Chamber calendar

Thursday, November 1: Quad County Business After Business, Deer Creek Resort and Conference Center, with Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, 5-7 p.m.

Monday, November 5: Chamber on The Sounding Board radio show on WBEX, 1490 AM, 8:35 a.m.

Thursday, November 8: Ross County Safety Council luncheon, preventing back injuries, 11:30 a.m., Chillicothe Country Club; Registration.

Thursday, November 8: Young Professionals Network, sponsored by the Chillicothe Jaycees, at the Chillicothe Copuntry Club, 5:30-7 p.m., no pre-registration required; $5 admission.

Wednesday, November 14: Annual combined Business Expo and Business After Business, Shoemaker Convocation Center, Ohio University-Chillicothe, 5-8 p.m., click here to reserve space for your exhibit: Expo registration.

What's happening this weekend? Check out the community events calendar.

Click above to go to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce site for small business

Check out photos from chamber events at any time by going to www.chillicothe-chamber.smugmug.com.

For previous newsletter editions, click here

You are receiving this newsletter as a benefit of your membership in the chamber. If you wish not to receive it, please reply to mjones@chillicotheohio.com and write "Unsubscribe" in the subject.

Copyright 2007

Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce
45 E. Main St.
Chillicothe, OH 45601
740-702-2722

PACCAR center is only a start

for the Adena Health System

By Marvin Jones

President and CEO

While the focus early this week was on the start of construction for the $15 million PACCAR Medical Education Center, expect to see a lot more dirt moved, steel erected and, most importantly, more people working on the campus of the Adena Health System.

In the next five or so years, Adena is planning to invest $180 million in upgrades, new construction and equipment. At the groundbreaking ceremonies Monday, it was mentioned that 100 new employees are expected to be added each year during that same time frame. By the year 2012, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Adena to be the area’s largest employer with more than 2,000 employees.

The education center, named for the parent company of the Kenworth Truck Company which donated $1 million, is “a new and unique collaboration between Adena Health System, Wright State University and Ohio University. The state-of-the-art medical education facility will be the most modern in the nation where nurses and physicians from Southern Ohio come to learn and refresh their specialized skills with the latest technology and clinical care breakthroughs, ensuring that those who care for you are the best in the nation.”

In addition to the education center, Adena plans major upgrades or new construction that focus on women and infants, cardio-pulmonary, emergency and cancer care. Construction also is expected at Adena’s facilities off Western Avenue to accommodate more family care physicians.

References were made Monday to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. With the vision and leadership at Adena, it would appear we’re well on our way to becoming one of the most respected medical facilities in not only Ohio, but maybe the world.

GET IN ON ADENA’S ACTION: If you’re a small business providing products and services to other businesses in the area, Adena wants to let you know how you could become one of its vendors. Today is the deadline to register for the first “Doing Business with Adena” seminar on Tuesday, Oct. 30. It runs 2-4 p.m. in the board room at Adena. It will cover construction policies and requirements, working with the Purchasing Department and the overall vision of the system. To register: call Dottie Wintersheimer at 779-7511.

MINGLE WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS: Don’t forget about next Thursday’s special Quad-County Business After Business at the Deer Creek Resort and conference Center. As soon as our first day of the Board of Directors’ retreat ends there, we’ll be headed to the BAB to get better acquainted with members of the chambers in Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties. Dianne Doughty and her staff plan a great feast and there will be plenty of door prizes. It runs 5-7 p.m. and will be in the main lodge. No need to pre-register.

CENTURIES-OLD TRADITION ENDING: On January 13, the more than 200-year-old tradition of printing a newspaper in Chillicothe comes to an end. The presses at the Chillicothe Gazette will grind to a halt as the printing function moves to the recently acquired plant in Carroll in Fairfield County. The 19 employees affected in the Production Department all are being offered positions at the plant which was acquired when the Gannett Company purchased the Advertiser Network of Publications a couple months back. The Carroll press provides more capacity for pages and color. The oldest newspaper west of the Alleghenies started publication as the Scioto Gazette on April 1, 1800 with the Scioto Gazette.

LAST WEEK FOR THE MARKET: Saturday until noon will be the last chance to visit the Chillicothe Farmers Market this year. The open-air bazaar ends its 2007 runs in the parking lot of the Ross County Service Center on Western Avenue.

NON-PROFITS INVITED TO EXHIBIT AT EXPO: A special rate of $25 is being offered to all non-profit members of the chamber for space at the Expo/Business After Business on Nov. 14. The groups and associations will be clustered together at the Expo at the Shoemaker Convocation Center at Ohio University-Chillicothe and will receive the same amount of space as the other exhibitors. To take advantage of this rate, register online at Expo Registration or call 702-2722. We’re also taking registrations for all other chamber members at the reduced rate of $150 per space or $275 for a double space.

TELL US HOW WE’RE DOING: If you aren’t one of the 60-plus who’ve already completed it, we’d appreciate if you’d take two or three minutes to tell us how you think your chamber is performing. Here’s the link to the online survey where all responses will remain confidential: Chamber survey. The results will be presented at the chamber’s Board of Directors strategic planning retreat next week and will be published in a future edition of Weekly Update.

NEWPAGE ACQUISITION MAKES IT A PLAYER: The NewPage Corporation is expected to have about 36 percent of the North American coated-paper market once it completes early next year the acquisition of Stora Enso. NewPage, which has 180 employees at its converting facility on Chamber Drive north of Chillicothe, picks up eight paper mills in Wisconsin and Minnesota and should see its annual revenue, production capacity and workforce double when the deal is done.

FIRST CAPITAL DIRECTOR AN OHIO NATIVE: Ronald M. Farrar is the new general manager at First Capital Enterprises, Inc. A native Ohioan from Akron, Farrar brings 25 years of non-profit management expertise to the organization known for providing vocational opportunities to persons with intellectual, cognitive and developmental disabilities in Chillicothe and Ross County. Recently relocating from Colorado Springs, Farrar is a graduate of Malone College in Canton and Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

USEC LANDS BIG CONTRACT: Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power plans to buy $400 million worth of fuel from USEC in the next six years, according to a new contract signed by the two. The company has 20 nuclear power plants that supply more than 40 percent of Korea’s electricity. The contract shows support for USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, said John Donelson, USEC’s vice president of marketing and sales. The plant is expected to be operational by late 2009 and have 11,500 machines deployed by 2012.

AMA LAUNCHES NEW VENTURE: AMA Sign Online is a new division of the company that launches today. Customers now will be able to order many of their signs by using the website, www.amasignonline.com. “We’ll be able to reach across the globe and deliver great products and customer service just like our brick-and-mortar division,” said Tim Ault, vice president of business development. He said the site was in the development stage for a year.

GHOST TOUR TAKES OFF SUNDAY: The History and Mystery of Chillicothe Ghost Walk 2007 runs 3-6 p.m., with tours leaving every 20 minutes from both the Majestic Theatre and the Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library. Tickets are $10 and are available from the Ross-Chillicothe Convention and Visitors Bureau at 702-7677 until 4 p.m. today or at the two sites Sunday.

HELP YPN AND SPECIAL SANTA: The next Young Professionals Network event on Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Chillicothe Country Club features a silent auction benefiting the Jaycees’ Annual Special Santa program. The Jaycees were able to supply holiday gifts to 750 under privileged children last year. Members are invited to donate items to be showcased in the auction at the chamber at 45 E Main St. during business hours. Contact Cari Steinbrook csteinbrook@chillicotheohio.com for more information on how you can help.

INPUT SOUGHT ON TRAFFIC MASTER PLAN: The update of the original thoroughfare master plan for both the city and county is in the final stages, with input sought from the public. The Oversight Committee for the plan invites the public to the meeting on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Ross County Service Center. The plan, as now proposed, will be presented to be followed by input from those attending. Once adopted, the plan will be used by the city and county to improve traffic flow for the next several years.  

NEWEST MEMBERS: Here’s who’s joined the chamber recently:

• Captured Images Inc., 4982 Three Locks Road, by John Sparks, photography and photo printing.

VENDORS LICENSE: Here’s who received a license recently from the Ross County Auditor:

• Buckeye PCS, 3 N. Bridge St.
• Crop Production Services, 9217 Westfall Road.