking advantage of opportunies the recession has provided to enter the throes
of entrepreneurship.
How they will fare over the long term remains to be seen, but those surveyed
by The Business Journal are determined to stay the course and cash in when
the economy rebounds.
Steve Badurik had always dreamed about opening a butcher shop. With 18
years’ experience working in the business, he says, he knew he had the skills
and was starting to scout possible locations when the recession hit.
He had just looked at a building that could meet his needs and was driving to
work when an interview with Warren Buffet was broadcast on the radio. “This
is a true story,” Badurik insists, fully aware of how incredible it sounds.
Steve Badurik is serious when he says Warren Buffet told him to open his shop – and so he did. See ENTREPRENEURS, page 10
Don’t Blame
The Keyboard
By Dennis LaRue
N
6, 16 Port Authority Names Director ot long ago, Tawanda Patterson and Alma It is one of six social entrepreneurship projects in
Rose Ann DeLeon is the new executive Clark were working to earn their GEDs at the region to receive startup funds through the Ma-
director of the Western Reserve Port Au- The Potter’s Wheel, an education and career honing Valley Community Wealth Workshop Series,
thority. On Page 6, read how her position preparation program that the Ursuline Sisters of which is funded by the Wean Foundtion and the
was created to boost development. On Youngstown operate for underprivileged women Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.
Page 16, read our editorial that salutes through Beatitude House. Sister Patricia McNicholas, executive director of
public officials for collaborative efforts. Beatitude House provides transitional housing Beatitude House, came up with the idea for establish-
and education programs for homeless and un- ing a cleaning company that operates as a business
derprivileged women in Mahoning and Trumbull cooperative after learning about a similar venture
counties. launched by Ursuline Sisters in southern Ohio,
Patterson and Clark were both unemployed and explains Mary Kohut, a career counselor at Potter’s
determined to build better lives for themselves and Wheel. The eco-friendly aspect of the business is
their children. Today, they, along with a handful See CLEAN-SWEEPING, page 4
23 Media Scope 50 Legal Listings Toll-Free: 1.877.527.3423 www.drsllc.net We Build Strong Networks, Relationships and Trust.
4 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
SKILLED PROFESSIONALS.
sion. Once Green Clean begins generating a profit,
co-op owners will share the proceeds.
The women involved in the venture completed
PRODUCTIVE RESULTS.
their training at the Hampton Inn in Canfield, work-
ing one-on-one with hotel cleaning staff. Hampton
Inn provided the training free of charge as a service
to the community, Kohut explains.
I
All cleaning processes Green Clean team mem-
bers use are standardized, she notes, so all customers f you care about quality – commit The Builders: Teamwork. Safety. Manpower.
receive the same quality of service and results. to using the best contractors in
The Hearn Paper Co. taught the women how to this region’s construction industry: Choose Smart. Choose the Builders.
use the eco-friendly cleaning products Green Clean Members of The Builders Association of
THE UILDERS
employs. Members of the cleaning co-op have also Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.
completed training in customer service and business
finance and each sits on the company’s board of We are skilled professionals who offer
A S S O C I A T I O N
directors because, Kohut says, eventually they will productive results. S K I L L E D P R O F E S S I O N A L S . P R O D U C T I V E R E S U LT S .
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Learn how your employees can earn a $25 account bonus
when they start payroll deduction for CollegeAdvantage.
Go to www.collegeadvantage.com for more details.*
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*To earn the $25 account bonus, your employees must enroll in CollegeAdvantage and start payroll deduction between September 1, 2009 and January 31, 2010. The bonus will be applied to their CollegeAdvantage account 90 days after they start payroll deduction and meet
certain other requirements. Go to www.collegeadvantage.com for rules and details.
If you are not an Ohio taxpayer, before you invest, consider whether your home state offers a 529 plan that provides its taxpayers with state tax and other benefits not available through this plan.
CollegeAdvantage is a 529 college savings plan offered and administered by the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority, a state agency. CollegeAdvantage is described in the current Offering Statement and Participation Agreement, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges,
expenses, and other important information; read and consider it carefully before opening an account. For a current copy of the Offering Statement, go online at www.collegeadvantage.com or call 1-800-AFFORD-IT (233-6734).
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6 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
Port Authority
Your business finances. Names DeLeon
To New Post
By George Nelson
T
he newest member of the Mahoning Valley’s
economic development team expects
opportunities to emerge as the economy
recovers from the recession, and she says the region
balancinAg
needs to be prepared to capitalize on them.
Rose Ann DeLeon, newly hired executive director
of the Western Reserve Port Authority, says oppor-
tunities are “floating around” and she looks forward
to meeting with the area’s economic development
act
specialists “and moving forward with them in a
collaborative effort.”
DeLeon was named by the port authority’s board
of directors to the new post, which is being funded
by county and local governments and the Western
Reserve Building & Construction Trades Council.
She was introduced at a press event Nov. 23.
“Today marks the first day of our initiative as an
economic development entity within the two-county
area,” said John Masternick, chairman of the port
authority, which operates the Youngstown-Warren
Regional Airport.
DeLeon, who resigned as director of government
relations and federal affairs for the Cleveland-
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 9
*1st time customers only • Coupon must be presented at time of order
$250 minimum order required (postage not included)
One per customer • Expires 12/31/09
10 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
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��������� Gordon Gibson says his company, Ambassador Technologies Inc., decided to open a retail location
when its largest customer down-sized and canceled its contract.
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 11
“It’s been tough. We’ve just been going of them before, they still take care
week to week,” Gibson says. Business of them even if they don’t have the
has picked up a bit since Walmart money they used to.” The only dif-
opened, he notes. ference, she says, is that they may not
Gibson, the only one of the part- have their pets groomed as often.
ners involved in day-to-day operations Mike Baluck, a steel-mill worker
of the company – two of his partners turned painter, is still working to offi-
are ministers and the other lives in Ak- cially launch Mike’s Decorative Effects,
ron – says the downturn in business a painting and wallpapering business.
neccessitates that he work differently. Baluck decided to go into business for
“I’m more of a salesman now,” he himself after losing his job in 2002.
says, calling on potential customers a “I’ve been pretty much unemployed
couple days each week. Before open- since then,” he laments.
ing the storefront, he says, he focused He’d always done painting and
more on Web site and graphic design wallpapering “on the side,” Baluck
projects. says, and he decided to pursue that
In addition to selling and servicing full-time “because that was my best
computers and designing and hosting option. No one is hiring. So, I’m kind
Web sites, Ambassador also provides of reinventing myself.”
Jeff Kolesar held the grand opening for his jewelery store, JK Jewelers, in Canfield, in November.
graphic design and printing services, He’s taken several workshops to
supplying local businesses such as learn techniques for creating decora-
Charlie Staples Bar-B-Q and Galaxy tive finishes on walls and woodwork
Seafood with menus and other printed and is working on a brochure to pro-
products. mote his services. “I’d like to connect
Jeff Kolesar, a full-time jeweler and with architects and designers because
part-time barber who’d worked for a the kind of work I’m doing is a little
prominent jewelry store in Columbi- bit more high-end and that’s where my
ana nearly 14 years, says he knows a bread and butter would be,” Baluck
good opportunity when he sees it. explains.
He started preparing to open his Although he’s provided estimates
own jewelry store “seven or eight for a handful of prospective custom-
years ago” and when the store next ers, Baluck says, “People are holding
to his barbershop, Rossetti Hair Co., on to their money. I’ve heard people
in Canfield closed, the opportunity are putting their money into their
couldn’t have been better. homes but I don’t buy it. Most people
Kolesar leased the space and spent are holding on to it and the ones with
nine months renovating it before money to spend are getting caught up
opening this autumn. Although he ad- in a frenzy of bargain hunting.”
mits “this is one of the more difficult Starting a business to create em-
times to go into the jewelry business,” ployment opportunities for oneself Mike Baluck is learning the trade, hoping to launch a painting and wallpapering business.
it may be the only opportunity he’d is not the best reason to go into busi-
have to own and operate two busi- ness, counsels Bill Oliver, a business
nesses side by side. consultant at the Ohio Small Business
Being in the hair business, he Development Center at Youngstown
adds, “is a good bridge” to the jewelry State University. “They aren’t moti-
business because he can easily refer vated for the right reason and we try
customers in the barbershop to the to discourage them,” he says.
jewelry store when they’re looking for While the number of people at-
special gifts. tending business startup workshops
Christine Mitchell recently sponsored by the business develop-
launched her business, Pawsh Pets ment center has remained constant
Grooming Salon, when a similar op- – 15 or 20 each month – Oliver says
portunity presented itself. he has noticed a larger percentage of
She’d been out of work for almost those are considering entrepreneur-
a year – the pet grooming company ship because they can’t find work
where she had worked didn’t have elsewhere.
enough business to merit her driving However, he notes, “Very few peo-
from Struthers to Canfield every day ple are starting businesses now if they
– when an Ebay store near her home need money because the banks aren’t
closed and the space was put up for lending.” The few that have started
rent. have been self-financed, Oliver says,
“I always wanted to own my own and most have been “very small one-
business,” Mitchell says, so she signed or two-person operations run out of
the lease and opened in May. their homes.” As examples he cites an
Since then, business has been bet- insurance agent and a manufacturer’s
ter than what she’d expected. representative.
“I don’t think the pet industry A couple of convenience stores
was hurt as bad by the recession as opened by clients of the center were
other businesses,” Mitchell explains, also self-financed, but they would
“because people see their animals have opened recession or not, Oliver
as children. If they were taking care says. Christine Mitchell opened her Pawsh Pets Grooming Salon six months ago in Struthers.
12 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
A
carpenter by trade, Jerry Treharn decided in value, Sherry Treharn explains.
to abandon the construction business and Tiger maple is a very rare wood, the tiger strip-
pursue his passion for fine woodworking in ing pattern appearing in only one of every 10,000
the mid-1980s. At the suggestion of Austintown maple trees, she reports. It is highly prized for
antiques dealer Jack Rees, Treharn focused on furniture making and very difficult to find. Luckily,
making reproduction antique furniture by using she continues, J.L. Treharn & Co. has developed
many of the same tools and processes craftsmen relationships with enough suppliers over the years
employed 200 years ago. that they weed out tiger maple from their stocks of
Today Treharn is retired and his children oversee lumber and save it for the furniture maker.
the furniture-making operations in his workshop, Adhering to her father’s commitment to make
housed on the lower level of the old Ward Bakery authentic reproduction furniture as true to the
building in downtown Youngstown, and his fur- orginals as possible, J.L. Treharn uses poplar as
niture is sold in more than 100 specialty stores its secondary wood.
throughout the United States. Secondary wood is
“My dad recognized the quality and talent in used for furniture
Jerry’s work immediately,” says Evan Rees, owner of
Meander Hill Antiques & Gifts in Austintown. About
components that
aren’t visible, such
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five years ago, Rees assumed ownership of Meander as the backs of draw-
Hill, the business his father founded in 1965. ers, Sherry Treharn
“According to the story I’ve heard,” Rees contin- explains. Because
ues, “Jerry came in trying to sell some of the items poplar is prolific and
he made – I think it was a coat rack and a mirror. readily available in
Him and my dad hit it off and became friends, and northeastern Ohio,
my dad took him to [antiques] shows and loaned Treharn & Co. uses
him magazines so he could learn about antique Jerry Treharn, seated, left his job as a carpenter to pursue his it as a secondary wood
furniture.” love of fine woodworking in the mid-1980s. His son, Mike, and just like early furniture makers in this
At the time, it was becoming increasingly difficult daughter, Sherry, standing, oversee day-to-day operations. region would have. “If we were in New England
to find quality antique furniture and prices were we would use pine as the secondary wood,” Sherry
skyrocketing, Rees says. So, his dad began phasing many collectors will travel great distances to find Treharn notes.
out antiques and started carrying reproductions of what they’re looking for and, because J.L. Treharn Treharn & Co.’s craftsmen contribute to the au-
the Early American furniture prevalent throughout & Co.’s furniture is what Rees refers to as “heirloom thenticity of the pieces too, using hand planes to fin-
New England in the 1700s. quality,” he says they know it will be something they ish the fronts of cabinets to recreate “the feel” of true
Meander Hill became one of the first retailers to can pass on to their children. antiques, she explains. “It’s very, very labor intensive,
sell J.L. Treharn & Co.’s furniture, Rees reports, and Holding up a newspaper clipping reporting the but it gives you that hand-done look.” Each of the
remains the only local dealer. highest-priced items sold last fall at an auction in furnituremaker’s employees has a specialty. “We
J.L. Treharn is the No. 1 selling furniture line in New England, Sherry Treharn, Jerry Treharn’s daugh- have a drawer man and a door man,” Sherry Treharn
the store, Rees says, and has made his store a desti- ter and company president, says she was surprised continues, and everything is made to order.
nation for shoppers from as far as Georgia. “People to learn that one of the early pieces her father had Finishes used “are uniquely our own,” she says,
love it,” he says. “Early American furniture has a made – a Queen Anne highboy – sold for $8,225, and are designed “to bring out the grain in the
following and you can’t find it everywhere.” So, more than four times the price it sold for new and See NOT RESTING, page 14
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16 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
Journal Opinion
Photographer Tony Mancino
Rate Comparisons Cara J. McClure
Sales Manager Janet O’Malley
Account Executives Gail S. White
Dan Gonder
Art Director/ Fred Sipe
Over the years, many, many Mahoning Valley This position came about only because Mahoning
officeholders have come under fire in this space for Valley leaders – and they deserve to be described as
their reluctance to embrace a regional approach in such – made the financial sacrifices necessary to fund
addressing issues this region faces. So we are more the position for the next three years. As U.S. Rep.
than happy to salute the step taken by Mahoning Tim Ryan put it, the communities have chosen not
and Trumbull county governments, the cities of to fight over crumbs but to instead “try to grow the
T he Business Journal is published semi- Youngstown, Warren and Niles, and the Western pie so that everybody can have a bigger piece.”
monthly (twice a month) in Youngstown, Ohio. Reserve Building & Construction Trades Council. DeLeon herself remarked that the regional coop-
Copyright 2009 by Youngstown Publishing Co. At a news conference Nov. 23 in Niles, the West- eration she has seen taking place here is one factor
ern Reserve Port Authority formally announced the that sparked her interest in the position.
All rights reserved. Reproduction or use, with- hiring of Rose Ann DeLeon as its new executive Not too long ago, the kind of cooperation that led
out written permission, of editorial or graphic director. In the newly created position, DeLeon will to the creation of this position would have been all
content in any manner is prohibited. use the unique tools afforded port authorities under but inconceivable for parochially minded politicians
Ohio law – such as the ability to issue tax-free bonds more interested in protecting their turf – unmindful
Average Issue Readership: 45,000
and the foreign trade zone at Youngstown-Warren of the diminishing value of their fiefs. Just getting
Mail Subscription Rates: $42 for 12 months; Regional Airport – to help put together packages that them to work together is one thing; convincing them
$77 for 24 months; $96 for 36 months. attract new businesses to the area and the companies to spend money to fund this position – a choice not
Back Issues: If available, $4.75 apiece already here fund their expansions. easy to make given the crunch governments face – is
prepaid (mailed); $3.25 apiece prepaid For the past 16 years, DeLeon has worked at the nothing short of extraordinary.
(picked up at our office). Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority where Ryan, who began spearheading this effort more
she played a key role in shaping its development than two years ago, deserves considerable credit
Submission Policy: News articles and photographs
programs. She was chosen following a search by a for making this is a reality. It’s hard to imagine any
may be submitted but cannot be returned. We reserve
the right to select and edit all articles and letters.
nationally recognized executive placement company other elected official in the recent past who could
All submissions become the editorial property of The to find qualified candidates instead of simply looking have marshaled – not threatened or coerced – the
Business Journal. Submissions may be edited and for an available candidate within the community. necessary support and commitment from Valley
may be published or re-used in any medium including Such an approach – one where the candidates’ po- governments.
Business Journal television and radio reports and the litical connections likely would have weight equal Ideally, this type of cooperation – and the success
Daily Business Journal Online. to (or greater than) any qualifications they might we hope will result – will become the norm in the
Locally owned by the have – would have reduced the post to a patronage Mahoning Valley, and the weeks-long imbroglio that
job. That’s an example of the tired thinking that has threatened to doom its bid for V&M Star Steel’s pro-
Youngstown Publishing Co. held this Valley back so long. posed expansion – an increasingly rare exception.
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 17
BY LOUIS A. ZONA
Impressions
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arlier this year, advertising to accuse their opponents of having �������
executives determined the most no substance. ����������� ����������������
effective advertising slogan of Sales of Wendy’s old-fashioned �������
all time. The winner is, drum roll hamburgers shot up 31% but Mondale �������������
please, “Diamonds Are Forever.” lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide ��������������
Who am I to argue with the people that November. ������������� �������������
who should know When I was
t h e i r b u s i n e s s ‘Splash, splash, fizz, fizz, oh, in grade school, �������������� ������������
best? My choice, Rege Cordic host- ��������������������
however, would be
what a relief it is.’ ed a very popu- ������������
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entirely different. lar morning radio
I have a small number of slogans I show on KDKA in Pittsburgh. Cordic ������������ � ���������
think more deserving. (I’m sure you loved to write slogans for products
do, too.)
For example, the Wendy’s com-
both real and those he created in
his imagination. My favorite was,
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mercial that first aired in January “Make life great – with monosodium
1984, in which an elderly customer, glutamate.” Then he’d pitch a beer � ����������������������� � ��������������������
played by 81-year-old Claire Peller,
saw a friend open her burger at Home
called “Old Frothingslosh.” Its tagline
was, “It’s the pale stale ale with the
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of the Big Bun and asked three times, foam on the bottom.” �����������������������������������������������������
“Where’s the beef?” That one just Speaking of often-quoted taglines,
might be my favorite. sales of Alka-Seltzer spiked when it
It was so popular that former Vice put a man in a TV ad moaning, “I can’t
President Walter Mondale, seek- believe I ate the whole thing!” That’s
ing the Democratic nomination for always a favorite at Thanksgiving
president, zinged Sen. Gary Hart later See ZONA, page 18
BY ANDREA WOOD
Commentary
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YOUNGSTOWN - WARREN
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by some people former Fonderlac Country Club in
who, perhaps, Poland, and when we started talking
didn’t have a clear about hosting an event at his new Lake
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understanding of Club, we were simply wowed by all as-
what this organization does. pects of the facility, from the great food
I wasn’t an employee of the cham- and spacious locker rooms, to the gor-
ber at that time, but I suppose that geous furniture and breathtaking view
phrase was in reference to our busi- from the floor-to-ceiling windows and
ness-after-hours events, which were balcony of the second-story banquet
social in nature. I chuckle when I
hear those words, because if you
room. In August, our members were
able to share the awe of the Lake Club
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read these columns or watch or read at our after-hours event.
• Just last week, we held an after-
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the news regularly, you know the
Regional Chamber for years has been hours event at the Holiday Inn-Board- �����������������������
– and continues to be – at the fore-
front of economic development in
man, which has repeatedly received
the chain’s most prestigious award for ����������������������������
our Valley.
But getting back to this “wienies
being one of the best hotels under the
brand. The hotel recently renovated ������������������������
and martinis” thing from a program guest rooms, lighting, signage and its
standpoint, if I may. Hosting more conference center that many people
than 100 programs each year, the use for business and social meetings.
chamber offers a variety of events, Renovations like these let people
all of which are opportunities for our know that even businesses that have
members to learn about everything been around for decades continue to
from safety, human resources and invest, reinvent and grow.
marketing matters to what’s going on On Dec. 9, we will have our most
in our communities, our economy, festive after-hours of the year at the
schools and much more. 90-year-old, world-renowned Butler
The after-hours events that we
held just this year alone offered more
Institute of American Art. There’s
always a new exhibit to see at the
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than just appetizers and cocktails. Butler, and if you haven’t been there ������������������������������
They showcased some of the Valley’s
gems and hundreds of thousands of
since your third-grade field trip,
there’s no better time to return. ����������������������
dollars of upgrades and renovations Celebrate the merriment of the holi-
made by companies that are dedi- days, enjoy an elegant spread (no
cated to the Youngstown-Warren area “wienies and martinis” here) by An-
– investments in our community and tone’s and after taking a look around
overall contributions to improving at this jewel of a facility, remember
our economy. why we’re all fortunate to call our
Our after-hours events are designed Valley home.
for guests to network, of course. But **Special note to Regional Cham- ��������������������������������������������������������
the locations for these events also ber members: If you wish to showcase ���������������������������������������
show off our members’ facilities and your facilities or services and can host ��������������������������������
services, increasing their exposure to a few hundred people at your location,
the business community (hundreds
typically attend these events):
give us a call; we’d love to consider
hosting an after-hours event with you
�������������������
• We were all curious about the Re- at a future date.
20 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
November 25,
2009 Interest Rates CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT PASSBOOK
STATEMENT
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION ANNUAL
SAVINGS
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2-Week Trend APY*
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during daylight hours. HUNTINGTON BANK 1 Year 1.10 — N.A./
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22 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
November 25,
2009 Credit Union Rates
FINANCIAL CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT AUTO LOANS MORTGAGE LOANS
INSTITUTION Term APY Minimum Term Rate Type Down Payment Term Rate, 2-Wk Trend Fees
ASSOCIATED SCHOOL 1 Year 1.30 — $1,000 Up to 48 Mos. 5.70 Fixed 20% 15 Year 5.00 — 2+200
EMPLOYEES 2 Year 1.95 — $1,000 Up to 60 Mos. 6.20 Fixed 20% 20 Year 5.25 — 2+200
FIRST CHOICE COMMUNITY 1 Year 1.65 $500 Up to 48 Mos. 5.65 Fixed 20% 15 Year 5.50 — 0+costs
(formerly RMI CO. EMPLOYEES) 2 Year 2.10 $500 Up to 60 Mos. 5.65
OHIO EDISON/ 1 Year 1.55 — $1,000 Up to 48 Mos. 5.70 Fixed 5% 15 Year 4.625 — 0+costs
PENN POWER 2 Year 1.90 — $1,000 Up to 60 Mos. 5.99 Fixed 5% 30 Year 5.125 — 0+costs
SEVEN SEVENTEEN 1 Year .90 $1,000 Up to 48 Mos. 5.99 Fixed 5% 15 Year 4.25 0+costs
2 Year 1.55 $1,000 Up to 60 Mos. 5.99 Fixed 5% 30 Year 4.875 0+costs
STRUTHERS FEDERAL 1 Year 1.00 — $1,000 Up to 48 Mos. 6.00 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.
2 Year 1.51 — $1,000 Up to 66 Mos. 6.00
Arrows tell whether rates rose or fell since last issue. Dashes indicate “unchanged.” Rates are subject to change without notice and should be confirmed before entering into transactions.
©2009 Youngstown Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
Celebrating ����������
50 Years
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 23
Think globally.
BY STACIA ERDOS
Media Scope
Listen locally.
New Technology Puts
WYSU 88.5 FM
Squeeze on Santa � ����������������������
� �����������������������
Y ou’d think the older I get, the
shorter my list would be for
Santa Claus. But it’s actually
the opposite. The more technology
changes, the more I’m in a race against
be a 9.7-inch OLED touch-screen
handheld all-in-one device that is half
iPhone, half Mac computer (what?).
It’s supposedly an e-reader, gaming
device, music player on which you can
� �������������������������
time, determined not be left behind as
gadget after gadget changes how we
also watch TV and movies and surf the
Web. Analysts are saying the device
� �����������������������������
live our lives.
For instance, I don’t have a laptop,
could revolutionize the handheld
world the way the iPhone changed the
� �������������������
or a GPS, or satellite radio, or even a smart-phone market. How much will
digital home video it set you back?
camera. (I still use Sales of Sony’s e-reader touch Sources estimate
those mini VHS edition are exceeding expecta- f r o m $ 1 , 2 0 0
tapes.) And now
it seems there are
tions as Sony tries to narrow the to $1,700. Stay
tuned. Radio you need to know.
a couple more hot gap with the Kindle. Now to some
items to add to my
“eventually” list for the Jolly Ole
other news notes
from the media world: Readership www.WYSU.org
Soul. is up for business publications. Me-
First, the e-reader. For those who diamark Research and Intelligence
aren’t familiar with them, they’re ba- reports The Wall Street Journal saw
sically a handheld device that allows
you to download and read books,
its audience grow 11.6% over the last
year. Forbes is up 11.5% and Fortune’s ����������������������������������
magazines and newspapers digitally. rose 9%. Mediaweek points out that
Demand has heated up for the holi- while national business publications �����������������
���������������
days and they’re already becoming have been decimated in terms of ad
scarce. Barnes & Noble says Sony’s spending, advertisers who pulled out
Nook, the $260 e-reader released last may have missed a big opportunity to
��������������
month, is out of stock until January. reach their target audience.
And Bloomberg.com is reporting Twitter plans to start an ad busi-
that sales of Sony’s e-reader touch ness early next year. The site already
edition are exceeding expectations as generates more than $4 million in an-
Sony tries to narrow the gap with the nual sales. And celebrities are signing
Kindle. Research firm Gartner Inc. up for a new viral marketing strategy
predicts e-book readers will become involving Twitter set up by a Los
popular among mainstream consum- Angeles ad agency. It amounts to
ers next year. Some say by 2012 more endorsement deals for their Twitter ���� ����
than 18 million electronic book de- accounts. Offers are based on the �������� ��������������
vices will be sold.
There are no e-readers involved,
number of followers the star has for
his twitter stream.
�����������
�
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but students at Penn State are among And finally, one of the big dif-
the first to take part in a USA Today
initiative to test how students respond
ferences I notice watching the news
here in Ohio is seeing video of court
����������
to electronic versions of printed proceedings. In Pennsylvania cameras �����������������
newspapers. The e-edition is free to aren’t allowed in the courtroom. And
students, faculty and staff who go to now in Georgia, neither are tweets.
the e-edition site each day or sign up A federal judge has ruled the Co-
for a daily e-mail. lumbus Ledger-Enquirer can’t post
Now for gadget No. 2, which I
won’t have to add to my list until next
year because the release of Apple’s new
Twitter updates in a drug trafficking
trial. U.S. District Court Judge Clay
Land found that tweeting is a form
������������
top-secret tablet PC has been delayed.
Some are already calling it the coolest
device ever and Apple hasn’t unveiled
of broadcasting. So I guess it’s back
to the good ole pencil and reporter’s
notebook – which, by the way, Santa
������������
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it or even confirmed it. – also make excellent and inexpensive ������������������������������������������������������������
The new mini PC is rumored to stocking stuffers.
24 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
�����������������
BY MONNIE RYAN
Wire Service
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Gift-Giving Starts Online
����������������������� Compare prices before MasterCard or Visa. Does the recipi-
heading to ‘real’ store. ent live far away? Have your gift card
delivered electronically.
B
y most accounts, the Grinch But why not give yourself a gift in
is alive and well during this the process? Head to GiantEagle.com,
holiday season as cash-strapped register, and sign up for a Giant Eagle
consumers cut back (or at best keep Advantage Card. Then, go to the Gift
spending at 2008 levels). Card section online – or to a Giant
My husband and I are looking at Eagle supermarket – and buy the cards
paring down the names on our gift list you want. For every $50 you spend,
as well as creative – and less expensive you’ll save 10 cents per gallon at any
– ways to please the recipients who of the company’s GetGo stations.
are still on it. Exchanging gag gifts can be a
In so doing, I’m less expensive al-
��������������� �������������������� putting the Inter- The big yuk-yuks for me happen ternative to the
����������������������������������� net to work. Even at Stupid.com. If you’re into gag usual sweaters and
if I plan to buy neckties that ev-
in a “real” store, I gifts, go see for yourself. erybody has too
don’t leave home many of anyway.
without knowing what price range One of my favorite sites is AsSeenOn
constitutes a good deal. For that, I’ll TV.com. Here, you’ll find all those
do some online price checks. amazing gadgets, but without the
Our son-in-law, for instance, screeching announcer and the “But
would like a GPS navigation system wait, there’s more…”
– portable enough to use in the car and Actually, many of these products
stash in his Harley saddlebags when are quite useful; I’m quite pleased
he hits the road in the summer. with my Debbie Meyer GreenBags,
Since I have a couple of models for instance. But gosh, who wouldn’t
in mind, I’ll hit the Internet road. love a nostalgic Retro Series Hot Dogs
��������������� ��������������������������� My first stop will be at Amazon.com, cooker that “Rocks N Rolls While It
which has great prices as well as Cooks?” Or what about a Drop Stop
��������������������������������������������������� complete product descriptions, tech- – gizmos that fill in the spaces between
����������������������������������������� nical specifications and reviews from your car seat and console that help
buyers. Next up, I’ll head to Bizrate. keep dropped coins, cell phones, pens
com, Pricegrabber.com, Nextag.com, and other good stuff from getting lost
Dealtime.com or Pricewatch.com. In down the car seat crack.
addition to showing who’s got the best The big yuk-yuks for me happen
price (and whether shipping and sales at Stupid.com. If you’re into gag gifts,
tax apply), most of these sites offer go see for yourself. Trust me, there’s
customer reviews of both the products something for everyone here – includ-
and the online sellers. ing “cheap stuff under $7.”
Of course, I can buy online if I Never underestimate gifts you’ve
want; but if I’d rather buy in a store, created yourself. For a friend’s birth-
I’ll know a good deal when I see it. day, I found a recent photo I’d taken of
Checking online first also can save her, then headed to Stamps.com and
time. Running from store to store uploaded it to a sheet of 20 real, usable
��������������� �������������������� to find the new ValvaMax Megazord postage stamps ($18.99 for first-class
my grandson can’t live without could letter postage stamps plus shipping).
����������������������������������������������� have cost serious gas money had I not Once my order arrived, I framed the
�������������������� searched for it online and learned that sheet, wrapped it up and watched her
nobody has it yet. eyes light up as she opened it.
Although gift cards are hardly what Other photo options are calendars
��������������������� I’d call creative, they’re almost always
appreciated – after all, the recipient
and personalized photo books. For
these, I’m a big fan of Mpix.com; the
������������������������������������������� is the one doing the choosing. These, prices tend to be a bit higher here,
too, can be purchased online with ease but the quality is outstanding. Other
�������������� at Giftcards.com and Giftcardmall. sites I’ve used include Snapfish.com,
com, where you can pick your pre- Shutterfly.com, Picaboo.com, Kodak
ferred retailer or a “one size fits all” Gallery.com and Walgreens.com.
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 25
�����������������������
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26 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 27
D
espite losing nearly $7 million the first nine deposit capture that has reduced the need for some
months of this year, including nearly $1 employees.
million the third quarter, Cortland Bancorp Moving its office in southern Boardman to North
expects to return to profitability in 2010, its new Lima has benefited Cortland. “We’ve increased both
CEO, Jim Gasior, says. loans and deposits,” Gasior reports. Cortland has
Gasior, who succeeds Larry Fantauzzi as head kept most of its customers in Boardman, drawn
of this community bank with nearly a half-billion new customers from North Lima and even attracted
dollars in assets, doesn’t blink at the challenges a small number of new customers from Canfield,
his bank faces. These include operating under a he says.
memorandum of understanding with the Federal What tripped Cortland Bancorp up were the
Reserve Bank of Cleveland that prohibits the bank CDOs – collateralized debt obligations – in which
from paying cash dividends. it invested between 2004 and 2007. As with other
“We’re focusing on getting back to the mid-fours financial institutions, new accounting rules com-
[$4 million in profits] in 2010 by doing what this pelled Cortland to mark them to market, marking
bank was built on,” the CEO says, meaning extend- Jim Gasior, CEO of Cortland Bancorp, says his company’s losses down 31 of the 32 it acquired. On the investment
ing credit to small businesses, including commercial resulted from investments that turned sour. securities it held or is holding to maturity, the es-
real estate. ago and $337,000 for the first nine months vis-à-vis timated fair value was $34.84 million at Sept. 30
Indeed, Cortland is unusual in that its woes $495,000 the first three quarters of 2008. where that figure stood at $71.21 million at Dec.
resulted not from bad loans but investments that Most financial observers would consider these 31, the 10-Q says.
seemed to carry minimal risk but turned sour. numbers praiseworthy for a bank with $498.38 Such securities, Cortland notes, “are evalu-
In its most recent 10-Q filing, for the quarter million in assets. ated periodically to determine whether a decline in
ended Sept. 30, with the Securities and Exchange Where most banks “have a loan-to-deposit ratio their value is other than temporary [meaning] the
Commission, Cortland’s ratio of annualized net of 70 to 90%, we have 50 to 55%,” Gasior notes, and prospect for recovery is not necessarily favorable.”
charge-offs to average loans outstanding should be its lenders have taken pains to ensure loan quality. In some instances, Gasior explains, the issuer has
the envy of most other banks, 0.49% for the quarter “We’ll continue to focus on consumer loans, com- a delayed payment of dividends or interest, which
ended Sept. 30 and 0.23% for the first nine months mercial loans, commercial real estate,” Gasior says. in turn causes the value of the security to fall. “An
of 2009. While the 0.49% is higher than the third “We’ll sell [residential] mortgages in the secondary issuer can defer [payment of] dividends up to 60
quarter of 2008’s 0.11%, the year-to-date statistic is market. I don’t see anything substantial changing.” months,” Gasior says, if it lacks the means to pay
lower than the figure, 0.31%, for the same period He sees potential in lending to the Amish since as scheduled.
a year ago. Cortland entered the Middlefield market last year. Some securities were debt issued by other banks
Net charge-offs for the third quarter were However, with the restraints on Cortland Banks’ and insurance companies during the housing
$288,000 vis-à-vis $64,000 the same period a year capital, “We’re looking at going into 2010 with mar- See CORTLAND BANCORP, page 28
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28 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
Cortland Bancorp:
Direct Deposit (ACH) Payroll Services From Page 27
bubble. Some was preferred stock issued by the Fed-
eral National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
“A 50% cost savings as a result of choosing Seven Seventeen Credit Union...” and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie
Mac), the latter seized by the federal government in
�
September 2008 and since overseen by the Federal
Lakeview Local School District realized a Housing Finance Agency. Others were “high-grade
50% cost savings as a result of choosing Seven municipals,” said Roger Platt, interim CEO after
Seventeen Credit Union as our local provider Fantauzzi resigned.
Two of the 32 issues were General Motors Corpo-
of Direct Deposit services. In addition to a
rate Securities, today worthless since GM declared
lower fee structure for the Direct Deposit bankruptcy. “Who ever thought GM notes would
service, no set up charges were involved, and go bad?” Platt said in late September after the board
the transition was easy and convenient. Our asked him to return as interim CEO.
system generates a payroll file that we upload In its 10-Q, Cortland said, “At Sept. 30, the
company recognized $815,000 of other-than-tem-
directly to Seven Seventeen’s secure server
porary-impairment losses attributable to its General
(without the need for a secondary processor). Motors Corporate Securities with a cost base of
Seven Seventeen handled the set up work $2.35 million.”
�
million, its 10-Q filing says.
Are paper paychecks giving you a headache? Some of the CDOs will regain some of the value
The Direct Deposit
��
program is awesome and they lost, both Platt and Gasior say, and will pay
Are you tired of paying large Direct so is everyone at Seven
off in full but behind schedule. Said Platt of the
CDOs, “We never bought any before [Fantauzzi]
Deposit fees to your financial institution? Seventeen Credit Union! and haven’t since.”
– Margie Malone, Office Manager, Despite its setbacks, Cortland Bancorp qualified
� Pay your employees without traditional Wollam Chevrolet, Cortland, OH as “well-capitalized,” Gasior states.
paper checks, a savings of approximately $1.25
�
�� “We’re not going to close,” Platt stressed last
per paycheck. The setup of Seven Seventeen’s September, and he offered that he expects Cortland
to post a profit this quarter. “Jim Gasior and Tim
� Payroll is electronically transferred to your Direct Deposit program is so Carney are running the bank on a day-to-day basis,”
employee’s financial institution(s) of choice. quick and easy! he continued. “They’re doing the heavy work.”
– Helen Dolan, Office Manager, Carney was named executive vice president of
� Submit your payroll only one day in advance of the
Miller Bearing, Kent, OH the bank and Cortland Bancorp when Gasior was
pay date.
tapped as CEO.
�
� No special software needed. Just email an Excel Gasior did not say whether he expects Cortland
spreadsheet or a file from your existing payroll Seven Seventeen’s Direct to show a profit for the fourth quarter, saying only
software system (if applicable). We’ll take care of Deposit program is very easy.�� he expects a return to profitability next year.
Even the employees that were As to whether Cortland will create and sell more
the rest! hesitant about switching from stock to improve its capital position, Gasior won’t
� Low, business-friendly fees.* paper checks now love it! rule it out but gives the impression it’s unlikely to
– Gwen Fabian, Business Accounting happen. “Even with the impairments, we’re con-
� Secure, easy and fast. sidered well-capitalized at better than 13%,” he
Manager, Greenwood Chevrolet,
Austintown, OH says. And getting back on track and returning to
We also offer: its traditional levels of profitability seems the best
course of action.
� Commercial Loans He also expects to increase deposits. “We’ll grow
COMING SOON...
� Small Business Checking through deposit gathering and replace some borrow-
� Health Savings Accounts Payroll ing with deposits,” the CEO says. “We may shrink
our balance sheet before we grow it again.”
� CU@WORK! Cards! Helping Cortland regain its footing, Gasior says,
Business Made Easier. are loyal employees. “We have little turnover in our
*Ask for details. www.sscu.net staffing,” he notes. “And they know our customers
and give personalized service.”
Also important was Cortland’s hiring Nicole
Contact us for a free and easy cost estimate: Whitsel as its risk manager effective Oct. 1. Whitsel,
Business Partners in Boardman, Austintown, a certified financial services auditor, was employed
Youngstown,Vienna, Hubbard, Columbiana by the Cleveland office of Crowe Horwath, a public
Business Product Sales in Mahoning, County & surrounding areas: accounting firm based in Indianapolis that focuses
Trumbull, Columbiana Counties: Chris Graham on serving the financial services industry.
Jeannette Bartko 330/372-8191 or Besides being a certified public accountant, Whit-
330/372-8025 330/726-0344 ext. 8191 sel earned her baccalaureate and master’s degree
jbartko@sscu.net cgraham@sscu.net in business administration from Youngstown State
University.
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 29
T
he aftermath of last year’s financial near the FDIC after the Office of Thrift Supervision put and housing] were out there.”
meltdown continues to haunt the economy. it in receivership. “When these bubbles come along, nearly
Small-business owners complain that com- Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch and everybody drinks the Kool-Aid,” Mayland says.
mercial banks are afraid to lend because they’re more even Goldman Sachs teetered before righting itself “When you prick a balloon with a pin, it pops.
concerned about preserving and increasing their and converting to a bank holding company so it The air doesn’t come gently out. ...What I didn’t
capital than extending credit. In the expectation that could enjoy the protections the Federal Reserve understand were the implications of that [housing]
Congress will create a Consumers Financial Protec- and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. afford com- bubble bursting. I didn’t think [lenders] would
tion Agency, consumers with credit cards find that mercial banks. make mortgages without checking [the applicant’s]
banks have accelerated repayment terms, reduced What lessons had bankers learned, we asked. income.”
lines of credit, raised interest rates and increased What lessons were briefly learned but have receded Neither did Home Savings and Loan Co., First
the penalties for late payments. into the background as the financial system returns Place Bank nor Farmers National, McKay, Lewis
“The whole landscape has changed,” says Jim to firmer ground? What lessons should have been and Gulas are quick to point out. “Fortunately
Malz, president of Chase Bank’s northeastern Ohio learned that weren’t? Did the bankers interviewed for our area, we didn’t over extend here or else-
division. “We experienced the perfect storm.” have any second thoughts about accepting or not where,” Gulas says. Regardless, banks here didn’t
The Business Journal approached four commer- accepting Troubled Asset Relief Program funds? And escape the consequences of others’ faulty lending
cial bankers and an economist to ask what lessons what reforms should be enacted so the likelihood of practices on the West Coast, Florida, Nevada and
the financial services industry and federal govern- another meltdown is minimized? Arizona.
ment have learned since the U.S. Treasury Depart- We put these questions to John Gulas, chief Lenders went so far as to extend mortgages of
ment allowed the investment bank Lehman Brothers operating officer of Farmers National Bank, Can- 125% of the assessed value of a house, Mayland
to fail rather than offer a rescue package. field; Steve Lewis, CEO of First Place Bank, Warren; recalls, “until the Fed put a stop to that.”
The repercussions of Lehman’s closing persuaded Malz; Ken Mayland, former chief economist of The independent mortgage lenders, for the most
Treasury that Bear Stearns could not be allowed to KeyBank and today president of ClearView LLC, part unregulated, have since exited the market,
follow; JP Morgan Chase acquired that investment an economics consulting firm in Pepper Pike; and Gulas, Lewis and McKay note, leaving a depressed
bank for $10 a share in March 2008 although Chase Doug McKay, CEO of United Community Financial market to prudent lenders such as their institutions.
could have bought it for $2. Before the fire sale, Corp. “Ninety-four percent of problem [mortgages] did not
Bear Stearns’ 52-week high had reached $133.20. Everyone watched the housing bubble grow, all come from banks,” says Gulas, who recently wrote
The following September, Chase also acquired the agreed, never realizing the implications. “The fire a paper on the subject.
assets, secured debt obligations and deposits of was lit many years ago,” Malz says. “There was cheap See LESSONS, page 30
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30 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
T
he board that oversees the city of Youngstown’s Companies participating in the enterprise zone Exal, he continued, has expanded six times and
enterprise zone program has agreed to agreements collectively have invested $352,790,193 has invested more than $66 million into its plant
continue tax incentives granted more than 30 in real and personal property and have created more here and created 365 jobs. “To me,” Sciortino said,
companies, even though some of these enterprises than 900 jobs, Sciortino said. “this is great stuff.”
are no longer in business or have failed to meet their
hiring or investment requirements.
�
�����������
The Tax Incentive Review Council recommended
continuing incentives to the 37 companies partici-
pating in the program because removing those in-
� �
�
centives could cause more harm to their operations
in a down economy, regardless of whether they’ve
lived up to their side of the agreement, members of
the council said.
������������������
“It’s a very powerful program,” said Mahoning
County Auditor Michael Sciortino, who serves as
chairman of the board, at its meeting Nov. 10. “I
can’t see the board declining anybody. We have to
do what we can to help these companies succeed.”
The city’s enterprise zone program makes avail-
�
able incentives to companies embarking on new �������������������������������������������
construction projects. In return, the company agrees ������������������������������� �������������������������������������������
to create a certain number of jobs and pledge a speci- ����������������������������� ��� �����������������������������������������������
fied amount of investment toward the project. ���������������������������������� �� �������������
Since the program began in the 1990s, busi- ������������������������������������������ ��� �������������������������������������������������
nesses entering enterprise zone agreements have � ��������������������������������������
�����������������������������������������
typically received a 75% tax break over 10 years on ��� �������������������������������������������������
�������� � ������������������������������
the amount invested in construction or personal
property. The state of Ohio has since phased out ��� �������������������������������������
������������������������������������
taxes on personal property. ��� �������������������������������������������
�����������������������������������������
Youngstown Finance Director Dave Bozanich ��� ����������������������������������������������������
said that each year companies are evaluated based ������������������ � ����������������
on whether they’ve complied with various criteria, ���������������� ���������������������������������
such as investment, job creation and the number of ��������� ��������������������
city residents, minorities and women hired. ������������ �� ���������������������������������������������������
� ������������������
The latest report is based on data provided by �������������
the companies covering 2008, Bozanich said. While �� ��������������������������������������������
��������� �� �������������������������������������������������
some of these businesses have fallen short on job
creation or investment because of the economy, it ������������ �� ��������������������������������������������������
would be even more devastating to enforce the letter ���� � ����������������������������
of the contracts in a tough economy, he argued. �� ������������������������������������������������������
The council also continued abatements on busi-
nesses that closed. Superior Chemical Products Co.,
�������������� � ����������������
�� �������������������������������������������������������
which constructed a $900,000 building at the Ohio
Works Business Park in 2007, closed last year. ������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������
�� ��������������������������������������������������
����������������
However, the company is trying to sell the build- � ������������
ing and is leasing space there, noted T. Sharon �� �����������������������������������
Woodberry, city economic development director.
Once the building is sold, any new company that �������� �������������������������������������������� ����������������������
moves there has the option of entering into an en- �� �������� ������������������������������������������������
����������� ��������������������������������������������
�������������������������
terprise zone agreement with the city and could then
assume the remainder of the Superior agreement. � ������� �������������������������������������������������� �������������������������
“It makes the building more marketable,” she
said.
Another company, Enviva Materials LLC, at 1130
Performance Place, consolidated its operations at
����������������������������
another site. According to the 2008 report, its en-
terprise zone agreement expired in February.
Meantime, other businesses awarded tax incen- �������������������
tives report that they’ve fallen well short of creating
the number of jobs promised in their initial agree- �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
ments.
32 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 33
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34 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
11 76 TO PH
MBUS ILADE
COLU CANTON LPHIA
TO PITTSBURGH ➺
Lordstown
➺
• 600 acres of land available zoned for industrial and commercial use
• Great residential sites available
• Village of 25 square miles has 4,000 residents
• Abundance of prime land priced low ready for new construction
• Great incentives for new business and industry
The growing Village of Lordstown is strategically Industrial developers are greatly impressed with the accommodating attitude
situated at the “Crossroads” of major Northeast that the Village of Lordstown has toward new business and industry...
transportation arteries. The Ohio Turnpike (I-80) and call, email or visit our web site for more information:
St. Rt. 45 pass through the village and I-76 passes
just south of the village and provide easy access for
regional and intercontinental motor freight firms.
Rail service is provided by both Norfolk Southern
www.lordstown.com
and CSX Railroad systems. 330-824-2510 email: PlanningZoning@LordstownVillage.com
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 35
RestorationIndustry
After Disaster Strikes, They Go to Work
Companies find niche in repair-
ing structures after fires, floods.
By George Nelson
T
o Paul Clouser, president and owner of
National Fire Repair in Youngstown, restoring
a home following some sort of disaster is more
than repairing a wall or getting furniture back in
shape to be used once again. “Really what you’re
doing is putting somebody’s life back together,”
he says.
National Fire Repair, one of several damage res-
toration companies doing business in the Mahoning
Valley, has been operating since 1913. The company
specializes in repairing damage caused by fire and
water. A typical job “really centers around the cus-
tomer,” Clouser says, and helping them to maintain
their existence in an entirely different manner than
they’re used to.
“Think about leaving your home one morning and
not being able to come back,” he continues. “Your life
is turned upside down in a heartbeat. Something as
mundane as paying a bill is a huge problem.”
Further, a house isn’t just a house, he explains;
the rooms are places where significant events in their
lives have taken place. “You’re dealing with the very
fabric of these people’s beings,” and repairing their
lives as much as the property, he says. “A window Paul Clouser’s National Fire Repair started in business in 1913. The typical job, he says, “really centers around the customer.”
is a window and a door is a door, but it is their view How that drying is handled depends on the kind program,” he says, that factors in labor, materials
of these items you have to deal with,” he says. of water – from clean, or ordinary water, to gray up and overhead.
Concern with quality, Clouser says, keeps as through black, or sewage, which requires the items Debbie Milani, production manager with Servpro
much of the work in-house as possible and limits being dried to be sanitized. “If it’s clean water, you of Southern Trumbull County in Warren, says the
his company’s use of subcontractors chiefly to me- just set up the drying equipment,” Rooks says. restoration business is “feast or famine.” Most of
chanicals and plumbing. “When you start subbing “If you don’t dry it,” he warns, “other things can Servpro’s work is water restoration, Milani says,
everything out you lose control of quality.” colonize down the road, whether it’s clean water loss and the busiest times are during the spring when
The average repair job from a fire costs $15,000, or black water loss.” there’s a lot of rain, or the dead of winter when
Clouser says, although some are as little as a few Rooks does reconstruction work, and employs pipes freeze.
hundred dollars. “But we had one this year over carpenters, painters and carpet installers. Some work “No job is too big where we would say we abso-
$300,000,” he adds. The average water damage bill is subbed out, depending on the size of the job. “If lutely have to walk away,” Milani says.
is about $7,500, but again he had a commercial job the customer wants us to, we can put everything The company gives customers a timeline of when
that resulted from a water line break that cost “well back together for them,” he says. they can get to the job, and will start a waiting list
over $400,000.” Because the firm does insurance One of the most interesting jobs this year, Rooks when work starts to back up. They try not to keep
restoration work, National Fire uses a national reports, was when a patient at a Glenbeigh treat- customers waiting more than 24 hours because mold
platform computerized system for pricing, the kind ment center went “berserk” with one of the fire begins to grow within 72 hours, she says.
most contractors in this area use, he says. extinguishers. The company also just completed a “When we’re busy, everybody’s working and
“Insurance work is far different than standard $300,000-plus job following “a pretty large residen- everybody’s working overtime,” Milani says.
construction work,” he says, and requires special tial fire,” he says. The actual clean-up can take up to four hours,
training to handle water and smoke damage. “Insur- “Every job is totally different,” says Rick Pesa, followed by four days of keeping drying equipment
ance people don’t want to deal with [contractors] estimator and operations manager at All-Action in the house and monitoring it daily to ensure it’s
unless they’re on those particular programs.” Restoration. “There is no typical job.” His firm drying properly, Milani says. Prices vary depending
In business since 1986, Disaster Recovery Ser- handles mostly water damage. “There’s so many on the job, and although homeowners insurance can
vices, on McMyler Street in Warren, deals with “a different things that cause water damage,” he says, have deductibles as high as $1,000, 90% of the jobs
lot more water damage” than fire damage, mostly including frozen pipes. have some kind of insurance. Still, the industry isn’t
damage from broken pipes or overflowing sump A job can cost anywhere from $500 – to sim- recession-proof, she says.
pumps to fire sprinklers going off, reports owner ply repair siding that’s blown off in a storm – to “There’s still some people that have to pay a por-
Reggie Rooks. “We have a warehouse full of drying $150,000 or $200,000 to rebuild a house that has tion of the bills themselves,” Milani says. “And some
equipment,” he says. burned down. “As far as pricing, we use a computer people just don’t have it.”
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36 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 37
Restoration Companies
Look to Remodeling
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Many add specialties years, he says.
to stay ahead Most jobs take a week or longer to ��������������������������������
complete, and Eagle handles up to six
of new competitors. jobs monthly.
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By Jeremy Lydic ���������������������������������
will have to pick out new carpeting,
I
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t took Steve Peshek two days flooring, paint, cabinetry and other ���������������������������������
driving around Ashtabula County features, and some may want an ad- ������������ ��������������������
to find the right wood he needed dition built, says Patricia Harman, ����������������������
to finish a fire restoration project that, director of communications for the �����������������������������������
he says, reminded him of an episode Restoration Industry Association in ���������������������������������
of “This Old House.” Columbia, Md., and editor-in-chief of �����������������������������
In 1998, Peshek, president of Cleaning & Restoration Magazine. ������������������������������������
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Of Southern Trumbull County
house damaged in ness, more compa-
a fire. The frame While the volume of work isn’t nies are adding re-
of the house fea- necessarily decreasing, more modeling services
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on log houses, Peshek learned the ma- she says.
terial he needed was “not something “Prudent business owners are al-
you’re going to see in a newspaper ways looking for something that will
or go to a lumber yard and buy,” he set them apart from their competi-
says. tion,” Harman says. “In some markets,
While searching for abandoned if there aren’t a lot of fires, remodeling
is a great way to supplement what
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barns, Peshek found one that was
little more than a foundation and had they’re doing and branch out.”
a 60-foot long beam that was a perfect
match, he says. He bought some 40
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logs, each 24 feet in length, in Co- areas of the industry. These include ������������������������ �������������
lumbiana County and took them to electrical work, drying out structures,
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Peshek says there aren’t too many res- gest trend is commercial cleaning for �����������������
torations at that level of difficulty. schools and health-care entities, such
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because of the style of framing, but says. Restoration crews are trained in ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
much more interesting as well,”
Peshek says. “Typically everything
maintaining indoor air quality and
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A
ustintown is suffering its share of foreclosures, ing grants for community-development projects and as a result of the economic downturn. Home foreclo-
business shutdowns and high unemployment landed a significant amount last year. sures continue to be a problem across Austintown,
but the recession isn’t preventing companies Those grants enabled the installation of new Oles stated, while a medical company recently va-
from expanding or relocating here, township sidewalks along South Raccoon Road, replacement cated the township’s Westchester Building.
officials say.
Led by an $8.5 million urology center scheduled
to open in April on Mahoning Avenue, commercial
development is still evident throughout Austintown,
reports township trustee Lisa Oles.
“Austintown is still moving forward and holding
its own,” she said Nov. 13 after addressing a break-
fast at the Regency sponsored by the Youngstown/
Warren Regional Chamber and First National Bank
of Pennsylvania.
Humility of Mary Health Partners, Advanced
Urology Inc. and N.E.O. Urology Associates Inc.
have combined efforts to construct Partners in Urol-
ogy Health, a technologically advanced center that
provides patients a central location where they can
be treated for prostate cancer and other urological
disorders.
The new center is being built next to HMHP’s
St. Elizabeth Emergency and Diagnostic Center on
Mahoning Avenue.
“It’s a 13,000-square-foot facility devoted to the
treatment of prostate cancer and will have the latest
radiation therapy,” said Chuck Folkwein, HMHP’s
chief information officer.
The building will be among the first structures in
the Mahoning Valley certified as LEED, an acronym
for Leadership in Environmental Engineering and
Design, Folkwein said. Initially, the operation will
create 12 jobs.
Oles reported that construction plans have been
submitted for a cluster of five medical office build-
ings along state Route 46 just north of New Road,
signaling new development could begin next year
in this section of the township.
“We’re also going to bring in a small restaurant
[on the corner of 46 and Norquest],” she noted. “We
don’t know the name yet.”
Work is scheduled for completion soon on
the $2.5 million production plant for McHenry
Industries, a signage company relocating from
Youngstown to Victoria Road.
Company President Ron Musilli said the work is
nearly finished, and McHenry Industries expects to
be moved in by the end of this year. “We’re about
75% done. It’s coming along fantastic.”
Since the expansion was announced earlier this
year, the company has hired four new employees
who will operate the new equipment when McHenry
Industries relocates, Musilli said. “We’re busy,” he
added.
Musilli said overall business is down 10% to
15% compared to 2008, but last year was the best
in the company’s history. “We’re still going strong.
The last time we saw a downturn was 1991 and we
were hurt then.”
McHenry Industries engineers and fabricates
plastic signs for retail signage companies that sell
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 39
Penmanship
From Page 1
student privacy, proved especially
challenging, he says. While worse
than most, it illustrates how bad so
many Americans’ handwriting has
become.
“I can read 98% of the essay tests
without too much trouble,” O’Brien
says, “and the rest with time and ef-
fort.” This student required consider-
able time and effort.
Those who blame the personal
computer and cell phones/Blackber-
ries on which people text – who writes
when you can keyboard? – for causing
handwriting skills to atrophy don’t
realize history is repeating itself.
In the 1920s, use of the type-
writer was becoming widespread, says
Remember this lesson posted on the wall of your second-grade classroom? Zaner-Bloser Co. of Columbus distributes similar posters nationwide.
Kathleen Wright, national product
manager for handwriting at Zaner- teachers to impart to first-, second- arm, holding the marker in his hand of the Mahoning County Educational
Bloser, Columbus, and the typewriter and third-graders how to print and between the thumb and all four fin- Services Center. Her boss, retired su-
was blamed for the deterioration of write cursively has also diminished, gers. perintendent Bill Hyde, couldn’t recall
penmanship. the chairwoman of teacher education The difficulty is increased because why the exhibits ended, she says, after
Zaner-Bloser remains the “No. 1 says. most adults have developed their own she checked with him.
purveyor of handwriting materials Of greater concern is teaching edu- modifications of the Zaner-Bloser or First- and second-grade pupils
in the United States,” Wright says. It cation majors how to teach children Peterman scripts. in Mahoning County schools wrote
designed the systems of printing and “writing convention skill sets,” which Esther Stewart, a retired elementary three sentences in pencil, Stewart
cursive script many elementary stu- includes how to form letters, but en- teacher in the Poland public schools, recalls, the first being, “My name is
dents in the Mahoning Valley learn. compasses much more – defining and says she had no training in college -----.” Her students excelled, Stewart
Alarmed 90 years ago by the seem- relaying the message, helping other to prepare her to teach penmanship believes, “because I tried to make it
ing deterioration of legible writing, students by editing their messages when she began her career. She at- fun, exciting. … I didn’t allow erasing
The Columbus Dispatch, in conjunc- and making them publishable, that is tributes her graceful handwriting or misspelling [in the entries for the
tion with Zaner-Bloser, sponsored good enough to be to the fact, “My fair]. … I just took such great pride
handwriting contests, contests that posted in school
continue today. halls and bulletin
Mere legibility, not reproducing mother was an
excellent penman
[in good printing] and instilled it in
them.”
Whether handwriting is any worse, boards. forms close to the model letters and my father was As did most elementary teach-
or that much worse, today is a matter T h o s e w h o posted in elementary classrooms a school teacher.” ers, Stewart had her pupils draw re-
of speculation although most who would teach pri- above blackboards and white- That, combined peated ovals and slants before having
discussed this topic think illegibility is mary school pupils with “an excellent them drill in forming their letters. “I
on the rise and concede their writing must learn how to boards, is all the state Depart- cooperating teach- wouldn’t tell them what letter they
is not as good as it used to be. form letters free- ment of Education asks today. er” when she did were going to learn,” she says, as they
The chairwoman of the department hand, Bailey says, her student teach- were forming ovals and slants before
of teacher education at YSU, Dora Bai- no easy task. The teacher stands in ing, allowed her to coach her pupils being introduced to a new letter.
ley, laments, “Penmanship is no longer front of a blackboard or whiteboard so they excelled in both printing and Stewart remembers the wooden
taught” [in public schools.] Now – more often than not the latter – and cursive script. desks with inkwells that fifth-graders
penmanship is called handwriting.” uses a marker to draw outsized let- When Stewart was growing up, in the Poland Union School used to
Moreover, the time primary teachers ters. handwritten letters were the usual write their entries, the first half of the
spend on instruction in handwriting is While encouraged, no longer are means of communication outside Gettysburg Address, for the fair. They
considerably less than it was a decade elementary teachers-in-training re- one’s immediate community, the wrote with black wooden pens with
ago, she says. quired to reproduce as closely as pos- retired teacher recalls. Her mother steel nibs that had to be dipped in ink
One reason is the pressure on sible the model letters in Zaner-Bloser wrote her brothers serving in World every fifth or sixth word.
teachers to prepare their pupils so or Peterson. War II, who wrote back, at frequent Stewart was coming to the end of
they’ll pass the standards tests man- One retired teacher who earned intervals. her teaching career 37 years ago when
dated by the state, Bailey observes. her baccalaureate in education in Even in peacetime, long-distance Christina Roussos, who teaches sec-
Time spent on instruction in hand- 1965 remembers having a printing phone calls were expensive and ond grade at Poland Dobbins School,
writing is reflected only indirectly in exercise returned with the notation, required an operator to complete. was beginning hers. Roussos found a
the answers students write for short “Nice ruler!” Because she “cheated” Typewriters, perceived as less per- mentor in Stewart.
essay questions. There is no direct in forming the vertical straight lines sonal, were found mostly in offices When Roussos was in elementary
reward for a school system to help its of lower-case a’s, b’s, d’s, k’s, l’s, p’s and and schools. school, she recalls, she was blessed
students become more than legible q’s, she had to resubmit the exercise The samples Stewart’s students “to have had such good teachers” who
writers. and was penalized a letter grade. submitted to the education exhibits insisted her letters be formed correctly
Mere legibility, not reproducing With a sheet of paper, the writer at the Canfield Fair won prize after and properly spaced apart.
forms close to the model letters posted moves his hand, arm stationary, hold- prize and usually blue ribbons from When she did her student teaching,
in elementary classrooms above black- ing the pen firmly between the index the judges, Stewart recalls. the supervising teachers from YSU
boards and whiteboards, is all the state finger and his thumb, supported by To the best of her recollection, the visited her classroom. “They came in
Department of Education asks today, the middle finger. handwriting exhibits at the fair ended and watched you,” Roussos says. “So
Bailey says. Writing on a whiteboard, how- about eight years ago, says Laurie Fox, you had to practice penmanship.”
Time spent in instructing aspiring ever, requires a person to move his retired secretary to the superintendent CONTINUES NEXT PAGE
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 41
receive
grade, few if any have had much says.
experience using a keyboard. They Roussos discourages parents from Bring this coupon in to any
have, however, used crayons and
paintbrushes and many try to transfer
teaching their children cursive before
she introduces such writing in Janu- Cortland Banks branch
the grips to their pencils.
Roussos has soft plastic devices for
ary. That way she has a better chance
of teaching them to form their letters & $100* for opening
pupils with bad grips to put on their
fingers so that they hold their pencils
as recommended by Zaner-Bloser and
becoming better writers. a Free Checking Account.
$100
Do Doctors Deserve Bad Rap?
Pupils who form their letters best, comprehensive exams masters’ can-
students whose writing is closest to didates undergo before graduating,
the Zaner-Bloser models, don’t nec- most choose to answer the essay
essarily get better grades. And those question on a computer, Bailey says,
with the least legible handwriting “but you can ask to write by hand.”
don’t necessarily get worse grades. Few do.
Four of those interviewed for this “Nearly 100% of the math majors
topic, Christina Roussos, Esther [who intend to teach in high schools]
BuildingBetterBusiness
Philanthropy Spreads Holiday Cheer
Encourage workplace giving by offers the following tips for encouraging charitable a can of food or a toy, those items can collectively
rallying around one cause. giving in the workplace.
• Institute a volunteer day. Giving to a charity
make a huge difference for a less fortunate family’s
holiday season.
T
he holidays are a time for giving, but many doesn’t have to mean pulling out the checkbook. • Offer a matching program. Small-business
charities are feeling the squeeze of the Many charities rely heavily on the gift of time from owners can encourage employees to make dona-
recession and donations are down. volunteers. An officewide volunteer day is a great tions to charities by matching their contributions.
The downturn in the economy is taking its toll on way to get employees out of the office and working Matching programs allows individual employees to
everyone, families, small businesses and charities. together on something they can be proud of. choose a cause that might be near and dear to their
According to the Giving USA Foundation, charitable • Rally around one cause with an office own hearts. By matching their donations, small-busi-
giving in the United States exceeded $307 billion fundraiser. Office bake sales, silent auctions and ness owners can show they support their employees
in 2008. tag sales are just a few ways to raise money for a with the added benefit of a tax deduction.
Still, as a result of the tight economy, two-thirds charity. If everyone gets involved, then the nickels • Educate employees to be wise givers. Encour-
of public charities receiving donations saw decreases and dimes can add up to a healthy donation to an age employees to research their charities first with
in 2008. Charitable giving from individuals dropped organization that helps the needy. the BBB Wise Giving Alliance at BBB.org/charity
2.7% and corporate giving dropped 4.5%. The out- • Collect food or toys. Around the holidays, before they give. BBB Wise Giving Alliance evaluates
look for charitable giving in 2009 is equally bleak. many charities are looking for nonperishable food more than 1,200 national-soliciting charities against
With rough economic times for everyone, many donations or toys. If everyone in the office donates 20 rigorous accountability standards.
W
or in-kind donations, can have a positive effect on hile at the membership in the BBB can help your bottom line.
struggling families over the holidays. Promoting Youngstown We have partnered with The Business Journal to pro-
philanthropy with employees also is a great way to Phantoms vide significant discounts on ads that will catch the
spread the holiday spirit and promote camaraderie hockey game the other reader’s eye and give you the opportunity to reach a
around the office. night, I happened to target audience that meets your specific criteria.
The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance speak to the owner Perhaps you own a trucking firm and wonder why
of a BBB Accredited you should advertise here. This past year, The Busi-
Tips for Online Shopping Business.
He mentioned my
ness Journal featured your industry in its mid-June
edition. Next year could be the perfect opportunity
Forty-four percent of holiday shoppers make president’s column from to get your feet wet by running an ad when your
purchases online and every year scammers de- the previous week’s industry is featured and do several follow up ads
vise online schemes to trick them into divulging Business Journal to analyze your results. With your BBB discount
personal information such as credit-card numbers. and told me how you will save a lot of money.
The Better Business Bureau offers these recom- effective his ad was In addition, the BBB provides members
mendations for online shoppers: in a recent edition with educational pieces to help them make
• Confirm the legitimacy of all “trust marks.” By Pat Rose
of this newspaper. advertising decisions. Some of these titles
You can confirm that certification from organiza- BBB President
I asked if he took are Thirty-Three Reasons to Advertise, The
tions such as BBB, Versign or TRUSTe is legitimate advantage of the BBB advertising discount. Thirteen-Point Marketing Communications
by clicking on the seal. A legitimate seal will direct He said he didn’t even know there is one. Needs Assessor, The Advertising Effective
you to the certifying organization’s Web site. Shame on me! Idea Provoker and the Nine-Point Integrat-
• Make online purchases with a credit card. Ask yourself, “Why should I be adver- ed Marketing Communications Checkup.
If the credit-card number lands in the hands of ID tising and why should I be advertising in If you follow the advice contained in
thieves, the Fair Credit Billing Act allows you to dis- The Business Journal?” these helpful guides, you will be better
pute the charges with your credit-card company. Answer: to increase the number of users, to pro- equipped to create an effective and memorable ad,
• Pay only on a secured site. Always look in mote your particular industry, to gain professional and to analyze its effectiveness.
the address box for the “s” in https:// and in the approval or endorsements, to promote your product Now is the time to “take that flying leap” into
lower-right corner for the “lock” symbol before or service to high-income buyers, to better home in advertising. Your customers have become tougher
paying. on your target audience. and more promotion-driven. Just like you and
If there are any doubts about a site when using If you sell business equipment and services, me, your customer has doubts and fears about the
Internet Explorer, BBB recommends right-clicking you probably shouldn’t advertise in a publication economy and the future. Your customer is looking
anywhere on the page to select “Properties.” This directed to stay-at-home mothers. Instead, refocus for someone to trust. Your customer won’t know
will let you see the real URL (Web site address) your sales from the general public to business deci- about your trustworthiness and skills unless you tell
and the dialog box will reveal if the site is not sion-makers who appreciate quality and extraordi- them. Now is not the time to hunker down and wait
encrypted. If using Firefox, click on Tools in the nary service. until things turn around. This economy is turning
menu bar, then Page Info. If you agree that one or more of these reasons around. Compose that ad and let high-income deci-
to advertise apply to you and your company, then sion-makers know how good you are.
44 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 45
Getting Ahead
How to Succeed at Your Job
Show your dedication experience.
to professional growth. • Communicate. The more you
communicate with your supervisor,
T
he road to success begins when the more he will keep you posted on
you get the job; succeeding at current events in your office. Send
your job takes initiative and regular e-mails with updates on your
hard work. Showing investment work progress and questions you may
and dedication have
to improve your Document everything, includ- • Find solu-
professional tions. The more
growth and job ing project feedback from your problems you can
p e r f o r m a n c e boss and colleagues, so you can solve indepen-
c a n h e l p l e a d use specifics to measure your dently, the more
to a promotion, progress. responsible and
says Kim Goff, valuable you will
author of Female look. If you need
Empowerment-A Personal Journey. to take a problem to your supervisor,
And these days, it can help you keep take your suggestions for ways to
your job. resolve it as well.
Goff offers some tips for improving
your chances of achieving workplace Social Networking Pays Off
success in spite of any economic ups Social networking is growing
and downs: pervasive, so it should come as no
• Education pays. Most employers surprise that more employers are
prefer hiring and promoting employ- using these sites to screen potential
ees who have college degrees, so it can employees.
be well worth your time and financial If you’re on a social networking site
investment to obtain one. If your and are looking for a job, it pays to be
company offers free software, com- careful what you post.
munication or management training, Rosemary Haefner, vice president
take advantage of these opportunities of human resources at CareerBuilder,
as well. offers some tips for maintaining a
• Take on more work. In addition positive image online:
to performing the tasks required of • Clean up your digital dirt be-
you, research trends and happenings fore you begin your job search. Re-
in your industry and share relevant move any photos, content and links
findings with your colleagues. Taking that could work against you in an
on new challenges and being an expert employer’s eyes.
in your field will show your boss that • Consider creating your own
you are invested in producing superior professional group. Use sites such
quality work. as Facebook or BrightFuse.com to
• Take the initiative. Anticipate establish relationships with thought
what will be asked of you and offer leaders, recruiters and potential re-
your services. Be perceived as a “can- ferrals.
do” person. • Keep gripes offline. Keep the
• Manage expectations. Make sure content focused on the positive,
you and your boss are on the same whether that relates to professional
page with what you are expected to or personal information. Make sure
deliver. If no regular evaluations are to highlight specific accomplishments
in place, check in with your boss every inside and outside of work.
few months to confirm you are on tar- • Don’t forget that others can see
get. Document everything, including your friends, so be selective about
project feedback from your boss and who you accept as friends. Monitor
colleagues, so you can use specifics to comments made by others. Consider
measure your progress. using the “block comments” feature
Learn from your mistakes. The or setting your profile to “private” so
worst thing to do is try to blame only designated friends can view it.
someone else or deny that a mistake If you’re still employed, for good-
was made; the best thing is to accept ness’ sake, don’t mention your job
responsibility and learn from the search.
46 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 47
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PEOPLE, COMPANIES, MAKING NEWS
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The Children’s Center for Science & Michael Robinson, regional director of
Technology is relocating to the former access to care and outreach operations
McCrory’s Department Store building on for Humility of Mary Health Partners, ���������������� ���������
Federal Plaza in downtown Youngstown. was presented the Young Healthcare Ex- ���������������������������������
Through a subsidized long-term lease ecutive of the Year Award by the National ������������������������������������
agreement with First National Bank of Association of Health Services. ���������������������������������������
Pennsylvania, owner of the building, Nick Odille has been promoted to �������������
the center will occupy the first floor and supervisor at Hill, Barth & King LLC,
lower level. Its current location is on Certified Public Accountants and Busi-
East Boardman Street. ness Consultants, Youngstown.
The center will close Dec. 5 and re-
main on hiatus until the museum opens Kevin P. Murphy, a member at Har-
next fall, says Suzanne Barbati, execu- rington, Hoppe & Mitchell Ltd., has
tive director. To help finance the project, been named to the board of governors
a capital campaign has been launched of the Ohio State Bar Association.
with the goal of raising $1.5 million. Owner Stan Thomas cut the ceremo- ������������������
The Wean Foundation has been nial ribbon Nov. 10 at My My My’s Diner ������������������
awarded a $200,000 grant from the across from Harding High School on Elm �����������������������������
Healthy Eating Active Living Conver- Road in Warren. ����������������������������������
gence Partnership to launch a new Donald “Jay” Bice, president of the ���������������������������������
program, the Mahoning Valley Healthy American Cancer Society’s Trumbull ��������������� �������������
Neighborhoods Alliance. The program County unit, has been elected chairman
will focus on making nutritional foods of the board of directors of the American
more accessible to underserved neigh- Cancer Society, Ohio Division.
borhoods in Youngstown and Warren.
Stephanie L. Sferra, executive di-
Ellen Staf for d, a graduate of
Youngstown State University, has joined
��������������������
rector of the Trumbull County Tourism the Youngstown office of Cohen & Co. as
Bureau, has completed coursework a staff accountant and auditor.
offered by the Ohio Tourism Leadership
Eastern Gateway Community Col-
Academy.
lege will hold program information nights
Time Warner Cable has launched a at the college’s Valley Center at North-
five-year $100 million cash and in-kind side Medical Center from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
program that will encourage youth to Nov. 30, Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 and from 6
focus on learning science, technology, to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Trumbull County
engineering and math skills. Of that Career and Technical Center. The ses-
amount, $11 million in resources has sions are free and open to the public. ����������������������
been earmarked for Ohio. Call 800 995 5222 or 800 682 6553.
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New concession centers and pavilions recently were dedicated at Austintown Fitch
Falcon Stadium, one in honor of the Joseph Lane Family and Lane Companies, and the
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other for David Ritchie, longtime school board member, and Eugene Chepke, former Fitch
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athletics director. The centers were made possible through donations to the Falcon Forward �������������������
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Committee by the Lane Family, Farmers National Bank, and Tony and Mary Lariccia. From
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left are Austintown Police Sgt. Ray Holmes, Falcon Forward treasurer; Joe Lane, CEO of the �������������������������������������������� �����������������������
Lane Companies; Vince Colaluca, Austintown superintendent; Chepke and Tony Lariccia.
48 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
40 Under 40
Names MVPs
F
ive shining stars from among
40 of the Mahoning Valley’s
most accomplished young
professionals were recognized Nov. 19
when they were named MVPs during
the 40 Under 40 Awards ceremony at
the DeYor Performing Arts Center.
The awards are sponsored by the
MVP 20/30 Club and the Community
Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.
This is the fifth year for the event.
The 2009 40 Under 40 MVPs
are Adam C. Earnheardt, M. Brigid
Kennedy, Shawna L. L’Italien, Heather
Marie McMahon and Allen L. Ryan.
Earnheardt, 39, is an assistant
professor in Youngstown State
University’s communications depart-
ment. He said encouraging his stu-
dents “to give back to the community
through the various service-learning Julie Scarscella, left, of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning L’Italien, Heather McMahon, Adam Earnheardt, Allen L. Ryan and M.
Valley, stands with the 2009 MVPs. They are, from left, Shawna L. Brigid Kennedy.
projects available in my courses” is
among the most important work he and “more surprised that the nuns she knew that she wanted to be an at- child, she recalled, when she declared
does. were the ones doing something about torney from a very young age because to her parents that she would never
Kennedy, 39, is associate director of it.” She volunteered to help, and that she “wanted to help people.” live in a suburb.
the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Minis- led to a part-time job and to her cur- McMahon, 33, is development Ryan, 38, is director of corporate
try. She said that after returning to the rent position. director of the Mahoning Valley Orga- affairs at Covelli Enterprises. He
area from Ireland, she was surprised L’Italien, 39, a partner at Har- nizing Collaborative. She discovered credited his law degree with opening
to learn that HIV was a problem here rington, Hoppe & Mitchell Ltd., said her passion for city planning as a several doors of opportunity.
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 49
BY JEFFREY GITOMER
Sales Savvy
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A
recent survey conducted by Use of the Internet to blog, e-zine and
a management and human use social media. Achieve Google’s top
resources consulting ranking, so your customers and pros-
firm asked 365 CEOs and sales pects will perceive you as a provider of
management executives, “What are value and a leader in your field.
the three key factors that separate high • Exciting, compelling presenta-
performing sales tion skills. Not ��������������������������������������������������
professionals from just solid commu-
moderate to low Use creativity to present ideas in nication skills, but ������������������������������������������
performing sales favor of the customer, and cre- superior question- ��������������������������������
professionals?” ativity to differentiate yourself ing skills, listen-
Both CEOs and from the competition. ing skills and a
C-level sales ex- sense of humor
ecutives (all peo- are vital. It’s the
ple who don’t sell, but rely on their innate ability to engage and capture
salespeople to produce sales so that the imagination (and the wallet) of
they can get paid), ranked self dis- customers and prospects.
cipline/motivation as the most im- • Ability to prove your value and
portant. claims through the testimony of �����������������������������������������������������
Next in line were customer knowl- others. Testimonials sell where sales-
edge, innate talent/personality, and people can’t. The best salespeople use
product knowledge; further down the video testimonials to support, affirm
list were experience and teamwork and prove their claims. But you don’t
skills. just get testimonials, you earn them.
Totally bogus. Same with referrals.
These are qualities of corporate • Ability to create an atmosphere
greed, not value, service or help – the where people want to buy (because
three things that customers require to they hate being sold). This is done by
give business and maintain loyalty. engaging and asking; not presenting
I’m a writer, but I’m also a sales- and telling.
man. I make sales and sales calls every • Ability to build a relationship,
day. If you’re interested in the most not hunt or farm. Great salespeople
important factors of a high performing are relationship builders who provide
salesperson, let me give you a realistic value and help their customers win.
list of success characteristics: • Unyielding personal values and
• Perpetual, consistent, positive ethics. Great people have great values
attitude and enthusiasm. This is the and great ethics. It’s interesting that
first rule of facing the customer, fac- 365 CEOs and executives don’t deem
ing the obstacles, facing the competi- them in the top 10.
tion, facing the economy and facing • The personal desire to excel and
yourself. be one’s best. There is no prize in sales
• Quadruple self-belief. Un- for second place. It’s win or nothing.
wavering belief in your company, The masters know this and strive for,
unwavering belief in your product fight for, that slight edge.
and unwavering belief in yourself are As for the next poll taken, here’s a
the first three rules. But fourth is great idea for CEOs and sales execu-
the most critical of the self-beliefs. tives. There’s an easy way to find out
You must believe that the customer the most important factors and quali-
is better off for having purchased ties of great salespeople: make some ��������������������������������
from you. sales calls yourself. ������������������������������������������
• Ability to give and prove value. If you really want to have some fun, �����������������������������������������
Prove the value of your product or bring your marketing people along. �������������������������������������
service, and your ability to give value
beyond the sale to the prospect so you Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible, �������������������
can earn the order, the reorder and conducts seminars, sales meetings and �����������������������������������
the loyalty. training programs. Reach him at 704 333 ����������������������������������������� �������������������������
• Ability to promote and position. 1112 or at salesman@gitomer.com.
50 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
Legal Listings
Business Bankruptcies
CHAPTER 11 09-44421 ACHG Inc., 6715 Tippecanoe
09-43448 Concord Steel Inc. (SIG Acquisi- Road, Building A, Suite 202, Canfield 44406.
tion Corp.), 197 W. Market St., Suite 202, (1100 N. Market St., Rodney Square N., Suite
Warren 44481. Total Assets: $11,540,361. 200, Wilmington, Del. 19801.) No Summary
Total Liabilities: $14,088,466. Schedules filed.
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TO BELONG!
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From Swimming Lessons
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 53
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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
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Attention Veterans
Funds and Grants available for Senior Veterans
“Because
we deeply
appreciate
Did you know that war-time veterans and their surviving spouses could qualify for financial the sacrifices
assistance for assisted living and skilled nursing care at Park Vista?
made to keep
Retired veterans who have faithfully served our country may also be eligible to apply for a
Veterans Honorable Service Grant for use at Park Vista’s independent living areas. This grant is
our country
offered by Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS) to thank veterans for their dedicated free.”
and loyal military service.
If you would like information about either assistance from the Veterans Administration, or the
OPRS Honorable Service Grant for independent living, please call Josie at 330-746-2944, Ext. 1550.
Independent Living apartments, villas and suites •Assisted Living • Memory Care • Rehab Center • Health Care 330-746-2944
www.oprs.org
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 55
N
o longer are skilled-nursing homes considered more with less, says JoAnn Blunt, administrator at
a place where the elderly live out their days. Danridge’s Burgundi Manor, Youngstown. “There
Instead, they’ve evolved into rehabilitation have been some Medicaid cuts,” she says.
centers where a growing percentage of residents stay The nursing home, for example, must now pay its
for a short time preparing to return home. transportation expenses out-of-pocket where before,
“In the past, nursing homes were considered the Medicaid covered the costs. “Residents still have to
last place for a loved one,” says Dan Rowland, di- go to dialysis” or off-site for other services, she says.
rector of marketing at Windsor House Inc., Girard. “We’re using our own drivers now.”
“Not anymore.” And, regulations change every year, Blunt says,
Rowland, Donald Kacmar of Shepherd of the so administrators, to remain in compliance, must
Valley Lutheran Retirement Services, Sally Demi- keep abreast of any changes in the law.
dovich of Woodlands, Ed Fabian of Grace Woods Almost all of the nursing homes in the area are
Senior Living, Joan West of Park Vista Retirement witnessing a rise in patients in need of short-term
Community, and JoAnn Blunt, director of Danridge’s care. “Between 2008 and 2009, we’ve seen an 8%
Burgundi Manor, acknowledge that senior care in increase in short-term rehab,” reports Joan West,
the Mahoning Valley mirrors a rising trend across director of public relations for Park Vista Retirement
the country. Community in Youngstown. “We added 12 beds last
“We’ve expanded our short-term rehab services,” year” to accommodate the increase.
Chuck Koch, a carpenter, cuts moldings for installation at
says Rowland. Windsor House’s newest center, Hampton Woods’ new assisted living center. Among the new services planned for Park Vista is
Masternick Memorial Health Care Center in New a 1,400-square-foot pool that will allow progressive
Middletown, includes new rehabilitation services admissions are up.” Hospitals are also discharging therapy for long-term and short-term residents, West
that “meet the demands of the baby-boomers,” he patients earlier, and many refer these patients to says. “This is a fantastic therapy pool and is quite
relates. “The length of stay is generally shorter, and skilled nursing centers for recovery after a stroke, See SHORTER STAYS, page 56
56 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
A
group composed of nursing homes and ties achieve some settlement remains to be seen, reimbursements would decrease per year. “Last year,
their advocates say the method the state of Daliman adds, noting that the attorney general’s there was no drop,” he relates. “But this year, it’s
Ohio uses to determine reimbursements is office has “been communicative and somewhat open about 1%,” he says, or $2.5 million for both Mahon-
unconstitutional and they’re prepared to go to court to discussion.” ing and Trumbull counties.
and argue their case. Mahoning and Trumbull counties were once Meanwhile, nursing homes are expected to ab-
“Area nursing homes could lose a total of $20 considered part of a smaller “urban” peer group, sorb additional costs because Medicaid no longer
million a year” once the state puts into effect its which allowed for a greater specified amount of covers transportation, over-the-counter medications
new reimbursement schedule, says J.P. Daliman, Medicaid dollars per bed, Daliman explains. Un- such as cold medicines or aspirin, and oxygen, Dali-
corporate counsel for Windsor House Inc. and a der the new plan, the state reduced the number of man says.
member of the Senior Rights Advocacy Group of peer groups to three from four and reclassified the To offset these costs, Job and Family Services
Northeastern Ohio. “We’re taking these numbers Mahoning Valley as “rural,” which calls for smaller boosted its payments by $10 per bed this year.
and meeting with our counsel. The next step is to reimbursements. However, Daliman relates, that sum isn’t enough
meet with the attorney general’s office.” The peer group receiving the highest reimburse- to cover all the new expenses. “Our franchise fees
The Senior Rights Advocacy Group, a coalition of ments is Hamilton County and the surrounding have also doubled,” he says.
24 skilled-nursing centers in the Mahoning Valley, greater Cincinnati area, while the second peer group Donald Kacmar, director of Shepherd of the Val-
sued the Ohio Department of Job and Family Ser- consists of larger municipalities such as Cleveland, ley Lutheran Retirement Services, says the reduction
vices in February, contending a state law passed in Dayton, Akron and Columbus and their surround- in Medicaid reimbursements “hurts us. We’re look-
2005 “unfairly and irrationally treats Mahoning and ings. The third peer group is made up of Mahoning, ing at $15 a day per bed loss, and it could be more.
Trumbull County nursing homes differently from Trumbull and Stark counties as well as other “rural” The peer groups are not fair.”
similarly situated homes” elsewhere in the state. areas of the state. Daliman estimates some 10,000 are employed
The complaint was filed in Mahoning County “We think it was improperly applied and statisti- directly or indirectly by nursing homes in the Valley,
Common Pleas Court but since was reassigned to cally invalid,” Daliman says. “We feel like we’ve been including therapists, vendors of medical supplies
Franklin County. “We want to expedite this,” Dali- grouped in areas that are unlike us.” and transportation companies. Collectively, these
man says. A tentative trial date is set for June 22. For example, Daliman points out, nursing homes nursing centers treat more than 10,000 residents
The coalition wants the court to grant a perma- in the Cincinnati peer group are reimbursed $40 a year.
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58 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
November 25,
2009 Auto Loan Rates
������� CONSUMERS NATIONAL BANK – Salem FIRST PLACE BANK – Boardman
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Up to 60 Mos. 5.75 - 16.50 Up to 60 Mos. 8.00
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 59
November 25,
2009 Mortgage Rates �������������
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DOLLAR BANK MORTGAGE CENTER ARM 5% Down 5 Yr. 4.00 0+costs ������������
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IT FEELS GOOD
TO BELONG!
From Swimming Lessons
November 25,
2009 Mortgage Rates
IT FEELS GOOD TO BELONG!
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The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 61
A
ccording to most reports, cost- The list of participating restaurants from the local tender steak fries.
conscious consumers have cut region isn’t long, by the way, but you’ll find some Needless to say, we left with a couple of take-
well-known names such as Vernon’s Café, Caffe Ca- home boxes that were so stuffed they barely closed.
way back on dining out. In fact, pri, O’Charley’s, TJ’s, Buena Vista and Sunrise Inn. The total bill was $28.98, or $23.98 minus the $5
we don’t have to look much be- coupon. Divide that by getting at least four meals
Frugal Factoid: Think outside the doggie box.
yond our own need to conserve If you’re planning a vacation, check Restaurant.com
out of our purchases (two of them at home), and it
hard-earned dollars to know it’s true. As re- turned out to be a pretty good deal after all.
offerings in the location you’ll be visiting. Knowing
Similarly, we took a coupon from the 2010 En-
cently as a couple of years ago, you could find we’d be in Marietta for a couple of days this sum-
tertainment Book for a buy one, get one free entrée
mer, for instance, we spent $2 for a $25 certificate
our search team at area restaurants several for the Marietta Brewing Co., one of our favorite
to O’Donold’s Irish Pub & Grille in Austintown.
days a week for lunch or dinner or both. Fast There, we enjoyed Chicken Diablo at $12.99; the
restaurants, to take with us – and a wonderful (and
huge bowl of tender, delicious corned beef and
food? Only if we had the grandmunchkins inexpensive) meal was enjoyed by all.
cabbage ($10.99) didn’t cost a cent. Leftovers? But
in tow and nothing short of a McSomething
W
of course!
e don’t remember the first time we pur-
would do. chased an Entertainment Book, but
There’s a lengthy list of local participants with
Now, we’ve resurrected regular grocery- coupons in the Entertainment Book, by the way; for
we do know we haven’t missed one in
2010, a few we’re sure to visit include Big Family
shopping trips and dusted off the cookbooks. quite a few years. The Youngstown edition sells
Restaurant, Sunrise Inn, Rotelli and Barry Dingles.
That said, dining out remains one of our favor- for $35 at Entertainment.com, but some nonprofit
organizations sell them locally for less. The contents Frugal Factoid: Wash it down with water. Soft
ite guilty pleasures, and we aren’t about to give can be previewed at the Web site if you’d like to see drinks and alcoholic beverages can total as much or
it up without a fight. We’re always looking for before you buy. more than the meal itself; at Ricky’s, for example,
ways to enjoy the pleasures of restaurant din- The book includes coupons for much more than we spent $7.75 for three beers. It’s much smarter to
food – for instance, dry cleaning, rounds of golf and buy your drinks at supermarket or liquor store prices
ing for less than it would cost to eat at home. movie tickets – but restaurants are the big attraction and treat yourself when you get back home.
Figuring we’re not alone, we’ll share a few of for our search team. Each edition’s new year starts
our success strategies. on Nov. 1, and we’ve never failed to recoup the cost Finally, don’t overlook other sources of savings,
of a book from the savings provided by fewer than like coupons in newspaper ads and advertis-
W e’ve saved money at Restaurant.com a handful of restaurant coupons. ing circulars and sign- ing up at individual
ever since it started on auction site eBay. When our new book arrives, we stash it in our restaurants’ Web sites to receive spe-
com. Today, it’s a stand-alone site that car so it’s at the ready when we are. Such was the cial offers. It’s impossible to
sells discounted certificates at a flat fee, typically case when we were on the way home from a recent list all the possi-
$10 for a $25 certificate. But if you sign up at the photography foray in Beaver Creek State Park bilities, but we’ll
site, you’ll be notified of sales that bring the per- somewhere around lunch time. Flip- let you in on a
certificate cost down to as little as $2. ping through the pages, we spot- couple of our
For instance, a couple of friends introduced us ted Ricky’s English Pub in favorite finds,
to Margherita’s Grille a while back, and we loved it. Salem and said, starting with
So when we found that the restaurant in Girard is the buy one,
listed at Restaurant.com, we were delighted – and get one free
the minute the price dropped, we snapped up two coupons
or three. Everything is done online; just pop the In Search of: at IHOP
Cheap
chosen certificates in your virtual shopping cart, that ap-
enter the coupon code to get the special discount and pear just
your credit card number and print the certificates about every
on the spot. They’re good for one year after the date week in our newspaper.
Dining
issued, but only one per month can be used at the We both love breakfast any
same restaurant. time of day, so at our most recent
Before you buy, though, read the fine print. Most visit we enjoyed two orders of the “Big
certificates require a minimum purchase, typically Basic” – three eggs, three pancakes, hash browns
$35, excluding alcohol. Some have restrictions on By Monnie Ryan and a choice of bacon, sausage links or ham at $7.39
days or times, and it’s rare that they can be used to – both for the price of one.
buy daily specials or other promotions. We’ve also signed up at Ruby Tuesday (Ruby-
On a recent visit, we enjoyed Salmon alla Poma- Why not? Tuesday.com) and Chili’s (Chilis.com) to get special
doro, sautéed salmon with roma tomatoes, lemon Most often, coupons are for a buy one, get one e-mail offers. At Chili’s, we received a coupon for
and garlic with a hint of basil perched on top of free entrée or sandwich, so the $5 off on a $25 pur- free chips and queso almost immediately. Ruby
angel hair pasta ($12.99) and linguine with clams chase here wasn’t quite as good a deal. But since we’d Tuesday, though, sent a coupon for a buy one, get
in white wine sauce ($10.99). One of us added a cup never been here before, we decided to try it. And one free entrée.
of wedding soup ($1.99), and we shared a plate of yes, we’ll happily return the next time we’re in the Granted, the coupon expired a week after we
delicious fried, lightly breaded calamari with lemon area. The interior resembles (what else?) an English printed it, but that gave us sufficient time to enjoy a
and a side of marinara sauce ($6.99). Add in one pub, and the prices are quite reasonable – the most couple of handcrafted steak dinners that come with
soft drink and the total bill was just a few cents expensive entrées we saw were $10.99. Ruby Tuesday’s salad bar – which alone is worth the
over $35, with $25 of that amount covered by the Our biggest challenge at lunchtime, then, was price of admission.
certificate we bought for just $2 and plenty of food finding enough to meet the $25 spending require- Still other great deals we’ve clipped from the
to take home for another day. ment. In the end, we sampled a cup of lobster bisque newspaper in recent days are a dinner for two for
In most cases, you can view the menu of partici- ($3.50 and yummy) and an appetizer platter loaded $15.99 at Yankee Lake Inn near Brookfield, $5
pating restaurants online before you buy – spotting with onion rings, fried mushrooms, cheese-stuffed off two entrees at Welshfield Inn in Burton and a
the wood-fired ribs prompted us to snag a $25 cer- jalapeno peppers and mozzarella sticks for $7.95. one-pound sirloin steak dinner for $12.99 at the
tificate for $2 and pay our first visit – but definitely For our sandwiches, we ordered a shaved-beef RoadHouse in Niles.
not our last – to Brudder’s in Austintown. This time, Philly steak with grilled onions, peppers and cheese Frugal Factoid: Remember that servers have to
we took a couple of friends to share the wealth; to ($6.95) and the named-for-its-size “Prince of eat, too. No matter what percentage you choose to
keep it simple, we just split the amount we spent Whales” fish sandwich, batter-dipped cod, at $8.50. pay, always calculate your tip based on the amount
beyond the $25 discount. Both sandwiches were accompanied by wonderful you would have paid had you paid full price.
62 DECEMBER 2009 The Business Journal
3 Minutes...
330-743-0920
Hours:
Monday-Friday 10:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. Catherine V. Mott Robert Reilly
Founder, BlueTree Capital Group Incoming president, Home Builders/
Located in the YMCA Building Remodelers Association
A
ngel investors take a lot of risk,
17 N. Champion St. • Downtown Youngstown
T
investing in early-stage compa- he construction industry may be
nies. The payoff, however, can feeling the brunt of the economic
NEW MENU EVERY DAY be substantial, says Catherine V. Mott, recession – building permits in
president, CEO and founder of BlueTree Mahoning County are down 77% – but
Capital Group and BlueTree Allied An- there’s still demand for upscale homes
gels. Her group of angel investors has built for professionals looking to cash
averaged a 27% return. in on good deals, says Robert Reilly,
incoming president of the Home Build-
Who Can Be an Angel? ers/Remodelers Association.
We’re accredited investors. That accred-
ited investor definition by the FCC is
Your Expertise?
someone who has a networth of a million I do all custom homes. We design them
[dollars] or earns at least $200,000 a from the ground up to the specifications
year for the previous three years. of the homeowner. … They range from
$300,000 to $700,000.
Average Return?
The most recent research that was con-
Much Demand?
ducted by the Angel Capital Education Demand? No. But, there’s still a mar-
Foundation is that so far we’re exceed- ket for it.
ing those of seed funds and our average
return is about 27%. Who’s Buying?
It really varies. Professionals – doc-
Same as Venture Capital? tors, lawyers, a lot of people who own
We are a form of venture capital – we’re their own businesses.
early stage. We’re smaller amount of
dollars, so we take the earliest risk. And, Effect of Tax Incentives?
we manage our own money. It’s our own Indirectly, [the first-time homebuyer
money; it’s not other people’s money. tax credit]will help because the people
I’m building for, they have to sell their
Required Investment? house and that could be somebody
Different groups have their different buying their first home. [The $6,500
levels. Our minimum level is $20,000 tax credit for homebuyers who’ve
[per investor] per deal. That’s done so owned a house in the last three years]
we can aggregate a considerable amount will directly help my business a lot
of money together and negotiate good better than the $8,000 first-time buyer
strong terms for the investors. [tax credit] will.
Visit BusinessJournalDaily.com to view video interviews with the Mahoning Valley’s most influ-
ential business and community leaders. Topics are always timely and pertinent.
The Business Journal DECEMBER 2009 63
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