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Business briefs

YSU STUDENTS TAKE FIRST PLACE: Six students in Youngstown State University’s department of communication won first place for Top Undergraduate Research Paper from the Ohio Communication Association.

Students Kalli Bucci of Vienna, Audrey Kali and Katherine Stinson of Hubbard, Grace Venturella of New Middletown, Caitlyn Jones of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Aicha Sawaneh of Freetown, Sierra Leone, wrote the winning paper, titled “Put that Phone Down!: Amplifying the Impact of Technology on Childhood Development.”

After winning the award, Jones, Sawaneh and Stinson presented the findings of the research project at the 2024 Ohio Communication Association conference Oct. 4-5 at Cleveland State University.

FOUNDATION TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR LEADERSHIP GROUP: The Raymond John Wean Foundation is accepting applications for its Nonprofit Leadership Cohort.

Over eight months, beginning in early 2025, up to 10 mid-career nonprofit professionals will be provided with coaching, peer-to-peer learning and opportunities to implement skills learned within their organizations. The program is open to those employed at Wean Foundation grantees or potential grantees whose work aligns with its strategic priorities, with an emphasis on the under-resourced, including black and Hispanic / Latinx leaders. The program is free.

The cohort will focus on several key competencies, including transformational and inclusive leadership skills, strategic thinking and planning, financial management and fundraising, team building and cohesion, and board governance and compliance.

Upon completion, cohort members’ organizations may apply for a Strategic Partners Fellowship, which enables individuals to grow within their organization and ensures they are fairly and appropriately compensated for their advancement.

Applications are being accepted until Nov. 1. Selected participants will be notified in early December. Contact Victor Ruiz at victor@

gradientthinktank.com or Fallon Peterson fpeterson@weanfoundation.org with questions or for more information.

HEALTH CARE PROVIDER RECOGNIZED: Bon Secours Mercy Health has received two national recognitions for its commitment to empowering the careers of women leaders and supporting and developing multicultural women leaders throughout its health system.

It was recognized by Seramount, a strategic professional services and research firm dedicated to supporting high-performing, inclusive workplaces, as a Top Company for Executive Women and a Best Company for Multicultural Women.

Mercy Health-Youngstown is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health and locally serves the Mahoning Valley.

DEALER LAUNCHES FOOD DRIVE: Greenwood Chevrolet in Austintown has launched a “2500 or $25,000 Challenge,” which is designed to help collect donations of nonperishable food items for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley.

Donations will be taken until Nov. 15 and can be dropped off at the dealership, 4695 Mahoning Avenue, Austintown, during regular business hours.

The campaign will feature a competition between the sales, service and collision departments to collect the most food items. Customers are encouraged to bring their own donations to help their favorite department earn the victory.

The items will be added to the beds of three pickup trucks on display in each department. Once the trucks are filled, Greenwood will make an additional $25,000 donation to go along with the food items.

COMPANY MARKS MILESTONE: Fyda Freightliner is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Since opening in 1954, the company has grown from one location to a network of seven dealerships across the region.

Walter F. Fyda founded The Fyda White Truck Co. in October 1954 in Youngstown.

His son, Bob, began working at the company in 1974 and became president in 1977. A decade later, Walter’s son Tim Fyda joined the company, and was named president in 1997. The company became Fyda Freightliner in 1990.

It operates dealerships in Youngstown, Columbus, Zanesville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Barkeyville, Pa., and Walton, Kentucky.

ACADEMY GRADUATE: Nick Lehner, marketing manager for Trumbull County Tourism, recently graduated from the Ohio Tourism Leadership Academy.

The achievement marks a milestone in his career in the travel industry and underscores his commitment to advancing the travel industry in Trumbull County and the region.

It is in addition to completing the professional in destination marketing certification he received in 2023.

The academy provides education, resources and networks to develop travel professionals across the state.

Business briefs

VALLEY PARTNERS HOSTING PROGRAM: Valley Economic Development Partners will host a funders roundtable 10 a.m. Thursday at the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, 305 Wick Ave., Youngstown.

The event will have a question and answer session with Shaundretta Boykins, manager of business development and entrepreneurship in the Minority Business Assistance Center with the Ohio Department of Development.

For more information, go to valleyedp.com and click on the Events tab.

AIM NAMED TO LIST, AGAIN: Aim Transportation Solutions, for the second year in a row, has been named one of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces. The honor recognizes and celebrates companies that cultivate a positive, supportive and inclusive workplace where employees feel valued and appreciated.

Aim is a family-owned and -operated company, headquartered in Youngstown, with locations in Girard, Akron, and Garfield Heights. It’s led by Tom Fleming, founder, CEO and chairman, and his son, Scott Fleming, president.

In partnership with the Best Practice Institute, Newsweek compiled its list by surveying more than 2 million employees across companies of various sizes, from 50 to 100,000 employees. The survey measured employee engagement, workplace satisfaction and commitment to company success, highlighting organizations that create the most positive and dedicated work environments.

MARQUEE WINS FIRST FEDERAL CONTRACT: MARQUEE Creatives, a marketing and special events firm in Youngstown, recently announced it has secured its first federal government contract.

Selected by the National Park Service, the firm will illustrate and design a children’s activity book for the Nicodemus National Historic Site in Nicodemus, Kansas, the sole remaining western town established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War.

MARQUEE will be responsible for the digital design of a Junior Ranger activity book to educate young and teen audiences about how the settlement came to be and why it is historically significant. The book will feature activities and educational content to enhance visitors’ understanding and appreciation of the site.

MERCY HEALTH OFFICERS RECOGNIZED: Mercy Health chief financial officers, Michelle Crawford and Michelle Long, were recently named to Becker’s Hospital Review 2024 edition of its “Women hospital and health system CFOs to know” list.

Crawford is the CFO for Mercy Health-Lorain and Youngstown, and Long is the CFO for St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital.

The list honors accomplished financial leaders for their dedication to optimizing health care. As women in health care leadership, the featured CFOs are recognized for bringing rich, varied perspectives to their roles and their critical contributions to the successes of their respective organizations.

Crawford joined Mercy Health in 1997 as a senior accountant and has risen through the ranks to her role as CFO for the Lorain and Youngstown market. She was named CFO of Mercy Health-Youngstown in 2020, and after two years in the position, her role was expanded to include financial oversight and responsibility of Mercy Health-Lorain.

Long has been CFO for the Boardman hospital since 2020. Before, she served as a senior financial analyst for Bon Secours Mercy Health. Long came to Mercy Health in 1998 as a staff accountant and has since been promoted to various finance roles within the ministry throughout her career.

CFOs oversee their organizations’ financial operations, are responsible for handling massive capital budgets and for fostering strategic partnerships to ensure fiscal stability.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROGRAM IN BOARDMAN: Akron Children’s now offers an intensive outpatient program on its Boardman campus, completing the continuum of behavioral health care for children and adolescents in the Mahoning Valley.

When it is in full swing in January, the program is after-school for adolescents 12 to 18 with a primary concern of depression and / or anxiety. It focuses on short-term stabilization to help at-risk youth improve functioning and develop healthy coping skills.

Participants usually complete the program in four to six weeks.

Its addition completes the planned roll-out of behavioral health programming on Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley campus.

The hospital has the psychiatric intake response center in its emergency room for children and teens in a behavioral health crisis and in need of evaluation.

In addition, the campus offers outpatient therapy, medication management and a full-day, intensive program designed to keep teens out of the behavioral health inpatient unit or transition them back to home after discharge from the unit.

Also, Akron Children’s has mental health therapists in nearly all of its 44 pediatric primary care offices.

NEW YSU SCHOLARSHIP: Altronic LLC of Girard, a division of Switzerland-based HOERBIGER Group, recently announced the Altronic Innovation-Martina Horbiger Scholarship endowment for electrical engineering at the Youngstown State University Foundation.

The scholarship will be awarded annually to an undergraduate student majoring in electrical engineering or electrical engineering technology maintaining a minimum 2.75 GPA.

CHAMBER EVENT SCHEDULED: The Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber will host its annual Economic Forecast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Nov. 7 at the Eastwood Event Centre, 5555 Youngstown Warren Road, Niles.

David Valentiner, managing director of interest rate management at First National Bank, will give the economic forecast. Also, the chamber will give its 2024 Valley Champion Award to Jack Damioli, president and CEO of the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado.

Register at regionalchamber.com under the Events tab.

People on the move

AGENT JOINS OFFICE: Weichert, Realtors-Welcome Agency recently announced Debbie Skaggs has joined their Youngstown office, 5778 Youngstown Poland Road.

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