2018 ANNUAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & BUSINESS FORECAST BREAKFAST
By: Chamber President/CEO
Joe Kleinknecht
125 people attended this year’s annual event that was held on March 6th at the Galion Grace Point Church, Christian Life Center on Portland Way N. in Galion.
Those in attendance enjoyed a great breakfast catered by the Avita Nutritional Services.
Speakers for the event included; Dawn Ratliff, ADM Benefit Plans Agency; Miranda Jones, Member Engagement Director, Galion-Crestline Chamber; Tom O’Leary, Mayor, City of Galion; Gary Frankhouse, Crawford County Partnership; Jerry Morasko, President, Avita Health System; Jim Grubbs, Superintendent, Galion City Schools; Maggie Sheely, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Speakers spoke about their accomplishments from the previous year, new construction/products or services in 2017, expectations and changes for 2018 and the challenges they face.
Maggie Sheely, Manager of Congressional and Public Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce spoke about the new tax laws and when they will be implemented. She also allowed a time to answer questions from the audience.
Sponsors for the event were A-1 Printing Inc., ADM Benefit Plans Agency, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Avita Health System, Craig Miley Realty & Auction, CrawfordCountyNow.com, Donley Ford, Dostal & Kirk Inc., Firelands Federal Credit Union, First Federal Bank of Ohio, Flick Packaging, Galion Building & Loan Bank, Geyer's Super Value, Huntington Bank, J&F Construction & Development Inc., Longstreth Memorials; Mizick Miller, North Central State College, Pioneer Career & Technology Center - Adult Education, Ralphies Sports Eatery, Schilling Graphics, Spreng Capital Management Inc., Tramec Sloan and United Bank.
|
|
|
2018 BUSINESS AFTER HOURS
Mark your calendars now!
EAST OF CHICAGO
March 15
th
from 5pm - 7pm
UNITED BANK
May 10
th
at the 1803 Tap Room from 5pm - 7pm
LONGSTRETH MEMORIALS
June 28
th
from 5pm - 8pm
|
|
Chamber Welcomes New Ambassadors
The Chamber is excited to announce that Crystal Ebner and Eric Palmer have recently joined the Chamber Ambassador Team. Crystal and Eric will be assisting with and reaching out to our members about upcoming Chamber events.
|
|
Crystal Ebner is a Mansfield native, moving to the Galion area in 2003.
She currently works in Uptowne Galion at The Candi Bar. Crystal and her husband Ted live in Galion with their three children: Theo (4th grade) Lily (6th grade) and Ruth. (7th grade).
Crystal is actively involved in the Galion PTO and currently serves as the organization's Secretary.
|
|
Eric Palmer, born in Virginia and later moving to Georgia, came to Galion in 2010 to be closer to his extended family.
He started working at Geyer's and became involved with the Galion Community Theater. Eric is still involved in many productions, most recently as the stage manager for the Savannah Sipping Society. He also directs the children's musicals.
Eric is a avid soccer player and coaches youth on many levels in the Galion area.
Currently, Eric is the Retired Senior Volunteer Program Coordinator for Crawford, Marion and Morrow Counties. Eric likes that in this new role, he feels like he can make a difference in others' daily lives.
|
|
NEW CHAMBER MEMBERS
Harvard Risk Management
(identity theft protection), Linda Horning Pitt, 520 W. Bucyrus St., Crestline, Ohio 44827, 615-364-6771
Crawford County Partnership
(economic development, Crawford 20-20 vision), Gary Frankhouse, 117 E. Mansfield St., Bucyrus, Ohio 44820, 419-563-1809
RNI, Inc.
(, Michelle Horsley, Inc., 150 E. 4
th
St., Mansfield, Ohio 44902, 419-563-2180 x 130
Galion American Legion
, Scarbrough Post 243, Ken Green, 118 S. Market St., Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-569-0200
Iron Vault Distillery
, John Bassett, 134 Harding Way W., Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-610-7600
Bistro 217
(restaurant), Holly Rose, 217 Harding Way E., Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-462-5681
Van’s Tire of Iberia
(vehicle tires), Mike Miranda, 3596 St. Rt. 309, Iberia, Ohio 43325, 419-468-1777
|
|
East of Chicago Pizza
:
Jared and Jessica Thew celebrated their 24
th
year in business on February 22
nd
. They will be hosting a Business After Hours on March 15
th
from 5:00 – 7:00 pm.
|
|
A-1 Printing:
is celebrating their 35
th
Anniversary this month, and currently has locations in Bucyrus, Galion and Upper Sandusky.
|
|
"In The Relationally Driven Approach, you will learn the principles of relationship that are necessary to achieve the results you desire. This book illustrates the opportunities within your closest connections as well as your briefest of acquaintances to succeed in every area of your life."
|
|
Do you have an anniversary, new associate or employee, sign, or business update? Contact Joe or Miranda at the Chamber Office, 419-468-7737 or email
mjones@galion-crestlinechamber.org
so we can add your business to the Member Spotlight in our next Newsletter.
|
|
The Chamber held a ribbon cutting Saturday, March 3rd at the Iron Vault Distillery, located at 134 Harding Way West, Galion.
|
|
Community Opportunity Now Live
The Crawford Partnership is pleased to share Community Opportunity, a new and innovative resource to connect local businesses with local talent. Community Opportunity is a comprehensive website for students, job seekers, and area businesses alike to connect, network, and find/share employment opportunities within our community.
This tool is also free for students and job seekers. The goal of Community Opportunity is to ensure that everyone in our community is aware of the career paths available. For more information, contact Erin Stine, Crawford Partnership Community Development Director, at
estine@crawfordpartnership.org
.
|
|
GALION SAFETY COUNCIL HOLDS 2018 HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR
On February 15
th
, the Galion Safety Council held a Health & Wellness Fair at the Galion Moose Lodge with 169 people attending the event that included a blood draw, flu shots, home health care, blood pressure checks, chair massages, exercise programs, breast cancer awareness, diabetic education, chiropractic care, audiology, BMI checks, car seat safety, DEXI scan, grip strength tests, immunization info, stroke support info and reflexology awareness.
Home Care Matters, VOXX Socks, Kindred at Home, Family Life Counseling, RSVP, Oasis Yoga Studio had booths set up and distributed information on their services, just to name a few.
Safety Council, Manager, Janelle Benner was very pleased with the event and said the Safety Council plans to continue doing these on an annual basis.
For more information on Galion Safety Council click
HERE
|
|
A BUCK FOR LUCK
Pictured here is Lisa Kelley owner of The Yellow Rose with her “Buck for Luck” from the Chamber.
The Yellow Rose Retreat is a former Bed and Breakfast that has been transformed into a place for weekend scrapbooking, quilting and crafting retreats. There is space for up to 8 crafters at a time, and weekend rates include use of crafting station, and overnight accommodations. No meals are provided, so guest can bring their own food or visit one of the local restaurants. Box lunches from Phil's Deli have been a huge hit! Arrangements can be made for other types of stays such as family gatherings, race weekends, class reunions etc., but weekends are filling up fast for the rest of 2018 and even into 2019. Ladies from all over Ohio and into Michigan have come to visit the Yellow Rose Retreat, and have nothing but nice things to say about Galion. Website is coming soon, but for now you can ask to join The Yellow Rose Retreat Facebook page, or contact owner Lisa Kelley by email,
lisakelley83@gmail.com
for more information.
"Buck For Luck" is a program the chamber started a few years ago, to welcome new members to the Galion-Crestline Area Business Community, and according to Kleinknecht it has been well received, as he has heard comments like, “this is great” and “how nice of the chamber”.
Unfortunately, we do not always know about new businesses that are starting, so, if you know of one, please give us a call at the chamber office at 419-468-7737 and we’ll be sure to get out to them and wish them “good luck”
|
|
The calendar tells us that Spring is about one month away; hopefully, that thought and maybe a few days of sunshine can help you push through the rest of February. With Spring comes several excellent opportunities to refresh your knowledge of workers’ comp or learn some new cost control strategies for your business. Or, perhaps there is someone new at your company who could benefit from “Workers’ Comp 101”. No matter the reason, I hope you’ll take advantage of one or more of the upcoming educational events.
Important dates and deadlines:
March 30, 2018
o
Deadline to complete the DFSP annual report for the preceding 7/1 program start date.
o
Last date to request a change in your estimated annual payroll exposure for policy year 2017 (7/1/17-6/30/18).
o
Last date to request a change in your installment payment plan schedule for policy year 2017.
o
Deadline to complete the One Claim Program (OCP) program education requirement.
o
Deadline to complete the EM cap program requirements.
Potential Changes to Remaining 2017 BWC Premium Installments
: A number of employers’ BWC premium installment invoices were recently adjusted by the BWC. The adjustment increased the remaining installment payments for the current July 1, 2017 rate year. The reason being that when BWC initially calculated the July 1, 2017 rate year premium installments, they were based on the
July 1, 2015 rate year payroll
. Recently, the BWC compared the
July 1, 2015 rate year
payroll
with the actual
July 1, 2016 rate year payroll
(which was reported in the August 2017 True Up.) If there was a large increase in the
July 1, 2016 payroll
, the BWC adjusted the remaining installments for the current July 1, 2017 rate year. The BWC’s goal is to deter employers from having a large True Up at the end of the current rate year. In the last few days, BWC has sent letters to those impacted employers, explaining the change to the remaining premium installment payments.
Please mark your calendar to attend one of our half-day workers’ comp seminars this April. We will be presenting our Cost Control Seminars around the state:
·
April 17, 2018 – Columbus
·
April 18, 2018 – Cleveland
·
April 26, 2018 – Cincinnati
Please see the
attached registration form
for additional details and to register to attend. As always, attendance at the seminars will fulfill the
BWC Two-Hour Group Safety Training Requirement
.
BWC’s Ohio Safety Congress & Expo
: The BWC Safety Congress & Expo takes place in less than a month, March 7-9, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. There will be a Products and Services Marketplace, many educational sessions and lectures, which are all free of charge and are a terrific way to learn what’s new in the world of safety. If you’d like to register, it’s not too late! You may do so at
https://bwc.expoplanner.com/content/osc18/Register/
. You’ll need your BWC policy number handy when you do. (If you need assistance registering you may also call 614.466.7695.)
Please stop by to visit
CareWorksComp in booth #208
and
RiskControl360° in booth #108
!
CareWorksComp is offering Two additional training sessions to fulfill the BWC Two-Hour Group Safety Training Requirement. The registration material is attached with this email, and these will be hosted in Bowling Green on 3/13/18, and Dublin on 6/5/18.
Posting Requirements for OSHA
: OSHA reminds employers of their obligation to post a copy of
OSHA’s Form 300A
, which summarizes job-related injuries and illnesses logged during 2017. Each year, between February 1 and April 30, the summary must be displayed in a common area where notices to employees are usually posted. Businesses with ten or fewer employees and those in certain low-hazard industries are exempt from OSHA recordkeeping and posting requirements. Visit OSHA's
Recordkeeping Rule webpage
for more information on recordkeeping requirements.
|
|
REGISTRATION FOR OHIO SAFETY CONGRESS & EXPO
The 2018 Ohio Safety Congree & Expo is March 7th to March 9th at the Columbus Convention Center.
Click here
to view event information, including the event schedule, hotels, directions and free online registration.
Days one and two (Wednesday & Thursday) offer general sessions, educational sessions and the Expo Marketplace. Day three (Friday) delivers full-day workshops and in-depth training. Attend the number of days which best meet your training needs.
|
|
Ohio Incumbent Workforce Training Voucher Program
Guidelines FY’18
The Ohio Incumbent Workforce Training Voucher Program (“Voucher Program”) is an employer-driven program designed to provide direct financial assistance to train workers and improve the economic competitiveness of Ohio’s employers.
The Voucher Program is designed to offset a portion, via reimbursement, of the employer’s costs to improve the skills of its incumbent workforce. The Voucher Program will provide reimbursement to eligible employers for specific training costs accrued during the course of training.
Eligible employers must demonstrate that by receiving funding assistance through the Voucher Program their business will not only obtain a skilled workforce, but will also improve company processes and competitiveness.
Click
HERE
for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
