Business briefs
HOTEL AWARDED: The Courtyard Marriott Youngstown-Canfield has earned two service awards for 2022, including the Marriott Diamond Circle Award.
Courtyard Canfield, owned by CTW Development Corp. and managed by Kennsington Hospitality, received the coveted Diamond Circle Award as one of Marriott International’s highest property-level awards. The Diamond Circle is awarded to top-performing hotels in the brand that exceed the Marriott benchmark in all areas including guest satisfaction scores, financials and RevPAR performance.
This year marks the fifth in a row the hotel has won the award.
Located in Canfield’s Westford Lifestyle Community, the hotel also received a Guest Service Satisfaction Award in Food and Beverage. The GSS Awards are given to the hotel with the highest score in each category. This is the hotel’s second year in a row to receive the food and beverage award.
RESEARCH SCHOLARS ANNOUNCED: Youngstown native Avery Probst, who is attending Kent State University, is among 12 college students selected to participate in Akron Children’s Hospital’s Summer Pediatric Research Scholars program this summer.
The students — sophomores or juniors contemplating careers in health care — will conduct clinical research projects and be mentored by physicians, surgeons, nurses, therapists and other experienced hospital investigators. The mentors design research projects that focus on enhancing patient safety or quality of care; evaluating effectiveness of new treatments, technologies or methods; or improving the health care experience for patients and families.
The students also attend weekly educational classes on biomedical research and shadow Akron Children’s clinical teams in several pediatric medical disciplines. The 10-week program runs through August, when the students present their research study results to members of Akron Children’s medical staff, researchers, academic partners, family members and peers.
MERCY HEALTH EXPANDS ACCESS: Mercy Health is expanding access to rural health care in the Mahoning Valley. Walk-in care is now available at Mercy Health-East Palestine Primary Care and virtual specialty care sites are available at Mercy Health-East Palestine Primary Care and Mercy Health-Sebring Primary Care.
The primary care center is Mercy Health’s ninth walk-in care location in the Mahoning Valley.
In addition, Mercy Health developed new virtual specialty care clinics in East Palestine and Sebring, allowing patients to have virtual appointments with their specialty care providers from their primary care practices. Right now, the virtual specialty clinic appointments are available to oncology and cardiology patients.
Other walk-in sites are in Austintown, Youngstown, Columbiana, Howland, North Lima, Salem and Sebring.
U-HAUL ARRIVES IN BROOKFIELD: U-Haul Co. of Massachusetts and Ohio Inc. recently announced Wilson Auto Pros signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer to serve the Brookfield community.
Owned by David Wilson, Wilson Auto Pros, 7290 Warren Sharon Road, will offer services like U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment and support rental items.
The local affiliates are not U-Haul franchises, but have committed a portion of their lot space for U-Haul equipment, and a portion of their time to help meet the mobility needs of their neighbors.
FIRM NAMED TO BEST OF LIST: 898 Marketing, the Canfield-based strategic and integrated marketing agency, was named among the 2023 Best Employers in Ohio, as determined by Crain’s Cleveland Business.
The firm placed 27th on the list of 60 employers. It was the only marketing / advertising agency on the list.
The statewide survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Ohio, benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The 2023 Best Employers in Ohio list comprises two employer categories, small / medium (15 to 249 employees or fewer) and large (more than 250 employees).
898 Marketing employs 28 people. The agency performs branding, digital and traditional strategic marketing campaigns, video production, graphic design, copywriting and content marketing.
YSU STUDENTS PICKED FOR PROGRAM: Fourteen business students have been selected to participate in the pilot Ohio Procurement Internship Program at the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University.
Students selected for the competitive program completed specialized coursework in government contracting in the spring semester and have been matched with an Ohio company for a full-time paid summer internship. Internship projects include procurement compliance, market research, market expansion and government sales strategy plans.
The students are Jacqueline Baldwin, Colin Burdette, Rebecca Catlos, Adam Czerniak, Zach Clark, Talita Foschi de Souza, Jason Gibson, Samantha Heikkila, Natasha Miller, Sophia Miller, Nadia Pace, Jakob Peters, Charles Quinn and Tien Tran.
People on the move
STAFF MOVES AT POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT: Potential Development announced recently Christine Jenkins was promoted to chief growth officer from director of development and community relations, and Katelynn McBee joined the staff as development coordinator.
In her new role, Jenkins is responsible for managing all aspects of the development program to increase revenue, maximize potential and reach designated organizational funding goals by providing leadership in capital campaigns, special events, grant writing and by cultivating and enhancing relationships among the community.
McBee will focus on assisting the Communication, Marketing, Events and Development department with special projects and research.
Potential Development is a Pre-K through 12th-grade school for children with autism.
FOUNDATION ADDS STAFF MEMBER: The Raymond John Wean Foundation has brought on McKayla Rockwell to the team as administrative associate.
In the role, she supports the foundation and its staff to ensure the smooth operation of the facilities, programs and office administration.
Prior to joining the foundation, Rockwell taught freshman writing courses at her alma mater, Youngstown State University, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in English.
Business briefs
MBAC PLANS FINANCIAL EVENT: The Minority Business Assistance Center in the Youngstown / Warren region is partnering with the Youngstown Black Arts & Culture Council, PNC Bank and the Minority Business Development Division of Ohio to host a panel discussion Friday on financial freedom through entrepreneurship.
The discussion will commemorate the Juneteenth holiday with a focus on freedom and independence. The event also will have entrepreneurs in attendance for an opportunity to network and discover black businesses in Youngstown.
The center aims to serve the needs of small, minority, socially and economically disadvantaged businesses.
Go to tinyurl.com/mbacjuneteenth to register. To learn more about the center, go to ybi.org/programs/mbac.
APP CONTAINS NEW FEATURES: Akron Children’s Hospital’s consumer app, Akron Children’s Anywhere, has been redesigned with a new user interface and additional functions, such as a search option and interactive campus walking directions.
It is now available to download free via app stores for Android and Apple smartphones.
The app now allows visitors to choose a hospital campus (Akron or Boardman / Beeghly) and see maps of each floor. In addition, similar to using Google Maps driving or walking directions, users can select a starting location and a destination, and be given step-by-step directions.
Also, job seekers can access job postings; potential volunteers can learn about opportunities for them to get involved; donors can make gifts online; and friends and family can create and send patients electronic “get well” and other types of greeting cards.
YBI PROGRAM RECEIVES GRANT: The Youngstown Business Incubator’s Youth Entrepreneurship – Youth Xperience program has received a $10,000 grant from the Taco Bell Foundation to support more than 200 youth in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
YBI and YE increase students’ exposure to otherwise inaccessible learning experiences and STEM career exploration using virtual reality and augmented reality technology, and other programs that educate and inspire the next generation of leaders.
YBI is one of more than 450 youth-serving organizations that will receive a portion of the $15 million in community grants from the foundation this year.
PREMIER DONATES: Premier Bank has donated a collection of 1960s copper-and-wood printing blocks and a complete 1963 Department of Defense sanitation kit to the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
The printing blocks were used to print illustrations in newspaper publications until the 1970s because they were compatible with the industry standard at the time — letterpress printing — and allowed for the reproduction of grayscale values in images. The donated blocks include early Home Savings & Loan Company executives and managers, plus a view of the tower at 275 W. Federal St. and a partial street map of downtown Youngstown.
The sanitation kit was furnished by the Office of Civil Defense Department of Defense during the Vietnam War. The purpose of the kit was to provide standard supplies for waste disposal in fallout shelters. The kit contains an instruction sheet, two unopened boxes of supplies, commode seat and 10 rolls of 1958 ScotTissue.
YSU STUDENTS PICKED FOR FELLOWSHIP: Several current and former business students at Youngstown State University have been selected to participate in the John D. Beeghly Fellows program, which provides students with a paid fellowship working with the Ohio Small Business Development Center, Export Assistance Network and the APEX Accelerator at Youngstown State University.
Projects include domestic and international market research, financial modeling, export readiness studies, business viability analysis, cash flow projections, sales forecasting, marketing and social media strategies, research on government contracting opportunities, marketing capability statements and outreach for government contracting efforts.
The students are Carly Calderone, Rachel Durniok, William Everett, David Kimpton, Jakob Peters, Alexander Sinopoli, Isidora Sisic and Esphriamia Spirtos.
BANK HOSTING SUPPLY DRIVE: Farmers National Bank in June is hosting the pet supply drive, “The Dog Days of Summer.”
Anyone is welcome to drop off pet supplies at one of the company’s 65 branches across Ohio and Pennsylvania. Items can include, but are not limited to, treats, collars, leashes, bowls, bedding, blankets, towels, toys and cleaning supplies.
Additionally, people can pay $1 or more to write their name on a paw print that will be displayed in the bank during the campaign.
All proceeds and donated items will be going to local animal shelters. Each branch has picked an organization within its community to benefit.
People on the move
MOVES AT BURGAN: Burgan Real Estate agent Brett Green is now licensed in Ohio.
Green, who already had a license in Pennsylvania, is a native of Midland, Pa. After pursuing a career as a health care executive, he switched to real estate, but still serves as a board member for the Buckeye Online School for Success and is a director of the Beaver County Association of Realtors.
Also, Burgan recently added Anthony Amendola as an agent.
Amendola, a Boardman native, is pursuing his bachelor’s degree at Youngstown State University, where he is involved with the Student Investment Fund.
FARMERS ADDS LENDER: Farmers National Bank of Canfield has hired Mahoning Valley native Tyler Barnhouse as a small business lender out of Salem.
A native of Salem, Barnhouse, who graduated from Kent State in 2017 with a degree in business administration, has seven years of retail and commercial banking experience. Most recently, Barnhouse was working in Cleveland.
SEVERAL JOIN FIRM: More Options Realty has added five agents to its real estate team.
They are Kelly Flowers, who will work in western Pennsylvania; Alexyes Pltnikov, who will cover Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania; and Joe Abramovich, Dennis Sheldon and Tina Withey, whose areas include northeast Ohio.
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