GALION — Multiple business owners and elected officials from the state and local levels were in attendance for the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce 2019 Annual Economic Development Update and Business Forecast Breakfast.
The event Tuesday morning took place at Grace Point Church in Galion.
After an invocation by Grace Point Church pastor Paul Walter and a breakfast catered by Avita Nutrition Services, Joe Kleinknecht, President and CEO of the chamber; Sherri Clevenger, chamber board chair; and Terry Gribble, past board chair, introduced the featured speakers of the morning.
The speakers included:
- Dawn Ratliff – President of ADM Benefit Plans Agency
- Chanel Hipp – HR Director, Covert Manufacturing
- Jerome Morasko – President and CEO of Avita Health Systems
- Jim Grubbs – Superintendent of Galion City Schools
- Riordan McClain – 87th District, Ohio House of Representatives
- Gary Frankhouse – Executive Director, Crawford Partnership
- Thomas O’Leary – Mayor of the City of Galion
- Keith Lake – VP of Government Affairs, Ohio Chamber of Commerce
Topics of discussion included health benefits offered to chamber members, growth of local businesses’ staff and facilities, a budget update of the proposed transportation tax, an overview of the Freese Center athletic complex and how to use it to attract tourism and new residents and how to use the Ohio Chamber of Commerce to advocate for businesses at the state level.
One topic spoken about by the majority of the speakers was the aspect of trying to find quality employees for open employment opportunities.
Grubbs said that is why the success of Galion City Schools is so important. From elementary reading to the district becoming an official satellite campus for North Central State College, he said the beginning of prospective careers begins in school.
“I can tell you, when I first came to Galion, one of my first big speeches to the staff was that we are a major part of the overall economic development in our community,” Grubbs said. “I believe it is the backbone of a community. When people decide where they want to work, where they want their kids to go to school and the community they want to raise them in, they are looking at the school.”
He said no community is successful without a strong school system involved in it.
He said the district is continuously trying to improve ways to prepare students for the future. He said the district works very closely with Pioneer Career and Technology Center, sending nearly 50 percent of the district’s junior class students to the career center to learn a trade or skill, while saying the state average is approximately 35 percent.
He said things like a middle school robotics club also is an example of options students have to better their marketable skills.
After the event, Miranda Jones, member engagement director for the chamber, said it was great to see a room full of people who care about the economic improvement of the local area.
“I think we’ve seen a lot of progress in the two communities in the past few years,” Jones said. “Last year we had the largest growth we’ve ever had in membership. I think it’s very promising in the direction the community is going.”
She said the usefulness of U.S. 30 is starting to pay off for the community and it will be a focal point in an upcoming event.
In collaboration with the Bucyrus Area and Wyandot chambers of commerce, the Route 30 Business Expo will take place April 18 from 4-7 p.m. at Pickwick Place.
The event is a networking opportunity for the three chamber communities.
More information may be found on the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce website.