Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce
Weekly Update January 31, 2003
CITY SCHOOLS LOOK AT PROJECT: About 15 chamber members and their guests attended the Wednesday morning informational meeting with Chillicothe school officials concerning the new buildings plan. On hand to explain the project and process were Supt. Dennis Leone, Treasurer Stacy Overly, board members Mark Gray and Randy Davies and Bruce Runyon (shown at left) from the board’s architect, Fanny/Howey Associates of Dublin. The first big step was taken Thursday evening with the initial meeting of the Facility Planning Committee. On this community-wide group that will be instrumental in shaping the final master plan are two members of the chamber board: Vice Chairman Bill Beatty of Hanson/Basic Construction and Lee Bendtsen of MeadWestvaco. Runyon said the final master plan will be “what works best for the community.” Two forums for the community will be scheduled to provide input into the plan. The school board is expected to decide by July on a final plan and to take a bond issue to the voters in November. Your chamber plans to monitor and report on the process and progress throughout the year.
ANNUAL DINNER STILL GENERATING A BUZZ: Ben Hartsock’s chat with the more than 400 chamber members and their guests at the largest annual dinner on record is still a topic of many conversations around town. An oversight at the meeting was our failure to mention that a $500 donation in Ben’s name was made to the general athletic scholarship fund at Ohio State by your chamber. Also, for those wishing to make sure they have vivid memories of the evening, Horizon is offering a videotape of its broadcast for $10 each. To inquire about buying one, call Marty Ford at 772-8525 or e-mail him at mjford@bright.net. A makeup case left under a table at the dinner was found that evening. If you lost it, please come to the chamber office to retrieve.
TEEN NOMINEES SOUGHT: Nominations are now being taken for the 25 Ross County teen-agers who will be recognized at the Teens of Character banquet on April 10. The project is a partnership of the YMCA of Ross County and the Pathfinders program of your chamber. Nomination forms are available at the chamber, the YMCA and the front desk of the Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health Center. In the near future, we hope to have the nomination form online. The deadline to nominate a teen is March 1. Also, table sponsors for the banquet are still being sought. Those interested may contact Carrie here at the chamber at 702-2722 or cbowdle@chillicotheohio.com.
BAB SITE IS NEW: TPR Personnel is sponsoring the Feb. 19 Business After Business which will be held at Club Rush on North Bridge Street. The 5-7 p.m. event is at the club which was formerly Hennessey’s and before that the Gas Light Inn. Parking is available on three sides, but please enter through the front door.
SAFETY WORKSHOP PLANNED: A workshop on lockout/tagout procedures titled “Control of Hazardous Energy – OSHA Standard 1910.147” is set for Wednesday, Feb. 19 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. at the Ross County Service Center on Western Avenue. Ed Chilcoat, president of Compliance Specialists, will be the instructor. The workshop will cover assessing your facility for the need for lockout procedures, basic elements of a program and how to develop machine-specific procedures. More information, including costs, may be found by clicking this link Safety Council workshop.
TEAM BUILDING NEXT ACADEMY PROGRAM: “Group/Team Development” is the next seminar to be presented by the Ross County Workforce Academy, a program of the workforce development component of your chamber. Steve Hummel of Transitions Unlimited! will be the presenter at the Tuesday, Feb. 18 seminar. It will run 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Ross County Service Center. The cost is only $5 per person. To register, follow this link: Workforce Academy. This seminar follows on the heels of the Stress Management program presented this past week by Ted Janusz, shown at right. Seminars are planned through June.
FINANCIALS ARE UPBEAT: MeadWestvaco’s announcement of its fourth-quarter profit earlier this week was good news for this county’s largest private employer. The firm reported a net profit of $36 million, or 18 cents per share, against a net loss of $29 million, or 29 cents per share, of a year ago. Analysts had predicted earnings, on average, of 8 cents per share. The results were credited to aggressive cost cuts.
NEW FEATURES ADDED TO HOMEPAGE: In an effort to make the chamber’s website (www.chillicotheohio.com) more comprehensive for members and as a valuable tool for economic development experts, we’ve added a couple components this week. For members, we now have a link (Price List) to the page that details the chamber’s dues structure as well as prices for various other services, such as mailing labels. Under the economic development section, it’s easy to learn the ratings of all county schools on such things as the proficiency test scores. Just follow this link: School district ratings.
INFORMATION FOR FIRMS WITH GUARDSMEN AND RESERVISTS: If your business has essential employees who are members of the National Guard or Reserve, you might want to check a new website of the Small Business Administration. The SBA established www.sba.gov/reservists to provide information on all SBA programs and services available if employees are called to active duty.
VALENTINE’S SPECIAL PLANNED: Catwalk Productions and Renick’s Backstage is holding its second Valentine’s Dinner and a Movie promotion Feb. 14. Doors open at 6, dinner starts at 7 and the movie at 7:20. Advance tickets of $27.50 per couple and $15 individual are available at the Pump House Center for the Arts, Renick’s Backstage and The Party Place.
HISTORIAN SEEKS INFORMATION: Tim Wilson from California wrote us recently asking if there ever was a “Chillicothe Sandwich.” We’ve come up blank is this office, but if you have any knowledge of one, let him know at 92 Kerr Road, Watsonville, CA 95076. Also copy us since our readers might like to know, too.
ADVANCE PAYMENTS HELPED: Our thanks to all who quickly attended to their dues invoices in December which helped a cash flow problem here at the chamber. And as a reminder, today is the due date for all of those invoices.
MAP DEADLINE NEXT FRIDAY: To advertise on the chamber’s newest city and county map which will be out in April, you’ll need to get your order in by next Friday, Feb. 7. To inquire as to space and pricing, call Ron Sheets at 800-814-7289, Ext. 325.
This newsletter goes weekly to more than 350 of the chamber’s members for whom we have e-mail addresses. If you have an item you’d like to include, e-mail Executive Director Marvin Jones at mjones@chillicotheohio.com. If you’d like to be omitted from this mailing, reply and ask to unsubscribe. To stay abreast of chamber activities, make sure to visit www.chillicotheohio.com frequently.