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Copyright
Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce
45 E. Main St.
Chillicothe, OH 45601
740-702-2722
First husband-and-wife team named
Entrepreneurs of the Year
Tom and June Haynes built Subway empire
By Marvin Jones
President and CEO
While maintaining their “day jobs,” the chamber’s newest Entrepreneurs of the Year, Tom and June Haynes, used family savings as collateral and personal sacrifices to begin their Subway franchisee business. Today, they are enjoying the return on their investment, risks and sacrifices.
The announcement of the award came at the conclusion of Thursday evening’s Annual Dinner of the chamber, featuring Jay Timmons, executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers as the keynote speaker. About 265 were on hand in Shoemaker Center at Ohio University-Chillicothe to learn about the award, the first time in its 25-year history a husband-and-wife team has been honored.
Tom commuted 75 miles to Zanesville for 16 years to keep his health care position while June was a local retail store manager until the late 1990s when she took over day-to-day management of the restaurants. Both retired in 2005 with Tom overseeing the Subway operations. The two have been married 46 years.
The Subway odyssey began when his mother offered her savings account as collateral for a loan to buy two local bankrupt franchises in 1991. Both stores had been closed for six months. They first opened the Subway in Shawnee Square, and moved it in 2000 to Zane Plaza. The Western Avenue store re-opened in 1992.
“Times got very tough; we didn’t do enough business to pay all the bills. No one told us about payroll taxes, workers’ compensation costs, sales tax, etc. Thank goodness we didn’t quit our full-time jobs,” they wrote.
They credited Kingston National Bank with taking a chance on them – twice. First for the loan to get started and second for an operating loan to keep them going during the tough times. The tough times began to end in 1998 when Subway began using in their advertisements the story of Jarrod who lost 200 pounds to promote healthy eating habits and its low-fat subs. Sales immediately increased.
That spurred them to purchase the franchise in the Pickaway Crossings Shopping Center in Circleville with the help from a loan from Huntington Bank. With help also from Citizens National Bank, the Hayneses opened their Subway on East Main Street in early 2005, then another one inside the Walmart store later that year. In 2008, restaurant No. 6 opened at High and Orange streets. More than 60 are employed at the six stores.
“When we opened that first store, we had very little capital, but a lot of dreams. We could only afford to hire two employees, not counting family. We had no experience in the fast-food world and the issues associated with it, but we did have a lot of determination and stamina to succeed,” they said. That determination and stamina were rewarded Thursday evening with the chamber’s prestigious Entrepreneurs of the Year award.
Timmons: We can choose what kind of country we want to be
Keynote speaker Jay Timmons said his organization is trying to keep Washington lawmakers “laser-focused” on doing what it takes to help companies create manufacturing jobs in the nation. “We need policies to keep us competitive and aggressive.”
He also reflected on his roots growing up in Chillicothe and on a farm near Circleville. He noted his mother, Mickie, was the first woman CEO of a major enterprise in southern Ohio when she became publisher of the Chillicothe Gazette. His father Warner started his own appliance store at Bridge and Main streets after a career at Sears. But it was his grandfather who gave him great inspiration by standing in line every day for months during the Great Depression to land a job at the then Mead paper plant where he went on to work for nearly 40 years.
"We are at a crossroads,” he said. “We can choose what kind of nation we want this to be. In past two decades, we’ve swapped many manufacturing jobs for service jobs.” But, "Americans have not lost the will to compete."
He noted the U.S. has the second highest corporate tax rate of all developed countries in the world, higher than Germany, France and Italy where the rates have been slashed. "Countries that do not make things are eventually supplanted by nations that do."
He said the “incremental neglect” of the manufacturing sector in the country is not merely the fault of Democrats as Republicans lost many opportunities to make changes when they were in power in Washington. To reverse the trend, Washington lawmakers need to concentrate on the four recommendations in a study completed for NAM by the Milken Institute:
- Reduce the corporate tax rate to come more in line with other countries.
- Increase and make permanent the tax credit for research and development pioneered by the U.S.
- Modernize the country’s export controls
- Improve the country’s infrastructure of roads, bridges, ports, etc.
The full study is available at www.nam.org/.
Other highlights from the evening:
- Board Chair Liz Corzine of Schlegels Coffee House introduced members of the board and thanked Christina Schramm of Chillicothe Nursing and Rehabilitation for her six years on the board, ending last December. She also highlighted some of the chamber’s activities from 2009 and talked about activities being addressed this year.
- Chris Manegold, CEO of the Economic Development Alliance of Southern Ohio, provided an update on the group’s efforts to bring more jobs to the community by working with local companies and providing information and encouragement to firms considering the area for expanded operations.
- Chamber CEO Marvin Jones detailed the services and initiatives the chamber undertook last year as well as noting the issues the chamber continue to address to promote business interests.
- If you missed attending the dinner, HorizonView customers can watch the event on local access channel 11 at noon Saturday and again at noon Sunday.
Click here for the Annual Dinner photo gallery
Statehood Day celebration next weekend
Four historic sites and museums are open free of charge Saturday, March 6 as part of the annual Statehood Day celebration in Chillicothe. Open 1-5 p.m. are the Adena Mansion and Gardens, Ross County Heritage Center and David Nickens Heritage Center. The Nickens center at 71 W. Fourth St. has exhibits on local and national African American heritage and culture. Also open March 6 from 10-3 is the Lucy Hayes Heritage Center at Sixth and Walnut streets.
Study shows chamber members have higher credit scores
A unique study commissioned by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives group revealed that chamber members tend to have higher credit scores than business at large. The members of 10 chambers across the country were studied and the result was an average credit score of 692 compared with 557 for all businesses. “From a credit standpoint, chamber members on average are better businesses, and as a result they have significant advantages in obtaining the funds they need,” said Mick Fleming, president and CEO of ACCE.
Ribbon cut at Cambridge Home Health Care
Branch Manager Lynette Galloway wields the scissors last Friday at the ribbon cutting of the Cambridge Home Health Care office at 74 N. Plaza Blvd. Assisting were Elizabeth Bever (right), director of community relations for the company that is based in Akron. It has 35 offices in Ohio and Pennsylvania with more than 3,000 patients.
Pancake proceeds to help center
Max & Erma’s is donating proceeds from Saturday’s (Feb. 27) Pancake Breakfast to the Child Protection Center to help provide free medical and counseling services for children who have been sexually abused. For $5 from 8:30-10:30, you get pancakes, sausages and a drink.
Deadline next week to register for job fair and expo
The area’s largest job fair and expo of the year is set for Tuesday, March 23, but the deadline for companies to register for exhibit space is Friday, March 5. Sponsored by the chamber, Ross County and Pickaway County Jobs One-Stops, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, OU-C and the Ross County Veterans Council, the expo is at Shoemaker Center at OU-C and runs 11-4. To register for your space: Jobs Fair-Expo
Newest chamber members:
- Wagner Rental of Chillicothe, 95 Renick Ave., by Dave Wagner, 773-8665, www.wagnerrental.com
- Scioto Oil Company, 500 Eastern Ave., by James Reynolds, 773-2636.
Vendors licenses issued recently by the Ross County Auditor:
- Ace Resale, 93 E. Second St., by Curtis Claytor and Emmi Corkwell-Claytor
- Buckeye Floral, 239 E. Water St., by Kelly Graves
- Picturesque Studio, 914 Baptist Hill Road, by Tasha Shewalter.
The next Weekly Update will be March 12